This was a buddy read with a few of my bookish besties. I am really glad that we had picked this book as I am not sure I would have picked it up on my own and would have ultimately missed out on such charming characters.
“People always say that your wedding day is the happiest day of your life, but honestly, people should try solving murders more often.”
Jesse Q. Sutanto, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
About The Book
Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
Publisher: Berkley
Published Date: March 14th, 2023
Page Count: 339 Pages
Main Genre: Mystery
GoodReads Rating: 4.02
Format: Audio Book
Synopsis
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.
“In her experience, it’s best to nod and agree with what people say before doing exactly what you wanted from the very beginning.”
Jesse Q. Sutanto, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
Rating
When this audiobook started I got a little nervous as I struggle at times when accents are added to them. I find it harder for my brain to catch every word when I am listening at my 1.5 – 2 speed. So instead of DNF’ing the book I lowered the speed of my audio till I got used to hearing the accent. This is something I am going to do from now on as I feel like I am missing a lot of great audiobooks because of this.
The characters in this book were all unique which added such a fun layer to my reading. I was worried having so many characters would get to be too much in moments but they each added an important part to the story and were all so different that they were easy to keep track of. Because of this the story quickly developed the found family trope which is one of my favorite things to read about.
Vera, at times, was annoying but this really didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. In fact, it actually made the story more enjoyable for me, no one is more surprised than I. While Vera was pushy and did not respect peoples space that is what made everyone around her love and respect her in the end. She surely did not keep her thoughts to herself and definitely did not think too much before saying anything but this really helped people to let their guard down around her. Seeing all of these random characters come together because of one woman was so heart warming.
As for the plot, I had no clue who could have committed the murder. The Author did such a good job and making everyone seem suspicious and yet innocent all at the same time. When the killer was revealed I was in genuine shock. I loved how it all played out in the end.
This book kept me laughing around every corner. The way Vera kept comparing the work of the cops to crime shows was hilarious to me and also quite relatable. I am not sure I would have crossed as many lines as Vera did but without her I truly don’t think the cops would have solved this case.
I also found it enjoyable to hear bits and pieces about Chinese cultures. I don’t know as much as I would like to but the way Vera was holding herself as a Chinese Mother was really fun and interesting to me. It got me more curious about the culture and is something I have started to do further research into myself. So I really appreciate that being written into this book.
I suggest picking this book up for a light enjoyable mystery that will keep you guessing till the very end.
“You don’t describe your job like that,” Vera scolds. “Is a small job, hah! Can you see men saying that? No, men will talk it up with bullshit, that is why they get even bigger job next time. There is no such thing as ‘small job.’ And don’t say in that silly tone, oh so apologetic, I am just silly woman having a small job. No!” Her index finger shoots up and points at Julia’s face like a sword. “You go and do this job proudly.”
Jesse Q. Sutanto, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
QOTD: What book had an ending that left you in shock?
World of Bai 