"fine tropical mystery"

In 1994, wealthy Magnus Torkelsson is fleeing for his life trying to reach remote Tarabao Island in the Hawaiian chain. However, the bad weather hinders visibility and soon the small plane runs out of gas. Magnus and his pilot Texas transplant Claudia crash into the sea.

A decade later, divers in a lagoon 400 miles off the Big island of Hawaii find a plane with two skeletons inside. At the same time Magnus' family learn that his remains have been found, University of Washington at Port Angeles Physical Anthropology Professor Gideon Oliver has attended an anthropology forensics conference and is heading to the ranch of his best friend FBI Agent John Lau. John asks Gideon to look at the evidence, but soon the mainlander begins to unravel a family filled with lies and avarice in which not only was Magnus killed by at least one heir, but his sibling may have been a murder victim too.

Aaron Elkins provides a fabulous "A" quality level forensic investigative tale in which the author freshens up the actions of his champion Gideon by temporarily relocating him to Hawaii and not always the main islands. Fans not only see up front the Hawaiian archipelago, but also are engrossed in a mystery that at first does not seem like a homicide, but more an accident. Readers will enjoy this first rate who-done-it as the cast and the locale make for a fine tropical mystery.

Harriet Klausner

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted March 25, 2005

Summary

Acclaimed for a mischievous wit and his intriguing mixture of forensic anthropology and real skull-duggery, Aaron Elkins is one of the best in the business and getting better all the time. Now, the author of Good Blood returns, and so does Gideon Oliver, professor of forensics, who uncovers a deadly family plot of greed and murder in the northern uplands of Hawaii.