The third in See's mystery collection, featuring Chinese Ministry of Public Security Inspector Liu Hulan and her American spouse attorney David Spark, takes place at an archaeological dig. The Hulan is charged with solving some unexplained deaths (some of them pretty grisly, so be warned), and David with protecting China's artifacts from a greedy marketplace. There's a large cult-like religion for them to contend with as they set to their appointed tasks and also try to salvage their marriage, which took a major hit when their 3 1/2-year-old daughter died (between Dragon Bones and its predecessor The Interior.
While I enjoyed reading it, this is the least compelling of See's thrillers, as far as I'm concerned. The subtheme of the Liu-Spark marriage addresses problems that most occurred offstage between books, so it's hard to be engaged with them, especially Hulan's sudden revelation that helps her find her way back to her man at last. I'll keep reading, though, as See's China is quite convincing.