The Le family members initially seem to fit into obvious molds the spoiled heiress, the grieving widower, the conservative immigrant parents but Lanh expertly avoids stereotypes. Each character proves to be a richly drawn enigma. Indeed, Rick s exploration of the Le family is so engaging that readers may forget about the mystery itself. Lanh s 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. Publishers Weekly Starred Review for Caught Dead, the first Rick van Lam Mystery by Andrew Lanh Up to now, we ve had a sketchy look at the terrible childhood of Rick van Lam, a bui doi or child of dust, meaning the child of a Vietnamese mother and an American GI father. We met him in Caught Dead working as a Connecticut insurance investigator after resigning from his career in the NYPD. We know that he has one memory of life in Vietnam: his mother telling him that he was destined to become a police officer, a seeker after justice. Booklist We learn little more of Rick s early years in his next case, Return to Dust. But No Good to Cry opens with a scene set in an orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City which hit me like a hammer to the heart Rick is daily tormented and visited with cruelty, like the other children of mixed race. Worse, when another child of dust, this time the son of a Vietnamese mother and a black GI, arrives, rather than befriend him, young Rick turns on Mike Tran, savagely pleased there is a new target for mistreatment, someone the community views as even lower than him. If you think race is primarily an American issue, these pages will disabuse you. And it s not just the children who are savage; it s also the nuns. Then the narrative moves to Hartford today. One sunny afternoon, his Vietnam-vet mentor and partner, Jimmy, and Jimmy s old army pal, Ralph, are attacked on a city sidewalk. Ralph is killed and Jimmy, backing up, is struck by a car. While the battered Jimmy is under the care of Rick s landlord and friend, Gracie where some improbable romance may be brewing Rick finds himself in a quandary. He s asked to clear the name of the two prime suspects named by the police, a boy named Simon Tran (a.k.a. Saigon) and his buddy, Frankie Croix. The wheel of life turns full circle as Rick has to grapple with that troubling childhood memory because Simon is the son of Mike Tran, the bui doi whose father was a black GI. Mike is a hard-working, decent man whose family is now in turmoil. Working with Hank Nguyen, a state-cop-in-training, 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? Booklist praises Rick as A unique investigator in a crowded field. He continues to wring your heart, surprise you with plot twists, and nab the bad guys in No Good to Cry, which we publish in July."