One of the books I was anxious to read was the follow up to Jesse Sutanto’s Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. I was finally able to secure a copy of it. The first Vera book had me laughing out loud at times, and I really enjoyed it. I hoped the second would live up to the first one.

The book takes place about a year after the events of the first book. It is a book that I feel you can read without needing to know much about the first one. There are references to some of the events of the first book, but they do not distract or take away from the story of the sequel. So before I go on, here is the Goodreads synopsis:

Vera Wong is back and as meddling as ever in this follow-up to the hit Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers.…

Ever since a man was found dead in Vera’s teahouse, life has been good. For Vera that is. She’s surrounded by loved ones, her shop is bustling, and best of all, her son, Tilly, has a girlfriend! All thanks to Vera, because Tilly’s girlfriend is none other than Officer Selena Gray. The very same Officer Gray that she had harassed while investigating the teahouse murder. Still, Vera wishes more dead bodies would pop up in her shop, but one mustn’t be ungrateful, even if one is slightly…bored.

Then Vera comes across a distressed young woman who is obviously in need of her kindly guidance. The young woman is looking for a missing friend. Fortunately, while cat-sitting at Tilly and Selena’s, Vera finds a treasure Selena’s briefcase. Inside is a file about the death of an enigmatic influencer—who also happens to be the friend that the young woman was looking for.

Online, Xander had it a parade of private jets, fabulous parties with socialites, and a burgeoning career as a social media influencer. The only problem is, after his body is fished out of Mission Bay, the police can’t seem to actually identify him. Who is Xander Lin? Nobody knows. Every contact is a dead end. Everybody claims not to know him, not even his parents.

Vera is determined to solve Xander’s murder. After all, doing so would surely be a big favor to Selena, and there is nothing she wouldn’t do for her future daughter-in-law.

Vera once again sticks her nose into a case where it doesn’t belong and with each new fact she discovers, things become a bit more dangerous. She is bound and determined to solve the mystery, no matter who tries to scare her or what friend tells her to stay away from the case.

There were more laugh out loud moments and some more serious moments. It was a fantastic follow up that, like the first book, left me wanting more!

4 out of 5 stars