Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto is a fun and entertaining story that will lift your spirits. The main character is quirky and relatable, but the plot is a bit far-fetched. This is one book that is perfect for those in the mood for a laugh.

Meddy is an enjoyable character that is easy to root for. She is a wedding photographer for her family business, but it isn’t quite what she envisioned for herself after she graduated from college. Her ties to her aunties and their deep commitment to family is sweet to read about, but at times can be overbearing for Meddy.

❀ FULL OF CHAOS AND FARCE

The story takes off after Meddy’s blind date passes away during their date. She panics and enlists the help of her aunties who concoct a plan to get rid of the body. What follows is a Weekend at Bernie’s style plot that is full of chaos and farce.

❀ HILARIOUS AND SWEET

If you love a story that is full of mayhem and hijinks, Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto is one to watch for. The characters are hilarious and sweet, while the plot is unbelievably comical. It is a great escape read that will leave you with a smile on your face.

This book was super fun and kept me guessing as to how Meddy and her family would solve their little problem. I definitely have readers in mind for this new series. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance ebook.

Are you looking for a book that will bust your reading slump? Do you love rom-coms with a hint of murder? Did you love Finlay Donovan is Killing It? Do I have the book for you!

Dial A for Aunties is the story of Meddelin, a young so-cal millennial and loving daughter who is impossibly unlucky in love. How unlucky? Well, she accidentally killed the guy that her mom set her up on a blind date with… 😬

Fortunately for Meddelin, her mom and aunties are more than willing to help her hide the body. Unfortunately… its going to be a whole lot harder than they thought!

Meddelin the accidental murderer is such a charming and lovable protagonist… Sometimes her instincts and reactions felt more like plot devices than genuine human reactions, but that didn’t stop me from being fully invested in and completely entertained by her story.

The real stars of this book are Meddelin’s mother and her three aunties. Insightful, loving, clever, determined, and incredibly funny, these women are a force to be reckoned with and I loved their family dynamics and enduring bond as sisters and as Meddelin’s accomplices. …seriously, can they be my aunties too?

The added element of Meddelin and Nathan’s love story was a lovely surprise. I was deeply invested in their will-they-won’t-they learn how to communicate and rekindle their OBVIOUS love for each other… and I think their romance really helped round-out the overall story.

Also!!! The Chinese-Indonesian representation in this book was positively wonderful. This book is written with so much love and pride and joy that it just radiates from the pages.

I listened to this book via audiobook and I absolutely adored Risa Mei’s narration. Mei did a fantastic job of bringing Meddy’s voice to life and her delivery of Sutanto’s very funny comedic moments was A+ too.

This book is so cute and funny, and such a joy to read! If you’re in a slump or just need a pick me up - this is the book for you. I already can’t wait to read whatever Sutanto writes next!

Dial A For Aunties was a Fresh Fiction Fresh Pick on May 23rd: https://freshfiction.com/pick.php?id=6041

One of reviewers loved the books: https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=73891

And we shared an exclusive excerpt on the FF blog: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=11245

Okay, holy LOL funny! I loved Meddy & her quirky Aunties so dang much.. particularly the Auntie that busts out into Tai Chi in any & every situation! The way Meddy interacted with her Aunties definitely made the book. I thoroughly enjoyed the Indo-Chinese culture, even if the broken English took a little while to get used to. The way Meddy interacted with herself in her thoughts was quite hilarious & relatable too! There were fun cozy mystery/suspense vibes mixed with a sprinkle of rom-com vibes throughout! This book reminded me so much of Jane The Virgin (which I absolutely adore), mixed with Crazy Rich Asians & a pinch of The Hangover… what a combo! Overall a super fun read, perfect for the summertime! Highly recommend!

Five fat juicy stars for this gem! Described as “comedic women’s fiction,” DIAL A FOR AUNTIES is just that. I can’t tell you the amount of times I laughed or caught myself with the silliest little grin on my face. I flew through this book by the pool on vacation and didn’t want it to end. I was a little unsure of the storyline going in & obviously had to suspend belief, but I quickly became enamored.

It’s got it all - humor (so much humor, yall 🤣), suspense, romance & family drama. I loved the dive into the Indonesian/Chinese culture and Meddy’s close-knit family. I need a spin-off book of each aunt. Can you imagine?! 🤩

I refuse to believe this was Jesse Q. Sutanto’s first adult novel & I will read anything and everything she writes going forward. Jealous of those of you who haven’t read this yet, because you’re in for a treat! Swipe for synopsis ➡️

Trigger warnings: death, drug use, sexual assault, kidnapping, car accident

Dial A for Aunties is a much needed book for the genre of cozy mysteries. It was humorous and fun! As well as teaching you about Chinese-Indonesian culture, which is not something you see very often in cozy mysteries. I felt connected to Meddelin and loved her mom and aunties. They would drop anything and do anything for family, and you could really see that. I finished the book in just two days and loved every minute of it.

This mystery also took things to a new level, it is not "the main character is falsely accused of killing someone and now has to prove herself innocent", rather "she did it, now how can she hide it?!". It was a blast to read. I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a fun summer read and a new perspective in the genre of mystery.

Honestly, just so much fun. It's madcap in an old Hollywood kind of way.

Meddy was just the right level of frustrated by her family and constricted by them, as well as happy to be part of a close knit family that looks out for each other. That felt very real, but wasn't something I see in media very often. Early on, we see her make her college choices based on not being far away, but she still doesn't sacrifice her education, she still picks a great school, she just recognizes that there are other aspects of life to take into account too. I dislike when anything paints "following your dreams!" as something versus practicality. Like, if you take any of reality into account at all, you're somehow betraying your dreams, and that isn't true.

So much else in this book was harder to believe, but always in that old Hollywood caper kind of way, and I enjoyed every minute of it. There were a few moments that were a bit more gruesome than I was expecting [ Okay he suffocated in the freezer? Screaming and struggling to get out???? Oh boy (hide spoiler)] but mostly it is full Weekend at Bernie's.

I'm always a big fan of when there isn't much of a "misunderstanding" hurdle to get over [ so Nathan knowing right away (as a combo of them being obvious but also he KNOWS her) was great. And she didn't need to overly explain herself, he trusted her and believed her. I always love that. (hide spoiler)]

[ The ending was good, showed a great balance between Meddy being part of the family business and breaking out on her own. The proposal ends up being a bit of a cliche, but I love cliches in romance novels, I like knowing what to expect and what beats will hit, and how it happens was very sweet and got my hormonal self to tear up. (hide spoiler)]

Fully recommend as a travel or beach read, engaging enough to keep you interested and to quickly pick back up again if you have to put it down. Fun escapism.

I went into this book completely blind. I was mostly drawn by the cover and had enjoyed Jesses YA novel, The Obsession.

To say that I was shocked by the premise would be an understatement! I found the plot to be so interesting and unique.
I loved all the characters! The aunties had me laughing so hard.

This book has a little bit of everything. Murder, mystery, meddling family members and a second chance love trope.

I loved this one so much! I’m so excited to see the movie adaptation. I’m also hoping we can get more books with the aunties!
It’s a perfect summer read.

I did not finish this one. I wanted to love it so much but the plot was just too much for me. She killed a guy with a taser and then threw him in the back of her car. Okay, sure.

A LAUGH OUT LOUD novel! When Meddy accidentally kills a man she calls on her mom and aunties to help her get rid of the body. This sounds so simple, except that they also have to take care of a wedding cake, flowers, photos and entertainment. The aunties are hysterical, and Meddy's internal comments are exactly what some of us might be thinking! Read this book to give you an uplift in your day!

Dial A For Aunties has a super unique pitch: one murder, plus a wedding, plus a super tight knit group of aunties, plus some romance equals a romantic comedy. I was a little skeptical, it seemed like a lot to balance in a stand alone book, but boy was I blown away by this one.

The writing was so, so great in Dial A For Aunties. I really enjoyed the author’s foreword - it was beautiful and really made this book all the more meaningful. Overall, this book was hilarious - the author infused so much wit not only into the dialogue but also into the wild situations Meddelin and her aunties find themselves in. The story was also very chaotic and unpredictable - it had me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Dial A For Aunties is all about the characters: namely Meddelin’s aunties and her mother. They were an incredibly tight knit family and even though they were a sizable cast of characters for a romance novel, they were each fascinating and complex and unique. I loved learning about all of their relationships with each other: the one upmanship, the competition, but most importantly, the support and unwavering dedication to one another.

Meddelin was the perfect lead for this book. Throughout Dial A For Aunties it was clear that she was massively dedicated to her family and loved them all deeply. Her relationship with each aunt was different - it was fun reading about how differently she handled and navigated her relationships with each of them. Her journey of learning how to be her own person while balancing her relationships with her family was heartwarming and made her happy ending feel earned. I also really enjoyed her romance with Nathan - they were perfect together and their chemistry rounded out the story nicely.

Dial A For Aunties truly has it all: tight family dynamics, a murder, crazy hijinks, and a sweet romance. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite like this one before, and I kinda doubt I ever will again. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I’m going to be raving about this one for a long time, I can tell. Also, I am dying for the Netflix adaptation!

I love reading a book and then watching it's adaptation so I was super excited to see that this one is going to be made into a movie. I really enjoyed the laugh out loud moments and definitely recommend y'all giving this one a read.

What I loved about this book:

1. I loved the family dynamic in this book and how Meddy interacted with her Aunts. Her Aunts were witty and snarky which provides the reader with many laugh out loud moments.

2. I loved the plot and I enjoyed the Weekend at Bernie's moments while reading. While this book requires the reader to overlook multiple scenarios that are just plain impossible, if you can do that this one is such a fun read.

3. I'm a huge romance lover so I loved the bit of romance intertwined throught the murder and mayhem. While I'm not sure what the actual genre classification is, I enjoyed that this one was a mashup of many.

4. I loved learning a bit about the character's Indonesian and Chinese heritage. While you do get to see a bit of the Crazy Rich Asian side, I really enjoyed the strong family bond between Meddy and her Aunts.

If you enjoy cozy mysteries with a bit of romance and unique family dynamics this book is definitely for you!

This book was just what I needed. It has a little bit everything. Murder, mystery, meddling family members and a second chance at love. This is the second book that I have read by this author that I have enjoyed. This will make a great summer beach read.

"Dial A for Aunties" is a cross-cultural comedy by Jesse Q. Sutanto that begins with a terrible death but manages through madcap action to make you root for the accidental murderer.

Meddelin Chan is part of a close-knit family — at least on the female side. As a teenager, familial guilt and duty made her choose nearby UCLA for college. It even led her to join the family wedding business instead of joining with her college love in moving to New York after graduation.

Several years later, Meddelin is the photographer for the successful family wedding business, a career that she has grown to enjoy. Her meddlesome mother and aunties have been pushing for her to date more, and announce that they have set her up on a blind date. Even more distressing is that her mother went on the dating site posing as her and had been chatting with the guy online for several weeks. (The scene about her mother’s misinterpretation of the eggplant emoji is a gem.) But Meddelin hasn’t been on a date in ages, so she agrees to go.

Jake turns out to be a narcissistic jerk, but she goes through with the dinner, helped by several drinks. Afterward, a bit tipsy, she accepts Jake’s offer to drive her home. But during the ride, he aggressively makes a pass at her and refuses to let her out, calling her a tease. So she Tases him while he’s driving.

Meddelin comes to inside the car, which has crashed into a tree, and finds a bloody Jake slumped over the dashboard — dead. In a panic, she moves Jake’s body to the trunk and drives home. What ensues is 24 hours of craziness — horrifying yet hilarious — as she, her mother, and her aunties try to get rid of the body and deal with a huge billionaire wedding at a new island resort hotel, all while miscommunications abound among Meddelin and her relatives, who don’t speak English well. Oh and guess who owns the hotel? Her old college love. And the sparks are still there between them.

When Meddy accidentally kills her blind date, she enlists her mother and aunties to help her figure out what to do with the body. Things get even trickier when the body shows up at the hotel where the group is coordinating a wedding, and to add to the chaos, Meddy’s former college sweetheart makes an unexpected appearance.

I loved this one so much. If you’re looking for a true summer escape and are able to suspend disbelief, you have to pick this one up! An outrageously fun and wild ride of a read. I can’t wait to read more of Jesse’s books!

Truthfully, I went in blindly only knowing that this was the one of the most anticipated books. I had no idea this was going to be a satire. I absolutely loved the Aunties; they were a hilarious and always had the best intentions. On the other hand, Meddy was not a likeable character in my opinion and if this was labeled romance in any way, it wasn’t. In order to appreciate this book, you have to take a dose of suspended disbelief and any realistic expectations of this book must be tossed out. It’s outlandish, it’s ridiculous, but the Aunties make it so entertaining. The Aunties definitely outshined Meddy. The plot became a bit convoluted and I lost track of how some things happened. The plot idea was great, but in the end it fell a bit flat (still entertaining).

As parents, we Generation Xers are the first cohort to be disparaged as being “helicopter parents” just because we did things like help our kids with their homework and sign them up for afterschool activities so they didn’t come home to an empty house like we did. But helicopter parents did not suddenly burst into being in the 1990s. For people who grew up in Jewish, Italian, Asian and other homes led by involved, overprotective mothers, the helicopters have been hovering for decades.

And what’s wrong with that?

In Jesse Q. Sutanto’s new book Dial A for Aunties (movie rights optioned by Netflix), Meddy Chan has made every life decision in deference to her mother and her mother’s three sisters—where to go to college, where to work, even to give up her college boyfriend rather than choosing him over them.

Click on the link below to read the complete review.

Soooo... I had a book hangover from ARSENIC AND ADOBO when I read this one and it DEFINITELY affected my feelings toward it.

Okay so this caught my attention with the mention of murder in the synopsis. I kinda expected a cozy mystery with meddling family, weddings, and romance. This one is definitely more romance- not that I didn't like it. It's like getting milk when you're drinking from a water fountain.

Good! Just not what you expected.

Prepare yourself for 'wet-your-britches' laughter in this South-Asian American romp of hijinks and family that brings to mind a cross between Arsenic and Old Lace and Weekend at Bernies. By a new to me author who made the Chan family immigrant story into a pip of a wedding industry second chance romcom mystery.

Dial A for Aunties introduces Meddy Chan, a thoroughly modern Asian American woman who straddles respect and honor to her family heritage (because she knows full well the sacrifices her mother and aunties made to give her a good life in America and feels she owes them) and her own dreams of life, love, and career not dictated by others. She already gave up on her first and true love with Nathan to stick by family when they were starting up their wedding business. 'Big Aunt' is the baker, 'Second Aunt' the make up and hair artist, mother the floral designer, and 'Fourth Aunt' the wedding singer. All are quirky, dramatic, and utterly outrageous. Loved the aunts! Meddy wants to live up to their expectations after the men in their lives (husband and sons) all took off to follow their own thing- aka the Chan family curse, but she is feeling restless and bored photographing bride and groomzillas and wants the chance to photograph what draws her in.

Things really take off when Meddy accidentally kills her blind date and panics. The aunts help, but somehow the body ends up at their latest wedding gig as does Meddy's true love, Nathan. It got crazy fun and I cracked up as that body whooshed in and out of the scenes before the wedding and I wondered when (not if) the antics would be discovered. And, that led to even more surprising twists and mayhem.

While this is a ridiculously fun romp, the author developed the characters well, set the backdrop, and kept the plot on course. Meddy had to figure out how to tell the aunties and her mother what she was thinking and take some charge of her life if she wanted her own chance. The author also gave insight into the experience of Asian Americans who straddle the gap between where they came from and where they are now. Meddy's family had the immigration from China to Indonesia and then to America with all the cultural complications that can bring.

I had a good time with this one and can't wait to see what the author comes up with next. Maybe those boy cousins can return and get an adventure with the aunties? Those who enjoy rompy romcoms or chicklits should definitely pick this one up.