The plot of this novel is very similar to the only other book I have read in this series (OLD BONES), in that the setting is linked to a conference on forensic anthropology that the Skeleton Detective is attending and giving several sessions at. The aim of the seminars is to teach detectives to "read skeletons". One of the attendees suggests that he is able to access some skeletons recently found. Gideon Oliver finds that he disagrees with almost everything the pathologists have come up with. The have concluded a murder/suicide. His interpretation is that they have the order of the deaths wrong, and that both people have been murdered. The other similar plot line is that Gideon Oliver has some connection with the dead person.

Some parts of the investigation held very interesting information, but in other parts the plot got just a little bit too cute, and I thought the final chapter was not very satisfactory at all, and had the feeling of being written far too hastily. ( )

"It was the unwavering custom of Pietro Cubbiddu, patriarch of Tuscany's Villa Antica wine empire, to take a solitary month-long sabbatical at the end of the early grape harvest, leaving the winery i8n the trusted hands of his three sons. His wife, Nola, would drive him to an isolated mountain cabin in the Apennines and return for him a month later, bringing him back to his family and business.

"So it went for almost a decade -- until the year came when neither of them returned. Months later, a hiker in the Apennines stumbles on their skeletal remains. The carabinieri investigate and release their findings: they are dealing with a murder-suicide. The evidence makes it clear that Pietro Cubbiddu shot and killed his wife and then himself. The likely motive: his discovery that Nola had been having an affair.

"Not long afterward, Gideon Oliver and his wife, Julie, are in Tuscany visiting their friends, the Cubbiddu offspring. The renowned Skeleton Detective is asked to reexamine the bones. When he does, he reluctantly concludes that the carabinieri, competent though they may be, have gotten almost everything wrong. Whatever it was that happened in the mountains, a murder-suicide it was not.

"Soon Gideon finds himself in a morass of family antipathies, conflicts, and mistrust, to say nothing of the local carabinieri's resentment. And when yet another Cubbiddu relation meets an unlikely end, it becomes bone-chillingly clear that the killer if far from finished ..."
front flap

Another whacking good mystery for the Skeleton Detective, and his pal John Lau. The family can't believe that Pietro would kill his wife, but then maybe he found out that his wife was having an affair, and Barbagia honor would require him to kill her and shoot himself. The plot thickens more and more as Gideon discovers that the murder-suicide scenario isn't correct, and while he and John eat their way across Tuscany, they begin to sort out a timeline that breaks the case wide open. ( )

Elkins knows how to write a mystery novel just as well as his hero, Dr. Gideon Oliver, knows how to evaluate a battered skeleton: very well. He's also been doing it for a long time, which means that many of us have gotten familiar with and fond of Dr. Oliver and the other regular characters in the series. This time, my pleasure in reading had more to do with Dr. Oliver's company and with other elements in the novel than with the mystery per se. That, for me at least, was less than gripping. But the setting -- a winery in Tuscany --was enchanting, the new characters were sharply drawn and entertaining, the family drama was engrossing, and the whole thing was a pleasant way to spend an evening. ( )

Another classic Skeleton Detective story - the bones are interesting, the sneaky setup is quite good. And Gideon figures out all the details, but it's Julie who puts them together into something that makes sense. Lots of food descriptions, too, as usual. Not exciting, but perfect for a rainy day when I didn't feel up to much. ( )

Synopsis: Gideon, along with wife and cohorts, is giving a seminar in Florence, Italy. He examines some bones and completely disagrees with the conclusions drawn by the Carabinieri. He also finds that the bones belong to the mother of the owners of a winery he is visiting.
Review: This really reminded me of our trip to Tuscany. The characterizations of the winery owners, the police and the older Italians are right on point. The story was interesting, but I suspected 'who done it' relatively early on. ( )