Customer Reviews

The Dark Place (A Gideon Oliver Mystery)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After being missing for years in the rain forests of Washington State, the skeleton of a hiker is found with a spear point lodged in his vertebra. Gideon is called in by the FBI to examine the remains and concludes that only a throw of superhuman strength could have caused the mortal wound. Was is Bigfoot? a long, lost band of primitive Indians? It's up to the famous Skeleton Detective to discover the truth.

The Dark Place should truly be the first book in the Gideon Oliver series. Here Elkins finds Gideon's true voice. The story also pertains directly to Gideon's expertise as an Anthropologist. Along for the ride is his good friend, FBI agent John Lau and the chief park ranger Julie Tendler. The burgeoning romance between Gideon and Julie is playful and well written. It's real chemistry that brings these two characters together. All in all, this Gideon Oliver story is my idea of a great cozy. Like so many other Gideon Oliver mysteries, it's a fast read, with insightful facts about anthropology, a great sense of humor, a bit of romance, and at the heart of it all-- a fascinatingly bizarre mystery.

I've been buying copies of this book for friends for years. It's my favorite of Aaron Elkins' Gideon Oliver mysteries, combining the characteristic mix of forensic science and atmospherics .. in this case the primeval Pacific Northwest setting that represents Oliver's home turf. It also is a fetching romance with a light touch and has a plot that's a good combination of surprise and poignancy.

From reading this book I think Elkins is an outstanding writer. I have read only a couple books in my life, but reading this book was very interesting, knowing that the book took place around here where I live on the Olympic Peninsula in the state of Washington.

The part that interested me the most was when Gideon Oliver, a bone detective, got called to look at some bones from a murder that had happened years ago. Gideon and Julie Tendler, a park ranger, go on a six- mile hike in the Olympic National Park where a man named Louis Zander found a spear which they thought could've been the murder weapon. That chapter interested me because it had lots of action in it.

In a way this book is a love story, too, because Gideon falls in love with Julie. That's the main reason he stayed and took the case.

Some parts of the book were confusing because of some of the words the characters used, but overall I thought the book was very well-detailed. I think it was an outstanding book, and I hope Elkins comes out with another book about the Olympic National Park.

I love Aaron Elkins' entire Gideon Oliver series (and his other fine art series as well, I forget the protagonist's name), and this one is my favorite of the series so far, though an early one. Its a lot of fun, and a little romantic as well. But best of all I love his forensic analysis, it is always so detailed and interesting. If you love Patricia Cornwell or Faye Kellerman you will love these too, but Elkins' is much more lighthearted and even funny at times.

Fans of Aaron Elkin's Anthropological detective, Gideon Oliver, will find this a necessary sequence in the life, loves and mysteries of our hero. As to his life, apparently he has shed the women of earlier volumes and is ready for something to come along as he follows his physical anthropological bent out in the field. There he meets a Lady Park Ranger, boss of the national park to which he has been called by his friend in the FBI anad finds her more attractive than a cave full of old bones. The reasons he has received the call to consult are a few bones which might throw light on the mystery of a missing girl. Oliver performs analytic miracles but in some loose talk during a press conference gives the impression that the death might be the work of the monster, Big Foot.This sets him and the Lady Park Ranger on a mission to find the truth of the affair.
Not the bet of the series, nevertheless, an eminently readable entry.

Based in Sequim, Wa which is where I live, this thriller was a must-read once I heard about it. A good story with descriptions of the local community made the book seemingly come to life.

I have heard that the new hotel being built in Sequim is looking to turn this book into a dinner theatre show which would be wonderful.

Aaron Elkins' Skeleton detective is a wonderful series and this book is particularly fascinating because it deals with a secret and hidden culture. His romantic relationship is also developed and she works with him to solve the puzzle of the murders. An excellent read.

"A Dark Place" Is an intriguing and suspenseful book with a lot of twists and turns in the book. This book is for those people that like a mystery or a thriller or for me I just like local stuff. I also like something close to home and place to escape. The reason why I say this is because, I live on the Olympic coast. From as far as I could tell his book seamed very real in description. It is also a real page turner; in my opinion the best part of the book was when Gideon started the real hunt for the killer(s). The author leaves you wanting more. He takes you to different places on the Olympic coast. The author drops little hints who it could be and what weapon that the killer(s) used to kill the five unsuspecting victims. With the options that he gives you; you can create a variety of hypotheses on who or what it is. which may lead you in the right direction on solving the mystery. The book is filled with a little bit of humor, and some interesting facts about the Olympic coast and some just plain neat facts about the Olympic Rain Forest and some other general facts. He uses some realistic sites that are on the Olympic coast. From the description that he gives about the Olympic coast, may inspire the interest of some travelers to go to the Rain Forest.

Okay, NOW Mr. Elkins' series gets going! I wasn't impressed with the first installment, but had this one on the table already so picked it up. I'm glad I did! It was so much more interesting and anthropologically intriguing than its predecessor. I was enthralled with the piecing together of native american history.
The hero, Gideon Oliver, is still an overly horny devil, and that's a bit much, but when he's in "professor" mode, he's quite a likeable character. I'll skip the sex parts, as they're not up to par with some awesome romances I've read. What can I expect from a male author?

You'll like this book much more after spending days, even weeks, at the Olympic Peninsula. This book uses real places and realistic discriptions of these places, like the Lake Quinault Lodge. I just got through this book in three days. Although I've read the original english version. I think I recommend it to everyone who likes mysteries.