Where There's a Will

In Edgar-winner Elkins's solid 12th whodunit to feature forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver (after 2004's acclaimed Good Blood), Oliver's Hawaiian vacation turns into a busman's holiday, as he and close friend John Lau, an FBI agent who's also enjoying some downtime, get involved in a decade-old mystery surrounding the deaths of two elderly Swedish brothers who owned a huge cattle ranch. One night in 1994, hit men acting for an unknown client murdered Torkel Torkelsson, then attempted to conceal the corpse with an act of arson; that same night, Magnus Torklesson and a pilot took off in a small plane, never to be heard from again. Now divers have discovered the wreckage of the long-lost plane in a lagoon, with some skeletal remains. Soon learning that none of the original police investigation's conclusions may be valid, Oliver and Lau find themselves intrigued and frustrated by the lies and evasions pitched rapidly at them by the Torkelssons' heirs, all of whom have different motives for obscuring the truth. Oliver's deductions will remind classic mystery readers of archetypal scientific sleuth Dr. Thorndyke, and his three-dimensional personality and humor will continue to attract first-timers.
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Elkins' writing skills are superb, his research impeccable, and his plots intriguing. We get two out of three in this new entry in his series featuring forensic detective Gideon Oliver, as Elkins provides well-crafted, tantalizing descriptions of lesser-known parts of Hawaii. After a conference in Honolulu, Gideon and his FBI agent friend John Lau travel to the Big Island^B to stay on the Torkelsson family cattle ranch. Old friends of John, the Torkelssons quickly warm to Gideon and ask for his help in identifying bones found in a sunken plane. Could it be the long-missing Uncle Magnus? Unfortunately, this story is missing the compelling plot that is usually a hallmark of Elkins' works. Gideon plays a very peripheral role in identifying the body, and readers don't have much reason to care who it is. That said, Gideon is a likable protagonist, and spending time in his company is always pleasant. Elkins has established himself as a master craftsman both in the Oliver series and in his stand-alone thrillers. Jenny McLarin
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