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Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

Cozy MysteryContemporary Literature
Pages
339
Published
2023
Language
English

Synopsis

Vera Wong is a lonely tea shop owner in San Francisco who finds a dead body in her store and decides she is better equipped to solve the crime than the police. After swiping a flash drive from the scene, she begins investigating her new customers to find the killer. Instead of a murderer, she finds a group of people who desperately need her motherly care and a good cup of tea.

Prose complexity
4/10

Vibe

CozyFunnyHeartwarmingLighthearted
Found FamilyMystery BoxMentor Figure

Genres

Cozy Mystery Contemporary Literature Crime Mystery Amateur Sleuth

About the author

J
Jesse Q. Sutanto

Jesse Q. Sutanto is a Chinese-Indonesian author of humorous mysteries and contemporary fiction, best known for the Vera Wong series, including Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, and for Dial A for Aunties, winner of the 2021 Comedy Women in Print Prize. She holds a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Oxford, and grew up between Indonesia and Singapore. She now lives in Jakarta.

Characters

Vera WongProtagonist
Marshall ChenSupporting

The man Vera finds dead in her tea shop — the murder she sets out to solve.

Julia (Vera Wong)Supporting

Marshall's wife, one of the four visitors to the tea shop Vera investigates.

Oliver ChenSupporting

Marshall's estranged twin brother, one of the four visitors to the tea shop Vera investigates.

Riki HerwantoSupporting

A young computer programmer under financial pressure, one of the four visitors to the tea shop Vera investigates.

All characters in Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

Frequently asked questions

  • Is there a sequel to Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers?

    Yes. Jesse Q. Sutanto followed it with "Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man)," published April 1, 2025, which continues the Vera Wong series.

  • What awards has this book won or been nominated for?

    It won the 2024 Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original and the 2024 Audie Award for Mystery (audiobook, narrated by Eunice Wong). It was also shortlisted for the Gold Dagger Award, was a finalist for the Barry Award for Best Paperback Original, and was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery & Thriller.

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