Beautiful Ghosts

What an incredible read. I feel as though I've missed out on so much by over-looking books involving the far east. I felt they would never appeal to me since I've never had an opportunity to explore the culture. Beautiful Ghosts took me on a trip that I did not wish to have terminated. I was enthralled. What a ride! Former detective Yun is a unique and intriguing character and I can't wait to read more. The landscape and character descriptions are so vivid and real that the ability to imagine them comes so easily. By the end of the book I was tempted to contact my travel agent! If you desire something different and want a unique mental trip away from the ordinary, I very highly recommend Mr Pattison.

Eliot Pattison's details quickly transport the reader to a world that seems so distant in time and space and yet sadly is a part of the world we live in now. He teaches the reader so very much about the Tibetan culture and the Chinese Cultural Revolution through his books while weaving a tale of intrigue and surprise twists. Pattison's stories tell of man's weaknesses and also celebrate the power of compassion and spirituality.

Pattison reminds me of Mitchner's early books, with his tremendous empathy for the people and culture. This is one of those books that you don't want to come to an end.

The fourth Shan novel from Eliot Pattison is, in my opinion, his most polished and easiest for a first time reader. The formulaic corpse in the first few pages is duly introduced, allowing the author to get onto his primary theme of Buddhism. The protagonists and antagonists come across as complex, conflicted individuals and a little less, in this work, as political stereotypes (except for the real baddies of course). It's not too hard to figure out who did the deeds, but as before, all the joy is in the well-paced journey to discovery.Mr. Pattison uses space...chortens, mountains, temples, geology, in very interesting ways in all of his books, with parallel outer and inner spaces. I think this is done very well in this work. Beautiful Ghosts can well stand alone, without requiring knowledge of the prior books. If one has read the previous novels, the characters seem like old friends and allow Mr. Pattison to use careful understatement in the context of our previous encounters, especially with the learned and kindly senior lamas.The inner struggles of Shan are deep and wrenching, but at the same time not as disorganized, overwhelming, or at times as overwrought as in the earlier mysteries. One can almost sense him going sane or perhaps growing spiritually from book to book. He seems to be growing into himself despite the very personal hits he takes in this book. Suggestions for future themes abound for Himalaya devotees....Bon, cross-border trade with India, relationships with the Tibetan exile community, etc. I can't wait to see what is next.

At one time Inspector Shan Tao Yun felt his life in Beijing was excellent, but he made the error of following personal ethics and adhering to the law rather than the party line; he alienated a person very high in the Chinese governmental hierarchy. The "court" sentenced Shan to toil at a remote work camp where he would not see his wife or son ever again. However, he no longer works at the camp; instead, Shan lives in Tibet amidst outlawed Buddhist monks. Having become a non-person of no status, Shan can never go home.Shan attends a ceremony rededicating an ancient ruined monastery. While there, he finds evidence that a murder recently occurred amidst the devastated monastery. Local officials want to investigate dangling the opportunity to go back to Beijing and see his son as a carrot. Others want him quietly to leave the area. Worse, the FBI and Beijing officials are involved too. Hoping to protect the secret group of Buddhist monks that have befriended him, Shan begins to make inquiries that will take him far away from the Himalayas across the Pacific.This is an engaging Chinese mystery starring a delightful lead protagonist, but the real star is the vivid and deep look into Tibet and other Himalayan locations. Readers obtain a taste of Buddhism and the Chinese Communist government's efforts to eliminate the belief system. Shan is a wonderful sleuth finding himself pulled in several directions, but following his personal ethics regardless of the cost to his heart. BEAUTIFUL GHOST is a beautiful thriller.Harriet Klausner