Reviews tagging 'Dementia'

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

13 reviews

minimicropup's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I’m still trying to figure out if I’m a cozy mystery person, but I really liked this (looking forward to the second one). For a good chunk of the book, the murder mystery took a backseat to the characters' day-to-day struggles, but I wasn’t into the mystery as much as I was into the characters so that worked for me.  

 

Energy: Assured. Cute. Animated. 

 

🐕 Howls

The amount of food consumed after being touched by a toddler was making me gag lol.

 

🐩 Tail Wags

The writing style. The characters and their interactions. The lighthearted tone (without being cheesy). Funny, but in a genuine way. How it drew me in more as the story progressed. 

 

Scene: 🇺🇸 Set in the San Francisco Chinatown area, California

Perspectives (5): A widow with a grown son and owner of a run-down tea house with few customers. A suddenly single parent of a toddler after their spouse comes into money and leaves them. Two characters who are tangentially related to the victim that are drawn into the widow’s world. The brother of the victim. We also get snippets of the teahouse owner’s amateur sleuthing case notes. 

Timeline: Current (2010s or 2020s).

🔥 Fuel: Character evolution. Emotional investment. Mystery solving. Why did Marshall end up dead in the tea house? Was it murder? How are the other characters involved with him? Will Vera solve the case after police dismiss it? 

📖 Cred: Semi-realistic

 

Mood Reading Match-Up:

Oolong tea. Sun visor. Flashdrive. Sweet flowers. Milk. Tangyuan. Toddler laughing. 

• Cozy murder mystery
• Comedic amateur sleuth snooping
• Adorable older main character perspectives 
• Books to read with tea and homecooked meals
• Gathering the suspects tea spilling
• Heartwarming found family
• Whimsical, witty writing style

 

Content Heads-Up: Loss of spouse. Stroke. Alzheimer’s (off page). Marriage breakup, abandonment. Domestic abuse (verbal, emotional). Murder/dead body. Loss of parent (as child). Theft. Sibling rivalry. Allergic reaction. 

 

Rep: Black, Chinese, Indonesian, Indian, and Asian American. Cis. Hetero. Warm brown and ambiguous skin tones.

 

📚 Format: Kindle

 

My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Dementia and Death of parent

fyre_flies's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious reflective slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Body shaming, Vomit, and Dementia

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. 

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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.

ivi_reads_books's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted mysterious sad 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? Yes

3.25

I loved the depiction of the Chinese auntie-type protagonist who is overbearing and strict but deep down funny and loving.

Making one of the characters out to be pure evil didn't sit well with me. Would have enjoyed more nuance

Thanks to Netgalley and Berkley for this ecopy

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, and Murder

Minor: Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, and Dementia

kailiyahknight's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent and Murder

Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

kappafrog's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted mysterious medium-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

3.5

Vera was so funny! I loved reading the chapters from her perspective. Some of the other POV characters were less developed, especially Riki. The story was at its best in the Vera chapters. I really liked Emma and Julia too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

bearybooky's review against another edition

emotional funny 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting

Minor: Infertility, Dementia, and Grief

heini's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Stalking and Death of parent

Minor: Dementia

danajoy's review against another edition

funny mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

I'd recommend this to fans of the Thursday Murder Club series. Its a similar style. 
Vera Wong found a man dead in her tea house and makes it entirely her business to solve his murder. 

Unfortunately, just like in Thursday Murder Club  I never really got into the book. I kept going moreso to finish it than out of enjoyment or desire to solve the mystery. 

Vera is only 60, I feel like that is younger than her descriptions make her seem. I found her both moderately endearing and frustrating. 

The found family elements were nice I just didn't really jive with everything together. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder and Gaslighting

Minor: Dementia

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail