Brief Recaps: Eliot Pattison's BONES OF THE EARTH, Ang Pompano's WHEN IT'S TIME FOR LEAVING, Michael Stanley with SHOOT THE BASTARDS

"Life on life's terms" meant missing out on some reviewing earlier this year. So here are some brief recaps of books you may want to stock in for the cold weather!

BONES OF THE EARTH (Minotaur) is the tenth and final Inpector Shan Tao Yun mystery from Eliot Pattison. Pattison's first in this series, Skull Mantra, won an Edgar. Both of those, plus the locale in what was once the Hidden Kingdom and remains a controversial region taken over politically by China, are great reasons to read this finale.

Shan's position as a former Chinese official who's become a determined Buddhist places him at a spiritual sweet spot for the investigation of ancient shrines underlying the criminal efforts that soon threaten him and his son. It's fascinating to watch the threads drawn together, and there's hardly a moment without suspense, as Shan navigates a series of traps and investigates on both the mundance and the spiritual level. Pattison's deft twisting of the plot strands to reach a fitting resolution of the series makes for an excellent read.

Ang Pompano is a long-time active member of Sisters in Crime, nationally and in the New England chapter. Yes, there are "brothers" in the organization! His stories have been anthologized, and he's developed academic themes, too, including on detective fiction. WHEN IT'S TIME FOR LEAVING (Encircle Publications) is his debut mystery novel. And what an exhilarating, well-paced adventure it provides! Disgruntled police detective Al DeSantis, leaving behind multiple discouragements in New Haven, CT, plans to relocate to sunny Los Angeles. But a phone call from Mrs. Greenleaf at the Blue Palmetto Detectie Agency in Georgia topples his assumptions of life by letting him know his long-gone father is still alive, and entering a nursing home. "You own a detective agency and a home on Ava Island," Mrs. Greenleaf says. Oddly, though, even though he now owns it ... it seems like she's in charge.

While Al tries to work out what's going on, murder moves into his life, along with Max, an attractive and very sharp female detective who seems to be his official boss. Meanwhile his father, with rapidly increasing dementia, repeatedly goes AWOL from the nursing home. In a series of side-splitting scenes reminiscent of Donald Westlake at his best, Al and his dad become partners in trying to stay alive. Grab a copy of this (hopefully) first of many more to come, and enjoy the sense of being ahead of the crowd in spotting a strong new talent.

Michael Stanley (pen name for a writing duo) already has an award-winning series featuring Detective Kubu. With SHOOT THE BASTARDS (Poisoned Pen/Sourcebooks), Stanley launches a new protagonist: investigative journalist Crystal ("Crys") Nguyen, of Vietnamese heritage but raised and based in Minnesota. In a classic "Livingston searches for Stanley" move, she persuades National Geographic to assign her to complete the rhino poaching story of her missing colleague, Michael Davidson -- and, if possible, to locate Davidson (dead or alive) as a sidebar to the main investigation.

Crys is soon hopelessly muddled about who's a good guy and who's not, and in a chase for information that takes her into the South African bush, north to Geneva, Switzerland, off to Vietnam, and finally back to African landscape that's already become part of her. She's strong and skilled with a light bolt-action rifle, from training at home in winter biathlons -- but how will that stack up against organized criminals with automatic weapons and a huge cash incentive?

Great to see this lively new series, and to know in advance that Michael Stanley's seasoned mystery writing will carry Crys into high risk and tension, challenging all her thinking and action.

Watch for a few more of these, before reviews of the November releases ahead!

PS:  Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

Ninth Inspector Shan (Tibet) Crime Novel from Eliot Pattison, SKELETON GOD

Eliot Pattison's first book in the Inspector Shan series, Skull Mantra, earned him an Edgar Award. The series has consistently grown deeper and stronger each year, and now the ninth book SKELETON GOD, pits Shan against the Chinese military occupation of Tibet with tremendous risks: that he might lose his hard-won visits with his imprisoned son Ko, and that he might lose his life -- for the sake of the people and heritage of this rough land.

Shan's situation as the book opens seems mildly perilous but better than many he's already navigated: He wears the hated Chinese uniform of a local constable in the rural town of Yangkar, as part of a deal he's cut with the powerful Colonel Tan, his nemesis from preceding years. Although the Tibetans who've returned to live in the re-manufactured town don't trust him (prejudice works both ways), he at least has some professional standing, and most importantly, Ko is to visit him without shackles, for a few days every three months. When murders and devastation infect his town and he can't stop the killings and destruction, Shan fears he'll never see Ko after all.

But just when it looks like, against the odds, he'll have his son's companionship, Colonel Tan bulldozes into the town, angry at the chaos, grimly admitting to Shan, " I gave you the quietest post in my county, so remote no one would ever hear your howls of desperation."

Shan's passion for the old Tibetans and his embrace of their spiritual life and rituals mean he can't walk away (and if he did, how would he see Ko?). He faces Colonel Tan as both of them realize they have a joint enemy in the powerful "heroic" veteran General Lau, who despises them.

"Karma," Shan said at last. "It's like divine justice. That's the only kind that will ever reach General Lau."

Tan cocked his head. "Surely Lau is not implicated. Don't even bother to suggest it. Lau would never kill soldiers. He just sees some kind of opportunity in this. He's bored in retirement. He found a diversion."

Shan looked longingly out the window toward the café where his son sat. He wanted so to be there with him, to take him home, to walk with him on a quiet mountain path, to rejoice with him in his temporary freedom and begin the list of activities he had planned for his visit. He glanced at his watch. "Give me a couple hours of your time," he said instead.

A pair of misplaced Americans, hidden histories of the town's past and the violence of the Chinese takeover, revelations of what Shan himself needs to learn -- all these are in play as, layer by layer, the careful investigator peels back the secrets around him and earns the trust of some of his neighbors ... and the dangerous enmity of others. Is there a treasure hidden on the Ghost Plain nearby? What remnants of the ancient Tibetan medical school may linger in the people around him? Can Colonel Tan still exert enough power to protect Shan against other Chinese military manipulations?

This is a highly satisfying book, where the small links and clues accumulate and are at last organized into a twist of plot that surprises even the investigator. The book's resolution is emotionally fitting as well. Consider what it may mean that a yak has been ransomed from death, and a raven persists in flying over the mountain that guards the secrets of the past.

As the author says in his end note, "The shadow that settled over Tibet decades ago sometimes makes writing novels set in that land feel like searching for jewels in a dim cave. ... The shadow may exist, but dig a little deeper and brilliance can still shine through."

PS:  Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.

India, Tibet, Terrorism, in THE RATABAN BETRAYAL, Stephen Alter

It took almost three years for this Himalayan thriller to cross the Atlantic -- and it didn't even require translation. I'm not asking what happened. I'm just glad THE RATABAN BETRAYAL is finally releasing on January 5, 2016, in the United States. It erupted in Europe and even India in 2013, and probably stirred up reaction especially in author Stephen Alter's hometown, Mussoorie, India, where the thriller's action mostly takes place.

I particularly wanted to read THE RATABAN BETRAYAL because it has a blurb from Eliot Pattison, whose Chinese-occupied Tibet fiction (Inspector Shan series) is always high on my must-read list. But where Pattison's series is thoughtful and often mystical in its probing of Tibet "then and now," Alter's thriller rides with special ops teams and multinational espionage along one of the most dangerous border zones of the world: the region where India and China clash.

Action coalesces around one oldtime espionage master, Colonel Afridi, whose center of operations is in Mussorie, a "hill town" created during British rule of India and now a tourist location where agents of both the CIA and India's Research and Analysis Wing, RAW, cross paths and compete for information and survival. Alter propels two couples into the maelstrom of crisis around Afridi, although takes a while to sort out who's working for whom, and why.

Here's a sample from mid book:

Afridi was staring at her intently.

"That's a beautiful necklance you're wearing," he added, almost as an afterthought.

She fingered the amber beads self-consciously.

"Than you. I bought it in the market yesterday," Anna replied.

Afridi gave her a knowing smile, then reached across the table beside him and handed her a packet, wrapped in brown paper.

"You've got good taste, Miss Tagore," he said. "Now tell me what you make of this."

Oddly, this passage captures what frustrated me in THE RATABAN BETRAYAL: The contents of the package sound vital but never come back into the plot after this moment; Anna is supposed to be very tough but gets self-conscious; and Afridi's "knowing smile" over a piece of bazaar jewelry makes him a bit creepy. Overall, I found the action unevenly paced, the character decisions often abrupt, and Afridi himself -- who ought to be appealing, but really isn't -- not living up to what I'd hoped. Alter's an experienced author (15 books), and the terrain for this thriller is irresistible to me, but the only person I really wanted to connect with, a local named Jigme with significant ties to Afridi's past (and the action that took the Colonel's legs), kept vanishing; instead, rather unpleasant agents seemed unable to create any real teamwork, and in the end, I felt like everyone became tainted with betrayal. (Which may be the author's point, I know. But still.)

Yes, I'd pick up another from this author, set in the same region, but more cautiously and with more relaxed expectations. If you're collecting India, Tibet, and even China espionage, this belongs on your shelf. If you want to be moved in some way, though, there are better prospects elsewhere.

Gift List, Dec. 1: SOUL OF THE FIRE, Eliot Pattison

Here we are, on the first day of America's big spending month. Would it be awful to get two of something -- one to give as a valued present, the other as a gift to yourself? While you think that over, here's why SOUL OF THE FIRE might be worth getting twice.

1. It's the eighth book in Pattison's Inspector Shan series, which began with the Edgar Award winner, The Skull Mantra. Shan Tao Yun is one of the most richly crafted characters in today's mystery series: a Chinese functionary who discovers his true self, and lifelong commitment, when he meets and studies with persecuted Tibetan monks in Chinese-occupied Tibet. Shan's dual existence -- recognizable as an ethnic Chinese (in exile) and pursuing a mission to preserve the religion and lives of the district -- give him exceptional access to resolving desperate situations, while also putting him into danger.

2. Shan's Tibetan Buddhism and, more importantly, his love for the monks, especially his good friend Lokeah, deepen over the course of the series. He has a son, for whom he also makes sacrifices (the son is almost peripheral in SOUL OF THE FIRE; Lokesh is front and center), but it's the way he chooses to take risks and make tough choices for the Tibetans overall that keep deepening him.


3. SOUL OF THE FIRE takes the detail of monks who set themselves aflame in deadly protest, and ramps it up to where Shan's full intelligence, passion, and physical stamina are necessary to prevent a powerful Chinese Public Security officer from destroying an entire region.

4. Pattison brings in a remarkable theme this time that focuses on the Dalai Lama and his continued leadership, as well as on a young woman and her own group of hard-fighting, hard-learning rebels hiding in the mountains. The tension ramps up to breathtaking, and Shan takes his place as part of a much larger picture of how committed people struggle to maintain their values.

5. SOUL OF THE FIRE not only puts Shan at risk and moves through complex stresses and a magnificent landscape of mountain and heart, but binds the plot threads into a tender and surprising finale that clearly opens up more directions for future books in the series.

So, if you're not quite convinced about getting two copies yet, go ahead and get your first one; then let me know whether you find yourself hanging onto that one, and getting another for someone you care about. It's the season.

In or Near Vermont This Weekend? Come Meet Eliot Pattison!

Edgar Award-winning mystery author Eliot Pattison will again visit Kingdom Books for conversation about his research and writing, which range from Chinese-occupied Tibet (in his Inspector Shan series) to colonial America and Native Americans (the Bone Rattler series). We hope you can join us this Sunday Aug. 3 at 7 pm, to welcome Eliot back to Vermont and enjoy his insight and discoveries.

We'll have many of the Pattison books on hand (call Dave to reserve one if you like, at 802-751-8374), but no purchase is needed; it's your conversation we want!

MANDARIN GATE, An Inspector Shan Mystery by Eliot Pattison

"The end of time was starting in Tibet." That's what the Buddhist monks, the old lamas, around Shan asserted, as Chinese occupation of their "autonomous territory" continued to bring political oppression -- and punishment and death to the believers. For Shan, the Chinese bureaucrat turned prisoner and then uneasily paroled in Tibet, what the lamas said might be true. But did that mean he should let the occupiers harrass and kill his friends?

In the titles before this one -- the Edgar Award-winning Skull Mantra, then Bone Mountain, Beautiful Ghosts, Water Touching Stone, Prayer of the Dragon, and The Lord of Death -- Shan's determination to protect his friends has meant repeated capture and torture for him. The meditation and other routes to inner equanimity, even laughter, that he learned from the lamas helped him to sustain his loyalty and the physical pain he's endured. Then again, there's the peril his grown son remains in, such that any independent action by Shan can mean the death of his imprisoned son. We readers have seen Shan's determination and integrity tested repeatedly in this situation.

But now -- is the world ending? The shocking death of one of the monks as the book opens might be evidence toward "Yes."

Shan's uneasy position as one who can read the evidence of death, but also grasp the ways in which the worst of the Chinese are spiritually dead, pulls him into investigating a vanished monastery, hidden monks and nuns, and corruption among the Chinese army officials. A killing of three people, including a Tibetan nun, turns out to relate to a government plan that's as brutal as it is powerful, and Shan must stop it, as well as protecting an American woman who's witnessed some of the underlying puzzle. Time and again, he needs to act on the potent scrap of wisdom he has shared with his son, Ko: Push down your fear. It is the greatest power a prisoner can have.

MANDARIN GATE paints the grimmest portrait that author Eliot Pattison has ever offered of what takes place in Tibet today. At the same time, ironically, it also engages with spiritual strengths and teachings more fully than any of the earlier novels. As Shan races from one imperiled friend to the next, he rarely doubts what he must do. And the tension of the book steadily increases, as more risks must be taken.

In his Author's Note at the end of the book, Pattison writes, "Tales of those who have been thus abandoned by history are so plentiful at the roof of the world that they almost seem ingrained in the landscape. While there is much ugliness to be found in the behavior of the government in today's Tibet, the power of that rugged landscape sometimes seems to eclipse it -- and certainly the stark beauty of their land is only enhanced by the enduring strength of the Tibetan people.

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MEET ELIOT PATTISON at Kingdom Books on Sunday July 28 at 7 pm; or if you can't be here, reserve a book or two, signed, and we'll ship them to you the next day. Also featured in this event is Pattison's newest book in his Bone Rattler series (see review tomorrow).

Calendar Alert: Eliot Pattison, Sunday July 28, 7 pm at Kingdom Books

Eliot Pattison must have an amazing work ethic: He writes three mystery series, while also maintaining his career as an international attorney. How does he do it? What's next for this much-acclaimed but private author?

Find out in a rare conversation with Pattison, here at Kingdom Books, on Sunday July 28 at 7 pm. We'll have copies of both of his newest books -- Mandarin Gate (an Inspector Shan mystery, set in Chinese-occupied Tibet) and Original Death (third in the Bone Rattler series, set in Colonial America with both Scottish and Native American components) -- but in limited numbers, so please contact Dave (802-751-8374 and dknel at charter.net) if you'd like to reserve copies.

We also have many of Pattison's earlier books; click here to see the list.