Caught Dead: A Rick Van Lam Mystery by Andrew Lanh

I received a free e-copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting read. Rick Van Lam is a product of the Vietnam war. His father is a nameless American G.I and his mother is Vietnamese. He isn't accepted by either the Americans or the Vietnamese. When he is 13, he is sent to live in America and is eventually adopted. He becomes a police officer but finds that he doesn't quite fit so he moves and becomes a private investigator. He also teaches a class through the summer at the local college.

When his friend Hank asks him to look into the death of Mary Le, he tells him he will ask some questions, he knows that the Vietnamese community wouldn't talk to him. Mary was killed in the wrong part of town in what the police called a drive-by. But no-one can explain why Mary was in that part of town to begin with. A week later her sister is killed in the same place, in the same manner.

With plenty of clues to follow, Rick plods along, being snubbed by the Vietnamese community and eventually get to the right conclusion. The author has done a wonderful job of describing the characters, Hanks Grandma is a gem. The storyline is intriguing and wonderfully descriptive of a community that don't like outsiders.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is a fan of murder/mysteries.