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Emma Griffioen's Reviews > Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
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Emma Griffioen's review
bookshelves: 2023reads, friendships, unique, ya, mysteries-thrillers
Jun 09, 2023
bookshelves: 2023reads, friendships, unique, ya, mysteries-thrillers
Unfortunately, I can officially say that Jesse Q. Sutanto's books are not for me. I honestly don't know what I was thinking picking this up, I gave both Dial A for Aunties and Four Aunties and a Wedding 2 stars... but this cover was so cute, I had to give her one last chance.
This is a very character-driven story. Vera, the main character, who is a 60-year-old widow and tea shop owner, turned amateur detective, was very witty, however, her "I'm just an old lady I can do whatever I want" pushiness got old fast. The supporting characters were interesting enough, however, the plot was so weak that the characters didn't make up for it. I was waiting the entire time to figure out who had murdered Marshall in Vera's tea shop and it was underwhelming to say the least. It was "solved" in the last 2 chapters, and they briefly mentioned a trial but gave no real closure. There was way too many pop culture references, especially TikTok, which really wrecks the longevity of the book in my opinion.
I think one of the fundamental problems with Sutanto's books is that they are marketed wrong. For example, the blurb about Jesse at the back of this book described Dial a for Aunties as "women's fiction" and that is (in my opinion) entirely wrong. all 3 of her books have also been described as thrillers which couldn't be further from the truth. I really think they should all be labeled as young adult/humour. It is safe to say I will not be picking up her next book, however, I do think there is an audience out there for Sutanto's books, it is just not me.
Read my reviews for Jesse Q. Sutanto's books here:
Dial A For Aunties - 2 stars
Four Aunties and a Wedding - 2 stars
The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties - 2 stars (Release date: March 26th, 2024)
Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers - 2 stars
This is a very character-driven story. Vera, the main character, who is a 60-year-old widow and tea shop owner, turned amateur detective, was very witty, however, her "I'm just an old lady I can do whatever I want" pushiness got old fast. The supporting characters were interesting enough, however, the plot was so weak that the characters didn't make up for it. I was waiting the entire time to figure out who had murdered Marshall in Vera's tea shop and it was underwhelming to say the least. It was "solved" in the last 2 chapters, and they briefly mentioned a trial but gave no real closure. There was way too many pop culture references, especially TikTok, which really wrecks the longevity of the book in my opinion.
I think one of the fundamental problems with Sutanto's books is that they are marketed wrong. For example, the blurb about Jesse at the back of this book described Dial a for Aunties as "women's fiction" and that is (in my opinion) entirely wrong. all 3 of her books have also been described as thrillers which couldn't be further from the truth. I really think they should all be labeled as young adult/humour. It is safe to say I will not be picking up her next book, however, I do think there is an audience out there for Sutanto's books, it is just not me.
Read my reviews for Jesse Q. Sutanto's books here:
Dial A For Aunties - 2 stars
Four Aunties and a Wedding - 2 stars
The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties - 2 stars (Release date: March 26th, 2024)
Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers - 2 stars
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Reading Progress
May 23, 2023
– Shelved
May 23, 2023
– Shelved as:
to-read
June 9, 2023
–
Started Reading
June 9, 2023
–
5.31%
"i think vera will be a really good main character! i wasn't the biggest fan of jesse q sutantos other two books, dial a for aunties, and four aunties and a wedding, but that was entirely because of the plot. i think this one will be super witty and fun!"
page
18
June 11, 2023
–
16.22%
"im either going to finish this today on the bus or start yellowface. i have 4 hours total to read though!!"
page
55
June 11, 2023
–
28.91%
"i never thought i’d say this but i think dial a for aunties may be better than this"
page
98
June 12, 2023
–
79.65%
"my bets are on the dad i think but honestly does it really even matter. thank god this is a quick read, if it wasn’t i’d have dnfed it by now it’s just so pointless. the characters are the only good part."
page
270
June 15, 2023
– Shelved as:
2023reads
June 15, 2023
– Shelved as:
friendships
June 15, 2023
– Shelved as:
unique
June 15, 2023
– Shelved as:
ya
June 15, 2023
–
Finished Reading
March 28, 2024
– Shelved as:
mysteries-thrillers
Comments Showing 1-19 of 19 (19 new)
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vy ᴖᴥᴖ.*･｡ﾟ
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rated it 5 stars
Jun 09, 2023 09:39AM
this was such a fun, wholesome read! i hope you love it :,))
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vy ᴖᴥᴖ.*･｡ﾟ wrote: "this was such a fun, wholesome read! i hope you love it :,))"im already enjoying it!! it is exactly what i needed this week
I think this is meant to be a character driven read so I hope it ends up good!
Southern Lady Reads (Work is Nuts Right Now.. wrote: "I think this is meant to be a character driven read so I hope it ends up good!"it is definitely character driven, they are each fun, especially vera but there is not much substance to the book otherwise, unfortunately. i think with a stronger plot the whole book would have been better
Ah bummer this one didn't work for you! Hope your next read is better.
s.penkevich wrote: "Ah bummer this one didn't work for you! Hope your next read is better."just added my review, which kind of dives deeper into my problems with the book. i should have seen this coming hahaha i didn't enjoy her other 2 books. thank you, me too - i haven't had a 5 star read in ages :(
I put it in my donation pile as soon as I finished the last page. 😂
scthoughts wrote: "I put it in my donation pile as soon as I finished the last page. 😂"the way i did the exact same thing with dial a for aunties!! thankfully i got an epub of this one
emma griffioen! wrote: "s.penkevich wrote: "Ah bummer this one didn't work for you! Hope your next read is better."just added my review, which kind of dives deeper into my problems with the book. i should have seen this..."
Oh great review! Yea, that all makes a lot of sense. I wonder if they tried remarketing for YA if that would help. The covers already work for it (I admit the covers are so good I've considered one before hah) Interesting how the marketing is so far off from the actual experience. Shame this still didn't work for you, but good work keeping trying to see, its always frustrating when you know an author could be so much better and seems right there but doesn't ever hit it.
At least you officially know you don’t like Sutanto’s books 😭
Emily wrote: "At least you officially know you don’t like Sutanto’s books 😭"VERY true! 😭😂
Wonderful honest review! I felt the same way, emma! :)
Karen wrote: "Wonderful honest review! I felt the same way, emma! :)"thank you Karen! im glad you feel the same way, i was worried it would be an unpopular opinion
I felt the same. I haven't read any of her other books before though. I don't think the style is for me either. I felt like I had to really push through. It was a light "whodunit" humorous type story but just kinda fell flat for me.
Laura wrote: "I felt the same. I haven't read any of her other books before though. I don't think the style is for me either. I felt like I had to really push through. It was a light "whodunit" humorous type sto..."i wouldn't recommend her other books if you didnt enjoy this one!
I also disliked Dial A for Aunties and couldn't get into this
Mai wrote: "I also disliked Dial A for Aunties and couldn't get into this"idk why but whatever everyone else loves about her books, im missing. don't waste your time reading book #2 and #3 of the dial a for aunties series!
ugh, i feel like sutano always pushes it a little too far with her writing. however, i love how honest you are and respectful <3 i adore this review, emma!
adira wrote: "ugh, i feel like sutano always pushes it a little too far with her writing. however, i love how honest you are and respectful <3 i adore this review, emma!"she really does! i feel like im in the minority here though, so im glad she's found the audience for her books. thanks adira!
