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Andrew Lanh has written 5 work(s)
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On a sunny afternoon in Hartford, Connecticut, PI Rick Van Lamâs Vietnam-vet mentor and partner, Jimmy, and Jimmyâs old army pal, Ralph, are attacked as they walk down a city sidewalk. Ralph is killed, and Jimmy, backing up, is struck by a car. While the battered Jimmy is under the care of Rickâs landlord and friend, Gracie, where an improbable romance seems to be blooming, Rick finds himself in a quandaryâheâs asked to clear the name of the two attackers named by the police. One is a boy named Simon Tran, known as Saigon, the other, Simonâs buddy, Frankie Croix.Rick himself is a bui doi or child of dust, meaning the child of a Vietnamese mother and an American GI father. Leading a life of disdain and torment in a Ho Chi Minh City orphanage as a child, a battered Rick turned on a newly arrived child of dust, a more despised case: a boy who was the son of a Vietnamese mother and a black GI. Heâs still ashamed of how savagely pleased he was to have another boy become the new target for mistreatment, someone the Vietnamese community viewed as even lower than him.Years later, in Hartford, Rick has to grapple with that troubling childhood memory because Simon is the son of the same bui doi, Mike Tran. Mike is a hard-working, decent man. Despite the difficulties of being Amerasian, he embodies the American Dream: a house, a loving wife, and exemplary childrenâstudents at prestigious private schools and colleges. Except for Simon, who seems hell-bent on a life of crime.Working with Hank Nguyen, a young colleague now a state-cop-intraining, Rick tracks Simon to a Vietnamese gang in Little Saigon. How can he not strive to save Simon and Frankie, boys who refuse to be saved? And who may be facing not just murder charges but becoming victims in a vicious gangland war?A unique investigator in a crowded field, Rickâs cases both surprise you, and wring your heart.âThe Le family members initially seem to fit into obvious moldsâthe spoiled heiress, the grieving widower, the conservative immigrant parentsâbut Lanh expertly avoids stereotypes. Each character proves to be a richly drawn enigma. Indeed, Rickâs exploration of the Le family is so engaging that readers may forget about the mystery itself. Lanhâs faithful portrayal of the complexity of the human experience demonstrates that people, with their secrets and devious motives, are the most captivating mysteries of all.ââPublishers Weekly Starred Review for Caught Dead, the first Rick van Lam Mystery by Andrew Lanh
Hardcover:
9781464206399 | Poisoned Pen Pr, July 5, 2016, cover price $26.95
Paperback:
9781464206405 | Large print edition (Poisoned Pen Pr, July 5, 2016), cover price $23.95 | About this edition: On a sunny afternoon in Hartford, Connecticut, PI Rick Van Lamâs Vietnam-vet mentor and partner, Jimmy, and Jimmyâs old army pal, Ralph, are attacked as they walk down a city sidewalk.
9781464206412 | Poisoned Pen Pr, July 5, 2016, cover price $15.95
When Marta Kowalski is discovered beneath the Farmington River Bridge, the police write off her death as an unfortunate suicide. Marta had become depressed since the death of an old friend. Marta was a simple woman who cleaned houses, mostly for elderly professors, and faithfully attended Mass. Sometimes she went gambling in Atlantic City or at the Indian casinos. She had no enemies, let alone friends. Murder? Thereâs no evidence of a crime.Yet her niece Karen is convinced of foul play. She hires Amerasian Rick Van Lam, the only investigator she knows in this bedroom community. He had never really cared for Marta. Yes, sheâd dusted his apartment a couple of times, but she was a little too nosy. And sheâd fought with a local gardener, a full-blooded Vietnamese man.Jimmy, his mentor and partner at nearby Hartford, Connecticutâs Gaddy Associates, aces at insurance fraud, frowns on Rick taking another murder case. But aided by his sidekick Hank Nguyen and Hankâs wise Buddhist grandmother, Rick begins asking questions and finds himself mired in affluent Farmingtonâs parochial pettiness and scandal. Digging deeper, he unearths rivalries, jealousies, and viciousness to shame a Miss Marple villageâand realizes to his amazement that Marta was no mere unassuming housekeeper. Any number of townsfolk had reason to shove her off that bridgeâone of them mind-blowing.
Hardcover:
9781464204265 | Poisoned Pen Pr, October 6, 2015, cover price $26.95 | About this edition: When Marta Kowalski is discovered beneath the Farmington River Bridge, the police write off her death as an unfortunate suicide.
Paperback:
9781464204272 | Large print edition (Poisoned Pen Pr, October 6, 2015), cover price $23.95
9781464204289 | Poisoned Pen Pr, October 6, 2015, cover price $15.95
CD/Spoken Word:
9781483079363 | Unabridged edition (Blackstone Audio Inc, February 10, 2015), cover price $34.95
One of the beautiful Le sisters is dead. Hartford, Connecticutâs 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 âwouldnât be caught deadâ 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 Rickâhis father an unknown US soldierâis 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 friendsâa former-Rockette landlady, his crusty mentor, and his ex-wife LizâRick 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 Hartfordâs exclusive white suburbs to the impoverished inner city. To solve the murdersâand bring closure to Maryâs grieving circleâRick 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.
Hardcover:
9781464203305 | Poisoned Pen Pr, November 4, 2014, cover price $24.95
Paperback:
9781464203312 | Large print edition (Poisoned Pen Pr, November 4, 2014), cover price $22.95
9781464203329 | Poisoned Pen Pr, November 4, 2014, cover price $14.95 | About this edition: One of the beautiful Le sisters is dead.
CD/Spoken Word:
9781483079356 | Mp3 una edition (Blackstone Audio Inc, February 10, 2015), cover price $29.95
CD/Spoken Word:
9781483079349 | Unabridged edition (Blackstone Audio Inc, February 10, 2015), cover price $76.00 | About this edition: Investigating the suspicious shooting death of one of the beautiful Le sisters, half-Vietnamese private investigator Rick Van Lam immerses himself in a hostile community where he uncovers dark secrets.
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