This Cozy Mystery Will Make You Laugh Out Loud

Cozy mysteries are the best. They somehow manage to take murder and turn it into the readerly equivalent of a giant fuzzy blanket. One of my all-time favorite cozy mysteries is Jesse Q. Sutanto’s 2023 novel Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. I’ll be the first to admit that when I found out Sutanto was releasing a second book in the Vera Wong series, I was worried. After all, the first book was so good! And I thought it was meant to be a standalone mystery, so wasn’t expecting a second book at all. Then along came Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (On a Dead Man).

In Alexa Phillips’ article on the reasons most sequels are absolutely awful, Phillips contends, “the reason why most sequels suck is that there is no significant transformation the characters go through in the subsequent installments.” That rings pretty true for me, but the way Sutanto has written this novel manages to sidestep that issue in pretty significant ways. Most significantly, even though Vera features as strongly as she did in the first book, all the other main characters are side characters (although they do make delightful cameos) in Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping.

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Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (On a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto Vera Wong is back, and she’s just as hilarious as she was the first time around. Her teahouse is doing well and she’s certain her son, Tilly, is on his way to getting engaged and making her some grandbabies. But when Vera is targeted by a phone scam and finds herself at the police station again, things spiral rapidly out of control. As she’s leaving, Vera runs into a young woman named Millie who seems to be in trouble. She brings Millie back to her teashop for some tea and comfort, and ends up with another possible murder to solve: Millie’s friend, Xander, has mysteriously disappeared.

Thus begins Vera’s accidental foray into the world of social media influencers. Yup, the one and only Vera Wong ends up rubbing elbows with influencers, so you can imagine the kinds of trouble she gets up to—especially when she decides it’s time to start her own social media account. As her investigation develops, she encounters new lost souls who are in dire need of a little love (and a lot of food).

To return to the idea that sequels tend to be disappointing because they skimp on the character development, I think part of what makes Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping so good (even though it’s the second book in a series) is that we get to see some character development for characters from the first book even as we meet a new group of characters. Readers who enjoyed the first book get to see Tilly in a new relationship (with a character from the first book!!) and learn a little more about some of Vera’s neighboring business owners (Winnie’s story arc was among my favorites), even as they go along on Vera’s wild ride as she tries to crack the case.

Also, getting introduced to a new group of characters struggling to find their ways—a social media star who’s faking everything, an agent who’s on the brink of ruin, an aging restauranteur wracked with guilt, and a young woman dealing with a horrific reality—serves to expand Vera’s found family in fun and complex ways. It’s fun to catch the first group of characters through a series of well-placed cameos, and even more fun to watch as the new characters interact with them. For readers who loved the first book for its amazing characters, you get to catch up with them a little bit while meeting the newbies.

Another compelling aspect of this book is Sutanto’s engagement with larger social issues. While the first book definitely explored some of the detrimental effects of gentrification in San Francisco’s Chinatown, it didn’t frame it as a central component of the plot in the way this book does the darker issue at the heart of Xander’s disappearance. I can’t say more without plot spoiling, but will say it’s somewhat unusual for a cozy to grapple so explicitly with real-world issues like this, and Sutanto does so with thought and care (and includes a short note about this in the acknowledgements that’s definitely worth the read).

Despite the seriousness of the issues at the heart of Xander’s disappearance, Sutanto managed to craft an absolutely hilarious tale (again). You’d think this wouldn’t work with the heavier content, but it absolutely does. In part, this is because what made the first book so good was the way it dealt with the characters’ humanity. At its heart, the first book was a study in the human condition, featuring a cast of characters who were all exceedingly lonely and had lost their ways. Vera helped them (and herself) find each other, build community, and discover a beautiful found family. All of those elements are back in this second installment. The characters are different people facing their own specific circumstances, but they’re also all so very isolated. That means they need Vera to work her magic — and she doesn’t disappoint!

Lucky for readers, Vera’s brand of magic will make you laugh (and cry) out loud. Her latest antics will leave you with a lot to think about. So grab some tissues and a cup of tea and get ready to read until the sun comes up because you’re not going to be able to put this one down!

For more cozy content, check out the Best Cozy Books of 2025 and this guide to all the cozy genres.