All the Colors of the Dark, Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers

 Merry Christmas, Happy New Year! 

I read two books this month that I really liked and want to tell you about.

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

About: "1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Mohammed Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing.

When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges—Patch, a local boy with one eye, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake.

Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.

A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each, Chris Whitaker has written a novel about what lurks in the shadows of obsession, and the blinding light of hope."

Patch and Saint are childhood best friends. (Saint is a girl) They explore the woods together as children and preteens. Saint often sticks up for Patch as he is bullied for wearing a patch where his eye should be. They are both from poor families struggling. Misty lives in the other side of town; wealthy family, pretty, has it all. Patch has a crush on her. One day when they are walking in the woods, someone attempts to kidnap Misty. Patch goes to her rescue, Misty escapes but Patch is taken and held somewhere in the dark for quite awhile. There is one other person seemingly being held also, Grace, who keeps Patch alive.

The story goes on over the next 30 years as Patch escapes and is determined and obsessed with finding Grace. Saint is married to a local boy. 

It is such a gripping story, filled with horrific moments, tension, but also deep lifelong  friendships. 

I highly recommend it. The author has another book that came out before this book: We Begin at the End which promises to be equally as good. I have it on my TBR list.

https://sites.prh.com/chriswhitaker

*The second book I listened to this month that I absolutely loved is:

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

About: "Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than sipping a good cup of Wulong and doing some healthy ‘detective’ work on the internet (AKA checking up on her son to see if he’s dating anybody yet).

But when Vera wakes up one morning to find a dead man in the middle of her tea shop, it’s going to take more than a strong Longjing to fix things. Knowing she’ll do a better job than the police possibly could – because nobody sniffs out a wrongdoing quite like a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands – Vera decides it’s down to her to catch the killer.

Nobody spills the tea like this amateur sleuth."

This is an excellent mystery. It is very humorous at times, (hilarious actually), very heartwarming and emotional at times.

Vera Wong decides she will solve the murder of the man found in her Tea Shop because, based on what she has seen on the CSI T.V. show, the San Francisco police do not know what they are doing. she even outlined the body - in permanent marker- for the police, before she called them. Several people stop by the shop to see what happened, seemingly unrelated or unknown to each other. Vera is suspicious of them all, starts a notebook of her investigation and brings them all together, through food and tea, to find out who is the murderer. I loved how Vera brings them all together and figures out "who did it". I never guessed the ending. I want to hang out with Vera and try some of her "famous" tea.

Book two is coming out April 1, 2025: Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (On a Dead Man). I am really looking forward to it.

You may know Jesse Q. Sutanto for the Aunties books. I have not read those but may check them out.

https://jesseqsutantoauthor.com/

Enjoy your holidays and see you in 2025.