Books with quirky titles like Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers have always caught my eye. They always have me rooting for them because come on! Who wouldn’t want someone quirky to win the day? I have had some success with this in the past, with books with quirky titles turning out to be some of the best I’ve ever read. And when a book starts with: “Vera Wong Zhuzhu, age sixty, is a pig, but she really should have been born a rooster,” take it from me it’s a sign of ensuing hilarity that remains unparalleled.
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto is no different. And I wholeheartedly recommend to you, even before I get into my review, that you go pick it up. It is a murder mystery with an opinionated and judgmental but well-intentioned Chinese auntie at the helm.
Right off the bat, we’re introduced to Vera Wong, her teahouse, Vera Wang’s World-Famous Teahouse, and her various opinions, topmost on which list is the fact that young people should wake up at 4 (even she is, come on!) and that they should show elders the appropriate respect. Vera’s schedule is strict. She wakes up early. She goes to sleep early. And all of it like clockwork. But one day, she receives the shock of her life when she finds a dead body lying in the middle of her teahouse. Believing to know how these cases work from all the shows she’s watched, Vera embarks on her own journey to solve what she believes is murder. And of course, she has her own pieces of advice for murderers, ones nobody asked for.
At the start of Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, Vera got annoying real quick. With the way she has opinions about everything, how she judges people, how she is so unfiltered in the way she airs her opinions, and so much more, I frowned at the pages, beginning to get irritated by her. But on the other hand, she is also kind and understanding in her own way, which offsets those other qualities. As I read about her, I felt like I was reading about all the aunties in my life who have treated me with nothing but warmth. And I, in turn, warmed up to her, although I must say that that was gradual.
The writing is so witty and funny that there were places where I had to pause because I was laughing so much, I couldn’t breathe! Vera is exasperating but she is also lovable in her own way, a la Ove from A Man Called Ove. (I use this comparison only because I read Ove first and because I love both.) I loved the way it all builds up, I loved Vera’s way of going about things even though I was apprehensive of how it would blow up because I was rooting for her even though I found her annoying to a certain extent, and I loved how that aloof, friendless woman grows. My throat choked up in the end and I just wanted to jump into the pages and hug this old woman.
It’s a murder mystery, sure, but it is funny AF while being unexpectedly warm. You will probably be moved to tears, just like I was, but there’s also a lot that you can learn about family in this book. It was so unexpected for me that I startled when I realized what was happening, physically moving back in my seat.
So if you haven’t read Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers already, please go and pick it up! Let it be your next read, even. Jesse Q. Sutanto is a genius and I know I’m going to go read her backlist asap while waiting for her next books with bated breath.
Aaaaah not complaining but why do good books give me goosebumps?!
So that was my book review for Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto. Have you read this book? Did you like it? What did you think of it? What did you think of my review? Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you!
I’ll see you in the next blog post.
Until next time, keep reading and add melodrama to your life! ❤
The Melodramatic Bookworm 
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