This review is sectioned because I read this as part of a book club and we discussed the first half of the book first and then the second half.
★★★★☆
3/14/2024 (ch. 1-14)
I just finished chapter 14, so I'm about a third of the way through. I'm writing my chapters 1-20 review now because there's chance I'll forget to do it when chapter 20 rolls around and will just keep blazing through the book. I am finding it cute and intriguing so far!
I think Vera Wong is a very charming main character. Our introduction to her was comprehensive yet efficient, which I really appreciated. We got into the meat of the story very quickly, and overall I just really like the pacing. We are able to get glimpses of the characters' histories without straying too far from the main storyline. I didn't know this book would have multiple POVs, and as much as I do like all the characters so far, I kind of wish we got more of Vera. I feel like she should have a more dominating presence in the book considering she's its namesake. I also want to reiterate something I've heard other people say: canonically, Vera should have been older than 60. She reads as if she's at least in her 70's, and hearing this supposedly 60-year-old woman described as so elderly/aloof did not compute.
My disclaimer for this next part is that, as someone who's white, I don't know how much right I have to comment on this topic. At some points in the book I have questioned the stereotypes that Vera has been reinforcing. It is not constant, but there are lines or moments where my brain kind of cringes because Vera has done, said, or thought something that is so prevalent in harmful stereotyping of Chinese immigrant parents. I won't comment on whether or not they might be "true stereotypes"; I'm just putting my trust in the fact that the author is more knowledgeable on what is acceptable on this topic than I am. (Also, I've been listening to the audiobook, and it's possible the narrator's inflections have also been contributing to this.)
As for theories, it seems that Sana and Riki both harbor guilt over what happened to Marshall. It's likely that neither of them is completely responsible for his death but that they both did/said something to indirectly cause Marshall to OD. I also can already see the cozy ending: Sana, Riki, Julia, and Oliver end up being regulars at the teashop and help Vera revitalize it to become more successful than ever. I also expect Vera to reconcile with her son. Since he's a lawyer, maybe he gets involved with Vera's investigation, especially because it has already been hinted that he disapproves of it.
But also--what is on the flash drive???
Overall, the cozy tone of this book is very good. I love that it's low-stakes even though it's a murder--likely due to the fact that Marshall was such a terrible person that no one really feels bad that he's gone. There are moments that Vera says something (in her internal monologue) that gives my heart a squeeze, usually about her son or late husband and how lonely she feels. I definitely foresee this being a very heartwarming story by the conclusion, and I can't wait to see all the crazy shenanigans Vera gets into before then.
Update 3/20/2024 (ch. 15-end)
This mystery was very cute. In order to build all the character arcs and relationships, we did lose a little bit of the mystery focus; it went off topic from the murder a bit more than I was anticipating. I didn't mind this though because I did like the characters and hearing their backstories.
If the mystery was a bit more convoluted, I could have forgiven the lack of focus on it a bit more. The answer seemed a bit too simple and the buildup was slightly anticlimactic. For example, the amount of suspense created around the flash drive/laptop caused the plot to feel really flat when its contents are finally revealed. Again, I mostly forgive this because I appreciated the off-topic parts that had to do with the "suspects", I just think this could have been really excellent if it had achieved both good character building AND a fantastic murder mystery simultaneously.
In my previous (ch. 1-20) review, I said something about predicting the characters were guilty of confronting/hurting Marshall but that none of them did it and it was probably an OD. I realized when I picked up the book again that by that point we had already found out about the bird dander being the cause of death, so obviously that was a silly prediction which I would like to retract. It did cross my mind to be suspicious of Alex because, as others have mentioned, Vera spoke so highly of him which is suspicious in its own right. However, I didn't put it together that he was Marshall and Oliver's father. In hindsight it seems so obvious (I even went back and listened to chapter 2 where Alex is telling Vera about his sons and laughed at my past self for not putting it together), but I do think that connection was very clever. (Disclaimer: I am not a person that looks for twists in thrillers; I like to be surprised so I don't over-scrutinize as I'm reading. Someone who pays more attention might have guessed the twist, but as a casual reader I did not.)
I did accurately predict that the team would come together and get Vera Wang's World Famous Tea up and running, although admittedly it went a slightly different direction than I anticipated. I didn't count on everyone fixing up the shop (the furniture, mural, etc.) and then Julia bringing her new social media following into it but it worked because it lent credibility to the trope. I will say I was surprised Vera didn't have more of a reconciliation with her son (as it was in my prediction that they would have a big makeup at the end), but maybe it was more plausible that they didn't considering just how strained their relationship was.
The closest thing I can compare this book to that I've read is Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, but the type of story is slightly different. In contrast to Finlay Donovan, Vera Wong's enthusiasm for this murder was unique and funny to read; somehow her commitment to believing it was a homicide came off as cute instead of pathological.
I would read this author again; reading this got me interested to read Dial A for Aunties just because I already knew people talked about it a lot and I kind of want to see what the big deal is, and if people think this one or that one is the better of the author's books. I also just want to get more into the cozy mystery genre; maybe if I do I can better judge this book in comparison to others.
Final verdict: It's cute and heartwarming, and only lacking a bit in the mystery aspect.
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