Well Now That Was Interesting...

TITLE: Dial A For Aunties

AUTHOR: Jesse Q Sutanto

PUBLISHER:  Berkley

PUBLISHING DATE: April 27, 2021

PAGES: 320

SOURCE: Library

 

FROM GOODREADS: 

A hilariously quirky novel that is equal parts murder mystery, rom-com, and a celebration of mothers and daughters as well as a deep dive into Chinese-Indonesian culture, by debut author Jesse Q. Sutanto.

• 1 (accidental) murder 
• 2 thousand wedding guests 
• 3 (maybe) cursed generations 
• 4 meddling Asian aunties to the rescue! 

When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate, especially when it is accidentally shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding Meddy, her Ma, and aunties are working, at an island resort on the California coastline. It’s the biggest job yet for their family wedding business—“Don’t leave your big day to chance, leave it to the Chans!”—and nothing, not even an unsavory corpse, will get in the way of her auntie’s perfect buttercream cake flowers. 

But things go from inconvenient to downright torturous when Meddy’s great college love—and biggest heartbreak—makes a surprise appearance amid the wedding chaos. Is it possible to escape murder charges, charm her ex back into her life, and pull off a stunning wedding all in one weekend?

MY THOUGHTS: So I read this book last weekend over the three day holiday when I was on a big romance binge.  And let me start out by saying this book was not what I expected.  Meddy's believes that she met her one true love when she was attending college but rather than hold him back, she gave him up and decided to take a job helping her mother and her aunts with a new business endeavor - event planning.  Fast forward a few years and something tragic happens on a blind date which Meddy's mother arranged.  Things quickly go from bad to worse when her date ends up dead and she has to rely on her family to help her find her way out of a no-win situation.  Add in an over-the-top wedding and the reappearance of her one true love and you have a recipe for potential disaster.  

I really enjoyed all the cultural aspects of Dial A For Aunties and for the most part, I found the Aunties quite hilarious.  They all have very strong, very colorful personalities.  I will admit in the beginning I got all of the aunts confused at first but it was easily sorted out as the story progressed.  

Now for the main thing that bugged me and probably kept me from enjoying this book to its fullest.  A murder, even an accidental one, is a murder, and the whole book is spent trying to cover it up.  And worse, we involved person after person into being accomplices.  

That being said, I found the ending cute and convenient and reading it wasn't a bad way to spend the afternoon.  There is a sequel on the horizon and I am probably interested in it enough to pick it up.  If you are looking for a quirky, yet odd, murder mystery/rom-com (and it really isn't much of a mystery), with a lot of humor thrown in, then give this book a shot.

RATING: 3 PAWS