Customer Reviews

Where There's a Will

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

 

 

It's always fun to have another Gideon Oliver novel to read, and this one is no exception. While it's not a great book, it's a good book: a fun read, with the snappy dialogue one expects from Elkins. I personally like the Gideon Oliver series better than Elkins' other series.

Since much of the plot has been discussed in other reviews, I'll just point out a few things I particularly liked about this volume:
*the details of the family ranching business in Hawaii - including the reference to using Japanese quarter horses. (I'll let you discover that breed :D)
*the resemblance of the family of Swedish sailors-turned-ranchers to the "Norwegian bachelor farmers" that Garrison Keillor talks about on his radio show
*the running jokes about the terrible coffee one gets in police stations

One of the things that people look for, in mystery series, is whether there is continuity in the background lives of the characters. This is one of the series where there is such continuity; however, it's not real-time. Our protagonist and his family and friends have aged about a decade, in the nearly 25 years that the series has been running. This is a reasonable pace, that allows us to follow their lives. Even though this is a series, though, this particular book could be read and enjoyed without having read other books in the series - there are no points here where a reader would be bewildered because they didn't have some background knowledge. It's more fun, though, if you do read the whole series, so you can get more enjoyment out of the exchanges between Oliver and Lau, and you know more about Oliver's wife, and so on. So go ahead and get this one and read it, but get a couple of the older books, too - I promise you'll enjoy them. Probably "Old Bones" and "Twenty Blue Devils" would be the two that would provide you with the most background for the buck, especially since "Twenty" takes place in Tahiti, thus giving the reader some additional background for the South Pacific setting of "Where There's a Will."

Family reading alert: this is a great series for kids who are reading at adult levels but don't need to be exposed to too much in the way of adult themes - there's no explicit sex, very little that anyone would consider bad language, and no excessive gore or violence. I was reading books from the grown-up area of the library by the time I was 12 (which was considerably before this series started) so I know it can be difficult for the parents of gifted kids to find stuff that is safe yet not childishly boring. Elkins' books fit the bill.

One of the things I like best about Elkins, is the things I learn from his books and this was no exception. The Torkelsson family dynamics added richness to the story but there was very little dimension to the other characters and some were stereotypical. Beyond that, I found this an enjoyable story, with plenty of twists and turns. It is definitely a traditional mystery that is interesting, light reading but not a "wow" book.

I thought Aaron Elkins kind of dialed this one in. There just wasn't the depth of character or plot development that characterized earlier books in the Gideon Oliver series. In fact, the scenario regarding how Gideon Oliver got involved with the case (bones found in the remains of a plane crash--can he confirm they are the missing family members from ten years before) was remarkably like the device used in a previous book.

Nevertheless, it was a diverting and pleasant read. Just not particularly riveting, and not up to the early novels in the series.

Aaron Elkins is one of the few mystery writers I buy in hardbound rather than waiting a year for the paper back version. My five stars means this novel is consistent with his best.

Wherever Gideon Oliver, forensic anthropologist at the Universiry of Washington at Port Angeles travels, it seems inevitable that bones long detached from their original owner will appear.

In Where There's A Will, Oliver is vacationing with a friend from the FBI after the two of them have lectured at a conference on Oahu. They spend their time at a ranch inherited not too many years ago by one of four siblings, the inheritance only becoming final after their uncle had been missing long enough to be declared dead. Shortly after his arrival, the uncle's crashed plane is located at an uninhabited atoll in the South pacific. Oliver agrees to help with the recovery, although warning his hosts that recovery of identifiable bones after so many years' immersion in the ocean is unlikely.

In the event, they do discover a man's boot which had sheltered and protected ankle and foot bones, from which Oliver is able to make a positive identification. Difficulties arise, however, when his positive identification seems to match, not the missing man, but another uncle murdered at the time of the disappearance and whose autoposy report clearly confirms the same identifying characterstic of missing toes.

Since the identity of the last uncle to die will determine whether the valuable estate passes to the current generation or to a nonprofit organization, tensions rise as Elkins' well-meaning willingness to help has now thrown the economic well-being of four individuals into jeopardy.

From there, forensic anthopology blend with the ballistics expertise of Oliver's FBI friend to lead to new theories of the two deaths, sibling tensions increase, and Oliver finally uncovers an overlooked clue that brings everyting together.

Elkins uses science to produce convincing explanations without becoming too technical for the lay reader like me. He writes lucidly and his myseteries alway entertain

"Where There's a Will" is the latest Gideon Oliver mystery by Aaron Elkins. Gideon is a forensic anthropologist who has been nicknamed the "Skeleton Detective" because of his ability to solve murders by finding clues in skeletal remains. His good friend, FBI agent John Lau, invites Gideon to an old college chum's Hawaiian ranch for a relaxing vacation. Gideon happily agrees. Alas, wherever he goes, old bones connected to an unsolved homicide are invariably found.

Sure enough, when Gideon and John arrive at Axel Torkelsson's ranch, the Torkelsson clan is in a dither. Axel's Uncle Magnus disappeared ten years ago in a small plane. Now, the fuselage of Magnus's plane has been found in a remote lagoon, and nothing remains but a few artifacts and old bones. Gideon is asked to take a look at the bones, and sure enough, what he finds may mean big trouble for the entire Torkelsson family.

"Where There's a Will" is a diverting mystery. Elkins writes with a humorous touch and his dialogue and plot are fast-paced. I love his detailed description of Hawaii, with its fields of hardened lava, lush pasturelands, and glorious sunsets. The Torkelssons are an unusual family. They include the hard-drinking, eighty-two year old Dagmar, who wants to enjoy her old age in peace, Hedwig, a vegetarian who runs a center for "spiritual wellness," and Inge, a mannish woman who operates a successful dude ranch. Gideon has the feeling that they are all hiding something, but he is not sure what it is.

Elkins develops his plot skillfully and he brings the proceedings to a satisfying conclusion. If you like mysteries that are brisk, suspenseful, and filled with light-hearted banter, you will enjoy "Where There's a Will." At the very least, it will make you want to catch the next plane to Hawaii.

The book opens in 1994 with a female pilot, Claudia, and an oldish man, a Torkelsson brother, fleeing Hawaii in the night. The plane gently glides down to the ocean from 10,500 feet ("A light plane that has run out of fuel at an altitude of 10,500 feet does not plummet to earth like a safe falling out of a window"), a wing hits the water, and its all over for that flight.

Jump forward 10 years and some swimmers from a cruise ship spot the plane and investigate it (despite what may have been implied, there are not two complete skeletons in the plane). Going by the plane's registration number, the Torkelsson family is informed of the find.

The Torkelsson family lost two brothers on the same day in 1994, one apparently murdered by hitmen, and the other apparently fleeing for his life. Now that they know that plane went down, they have to reopen old wounds (three years after having the second brother declared legally dead). And, the family worries about their future. Dagmar, the sister, and the two brothers Magnus and Torkel lived together and built a large cattle ranch in Hawaii (an older brother also was involved, Andreas, but was long out of the picture in 1994-2004, though it is his children that fill out the Torkelsson next generation). As far as the family is concerned, Torkel died first in 1994, and then Magnus was declared dead in 2001 (I might have that last date wrong). If Torkel's will had been in effect, the nephews and nieces would have received a small amount of money. Since Magnus' will was in effect, as he was declared dead second, the nephews and nieces received very valuable pieces of the huge cattle ranch. With Magnus "alive" after Torkel, Magnus and Dagmar received the bulk of Torkel's estate, and then after Magnus was declared dead, the nephews and nieces received their cut. The business of the dueling wills plays in the background of the book.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, Gideon Oliver, the "Skeleton Detective," and his friend John Lau, FBI Agent, are visiting the family and are able to provide their particular expertise.

For the most part, the characters have distinct personalities and appear to be more than mere ciphers. There is a real feel that we might actually be in the Hawaii islands, and the plot is workable. Unfortunately, Aaron Elkins alternates from some very good books, to some pretty lousy books. This book falls in the middle. It is a little to shallow, though if you like the series, it is a nice short read.

- Michael S. Briggs -

The best Gideon Oliver novels have two features. The first is an amazing identification by Gideon about either the identity of the victim or the cause of death, based upon some strange feature of the skeleton. The sencond (and even more important) aspect of the books is the quality characterization and dialogue. The books are fun to read because of the skill of the writer, and they are interesting to read because of the skeletal mystery. Sadly, this book is neither.

The only bones in the story are a set of foot bones, and they are used to cast doubt on which of two brothers died ten years earlier. But rather than slowly feeding us information about the bones and then revealing their meaning at the end, the answer to the question about the bones is revealed up front. It is also not interesting. There is one twist involved, but it's sort of an afterthought.

And the characterization and dialogue are not up to Elkin's normal standards. Gideon and John "phone it in", so to speak, and Julie makes a cameo appearance. The suspects are all too generic, and the local cop seems nothing more than a sketch of the prototypical "local cop" in most of the Gideon stories.

As in the previous Gideon Oliver book, Gideon doesn't really solve the crime. In fact, he only accidentally precipitates the action.

This is a by-the-numbers, professionally executed, generic mystery novel -- not the excellent technical puzzle and well-crafted tale that Elkins has generally served up in the past.

I started off my review of Aaron Elkins's last book, _Good Blood_, by calling him the finest writer of "classical" mysteries out there. That hasn't changed--and _Where There's a Will_ is one of his better books. I can give it no higher praise than this: I am a *very* old hand at reading mysteries, and Elkins managed to fool me . . . TWICE.

In a couple of ways, _Where There's a Will_ is typical of the Gideon Oliver books. It's cerebral, not action-oriented. The characterization is engaging rather than heavy-handed. Devotees of gumshoe thrillers or psychological pieces probably won't find this book appealing. Those who adore the traditional mystery, though, couldn't ask for better. If you've never read an Oliver book before, this is a fine place to start.

All the good stuff I expect in a Gideon Oliver book is there. There's a great exotic setting. There are some fascinating forensic esoterica. Gideon and John Lau are tremendously appealing characters; if they were real, I'd invite them over for dinner. There's a nice cast of suspects. The writing is fluid, with a deft comic touch.

My only quibble is that I'd have liked Gideon and John to have had sole credit for solving the case. As it is, they solve it in parallel with the local police.

Other than that--surely a purist's nitpick--I can't think of any other substantive comment on the book, other than to say: read it. Aaron Elkins should be at the absolute top of the heap among best-selling mystery writers; he's far better than some of the big names out there. Write more, Mr. Elkins!

I've read the whole Gideon Oliver series. The books within the series are uneven, and this one is only average, not up to the best, but certainly not the worst. The characterization was rather strange. The behaviors in the beginning of the story did not hold true throughout the book, so it almost seemed like different people. The story was somewhat suspenseful, but not very compelling. The ending left a vaguely unsatisfying feeling...everything was nicely wrapped up with a big bright bow, but no substance to the package. I did like the atmospheric feel the author created by using Hawaii as the backdrop.

I'm a fan of the Gideon Oliver series, but I didn't think this was one his better efforts. While I've never been able to solve one of his mysteries completely, when the clues are presented fairly I can often figure out at least part of the story. However in this case, I didn't think Elkins provided a reasonable opportunity to solve anything. Furthermore, the explanation of the mystery was unsatisfactory because it relied on some irrational behavior from one or more of the characters. The book does have some of the things that I like about the series, including the usual entertaining encounter with local law enforcement, but I didn't think the mystery was up to par this time.