I don't often give mysteries five stars, especially if they are part of a series but one should always be prepared to make an exception and [author:Aaron Elkins|157986] deserves it in this case. Not only did he write a nifty mystery with an ending I totally didn't see coming, he absolutely nailed the setting. I have visited Oaxaca and Teotitlán del Valle in the past and plan to do so again soon and his descriptions of the area are spot on. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. ( )

Years ago - years and years ago now - this series was recommended to me by someone on BookLikes. I never got around to hunting down the first book, but ran across this one at a used book sale a year or two later and bought it intending to hang onto it until I'd read the first 15 books.

Fast forward to last week, when I accepted that wasn't going to happen and decided to just dive right in.

Turned out that was totally fine, I don't feel like I missed anything at all, and best of all I was presented with a really good, solid mystery. The pacing was leisurely, which frustrated me a bit at first, making me realising that even in books our attention spans have shrunk, but I found the characters and the writing interesting enough to dig out my store of patience. I also put it down to read The Chilbury Ladies' Choir when I was about 25% through, so obviously my store of patience could use some building up.

Once I picked it up again, though, it just all started working for me. I like Gideon Oliver, a forensic anthropologist, and I loved the plot structure. I knew from the start what the first plot twist would be, but that reveal was made so early it was clear there was far more coming. It was all so laid back I kept wondering how the author was going to manage the moment in any mystery where the MC is in peril. When it did happen it was so fast and furious and wtf? that it seemed anti-climatic, but from there the story just got more and more nicely twisty until the ending was just clever and satisfying.

I can't tell you how pleased I am to have found a new series to seek out and enjoy - and it's one that I'll be happy to acquire at the same leisurely pace as the writing, with a sense of anticipation but not urgency. ( )

Gideon vacations in Mexico, skeleton found nearby rips open family mystery of forged identity

LOVED this installment in Dr. Gideon Oliver's adventures! Terrific Mexican atmosphere throughout, from food to the dry desert to hacienda and scenery! So happy to "feel" the place and setting after the last installment on the rock of gibraltar which didn't grab me. ( )

The "Skeleton Detective", who is really creation-anthropology professor Gideon Oliver, goes to Mexico with his wife, Julie, for a little vacation at her family's expat relatives. What was to be spent reading, eating and visiting old ruins turns into mystery solving. Not just one possible murder but three!

When the village police chief finds out that Gideon is an expert on bones, he is quick to ask for help in determining if the mummified corpse found outside the village is a victim of foul play or natural causes. Hoping for the latter, the chief is unhappy to find he does have a murder on his hands. A murder that raises questions on a previous death, a disappearance and their ties to Julie's family.

How all these scenarios tie up is intriguing. Along the way, the "Skeleton Detective" explains how he is able to "read" the bones and the body of the deceased and bring to life what may very well have been the cause of death. The fact that he is involved in forensic cases for law enforcement along with his academic life adds to the knowledge.

The plot moves along with a good number of clues and hints, but I was still not ready for the end result. I will keep my eye out for further books by Aaron Elkins and his Skeleton Detective.

A Goodread for me! ( )