Little Tiny Teeth by Toni Cade (2008, Paperback, Large Print)

What's not to enjoy about a mystery wherein the hero confirms the availability of fake shrunken heads by saying, "You can buy them on eBay." (And yes, you really can. A recent search for "shrunken head" brought up 169 listings.)

Aaron Elkin's Skeleton Detective, the forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver, is literally up the river in this exotic adventure: the Amazon River, that is, and without a paddle too. Instead, he's on a tramp steamer turned cruise vessel, touring a Peruvian part of the river with a group of botanists and — unbeknownst to him — some more sinister white cargo as well.

The book opens with a scene from the past wherein a group of young graduate students on an ethnobotany excursion run afoul of the local Chayacuro headhunters. This event turns out to be the key to the events that transpire later on the riverboat. Meanwhile, all Gideon knows is that if it weren't for the stifling heat and humidity, giant bird-eating spiders, fire ants, hallucinogenic plants, and corrupt military officers, this could well be his dream vacation.

Then someone flings a primitive spear from the shore onto the boat, narrowly missing the group leader. Hanging from the lance is the aforementioned shrunken head — luckily only the tourist version — that is a traditional warning from the fierce Chayacuro. A few miles further on, a deranged passenger kills the group leader, leaps overboard into the piranha-infested river, and flees. Then a freshly scoured skeleton turns up in the river, its flesh clearly devoured by voracious piranha. And Gideon begins to realize that in this jungle, humans may be the most deadly predator of all.

Like all of the Skeleton Detective mysteries, this is an elegant cozy written with humor and wit. The plot is convoluted but entirely believable, and the characters practically jump right off the pages. The forensic anthropology is fascinating (and educational). You don't have to have read the other Gideon Oliver books to enjoy this one, but if you do indeed enjoy it, then you'll have 14 more treats in store.

Along with his wife, Charlotte, Elkins also has authored a likable series of golf mysteries starring touring pro Lee Ofsted.

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