Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

 

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers / Jesse Q. Sutanto
NY: Berkeley, c2023
338 p.

This one was a hoot! Vera Wong is a sixty year old Chinese tea shop owner; her small shop, Vera Wang’s World- Famous Teahouse, in San Francisco, is tiny and pretty much forgotten. She's set in her routine of one daily visitor, and making calls to her busy son, until one morning she comes downstairs to find a dead body in her shop. Of course she calls the police, but before they get there she helps them by drawing an outline around the body in Sharpie, and inexplicably pocketing a flash drive she finds in the dead man's hand. 

She knows that she will be a better investigator than the police, who don't seem to believe it was a murder. Vera gathers her suspects, but begins to befriend them as she investigates. The change that her homegrown investigation brings to her life spice it up immensely, and she is busy and involved in other lives again -- so much so that her son begins to call her, wondering why he's not receiving constant texts and messages from her anymore. 

It's entertaining, with lots of description of teas and amazing food (don't read it while hungry). And while Vera is a bit of a stereotype, it's a loving depiction. The plot is fairly easy for a careful reader to guess, but the variety of characters and all their interactions keep you reading. It's a light and enjoyable story with some fun elements, and also a few deeper themes to consider. There's also a thread about art which I thought was fascinating.

The only issue I had with it is that Vera Wong is only in her sixties...not an old woman like she comes across in the book. Anyhow, aside from that I really enjoyed this quick and entertaining read. It's a fresh entry into the cozy murder mystery world, and I'd recommend it.