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Rating: 
Summary: "adventures with an old friend"
Review: A new visit with Professor Gideon Oliver, and Julie is always welcome. Mr. Elkins has the gift of description, be it a charming small lake side village in Italy, or the first sip of a local red wine. I was taken from the simplicity of old world values ,to the danger and complexity of searching for the truth of the identity of a murder victim , to the unraveling of a ingenious case of financial minipulation.
Mr.Elkins has again spun a tale of finely crafted prose, and intelligent wit.
Rating:
Summary: "adventures with an old friend"
Review: A new visit with Professor Gideon Oliver, and Julie is always welcome. Mr. Elkins has the gift of description, be it a charming small lake side village in Italy, or the first sip of a local red wine. I was taken from the simplicity of old world values ,to the danger and complexity of searching for the truth of the identity of a murder victim , to the unraveling of a ingenious case of financial minipulation.
Mr.Elkins has again spun a tale of finely crafted prose, and intelligent wit.
Rating: 
Summary: For Italy Lovers
Review: Aaron Elkins has set his eleventh Gideon Oliver mystery in the Piedmont region of Italy. The action takes place in the charming town of Stresa on Lake Maggiore, which is a refreshing pleasure for fans of Italian mysteries and a stark departure from the frequently used locations of Venice, Florence, or Rome. The story begins with a gripping 1960s prologue that introduces us to Domenico de Grazia's aristocratic family and sets the stage for the present day story that involves the next two generations of his family. When the present day story begins, Domenico has been dead for a decade and his son, Vincenzo, has inherited the responsibility of maintaining the estate and the good family name. When Vincenzo's rather obnoxious son, Achille, gets kidnapped, the case gets assigned to the Carabinieri's Colonel Tullio Caravalle.
Up to this point in the story it is very easy for the reader to forget that this "is" the next mystery in the Gideon Oliver series. One asks oneself just how could that famous American forensic anthropologist "Skeleton Detective" possibly get involved in this case. Well, Gideon and his wife Julie are assisting their friend Phil, from Seattle, put on a tour of the Italian lake country. Much to their surprise Phil is really Filiberto Ungaretti and a close relative of the de Grazia family in Stresa. So when, shortly after their arrival, a skeleton is found, Gideon is asked to help identify the remains and therefore gets deeply involved in this case and the kidnapping along with the very competent Colonel Caravalle. Together by combining their talents, Gideon and Caravalle proceed to unravel these two interesting and complex cases. Over the course of the story, we get introduced to all of the members of the extended de Grazia family thus furnishing a long list of suspects.
I commend Elkins for his research on this one. I loved his Italian references, particularly the occasional phrases and the food descriptions. His Lake Maggiore setting makes one want to go visit and explore more. Except for protagonist Gideon and his wife Julie, all of the characters were Italian. As a regular visitor to Italy, I found these characters credible and loved all of the petty family infighting. In my opinion, this the best mystery novel Aaron Elkins has written. I would really like him to do more novels set in Italy.
Rating:
Summary: a welcome appearance of The Skeleton Detective
Review: Good Blood -- not exactly an American ideal but very important to a family which traces its noble lineage back to the Holy Roman Empire. From the beginning to the end, the novel is driven by bloodlines and the strange conflicts they can bring upon us.Gideon Oliver, his wife Julie, and their friend Phil are visiting Italy. Phil and Julie are acting as tour guides, and Gideon is on vacation. Somehow you just know a few human bones are doing to pop up from a shallow grave. The book is very well-written, even though the mystery plot is rather weak. Some mystery authors deliberately "cheat" by holding back key pieces of information, but in this case Elkins perhaps errs on the opposite side by giving away too much, too soon. Doesn't matter, though, because the book is still fun to read. The pleasure of the novel depends on the fine characterization and witty writing, not the bare bones of the plot. (Or even the bare bones that are almost incidental to the plot -- in this case the bones really only serve to bring Gideon into the mystery. They aren't really necessary to solve the crime. Either of the crimes.) The real star of the investigation (and the novel) is the local carabinieri colonel, who eventually gets to fulfill the wishes of both his father and his grandfather by the end of the story. Gideon's most important impact, perhaps, is to be a catalyst and sounding board for Colonel Caravale. But that's probably as it should be. He is on vacation, after all. (And as a resident of the great Pacific Northwet, I loved the final scene of the novel. Any true NW native knows that if he wants to impress a vistor he should make sure to do it between July and September....)
Rating:
Summary: A winner!
Review: In the village of Stresa, near Lake Maggiore, Italy a well planned kidnapping is carried out. Achille de Grazia, the sixteen-year-old heir to wealthy and aristocratic Vincenzo, the owner of numerous business enterprises and his own island, is being ransomed for the sum of five million Euros. While the family is raising the money, the bones of a murdered man are found at a de Grazia construction site. Forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver, his wife Julie and a de Grazia cousin Phil are in Stresa to host a "Travel of the Cheap Tour." The carbineer in the form of Colonel Caravale asks Gideon to help him identify the skeleton and find out the cause of death. With the information Gideon gives him, Caravale identifies the body of Vincenzo's father who was thought to be lost at sea. After Achille is returned, somebody tries to steal the bones and kill Gideon, making him believe that the two crimes are linked in some manner. Further investigation proves he is right but it does not get him any closer to identifying the perpetrator or the mastermind who is orchestrating events. After reading GOOD BLOOD, an appropriate title if ever there was one, readers will find themselves wishing they could go Italy and immerse themselves in the culture, just not the sidebar that Gideon becomes part of. With only a few days of holiday under his belt, Gideon is so antsy to get back to work that he leaps into the case and makes such a good impression on the colonel that he becomes his de facto partner. This is an exciting police procedural set among the blue bloods of Italian society. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: A winner!
Review: In the village of Stresa, near Lake Maggiore, Italy a well planned kidnapping is carried out. Achille de Grazia, the sixteen-year-old heir to wealthy and aristocratic Vincenzo, the owner of numerous business enterprises and his own island, is being ransomed for the sum of five million Euros. While the family is raising the money, the bones of a murdered man are found at a de Grazia construction site. Forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver, his wife Julie and a de Grazia cousin Phil are in Stresa to host a "Travel of the Cheap Tour." The carbineer in the form of Colonel Caravale asks Gideon to help him identify the skeleton and find out the cause of death. With the information Gideon gives him, Caravale identifies the body of Vincenzo's father who was thought to be lost at sea. After Achille is returned, somebody tries to steal the bones and kill Gideon, making him believe that the two crimes are linked in some manner. Further investigation proves he is right but it does not get him any closer to identifying the perpetrator or the mastermind who is orchestrating events. After reading GOOD BLOOD, an appropriate title if ever there was one, readers will find themselves wishing they could go Italy and immerse themselves in the culture, just not the sidebar that Gideon becomes part of. With only a few days of holiday under his belt, Gideon is so antsy to get back to work that he leaps into the case and makes such a good impression on the colonel that he becomes his de facto partner. This is an exciting police procedural set among the blue bloods of Italian society. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable mystery with a nice Italian setting
Review: It was supposed to be a peaceful vacation in Italy, but when his friend's relative is kidnapped, American forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver offers his assistance. The kidnapping was badly botched--resulting in the death of the chaufeur, but Italian police Colonel Caravale can't see any use for a high-powered bone man. They know what killed the chaufeur. Still, bones do turn up--on property owned by the aristocratic family of the kidnapped boy. And Caravale doesn't believe in coincidence. Still, could a skeleton that looks to have been underground for a decade have anything to do with a kidnapping? Caravale and Gideon overcome initial distrust and begin to work together as a team--but someone is watching and knows too much. Gideon finds that the decade-old murder poses real danger to him--in the present. What started out as a vacation just might end up terminal. Author Aaron Elkins combines the best elements of an Italian opera, forensic science, and an old-fashioned cozy in his well written and entertaining GOOD BLOOD. The aristocratic Italian family, with their internal feuds and snobish belief in the 'good blood' of the family, rings true as do Gideon and his friend Phil--the distant but looked down-on relative of the family who now makes his living giving cheap tours of the world. Elkins' strong descriptions make Italy come to life. Aaron Elkins is an Edgar Award Winner and with GOOD BLOOD it's easy to see why. I recommend this one highly.
Rating:
Summary: Merely very good
Review: Let me declare my prejudices up front. I think Aaron Elkins is the best writer of "classical" mysteries working today, bar none. I'll buy any book he writes as soon as it comes out. _Good Blood_ is an engaging read, with characters whom I'd love to meet in the flesh and an honest puzzle. That said, the book is merely very good--not great. The plotting is fine, but the editing and structural choices are a little odd. For instance: * There's a substantial prologue that explicitly gives away what could have been a major plot point. Furthermore, if you're an experienced mystery reader, you will *immediately* guess one of the book's later twists when you finish the prologue. * Gideon himself doesn't have as much to do as I'd prefer. He's absent for a surprising number of scenes. He gets one skeleton to work with, but has to ask a minor walk-on character (via telephone!) for the information he needs. * The family of suspects is under-developed, compared to other Elkins books. None of them gets enough face time to be convincing. This is particularly true of the love interest, who's very sketchy; Elkins handled a similar dynamic more deftly in _Old Bones_. All the same, aficionados of the true mystery will probably want to read this one. Too many "mystery" authors are either (a) Chandler knock-offs who conflate meanness with truth, or (b) lazy plotters, who offer "surprise" endings that are simply dropped on the reader out of thin air. Aaaron Elkins knows his stuff. (If you're new to Elkins, though, I'd recommend starting with one of his earlier books--_Old Bones_ is a good one.) I just hope Elkins isn't getting tired of Gideon Oliver, that's all!
Rating:
Summary: Always a Pleasure
Review: Once again Elkins has produced a well written entertainment peopled with characters I like to be in the company of. Excellent setting of scene and well drawn secondary characters more than make up for any lack of mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Always a Pleasure
Review: Once again Elkins has produced a well written entertainment peopled with characters I like to be in the company of. Excellent setting of scene and well drawn secondary characters more than make up for any lack of mystery.
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