My choice of this book is a recurring theme of reading a 'first' by an author. I was browsing at a book store and found Aaron Elkins' Gideon Oliver series. This is his first published in 1982. Gideon Oliver is a forensic anthropologist who finds himself in Europe as a visiting scholar. Who knew before the CSI and other forensics shows and books that are popular today, that Elkins would be a trendsetter. Gideon while traveling around Europe becomes embroiled in the murders of other visiting scholars and himself a perpelxing case of mistaken identity and for a while only you the reader know. Gideon has a special talent for linguistics and has an uncany ability to tell where some is from not just by accent or dialect but by the sequence of their sentence structure. It was a fascinating glimpse into that world. This is a mystery that is a bit of an international thriller and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Gideon is a widower and the author has him begin to thaw in the romance department with an intelligent love interest and the promise of more with later novels. His characters all well crafted and if this had been a stand-alone novel it still would have satisfied the reader. Elkins has a personal website and writes also in colaboration with his wife Charlotte. I look forward to continuing with this series and see where the author takes Gideon to his next case. This series is available at area libraries and bookstores.
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