Child of My Winter

Amerasian Rick―his father an unknown US soldier―is one of the Bui Doi, children of the dust, so often rejected by Vietnamese culture. Rick was lucky―ending up in Hartford, Connecticut where he's made a life as an insurance investigator after leaving that of a cop at the NYPD. He owes his survival in part to the loving support of his friend Hank Nguyen's multigenerational family. He's now teaching some classes at the college where his empathy is aroused for a brainy scholarship-student Vietnamese of no social skills and a hostile family. When one of the professors is shot on a blizzardy night, the student is the hot suspect. Yet he seems oddly indifferent to the situation although he's clearly concealing something…. The 4th Rich van Lam mystery presents a powerful portrait of the aftermath of war, immigrant experiences, and how the lack of parental love can warp a life.