Skull Duggery (Berkley Prime Crime Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Aaron Elkins (Author)

Book Description

Series: Berkley Prime Crime Mysteries | Publication Date: September 1, 2009

No one solves crimes like Skeleton Detective Gideon Oliver.

Gideon and his wife are on vacation in Mexico when a local police chief requests his assistance on a case. A mummified corpse was discovered in the desert and the coroner believed the victim was shot. But Gideon's examination reveals the victim was stabbed with a Phillips-head screwdriver. Then Gideon is asked to examine the skeleton of a murder victim found a year earlier-only to discover another error. The coroner misidentified the remains as belonging to a twelve to fifteen-year-old girl, when in fact the remains were that of a young woman of twenty.

Gideon knows these two "mistakenly" identified bodies aren't a coincidence. But finding the connection between them will prove more dangerous than he could possibly imagine- and place him into the crosshairs of the killer he's hunting.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

What sounded like an idyllic winter getaway at relatives' Oaxacan dude ranch turns into a bonesman's holiday for Gideon Oliver and his wife, Julie, in Edgar-winner Elkins's atmospheric 16th mystery to feature the forensic anthropologist (after 2008's Uneasy Relations). Before the Washington State couple can even sample the quesadillas at the Hacienda Encantada, their hostess, Julie's cousin, asks Gideon if he'd mind helping the local police chief by examining the mummified remains of what appears to be a murder victim. One skeleton swiftly leads to a second—and from there smack into a suspenseful puzzle whose secret someone will apparently kill to protect. Elkins partially tips his hand before hitting the home stretch of his rapidly accelerating plot, but, even so, the final revelations should leave you—if not the unflappable Bone Detective—pleasantly surprised. (Sept.)
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About the Author

Aaron Elkins is the author of the Edgar Award-winning Gideon Oliver mysteries.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover (September 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425227979
• ISBN-13: 978-0425227978
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #772,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a former anthropologist who has been writing mysteries and thrillers since 1982, having won an Edgar for Old Bones, as well as a subsequent Agatha (with my wife Charlotte), and a Nero Wolfe Award. My major continuing series features forensic anthropologist-detective Gideon Oliver, "the Skeleton Detective."

Lately, I've seen myself referred to as "the father of the modern forensic mystery," and, by gosh, I think I am! Before "Fellowship of Fear," the first Gideon Oliver, published in 1982, you'd have to go back 70 years and more to Austin Freeman and his Dr. Thorndyke series. Between the two good doctors (Thorndyke and Oliver), there was only Jack Klugman's "Quincy," so far as I know, and he was a TV character.

The Gideon Oliver books have been (roughly) translated into a major ABC-TV series and have been selections of the Book-of-the-Month Club, the Literary Guild, and the Readers Digest Condensed Mystery Series. My work has been published in a dozen languages. Charlotte and I live on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, our marriage having survived (more or less intact) our collaboration on novels and short stories.

Although I've been a full-time writer for some time now, I also remain active in real-life forensics by serving as the forensic anthropologist on the Olympic Peninsula Cold Case Task Force.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best mystery I've read this year, September 2, 2009

By 

Jonathan A. Turner (Nashua, NH United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Skull Duggery (Berkley Prime Crime Mysteries) (Hardcover)

For an aficionado of the traditional mystery, a four-star Aaron Elkins is a five-star work from almost anyone else.

Part of the mystery in _Skull Duggery_ is figuring out what the mystery will be. Elkins structures the novel around a neat little reversal. It's clear right from Chapter 1 that a murder has been committed--but not *what* murder! The body of the story is almost archaeological in its effect, concerning as it does the reconstruction of past events rather than the consequences of a crime in the present. It's beautifully paced--new twists appear roughly every other chapter--and it's also endlessly fascinating for anyone with an interest in forensics.

If there's a weakness in this process, it's one that will mainly afflict analytically-minded mystery mavens. If you're the right (or possibly wrong) sort of reader, you may figure out the truth well in advance based, not on the text, but on meta-knowledge of how these stories work. I hasten to add that there are also a good many clues planted fair and square in the narrative itself.

Aside from that, the usual Elkins charms are all on display: a vivid setting, a likable protagonist, well-drawn secondary characters, scientific tidbits galore, and a well-thought-out denouement. I reiterate, as I always do, that Elkins is the best writer of classical mysteries working today. If you revel in smarts rather than violence, if you want to be surprised and enlightened rather than merely shocked, you'll like _Skull Duggery_.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mystery and murder in Oaxaca--very satisfying, September 12, 2009

By 

Saralee Etter - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Skull Duggery (Berkley Prime Crime Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Julie and Gideon Oliver visit Oaxaca, Mexico for a little working vacation--for Julie, that is. She agreed to help run her cousin's resort/ranch, Hacienda Encantada, for a few days while members of the cousin's family are otherwise occupied. Gideon is at loose ends until some mummified remains turn up and the local chief of police asks for his help. So Gideon investigates the mummy, and by pulling on that one forensic string he starts unraveling an entire fabric of lies, deceptions and murder.

When I read a mystery novel, I love to feel like I'm really visiting the world of the story, and I love to learn new things. This story did both for me.

The setting was delightful, full of great little details that (for me) brought back fond memories of my years in Mexico. For example, the colorful bustle in the marketplaces, the crumbling grandeur of certain official government buildings, and the scent and flavor of wonderful Mexican food--perfect.

And I enjoyed sharing Gideon's investigations. I always learn something new and fascinating about the human body--just enough detail to allow me to understand the logic involved, not so much that I get confused. It's a tricky balance, I'll bet, but the end result allows me to feel the same sense of discovery that Gideon feels.

The solution to the mystery felt very satisfying, too. For me it was unexpected, but very logical.

Altogether a terrific book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars terrific forensic anthropologic whodunit, September 5, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Skull Duggery (Berkley Prime Crime Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Julie Oliver's cousin Anne invites her and her "Bone Detective" husband Gideon to spend some time at the family's owned Hacienda Encantada dude ranch in Teotitlan del Valle, Mexico. The pair looks forward to escaping wintry Washington State. Upon arrival in Mexico, Julie is put to work to filling in for relatives missing in action.

Soon afterward, temporary and definitely reluctant police chief Flaviano Sandoval invites Gideon to look at the mummified remains of a drifter Manuel Garcia, and then the bones of a long-dead little girl who's never been identified. Meanwhile another theory debunked by the visitors is what happened to Anne's mom who allegedly ran off with a thief as Gideon ties past and present by reading the bones.

This is a terrific forensic anthropologic whodunit as Gideon widens his inquiry into the past and present happenings at Hacienda Encantada where he and his wife suddenly find themselves amidst UNEASY RELATIONS. The story line is fast-paced from the onset and never decelerates until the climax; yet there is plenty of forensic insight provided by the Bone Detective. SKULL DUGGERY is a fabulous investigative mystery.

Harriet Klausner