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saguilar429's review against another edition
1.0
This book was so fucking boring I could cry. I skipped a good 50 pages after being 75% done, just to get done faster. The book ends not even really saying who did what. Ugh.
crbartzen's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
kat_smith24's review against another edition
4.0
The twists and turns made up for the (frankly) flat characters.
psalmcat's review against another edition
4.0
Dr. Oliver goes on an awful lot of conferences where people end up dying. I can see why the FBI gets nervous when he calls.
In this story, he and his wife are attending a conference during which the organization holding the discussions is going to install the bones of one of the founders in its museum. That all goes swimmingly, except that immediately after the official museum unveiling, those bones are stolen. Soon thereafter, another skeleton is discovered.
There is much confusion, a great deal of discussion of dental records and blowfly population and a murder before everyone figures out that the original bones don't belong to the person everyone thought they did. This means that everything that follows, all the suppositions that have been made about the second skeleton and the murder are all wrong.
Good. Elkins has taken a big jump in skill here.
In this story, he and his wife are attending a conference during which the organization holding the discussions is going to install the bones of one of the founders in its museum. That all goes swimmingly, except that immediately after the official museum unveiling, those bones are stolen. Soon thereafter, another skeleton is discovered.
There is much confusion, a great deal of discussion of dental records and blowfly population and a murder before everyone figures out that the original bones don't belong to the person everyone thought they did. This means that everything that follows, all the suppositions that have been made about the second skeleton and the murder are all wrong.
Good. Elkins has taken a big jump in skill here.
mystereity's review against another edition
5.0
I finished around 3/4 of this book this afternoon, once it got going I couldn't put it down.
I've been steadily reading my way through this series and although a bit formulaic, each plot is always a fresh idea and so full of twists that I've long since given up trying to solve before Gideon does. And although I had a few ideas who was behind the crimes, so I did love the long windup to the payoff. But what I liked best was that Gideon was matching wits with a killer just as knowledgeable about bones as he was.
And as I already said, I seem to forget that these books were written back in the late 80s/early 90s (well, the early books of the series I'm reading now, anyway) when cell phones, DNA testing and the internet was in its infancy, used by very few if used at all. Being a Gen X'er, I remember that period of time when "going online" wasn't even close to what it was today (Anyone remember Compuserve? We had that and a 300 baud modem, go look that up, you'll see what I mean) and that makes me really respect the challenges that anthropologists, pathologists, law enforcement and forensic technicians had back then and yet still solve murders and although this is a work of fiction, the author has obviously done his research thoroughly on all aspects of the subject.
I enjoyed this one thoroughly and although some of the books in the series have been hit or miss, this one was definitely a hit.
I've been steadily reading my way through this series and although a bit formulaic, each plot is always a fresh idea and so full of twists that I've long since given up trying to solve before Gideon does. And although I had a few ideas who was behind the crimes, so I did love the long windup to the payoff. But what I liked best was that Gideon was matching wits with a killer just as knowledgeable about bones as he was.
And as I already said, I seem to forget that these books were written back in the late 80s/early 90s (well, the early books of the series I'm reading now, anyway) when cell phones, DNA testing and the internet was in its infancy, used by very few if used at all. Being a Gen X'er, I remember that period of time when "going online" wasn't even close to what it was today (Anyone remember Compuserve? We had that and a 300 baud modem, go look that up, you'll see what I mean) and that makes me really respect the challenges that anthropologists, pathologists, law enforcement and forensic technicians had back then and yet still solve murders and although this is a work of fiction, the author has obviously done his research thoroughly on all aspects of the subject.
I enjoyed this one thoroughly and although some of the books in the series have been hit or miss, this one was definitely a hit.
canada_matt's review against another edition
4.0
Elkins impresses readers with another North American locale case, full of anthropological tidbits and forensic treats. While attending a biannual anthropology convention, Dr. Oliver and Julie discover that the mentor to many of the original attendees in 1981 was not killed in a bus crash, as they were led to believe, but actually murdered. A body found buried at the convention site (same as the inaugural one a decade before) leads to more questions and has Oliver showing some of his skills to a bunch of his colleagues. After one of the anthropologists is murdered in his cottage, it`s clear that the murderer is on site and one of the academics. Will Oliver and his trusty FBI friend Agent Lau be able to point the finger at the correct suspect before more bodies pile up? Elkins keeps the reader waiting until the very end to find out.
Elkins paints quite the picture in this installment of the series, using Oliver’s skills and those of the other anthropologists to deduce what might have happened. Keeping the story fresh and interesting, Oliver remains the bumbling academic, but in this novel he has much company to help mute his skills. Elkins surely draws on some of his past academic experiences to narrate the tale and sells its authenticity throughout. Well done and thoroughly entertaining for a series regular reader, but also the one-off novel experimenter whose interest would surely be piqued with all found herein.
Kudos, Dr. Elkins on this highly entertaining piece of fiction.
Elkins paints quite the picture in this installment of the series, using Oliver’s skills and those of the other anthropologists to deduce what might have happened. Keeping the story fresh and interesting, Oliver remains the bumbling academic, but in this novel he has much company to help mute his skills. Elkins surely draws on some of his past academic experiences to narrate the tale and sells its authenticity throughout. Well done and thoroughly entertaining for a series regular reader, but also the one-off novel experimenter whose interest would surely be piqued with all found herein.
Kudos, Dr. Elkins on this highly entertaining piece of fiction.
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