title: Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderersauthor: Jesse Q. Sutanto
series: Vera Wong #1
published: 3.14.2023
publisher: Berkley
genre(s): cozy mystery
pages: 334
source: library
format: eBook
buy/shelve it: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | BookBub | BookHype | StoryGraph | Goodreads
rating:
| series rating: the blurb
Put the kettle on, there’s a mystery brewing…Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?
Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet).
But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.
Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth.
a few notes
POV: 3rd person; multi
setting: San Francisco, California
keywords/phrases: family, betrayal, dysfunction
tropes: family drama, found family, unlikable victim, dramatic reveal, own voices
spice: 0/5
language: 4/5🤬🤬🤬🤬
mood reading: in the mood for a cozy with diverse characters, witty dialogue, and a great story.
bonus points: Vera’s inner dialogue; yummy descriptions of food
awards: Barry Award Nominee for Best Paperback Original Mystery or Crime Novel (2023), Audie Award for Mystery (2023), Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original (2023), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Mystery/Thriller (2022), Libby Award for Best Mystery (2023)
my review
This book just enraptured me from the first page. There is something utterly endearing about Vera, even as she steamrolls everyone around her. Only Vera would find herself connected to a murder, thanks to a body found in her teahouse. And only Vera would take it upon herself to investigate, settling on four people as her suspects and somehow drawing them in as her found family even as she casts aspersions upon them. It’s clear she sees something in them, sees that they are struggling, and she takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of everything… their struggles and the murder.
This is a story that definitely has “cozy mystery” vibes, but it is just as much a contemporary fiction with the relationship dynamics and personal stories that are so much the focus of the plot. In a lot of ways, it’s a self-journey story, albeit it five of them woven together as Vera and her suspects alike embark on reclaiming their lives in new ways.
Vera’s character is definitely the driving force behind the entire book, her aggressive love and opinions foisted upon on anyone she finds worthy. She is completely self-assured in her intelligence, beliefs, and behavior, with more self-confidence than I think I’ve ever seen. Somehow, she was equal parts adorable and utterly annoying, and yet I loved every moment of her!
All in all, a truly enjoyable book!
About Jesse Q. Sutanto
Jesse Q Sutanto grew up shuttling back and forth between Jakarta and Singapore and sees both cities as her homes. She has a Masters degree from Oxford University, though she has yet to figure out a way of saying that without sounding obnoxious. She is currently living back in Jakarta on the same street as her parents and about seven hundred meddlesome aunties. When she’s not tearing out her hair over her latest WIP, she spends her time baking and playing FPS games. Oh, and also being a mom to her two kids
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2025 52 Books Reading Challenge
- 2025 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge
- 2025 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge: Author Edition
- 2025 Beat the Backlist Reading Challenge
- 2025 Craving For Cozies Reading Challenge
- 2025 Linz the Bookworm & Logophile Reading Challenge
- 2025 PopSugar Reading Challenge
- 2025 What’s In A Name Reading Challenge
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