Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

A good mystery and quirky characters. A wonderful storyline that keeps you guessing until the end. Wonderful character development and fun detective Vera Wong, does not disappoint! Grab a cup of tea and enjoy!

Vera Wong Zhuzhu, emigrated to San Francisco with her husband, who died not long ago. So now, at age 60, she runs Vera Wang’s World-Famous Teahouse by herself. If you can call it “running.” Most days, she only has one customer.She still lives in the apartment above the shop. One morning, she goes downstairs to take her usual walk, only to find a dead body in her tea shop.It becomes apparent to Vera that the police are not taking the murder seriously. Certainly not as aggressively as an accomplished busy-body like Vera expects. So Vera starts investigating herself. It turns out the murder might be the best thing for Vera ever, as she becomes friends with most of the suspects.This mystery has a lot of humor. Vera has an acerbic wit and enormous hutzpah. Ex: “Oh, you young people take everything so personal nowadays. So what if I think you might be a killer? That doesn’t mean I think you are a bad person.”This was a quick enjoyable read. It’s character driven with a decent plot. 3.6 stars rounded up to 4 stars.Happy Reader

Vera Wong is pragmatic lovable and witty a totally honest character that had deep love for her friends and family. Thank you Libby for providing me this book to read!

Okay-this book was simply adorable. I loved Very Wong-so stinkin cute and hilarious! The story was intriguing-very interesting murder mystery! Also includes some culture aspects of Asian American communities. Lastly, was an adorable ending that certainly tugs at the happy/sweet heart strings. The writing was funny, easy to read. I could see this being a cute little movie similar to A Man Called Ovo. Similar character development and underlying themes as Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Ovo and heart warming similar to Remarkably Bright Creatures, but not as slow as any of them I don’t think. Would certainly recommend!

I’m not normally one for murder mysteries, but I liked the pacing of this one. We got enough information that we knew that a twist was coming and what it might be and I largely liked our cast of characters. Some of the motives and the characterization of our murder victim were hard to believe, but I thought a couple of the characters had good arcs. Overall, this was a fun twist on the found family trope and flew by.

So I struggled getting into this book at first. At the beginning, I almost let the introduction of Vera’s character turn me off to the whole book. As you will see, Vera is quite the character, but her traits that are initially off putting, end up being the traits that make her the most lovable at the end.If you are experiencing the same thing, and are questioning whether you want to continue reading, keep reading.Sutanto developed each character so well and paced the story beautifully. I didn’t want to put the book down because I wanted to find out what happened next.The ending was so satisfying and gave me goosebumps. I almost don’t want to start another book, because I don’t want to lose this feeling that the book left me with at the end. I will be reading the next book in the series for sure.

Our last book club pick was my sister's, and she chose Jesse Q. Sutanto's Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. Before you ask, "Vera Wong? Isn't that a little close to Vera Wang?", yes, yes it is. Because the Vera in this semi-cozy mystery calls her teashop Vera Wang's World-Famous Teahouse in hopes that the fashion designer's name will lure customers. Which should give you an idea of just the kind of kooky, kickass character we're dealing with. Indeed, not-so-little-old-lady (she's only sixty!) Vera is never the same after she finds a dead body in her teashop. But not because she's traumatized. Oh, no. Because she's intent on finding the killer, much to the dismay of the police and the four suspects she's cunningly identified. Still, no one says no to Vera, whether she's spearheading a crime investigation or pushing yet another helping of cod with black fungus to ward off constipation (that's not me being funny but an example straight from the book).Nevertheless, the four suspects -- Julia, Oliver, Riki, and Sana -- can't help but admit that Vera has improved their lives. Because even as she grills them about their whereabouts on that fateful night, she pushes them to move past their personal fears and take the world by the fish tail. To say she becomes loveable may be going too far -- she's too tough for such a soft word -- but she does emerge as wise and even empathetic, seeing each of her new friends clearly enough to administer the tough love they need.Now, in terms of the actual mystery, I found it pretty compelling. But my sister figured it out, and my mom mostly figured it out. Needless to say, I didn't figure it out at all. My mom says this is because I'm "a leisurely reader who likes to be surprised." Which sounds like a nice way of saying that I lack the cognitive skills to decipher whodunit. Then again, my mom hopped online to look up the logistics of what went down plot-wise, which to me sounded just plain exhausting. So I guess I do like reading to be restful, going along for the fictional ride.Finally, this has little to do with what I just said, but here's my favorite quote from the book:"It's her own fault. She'd been so eager to make a name for herself. This is the problem with creative people; their self-image is divided into two parts -- one thinks that they're a genius who will one day create a masterpiece of such breathtaking brilliance that it will still be discussed with reverence hundreds of years later; the other part thinks they are trash raccoons rooting around in the dark and coming up with nothing but more trash. There is no in-between. It's either "super genius" or "trash raccoon," and somehow these parts coexist within the head of one very tortured artist." (165-166)I don't think there's a creative person alive who doesn't relate to this.Which is, now that I think of it, one of the reasons I need so much rest.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book - light hearted, fun and interesting about owner of a tea shop in San Francisco who finds a dead body and takes it upon herself to find the murdererHighly recommended

This book was a joy to read. Lots of chuckles smiles and warm heart feelings included within the serious business of murder . Set in China Town San Francisco Vera Wong is the kind of woman who is set in her ways but with a knack for being an amateur detective. You'll keep guessing right till the end of the book of who murdered the dead man in the tea house.

Absolutely brilliant! This cosy mystery blended with some strong found-family flavours, lots of sly humour and a splash of pathos had me rushing out to buy a paper ‘keep’ copy and recommending it wholeheartedly to all my family and friends. I even rang my mum up specially, just to rave about it… I’m sure Vera would approve!The story follows tea-shop owner Vera as she finds a dead body in the middle of her floor, and quickly sets about organising police, suspects and random customers as she attempts to find the inconsiderate killer and accidentally improves lives – including her own – along the way.As well as being both funny and touching, this book has a solid mystery plot. It all makes sense and the clues are all there but it kept me guessing throughout, and although I managed to get an inkling of who the murderer was before the reveal, I had absolutely no idea why or how it was done until Vera patiently explained it to me.But the main joy here is the characters. Vera, obviously, but also Julia and Emma, Riki, Sana, Oliver and even Officer Gray – they might not be on the same page as far as the murder goes (everyone has their secrets!) but they definitely conspired to win my heart and I was firmly rooting for them all to survive Vera’s whirlwind approach to investigation.This is the perfect book for fans of found family, humour and mystery – full of warmth, heart, good food and well-meaning meddling. I’m going to have to pick up a copy of Jesse Sutanto’s Auntie books now, as I may very well have found another new favourite author!

I loved this book. It’s a mystery book but the mystery isn’t really the center and core of the story at the end. There’s more to that. I loved the characters and it felt like a warm hug. It’s a fast paced book, well written and never boring.

I was looking for some light reading when a friend recommended this book. Absolutely enjoyed it.

I didn't think it was very funny. I like the main character though.