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The Sweetheart List by Jill Shalvis – a Review

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The Sweetheart List by Jill Shalvis – a Review

 

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Description:
What makes life sweet?
When Harper Shaw’s life falls apart, she knows it’s time for a change. She removes everything that doesn’t spark joy—from her soul-sucking job to eating kale to making lists—and sets off for the last place she was happy, Lake Tahoe (who wouldn’t feel good there, right?) to fulfill her dream of opening her own bakery. With her Sugar Pine Bakery in between a tavern, owned by sexy, grumpy Bodie Campbell, and a bookstore, run by her new BFF, she feels a peace she’s never experienced since…well, forever.. Then she meets Ivy, a teenage runaway, who barrels into her heart. She sees a lot of herself in Ivy and takes her under her wing, but the teenager has secrets… When those secrets explode, it changes Harper’s new world, and she’ll learn, it’s never too late to start over, it’s never too late to figure out your life, and best of all, it’s never too late to let yourself believe in love.

 

 

Review:

The Sweetheart List by Jill Shalvis is the 4th book in her wonderful Sunrise Cove series. Though this is a continuation of the Sunrise Cove series, all four of these books read as standalones. I have noted many times that I love reading any book by Jill Shalvis, as they are always wonderful pure romances

We meet Harper Shaw, our heroine, who wants to start a new life, driving to Sunshine Cove (near Lake Tahoe), where she remembers how much she loved the town when she was a young girl. She plans to open her own bakery, Sugar Pine Bakery, which she is renting, in between a tavern and a book store. Harper is travelling to Sunrise Cove with her 125 lb Bermese dog, Hambone (Ham), and when she loses control of her car, a man shows up to help her; she is defensive, not trusting a stranger, and says she will take care of it herself; her dog is no help, falling all over the handsome stranger.  When Harper arrives, she needs to get the keys for her new place, which has an apartment above the bakery; and to her shock, she goes to the tavern and the man who tried to help her, is the owner of the tavern. 

Bodie Campbell, our hero, returned home to Sunrise Cove, 6 months ago, slowly recovering from wounds at his last job, ATF. Bodie, who runs the bar, gets a kick out of Harper, and finds himself attracted to her, especially her upbeat wonderful personality.  Bodie and his brothers try to help paint and fix up her place, since she came a bit early.  The first night she spends in her apartment, she hears a noise and finds Ivy, a teenage runaway, before the girl could run away, Harper convinces Ivy to stay overnight. The next day, Harper takes Ivy under her wing, to stay in her second room, and also get her to help fix up the place, and teach her how to bake.

Bodie’s family was amazing, and lots of fun and banter along the way; his mother and brothers, including their significant others, bring so much humor. The Campbell family meetings and texts were fun, they were all close and loyal to each other.  Great family.

A slow build romance between Bodie and Harper begins, with wonderful chemistry that sizzles.  I also loved Harper’s dog, Hambone, who loved everyone. Ivy was another great character, who was keeping a secret. It was wonderful meeting all the great characters, finding love, family and second chances.

What follows is an excellent, heartwarming story revolving around family, friends, secrets, love and surprises from the past. The Sweetheart List was so very well written by Jill Shalvis. It had a bit of everything, including wonderful characters, emotional, romance and banter.  I recommend you read The Sweetheart List, as you can never go wrong reading anything by Jill Shalvis.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided  by Publisher

 

 

 

 

 

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The Spectacular by Fiona Davis – a Review

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The Spectacular by Fiona Davis – a Review

 

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Description:
New York City, 1956: Nineteen-year-old Marion is over the moon to have been selected to be one of the Rockettes, Radio City Music Hall’s glamorous precision-dancing troupe. It’s an honor to perform in the world’s most spectacular theater, an art deco masterpiece. But with four shows a day as well as grueling rehearsals, not to mention exacting standards of perfection to live up to, Marion quickly realizes that the life of a Rockette has both extraordinary highs and devastating lows.

Then one night a bomb explodes in the theater. It’s only the latest in a string of explosions around the city orchestrated by a person the press has nicknamed the “Big Apple Bomber.” They have been terrorizing the citizens of New York for sixteen years by planting bombs in popular, crowded spaces. With the public in an uproar over the lack of any real leads after a yearslong manhunt, the police, at Marion’s urging, turn in desperation to a radical new technique: psychological profiling.

As Marion finds herself pulled deeper into the investigation, she realizes that as much as she’s been training herself to blend in—performing in perfect unison with all the other identical Rockettes—if she hopes to catch the bomber, she’ll need to stand out and take a terrifying risk. But she may be forced to sacrifice everything she’s worked for, as well as the people she loves the most.

 

 

Review:

The Spectacular by Fiona Davis is a wonderful standalone novel, which centers on Radio City Music Hall and the 1950’s Rocketts. In 1956, Marion (our heroine), lives with her father and sister in Westchester, and has just been fired from her job as a dance teacher.  She finds an advertisement to audition for the Rocketts, and is offered a job; but her father disapproves, as well as her fiancée, but Marion is determined to live her own life, and defies her father’s wishes.

Marion meets Bunny, who is a regular member of the Rocketts, and quickly they become friends.  Bunny brings her to a boarding house for Rocketts and Actresses, where she can get a room, allowing her to be able to support herself working at Radio City Music Hall. Marion is happy meeting new people, living an exciting life, and learning to be wonderful dancer, knowing this is where she belongs. Though the work is grueling, with four shows a day and one week off a month, Marion is enjoying her life. She is sad that her father continues to ignore her and Nathaniel tries to convince her to quit, but she manages to convince her sister to see her perform. Bunny drags Marion to a local restaurant to meet her boyfriend, and his friend, Peter; who Marion finds very shy; later in the story, Peter will play a large part of the story with Marion.

One night, a bomb explodes in the theater, which is said to be the Big Apple Bomber (actually true story, with villain called in real life, Mad Bomber), who has terrorized New York for 16 years, with no clue who he is.   The bomb hit close to home, and Marion tells the police what he looked like, and she becomes very invested to find the bomber.  She enlists her friend Peter, who is a psychiatric doctor at Creedmore Psychiatric Institute to help; with little support from the police; though Peter tries to explain the type of murderer who kills for revenge, using psychological profiling.  Marion will find herself to be the target of the bomber, who reflects back to her father’s company.  To say too much more will be spoilers, and this is a fantastic story line that should be read from start to finish.

The Spectacular was a fascinating read, with so much going on, such as history, mystery, family drama, Rocketts dancing and danger. I loved all the dancers, the performances, and the friends in Marion’s life; very enjoyable.  Fiona Davis excels in her research, always giving us plenty of history.  The Spectacular was so very well written by Fiona Davis.  I wholly recommend that you read this book, as it is a do not miss.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

 

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A Little Ray of Sunshine by Kristan Higgins – a Review

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A Little Ray of Sunshine by Kristan Higgins – a Review

 

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Description:
A kid walks into your bookstore and… Guess what? He’s your son. The one you put up for adoption eighteen years ago. The one you never told anyone about. Surprise!
 
And a huge surprise it is.
 
It’s a huge surprise to his adoptive mother, Monica, who thought she had a close relationship with Matthew, her nearly adult son. But apparently, he felt the need to secretly arrange a vacation to Cape Cod for the summer so he could meet his birth mother…without a word to either her or his dad.
 
It’s also a surprise— to say the least—to Harlow, the woman who secretly placed her baby for adoption so many years ago. She’s spent the years since then building a quiet life. She runs a bookstore with her grandfather, hangs out with her four younger siblings and is more or less happily single, though she can’t help gravitating toward Grady Byrne, her old friend from high school. He’s moved back to town, three-year-old daughter in tow, no wife in the picture. But she’s always figured her life had to be child-free, so that complicates things.
 
When Matthew walks into Harlow’s store, she faints. Monica panics. And all their assumptions—about what being a parent really means—explode. This summer will be full of more surprises as both their families are redefined…and as both women learn that for them, there’s no limit to a mother’s love.

 

 

Review:

A Little Ray of Sunshine by Kristan Higgins is another one of her wonderful stand-alone novels. Harlow runs a bookstore in her home town of Cape Cod, close to all her family.  She is 35 years old, happily enjoying her quiet life, with friends and siblings; she does have a secret that only her bff knew about.  When she was 17 years old, a freshman in college, she was pregnant and secretly found a family who she thought would be the perfect couple to adopt. She never told anyone in her family.   Now 18 years later, when she sees a familiar face (the father who adopted her son) walk into the book store, with the boy she gave up (who is the spitting image of her younger brother). Harlow panics and faints, her life is about to change.

Monica, the adoptive mother, panics when she hears that her son, Matthew, manipulated them when planning a vacation in Cape Cod.  She always had a close relationship with Matthew, and was shocked when her husband told her Matthew walked into the book store to meet his birth mother. Sanjay (the husband) and Matthew had gone ahead to Cape Cod, with Monica and her daughter following a couple of weeks later; but with this news, Monica makes plans to leave immediately.

Harlow is happy to see her son, who hugs her and is close to his 18th birthday; Matthew wants to know more about his birth mother and her family.  Once she gets over the shock, Harlow knows she needs to face her family and tell them the truth; her bff Rosie flies to Cape Cod to be there for Harlow.  All hell breaks loose, as Harlow’s parents are upset, she never told them, as well as her siblings who were shocked.  Harlow will bring Matthew to visit her family, and shortly after, bring Monica, Sanjay and Meena (sister) to meet everyone.  Harlow is thrilled to spend time with her son, but Monica tries to be supportive, though she is concerned and apprehensive. Matthew is loving spending time with Harlow’s family, especially the brother Robbie.

What follows is an emotional and informative story showing both sides of adoption, with perspectives of the birth mother, the adopted mother and family. I loved how Harlow reacted so beautifully to Matthew, and his determination to learn everything about her and her family.  We also get to see Monica reactions to Matthew’s behavior and her fears. I also loved seeing all of Harlow’s family, how they opened their hearts to Matthew, as well and Monica, Sanjay and Meena. The secondary characters were very good, including Rosie, Harlow’s grandfather, Robbie were great.

Harlow slowly begins to have feelings for Grady Byrne, old friend from school, having moved back to Cape Cod, who is divorced and has a three-year-old daughter. Will she be able to become serious with Grady, being used to a child-free life? So say too much more wouldn’t be fair, as you really need to read this book from start to finish.  It is that good, as well as very emotional.

A Little Ray of Sunshine was a wonderful, heartwarming and emotional story, that was so very well written by Kristan Higgins. This story also gives you a look at the complex lives of family, adoption, life changing, healing and a few surprises.  I wholly suggest you read this book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

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Emma of 83rd Street by Audrey Bellezza & Emily Harding- a Review

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Emma of 83rd Street by Audrey Bellezza & Emily Harding- a Review

 

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Description:
In this witty and romantic debut novel, Jane Austen’s Emma meets the misadventures of Manhattan’s modern dating scene as two lifelong friends discover that, in the search for love, you sometimes don’t have to look any further than your own backyard.

Beautiful, clever, and rich, Emma Woodhouse has lived twenty-three years in her tight-knit Upper East Side neighborhood with very little to distress or vex her…that is, until her budding matchmaking hobby results in her sister’s marriage—and subsequent move downtown. Now, with her sister gone and all her friends traveling abroad, Emma must start her final year of grad school grappling with an entirely new emotion: boredom. So when she meets Nadine, a wide-eyed Ohio transplant with a heart of gold and drugstore blonde highlights to match, Emma not only sees a potential new friend but a new project. If only her overbearing neighbor George Knightley would get out of her way.

Handsome, smart, and successful, the only thing that frustrates Knightley more than a corked whiskey is his childhood friend, Emma. Whether it’s her shopping sprees between classes or her revolving door of ill-conceived hobbies, he is only too happy to lecture her on all the finer points of adulthood she’s so hell-bent on ignoring. But despite his gripes—and much to his own chagrin—Knightley can’t help but notice that the girl next door is a woman now…one who he suddenly can’t get out of his head.

As Emma’s best laid plans collide with everyone from hipster baristas to meddling family members to flaky playboy millionaires, these two friends slowly realize their need to always be right has been usurped by a new need entirely, and it’s not long before they discover that even the most familiar stories still have some surprises.

 

 

Review:

Emma of 83rd Street by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding is a modern retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma. Emma Woodhouse has lived twenty-three years in her elite Upper East Side wealthy neighborhood, and is soon to graduate with honors from NYU.  She is determined to get her dream job on her own, without her father’s interference; Emma is very likeable, with a heart of gold, but she is also a bit spoiled.  With her sister now married, and friends aboard, she meets a new friend at school, Nadine.  Emma begins her new project in making over Nadine, convincing her to dump the boyfriend, and bringing her to the many balls/concerts, teaching her how to act and look.

George Knightley (Knightley) has been Emma’s best friend since childhood, but he is constantly giving her criticism, telling her she interferes in other people’s lives; he continually tells her she needs to grow up. Though Emma gets angry at him, they still remain as best friends, spending lot of time together, and Knightley always attending the Woodhouse Sunday family dinner.  

Emma’s sister, Margo, pushes her to date wealthy entrepreneur Montgomery Knox.  When she finally does meet Montgomery, he is attracted to her, but Emma knows he is not the one for her.  She realizes despite his being annoying at times, Emma knows she has feelings for Knightley.  Knightley begins to see Emma in a different light, knowing she is no longer his childhood friend, but a woman who he has strong feelings for; he refuses to approach Emma about his feelings.  Will Knightley come forward and tell Emma he loves her?  Will they only be best friends?

Emma of 83rd Street is an enemy to friends to lovers’ story, a retelling that takes place in Manhattan in modern times. Emma was sweet and charming, though a bit overboard at times.  I did like her friendship with Nadine, who turned out to be a good friend.  There were some very good secondary characters, that added to the fun.  Emma of 83rd Street was very well written by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding.  If you are a fan of Jane Austen’s books, you should be reading this book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

 

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Identity by Nora Roberts – a Review

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Identity by Nora Roberts – a Review

 

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Description:
A new thriller about one man’s ice-cold malice, and one woman’s fight to reclaim her life.

Former Army brat Morgan Albright has finally planted roots in a friendly neighborhood near Baltimore. Her friend and roommate Nina helps her make the mortgage payments, as does Morgan’s job as a bartender. But after she and Nina host their first dinner party—attended by Luke, the flirtatious IT guy who’d been chatting her up at the bar—her carefully built world is shattered. The back door glass is broken, cash and jewelry are missing, her car is gone, and Nina lies dead on the floor.

Soon, a horrific truth emerges: It was Morgan who let the monster in. “Luke” is actually a cold-hearted con artist named Gavin who targets a particular type of woman, steals her assets and identity, and then commits his ultimate goal: murder.

What the FBI tells Morgan is beyond chilling. Nina wasn’t his type. Morgan is. Nina was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. And Morgan’s nightmare is just beginning. Soon she has no choice but to flee to her mother’s home in Vermont. While she struggles to build something new, she meets another man, Miles Jameson. He isn’t flashy or flirtatious, and his family business has deep roots in town. But Gavin is still out there hunting new victims, and he hasn’t forgotten the one who got away.

 

 

 

Review:

Identity by Nora Roberts is a standalone romance suspense thriller.  I love all of Nora Roberts books, being a big fan of her In Death/Eve Dallas series, as well as her wonderful trilogies; I thought Identity was one of the best romance suspense thrillers I have read, which kept me glued to my kindle from start to finish. 

Morgan Albright, our heroine, lives in Baltimore, working two jobs; hoping to save enough money to open her own place.  Nina is her roommate, who is like a sister to Morgan, helping share expenses of the mortgage payments.  At night, Morgan is a bartender, making fantastic drinks, and always friendly; one night she meets a charming man, who is in town for a short time.  After a few visits to the bar, Morgan invites him to a dinner with her friend Nina and her boyfriend. A couple of days later, when Nina is home sick, Morgan comes home to see her back doors smashed, her cash, jewelry and car missing and Nina dead in her office.

Morgan learns from the FBI that the man whom she just met, was a serial con artist and a murderer.  His real name is Gavin, and he targets women (similar to Morgan’s looks), steals their assets and identity, and ends up killing them.  She lost everything, and when the FBI agent explains that she was the real target, she decides to leave Baltimore and return home to Vermont, to try and restart her life.  The agent does warn her that since she is the first person who ever survived, Gavin may still have thoughts of finding her again, being the ‘the one that got away’.

When Morgan moves home to Vermont to live with her grandmother and mother, she is happy to be with them; though she still has nightmares thinking about Nina.  Soon, Morgan happily gets a new job, in a popular resort, with her taking over as the nightly bartender/manager in the fancy Apres Bar of the resort.  She gets to know the entire Jameson family, who run the resort; and they all know about what happened to her in Baltimore.  The resort has a top-notch security system, and they implement plans to make sure who does not leave at night without a guard.  In a short time, Miles Jameson stops by each night, and makes sure she is safe, which leads into a slow burn romance. 

I loved Morgan, who was a fantastic heroine, as well as very loyal and loving with her mother and grandmother; she was also a terrific bartender, with many different concoctions. Miles was a bit gruff early on, but in a short time, he began to have feelings for Morgan, as she did for him.  I adored Howl, the dog, who fell in love with Morgan.  The Jameson family were all amazing people, and they were all so wonderful; I enjoyed their family meetings.  I did get a kick out of Jen, the fitness instructor, who trained Morgan how to defend herself; something that would come handy later on.

Gavin, the evil thief/murderer, had a few POV’s as we saw him constantly find victims and kill them.  He still had Morgan as his target for one day in the future.  This escalated as we get closer to the last ¼ of the book, which was very intense and suspenseful.  I will not say more, as you really need to read this book from start to finish.  Identity was a fantastic read, with a bit of romance, family, love, and suspense.  Identity was so very well written by Nora Roberts.  This is a do not miss.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

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The Daydreams by Laura Hankin – a Review

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The Daydreams by Laura Hankin – a Review

 

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Description:
A deliciously entertaining novel about the stars of a popular teen show from the early 2000s–and the reunion special, thirteen years after their scandalous flameout, that will either be their last chance at redemption, or destroy them all for good.

Back in 2004, The Daydreams had it all: a cast of innocent-seeming teenagers acting and singing their hearts out, amazing ratings, and a will-they-or-won’t-they romance that steamed up fan fiction forums. Then, during the live season two finale, it all imploded, leaving everyone scrambling to understand why.

Afterward, the four stars went down very different paths. Kat is now a lawyer in Washington, DC. Liana is the bored wife of a famous athlete. Noah, the show’s golden boy, emerged unscathed and is poised to become a household name. And Summer, the object of Noah’s fictional (and maybe real-life) affections, is the cautionary tale.

But now the fans are demanding a reunion special. The stars all have private reasons to come back: forgiveness, revenge, a second chance with a first love. But as they tentatively rediscover the magic of the original show, old secrets threaten to resurface–including the real reason behind their downfall.

Will this reunion be a chance to make things right? Or will it be the biggest mess the world has ever seen? No matter what, the ratings will be wild.

 

 

 

Review:

The Daydreams by Laura Hankin is a standalone novel, with POV’s from 2004 and 2018.  In 2004, four unknown teenagers were chosen to star in a musical drama, Daydreams, where they will be singing, dancing and acting, with terrific ratings in the first season. Summer is the beautiful girl next door, Noah is the handsome leading man, Kat plays the mean girl, and Liana istheir best friend, who also has an amazing voice. During the season two finale, all hell broke loose, and the show was cancelled. All four of them went their own ways, unable to handle some betrayal, competition, stress, paparazzi and fans.  13 years later, they all agree to return in a new reunion that has fans excited.

As the four of them reunite, they learn how so much has changed for all of them. Noah became a famous movie star, as he was the only one truly unscathed from the show.  Kat is now a lawyer in Washington, DC, hoping to become a partner.  Liana is a trophy wife influencer, married to a famous sports athlete.  Summer, who in 2004, was the rising star, but her life now was a meltdown, with her going to rehab.

What follows has the four of them rekindling their friendship, working together to sing and dance even better now, as they fall into the magic of the original show; but secrets are revealed, including betrayal, revenge, and love. I truly liked all four of them, as they were flawed and somewhat broken in many ways, especially owning up to mistakes they made years ago. Noah and Summer were still very much attracted to each other. Will there be a second chance to love?

The Daydreams was a thought-provoking emotional and fun story, with wonderful characters.  I loved the epilogue, which was very good.  The Daydreams was an entertaining story that was so very well written by Laura Hankin.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

 

 

 

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The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore – a Review

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The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore – a Review

 

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Description:
Sloane Parker lives a small, contained life as a librarian in her small, contained town. She never thinks of herself as lonely…but still she looks forward to that time every day when old curmudgeon Arthur McLachlan comes to browse the shelves and cheerfully insult her. Their sparring is such a highlight of Sloane’s day that when Arthur doesn’t show up one morning, she’s instantly concerned. And then another day passes, and another.

Anxious, Sloane tracks the old man down only to discover him all but bedridden…and desperately struggling to hide how happy he is to see her. Wanting to bring more cheer into Arthur’s gloomy life, Sloane creates an impromptu book club. Slowly, the lonely misfits of their sleepy town begin to find each other, and in their book club, find the joy of unlikely friendship. Because as it turns out, everyone has a special book in their heart—and a reason to get lost (and eventually found) within the pages.

 

 

Review:

The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore is a wonderful and emotional standalone novel. The storyline revolves around 5 main characters, who will eventually form a book club.  We meet Sloane Parker, our heroine, who loves her job as a librarian, and is engaged to a chiropractor doctor.  Sloane always is outgoing when meeting people in the library, and then she meets Arthur McLachlan, who is mean grumpy old man, constantly hurling insults to anyone who looks his way.  In a short time, Arthur makes sure to come to the library when he knows Sloane is there, happily insulting her, but Sloane enjoys giving it back to Arthur.

One day, when Arthur doesn’t show up, Sloane becomes concerned when a few days pass with no Arthur. She decides to track him down, and learns he was bedridden, having checked himself out of the hospital. Though he was grumpy, Arthur was happy to see Sloane.  When she loses her job, because of her visitation, Sloane makes it her business to visit Arthur every day, including at times staying over his house to help him.

Sloane meets Maisey, a clairvoyant and Arthur’s next-door neighbor. The two of them become friends, and together they make it their business to watch over Arthur.  When Maisey notices a man parked by Arthur’s house for a few days, she confronts him, and learns that he is Arthur’s grandson, Greg.  Of course, the grumpy Arthur treats his grandson as bad as the others.  Soon Mateo ( Sloan’s coworker from the library, who is also a trained nurse) will join them, as he becomes part of the newly set up book club. 

What follows is we learn more about each of the group, their lives, their secrets, their personality, and even Arthur slowly opens up. Especially when Nigel, a former enemy of Arthur, joins the book club. The characters were great, with so much fun humorous banter between them; you couldn’t help but care about each of them.  All 5 were an unlikely group of friends, who were always there to support each other, with each having their own favorite books.

The Lonely Hearts Book Club was so very well written by Lucy Gilmore.  This was a joyous story of friendship, that was heartwarming, emotional, fun, humorous, with each person dealing with love as well as their own grievances.  The Lonely Hearts Book Club was a fantastic read.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher

 

 

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Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q Sutanto

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Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q Sutanto

 

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Description:
Vera Wong is a lonely little old lady–ah, lady of a certain age–who lives above her forgotten tea shop in the middle of San Francisco’s Chinatown. Despite living alone, Vera is not needy, oh no. She likes nothing more than sipping on a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy detective work on the Internet about what her Gen-Z son is up to.

Then one morning, Vera trudges downstairs to find a curious thing–a dead man in the middle of her tea shop. In his outstretched hand, a flash drive. Vera doesn’t know what comes over her, but after calling the cops like any good citizen would, she sort of . . . swipes the flash drive from the body and tucks it safely into the pocket of her apron. Why? Because Vera is sure she would 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 knows the killer will be back for the flash drive; all she has to do is watch the increasing number of customers at her shop and figure out which one among them is the killer.

What Vera does not expect is to form friendships with her customers and start to care for each and every one of them. As a protective mother hen, will she end up having to give one of her newfound chicks to the police?

 

 

Review:

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto is a fun crazy captivating mystery.  We meet our heroine, Vera Wong, who is a lonely Asian elder woman (60’s), who lives above her tea shop in Chinatown.  Her shop is always empty, other than a local man who visits daily to have many different kinds of special teas with Vera.  Her life is about to change when one morning she finds a dead man in her in her tea shop.  The police don not pay attention to the case, as they decide the dead man died due to a bird allergy.

Vera decides to take it upon herself to investigate who murdered this man (even if the police do not feel he was murdered). When she gets strange visitors to look in her tea shop, Vera begins to make a list of suspects, and pushes herself into these new people’s lives; as she is determined to find the murderer, and in a short time she becomes close to all her new friends. We meet Riki, San, Oliver and Julia with her little girl, Emma.  Is one of them the murderer?

What follows is Vera’s constant putting herself into her so called suspects lives, navigating the many secrets and lies; learning everything about each of them. Vera constantly makes food/dinner for them, as well as pushing her wonderful tea; with all of them becoming close to her.  We get to see the POV’s on all of the five main characters.  At first, I did find Vera a bit bossy and annoying, but that didn’t last long as she was a quirky grandma sleuth, who for the most part was hysterical.  I loved all five characters, as they were so great together, especially with Vera also being such a good matchmaker.  As she learns the truths of their lives, she manages to cut the suspect list, until she finally realizes who is the culprit.

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers was a fun, delightful, heartwarming, captivating cozy mystery, with fantastic characters.  Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers was so very well written by Jesse Q. Sutanto.  If you enjoy cozy mysteries that are pure fun, you need to read this book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publishers

 

 

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