Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers is a cozy mystery, a term that first appeared around the 1990s to describe “soft-boiled” mystery. “Soft-boiled” was created by authors like Agatha Christie and provides a contrast to the “hard-boiled” genre. The hard-boiled mystery story focuses on realism and human depravity, with a cynical perspective of the world. The cozy mystery tends to see the world as generally good. For example, Vera Wong’s world is small and peaceful, with neighborly conflicts revolving around pastries and such. The darker elements of human nature are downplayed, and the central murder is either committed off screen or is relatively bloodless (i.e., poisoning, strangling). The cozy mystery doesn’t deal with sadistic serial killers or organized crime. The characters are generally likable, and even antagonists have understandable, even sympathetic, motives (i.e., greed, jealousy). For example, Marshall Chen was poisoned because he betrayed his family. Cozy mysteries often incorporate an element of romance, but sex is downplayed in favor of marriage.

The cozy mystery generally takes place in the country, or a small town or village, where people know one another well. The protagonist is an amateur sleuth who usually has some quality or ability that gives them an edge in uncovering the central murder’s culprit. This protagonist is often a woman with traditionally feminine traits, in contrast to the men and stoic women of hard-boiled mysteries. Often, the sleuth has a civil relationship with police, who may be unable to solve the case for some reason. Vera’s story takes place in a small neighborhood in San Francisco, and while Officer Gray is quick to dismiss Marshall’s death as natural, she lacks the flash drive that Vera herself took. Furthermore, Vera treats her four suspects with maternal love.

The reveal of the killer in Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers plays with traditional climaxes in the mystery genre. The sleuth gathers their suspects before revealing the killer. In playing fair with the reader, the reader must have access to the same clues as the sleuth to test their own wits. Vera attempts to orchestrate one such reveal, only to find that none of her suspects is the real killer. The killer is spontaneously pieced together later on, as Vera’s strength is in mothering, not so much criminal investigation.