Beneath Yellow Clay

by Robert Mitchell

FOR FIFTEEN HUNDRED YEARS THE TOMB OF THE CHINESE GENERAL HAD REMAINED HIDDEN BENEATH THE PALE YELLOW CLAY OF SHANXI PROVINCE.It lay undisturbed until a twelve-year-old boy fell through the roof. He kept its secret. Fifteen years later, now living in Australia, he tells his friend Charlie of the terror he felt when he had crashed down among the grave goods. Charlie convinces him that they should go to China, back to Shanxi, and break into the general’s tomb a second time, but this time they should loot its ancient artefacts, the jade, the porcelain, the gold and the silver. But are they both naïve, or are they just foolish in their belief that they can enter China and steal its treasures without being noticed by others who will also desire these beautiful things? Didn’t they realise that there are men without conscience who will try to take the looted objects from them, and kill if necessary? Did they really not know that danger and death always follow such illicit wealth?Another thriller from the prize-winning author of The Crying Stones.A good, fast-moving yarn. Very plausible. Captain (ret) B.T.Winchester.

398 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 18, 2014

About the author

Robert Mitchell spent his early years in Melbourne, Australia where he graduated from Melbourne University with degrees in Law and Arts. Moving to Suva, Fiji, in 1969, he spent the next twelve years practising law, with a mid-term break of two years when he and his wife, May, acquired a one-third interest in a marine salvage company. Robert acted as company manager, diver, and assistant salvage master in a number of marine salvages in the South Pacific. The experience he gained during those two years has been used to great advantage in several of his novels. In 1981 he returned to Australia and continued practising law. In 1988 his novel The Lucinda Legacy was a prize-winner in the Australia-wide Bicentennial Novel Competition. In 2000, he and his family moved to Brisbane, where he retired. In 2003, he and May ventured to China, where they taught English to high school and college students for two years. They travelled extensively throughout China during this time, their experiences reflected in his two latest novels. Robert now spends his time writing - for the pleasure it gives to others.

Reviews

[Kathy Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book might keep on up all night

It did me. Excellent story especially if you like books set in China. Kept me guessing to the end. I will definitely read more of Robert Mitchell's books.

[Pete Olds · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a couple of Robert Mitchell books now. Although not really a fan of this genre of adventure fiction, they are addictive reading.

To me, this is one of the better ones as the plot was a little more developed, moved forward quickly across a few different geographic regions, and covered a mix of peasant farmers, career art thieves, naive Australians, all interacting according to their different agendas.

The story moves forward quickly, but with some depth. And left me wanting to see what happens in the end. Which, I guess, is what a good book does.