Aaron J. Elkins

"Aaron Elkins has been hailed as "a master" (The Dallas Morning News) for his Edgarʼ Award-winning Gideon Oliver mysteries. Now, in an original new novel, he illustrates how quickly everything can go wrong when you ask: What's the worst that can happen? For Bryan Bennett, designing hostage negotiation programs is the perfect job--as long as he keeps a safe, theoretical distance. What he can't do is deal directly with kidnappers or their victims,...

Buried ceremoniously, high in a cave, lies the skeleton of a human woman, clutching the skeleton of a part-human, part-Neanderthal child. Fascinated, Professor Oliver jumps at the chance to attend a conference near there. But two deaths, possibly murders, have rocked Gibraltar. As Oliver tries to piece things together, he's about to fall for some deadly tricks. After all, unlike the Gibraltar Boy, he's only human.

New Mexico has more than its share of unique and well-publicized attributes, but the one they prefer to play down is the fact that they lead the United States in lightning deaths per capita. Thus, the Cottonwood Creek Country Club of Los Alamos, which is hosting the High Desert Women's Classic golf tournament, takes elaborate measures to ensure that the numbers don't go up during the high-profile tournament. Nevertheless, disaster strikes. On the...