Review: The Lord of Death

In this sixth appearance, Shan Tao Yun, once a top Beijing investigator, long exiled, pummeled and punished for his anti-corruption pursuits and his identification with Tibetan Buddhists, now lives as an outlaw (no papers) at the foot of Mt. Everest.

Shan is bringing a corpse down the mountain on a mule – a sacred trust – when a police security bus crashes on the mountain road below. The bus carries prisoners, Buddhist monks seized in a monastery raid. Sorting out the chaos and aiding the fleeing monks, Shan spies climbing equipment rigged to cause the avalanche that derailed the bus. Musing on that, he hears gunshots further up the road.

Two women have been shot – one a government minister, the other a famous Western climber. Shan, naturally, is arrested. But he’s only charged with the minister’s murder. No mention is made of a second body and everyone denies the climber is dead. Shan’s execution will be swift; his organs harvested.

Then suddenly the torture stops, his wounds are bandaged and Shan is freed. The sadistic Colonel Tan is arrested instead and though the man is Shan’s nemesis he is also the only hope for rescuing Shan’s son, Ko. Ko is in a nearby medical facility where experiments are carried out on prisoners. Only the colonel can get him out.

Shan’s investigation takes him into the camps and culture of Western Everest climbers, the inner recesses of mountain villages, the ruins of ancient Buddhist temples, and the horrifying corridors of the experimental medical facility. The slopes of Everest are wild and vivid and majestic and the Tibetan culture harmonizes with it.

The portrait Edgar-winner Pattison paints of the Chinese is brutal. They are corrupt; without empathy or soul. The Tibetans, while some are suspicious, soured by grief, or hardened by injustice, are an all-round better, wiser people. But the story’s complexity rings true and there’s nothing like the fun of oppression to bring out the sadistic bully in people.

Pattison has delivered another visceral, atmospheric, engaging chapter in the painful, dogged, principled life of talented investigator Shan.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Lynn Harnett

Please Note: Books reviewed are usually provided by the publisher, author, or an agent. Reviewers usually get to keep the book.

Book Review: The Lord of Death

Please Note: Books reviewed are usually provided by the publisher, author, or an agent. Reviewers usually get to keep the book.