Genre: Murder Mystery

I love Vera Wong. There. I said it. I would so enjoy meeting her in person, drinking her tree, hearing her unsolicited advice about, well, anything. Jesse Q. Sutanto has created a gem in Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. Vera wakes one morning to discover a dead body in her “famous” tea shop. Vera is widowed, and Tilly her son has little to do with her, so she is a bit bored. She is certain of her abilities to solve the murder of Marshall. She pays close attention to who stops by the shop in the wake of the murder and begins to try and solve the case. In doing so, she builds a family, loving in her way, each suspect whom she encounters.

Vera is a force. She texts her son every day with important advice - even if he just seems irritated by her. She is painfully honest with all who cross her path. She delightfully ignores everyone who gets in her way - the police, her son…she is on a mission, yes to solve a mystery, but also to feel relevant and add something different to the life that is beginning to bore her. I laughed out loud at her multiple times throughout my reading, and honestly such behavior is not entirely typical for me. Her surrounding cast of characters are well developed and multidimensional. From the murder victim’s wife and toddler to his brother, the programmer he cheated, and the artist he stole from, the cast of characters all come to know and love Vera. Each and every one of these folks have a reason to have ended Marshall’s life. They all have a difficult story to tell. They are all keeping secrets. They are hurting. But somehow, Vera reaches into their hearts and earns their trust in spite of her prickly nature. Slowly she finds ways to bring each one of them back from the brink of their hurt and see hope in a difficult world. Sutanto has me rooting for each and every one of them. I couldn’t for the life of me see how she was going to end this novel and resolve the murder without hurting my heart a bit. And while my heart did hurt, it was for Vera - no spoilers. (No fear, it ends like a good cozy mystery should). Eunice Wong does a lovely job of bringing each character to life with her narration, and of course most especially Vera, herself. She also helps to enhance the insights that Sutanto offers into Vera’s Chinese American culture.

I’m not kidding when I say that as different as this book is, reading it evoked feelings of Fredrick Backman’s A Man Called Ove - which I loved also. At an older age, when folks can’t keep up with the latest technological lingo and seem too old fashioned for words, Vera and Ove end up showing up in a big way for the people around them. They experience love in new ways as well. The mystery here is almost - almost - ancillary. I am always glad to be reminded that change can be good, friends can be made, new hobbies can be developed, and helping others can ease one’s own sadness. Aging isn’t always a simple proposition. Some days I feel like crawling into bed and staying there. Vera is only a couple of years ahead of me and gives me hope. I hope we get more of Vera. Jesse Q. Sutanto?