The Sixth Man

by Ron Lealos

A quick wit and a sharp tongue alone won’t be enough for Captain Chyang Fang to survive this case.Someone is murdering high-ranking Vietnamese government officials, so the head of Saigon’s homicide division, Captain Chyang Fang, a troubled Chinese Vietnamese man, is given the task of finding the killer. Hated by almost everyone in Saigon and an outcast in both Chinese and Vietnamese circles, Fang has to rely on his wit, biting sarcasm, and not-so-capable assistant, Sergeant Phan-a man who would rather play on his smartphone than work-to find the killer who leaves toy cobras on the bodies of his victims.With the aid of a hunchbacked coroner who honed his skills watching episodes of CSI, and following a key lead that stretches back to the days of the Vietnam War, Fang is led on an opium-addled journey through modern-day Saigon, and if the killer doesn’t get him, the city and its people surely will.Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade, Yucca, and Good Books imprints, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction-novels, novellas, political and medical thrillers, comedy, satire, historical fiction, romance, erotic and love stories, mystery, classic literature, folklore and mythology, literary classics including Shakespeare, Dumas, Wilde, Cather, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

271 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 5, 2016

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The protagonist is something of a Mary Sue, which prevented me from really identifying with him. The story wasn't as interesting as the setting; the two misspellings in the first 30 or so pages were disheartening and, although the second one was also pretty funny, it threw me right out of the book: "...eeking a living..." Really, where were the proofreader, the editors...?

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the effort and variety of a detective story set in Vietnam. Almost every carachter in this story does their entire dialogue in the form of non-stop insults aimed at each other. At times amusing, then irritating and finally deadening. Too much salt ruins the food

[Thomas Porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still laughing at all the creative insults. I loved the book and look forward to the sequel.

[Scott Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great twist I didn't see coming.

[Scooby Doo · Rating 1 out of 5]

The characters are certainly colorful and vividly portrayed, but I became tired of the non-stop verbal, profane insults and the depressing descriptions of Saigon. The plot seemed to be moving very slowly, so I gave up about one-third of the way through.