Review: Caught Dead by Andrew Lahn

Caught Dead

by Andrew Lahn

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Pages: 283

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  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, died 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 boi 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. 


Kritters Thoughts:  Someone who hasn't every felt like a full part of his culture is asked to help solve a crime for close family friends, but some members of the family aren't as accepting of him - as he is half white and half Vietnamese.  But he is chosen to investigate the murder or a mother and aunt and get to the bottom of it.  

I loved the uniqueness that the Vietnamese culture gave to this who dun it.  And the two sets of siblings and an "adoptive" son were the meat of the story for me.  I loved hearing how the two sets of siblings grew up in two very different homes but with their mothers as twins you would think it would have been very similar upbringings!  The sibling rivalry mixed with family rivalry made this book for me.

The way the book ended was interesting - not what I expected and not sure I completely loved it, but it wasn't bad.  


Rating:  definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.