Product Description In a magnificent land where myth mixes treacherously with truth, one woman is in charge of telling them apart. Liu Hulan is the Inspector in China?s Ministry of Public Security whose tough style rousts wrongdoers and rubs her superiors the wrong way. Now her latest case finds her trapped between her country?s distant past and her own recent history.
The case starts at a rally for a controversial cult that ends suddenly in bloodshed, and leads to the apparent murder of an American archaeologist, which officials want to keep quiet. And haunting Hulan?s investigation is the possible theft of ancient dragon bones that might alter the history of civilization itself.
Getting to the bottom of ever-spiraling events, Hulan unearths more scandals, confronts more murderers, and revives tragic memories that shake her tormented marriage to its core. In the end, she solves a mystery as big, unruly, and complex as China itself.
Good mystery November 23, 2008 This is third in a series featuring Liu Hulan, of which I read the first one (Flower Net) and skipped the second (The Interior). You really don't need to have read either of the first two to be able to follow this one.
As the story opens, Hulan is quasi-estranged from her husband after the death of their little daughter. As a police detective, Hulan has been working on a case involving a group called the All-Patriotic Society, and at the beginning of this book, she attends a rally being held by this illegal group. One of the members is a bit overzealous and decides to kill her daughter, but Hulan shoots her. She finds herself the target of threats, so her superiors send her off to investigate the death of an archaeologist working an excavation near where the Three Gorges Dam is built. David, her American husband, is also sent there to investigate the removal of cultural relics from the country. But a bizarre murder later, both David and Hulan find themselves in a great deal of danger.
The core story is very good, a fine mystery and a good look at the pros and cons of the building of the Three Gorges Dam. I understand that this is a part of a series and that it focuses on the character of Liu Hulan, but it was a bit too romantic for my tastes. The end was a bit over the top as well, a bit too melodramatic for me. However, I'd definitely recommend the book to others, including those who are following the series, to readers interested in China, and to readers who like mysteries in an archaeological setting.
Great Details July 18, 2008 After finishing the Secret Fan, I figured I would give other books of hers a try. While the Dragon Bones mysteries are very different in nature from the Secret Fan, it was still a terrific read. Lisa See has a talent for pulling her reader into the environment of the story. Her words create vivid pictures of the scenes and I can see them easily creating a movie out of this one.
Another great story June 25, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This 3rd novel in the Red Princess Mystery series was not disappointing. Lisa See continues with her main characters and allows them to grow and reveal themselves further as their lives' circumstances change. The background of modern China brings great insight into what life is really like among is varied billion citizens. The background of the language, the history, and the current events bring everything into the mix for a truly suspenseful, beautifully written mystery. I can't wait for the next installment to see how Hulan and David progress in their lives together. Will they stay in China or move the States? What new international intrigue will be introduced into their lives?
Dragon Bones by Lisa See July 27, 2007 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
What a writer ! Lisa See educates without being pedantic. In Dragon Bones, she has created a complex mystery while including enormous amounts of information on Chinese culture and environmental effects of the Three Gorges Dam. I learned much and was entertained as well.
Another great contemporary mystery by Lisa See July 19, 2007 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Dragon Bones is Lisa See's third contemporary Chinese mystery featuring Inspector Liu Hulan. I read the first one, Flower Net, and somehow the second passed me by. Like Flower Net, Dragon Bones is both a great detective story and a window into modern Chinese culture. Lisa See manages to show us a lot about a rapidly modernizing China without bogging down the story. Liu Hulan is the kind of character I'd like to have a meal with: smart, interesting, with pain in her past but not consumed by it. Lisa See has a gift at making the character seem completely Chinese to the Western reader yet sympathetic at the same time.
Having recently read, and loved, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel, , I understand more about Lisa See's strengths as a writer. Depiction of foreign culture: fantastic. Male characters: not so much. This wasn't as apparent in Snow Flower because the men lived in a different world from the women characters that were the focus of the story. In Dragon Bones, Hulan is married to an American man, David Stark. David's character never comes to life like Hulan's. Although he and I (and the writer) have more in common than Liu Hulan and I do, never the less, Hulan is fully three-dimensional and believable where David falls flat.
If you like mysteries that are different without being gimmicky, you will enjoy this book. There's no need to read them in order although I'm sure there are some benefits from doing so. There are some graphic crime scenes, as a warning to the squeamish.
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