Synopsis from Goodreads:
Put the kettle on, there’s a mystery brewing…
Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective?
Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet).
But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.
Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth.
My Review
Widow, Vera Wong, is desperate to offer advice to people, especially her adult son, Tilly. However, he never calls and never wants her advice on anything. At 60 years old, Vera devotes herself to her San Francisco tea shop, which she calls “Vera Wang’s World-Famous Teahouse.” No, that’s not a typo. Vera Wong figures more people have heard of Vera Wang and it would attract more customers.
One morning, Vera walks into her tea shop and finds a dead man in the middle of her shop. She’s sure it’s murder and she’s also sure the police can’t handle the investigation on their own. Vera is determined to find the truth. She just had no idea how many potential suspects she’d come across.
This is a standalone mystery filled with offbeat characters and humor laced through from page one to the end. These characters, especially Vera, quickly become beloved characters in my eyes. I found myself caring about them all and hoping none of them would turn out to be killers.
This is so much more than a cozy mystery. It’s the story of a lonely woman and how she deals with people whether they are blood relationships or not. It’s packed with charm, drama, emotions and a whole lot of fun. It, also, keeps you guessing until the end. I couldn’t figure out how things were going to end up, but the ending put everything together very nicely.
I couldn’t put this one down and it’s now on my best of 2023 list. I never read any books by this author before, but it definitely won’t be my last. I’m already searching for her backlist. I love finding such great new-to-me authors.
NetGalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2023
Cloak & Dagger Reading Challenge 2023
FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.
That looks good.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you got a good one. I'll have to look for this author :)
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way about this one! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDelete