Old Bones: A Gideon Oliver Mystery

by Aaron Elkins

Book Overview

When an old skeleton is found beneath the floor of the du Rocher estate, American "skeleton detective" Dr. Gideon Oliver is called in to uncover the secrets behind the Old Bones. Winner of the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Mystery of 1987.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0892962623
• ISBN13: 9780892962624
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Mysterious Press
• Length: 197 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Old Bones Tell Good Stories

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.

Ingeniously crafted mystery!

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!

Old Bones Used

The book arrived in good time, and although used, was in like new condition. We are very pleased.

A little cliched at times, but overall solid

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.

Making bones fascinating

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