Elkins, Aaron – WHERE THERE’S A WILL

[LJ Roberts]

WHERE THERE’S A WILL (Forensic Anthropologist-Hawaii-Cont) – G Elkins, Aaron – 12th in series
Berkley
Prime Crime, 2005- Paperback

Forensic Anthropologist Gideon Oliver is vacationing with his friend, FBI Agent John Lau, on the private ranch of the Torkelsson. Years before, the ranch had been owned by two brothers and their sister. One of the brothers was found murdered and the other disappeared by plane. Now, the family has received word that the plane has been found in the water off an uninhabited Pacific Island. Gideon is asked to identify the remains from the only bones found, those of a foot inside a cowboy boot. The only problem is that they are the bones of the wrong brother. So who is really dead, what happened to the other brother and how does this impact the legacy of the ranch?

One of the things I like best about Elkins, is the things I learn from his books and this was no exception. The Torkelsson family dynamics added richness to the story but there was very little dimensioning to the other characters and some were stereotypical. Beyond that, I found this an enjoyable story, with plenty of twists and turns. It is definitely a traditional mystery that is interesting, light reading but not a “wow” book.