Tag Archive | Harper Collins

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murderers by Jesse Sutanto

Apr15

Everyone Needs A Vera Wong

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murderers by Jesse Sutanto is a fabulous contemporary cosy crime novel that I absolutely loved and read it in just two sittings. It is the first book in what I hope will be a very long series.

Vera Wong is a sixty-year-old Chinese mother living in San Francisco. She owns a tea house but most of the time it is empty. Her life is very regimented but lonely – until a dead body turns up in her tea house! Suddenly Vera Wong has a new lease of life as she investigates just what has happened. “People always say that your wedding day is the happiest day of your life, but honestly, people should try solving murders more often.” Vera Wong has found her raisin d’etre.

As the victim’s life opens up, Vera Wong meets new people. Each one had a reason to kill. Each one is a suspect. And each one is a new friend to Vera.

Vera Wong is a ‘feeder’. She cooks for and feeds everyone that she meets – including the police!

Vera Wong has good investigating skills as she notes, “generations of Chinese mothers have perfected the art of sniffing out guilt.” She also notes, “nobody sniffs out wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands.”

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Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective by Kelly Gardiner & Sharmini Kumar

Apr10

Reminiscent Of Jane Austen

Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Detective by Kelly Gardiner & Sharmini Kumar is a light-hearted historical novel that entertained me from the start.

Fans of Jane Austen will immediately recognize Miss Caroline Bingley from Pride & Prejudice. She is Mr Bingley’s sister. On page one of Pride & Prejudice we read a very famous word sentence, which opens this book, though slightly altered. “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single lady in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a husband.” Straight away the reader realizes that we are in for a real treat. As with the original novel, this book is also witty and also pokes fun at the conventions of the day.

The novel is set at the beginning of the nineteenth century, just two years after Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy married Jane and Elizabeth Bennett.

Miss Caroline Bingley is very reminiscent of Elizabeth Bennett. She is intelligent & knows her own mind. She is also brave and with a social conscience. As a female she has to work within the constraints of the day as she sets about her amateur super sleuthing.

The reader travels from snowy Derbyshire to snowy London. It is here that Miss Caroline Bingley begins her search for Georgiana Darcy’s maid who has gone missing. Her maid is Asian and the reader sees the evils and prejudices of the day as the characters are a part of the evils of slavery. This is highlighted as the reader is introduced to the East India Company.

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Vera Wong’s Guide To Snooping (On A Dead Man) by Jesse Q Sutanto

Apr10

Unique & Entertaining

Vera Wong’s Guide To Snooping (On A Dead Man) by Jesse Sutanto is a unique contemporary offering that entertained me from the start. It is the second book in the Vera Wong series but can be read as a stand-alone.

Vera Wong is a vey likable lead character – a sixty-one-year-old Chinese lady living in San Francisco, with a compulsion to cook for everyone she meets. She has her fingers in many pies too. “She knows that ‘putting a stop’ to anything Vera is doing is probably going to be an exercise in futility.” Vera’s heart has a huge capacity, her meddling comes from her desire to care.

The novel is very light-hearted in tone which counter balances the serious themes of human trafficking and associated crimes.

There is also much humor, specially created by Vera Wong. “I am Chinese mother, all I do is create conflict. You think the C.I.A. know anything about destabilizing? They know nothing compare to me!” Sometimes the humor comes from malapropisms and observations. At other times it is from Vera Wong speaking her mind.

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The Crime Writer by Diane Jeffrey

Mar13

Wow! – Totally Gripping

The Crime Writer by Diane Jeffrey is a totally gripping contemporary psychological crime suspense that gripped me from the start.

The action is set in 2019 and present day. It alternates between the two time periods as the reader, and the community, try to piece together just exactly what happened to missing mum of two on that snowy night in 2019.

As we follow the events, clinging on for dear life, we wonder where the truth lies. Is a father protecting himself from the media? Or is there something else going on?

A grisly accidental discovery in present day, opens up a whole new can of worms. Once more, the case of the missing mum is at the forefront of everyone’s minds.

The novel touches on the topic of domestic abuse. Normally we have the female perspective – but not this time as we learn of a woman with a vicious streak.

How far would you go to protect your family? A father tries to shield his daughters from the publicity. He wants to give them stability which is especially important for his daughter with additional needs.

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