Bone Mountain (Inspector Shan Tao Yun Series #3)

by Eliot Pattison

Overview

Deep in the heart of Tibet, Shan Tao Yun, an exiled Chinese national and a former Beijing government Inspector, is caught between the brutal Chinese army and a Western oil company. Shan has agreed to lead an expedition to return the eye of an idol, stolen almost a century ago and recently, clandestinely recovered, to a distant valley, an act that will fulfill an important Tibetan prophecy. But the pilgrimage turns into a desperate flight when the monk who is to lead them is murdered. Shan also discovers that the stone was stolen back from a brigade of the Chinese army that is now in hot pursuit.

Still possessing an investigator's love of truth, Shan faces a perplexing tangle of mysteries. Why are the Chinese so desperate to retrieve the stone eye, why has an American geologist abandoned the oil company's drilling project and fled into the mountains, and why are rumors sweeping the countryside that an ancient lama is returning to liberate this country? As he digs into these questions, Shan realizes that there is more at stake than mere justice: the spiritual survival of his people is in danger as well.

Complex and compelling, Bone Mountain is a spectacular achievement from a major voice in crime fiction.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312330897
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/01/2004
Series:	Inspector Shan Tao Yun Series , #3
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	949,462
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.96(d)

About the Author

Eliot Pattison is the author of The Skull Mantra, which won the Edgar Award and was a finalist for the Gold Dagger, as well as Water Touching Stone. Pattison is a world traveler and frequent visitor to China, and his numerous books and articles on international policy issues have been published around the world.

Editorial Reviews

Intense and captivating exploration of modern Tibet.... Pattison has taken an unknown world and made it come alive.” —Library Journal

“Pattison's densely plotted and incredibly detailed novel induces his entranced readers to care deeply about both his compelling characters and long-suffering Tibet.” —Booklist (Starred Review)

“Despite the number of books about Tibet, few have brought us as close to ground level awareness as Eliot Pattison has done with Bone Mountain.... Though this is a deeply reflective book, it is a true late-night, page-turner delight.” —Chiang Mai City Life

“Enlightening, sometimes brilliant, often moving.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Pattison's empathy for the cause of Tibetan independence is admirable.” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

In this third suspenseful mystery-thriller from Edgar winner Pattison (The Skull Mantra; Water Touching Stone), discredited former Beijing police investigator Shan Tao Yun, unofficially released from a central Tibetan gulag, is now living with a group of outlaw Buddhist monks, some of whom helped him through his most unbearable prison experiences. In gratitude he and his friend, the renegade monk Lokesh, agree to escort a stolen religious artifact to the remote Yapchi Valley, the site, coincidentally, of international oil explorations, from which an American engineer has disappeared. Chinese plans to clear the valley and relocate its farmers and sheepherders to cities will profit the mining project and aid the Chinese "in another effort to pry Tibet's collective fingers from its rosary." Just as the holy artifact is a mystical symbol of Tibetan culture and Buddhism, so the multilayered story is imbued with Tibetan belief, civilization and politics. Readers with little knowledge of Tibet's religion and history may have difficulty following the plot with its large cast of varied, well-drawn Tibetans, Chinese and Americans, countless treks through rugged, stunning landscapes and the numerous side plots including several murders some of which are red herrings. Pattison's empathy for the cause of Tibetan independence is admirable, but it often overwhelms his story. The book, which is far too long and discursive, becomes a polemic that dilutes Shan's search for the truth. National author tour. (Sept. 16) Forecast: While not much in the news of late, the fate of Tibet remains a hot issue. Look for strong demand from mainstream readers, especially those with a spiritual bent. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Edgar Award winner Pattison continues the adventures of Shan in this intense and captivating exploration of modern Tibet. Shan is on a pilgrimage when he witnesses the beating death of his friend Drakte. Shan is not one to let a crime go unpunished, so he goes after the murderer. During his investigation, he clashes with the Chinese 54th Mountain Brigade, an army whose leader would love to see Shan a prisoner again. In addition, he helps an American ambassador named Winslow look for a woman geologist who mysteriously vanished. The oil company she worked for is determined to obtain its product at any cost, even if it decimates land in the process. All these events converge against the background of a harsh landscape. Much like an sf, Pattison has taken an unknown world and made it come alive. For all fiction collections. Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal