What was the last book you read that surprised you? Happy Publication Day to VERA WONG! Not to be confused with Vera Wang. I’m a fan of the DIAL A FOR AUNTIES series and happily thought that this story would be a cozy-like mystery about a meddling woman, stirring up trouble, cooking delicious food, and somehow solving a murder in her free time. I was right about a couple of things, but this book had so much unexpected depth that I enjoyed it immensely more.
 
why my nose was in this book:
This story was so heartwarming, it was like a big hug, it made me smile
Surprisingly, the mystery aspect of the story took a backseat for me, instead focusing on the friendships that Vera fosters with the “suspects” and their returned admiration with her
I enjoyed playing detective, reading the character POVs and puzzling out the unspoken relation that each person had with the dead guy that was found in Vera’s teashop
Vera was hilarious, from her meddling in the investigation – outlining the body, making tea for the detectives, she was such a joy to read and I loved that mixed in with her silly naivety, there was a seriousness to her that was unexpected and welcomed
I loved how she gathered these “suspects” together and treated them as friends, while also secretly figuring out whether one of them was the killer
This story made me reach for a snack time and time again, I was drooling over my Kindle, reading about the delicious food that Vera cooked for her suspects

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers was such a fun novel! This was absolutely a hoot. I hope there are more books when Vera coming!

Vera Wong is a lonely old lady and she owns her own tea shop in Chinatown of San Francisco. One day she comes to her store to find a dead body in her store! He’s holding a flash drive; Vera calls the cops, but she can’t help but take the flash drive to see what’s on it. She thinks the killer will be back for it and she just has to wait and watch.

Lots of people have motive for the murder and Vera gets to know a few suspects. One is the dead man’s wife, one is a supposed reporter who is investigating and one is even the dead man’s twin brother! Vera becomes friends with these people, but she still can’t figure out who killed Marshall.

Vera is such a meddling woman, but she really means the best. Her son doesn’t call enough and she’s just looking for friends to keep her company. She truly thinks she is helping. She has had a rough time since her husband passed away and this is the most excitement she’s had in a while.

Thank you to @berkleypub and @prhaudio for my ALC. Vera Wong is out now!

How hard can it be to solve the case of the murdered body in her tea shop? Vera’s got experience after all. Like any self-respecting Asian mother she’s had tabs on her son’s life. Jesse Sutanto does it again with her winning writing style and plot full of all the mischief and mayhem a reader can want.

Vera Wong lives alone above her small tea shop, snooping online to keep an eye on her son and the modern times, and distributing her own brand of Asian wisdom with her tea. Her monotonous life gets a charge when she finds the dead body in her shop. The police aren’t the exciting cops from the TV dramas and she decides to take the case especially since she might have swiped a primary bit of evidence from the body after she called the police. It must be one of the people who came into the shop afterwards who are looking for that thumb drive she found on the body.

Vera’s antics in working the case are her own and, while investigating her chief suspects, she gets to know them and rather likes them. Her days are colorful and interesting, but someone did murder and that somebody has to be getting desperate.

I read the Dial A for Aunties duo and Vera has that spirited, over the top, hilarious old lady Asian charm going for her that reminded me strongly of the Aunties. But, in this case, Vera is the main perspective so I had all the fun of being inside her head and getting her point of view. She’s pushy, bossy, nosey, and makes up the rules when she feels she must, but she’s also caring and interested in others. I loved that she went from lonely to pulling a fun band of people about her through her new detecting project.

I worked out some bits of the mystery, but not who the killer was. I didn’t feel sorry for Marshal the victim and I was really hoping it was none of her new friends. In truth, I just sat back and got a kick out of Vera.
All in all, it was meant to be fun and light. It fits with the cozy mystery feel so I’ll recommend it to those who enjoy that genre and especially with some foodie, some tea, and lots of Asian auntie to go around.

Being a fan of the Aunties series (Dial A For Aunties), I was more than excited to receive an advanced copy of Sutano’s newest release; Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murderers. Vera is absolutely a new favorite character of mine and I will be all in for anything else that features her ❤️🙌 She is tiny, nosey, bossy, aggressive and one of the most endearing characters you’ll meet on the page!

Vera is the proud owner of a tea house and follows a strict daily routine of rising early, getting in a good walk around the neighborhood and running her business. When she walks into her tea house one morning and discovers a dead body, Vera’s new role as amateur detective begins. She is only helping the police out by drawing the body outline, right!? And…maybe taking a clue and putting it in her pocket. Well let’s face it, she’s not helping them out. The truth is, she can solve the murder better!

The whole cast of characters is wonderful. It’s fun to read about Vera bulldozing her way into their lives, feeding them amazing food (this book will make you hungry) and letting them know she suspects them all of murder and is going to figure out which one did it. Sounds crazy, right? Yeah, it is a little. But everyone soon realizes we should all be so lucky to have a Vera in our lives ❤️

I HIGHLY recommend this book if you love:
🫖 Cozy Mysteries
🫖 Laughing
🫖 Tea
🫖 Happy, lighthearted reads
🫖 Memorable Characters
🫖 Chinese Food 🍱

I enjoyed this cozy mystery! I especially liked the multiple povs and well fleshed out characters. There are heartwarming themes of found family and culture incorporated. It was slower paced but not super twisty. I also think it was less entertaining than DAFA, but the character development and like-ability is better in this one. I also liked how it wrapped up!

A great cozy mystery.

This is my favorite book by Jesse Sutanto. I've loved everything I've read but this! This! A great whodunnit, found family feels, and the descriptions of food! Vera is such a loveable character, she's tough as nails but so kind and smart. Truly this is such an excellent mystery with the perfect amount of emotional pull. Sutanto always writes books with so much heart that are always so worth the read. I hope we get more about Vera!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was in the mood for something lighter, and the cover of Jesse Q. Sutanto's newest mystery Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice For Murderers beckoned me to pick it up. Am I ever glad I did!

Vera Wong is a 60 year-old widow who begins each day at 4:30am precisely and texts her laywer son "reminding him that he's sleeping his life away and should have been up before her" as he has a "whole world to conquer." Then she dons her sweatpants, Ralph Lauren polo shirt, and visor and heads out for her daily walk around her San Francisco Chinatown neighborhood.

When she returns home, she opens her business "Vera Wang's World Famous Teahouse", which is neither owned by the famous fashion designer Vera Wang nor world famous. Sematics. She waits for her only customer of the day, her neighbor Alex, who comes in to get tea and bring it back to wife who is suffering from Alzheimer's.

Everyday is the same until one morning when Vera comes down from her upstairs apartment to find the dead body of a man in her teahouse. Vera calls the police and is excited because she watches all the CSIs and she knows all the activity that will follow. She begins to brew special teas for the police, teas that will help with concentration and solve the crime.

When only two police officers arrive, they find that Vera drew an outline of the body with a Sharpie marker on the floor. She says she did not touch anything else (do we believe that?) and when the police find little evidence of a murder, Vera is disappointed in the police's lack of investigation.

So of course, Vera begins her own investigation. Other people trickle in- a man who claims to be a reporter, a woman who claims to host a true crime podcast, the man's widow with her young daughter, and the man's brother. These five people band together to try and find the killer, even though Vera has declared that one of the other four are her main suspects.

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice For Murderers is a laugh out loud cozy mystery, and Vera is a truly unforgettable character. The things she says, the texts she sends her son, and yet she has a heart of gold beneath her lack of a filter. If you are a fan of the Hulu series Only Murders In The Building, you'll love this book. It has the same sensibility.

My only criticism is that Vera is described several times as "elderly". I am also 60 years old and many of my friends are "of a certain age" and I do not consider myself or them "elderly". It's supposed to be remarkable that Vera is so spry, but we all get around just fine. I hope when they do the TV series of this book they make Vera a little older than 60. I look forward to more of Vera's future escapades.

Thanks to Berkley for providing me with an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I think "Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?" is probably the best way to sell this, but also this is really funny!

Vera Wong is an older woman who has lost touch with her son as well as the larger world, though she would argue against that since she keeps up on the lingo and surfs the internet to search for the latest trend. She runs her tea shop (Vera Wang's (not a spelling error on my part) World-Famous Teahouse) and sends her son a wall of text but no one seems to respond except her one regular customer. She does the same thing every day and feels some tiredness but isn't sure how to get off the treadmill. Until she's violently shaken by the discovery of a dead body, that of Marshall Chen, in her shop.
An inveterate watcher of crime shows, Vera knows just what to do. She pats down the body, draws a chalk outline, then calls the police. While waiting, she tidies the shop and makes the police tea. She doesn't understand why they are so upset with her, nor why they get so annoyed at her asking if they want a drink. She made her best tea, one that will help them think clearly.
Well. She's going to find out what is going on and puts out an obituary for the body. From that come three people: the man's wife, his twin, a mysterious young man claiming to be a reporter, and a young woman who puts out true crime podcasts (although that also seems suspect as Marshall's death was declared a suicide).
Vera bulldozes into these characters lives and we get to see them come together to solve the mystery of why Marshall died. A bonus? Vera gets to spend a little time with her son as well.
Sometimes it can get a little much with alternating view points but Sutanto handles it wonderfully providing glimpses into a number of characters without losing pacing. I'm really hoping there is another book in the series and that it shows Vera and Gladys (the old woman in the other hospital bed) becoming friends.

Four and a half stars
This book comes out March 14, 2023
ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Oh man. I’m in love. Vera is now my favorite book character. She’s the best. I want one of her in my life.

All of the food and teas mentioned in this book sound amazing. Are there teahouses? Someone take me to one.

The character development was superb. Multiple POVs but easy to follow. A murder mystery, with a side mystery thrown in, family drama, humor, romance, straight talk, words of wisdom, and more humor.

Read this book. It’s amazing.

In terms of a cozy mystery, this hit all the spots I needed it to. Vera was such a unique and endearing character, and I would easily read more books with her as the MC. I loved the descriptions of food and tea and the way she's trying to learn all the Gen Z lingo. In terms of the mystery itself, that's where it fell flat for me. I feel like there were a lot of explanations of the supporting cast's reasons for not liking Marshall and then at the end, it amounted to nothing. It felt a bit disconnected, and the twist didn't feel as satisfying as it usually does in a cozy mystery. I also feel like there was more telling than showing when it came to character growth and emotions which ended up making this feel not as immersive as I'd hoped. Overall still a super cute read, Vera made it so worth it!

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers is a hold onto your hat cozy mystery that takes place in a tea shop in San Francisco’s Chinatown. A fun mystery with a wonderful mix of flawed characters that it was a pleasure to get to know. I didn’t want it to end!

**Thank you NetGalley for an electronic ARC in exchange for a fair and unbiased review of this book.

Thank you @berkleypub for the free book and @prhaudio for the audio version as well. #penguinrandomhousepartner
#berkleypartner #berkley #berkleybookstagram

This is a thoroughly entertaining, laugh-out-loud read! I absolutely loved the character of Vera. She is everything you see on television about the stereotypical Asian mother…overprotective, knows what is best for everyone else, and tells it how she sees it!

When Vera discovers a dead body in her Ancient Chinese Tearoom, she calls the police. She is disappointed to see that the police do not give the case the priority she thinks it deserves, so she decides to investigate herself. Never mind if she “slightly” tampers with the evidence, keeps something secret from the police, or helps them out by drawing the outline around the body herself! Soon she has a list of suspects and she goes about casually inserting herself into their lives. As she works to solve the murder, she sees herself as  the famous Agatha Christie detective, Hercules Poirot. Her suspects fall into place and obey her every command as Vera weaves wisdom into their lives! The surprising conclusion is wrapped up nicely!

The audio version is absolutely wonderful! Narrated by Eunice Wong, the accents are perfect and really add to the listening enjoyment.

Read this if you enjoy:
*Delightful main characters
*Laugh-out loud humor
*Agatha Christie mysteries

"Vera Wong Zhuzhu ... is a pig, but she really should have been born a rooster." From the first sentence, I knew I was going to love Jesse Q. Sutanto's latest book set in San Francisco's Chinatown. It has all the cozy mystery feels, and then some, with abundant humor and plot twists. Vera is the sixty-year-old owner of a tea shop that has exactly one customer. She's OK living alone, as long as she can have her just-right-for-the-occasion cup of tea, access to Google, and an aiya-listen-to-your-mother-themed text thread aimed at her only son. When she descends from her lonely apartment one day into her equally lonely tea shop, she finds a dead man in the middle of the shop floor. She's pretty sure she can do a better job than the police in solving this mystery, so amateur sleuth Vera Wong sets off a series of events that draw a cast of curious characters into her tea shop and into her life, which will never be the same lonely existence again. I love Vera, I love her tea and cooking prowess, and I love the wit and warmth of this book. 5 stars.

[Thanks to Berkley | Penguin Random House and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy and share my opinion of this book.]

i loved the premise of this, but it felt like it dragged on a bit. the found family aspect was lovely, and i enjoyed vera as a narrator immensely, but the murder kind of seemed unnecessary. this could have been a book completely void of crime and would have worked well, maybe better. by the end i was reading for the characters and not to find out who did it, which to me is more about sutanto’s character creation then murder mystery skills.

This book was amazing. The multiple POVs and watching these strangers come together made me so happy. I love how Sutanto infused humor into serious topics while still handling them delicately. My mouth was watering and my heart was so happy and full

Vera Wong has been living a quiet, and lonely life since her son has grown, and her husband passed away. She opens her tea shop every day but customers are thin and besides texting her son “helpful” advice, which he mostly ignores, nothing much happens out of her normal routine until she wakes and discovers a body in her tea shop. The police’s response is lackluster in Vera’s opinion and so she sets out to solve the murder on her own, because everyone knows the killer always returns to the scene of the crime! All Vera needs to do is sit back and wait for her suspect to arrive.

Vera was very sure of how life should go and was puzzled why people didn’t automatically agree with her, like the police. She was hilarious!

Of course, there were people connected to the dead man that did show up and Vera adds them to her suspect list as she makes them tea, cooks for them, asks them questions and then tells them what they should be doing with their lives. These “suspects” end up benefiting from her help and they brighten Vera’s life, too, but is one of them a murderer?

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers was such fun! I had to laugh at her “helpful” texts sent to her son at 4:30 am, “reminding him that he’s sleeping his life away”! I remember being annoyed by early phone calls from my dad or grandma, and they weren’t at 4:30 am! It was heartwarming to see Vera’s love and attention help others, helping her in turn. The story was humorous, moving and uplifting and I’d definitely recommend it to others!

I have loved Jesse Q. Sutanto's writing since I read Dial A for Aunties, and this book captured the laugh out loud humor and fast pace that I have come to expect from her as an author.

Vera Wong is the owner of a world famous tea shop. Well, not world famous, but she's named it that anyway. When one day she enters the store to find a man dead on the floor, she sees only one solution- she must solve this obvious murder herself, because the police are clearly not up for the task. Embracing her role as a novice sleuth, she assembles a list of suspects made up of the man's newly separated wife, his twin brother, a man posing as a reporter, and a woman who claims to run a true crime podcast. Vera wants to solve the crime, but she didn't anticipate the bond that she would form with the very people she believes could be murderers.

This book was so. dang. chaotic. And I loved every moment of it. Vera was an absolute icon, from how stubbornly she just blows past every conceivable boundary to her blunt nature, and I completely adored her. I had so much fun reading her POV because she is, quite simply, unstoppable. She is a born meddler, and the other characters can do nothing but give in to her persistence.

I did not expect there to be so many different perspectives in this book, but I was living for each one that was introduced. Julia, Sana, Riki, and Oliver all have something to hide, and I could not put the book down until all the secrets are out in the open. A special shout out must be given to little Emma. I hated to see how Marshall treated her and Julia, but it made it even more heartwarming to see how she gets brought out of her shell by Vera and the rest of the gang.

Speaking of our gang, the thing that stood out to me the most was the found family dynamic. It was the last thing I expected from a book like this but I was so in love with how quickly the characters formed friendships with each other. They were all brought together coincidentally, but their presence in each others lives improved them all for the better in such heartwarming and wholesome ways. Never did I expect a book in which you are trying to deduce the murderer from a group of suspects as "wholesome" but here we are.

If you're looking for a fast-paced cozy mystery with characters that are to-die for, and a mystery that will keep you hooked until the end, then you should absolutely check out this book.

Vera Wong is a sexagenarian - not a little old lady in my view - whose once busy tea shop has only one customer. A customer with an ailing wife and who can only visit for scant moments. One day, when Vera heads downstairs to the tea shop, she makes a shocking discovery. There is a dead man lying on the floor of her shop.

Vera is no wilting flower. In fact, even before she calls the police, she takes specific measures because she immediately has decided in her mind to figure out who the man is and why he was killed in her shop. Not only do the police soon arrive, but no less than four different individuals who have never once visited her shop show up soon thereafter.

Her logic tells her that one of the four of these strangers must be the killer. With tasty food and good company, Vera gets to know these four individuals, and these include the victim’s wife and his twin brother Oliver. For the first time in her lonely life, Vera dons the hat of an amateur sleuth. As far as she is concerned, the police aren’t doing enough and considering the body was found in her shop, she is doing exactly what she should be doing.

What a charming story. Vera was easy to love, as were her four new “friends”. I felt like I was arm in arm with Vera as she sought answers. With the chapters alternating in POVs, this was definitely an engaging and easy read. One thing is for certain: I am about to go make a cup of tea.

Many thanks to Berkley Books and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

★ ★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S VERA WONG'S UNSOLICITED ADVICE FOR MURDERERS ABOUT?
I'm not sure that I can answer this question without just recapping the entire novel—but without the charm and warmth.

JUST TRY...
How much time do you have?

IT PUBLISHES TODAY, YOU NEED TO GET SOMETHING POSTED. JUST GIVE US THE SETUP
Okay, okay, I'll attempt it—but I really want to spend the next hour just regurgitating the whole thing.

Vera Wong is an older Chinese woman, the owner of a small tea shop in San Francisco's Chinatown. It's dark, dingy, and doesn't get much in the way of customers. She has one regular that she can count on to stop in early in the morning, and then spends most of the rest of the day waiting for someone else to walk in and order. Typically in vain. But it's her life—she has nothing else to do with her time—her husband is dead, and her son is busy with work. So busy that he rarely has time to visit—or acknowledge all of the super-helpful advice she gives him to succeed at work and/or to find a wife. This doesn't stop her from texting or calling him frequently to offer the advice, it should be noted.

Then one day, she comes down the stairs from her apartment above the shop to discover a dead body in the middle of the floor. She has little faith that the police will be able to tell her who killed the man, so she decides to discover the identity of the killer for them. How hard can it be? She's watched plenty of procedurals, is smart, and (unlike Sherlock Holmes) is a suspicious Chinese mother. The murderer doesn't stand a chance.

So she helps herself to a little bit of the evidence before the police arrive so that she can hunt for the murderer. It'll be a good change of pace for her.

She sets a trap for the murderer and ends up with four good suspects, it'll just take her some time to figure out who killed him and why. In the meantime, she sees at least three younger people that need some guidance to get their lives in order—she decides to take that on along with her murder investigation.

VERA
I'd like to spend a few pages talking about Vera—I'm certain that if you ask me in December, she's still going to be one of my favorite characters of 2023.

She is so human—such a mass of contradictions and differing impulses. The fact that at her, um, advanced age she's able to chart a new course for her life, to let people in, and adapt gives me a little hope.

But it's her spirit, her way of looking at the world, and not backing down that's really inspiring.

Once she's done with these characters, I could use a grandmother like this.

BE CAREFUL
Vera knows her tea, she spends a lot of time and energy on it—certain that she can make someone just the right kind of tea for whatever they're facing to help them through the day. If you can make it through a chapter or two (especially in the early chapters) without needing a cup of your own, I'd like to know how.

But other than needing to take the time to boil water and steep your tea, that's not a big deal (unless you're inspired to go shopping for more teas, which can get expensive—and can distract you from your reading). However, Vera also spends a lot of time cooking for her new friends and suspects. And she ends up spending more time cooking than making tea.

This is where you need to be careful—if you're not, you could find yourself putting on a few pounds before the killer is identified. Sutanto's descriptions of Vera's creations—and the way everyone responds to them—are so vivid, so enticing, they can send you to your pantry for a snack—or to your food delivery app of choice to order some Chinese food.

I'm not saying that you should avoid these portions of the book—just be prepared so you can fight temptation (or have a handy justification to indulge yourself, if that's more your preference).

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT VERA WONG'S UNSOLICITED ADVICE FOR MURDERERS?
By the time I got halfway through the opening paragraph, I'd started coming up with a list of people to recommend this book to. There was something about the voice that just jumped off of the page (er, screen) and said, "You're going to have fun with this." And I absolutely did—but there was more to it than that, being around these characters felt comfortable. I just wanted to spend time in their presence—like Stars Hollow, CT; the locker room of AFC Richmond; the Parks and Rec Department of Pawnee, IN; the Jigsaw Room of Cooper's Chase retirement village; or Knight's Bookstore in Abbi Waxman's L.A. I don't remember the last time that I read a cozy mystery that was so worthy of the title "Cozy."

Yes, I wanted to figure it out. Yes, I wanted to know what happened to the characters and wanted closure for this period in their lives. But I read as slowly as I could because I wanted to linger.

It's not just Vera that creates that feeling—it's the other characters' reactions to her, as well as their relationships with each other. Yes, she is undeniably the center of this little world, but it wouldn't work without the others.

There's a lot of gentle humor and heart—that's what fills this charming work. But that's not all of it—there are laugh-out-loud moments, as well, and real emotions. There's a budding romance, a rekindled friendship, family ties, and a lot of people finding the confidence to step out into something new—or into something they've tried before and have been scared to try again. The found family that's created along the way makes all of that possible—particularly the last part—the mutual support (in various forms) and encouragement from the others enable the others to make those steps.

I don't want to give the impression that this book is all sunshine, flowers, and good times. There are portions of this that are hard to get through, sure—there's a suspicious death, criminal behavior—at the very least the actions of a scoundrel—heartbreak and a great deal of loneliness and despair. But Sutanto doesn't leave us there for long—she grounds the book in it, but provides a way forward—through grit, determination, and the help of others.

The murder investigation was fine—probably more than fine, actually. It was a clever little story, with plenty of good suspects and nice twists. But the book isn't all that interested in the murder investigation, really. It's just an excuse for these people to come together and start interacting. Vera herself doesn't really want any of her suspects to be guilty—she's too busy meddling in their lives to improve them (in selfless acts of assistance only, she'd hurry to tell you). But she keeps plugging away at her little list of suspects because it's something she's started—and wouldn't it be exciting to actually find a murderer? (even if it's someone she doesn't want to get into any kind of trouble).

I talk about mysteries more than anything else here, and the fact that I'd started wrapping up the post without addressing the mystery part of this book says a lot to me. It's the driving force behind the plot and the instigating incident—but again—it's secondary to the rest of the storylines. Still, most readers will have a hard time finding sympathy for the murdered man, and more than once you'll likely wonder if it'd really be that bad if no one figures out who did it. You probably won't feel the way you usually do when a murder is solved when the culprit is named, either.

There's just so much to commend about this book—and so little to quibble with—I'm on the verge of repeating myself and/or overhyping this thing (but boy howdy, does it deserve a lot of hype!). So I'm just going to leave it with this—go get your hands on a copy, brew yourself a nice pot of tea (I promise you're going to want tea), and lose yourself in this book for a few hours.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from Berkley Publishing Group via NetGalley in exchange for this post—thanks to both for this.