Vera Wong is a delightful character who runs a tea shop in San Francisco. She loves to manage the lives of her family and friends and the challenge of a good mystery. In the second entry in the series, Vera is the victim of a telephone scam. After reporting it to the police, she meets a young woman, Millie, outside the police station. After learning Millie’s story, she begins an investigation in the disappearance of Millie’s friend, Thomas. The investigation takes Vera into a surprising series of events.

3.5 stars

Vera Wong, who owns 'Vera Wang's World-Famous Teahouse' in San Francisco, describes herself as a typical Chinese mother. This means Vera is respectable, would do anything for her children, knows all there is to know, is good at sniffing out wrongdoing, and - in general - is a formidable force. Vera recently solved a murder case, and having caught the 'detective bug', Vera is looking for another homicide to clear up. Vera's investigative method is to ply everyone with delightful teas and scrumptious food, which induces people to confide in her.

Happily for Vera, she stumbles on another mystery when she goes to the San Francisco Police Department to report a phone scam. A Chinese girl named Millie is hovering in front of the police station, looking uncertain. Vera whisks Millie off to her teahouse and plies her with tea made with dried candied winter melon peel with goji berries and rose petals. Millie then confides that her Chinese-Indonesian friend Thomas is missing, and she's afraid something bad happened to him. Millie shows Vera a photo of Thomas, who looks like a K-pop star, and Vera wants to find him, but doesn't know how.

Then Vera lucks out. While cat-sitting for her son Tilly - a lawyer, and his girlfriend Selena - a police detective, Vera spies Selena's briefcase and snoops inside. Among other things Vera finds a file about an Asian-American man fished out of Mile Rock Beach, a suspected suicide. The unidentified man is a John Doe, and when Vera looks at his picture, she discovers he's Millie's missing friend Thomas. On Instagram, Thomas is an influencer who calls himself Xander, and his photos feature fancy parties and private jets. When Vera shares this information with Millie, the girl is shocked because Thomas could never afford this lifestyle.

Vera is certain Xander was murdered, and - against the advice of her family and friends - sets out to discover who killed him. Vera manages to track down Xander's talent manager TJ Vasquez; Xander's influencer girlfriend Aimes; and Xander's honorary grandfather Qiang Wen. However, despite Vera's wonderful food, they all seem to be keeping secrets. Vera then becomes a culinary star on Tiktok, and uses her platform to seek information about Xander. Unfortunately, someone doesn't want Vera investigating Xander's death, and she's vandalized and threatened - but this doesn't deter a Chinese mother.

The story is filled with interesting people, including Vera's neighbors in Chinatown and her 'extended family' - really a group of people Vera met during her first murder investigation.

Vera is both annoying and endearing, as seen in her interactions with others. For example:
Vera calls her son Tilly's girlfriend Selena her 'future daughter-in-law', and encourages the couple to have 'sexy time' so she can have grandbabies.
Sixty-year-old Vera calls herself a little old lady when it suits her, but she actually thinks of herself as a spry forty-year-old.
Vera carries Tiffin containers filled with food almost everywhere she goes, and feeds everyone in sight.
Vera constantly spars with her Chinese neighbor Winifred, who has a Korean/French patisserie, and - to Vera's envy - has two adorable grandbabies.

The story has a dark undercurrent of criminal activity that's central to the plot. In the end, Vera is a fun heroine who solves a crime and adds to her family of 'adopted kinfolk.'

Many yummy foods are featured in the book, such as Chinese barbecue pork; salt and pepper squid; cold peanut noodles; three-cup chicken; vegetarian dumplings; and more.

I enjoyed the novel and look forward to more of Vera Wong's adventures.

Thanks to Netgalley, Jesse Q. Sutanto, and Berkley Publishing Group for a copy of the book.

Vera Wong is back, and she's nosier than ever. In Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man), Jesse Q. Sutanto serves up another delightful cozy mystery with a side of dumplings and unsolicited advice.

This time, Vera stumbles upon a case involving a drowned influencer with more aliases than a spy. While cat-sitting for her son Tilly and his detective girlfriend Selena, Vera finds a file in Selena’s briefcase about the mysterious death. Naturally, she takes it upon herself to investigate, because why let the professionals have all the fun?

What follows is a hilarious, heartwarming romp through San Francisco’s Chinatown as Vera inserts herself into the lives of her suspects—who inconveniently start becoming her friends. Between dumpling tutorials, TikTok fame, and full-on emotional interventions, Vera proves she’s as much therapist as detective.

The mystery? Surprisingly layered. It kicks off with a suspicious death and a cast of characters who all have something to hide. While some of the twists are easy to spot, the real joy here isn’t in the shocking reveal—it’s in watching Vera steamroll her way to the truth with sass, insight, and way too much tea.

This book is funny, quirky, and completely entertaining. Come for the murder, stay for the dumplings, and leave with a warm heart and maybe a craving for oolong. Vera Wong is a national treasure.

** Thanks to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for a complimentary review copy. The opinions are my own.

While I adore Vera Wong and her sassy way of butting into everyone's business, I wasn't as enamored with this story as I was with the first book. In this story, Vera is scammed over the phone into believing her credit card was stolen. She tells her son and his girlfriend, who is a cop. They are able to help her, but Vera notices a young girl loitering outside of the police station. This young woman has a secret and a friend who is missing. When the friend later is found dead, Vera believes he was murdered and decides to investigate. She thinks she is able to solve this mystery since she solved a murder before.
Her antics and methods are endearing, and there are definitely some laugh out loud moments. The crime is a bit serious and I thought it was interesting how the author highlighted the issues around the problem.
I look forward to book 3 in the series!

This one gave me all the Asian mom vibes! Vera Wong is annoying, determined, set in her ways and reminded me so much of my own mother. The story was a typical cozy mystery full of endearing characters and great writing.

✨ Review ✨ Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto; narrated by Eunice Wong

Thanks to Berkley, PRHAudio, and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

Vera is back in another super fun mystery filled with her shenanigans and a new cast of characters to fall in love with. Alongside the fun word play and mishaps, the book digs into more serious topics of human trafficking. I loved this balance of light and heavy throughout this book.

In addition, this book will make you hungry as ever! Vera is still cooking for all her friends and found family, and everyone is constantly eating and drinking tea. Make sure not to read this one on an empty stomach.

🎧 Eunice Wong delivers in this book, bringing the serious parts of the book and the funny parts together in a way that seamlessly fits together. A joy to listen to!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(4.25)
Genre: mystery
Setting: San Francisco
Length: 10 hours 34 minutes
Reminds me of: Vera Wong #1, Finlay Donovan, Sutanto's Aunties Books
Pub Date: Apr 01 2025

Read this if you like:
⭕️ cozy mysteries
⭕️ funny immigrant elders
⭕️ found family stories
⭕️ Chinese food

(4.25/5 stars)

Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (On a Dead Man) is the second cozy mystery in the eponymous series by Jesse Q. Sutanto.

This series is so fun! The book picks up about a year after the first novel, when Vera finds out about a John Doe that was fished out of Mission Bay. He appeared to be starting out as an online influencer, so Vera decides that maybe she should becoming an influencer to find out more about the case.

I borrowed the audiobook from my local library. Eunice Wong does such a great job narrating! With five separate POV characters, she had her work cut out for her, but it was easy for me to keep up with who we were following due to her using distinct inflections or accents for each individual character.

It was great getting all of the updates from some of the characters we met in the first book. Vera's son Tilly has been dating officer Selena Grey, and they have just moved in together. Emma continues to be a darling (who really reminds me of myself at her age). There's also an exploration of loneliness and grief from a good number of our characters which I really appreciated. And all of the tea and food mentioned sounds so delicious!

Head's up that this one has some heavier topics than the first one did, so check CWs if you want more information. Though there's heavy topics, it's still a pretty funny book overall. I lost count of how many times I laughed out loud.

CW: human trafficking, physical and emotional abuse, torture (mostly off-page)

This was another wild mystery with Vera Wong. The story had me hooked and I loved the twists and turns it lead me on. Vera is such a fun character and I enjoyed going on another adventure with her. I loved seeing both old and new characters! I appreciated that there was a little less swearing in this one compared to the first, but the language was still a little strong for me. This book was very well written and the plot was enthralling.

I was so glad to be back in the world of Vera again! For those of you who didn’t read the first book, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, please stop what you’re doing and read it now! Vera is one of my all time favorite characters, and I love how the audiobook version brings her to life!

This book has great characters, the best found family, sassy Vera, and her delicious teas. I was laughing, rooting for everyone, and eager to find out how everything would come together. So so good!!

Thank you Berkley Books, #partner, for the advanced e-copy of Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) in exchange for my honest review.

I only recently made the acquaintance of Vera, knowing that this 2nd book in the series was coming out and I cannot tell you how much I have come to love her! She is just the type of character I can escape the world with right now…and I really hope there will be more adventures with her soon!

This second installment in the series was just as fun, if not more so, than the first book and while it absolutely can be read as I stand-alone, I highly encourage you to read this series in order just because you will really come to appreciate the cast of characters that Vera surrounds herself with that much more.

Vera once again finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. She is such a fun amateur sleuth – and I love how she takes herself so seriously at doing her best to solve the crime! She really believes she can do the job the police cannot, including her son’s girlfriend, Officer Selena Gray. I love watching these two go head-to-head at times.

While I would definitely consider these to be more of the cozy mysteries than anything else, this one does delve a little bit into some darker matters at times. But nothing too gory or graphic. For the most part, it’s a light-hearted, fun mystery that is full of laugh-out-loud moments and antics that I cannot recommend enough!

Vera Wong is back — just as meddling, nosy, and lovable as ever. In this delightful follow-up to "Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers," Jesse Q. Sutanto gives us another cozy mystery filled with giggle-worthy moments, heartfelt connections, and a lot of chaotic sleuthing.

Now surrounded by beloved friends, found family, and her son's new girlfriend, Vera should be content. Enter a missing influencer, a mystery file swiped during a cat-sitting job, and a dead body no one can identify. Naturally, Vera takes the case — because who else is going to solve it "correctly?"

You don't need to read the first book to enjoy this one — though you'll probably want to go back and check it out once you meet Vera. She's outrageous in all the best ways; she will have you laughing, cringing, and cheering her on.

Pick up this book if you want a cozy mystery that's genuinely funny, sweet, and hard to put down. I already can't wait for Vera's next case.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Vera is back. Her life is now full of people to love and make food for, but she is finding it a little dull without a murder to investigate. Fortunately for her, a young distressed woman visits her shop, and in her usual Vera way, she soon finds herself involved with a new mystery. And this time the sleuth may just find she's put herself in the middle of something big - maybe too big!

Vera is a wonderful character. I love her vivacity and the way she moves through life. An added bonus in this new installment is Vera's discovery of social media and learning to make cooking videos to post online. With a whole new cast of characters, along with all the ones we came to love in the first book, Vera is determined to make her found family that much bigger and works hard to protect everyone she's gathered in, all while facing adventure and mystery with her hands full of wonderful food.

This installment touches on a few tough topics, including sex trafficking and abuse of children.

I love Vera and the found family she found in the first book and her continuing that group of rowdy wonderful people in this book all because she finds Millie after reporting identity theft. Her continued snark and just unabashed honesty throughout this book is what makes it such a fun read. It was interesting to learn about human trafficking from a different POV and not just the one we hear so much about but I really enjoyed the overall story and the family and community that Vera has created for herself.

Oh Vera, you are such a delightful mess.
I loved revisiting Vera’s tea shop and pushy personality. This book sees her friendships developing even further and the introduction of a bunch of new characters.
I REALLY enjoyed all the info on “influencing.” It’s so interesting to read about- especially through the eyes of a nosy, old lady. The undertones of this entire mystery were so sad and so so real.
One star removed because I felt like there were so many characters to keep track of and I got them mixed up sometimes.

4.5 stars.

This installment is definitely darker than the first as it tackles some difficult subjects, and there is some mild violence.

Vera's first language is not English. Some of the slang phrases that she tries to use are lost in translation and made me laugh.

This is shaping up to be a favorite series.

4.25 stars! I love this series. I absolutely love Vera. She is nosy, pushy, loving, overbearing, funny, smart, and just a total character. Honestly, I would read almost any story starring her, but it helps that this is an entertaining mystery with lots of twists and turns. Almost everyone we meet in this story is hiding something- from others, from Vera, and most importantly, from themselves. I love that the author not only introduced new characters to us, but let us keep our relationships with the ones we met in book one. I love the development of the begrudging friendship between Vera and Winifred- and can’t wait to hear about their trip which I assume will be book 3! I recommend reading book 1 before book 2. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this as an ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I was disappointed in this sequel. I had high hopes for it because I loved the first book. Although both books are about murder, the first one had a lighter tone because it was funnier. The twist in this book made everything so much heavier and it felt like it could have been its own book. Also, there were characters in the last book that reappeared in this one, but there was no refresher on how they came into Vera's life.

I did enjoy the unique back stories of the new characters and their connections to the case. Vera's relationship with her son and his girlfriend was probably my favorite part. The ending to this book left an opening to a third one. I would be interest in it because of the new location. I just hope the series goes back to the cozy mystery style that I loved about the first book.

Jesse Q. Sutanto’s Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) is an absolute delight—equal parts mystery, humor, and heart! Vera Wong is the ultimate scene-stealer, armed with her inquisitive nature and unshakable determination to stick her nose where it doesn’t belong. Watching her navigate clues, relationships, and hilariously chaotic situations makes this book a joy from start to finish.

The quirky ensemble cast adds depth to the story, each character bringing a fresh perspective and charm. Sutanto seamlessly combines laugh-out-loud moments with an intriguing mystery that will keep you guessing. Plus, Vera’s relentless matchmaking efforts for her son and her future daughter-in-law? Pure comedic gold.

Whether you're here for the lovable Vera, the clever plot, or the whirlwind of emotions, this book delivers everything you’d want in a cozy mystery. Perfect for fans of unconventional sleuths and laugh-out-loud storytelling!

I absolutely loved Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping on a Dead Man! From the very first page, I was thrilled to be back in Vera’s world—there’s just something so comforting and chaotic about her that makes every moment entertaining. One of the highlights for me was seeing familiar characters from the first book make an appearance. It felt like a warm reunion, and I genuinely enjoyed catching up with them.

At the same time, the introduction of new characters brought fresh energy to the story. Each one added their own charm and depth, and I loved watching how they slowly became part of Vera’s ever-growing chosen family. There’s something so wholesome about the way she gathers people around her, even in the middle of a murder investigation.

The mystery itself was twisty and fun—exactly what I was hoping for. Just when I thought I had it figured out, another curveball came my way, keeping me on my toes until the very end. It balanced humor, heart, and suspense so well.

All in all, this was an incredibly enjoyable read. I’m giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars rounded up and already hoping there’s more Vera in the future!

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

After solving her first murder, Vera Wong is riding high. She has her found family and her son is dating a detective. Vera's even calling the detective her daughter-in-law (but she doesn't need to know that.) However, she really could use some more excitement in her life. Falling for a scammer isn't exactly what she had in mind.
This sets off a chain of events that leads to her befriending a young woman with a mysterious past. One that includes a link to a relatively well-known influencer who recently died. So Vera is determined to not only discover what happened to the influencer but to help the young lady.
This was a fine story but there were a LOT of people since it seemed like everyone in the original came back with a whole slate of new characters as well.

Three and a half stars
This book came out April 1, 2024
Vera Wong #2
Follows Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley
Opinions are my own