Robin M. (robinmy) - , reviewed on 8/21/2023 + 2054 more book reviews

Vera Wong is a 60-year-old woman who runs a tea shop in San Francisco's Chinatown. She is very set in her ways, she is lonely, and she is bored. One morning her routine is disturbed when she enters her tea shop to find a dead body on the floor. She calls the police; but isn't impressed with their investigation. She watches TV and knows exactly what the police should be doing. She even outlined the body on the floor using a sharpie. Eventually Vera decides that she can do a better job than the police; so, she sets out to start her own investigation.

The victim, Marshall Chen, was not a well-liked man. In fact, there are several people who were not upset about his death. Vera talks to the people who visit her suddenly popular tea shop, knowing that the killer always returns to the scene of the crime. Vera picks out four people, one of them Marshall's widow, who become her main suspects.

This book was not what I expected. The murder is actually not the main focus of the story. We read about Vera and her suspects. Each person has an interesting story to tell. Vera inserts herself into their lives, getting to know them and ferreting out information that could help her pinpoint the killer.

The story is slow-paced, but worth the time to stick with it. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the excellent narration by Eunice Wong. My rating: 4 Stars.

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