Dragonfish, Vu Tran
Dragonfish, Vu Tran
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Dragonfish
A Novel

Author: Vu Tran

Narrator: Tom Taylorson, Nancy Wu

Unabridged: 9 hr 7 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/03/2015

Synopsis

Robert, an Oakland cop, still can’t let go of Suzy, the enigmatic Vietnamese wife who left him two years ago. Now she’s disappeared from her new husband, Sonny, a violent Vietnamese smuggler and gambler who’s blackmailing Robert into finding her for him. As he pursues her through the sleek and seamy gambling dens of Las Vegas, shadowed by Sonny’s sadistic son, “Junior,” and assisted by unexpected and reluctant allies, Robert learns more about his ex-wife than he ever did during their marriage. He finds himself chasing the ghosts of her past, one that reaches back to a refugee camp in Malaysia after the fall of Saigon, as his investigation soon uncovers an elusive packet of her secret letters to someone she left behind long ago. Although Robert starts illuminating the dark corners of Suzy’s life, the legacy of her sins threatens to immolate them all.Vu Tran has written a thrilling and cinematic work of sophisticated suspense and haunting lyricism, set in motion by characters who can neither trust each other nor trust themselves. This remarkable debut novel is a noir page-turner resonant with the lasting reverberations of lives lost and lives remade a generation ago.

About Vu Tran

Vu Tran was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and raised in Oklahoma. He is the winner of a Whiting Award, and his short stories have appeared in many publications, including The O. Henry Prize Stories and The Best American Mystery Stories. He teaches creative writing at the University of Chicago. For more information, please go to VuTranWriter.com.

About Tom Taylorson

Tom Taylorson is an Earphones Award–winning narrator and Chicago-based actor with over a decade of stage experience. In that time he also built a voice-over career and now primarily works as a voice actor. Tom is an adjunct faculty member at Columbia College Chicago, teaching voice-over for interactive media.

About Nancy Wu

Nancy Wu has narrated audiobooks since 2004, winning three AudioFile Earphones Awards. A New York theater, television, and film actor, she has recorded in studios all over the world—from Italy to Switzerland to Thailand. Her credits include Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Hope & Faith, All My Children, Made for Each Other, and the Oscar-nominated film Frozen River.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Barbara on December 29, 2024

From the jacket cover, the reader learns that this novel is about an Oakland cop who is asked to find his ex-wife who is currently married to a Vietnamese smuggler and gambler; in this pursuit, the cop learns more about his ex-wife than he ever knew during his 8-year marriage. That sort of describes......more

Goodreads review by Trish on December 05, 2015

Apologies in advance to the author for what I am about to say, but this is just my opinion. The book didn’t really work and the reasons are manifold. It had a strong start, partly because I misinterpreted the prose to indicate that the main character was a youngish Vietnamese-American cop. That seem......more

Goodreads review by L.A. on November 22, 2015

Amazing West Coast noir/literary fiction from a Vietnamese author who grew up in Oklahoma, earned degrees at the University of Tulsa, the Iowa Writers Workshop and the University of Nevada, and who now teaches creative writing at the University of Chicago. Tran takes readers well inside the Las Vegas......more

Goodreads review by Kalen on August 31, 2015

I loooooved this book but I am only giving it four stars. Why? 1. Production editors: Please quit placing huge blocks of text--and especially WHOLE CHAPTERS--in italics. They are hard to read (b looks like h, for starters) and readers tend to skim them. I am no exception. 2. Bob/Robert's insistence......more

Goodreads review by Pattie on July 23, 2017

Dragonfish by Vu Tran purports to tell the story of an Oakland cop, Robert, searching for his ex-wife Suzy (Hong) in Las Vegas and learning she has a long-lost daughter who is a poker player. He has been "hired" by Suzy's new husband (Sonny) to find her and there is great animosity between Robert an......more

Quotes

“Narrator Tom Taylorson’s deep, sombre voice suits this gritty story…Taylorson switches believably between the American main character and the supporting cast of Vietnamese hit men. His renditions of accented English add to the ambiance of non-native speakers, which is essential to these characters. Through his precise, insistent pace, the listener is drawn into the danger, shifting settings, and multicultural history at the heart of the story.” AudioFile

“A haunting, beautifully written novel, almost more ghost story than thriller, as Tran explores the world of refugees, immigrants, and the long hold the past and its dead hold on the present.” Sara Paretsky, New York Times bestselling author

“[A] novel of uncommon artistry.” Tom Perrotta, New York Times bestselling author

“On the pure joyous level of great storytelling, Dragonfish is a top-notch mystery…Dragonfish is a polished dagger of a novel.” Charles Bock, New York Times bestselling author

“This is a well-handled and tautly told story…The novel is uncompromising in its confrontations with the dark sides of all of its characters, but Tran treats them with a hard-won dignity and in this way elevates the narrative away from the sentimental. " New York Times Book Review

“A superb debut novel…that takes the noir basics and infuses them with the bitters of loss and isolation…Vu Tran has given us a haunting literary noir about a newer regeneration of refugees and immigrants who find themselves lost in America.” NPR

“Tran’s thriller debut revolves around an elusive woman who seems lost in her own private—and haunted—world…A most enjoyable mystery, from its distinct, dazzling premise all the way to its satisfying conclusion.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“This haunting and mesmerizing debut is filled with all the noir elements—a dark and seedy underworld, damsels in distress, tarnished heroes, and a blurring of moral boundaries…Highly recommended for mystery fans.” Library Journal (starred review)

“A missing person mystery is delicately entwined with a heartbreaking story of migration and loss…Right off the bat, Tran displays the most admirable and worthwhile gift a serious thriller writer can have: compassion toward even the most disreputable of his characters.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A vivid look at the violent Vietnamese underworld of Las Vegas smugglers and gamblers.” BookPage

Awards

  • Indie Next List
  • BookPage Top Pick
  • BookPage Best Book
  • New York Times Book Review Notable Book
  • Library Journal Best Audiobook
  • Publishers Weekly Best Audiobook
  • Indies Choice Book Award
  • CrimeReads Pick
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