the mystery was average but the information on tibet under occupation and buddhism made for a very interesting read ( )

his was about a Tibetan detective who had been sent to a work camp for having gotten too close to the truth in some key cases. He is asked to help the prison director with a case. He does. A bit slow moving, but interesting insight into Buddhist culture.
Wife Sharon has read another book by this author (Water Touching Stone), which she loved, so I stayed with this book, otherwise, I probably would have given up. ( )

it took like 300 pages for this one to get going for me, and by then i was too lost to really understand all he was doing here. i think, actually, that this is a really interesting and complicated mystery and i like his messaging. he has a lot to say about the government in china and what is going on with tibet, the abuses and mistreatment that is rampant. there is a lot to learn in this book; about that and about buddhism. but mostly it was just too much of a slog for me, and too hard, even though he is obviously a good writer, and cares about this place and these people. it was probably just the wrong time for me to read this, and i wish i had liked it more, but this wasn't for me right now.

"'It is a mistake to think of courage as something you show to others. True courage is only something you show to yourself.'" ( )

Stunningly absorbing portrait of Tibet and tensions with China. As a devoted mystery reader, I found the characters and plot, combined with the casual use of Buddhist tenets and practices challenging to parse. You either fill in the blanks yourself or hang on for the reveal. I found myself in Wikipedia a lot! Nonetheless the atmosphere (and the mystery) are very well done. ( )

Shan is a political prisoner in a work camp, when a dead body is discovered. The local political boss decides to have Shan investigate, given his background. He is assigned a Tibetan prisoner to help, and a Chinese guard to watch them. The plot is thick and quite meandering, but Shan is determined and keeps investigating, eventually uncovering the culprit and the motive. Ambitious effort, with a healthy dose of anti-communist/pro-Buddhist philosophy. I was bored at times, and doubt I will read the next book in the series. ( )