Qinglan Town stands beside a river, and every Ghost Festival, someone drowns. Lin Wanqing, a provincial criminal investigator, travels there to investigate a string of bizarre cases, only to be drawn into a far larger conspiracy. Every victim was born in the Year of the Bingchen, died under strange circumstances, and was closely connected to the Tang family’s ancestral rule about “those who atone.” As clues emerge, including a gilt-painted coffin, a silver button, and a Big Dipper-shaped birthmark, she discovers that it all began with a disastrous water conservancy project during the Republican era. The Tang family’s ancestors altered the river’s course, killing hundreds, and ever since, they have sacrificed the living to appease the vengeful spirits.
I really like this book.