Quick Facts
Biography
Eliot Pattison (Joseph Eliot Pattison, b. 20 October 1951) is an American international lawyer and author about international trade, as well as an award-winning mystery novelist.
His professional career consists of advising and representing U.S. and foreign companies on international investment and trade issues. He has published five books and more than thirty articles on international topics.
Pattison has written two series of mystery novels, set in different time periods and geographic areas. His "Inspector Shan" series of novels is set in modern-day Tibet, and features former Beijing Justice Department Investigator Shan Tao Yun. His first novel The Skull Mantra won the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 2000. The Inspector Shan series has been translated into over twenty languages around the world.
The "Bone Rattler" series starts with The Bone Rattler (2007) and features a Scottish immigrant to North America in the colonial years. It takes place near Albany, New York during the French and Indian War.
Pattison is married and has three children. He resides with his family on an 18th-century farm in Oley Valley, Pennsylvania.
Novels
Inspector Shan Series
- The Skull Mantra (1999)
- Water Touching Stone (2001)
- Bone Mountain (2002)
- Beautiful Ghosts (2004)
- Prayer of the Dragon (2007)
- The Lord of Death (2009)
- Mandarin Gate (2012)
- Soul of the Fire (2014)
- Skeleton God (2017)
Bone Rattler Series
- The Bone Rattler (2007)
- Eye of The Raven (2010)
- Original Death (2013)
- Blood of the Oak (2016)
Hadrian Boone
- Ashes of the Earth (2011)
Non-fiction
- Antidumping and countervailing duty laws. 2003
- Breaking boundaries: public policy vs. American business in the world economy. 1996 Selected by The New York Times as one of the five best management books of the year.
- Registration of foreign agents in the United States: a practical and legal guide. Joseph E. Pattison, John L. Taylor, editors. 1981
- Acquiring the future: America's survival and success in the global economy. 1990
- Establishing a transnational franchise. 1988
Awards
The Skull Mantra won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel in 2000.