Media Bites Catalogue April 2023

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice For Murderers J E S S E SUTANTO Tea-shop owner. Matchmaker. Detective? Sixty-year-old self-proclaimed tea expert Vera Wong enjoys nothing more than s ipping 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

Sunrise Over Mercy Court

F I ONA MCCA L LUM

Howard and Elsie Manning were born on the same day, met at kindergarten, and have been married for 59 years. They have lived sensible, productive lives, and raised two self-sufficient daughters. Now, at 78, they are bored with the predictability of life, fed up with contemporary society, have aching joints and dwindling finances, and - funeral by funeral - their circle of friends is shrinking. Worst of all, they are grieving for their beloved, recently deceased dog Maisie. Together Howard and Elsie consider bringing their lives to a peaceful end, but it turns out leaving this world is not easy, especially if they want to avoid pain or mess. Even the apparently simple methods have much room for error, as they discover. Then a knock at the door changes everything ...

Released: 05/04/23 TPB | 496pp AU $32.99 NZ $34.99 Imprint: HQ

fionamccallum.com

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. Knives Out meets Kim’s Convenience for anyone who loves solving mysteries by Richard Osman and Janice Hallett, and watching Death in Paradise and Midsomer Murders .

The Perfumist of Paris

A L K A JOSH I

Paris, 1974. Radha is now thirty-two and living in Paris with her husband, Pierre, and their two daughters. She still grieves for the baby boy she gave up years ago, when she was only a child herself, but she loves being a mother to her daughters, and she’s finally found her passion — the treasure trove of scents. When her friend’s grandfather offered her a job at his parfumerie, she quickly discovered she had a talent — she could find the perfect fragrance for any customer who walked in the door. Now, ten years later, she’s working for a master perfumer, helping to design completely new fragrances for clients and building her career one scent at a time. She only wishes Pierre could understand her need to work. She feels his frustration, but she can’t give up this thing that drives her. Tasked with her first major project, Radha travels to India where she enlists the help of her sister, Lakshmi, and the courtesans of Agra — women who use the power of fragrance to seduce, tease, and entice. She’s on the cusp of a breakthrough when she finds out the son she never told her husband about is heading to Paris to find her — upending her carefully managed world and threatening to destroy a vulnerable marriage.

Released: 05/04/23 TPB | 384pp AU $32.99 NZ $34.99 Imprint: HQ

Released: 05/04/23 TPB | 352pp AU $32.99 NZ $32.99 Imprint: HQ

alkajoshi.com

F ICT ION

F ICT ION