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Loading... Uneasy Relationsby Aaron Elkins
None. Gideon Oliver is returning to Gibraltar for a reunion of those who worked on the Gibraltar Woman excavation five years earlier. Journalists have taken remarks intended for pun as truth and have stated that Gideon will be talking about something of greater import to anthropology fraud than Piltdown Man. It's not long before there are a couple of possible attempts on Gideon's life -- or were they just accidents? Two years earlier, one of their colleagues, died in a landslide on the site of their original dig cave. Another member of the group is soon dead. Gideon must convince Gibraltar's chief inspector that a crime has been committed, but it's Gideon's knowledge of forensic anthropology that will solve the case. It took me awhile to become engaged, but once the focus of the book was more on the mystery and less on anthropology with scientific discussions in the mix, I was able to care more about investigation. I have never read earlier installments in the series, and this was the 15th, so it is possible that I might have enjoyed the first part more if I'd had a better knowledge of the main characters. I do think that it works reasonably well as a stand-alone as most of the characters were developed sufficiently in the book. (  ) thornton37814 | May 18, 2012 |  Nice. Lots of echos of other books - yet again Gideon goes to a conference of academics (archaeologists, mostly, this time) with whom he was previously involved, and discovers previous and current murders and is himself threatened. The reason is...well, reasonable, given the characters involved, though it's not obvious despite the pointing out of the salient characteristics several times early on in the book. Oh, and another police officer takes John's place, down to the venting over Gideon's 'explanations' - and thinking about that, I discovered for the first time the pun in John's name (John Lau/Law!). Neat, fun, good characters, exciting climax - interesting echo of Gideon's first adventure in Fellowship of Fear (minor point but a familiar defensive/offensive move!). And a little more about Julie and Gideon as people. Nice book - this one I'll reread, I'm sure. (  ) jjmcgaffey | May 10, 2012 | This is the second time I've picked up an Aaron Elkins book in the library and didn't even think about putting it down once I had read the first few pages. The rest of the book did not disappoint either. The writing style is easy and the author has done a great deal of research to make his skeleton detective a believable expert on bones. I greatly enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone who likes murder mysteries and doesn't mind learning something new about the human body while reading! (  ) Calypso42 | Sep 13, 2010 | One of my favourite authors. Not necessarily his best but the premise was great and I enjoyed it. I enjoy his books about Gideon Oliver (aka Skeleton Detective) particularly due to the interplay of all characters, some continuing and some that only show up here and there. Being in one of the smaller scientific areas of expertise, forensic anthropology, sometimes melding into archaeology, you can expect some familiar faces or names. Gideon also does not like autopsies or dead bodies less than totally dessicated from age. Uneasy Relations begins with a newspaper article about a presentation Gideon is about to give at the International Paleoanthropological Society. The unfortunate title of the article sounds like a tabloid entry: "Prominent Scientist to Reveal 'Stunning' Scientific Fraud in Gibraltar". So begins another adventure. Reading this series, there are a lot of technical words, but since there are always friends, not to mention his wife, who either can't or won't let him get away with that have everything translated one way or another in lay terms. Some of the humour actually surrounds this part of Gideon's character, and anyone who has ever attended a scientific lecture or has worked with professors will recognize this. Uneasy Relations is the 15th book in the series and they are fun, informative, and feature a very human hero. ( ) readerbynight | Jan 2, 2010 |
A trip to Gibraltar brings Dr. Gideon Oliver, the Skeleton Detective, up against old bones and new. The Europa Point dig’s discovery of the First Family—Gibraltar Woman, a Homo sapiens skeleton, and Gibraltar Boy, the Neanderthal skeleton cradled in her arms—raised the heady possibility that Neanderthals and humans lived in peaceful coexistence with each others’ communities some time thousands of years ago. Unfortunately, Gideon, who’s headed to a conference commemorating Europa Point, hasn’t been equally successful at keeping the peace. He didn’t keep a tight enough lid on his sense of humor when he was talking to a newspaper reporter covering his trip, and now headlines scream that he’s going to unmask the biggest anthropological fraud since Piltdown Man. What Gideon finds instead is evidence of far more recent violence: the suspicious cave-in that buried Europa Point area supervisor Sheila Chan three years ago; the fiery death of wealthy amateur archeologist/TV personality Ivan Gunderson; and two nearly fatal attacks on Gideon’s own august person. Which of the eminent conferees—Gibraltar museum director Rowley Boyd, tippling Europa Point director Adrian Vanderwater, schoomarmish archeologist Audrey Godwin-Pope, Gideon’s old student Pru McGinnis—has been responsible for the carnage, and why? Beyond the sawdust exposition—Elkins catalogs his characters’ professional credentials and physical appearance as conscientiously as any field anthropologist—lies a neatly turned puzzle with a didactic but painless use of the forensic expertise that’s the Skeleton Detective’s stock in trade.
References to this work on external resources.
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