Dying on the Vine

Gideon Oliver #17

by Aaron Elkins

Edgar® Award–winning author Aaron Elkins’s creation—forensics professor Gideon Oliver—has been hailed by the Chicago Tribune as “a likable, down-to-earth, cerebral sleuth.” Now, the celebrated Skeleton Detective is visiting friends at a vineyard in Tuscany when murder leaves a bitter aftertaste…

It was the unwavering custom of Pietro Cubbiddu, patriarch of Tuscany’s Villa Antica wine empire, to take a solitary month-long sabbatical at the end of the early grape harvest, leaving the winery in the trusted hands of his three sons. His wife, Nola, would drive him to an isolated mountain cabin in the Apennines and return for him a month later, bringing him back to his family and business.

So it went for almost a decade—until the year came when neither of them returned. Months later, a hiker in the Apennines stumbles on their skeletal remains. The carabinieri investigate and release their findings: they are dealing with a murder-suicide. The evidence makes it clear that Pietro Cubbiddu shot and killed his wife and then himself. The likely motive: his discovery that Nola had been having an affair.

Not long afterwards, Gideon Oliver and his wife, Julie, are in Tuscany visiting their friends, the Cubbiddu offspring. The renowned Skeleton Detective is asked to reexamine the bones. When he does, he reluctantly concludes that the carabinieri, competent though they may be, have gotten almost everything wrong. Whatever it was that happened in the mountains, a murder-suicide it was not.

Soon Gideon finds himself in a morass of family antipathies, conflicts, and mistrust, to say nothing of the local carabinieri’s resentment. And when yet another Cubbiddu relation meets an unlikely end, it becomes bone-chillingly clear that the killer is far from finished…

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Crime, Murder Mystery, Cozy, Mystery Thriller

305 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 4, 2012

About the author

Aaron J. Elkins, AKA Aaron Elkins (born Brooklyn July 24, 1935) is an American mystery writer. He is best known for his series of novels featuring forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver—the 'skeleton detective'. The fourth Oliver book, Old Bones, received the 1988 Edgar Award for Best Novel. As Oliver is a world-renowned authority, he travels around the world and each book is set in a different and often exotic locale.

In another series, the protagonist is museum curator Chris Norgren, an expert in Northern Renaissance art.

One of his stand-alone thrillers, Loot deals with art stolen by the Nazis and introduces protagonist Dr. Benjamin Revere.

With his wife, Charlotte Elkins, he has also co-written a series of golf mysteries about LPGA member Lee Ofsted. They shared an Agatha Award for their short story "Nice Gorilla".

Aaron and Charlotte live on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.

Japanese: アーロン エルキンズ

Series:
* Lee Ofsted (with Charlotte Elkins)

Series contributed to:
* Malice Domestic

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had never heard of this series or author prior to the book cover capturing my attention while cruising through my local Library book shelves.

So...Interested, I checked it out and read it within 2 days.

Apparently...The character Gideon Oliver, is a world-famous forensic anthropologist, so famous that he is known to all as the "Skeleton Detective." He is known specifically for studying bones, often of long-ago "solved" murders that he turns into open cases again.

And...In this particular case, that is exactly what happens.

At any rate...Since I am new to the series, I have gone ahead and ordered Book #1, so I can get a better sense of the character’s history – not that this story did not flow without having read his previous novels. I am just curious.

As a side note…Interestingly enough, the author is considered the ‘father of forensic anthropology’ having started his series long before Kathy Reichs of Bones fame.

Back to this book…

Complete with humorous asides, gastronomical discussions (they are in Tuscany, after all), and anthropologic teachable moments, the reader can take much away from the novel, including a feeling of accomplishment. It is particularly nice to see that local authorities (characters) use Gideon’s keen eye and attention to detail to piece together what really happened in the case and bring it to a successful conclusion.

So many times...Authors will tend to make the local police look like bumbling fools – and in this particular story, everyone worked well together.

But...Other reviews found this story a bit tiresome, which is a typical conclusion that I have come to with most mystery series with a continuing character.

Still...Since this was my first time reading about Gideon Oliver, I enjoyed him immensely. Have you read this series before?

[Joe Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

The famous Skeleton Detective is back in the 17th entry in this long running series. This time Gideon is in Italy on vacation with his wife Julie and his good friend FBI agent John Lau and his wife Marti. As is typical in this series he quickly gets himself involved in a murder investigation. One that the local carabinieri had thought they had already solved.

For me the book was just ok. I have enjoyed this series for a long time now, but this entry seemed a bit too by the numbers with Gideon and the rest of our returning characters just going through the motions and being caricatures of their former selves. I would even go as far as to say I would only recommend it to people who are already fans of the series. If I hadn't already read the previous 16 books I probably wouldn't have bothered to finish this one. I can only hope the next entry is better or else it may be time to put the Skeleton Detective to rest...

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Combination travelogue/murder mystery featuring the skeleton doctor is always a good read. This one could serve as introduction to the environs of Florence, Italy for anyone planning a trip or can serve up happy memories for those who have spent time in Florence [I, for one, regret having missed the Museo Galileo so close to the Uffizi Gallery!] The setting, for the most part, centers on one Tuscan vineyard where Julie and Gideon have been invited for a nice vacation that includes being immersed in all things food and wine.
The ensemble includes extensive family that runs the winery, one of whom married a friend of Julie's. This is not Julie and Gideon's first visit here, but their first murder investigation participation as the father and his wife's remains have been found after a year of being missing. Both Gideon and Julie contribute to solutions in the end. John Lau and his wife are also along for this trip. Think Food, more Food and Wine.

Loan from Friend (thank you!)

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solidly good. Gideon Oliver is one of my favorite detectives and I look forward to every novel he is in. I am beginning to fear we may have come to his end but I sure hope not.

[Rebecca Douglass · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the 17th Gideon Oliver book, I hardly expected Dying on the Vine to have anything shockingly new. Or maybe I did. A lot of mystery series that I've liked immensely in the early years have changed over time into something (typically more violent) that I don't like as well. Elkins seems to have avoided that trap while still managing to come up with inventive new settings and scenes for his stories. In fact, Dying on the Vine may be one of the least violent murder mysteries I have read, in terms of what happens during the story and to the main characters. There is, of course, a murder, but it happens off stage and before the book begins, and as we only ever see the corpse as a skeleton, it's pretty sanitized. Well, okay, there is another murder, also off stage and not very violent.

True confession time: I like mysteries for the puzzle. I'm not big on blood and gore. Close shaves and narrow escapes are fun but not essential. More on that later. So nice clean skeletons are okay with me, as they are for Gideon himself.

Dying on the Vine takes place in Italy, where Gideon and his wife Julie (along with friend John Lau of the FBI and his wife Marti) have gone for a combination of business and pleasure. Gideon is leading a seminar on forensic skeletons (my paraphrase), John is attending, and they are all visiting friends who own a vineyard and winery. The mystery strikes when a local police officer offers the class a real skeleton to contemplate, and (of course) Gideon turns up some inconsistencies between the police findings and the skeletal evidence. The plot thickens when he realizes this is the skeleton on the step-mother of their hosts--whom the police concluded was killed by her husband in a murder/suicide. What with one thing and another, and a lot of study of the bones, plus a little intuition and luck, Gideon manages to unravel the truth from a pile of bones, though not before another person is dead (though not anyone we care about, of course).

Best part: Elkins FINALLY let Julie come up with the right answer. In most of the books, it seems like Julie offers a solution, and is then proven wrong by Gideon, though she is often given credit for giving him a key insight. This time: she nails it. Not who did it, the police actually figure that out (!), but how and why. I like that. She's gotten squashed too many times.

Now, back to that issue of close shaves etc. Frankly, though an engaging and pleasant read, the stakes in this book just didn't feel high enough. We don't develop enough of a feeling for the Cubbiddu family (the Italian hosts with the corpses) to be truly concerned for their futures, nor do they seem terribly under threat. And at no time does anyone make any effort to stop Gideon, steal and destroy his skeletal evidence, etc. The story is just too tranquil. And I do sometimes get the feeling Elkins is a little too into the exotic settings just for the fun of writing about them and especially about the food. These people spend a LOT of time eating!

Now, Elkins being a really good writer, it's still an enjoyable read. It's just lacking a certain je ne sais quoi that would change it from "enjoyable read" to "I couldn't put it down." I don't need to be dodging bullets the whole time (which would be totally inappropriate for Gideon), but a little higher personal stake would be nice.

3.5 stars

[Yune · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this the day I picked it up from the library, ahead of many things in my reading queue, because the Gideon Oliver series is reliable: somehow lighthearted despite the murder mysteries, with a character who's for once in a happy, stable relationship and manages to still seem like an affable, ordinary guy despite his astonishing crime solving rate. And as he studies bones, these are often long-ago "solved" murders that he turns into open cases again, an element I enjoyed this time around, too.

But I found myself flipping through this book without my usual good-humored groans at how Gideon goes into professorial mode and expounds endlessly -- it's always been convenient for the author to have a character who can explain what's going on, but it felt too transparent and less endearing this time around. I've liked John Lau, an old FBI buddy of Gideon's, in the past, but he didn't really seem to do much but provide some nostalgic old jabs at his carnivorous cravings.

Add to that an extended introductory scene in the point of view of one of the victims, the successful Italian owner of a winery with some family issues. This is a common trait of these novels, but this time it went on too long, and I never really found myself seeing this family as people I could care about. They just seemed unconvincing as characters. Plus a last-minute piecing-together of confusing evidence by Gideon's wife, pretty much all conjecture on her own part that nonetheless provided a plausible scenario and which everyone accepted as the gospel version of events.

It just felt a little lackluster, but I can't tell if that's because I just wasn't in a good reading mood for Gideon Oliver tonight, or if there just wasn't much new ground for the author to scrape a spark from this time around.

Might be worth it for old fans to revisit Gideon, and actually I wonder what people new to Gideon Oliver would think, since they wouldn't suffer the same fatigue I did, but it's one of the more forgettable entries in the series.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gideon Oliver, a world-famous forensic anthropologist, so famous that he is known to all as the "Skeleton Detective," is in Italy lecturing at "the Fourteenth International Symposium on Science and Detection, a week of seminars for mid-level law-enforcement personnel from all over the world." One of his students is his close friend, who works for the FBI. Their wives are both in Italy with them. When the seminars are over, the two couples will be going on to stay with acquaintances of Oliver and his wife who run a winery in Tuscany.

Another member of Oliver's class is a lieutenant in the Italian Carabinieri, who just happens to have access to the skeletonized corpse of a crime victim that Oliver can use for demonstration purposes for the seminar. Oliver's conclusions about the way the woman had died are very different from those reached by the Italian authorities. This causes problems for the Carabinieri officer, who had considered the case settled. It causes even more problems for Oliver himself, as the dead woman turns out to be a member of the Tuscan family with whom Oliver and his friends are planning to stay.

Late in this book, the Carabinieri officer says:

"Coincidences do happen, you know. If they didn't, we wouldn't have a word for them."

True, but coincidences that occur so frequently and so unrealistically throughout a book make it hard to accept.

There are other flaws in the book as well. Oliver's FBI friend, who often plays an important part in other volumes of this series, is only a comic foil in this one. Repeatedly, people in the book are about to reveal information but are interrupted, so that vital developments are postponed for relatively inconsequential reasons.

Also, I suspect that dressing a weeks-old unembalmed corpse would present more difficulty than people in the book imagine (although, to be fair, it is not specifically said not to be difficult, just that it was done).

A lot of the book is fun, however. The descriptions of food consumed make up a substantial - and delightful - portion of the book. Much of the humor works well too.

I also enjoy the covers of the Berkley Prime Crime editions of this series, with their engaging skeletons, this one by Dan Craig. The skeleton on this cover is drinking a glass of wine, reminiscent of the old joke about the skeleton who walks into a bar and orders a beer and a mop.

[Eugene · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very satisfying read. Elkins has cranked out 20 of these over about 30 years, so they can seem a bit facile at this point, but the characters are always interesting, the plots nebulous and complex enough to maintain full interest, and here again, the denouement is quite well sprung upon us at the finish of the tale.
Gideon Oliver (aka “The Bone Detective”) has accompanied his wife Julie to Italy to visit an old friend who’s married into a family of vineyard owners. If you like wine, this is enough to get the ball rolling. And when dead relatives (long dead) begin showing up, the fun begins. Andiamo!

[Nancy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Aaron Elkins books, and this one is one of his best mysteries. Set in Italy at a vineyard, it features Gideon Oliver and his friend John Lau, who are visiting along with their wives, who are taking a food and wine course at the vineyard. When hikers find the skeletal bodies of two people, and the old vineyard owner and his wife have been missing for months, Gideon and John get involved in identifying the remains. At first it looks as if the two fell off a cliff and died, but as Gideon examines the bones, he realized they were both murdered, and at different times. The Italian police do not want to believe him, but with his evidence, they do, and then it is all hands on deck to find the murderer. This is a very satisfying mystery set in a charming Italian atmosphere.

[Ladyhawk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoy these for their interesting murder / mystery story and international travel.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I put this one down for a few days because the main character has a really annoying habit of over explaining everything. He’s a veritable geyser of little known facts. To the author’s credit, he does have all the other characters make fun or get exasperated by said habit. The mystery was great and the author has a gift for creating an atmosphere—I really felt like I was right there with them.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gideon is back in Europe, with the Laus and his wife, Julie, along for the trip. Lecturing at a forensic conference, Gideon teaches police officers about skeletal remains and using various techniques to aid in identification. When one of the 'class examples' turn out to hit close to home, Gideon and the local carabinieri official open an investigation. What appears to be a murder-suicide turns out to have many loose ends, some of which Gideon points out in passing. As the family members each spend time under the microscope and the case grows increasingly more confusing, a murder shakes everyone to their core and adds more questions to an already confusing tale. Authorities use Gideon's keen eye and attention to detail to piece it all together, though some things just aren't adding up. Someone's out to prove wine is thicker than blood.

Elkins entertains the reader in another instalment of the Gideon Oliver series. Complete with humourous asides, gastronomical discussions, and anthropologic teachable moments, the reader can take much away from the novel, other than a feeling of accomplishment. Many of Oliver's greatest moments come out in the book, though there are passages that do drag and (having read the entire series to date back to back to back...) some ideas that are over repeated. Overall, Elkins has kept things true to form from Book 1 through to this seventeenth in the series. It's always a pleasure to read and enjoy such a wonderful author's work.

Having undertaken the momentous task of reading the entire Dr. Gideon Oliver series, I can say that I have learned a great deal and taken away much from it. Over the span of thirty-plus years, Elkins has taken the reader on a wonderful journey that may not yet be done. Of note, something that I have not documented throughout, the series, which spans 30 years from the Book 1 publication through to this novel, does not follow the same time period. While technology and other minutiae may have progressed, the characters have aged and lived a mere ten years, as is clear in the numerous references to Gideon's marriage to Julie. That said, as long as the reader can push this out of their mind, there is much to enjoy within the story lines and the anthropologic discussions and advances are numerous. Having been a longtime fan of Kathy Reichs and Jefferson Bass, it was a pleasure to read the 'father of forensic anthropology', who laid the cornerstone in the fiction genre. I look forward to future books, should Elkins decide to extend the series, using new settings or a return to old haunts.

Kudos, Dr. Elkins for such a wonderful collection of books. I am eager to see if you have more in store for Gideon Oliver fans!

[Lark of The Bookwyrm's Hoard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review originally published at The Bookwyrm's Hoard.

I’ve been reading the Gideon Oliver mystery series for about fifteen years now, and I generally enjoy them. Most of the books are a quick, fun read, and offer a reasonably challenging mystery in a distinctive setting. I like the character of Gideon Oliver despite -- or perhaps because of -- his tendency to lecture at the drop of a hat. (It’s a trait I’m quite familiar with; our family is full of teachers and former teachers, including me.) And I’m always fascinated by the forensic science on which each solution rests. Oliver is a forensic anthropologist, which means he’s an expert on bones and what they can tell us about the human being they once belonged to – including cause of death.

Dying on the Vine is the newest and somewhat uninspired entry in this usually satisfying series. The crime and the solution have some interesting twists, including one I really didn’t see coming (as well as one or two I did). It held my attention while I was reading it, and it was, as I expected, a light and enjoyable read. My only real problem with Dying on the Vine is that the plot seems at times almost secondary to the setting. Several days after reading the book, what lingers in my mind is neither the crime nor the characters (though I rather liked the laid-back Italian carabiniere in charge of the investigation.) Elkins is always good at evoking the setting of his mysteries, usually without overdoing it, but here his descriptions of buildings and towns read almost like a travel guide, and he spends almost as much time detailing his characters’ frequent meals and coffee breaks as he does on the crime investigation. As a result, the book feels a bit out of balance.

Overall, I’d have to say that I liked Dying on the Vine, but not as much as some of the other books in the series. If you’ve never read the series, try starting with Old Bones or Icy Clutches, both of which are pretty good. The series doesn’t have to be read in order, though doing so can help you keep track of the recurring characters. (The first book is Fellowship of Fear, which is interesting but not, in my opinion, one of the best.)

FCC disclosure: I borrowed this from the public library.

Read more of my reviews at The Bookwyrm’s Hoard.

[Gloria Feit · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Skeleton Detective mystery series continues with this novel, set in the wine country of Tuscany. And the reader is treated to not only a first-rate crime story, but a gastronomic feast.

Professor Gideon Oliver, on sabbatical, while attending a seminar at Carabinieri headquarters in Florence, meets Lt. Rocco Gardella, where he learns that the deaths of someone he knew, the owner of the fourth largest vineyard in the area, and his wife, have been “solved,” determined to be a murder-suicide. In discussion, the Italian policeman suggests that his “cousin” is the owner of the funeral home where the remains of the woman are to be cremated the next day and offers Gideon the opportunity to view the bones. How could a forensic anthropologist refuse?

And never again would things remain the same, as Gideon raises questions about the death just by examining the bones, stating that while she did fall from a cliff, she was still alive until she hit the rocks where her body was found. Then later, upon viewing the husband’s bones, he tells Rocco that, as opposed to the conclusion of the police investigation, the man had died before his wife, causing the murder inquiry to be reopened. And thereby hangs a tale.

Sprinkled with descriptions of various restaurants in Florence, and of Italian cuisine, not to mention wine making, the reader really is in store for a well-written treat, not to mention a wealth of information about anthropology. At the same time, the author constructs a complex puzzle for the reader to solve (if he/she can).

Recommended.

[judy · Rating 1 out of 5]

The title of this book pretty much describes what I thought of it. Although I have loved this series, this entry seemed to struggle from page to page. Not only did I find the plot uninspiring, I felt that the author was deliberately trying to string out the story so that the book would be longer. It was not a happy experience.

[Hapzydeco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elkins’ forensic science coupled with the vineyard scenery and flavors of Florence makes this edition of Gideon Oliver series an extremely entertaining reading experience. But a true follower of Aaron Elkins' Gideon Oliver books might ask, “Where is the mystery?”.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This addition to the Gideon Oliver series was just okay. I'm getting a little tired of the constant talking about the case, with Gideon trying to coax out from others what is going on. I'd like more show, less tell, basically.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story took place in Italy and if you are interested in Italian food it will interest you to know that a lot of the book focuses on Italian food and, of course, on wine. Although it took a bit too long to get up to speed, this was a good mystery and I never knew "who done it" until the end.

[Rhonda Gilmour · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was such fun! Murder at a vineyard in Tuscany! Food! Wine! Sexy carabinieri! The pacing is brisk, the solution clever, and the whole package was delicious.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

"It was the unwavering custom of Pietro Cubbiddu, patriarch of Tuscany's Villa Antica wine empire, to take a solitary month-long sabbatical at the end of the early grape harvest, leaving the winery i8n the trusted hands of his three sons. His wife, Nola, would drive him to an isolated mountain cabin in the Apennines and return for him a month later, bringing him back to his family and business.

"So it went for almost a decade -- until the year came when neither of them returned. Months later, a hiker in the Apennines stumbles on their skeletal remains. The carabinieri investigate and release their findings: they are dealing with a murder-suicide. The evidence makes it clear that Pietro Cubbiddu shot and killed his wife and then himself. The likely motive: his discovery that Nola had been having an affair.

"Not long afterward, Gideon Oliver and his wife, Julie, are in Tuscany visiting their friends, the Cubbiddu offspring. The renowned Skeleton Detective is asked to reexamine the bones. When he does, he reluctantly concludes that the carabinieri, competent though they may be, have gotten almost everything wrong. Whatever it was that happened in the mountains, a murder-suicide it was not.

"Soon Gideon finds himself in a morass of family antipathies, conflicts, and mistrust, to say nothing of the local carabinieri's resentment. And when yet another Cubbiddu relation meets an unlikely end, it becomes bone-chillingly clear that the killer if far from finished ..."
front flap

Another whacking good mystery for the Skeleton Detective, and his pal John Lau. The family can't believe that Pietro would kill his wife, but then maybe he found out that his wife was having an affair, and Barbagia honor would require him to kill her and shoot himself. The plot thickens more and more as Gideon discovers that the murder-suicide scenario isn't correct, and while he and John eat their way across Tuscany, they begin to sort out a timeline that breaks the case wide open.

[Jann Barber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked out this book from the library after reading a promising review online. I took it with me to the hospital today to read while waiting for a procedure. Arriving at 9am, I learned I was far too early, so I read for three hours. I finished the book when I got home and slept off the anesthesia. It was the perfect choice for today, as it was easy to follow, descriptions of the scenery, art, food, and wine added to the book, and the characters were likable, even though there turned out to be a murderer in their midst.

Gideon Oliver is renowned as the Skeleton Detective, and even though he is on vacation, his skills are called into play the he is asked to reexamine the remains of a mysterious family tragedy. Pietro Cubbiddu, former patriarch of the Villa Antica wine empire, is thought to have killed his wife and then himself in the remote mountains of the Apennines. It does not take long for Gideon to deduce that, whatever happened, a murder-suicide it was not.

Gideon and Julie are actually staying at the Villa Antica, as they had become friends of the family before Pietro's disappearance. His skeleton, along with that of his second wife, had just been found at the base of a cliff after a year's disappearance. Pietro's three sons, Franco, Luca, and Nico, along with his stepson, Cesare, had all helped in the family business. The family lawyer also lived at the Villa.

The mystery almost seemed secondary to the interactions of Gideon, the local carabinieri, and the family members. Of course, it was lovely to read about the food, having fasted for my procedure!

Gideon has a tendency to use every moment as a teachable moment, but he will catch himself and try to stay focused on the tasks at hand. He does not come off as insufferable, but is, rather, endearing.

I did not guess the conclusion, although it did make sense.

[RC Prentice · Rating 4 out of 5]

The bones of two dead people, wife and husband, missing for nearly a year, turn up at the bottom of a cliff. At first glance, they seem to have toppled off it to their deaths. But each one has been shot. First impression: a double suicide, with the husband doing the honors. But why? It turns out they are the former owners of a winery at which a cooking class is being conducted, attended by Julie, the wife of—yes, the Skeleton Detective. The bones tell Gideon that it cannot have happened the way it looks, and that it must have been actually a double murder. But why and by whom? There are only four likely perps, one likely eliminatable by being married to Julie’s friend who got her and Marti into the cooking class. Along with Marti and FBI husband John—familiar from others in the series—Gideon and Julie consume copious cups of espresso, lattes and cappuccinos, and of course sip glass after glass of vintage wines. Pasta, osso bucco, (would you believe?) fish burritos and plenty of good-natured, barbed banter are also on offer. And as usual in this series, it’s not so much the perp that’s the mystery as it is the inevitable story told by the bones and how they tell it.

[Kerrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plot of this novel is very similar to the only other book I have read in this series (OLD BONES), in that the setting is linked to a conference on forensic anthropology that the Skeleton Detective is attending and giving several sessions at. The aim of the seminars is to teach detectives to "read skeletons". One of the attendees suggests that he is able to access some skeletons recently found. Gideon Oliver finds that he disagrees with almost everything the pathologists have come up with. The have concluded a murder/suicide. His interpretation is that they have the order of the deaths wrong, and that both people have been murdered. The other similar plot line is that Gideon Oliver has some connection with the dead person.

Some parts of the investigation held very interesting information, but in other parts the plot got just a little bit too cute, and I thought the final chapter was not very satisfactory at all, and had the feeling of being written far too hastily.

[Karla Huebner]

I've read a few books in this series over the years, and enjoyed them, without having read them in any order beyond the order in which I ran across them. In this one, forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver (the Skeleton Detective) and his wife are in Italy, where Gideon teaches a group of police from all over about bones, after which the couple visits a vineyard where they'd previously gotten acquainted with the owners. However, the skeletal remains of the paterfamilias and wife have just been discovered after a period in which the pair had gone missing, and one of the cops in the class is involved in the case, so this naturally brings Gideon into detection--was it a murder-suicide or just murder? Will there need to be changes in the inheritance among the couple's sons?

It's a pleasant, fairly low-key read, with a lot of food and drink as well as discourses on bones.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another solid entry about the Skeleton Detective, this one set in Tuscany where Dr. Gideon Oliver is lecturing on forensic science. While he and his wife Julie are spending time visiting the Cubbiddu family, the owners of an old vineyard, they find out that the patriarch of the family was found dead recently and is thought to have killed his wife and then himself. Gideon thinks the explanation of their deaths is too neat, but his poking around reveals the tensions among the three sons and their fiery relationship with their father. Julie, between cooking classes, comes up with some observations that help Gideon figure out what really happened. This is a middling entry, with some colorful descriptions of the Italian scenery and the food.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gideon and his wife are visiting Italy along with a policeman friend and his wife. When the travel to a winery to visit friends there he is brought into the difficulties the family has been having. The people who started the winery have been missing for a year and the sons, who now are working the winery are having some conflicts. When the remains of the missing couple are found by a hiker Gideon asks to see the bones and he sees some discrepancies in the timeline and destruction of the bones.

The local police are reluctant to reopen the case but Gideon convinces them they should do so. However, someone wants the secret kept and another death of a family member ensues. Gideon must now step up his investigation before someone else dies.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read and enjoyed Aaron Elkins 'Skeleton Detective' mysteries in the past, but not for a while. So I picked this up hopeful of a good time. Either my memory is failing me, or this one is just not one of the good ones. I like the setting - Tuscany - and the immediate environment - a family-owned winery - but I found this one was... taking too long. I wearied of the time it took Gideon Oliver to share what he'd figured out from the bones -- if it was an effort to build suspense it sure didn't work on me -- and I kept wanting more... writer stuff, like character development, and a real sense that something was at stake. Disappointing...

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gideon and Julie are in Italy, along with John and Marti, where the women will be taking part in a cooking course at a local winery, owned by friends. But before it starts, Gideon ends up examining some bones that cause the police to rethink the verdict in the deaths of the family patriarch and his wife — Gideon is good at that! Interesting characters and a wonderful setting combine to make this book hard to put down. Recommended.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thin Mystery

Oh man, it felt like I was reading an all-tell version of an earlier book also involving a family about five or six books ago. There was so much unnecessary information about things that had little to nothing to do with the actual case. And for the first time Gideon irritated the heck out of me. —it reads like a mediocre fan fiction. 😔 one that misses what was enjoyable about the earlier books in the series.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great read.

I truly enjoy this series. Only I did not want that person to be the killer. Darn. There was another one I was betting on. I didn’t like him and felt there were a few questionable moments…but it was not to be. Still a great read in a great series. Nothing not to like. I love the bits of forensics that make their way in. And I like the relationships between the main characters. Also made me want to visit Italia.