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psalmcat's review against another edition
3.0
I just rediscovered this book, which I finished about a week ago.
This is, as the cover says, a Gideon Oliver mystery, set in Egypt. So you can't go wrong there, for me. Bones and pharoahs = cool.
Gideon is in Egypt providing commentary for a documentary but really it's more of a vacation for him and Julie. Of course, a body is unearthed in an old garbage pile--not unusual in Egypt, and the presumption is that it is something from a museum collection that was mishandled several decades ago. The weird thing is that the bones disappear...and then reappear miles away in a different garbage heap. In between, one of the other members of the crew for the documentary falls overboard on a Nile cruise and drowns.
By the end, a crazy person is chasing Julie and Gideon around the desert shooting at them. Gideon outwits him and solves everything.
I need to switch authors for awhile. These are all starting to read the same. Still, the bone info is always fun, and I do like Gideon. The rest of the characters are right out of central casting, but not in a bad way, or at least not always.
This is, as the cover says, a Gideon Oliver mystery, set in Egypt. So you can't go wrong there, for me. Bones and pharoahs = cool.
Gideon is in Egypt providing commentary for a documentary but really it's more of a vacation for him and Julie. Of course, a body is unearthed in an old garbage pile--not unusual in Egypt, and the presumption is that it is something from a museum collection that was mishandled several decades ago. The weird thing is that the bones disappear...and then reappear miles away in a different garbage heap. In between, one of the other members of the crew for the documentary falls overboard on a Nile cruise and drowns.
By the end, a crazy person is chasing Julie and Gideon around the desert shooting at them. Gideon outwits him and solves everything.
I need to switch authors for awhile. These are all starting to read the same. Still, the bone info is always fun, and I do like Gideon. The rest of the characters are right out of central casting, but not in a bad way, or at least not always.
mystereity's review against another edition
4.0
As I've said before, this series seems to be hit or miss and this one was in the miss category.
Gideon is in Egypt, having been strong-armed into narrating a documentary about the history of Horizon House, a museum and archaeology facility in Luxor, steps from the Sphinx. This was an audaciously multi faceted plot; the suspicious death of the man in charge of the facility, the theft of ancient artifacts, and a skeleton of a modern day man found labeled as an ancient skeleton. All of this points to an inside job, and Gideon has to work out who. The plot was well done, the scenery beautiful (it's so easy to picture the locations with all the rich descriptions) but it just didn't grab me the way other books in this series have. It was good, but not GOOD. 3 1/2 stars
Gideon is in Egypt, having been strong-armed into narrating a documentary about the history of Horizon House, a museum and archaeology facility in Luxor, steps from the Sphinx. This was an audaciously multi faceted plot; the suspicious death of the man in charge of the facility, the theft of ancient artifacts, and a skeleton of a modern day man found labeled as an ancient skeleton. All of this points to an inside job, and Gideon has to work out who. The plot was well done, the scenery beautiful (it's so easy to picture the locations with all the rich descriptions) but it just didn't grab me the way other books in this series have. It was good, but not GOOD. 3 1/2 stars
canada_matt's review against another edition
4.0
When asked to narrate a documentary on Ancient Egypt for a university donor, Dr. Gideon Oliver declines the request. After being strong-armed into it, he accepts and packs his bags to head over with his wife Julie tagging along. When they arrive, the local American archaeological team is scrambling to deal with the discovered remains of an ancient skeleton from their collection. How did it end up in a rubbish pile and what does it all mean? While Gideon heads out to begin his filming and narration, things heat up with the chair Horizon House (the US archaeological group) ends up tumbling and dying from his injuries. What looks like a case of inebriation and a perilous fall ends up being murder, at least to Oliver's eyes. While trying to track down the murderer, Oliver must liaise with the local police and determine what this man knew that was so explosive, all while trying not to die himself. A great mystery with the expected injection of humour and teachable moments.
Elkins pens the novel series regulars have been waiting for, full of expected jibes about anthropologists in Egypt and the wonders of the ancient world. The reader is treated to yet more wonderful moments of learning and discovery, all wrapped into a wonderful mystery. With some of the key characters back for another round, Elkins keeps his regulars happy and hopes to net new followers with this stellar novel.
Kudos Dr. Elkins on this great piece of work!
Elkins pens the novel series regulars have been waiting for, full of expected jibes about anthropologists in Egypt and the wonders of the ancient world. The reader is treated to yet more wonderful moments of learning and discovery, all wrapped into a wonderful mystery. With some of the key characters back for another round, Elkins keeps his regulars happy and hopes to net new followers with this stellar novel.
Kudos Dr. Elkins on this great piece of work!
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