The Ghost Moths

In 2014, English professional mountain guide Neil Quinn, the protagonist of this intriguing thriller from Farthing (Summit), is at his base camp on a mountain in Tibet when he sees Chinese soldiers kill three unarmed yak herders. Quinn captures the Tibetans’ deaths on his iPhone, and emails the video to Henrietta Richards, a retired British embassy staffer who’s lived in Kathmandu, Nepal, for decades. Back in Kathmandu, Quinn teams with Richards and an American freelance journalist to try to expose the truth in the face of the Chinese government’s determined opposition. Their efforts lead them to wonder whether a shadowy group known as the ghost moths, which operated during the Cultural Revolution and fought the Chinese to protect Tibetans and their holy relics, is still at work. Farthing is particularly good at creating a memorable bad guy, a sadistic Chinese security officer whose nickname is Yama, the Tibetan Lord of Death. Fans of Eliot Pattison will want to check out this issues-driven thriller. Agent: Will Roberts, Gernert Agency. (Feb.)