Caught Dead: A Rick Van Lam Mystery (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781464203305)

One of the beautiful Le sisters is dead. Hartford, Connecticut's small Vietnamese community is stunned. Mary Le Vu, wife of a poor grocery-store owner, is gunned down in a drive-by. Her twin sister insists dutiful Mary "wouldn't be caught dead" in that drug-infested zone. The police rule it an unlucky accident. Skeptics hire private eye Rick Van Lam to get to the truth. Amerasian Rick--his father an unknown US soldier--is one of the Bui Doi, children of the dust, so often rejected by Vietnamese culture. But his young sidekick, Hank Nguyen, a pureblood Vietnamese, can help Rick navigate the closed world of Little Saigon. Surrounded by close friends--a former-Rockette landlady, his crusty mentor, and his ex-wife Liz--Rick immerses himself in a world that rejects him, but now needs his help. Especially when a second murder strikes in Little Saigon. Rick and Hank delve into the families of the Le sisters, one poor, one very rich, and uncover a world of explosive ethnic tension and sinister criminal activity ranging from Hartford's exclusive white suburbs to the impoverished inner city. To solve the murders--and bring closure to Mary's grieving circle--Rick looks to long-buried memories of his Buddhist childhood for the wisdom that will lead him to a murderer. Caught Dead starts a smart, unusual series.

Author: Andrew Lanh
ISBN-10: 146420330X
ISBN-13: 9781464203305
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Language: English
Published: 11/04/2014
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 9.69h x 4.68w x 1.02d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 09/01/2014 pg. 46
Booklist 10/01/2014 pg. 36
Kirkus Reviews 10/15/2014