Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

Bought for my daughter. She loved it. :-)

This is a murder mystery but it's sooo much more than that! the story follows the hilarious antics of Vera, a 60 year old Chinese tea shop owner-turned amateur sleuth (because of course she can do a better job at catching the killer than the local police who won't even take the murder-or Vera's opinion for that matter- seriously enough for her taste!). We also get to meet the various "suspects" she encounters on the way as she brings them together while she tries to solve the crime. Each one has something to hide, and things are definitely not how they first seem. I enjoyed learning about each of the characters, and how their interactions with Vera completely changes all of their lives. Vera herself is awesome! her character is so lifelike that I felt like I could hear her in my head and picture her easily. Oh and be aware that if you love Chinese food you're going to be absolutely craving it as you read because among her many talents Vera can also cook up a storm! Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers is a well written page turner that kept me interested from start to finish - it's brilliant, funny and really heartwarming too - I loved it!

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

Very boring, couldn’t get into it, shame I was really looking forward to it. Too many clichés

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