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by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Put the kettle on, there's a mystery brewing… Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?
Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy 'detective' work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he's dating anybody yet).
But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it's going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she'll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it's down to her to catch the killer.
Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth.
Jesse Q. Sutanto is the author of 16 other novels including the Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers series and the Dial A for Aunties series. Have you read any of her other titles?
Yes. I LOVE the Vera Wong series and the Dial A for Aunties series. I need to go and get her other books.
-Catrina_A
To what audience would you recommend I’m Not the Only Murderer in My Retirement Home? Is there another book or author you feel has a similar theme or style?
I would recommend this book to readers who love cozy mysteries or are puzzle enthusiasts. This book definitely reminded me of the Richard Osman Thursday Murder Club series and Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Sutanto. Another great book about a geriatric serial killer who is ...
-Deborah_C1
What are you reading this week? (8/7/2025)
I just finished Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books by Kirsten Miller and began reading Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q Sutanto. I'm listening to All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy when I walk or in my car.
-Louise_H
Edgar Awards, 2024
"[S]tellar...The engrossing plot, which is full of laugh out loud humor and heartfelt moments, builds to a satisfying conclusion that will leave readers eager for more Vera. Sutanto has outdone herself with this cozy with substance." —Publishers Weekly
"Following the success of Dial A for Aunties, Sutanto is back with another charmer, this time following the exploits of orthopedic-sneaker-wearing Vera Wong Zhuzhu, who finds a dead body in her Chinatown tea shop. When the police investigation isn't thorough enough for her liking, she concocts a plan to find the murderer, aided by a locked flash drive she found on the body and stashed away for safekeeping. Sutanto excels at skewering with affection, and an earnest hilarity shines through in this entertaining whodunit." —The Washington Post
"I'll promise you this: you've never met a character quite like Vera Wong, and once she gets under your skin, you'll never forget her, nor will you want to. Vera is a force, and so is author Jesse Q. Sutanto, spinning a compulsively readable story with intrigue, humor, and above all, heart. Get ready for this cast of loveable characters to feel like family, pulling you into their beautifully interwoven lives and the mystery linking them together. Smart, wholly original, and brimming with emotion, Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice For Murderers feels like the warmest hug that you'll never want to end." —Laurie Elizabeth Flynn, author of The Girls Are All So Nice Here
"Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers is flawless. With a clever plot filled with marvelous, lovable characters who feel like real people, it's laugh-inducing, heart-warming, and fabulously crafted. Truly a joy to read." —India Holton, bestselling author of The League of Gentlewomen Witches
"Vera Wong is my new favorite sleuth! This book is comfort food for the soul. Every chapter is bursting with wisdom and heart." —Elle Cosimano, USA Today bestselling author of Finlay Donovan Is Killing It
This information about Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Jesse Q. Sutanto is the author of adult, YA, and children's middle grade books. She has an MSt in Creative Writing from Oxford University and a BA in English Lit from Berkeley, though she hasn't found a way of saying that without sounding obnoxious. The film rights to her women's fiction, Dial A for Aunties, was bought by Netflix in a competitive bidding war. Her adult books include Dial A for Aunties, its sequel, Four Aunties and a Wedding, and Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. Her YA books include The Obsession, The New Girl, and Well, That Was Unexpected. Her MG books include Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit and its sequel, Theo Tan and the Iron Fan.
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