In Gibraltar, the dinner is to celebrate the discovery of Gibraltar Boy, a Neanderthal / homo sapiens hybrid, and his human mother.  Gideon had dated the bones.  Gunderson who supplied the site and funding for the discovery is suffering from dementia.  He burns to death, presumably from smoking in bed.  Then Gideon discovers that a woman working the original dig a year ago had not died accidentally, but had been murdered. Two attempts are made to kill Gideon to prevent his lecture.  He is convinced that these two "accidents" are murders and sets out to find the truth despite the danger to himself.

Uneasy Relations is a tale of intrigue, deception, political maneuvering and power plays.  Elkins gives us a behind the scenes look at research and researchers.  The style is crisp and straightforward, making the science behind physical forensic anthropology easy to understand. It is well worth reading about and understanding forensic anthropology.  The dialogue is witty and intelligent. In addition to an intriguing mystery, the reader is treated to a travelogue of Gibraltar and its environs.

This is a quick read but almost too short....