‘Skeleton Detective’ solves Neanderthal mystery

    Fans of  Aaron Elkins’ mysteries should have plenty of reasons to be entertained by his latest Gideon Oliver adventure, “Uneasy Relations.” Elkins provides a fascinating setting for his book and a plot that centers on an intense debate in the world of anthropology.
     The story line involves the discovery on the Rock of Gibraltar of a 25,000-year-old burial of a human woman with her arms wrapped around a baby, who is obviously half Neanderthal. Did the two species have time for romance way back in the day? The idea is a bone of contention for scientists who study primates.
     Gideon Oliver arrives in Gibraltar for an anthropology convention to commemorate the anniversary of the sensational find. Oliver, a professor of anthropology, is known as the “Skeleton Detective” for his ability to unravel mysteries by examining bones. Oliver escapes death by electrocution in an incident involving faulty wiring and is nearly killed when he falls, or is pushed, off a cliff.  The action takes awhile to develop, but eventually a prominent anthropologist is found burned to death in his bed, and Oliver discovers a member of the original dig, who died in a landslide, may have been murdered.
     Elkins creates eccentric characters in the authorities on Gibraltar and Oliver’s fellow anthropologists. Both Oliver and wife Julie have a dry wit and the fortitude to survive their adventures. For good measure, Elkins weaves a history lesson about Gibraltar into his tale.
      Elkins writes other types of  mysteries, but the Gideon Oliver series, which started in 1982 and was later dramatized in a television series, is his best. One of his two World War II thrillers, “Loot,” is being made into a movie.