Dragon Bones by Lisa See is the third of the Red Princess mysteries, preceded by Flower Net and The Interior. Once again the protagonists Inspector Liu Hulan and Attorney David Stark return—this time as husband and wife. At the start of the novel, the couple mourns the death of their young daughter Chaowen. Guilt and anguish have driven the lovers apart, unable to get past their mutual loss. Hulan's inner turmoil is made even worse when she is forced to shoot and kill a woman at an All-Patriotic Society rally to save a young girl from being stabbed by her mother. The Chinese government... opposes the Society as a threat to public order, an opinion that Hulan strongly shares. Hulan and David are brought together to work on the same case from different perspectives. Hulan is sent to an archaeological site near the construction of the massive 3 Gorges Dam project to investigate a suspicious death. In an NPR report, See emphasizes the potent symbolism of the Dam, alluding to a 4,000 year old Chinese saying: "He who controls the water controls the people". She concludes her report by returning to the same idea: ". . .
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| Author: | Lisa See |
| Genre: | Novel, Fiction, Mystery |
| Year published: | 2004 |
| Number of editions: | 7 |