This cozy mystery will make you laugh out loud

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Vera Wong’s leadership for default (dead) by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Vera Wong is back and she is as cheerful as she first. Her tea house is doing well and she is sure her son Tilly is about to get married and make her some grandmothers. But when Vera is directed by a phone fraud and again finds herself in the police station, things are stopping quickly out of control. As she leaves, Vera comes across a young woman named Millie, who seems to be in difficulty. She returns miles to her tea for tea and comfort and ends with another possible murder to solve: Millie Xander’s friend mysteriously disappeared.

Thus begins the random raid of Vera into the world of the influencing social media. Yes, the only Vera Wong ends the rubbing of elbows with influencing, so you can imagine the types of problems she creates – especially when she decides to start her own social media account. With the development of her investigation, she encounters new lost souls who have a sharp need for a little love (and a lot of food).

To get back to the idea that sequels tend to be disappointing because they are dealing with character development, I think part of what does Vera Wong’s Guide to Forgery So good (though it’s the second book in a series) is that we’ll see some development of characters for characters from the first book, even when we meet a new group of characters. Readers who enjoyed the first book will see Tilly in a new relationship (with a hero of the first book !!) and learn a little more about some of the neighboring business owners of Vera (the story of the Sword’s History was among my favorite), even when they go together to the wild ride of Vera as she tries to destroy the case.

Also, to meet a new group of heroes who are struggling to find their ways – a star on social media that falsifies everything, an agent that is on the verge of destruction, an aging restaurant, enveloped in guilt, and a young woman who deals with a terrifying reality – serve to expand the found family in a good time. It’s fun to catch the first group of characters through a series of well-placed cameds and even more fun to watch the new characters interact with them. For readers who loved the first book because of their incredible characters, you can catch up with them a little while meeting with beginners.

Another convincing aspect of this book is Sutanto’s commitment with more social problems. While the first book has definitely studied some of the detrimental effects of Gentification in San Francisco’s Chinatown, it did not put it as a central component of the storyline in the way this book makes the darker question at the heart of Xander’s disappearance. I can not say anymore without spoiling the story, but I will say that it is a little unusual for cozy to fight so explicitly with problems with the real world like this, and Suto does this with thought and care (and includes a short note in the confessions that are definitely worth reading).

Despite the seriousness of the problems at the heart of Xander’s disappearance, Sutto managed to create an absolutely cheerful tale (again). You would think that this would not work with the more severe content, but this is absolute. Partly this is because what made the first book so Well It was the way he dealt with the humanity of the characters. At its core, the first book was a study in the human state, including an acting staff of heroes that were all extremely lonely and had lost their ways. Vera helped them (and alone) find themselves, build a community and find a beautifully found family. All these elements are again in this second installment. The characters are different people facing their specific circumstances, but they are all so much isolated. This means that they need Vera to work their magic – and she doesn’t disappoint!