Little Tiny Teeth

Gideon Oliver #14

by Aaron Elkins

Forensics professor Gideon Oliver's supposedly peaceful Amazon riverboat jaunt with a group of research botanists turns deadly when one of the scientists is killed by a deranged passenger who then leaps overboard in the darkness, a case that is further complicated by the discovery of a fresh skeleton that turns up in the river, scoured clean by the local piranhas.

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

304 pages, Hardcover

First published June 5, 2007

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

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic who done it, set on a seedy Amazon cruise boat, complete with piranhas, headhunters, wild eyed botanists, drug dealers, giant spiders, and great food. Who could ask for more?

[Barbara ★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I found this rather preachy (not religious but scientific) with a lot of unnecessary information which put me to sleep. This is not a series nor an author I would repeat. Honestly I just liked the cover.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

My husband has developed a pleasant addiction to the TV series Bones, and I tend to participate. But, as the bumper sticker proclaims, I'd rather be reading. Gideon Oliver is a forensic anthropologist, as is "Bones." The similarity, I think, ends in the career choice, but that's why I looked into Dr. Oliver.

Anyway, my first venture sweeps me into the Amazon on a trek that includes savage tribes, drug trafficking, murder, several twists ... and piranhas, from whence the "little tiny teeth."

An enjoyable but far from totally enchanting story. For instance, I don't know Gideon all that much better than when I started, and the plot doesn't entirely hold up to scrutiny.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have given it four stars but for a couple of facts about insects (If I remember correctly) and food that may be incorrect, at least when we visited Iquitos in 1997 and again in 1998. Mystery was only OK but enjoyed being taken back to a city and a river that have special places in our hearts. If you ever visit Iquitos, you must eat at Ari's Burger. Story brought back great memories.

[Ladyhawk · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read! Still enjoying this series. This time the suspense occurs in the dense and mysterious Amazon jungle. With ample sordid who-done-it suspects, the story had me suspecting one person after another. While I'm a terrific arm-chair traveler, you can't pay me enough to visit the Amazon, terrifying and gloriously wild. From a safe distance, it's perfect fun!

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

"When Gideon Oliver is invited to join an Amazon riverboat expedition with a group of research botanists, he anticipates a relaxing getaway from his academic and forensic duties in an exotic locale. But relaxation is not on the itinerary.

"There's stifling heat and humidity, giant bird-eating spiders, snakes, fire ants, jungle shamans, hallucinogenic plants, and corrupt military officials -- all of which are expected. What isn't expected is the primitive lance that is flung from the river's shore on the first day of the expedition, narrowly missing the leader of the botanists. Hanging from the lance is a shrunken human head -- the warning of the Chayacuro, a fierce tribe of headhunters. But they aren't the only danger.

"Hundreds of miles upriver, one of the botanists is killed in the middle of the night by a seemingly deranged passenger who leaps overboard and flees into the darkness. No one can explain why. Theories begin to simmer, though, and stories of long-past, half-forgotten enmities and resentments -- and new ones as well -- boil to the surface.

"Only when a fresh skeleton turns up in the river, scoured to the bone by voracious piranhas, does Gideon realize that in this jungle full of predators, humans may be the deadliest of all ..."
~~front & back flaps

Wow! There are moments of sheer terror in this one, more so than any of the previous books. Most of the book is relatively innocuous -- even the lance (which wasn't thrown from the shore, btw). And most of the characters also seem innocuous and ordinary, with the exception of Cisco, the "White Shaman," gaunt, gray-bearded, and hollow-cheeked, new faux combat boots, a grimy Chicago Whit Sox baseball cap and a red loose tank top that bared stringy, leathery arms, a dingy gray ponytail. Gideon summed him up: "All he needed was three coats and a supermarket cart stuffed with plastic garbage bags and he would have fit right in mumbling at the tourists from a park bench in Seattle's Pioneer Square."

And then there's Captain Alfredo Vargas, founder and president of Amazonia Cruise Lines (which consists solely of the Adelita, one hundred years old, a prison ship in the 1020s and '30s, a rescued half-sunk hulk rotting away on the river shore: a peeling, white-painted, metal-hulled, much-dinged old bucket of a two-decker about the length of a Greyhound bus.) Our captain is an overweight, bespeckled, heavily perspiring man in jeans, T-shirt, and a bright new captain's cap complete with woven gold-oak-leaf filigree -- a nervous, anxious little man.

The trip down the Amazon is uneventful except for the quickly simmering animosities towards the head of the ethnobotanical group, Professor Arden Scofield. It seems that every member of the party has a reason to dislike and distrust the professor, and he certainly makes our captain nervous as well.

Of course it all comes to a head, and of course our Gideon is caught right in the middle of the explosion. Luckily his friend John Lau is on the cruise as well, and between them they manage to ... well, you'll just have to read the book to find out how encounters with giant bird-eating spiders, head-hunting Chayacuro and the local bad guys of every description comes out.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gideon Oliver and his FBI agent friend John decide to join a friend on an Amazon River cruise with a bunch of botanists over Thanksgiving while their wives are enjoying a luxury spa prize in Cabo St. Luca. Expections of calm lazy days floating along the river with occasional side excursion into the jungle immediately seem to be at risk given how much the other passengers dislike the leader of the excursion. The reader already knows he's basically a criminal and a fraud, and soon there are missing passengers presumed drowned, then a skull and a few other bones for Gideon to use his forensic skills on, and a murder to be solved.

The setting here drew me in, though I'd expected it to be through Brazil not just the section eunninf deom Iquiros, Peru to Letitia Colombia, mostly on one of the tributaries. There's plenty of wildlife and botanicals to create the proper atmosphere, and I thoroughly loved day when the crew fishes for piranha to serve for dinner and I learn all about their little tiny teeth which make them the ace cleaner of skeletons that come their way in the waters of the Amazon.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3.5 ⭐️ effort in the series

This one was a fast read compared to some of the others, with a less-intricate plot. But plenty of motives. Without giving the plot away, I’m disappointed there wasn’t a certain confrontation between two characters who should have had one. An anticlimactic ending for one character, and a disappointing ending for the other, truly sad. Also, a bunch of hanging subplots were left, but I won’t go into detail here about them. You’ll notice them. It was good, but it could have been so much better.

PS - and what happened to the woman Phil was romantically inclined to in the previous book?

[Alger Smythe-Hopkins · Rating 1 out of 5]

A waste of time clockwork plot with absolutely no invention. I believe the intent was to cleverly re-stage a locked room mystery in the Amazon. The result is a tedious ship of fools tale ineptly managed. Everything is foreshadowed, nearly everyone aboard the ship is outside the list of suspects, and the contortions the author makes to get The Skeleton Detective's mitts on a set of bones is embarrassing.
There is nothing inherently wrong with a novel that ticks along like a Jack in the Box, because even though you know the surprise is coming so long as you keep turning the crank there is still that little jump scare BOING. This novel plunks along through Pop Goes the Weasel...and the lids starts to open, but doesn't, and then is seems again, like it's going to spring, but it doesn't. Then in the last couple of pages it trots out the expected as if it's a big reveal instead of a half assed cobbling together just to tie up loose ends ...boing...
Loaded with pointless stereotypes and tepid situations intended to raise the stakes, this is another of those books that persons who don't like to read tend to enthuse over because it presents absolutely nothing in the manner of a challenge.

[Karen Plummer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was rather different than the usual Gideon Oliver series in that the bones become something of an afterthought. Gideon and his friends John (FBI agent) and Phil (tour director) are tagging along with an anthropological/botanical trip along the Amazon River. Phil is checking out the Captain and his boat as a possible business partnership and he's asked Gideon and John to help him out. It looks to be an interesting and fun time for all but the group on the boat is a little bit tense. There's a lot of tension around the leader of the group (who's rather full of himself) and his colleagues, most of whom have a strong dislike for the man. Then there's the local "expert" on jungle trails, native shamans, and local plants...he is very grubby, drug-addicted, and a bit touchy which doesn't inspire any confidence among the travelers.

The story flows a bit slowly and we don't have a murder until near the end which is disappointing. The resolution is interesting and the descriptions of the trip, the boat and its crew, the local scenery and Gideon's thoughts along the way are interesting. I have to admit, this isn't my favorite of the series although it was okay.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars for me as this was meant for the macho male audience, but I still enjoyed it. I have never wanted to explore the Amazon but I do think more men than women would find this tempting when offered. John and Gideon are invited to go on this adventure by their friend from the "go for cheap" travel agency whilst John's wife and Gideon's wife are granted the opportunity to go to Cabos for massage experience and sun soaking. Yes, they certainly do travel a lot!
Every horror I am able to imagine pretty much happened on the Amazon trip including the hard long hours of even getting to Peru from Seattle. Drugs, frightening encounters with Indian populations, piranhas supply the "tiny teeth" of the title and murder is on the menu as well, but Gideon and John survive and are once again reunited with their wives.
There are beautiful sites enjoyed by Gideon including the sky of the unfamiliar southern hemisphere, pink dolphins, colorful birds...but he pays a price for this adventure.

Loan from Friend (Thank You!)

[Cheryl Ames · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another book from my Peru/Ecuador reading list, in preparation for travel — a murder mystery on the Amazon! Although it’s a genre I don’t typically read, the book is thoroughly entertaining from the first page to the last. I did predict the murderer though, and wonder if that’s the case for other readers as well. As for my travels — I’m hoping that I experience less humidity and heat, more comfortable places to sleep, no fierce indigenous people or drug traffickers, and certainly no “little tiny teeth”!

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice and fast read. Did not like it as well as his other books. I think because I was expecting more of the same. This story is a little different. More twists and turns.

[Suanne]

This is a review of the entire Gideon Oliver mystery series.

Little Tiny Teeth is the fourteenth of an eighteen-book mystery series with forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver, Ph.D. as the protagonist. I started with Dead Men’s Hearts (#8 in the series) and liked it enough I started collecting individual books as they came on sale, saving them until I could read the entire series in one fell swoop. The day came when I had almost the entire series, so I bought the last two and settled in for two weeks of reading. Roughly 250 pages each, they are quick reads; some days I could get through two.
Elkins is an anthropologist, and his knowledge of the human body is apparent. As a physician, I enjoyed the science and the anatomy of Gideon’s forensic work with the police and FBI. He visits several foreign countries as well as some of the United States, and these locales seem accurately depicted to this world traveler. There is some romance, rather old-fashioned and staid, but Gideon is that kind of guy. He marries the woman in question and they remain happily married through the series.
Some books, of course, were better than others (I thought Dying on the Vine set in Tuscany, was probably the weakest), but overall, the series rates a solid four stars and are a predictably fast, interesting read with widely varied locales and plots.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gideon is off on a river cruise down the Amazon. Along with him are his friends John and Phil. Despite mosquitoes, other creatures, heat and humidity they agreed meandering down a river would be relaxing.
Accompanying them is the over eager desperate Captain, his Native crew, the Leading professor, his Phd graduate hopefuls, a writer, and other interested passengers. Yet, Gideon and his friends soon realize things are not very friendly.
I learned a little about the Rainforest, its people and some flora and fauna and history. Ironically, as I write this, part of the Amazon is being ravaged from an uncontrollable fire.

[Tekken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Olen enamikku Gideon Oliveri sarja raamatuid lugenud ja lähimas tulevikus kavatsen ka Lee Ofstedi lood ette võtta. Elkins on mõnus intelligentse stiiliga jutustaja, eriti sobiv palava ilmaga, kui raamatu käes hoidmine kujutab endast omaette pingutust.

Siin on kõik elemendid, mis kuuluvad Amazonasel asetleidva krimka kohustuslikku repertuaari – hiigelsuured ämblikud, veel suuremad prussakad, valusalt hammustavad sipelgad ja muidugi piraajad (elik little tiny teeth).

Eraldi tuleb ärka märkida elegantset viisi, kuidas autor oma nimidetektiivi tutvustab – nii mõnigi selle žanri klassik on selle lihtsa ülesandega hätta jäänud.

[Janell · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's weird to read the 14th book of a series first, but it seemed fairly self-contained. I mostly liked this as a basic mystery book, with a whiff of forensic anthropology that I really did like. Also some jungle adventure, since this takes place on the Amazon. There were also a few things that rubbed me just a little bit the wrong way - a man talking about his wife going through menopause, for example. Overall, 3 stars. I liked it, but I'm not sure if I'll read more from this series. Maybe?

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

At least 3.5 stars. While their wives take a free trip to Mexico that Marti won in a raffle, Gideon and John decide to take an Amazon river cruise with their friend Phil — especially since they only need to pay for their plane fares, as they help Phil evaluate the river boat for Phil's company. But not everything goes quite as planned. Naturally Gideon finds bones to examine — bones that tell a very interesting story. Another well-plotted mystery by one of my favorite authors. Recommended.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aaron Elkin's Gideon Oliver books are quick, fun reads. I've been reading a book every day or two, and they are hard to put down. With respect to the entire series so far: I like all the quirky details (even though others say they are too much or that a few may be inaccurate). Aaron Elkin does a good job illustrating the character's thought processes as they work with the information they have to fit the puzzle pieces together. He also does a good job highlighting different personality types and different ways of working.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great read! I felt like I was in the Amazon because of the vivid descriptions. The male Goliath spider in Chapter 8 was enough to put me off the Amazon for good. Nice build-up of suspense and satisfying ending.

The air was everything Gideon had dreaded, as thick and hot as soup. Before he reached the bottom of the stairs, his shirt was wet with sweat and his unshaven face was greasy. He felt like a turkey basting in the oven.
“A little hot,” he said mildly.
“You think this is hot?” Phil said. “Ho, ho, this is only the morning. Wait till the afternoon!”

[Bill · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK - read better by Elkins. I am not much of a PC kind of guy, but it did rattle my nerves when elkins used pejorative terms in reference to native South Americans. Terms like savages have no business coming from a highly educated professors of anthropology. Such terms were used by European colonial settlers to dehumanize the natives thus making them easy targets for removal and genocide. Although it can be said that today we use the term terrorist in much the same way.
This book was more an adventure story than a mystery and not a particularly good one.

[Annie Karlson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun adventure mystery set in the Amazon rain forest. Likable and relatable characters. I especially enjoyed it because it incorporated so many elements/facts that I had learned about while on a recent trip to the Amazon basin myself, e.g. primary vs. secondary rain forest, poison darts, "savage" tribes, the cocaine trade, shamanistic practices, giant insects, etc.

I highly recommend this easy read to anyone who's been in the area!

[Robyn Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Physical anthropologist Gideon Oliver is on the trip of a lifetime--a cruise up the Amazon River with a group of mild-mannered ethnobotanists. What could possibly go wrong? A lot as it turns out. When tensions within the group explode into murder, Gideon has to put his forensic skills to use in order to bring the killer to justice.

[Sarah Hearn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 4th Gideon Oliver book I’ve read in quick succession, and it’s every bit as good as the others. Once again, I was able to work out whodunnit and also solve some of the other mysteries in the plot before they were revealed but it didn’t stop me from enjoying it anyway.

[Richard94611 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth Reading

Like most of Elkin’s novels, this one has an interesting plot and is jam-packed with interesting information, not just about forensic science, but also about the Amazon.

[Jlnpeacock Peacock · Rating 4 out of 5]

The scientific information provided in this book is a sugar coated way of learning…I only hope the author is providing actual facts. The mysteries in Elkins’ books is not the primary appeal to me as much as his exploring of the evidence and his characters. Very nice read.

[Barbra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great story this time on a trip down the amazon.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, it as the elements of drug lords and piranha and murder. It was easy to read.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad mystery story but a bit one dimensional as far as the characters go.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gideon Oliver never disappoints! This book went on a low budget "cruise" down the Amazon....with all the flora, fauna and humans that reside there.