Customer Reviews

Old Bones

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is one of the rarities these days. A book categorized as a mystery, that actually is. "Old Bones", was an enjoyable read that read quickly, only taking a few days of moderate reading. Sure the gathering of a family with strained relationships, decades after some troubling event and all sharing some family secret, is a common theme in mysteries, but it works here, just as it has in so many other novels. What makes this book most intriguing is the setting of Mont St. Michel and you'll find yourself caught up in the mystique. While the mystery isn't that complicated, nor the solution that shocking, there are definite elements of the story that can't help but make you appreciate the book. This book sold me enough on reading another Aaron Elkins book down the road.

One of the best mysteries I've ever read. It reminded me about what I loved about Sherlock Holmes stories. First and foremost, Elkins' writing is very fluid and descriptive. This story is succinct and poignant without the frills of other writers trying to show how wonderfully they can write. A close second, is Elkins' protagonist, Gideon Oliver, an anthropologist with a talent for his analysis of skeletons. There are many layers to this mystery and they come together very nicely. Great ending! Powerful and with a twist!

And the tide comes rushing in. Not your usual tide, however, but the one that graces the shores of Brittany/Normandy where Oliver Gideon, world famous "Doctor Bones" is giving one of his lectures. This tide takes the life of Guillaume du Rocher, gentried man and local hero of the Resistance movement during the war. Gideon is called in when, the next day, skeletal remains are discovered in the du Rocher celler (readers know that Gideon's specialty is unveiling the secrets of the bones; he is to skeletons what Kay Scarpetta is to pathology!). This particular skeleton, he determines, is that of a young man who had died some 50 years earlier, believed to have been a member of the Resistance.

In addition, the scorched remnants of a Nazi officer murdered in 1942 serve to complicate the matter. This indeed is a conundrum for the "skeleton detective." What follows, too, is the lurking suspicion--nay, even knowledge--of collaboration (dreaded word to the Frnech!) during the Nazi occupation! Oliver is up to the challenge, however, as he methodically, painstakingly, scientifically unravels the story. He understands full well that some stories are better remained buried!

What is unearthed here, in particular detail but in a fascinating manner, starts a chain reaction: Gideon hmself is threatened and the principal heir to the du Rocher estate is poisoned Of course, owing to its setting, World War II espionage, intrigue, deceit, and, yes,

murder are principle ingredients.

Elkins is quite good at pacing the suspense, of which there is plenty. Certainly, his detective credentials seem in order (Gideon Oliver appears in a series of books). "Old Bones" won the l987 Edgar Award as the best mystery of the year, and it is no wonder. (Billyjhobbs@tyler.net)

Since no editorial reviews were listed, here's an excerpt from the Publisher's Weekly Review, followed by my comments:

"When revered Resistance-hero Guillaume du Rocher drowns in a rushing flood tide off Mont St. Michel, members of the family summoned by Guillaume on undisclosed urgent business are already assembled at the domaine du Rocher, where, instead, they hear his will. The next day in the basement, a partial skeleton is uncovered, and Gideon Oliver, American physical anthropologist known as the ``Skeleton Detective,'' is called from his lectures at an international forensics conference to examine the bones.

Gideon confirms the remains, determines that they are those of a young man dead almost 50 years, suggesting a connection to local Resistance actions, including one in which Guillaume's brother Alain was executed after Claude Fougeray, a du Rocher cousin and now Guillaume's principal heir, collaborated with the enemy. " End of Publisher's Weekly Excerpt

The action moves along and the discoveries that reveal themselves put me in mind of a cross between Robert Goddard's stately British mysteries and the more current Simon Beckett.

Professor Gideon Oliver is in France attending a conference where he is giving a series of lectures on forensic anthropology. He is accompanied as usual by his friend, former military intelligence officer and current FBI agent John Lau. Gideon is invited to help the police in the investigation of skeletal remains found in the basement of the du Rocher chateau. Members of the clan have gathered there in answer to a summons from the family patriarch, Guilliame du Rocher. Guilliame's untimely demise by accidental drowning leads Gideon to a current mystery and an old one dating back to World War II. Elkins does a good job of describing the tensions, greed and rivalries resulting from the reading of Guilliame's will. The plot is intricate but easy to follow as Gideon explains each step of the crimes' solutions to John Lau enroute. I understand why the author won an Edgar Award for this book.

Gideon Oliver is one of my current favorite characters, and this one happened to be the first Elkins book I read. This is an engaging mystery that I eventually figured out (before Gideon did). If you read it, you will enjoy it

Although somewhat predictable in parts, I love the way Elkins builds the story with clues like puzzle pieces. Remember the board game "Clue?" This is not unlike the game. Many suspects and motives, many twists and turns. Whodunit? Read the book and find out

I bet a lot of modern "forensic" type screenplays and novels are inspired to some degree by the skeleton detective novels of Aaron Elkins written in the mid - late 1980's!

This novel was very good, the setting was mesmerizing. Each consecutive installment (this is #4) gets better and better.

I can't wait to read CURSES next!

I've read all of Aaron Elkins books of the Gideon Oliver series and would rate all of them 5 stars. They are intriquing mysteries with a unique take on the anthropology that is fasinating. The characters are very likable and you actually learn a few things while being entertained. I hope there are many Gideon Oliver books in the future!

Gideon is at it again! This time his visit takes him to France where the discovery of Old Bones takes Gideon back in time to the French Resistance against the Nazis. The death of a patriarch, buried bones in the cellars of an old chateau found with a Nazi uniform, bloddy and torn, stories of resistance fighters who were tortured and executed by the Nazi's, a missing family member. All this leads up to Gideon smack in the middle of another "bones" mystery with his FBI friend, John Lau.