Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Vera Wong is an older woman who has lost touch with her son as well as the larger world, though she would argue against that since she keeps up on the lingo and surfs the internet to search for the latest trend. She runs her tea shop (Vera Wang's (not a spelling error on my part) World-Famous Teahouse) and sends her son a wall of text but no one seems to respond except her one regular customer. She does the same thing every day and feels some tiredness but isn't sure how to get off the treadmill. Until she's violently shaken by the discovery of a dead body, that of Marshall Chen, in her shop. 

An inveterate watcher of crime shows, Vera knows just what to do. She pats down the body, draws a chalk outline, then calls the police. While waiting, she tidies the shop and makes the police tea. She doesn't understand why they are so upset with her, nor why they get so annoyed at her asking if they want a drink. She made her best tea, one that will help them think clearly. 

Well. She's going to find out what is going on and puts out an obituary for the body. From that come three people: the man's wife, his twin, a mysterious young man claiming to be a reporter, and a young woman who puts out true crime podcasts (although that also seems suspect as Marshall's death was declared a suicide).

Vera bulldozes into these characters lives and we get to see them come together to solve the mystery of why Marshall died. A bonus? Vera gets to spend a little time with her son as well.

Sometimes it can get a little much with alternating view points but Sutanto handles it wonderfully providing glimpses into a number of characters without losing pacing. I'm really hoping there is another book in the series and that it shows Vera and Gladys (the old woman in the other hospital bed) becoming friends. 

Four and a half stars

This book comes out March 14, 2023

ARC kindly provided by Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley

Opinions are my own

The Guest List by Lucy Foley

 It's time to attend a (minor) celebrity wedding on a remote Irish island. Alternating chapters build in depth characters show the tension that exists before the guests arrive. Many because of old friendships and school ties. The tensions build, culminating in a death.
This book drew me in. There were parts where I wanted to stop and check the ending to see if it would be worth finishing, but I didn't. I could definitely pinpoint who the murderer was but wobbled on who was going to get killed. I loved that the author only gradually revealed the information regarding both the killer and the victim and that it paralleled the history unraveling.

Four stars

This book came out June 2nd

Borrowed this as an ebook from the library

Opinions are my own