Chuck Frye is a down-and-out California surfer, happy riding the waves in Newport Beach, until his big brother's Vietnamese bride is kidnapped on stage during one of her popular cabaret performances in Little Saigon. Chuck knows much more about riding waves than he does about his war-hero brother's past, and soon finds himself in a deadly world of refugee passions and politics, at the center of which is his brother's mysterious, lovely wife.
"Little Saigon is a great mystery thriller but to say so may be doing it an injustice. It may also be the first major novel to explore that strange new neighborhood set somewhere between the American mainstream and the Mekong Delta." ----- Donald Stanwood
"Parker is a glowing fixture in the thriller firmament." ----- Kirkus Reviews
"Slick and elegant...It's a swell book to read." ----- Los Angeles Times
"A very polished and deeply felt performance." -- Donald Stanwood
About the Author: T. Jefferson Parker is the author of nineteen crime novels, and a three-time winner of the Edgar Award. He lives in Southern California.
From Publishers Weekly
This workmanlike suspense thriller by the author of Laguna Heat takes its name from the populous Vietnamese community in California's Orange County, an intriguing although largely unexplored backdrop for the action. Chuck Frye, a surf bum who has recently failed at journalism, business and marriage, lives in the shadow of his war-hero brother Bennett, and their father, a wealthy real-estate tycoon. Bennett's Vietnamese wife is a singer whose protest music has made her a heroine among anticommunists and Asian expatriates. When she is kidnapped during a performance, Chuck joins the search for her, hoping to end his estrangement from the Frye clan. But the more he learns about the crime's motivepolitics, gang warfare or revenge are all possibilitiesthe more intently his family tries to shut him out of the investigation. Meanwhile, the body count continues to mount. Parker's methodical story moves briskly but permits few surprises, and his novel could do without a silly subplot about Chuck's personal redemption, which apparently lies not only in finding his sister-in-law but also in regaining the courage to ride a big wave after a surfing accident. 125,000 first printing; $125,000 ad/promo. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Thickly plotted...a tense thriller that builds to an astonishing payoff!"-Playboy
"Exotic...surprises turn up every five minutes."-New York Daily News
"Thoroughly satisfying...tension that builds wave on wave to a crashing climax!" -Cincinnati Post
"Memorable...further proof that [Parker's] no flash in the pan, but a glowing fixture in the thriller firmament."-Kirkus Reviews
"Pulse-quickening and thought-provoking...with his second novel, T. Jefferson Parker confirms the talent demonstrated in his first."-San Diego Union
"His plotting and pacing are now essentially faultless."-Miami Herald
"A lesson in the seamless splicing of suspense and terror."-Booklist
"[Parker] is a potent and irresistible writer."--Los Angeles Times
Description:
Chuck Frye is a down-and-out California surfer, happy riding the waves in Newport Beach, until his big brother's Vietnamese bride is kidnapped on stage during one of her popular cabaret performances in Little Saigon. Chuck knows much more about riding waves than he does about his war-hero brother's past, and soon finds himself in a deadly world of refugee passions and politics, at the center of which is his brother's mysterious, lovely wife.
"Little Saigon is a great mystery thriller but to say so may be doing it an injustice. It may also be the first major novel to explore that strange new neighborhood set somewhere between the American mainstream and the Mekong Delta."
----- Donald Stanwood
"Parker is a glowing fixture in the thriller firmament."
----- Kirkus Reviews
"Slick and elegant...It's a swell book to read."
----- Los Angeles Times
"A very polished and deeply felt performance."
-- Donald Stanwood
About the Author: T. Jefferson Parker is the author of nineteen crime novels, and a three-time winner of the Edgar Award. He lives in Southern California.
From Publishers Weekly
This workmanlike suspense thriller by the author of Laguna Heat takes its name from the populous Vietnamese community in California's Orange County, an intriguing although largely unexplored backdrop for the action. Chuck Frye, a surf bum who has recently failed at journalism, business and marriage, lives in the shadow of his war-hero brother Bennett, and their father, a wealthy real-estate tycoon. Bennett's Vietnamese wife is a singer whose protest music has made her a heroine among anticommunists and Asian expatriates. When she is kidnapped during a performance, Chuck joins the search for her, hoping to end his estrangement from the Frye clan. But the more he learns about the crime's motivepolitics, gang warfare or revenge are all possibilitiesthe more intently his family tries to shut him out of the investigation. Meanwhile, the body count continues to mount. Parker's methodical story moves briskly but permits few surprises, and his novel could do without a silly subplot about Chuck's personal redemption, which apparently lies not only in finding his sister-in-law but also in regaining the courage to ride a big wave after a surfing accident. 125,000 first printing; $125,000 ad/promo.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Thickly plotted...a tense thriller that builds to an astonishing payoff!"-Playboy
"Exotic...surprises turn up every five minutes."-New York Daily News
"Thoroughly satisfying...tension that builds wave on wave to a crashing climax!"
-Cincinnati Post
"Memorable...further proof that [Parker's] no flash in the pan, but a glowing fixture in the thriller firmament."-Kirkus Reviews
"Pulse-quickening and thought-provoking...with his second novel, T. Jefferson Parker confirms the talent demonstrated in his first."-San Diego Union
"His plotting and pacing are now essentially faultless."-Miami Herald
"A lesson in the seamless splicing of suspense and terror."-Booklist
"[Parker] is a potent and irresistible writer."--Los Angeles Times