The strength of this novel resides in the setting. The author knows Mongolia, loves Mongolia, makes the reader care about the Mongolian people, the land, the beliefs. The mystery is secondary. We follow Yesügei, a veteran police inspector who is on the way out, push to retire. Alcohol, insubordination, womanizing but above all being of the old school is making him a nuisance. But, he is a master at what he does, reading people, reading the land, understanding his people. When an American tourist goes missing then shows up dead, he is sent to solve the mystery.

You can see, hear and smell the land in this. Yesügei and the newbie detective a city boy assigned to him lead us and guide us through this voyage of discovery of a land that intrigues and charms.

I liked it because of the setting.