Read every series in the right order
Vera Wong Books in Chronological Order – Complete Reading Guide
Table of Contents
Quick Answer (TL;DR)
Read the series in this order (it’s both publication and in-universe):
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (2023) → Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) (2025).
Book 1 runs 352 pages (audio 10h42m); Book 2 runs 336 pages (audio 10h36m). The first book is a USA Today bestseller and swept multiple laurels in 2024—Edgar Award (Best Paperback Original) and Audie Award (Mystery)—and also took the Libby Book Award for Best Mystery (librarians’ choice).
Introduction
Jesse Q. Sutanto’s Vera Wong novels are that rare blend of heart-warming found family and shrewd whodunnit—think a modern Miss Marple who keeps a hawk’s eye on your hydration, posture, and romantic prospects. The series begins in a Chinatown tea shop where a sixty-ish “lady of a certain age” discovers a body and, with the confidence only a formidable Chinese mom can muster, decides she can investigate better than the police. By the time the second book rolls around, Vera is back to form: meddling kindly, detecting relentlessly, and gathering a motley crew of suspects-turned-sweethearts around steaming pots of Wulong.
If you’re here for Vera Wong Books in Chronological Order, you’ll find the reading order, edition guide, tags with Amazon buy links, and adaptation news—all organized in the Books in Chronological Order house style we use for mystery series across the site.
Quick Facts
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Series | A Vera Wong Novel (2 books) by Jesse Q. Sutanto |
| Primary Genres | Cozy mystery, contemporary mystery, found family, light crime |
| Ideal Age Range | Adult (General Audience) with strong YA crossover appeal for mature teens 14+; series is published for adults. |
| Reading Difficulty | Easy–moderate: brisk chapters, multiple POVs, clue-forward plotting |
| Approx. Pages | Book 1: 352 pp; Book 2: 336 pp. |
| Estimated Read Time | Book 1: ~7.5–9.5 hours; Book 2: ~7–9 hours (typical adult reading pace). Audiobooks: 10h42m (Bk1), 10h36m (Bk2). |
| Awards | Edgar Award (Best Paperback Original, 2024), Audie Award (Mystery, 2024), Libby Book Award (Best Mystery, 2023 cycle). |
| Media Adaptations | TV series in development: Warner Bros. TV acquired rights to Book 1 with Mindy Kaling and Harpo Films (Oprah Winfrey) attached to produce (announced Apr 10, 2023). |
| Setting | San Francisco’s Chinatown (Book 1 & 2), with social-media & influencer angles expanding the canvas in Book 2. |
| Tone | Warm, witty, sharply observant; low-gore investigations anchored in community, culture, and food |
| Content Warnings | Murder (off-page violence described), grief, emotional manipulation, financial abuse/scams; Book 2 involves an influencer’s death and identity deception. (Derived from publisher copy and library notes.) |
About the Vera Wong Book Series
The Vera Wong novels are cozy in feel but never soft-headed. Sutanto gives us a heroine who weaponizes courtesy: Vera’s “advice” pries open alibis and hearts with equal efficiency. These books also serve up something cozy mysteries sometimes miss—multi-generational, immigrant-family texture and a realistic San Francisco Chinatown backdrop. The puzzles are fair (evidence you can track), the humor is big (tea-shop meddling! matchmaking!), and the character arcs are the kind that make you smile at the last page and text a friend.
Vera Wong Books at a Glance
| Title | Amazon Buy Link |
|---|---|
| Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers | Buy On Amazon |
| Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) | Buy On Amazon |
Format details and page counts are drawn from the publisher listings (Berkley/PRH).
Vera Wong Chronological Reading Order
1) Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers (2023)
Where we begin: Vera Wong lives above Vera Wang’s World Famous Tea House (she keeps the misspelling to catch extra search traffic), and she is absolutely certain that if everyone drank properly brewed tea and listened to her advice, mistakes would vanish from the earth. When she discovers a dead man on her shop floor—clutching a flash drive—Vera calls the police…and quietly pockets the drive. Not because she’s a criminal, of course, but because no one can investigate like a Chinese mother who’s bored and worried about her grown child.
Why it works:
- Warmth + wit: The suspects don’t stay “suspects”—they become people Vera feeds, worries over, and nudges toward better choices.
- A fair puzzle: Clues are seeded early; Vera’s deductions rest on observation and memory (and, er, home visits with Tupperware).
- Representation that matters: Chinatown feels like a lived-in neighborhood, not a stage set.
Specs & accolades: 352 pages; audiobook 10h42m (narrated by Eunice Wong). Winner of the Edgar Award (Best Paperback Original, 2024) and Audie Award (Mystery, 2024); also the Libby Book Awards Best Mystery pick.
2) Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) (2025)
The follow-up: Life is good: the tea shop bustles, Vera’s son Tilly is dating Officer Selena Gray (surely Vera’s doing), and boredom is the only crime in sight—until a distressed young woman begs for help finding a missing friend. A celebrity-adjacent influencer, Xander Lin, turns up dead in Mission Bay, and the police can’t even verify his identity. Vera—cat-sitting, tidying, and absolutely not snooping—comes across a case file in Selena’s briefcase and decides the investigation clearly needs a professional.
What’s new:
- Influencer culture & online personas: Identity becomes the central puzzle; portraits crafted for clicks don’t match the person who died.
- Bigger circle, same heart: The found family grows, but the tone stays cozy—food, friendship, and a suspicious number of helpful aunties.
- Another fair-play mystery: More red herrings, more tea-fueled stakeouts, and a lovely deepening of Vera’s relationship with Tilly and Selena.
Specs: 336 pages; audiobook ~10h35m (narrated again by Eunice Wong). Publication April 1, 2025 (Berkley/PRH).
Series Timeline & Character Development
- Vera Wong: Starts as a widowed shopkeeper whose loneliness cracks open into fierce protectiveness; by Book 2, she channels that same meddling into mentorship, using tea and tough love to rebuild networks frayed by grief and secrets. She’s still fabulously nosy—but more collaborative with her “chicks.”
- Tilly (Vera’s son): At first a fret-target; by Book 2 he’s centered in Vera’s emotional arc, especially as Officer Selena Gray becomes a fixture. Watching Vera learn to support (not steamroll) their relationship is half the joy.
- The Found Family: Book 1’s suspects become friends; Book 2 folds in an influencer’s orbit (agents, brand partners, ghosted friends). Sutanto avoids caricature: even the most “online” characters get human motives.
- Thematic through-lines: Community as method (people solve crimes better when they’re fed and seen); identity vs. performance (from Chinatown’s public face to influencer façades); and agency at any age (sixty can be the beginning of the boldest chapter).
Together, these arcs make Vera Wong Books in Chronological Order feel less like two discrete mysteries and more like a continuing conversation about caretaking, truth, and the work of becoming family.
Vera Wong Books in Chronological Order
- Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers — the tea-shop case that forges Vera’s found family and sets her reputation (and the shop’s foot traffic) ablaze. (Publ. March 14, 2023.)
- Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) — set after Book 1, widening the canvas to Mission Bay and social-media celebrity; Selena and Tilly are a bigger part of Vera’s world. (Publ. April 1, 2025.)
Novels Sorted by Publication
- Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers — March 14, 2023; 352 pp; audio 10h42m (Eunice Wong).
- Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) — April 1, 2025; 336 pp; audio ~10h35m (Eunice Wong).
Companion Works
If you adore Vera’s blend of chaos and care, Sutanto’s broader catalog is a treasure map:
- Dial A for Aunties trilogy (adult rom-crime capers; Netflix holds the film rights).
- The Obsession, The New Girl (YA thrillers) and the Theo Tan middle-grade duology—showing Sutanto’s range while preserving her signature humor. (See the author’s press kit for a concise overview and film-rights note.) .
Editions & Formats (hardcover, collector, audio)
- Trade Paperback & Hardcover: Book 1 is widely available in paperback (Berkley) at 352 pages; Book 2 launched in hardcover and paperback at 336 pages; both use the vibrant, illustrated jackets that have become a Sutanto hallmark.
Audiobooks
- Narrator continuity: Eunice Wong voices both entries, giving Vera’s blend of steel and sweetness a pitch-perfect performance.
- Lengths: 10h42m (Book 1), ~10h35m (Book 2). If you prefer your cozy mysteries with podcast energy, the audio editions are a delight.
Collectability & Shelving Tips
- Match your spines: Prefer uniform heights? The paperback of Book 1 and paperback of Book 2 (also released April 1, 2025) line up neatly; hardcovers make a bold, gift-ready duo.
- Library audiophiles: Many public library systems carry the series in Libby/OverDrive (which also celebrated Book 1 with a 2023 Libby Book Award).
Why Read Vera Wong Books in Chronological Order ?
- Character continuity: Vera’s relationships—and her reputation with SFPD—evolve straight through from Book 1 to Book 2. Starting at the beginning lets each emotional beat land with full weight.
- Puzzle escalation: Unsolicited Advice is a classic amateur-sleuth debut; Guide to Snooping expands the stakes into influencer culture without losing the cozy heartbeat.
- Adaptation synergy: Should the TV project move forward, the season-one arc will almost certainly track Book 1 first; reading in order keeps your experience aligned with the likely screen rollout.
Author Spotlight
Jesse Q. Sutanto is a USA Today bestselling author and award magnet (Edgar, Audie, Libby; previously the Comedy Women in Print Prize for Dial A for Aunties). She holds an MSt in Creative Writing from Oxford and a BA in English Literature from UC Berkeley. Her press kit notes that Netflix acquired the film rights to Dial A for Aunties at auction; meanwhile, Warner Bros. TV has the rights to Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers for TV with Mindy Kaling and Harpo Films attached. Sutanto lives in Indonesia with her family—and if you follow her socials, you’ll recognize the blend of warmth and mischief that fuels Vera on the page.
Media Adaptations (films, TV, radio)
- TV (in development): On April 10, 2023, Warner Bros. Television announced it had acquired series rights to Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, with Mindy Kaling (Kaling International) and Harpo Films on board to produce. No casting or release date has been announced publicly. Keep expectations calibrated: “in development” ≠ “greenlit.”
- Why it’s a fit for screen: A charismatic, older lead; Chinatown setting; low-gore stakes with high emotional payoff; a recurring ensemble primed for episodic cases.
FAQs
Do I have to read Book 1 before Book 2?
Yes. While each mystery resolves, Book 2 assumes you know Vera’s core relationships (especially Tilly and Officer Selena Gray). Reading Vera Wong Books in Chronological Order preserves all the character payoffs.
Are these gory or scary?
No. They’re cozy-leaning: murders occur, but the focus is on sleuthing, community, and character rather than graphic detail. (Perfect for readers who like puzzles with warmth.)
Audiobooks or print?
Both shine. If you love performance, Eunice Wong nails Vera’s cadence and comedic timing across both titles (and the audio won Audie: Mystery in 2024 for Book 1).
Any content warnings?
Murder (off-page), grief, emotional manipulation, financial abuse/scams; Book 2 adds identity deception and influencer-industry exploitation. (Derived from publisher/library descriptions.)
What’s the best giftable format?
Hardcovers look stunning and survive multiple reads; paperbacks are budget-friendly and travel-ready; audiobooks are bingeable over a weekend.
Is a Vera Wong TV series confirmed?
Rights are acquired; development is public; a full series order has not been announced as of September 2025. We’ll update if that changes.
Final Thoughts
If your happy place is a mystery that feeds you—with dumplings, with jokes, with second chances—this is your next two-book binge. Read Vera Wong Books in Chronological Order to watch a community assemble around a teapot and a truth-teller who refuses to let lies stand. Start with the tea-shop case that made Vera an instant cozy icon, then follow her into a world where online personas collide with real-world consequences. Two books, zero filler, and a heroine whose nosiness is—dare we say it—good public service.
