Bone Mountain by Eliot Pattison

I've just finished reading a book called Bone Mountain by Eliot Pattison which is the third book in his series of four (so far). His first book was called The Skull Mantra and his second book was called Water Touching Stone. His books are about a Han Chinese investigator called Shan, who has fallen from grace in Beijing and is living in Tibet. In the first book, Shan is in a prison camp run by the Chinese from which he is eventually unofficially released. In the next two books he is wandering about the mountains with his friend, a Tibetan Monk. The books are technically mysteries but are much more - he writes about the brutalities of the Chinese in Tibet and the way of life of the Tibetans. I really enjoy his work even though the plots are indecipherable. I also find that his books take me ages to read - I mean hours and hours. This coming from the girl who will usually zip through a book in around 2-3 hours. I would estimate that it takes me about three to four times as long to read an Eliot Pattison book compared to most other books that I read. So people, if you are looking for something a little different - I can highly recommend this series. Try to start with The Skull Mantra if you can.