A review by lakecake
The Dark Place by Aaron Elkins

3.0

Even though not too much happens in this book, the story moves along at a really good pace, and you don't notice that not too much is happening because the suspense builds through to the end. Gideon Oliver is an interesting character, for sure--the prototype, in a way, for Kathy Reich's Temperance Brennan--and it's fun to read about this adventures. It is, however, a product of its time I think, in the sense that there are some scenes that read incredibly badly with the hindsight of what we know now. There's some "white saviorhood" in this one, and some less-than-acceptable ideas regarding "primitive cultures" that really don't stand the test of time. Gideon's ideas of romance are also really cringe-inducing to today's modern ears, but overall the plot holds up relatively well.