Vera Wong begins with a dead husband, an ignored tea shop, and a grown son who shuns her help and advice. Jesse Q. Sutanto begins his humorous cozy mystery, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, with her discovery of a dead body in the shop when she comes down from her upstairs living area. She soon realizes that the local police are not up on the techniques used in her favorite TV shows which leaves her to solve the mystery herself. Despite what Vera feels like are telling clues to foul play, the police are willing to accept natural causes as the reason for Marshall’s death.
She pockets the flash drive she finds on the body and begins to examine the suspects. There is Julia, the wife Marshall walked out on shortly before he died, and Oliver, his twin brother who has lived in Marshall’s shadow his whole life. Riki and Sana show up with improbable stories about their background but have some hidden connection to the man.
The tale develops as Vera forms friendly relationships with each of her suspects and with Emma, the toddler daughter of the dead man. Vera does not want them to be guilty even though Marshall obviously deserves killing by any one of his victims.
The book, recommended to me by my daughter Anna, was filled with fun, tea, and lots of food as Vera endears herself to her suspects and her readers.