At a nineteenth century spirit festival someone kills the most powerful spirit dancer in all of Burma and sets the crowd seeking justice-or revenge. Aung, the venerable singer of the king's royal puppet troupe, longs for retirement but with the aid of the not-quite-helpful living puppet, Yamin, he must weed through a field of too many suspects to find the killer. In a land of living spirits, failure not only means the wrong person pays the price--it event can bring the spirits' ill will on everyone in attendance. Enter the charming world of the magical Burmese puppet troupe and their mischievous puppets as they solve murderous crimes in a land of living spirits. A Death In Passing is the second in the Aung and Yamin mystery series that melds magic to the history of Burma on the eve of English colonization. Other books in the series include Death By Effigy and Death In Umber.