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Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'
Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
4 reviews
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I truly enjoyed this book! While I didn't enjoy the author book I tried to read by this author, that may have been because I didn't realize it was book two in a series.
Vera was a great protagonist, her and her newfound family's fumbling was humorous but the book still had serious undertones. It was a good mix of lighthearted & emotional. I laughed and I cried.
I didn't guess the murderer until Vera figured it out, the author did a good job of disguising them with misdirection.
My biggest complaint was that the book was a bit longer than I thought it needed. I can't wait for their next adventure!
Narrator Rating: 4.75 stars
The narrator did an amazing job, I wish they'd done a full cast for this since it was told from many points of view.
Vera was a great protagonist, her and her newfound family's fumbling was humorous but the book still had serious undertones. It was a good mix of lighthearted & emotional. I laughed and I cried.
I didn't guess the murderer until Vera figured it out, the author did a good job of disguising them with misdirection.
My biggest complaint was that the book was a bit longer than I thought it needed. I can't wait for their next adventure!
Narrator Rating: 4.75 stars
The narrator did an amazing job, I wish they'd done a full cast for this since it was told from many points of view.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Dementia, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism
The instances of child abuse were emotional abuse of a toddler. Nothing physically or sexually abusive towards a child is mentioned.kimveach's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
After recently reading some "heavier" books, this book was a delightful change. I loved this quirky, cozy mystery. Vera Wong is a delightful character, as were all her suspects. A bonus was that I felt like I was back in San Francisco.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
quixie's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It was tough to rate this one. About 1/4 of the book (in the middle) I wanted to skip till the end because I was so bored, however the beginning was fantastic, I laughed so many times (which I never do from reading!) the descriptions of the food was delicious, I cared about the characters,and the reveal was satisfying. Oh, also 60 is NOT that old!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Infertility and Terminal illness
erebus53's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This is a title I heard about through bookclub. It's a 2023 published work and I haven't read any of Jesse Sutanto's previous work so I really didn't know what to expect; it is quite a particular flavour of cozy mystery. Set in China Town in San Francisco, Vera runs a teashop that is seldom frequented and mostly ignored, until one day she comes downstairs to find a dead man in her shop.. and for some reason there are suddenly several suspec... er.. visitors who show up (are they returning to the scene of their crime?). Vera is bored and lonely and her mind conflates all the circumstantial evidence she can find into a narrative that clearly shows the man was murdered.. ok, not clearly.. but he HAS to have been murdered; he was a bad man and nobody liked him. Vera is very put out when the police tell her that the man died of natural causes, but she isn't going to let that stop her.
This book is ridiculously hilarious. I think I probably found it more so because of the people I know who are elderly Chinese migrants. I had mixed feelings as to whether I was playing into Racial stereotypes or just laughing at things that I recognise fondly from people I know. (These are the things that White Progressively minded people have to wonder at in the hope that we aren't perpetuating stupid biases against other people.. even expressing that feels awkward as all get out, but it's worth the effort.) As someone whose job used to be making advertising for Asian small-business owners, I was belly laughing at the discussion between Vera and her son, about how she "can't" to make baseless claims about her business such as it being "World Famous", when nobody had heard of it. This was a culture clash that I had personally encountered in my work, and the book had me nodding along with these various cultural quirks; Vera continually commenting on the condition of people's skin, criticises young people for being lazy, and refers to any self-trained expert as a "doctor" - I have been called Computer Doctor by Chinese workmates... it's a thing).
Vera is a character. She operates with very little filter, and a lot of energy. Her commanding presence has her drawing together all her suspe... new friends, to unravel their involvement in the life of the man who was killed. Vera's English is not quite right, and her command of modern technology is .. approximate. She bumbles her way overconfidently through a modern age of Googles and Podcasts, fairly well, and is up before dawn to make bribe.. er breakfast for the local police and the various people she hopes to befriend on her search for Justice!
Under Vera's insuppressible bluster is a story about people surviving encounters with an entitled Narcissist. Interspersed throughout the story in ways that make the emotionally fraught content a little more palatable, we have the bitterness of a son who is demonised by his manipulative twin, a wife who is gaslit and socially isolated by her derisive husband, an artist who is continually pressured and controlled by her family to the point where her self-esteem is worn down, and a guy who is making bad decisions because of financial hardship and his duty to his family. Family is a deep theme through the whole book, and we are slowly brought to the modern idea of building new families around us that are nurturing, regardless of the damage done to us by the families we are born or married into.
I didn't know whether or not to cringe at how these people were manipulated and pushed around by a strange old lady - how badly had they been treated that they were so full of self-blame and lack of assertiveness? At the same time I was also upset that I might have been in a similar position especially when I was younger. I have at times been such a bombastic force of nature that others have gone along with whatever I said because it was easier than trying to swim against the rip-tide. In some ways Vera uses the same techniques as the horrid dead man, in that she focuses intently on people, love bombs them (sometimes with tea and food) and then inserts herself into their lives, but the main thing that separates her from the nasty guy is that she tries to get people together, to help them communicate, to help people excel at what they love and value themselves for it, and to build them up rather than tearing them down. (I can relate - but it's a little embarrassing to admit).
At times it eels like this story runs quite slowly. The fear of the main characters makes them hide their true motives and so it takes some time before the backstory comes out, but it is worth the wait. Fun story.
This book is ridiculously hilarious. I think I probably found it more so because of the people I know who are elderly Chinese migrants. I had mixed feelings as to whether I was playing into Racial stereotypes or just laughing at things that I recognise fondly from people I know. (These are the things that White Progressively minded people have to wonder at in the hope that we aren't perpetuating stupid biases against other people.. even expressing that feels awkward as all get out, but it's worth the effort.) As someone whose job used to be making advertising for Asian small-business owners, I was belly laughing at the discussion between Vera and her son, about how she "can't" to make baseless claims about her business such as it being "World Famous", when nobody had heard of it. This was a culture clash that I had personally encountered in my work, and the book had me nodding along with these various cultural quirks; Vera continually commenting on the condition of people's skin, criticises young people for being lazy, and refers to any self-trained expert as a "doctor" - I have been called Computer Doctor by Chinese workmates... it's a thing).
Vera is a character. She operates with very little filter, and a lot of energy. Her commanding presence has her drawing together all her suspe... new friends, to unravel their involvement in the life of the man who was killed. Vera's English is not quite right, and her command of modern technology is .. approximate. She bumbles her way overconfidently through a modern age of Googles and Podcasts, fairly well, and is up before dawn to make bribe.. er breakfast for the local police and the various people she hopes to befriend on her search for Justice!
Under Vera's insuppressible bluster is a story about people surviving encounters with an entitled Narcissist. Interspersed throughout the story in ways that make the emotionally fraught content a little more palatable, we have the bitterness of a son who is demonised by his manipulative twin, a wife who is gaslit and socially isolated by her derisive husband, an artist who is continually pressured and controlled by her family to the point where her self-esteem is worn down, and a guy who is making bad decisions because of financial hardship and his duty to his family. Family is a deep theme through the whole book, and we are slowly brought to the modern idea of building new families around us that are nurturing, regardless of the damage done to us by the families we are born or married into.
I didn't know whether or not to cringe at how these people were manipulated and pushed around by a strange old lady - how badly had they been treated that they were so full of self-blame and lack of assertiveness? At the same time I was also upset that I might have been in a similar position especially when I was younger. I have at times been such a bombastic force of nature that others have gone along with whatever I said because it was easier than trying to swim against the rip-tide. In some ways Vera uses the same techniques as the horrid dead man, in that she focuses intently on people, love bombs them (sometimes with tea and food) and then inserts herself into their lives, but the main thing that separates her from the nasty guy is that she tries to get people together, to help them communicate, to help people excel at what they love and value themselves for it, and to build them up rather than tearing them down. (I can relate - but it's a little embarrassing to admit).
At times it eels like this story runs quite slowly. The fear of the main characters makes them hide their true motives and so it takes some time before the backstory comes out, but it is worth the wait. Fun story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Chronic illness and Terminal illness