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Gideon Oliver Series
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Skull DuggeryThe latest Gideon Oliver adventure. Anthropology professor Gideon Oliver and his wife JulIe head for a vacation in the charming little Mexican village of Teotitlan Del Valle, in the out-of-the-way state of Oaxaca. Up to his ears in forensic work at home, the celebrated "Skeleton Detective" looks forward to a week of leisure and touring. Teotitlán is an out-of-the-way weaver's village, peaceful and virtually crime- and drug-free.What could go wrong? Plenty. "Atmospheric ... A suspenseful puzzle ... The final revelations should leave you--but not the unflappable bone detective--pleasantly surprised." - Publishers Weekly |
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Uneasy RelationsBefore the sun set on the last of the Neanderthals 25,000 years ago, was he living in peace with his smarter, handsomer cousins Homo sapiens (modern humans)? Or were the two deadly enemies? Archaeologists had debated this question for decades. Then, a spectacular find on the Rock of Gibraltar leaves everyone speechless ... and one person desperate--homicidally desperate."Absorbing... Gideon gets the job done without CSI gimmicks and glitz... In addition, Elkins offers readers a pleasant tour of the rock and its neighborhood." - Publishers Weekly |
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Unnatural SelectionForensic anthropology professor Gideon Oliver accompanies his park-ranger wife to the remote, idyllic Isles of Scilly, which dot the sea like an emerald necklace thirty miles off the Cornwall coast. Julie's been invited here by Russian expatriate Vasily Kozlov, scientist, millionaire, and eccentric. At his home, the sixteenth-century Star Castle, he regularly hosts a consortium of ecological experts with very differing opinions-which makes for some extremely heated arguments.While Julie's stuck indoors consorting, Gideon looks forward to puttering around the Neolithic sites nearby. But before day one is through, a newer bone turns up--this tibia is only a few years old-and all signs point to murder. And just as Gideon and the local law puzzle over the bone's origin, there's another murder at Star Castle. Could it just be bad luck, two murders in this tranquil little community within a couple of years? Or do Kozlov's lively debates have a way of turning deadly? "The pleasure of summer reading lies not in resolution but in investigation, and Elkins keeps things moving with plenty of local atmosphere, compelling characterization, and a refreshingly low level of violence. " - Natural History Magazine "When Agatha Christie was the world's most popular author, the whodunit consisted largely of a puzzle wherein the reader was challenged to come up with the solution before reaching the final pages. Today, the emphasis is on shock rather than surprise, and the eccentric sleuth of yesteryear has been all but offed by the maniacal serial killer. But there remains a stubborn handful of writers who continue to labor in that gentler genre. Among them, no one does it better than Aaron Elkins." - The San Diego Union Tribune |
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Where There's A Will...takes the Skeleton Detective to the vast, rolling ranch lands of the Big Island of Hawaii, where he finds himself enmeshed in old en"mities, old rivalries, old jealousies...and of course, old bones. "Fabulous...(a) first-rate who-done-it...a fine tropical mystery." - Midwest Book Review "Elkins's writing skills are superb, his research impeccable, and his plots intriguing. (He) has established himself as a master craftsman." - Booklist |
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Good BloodEven on an Italian holiday, forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver and his wife can't seem to find any R & R. They're house guests at a palatial island estate in Lake Maggiore. But the breathtaking views and sumptuous food come at a price. The padrone's only child, Achille, has been kidnapped, buried bones are soon found . . . and Gideon must mix business with pleasure. "Mr Elkins never fails to enlighten and entertain... His only failing is that he makes us wait too long between books." - The Washington Times |
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Skeleton DanceThere is a small village in France that is known for three things: pâté de fois gras, truffles . . . and bones. Boasting the largest collection ofprehistoric human fossils in Europe, Les Eyzies-de-Tayac is the home of the prestigious Institut de Préhistoire--where eminent scientists study ancient man and squabble . . . and perhaps, on occasion, commit murder. Gideon Oliver to the rescue! "An enthralling novel... Highly readable, intelligently plotted, and painstakingly researched." - Dallas Morning News "Terrific... Mischievous wit, fascinating erudition, juicy (but never mean-spirited) academic gossip, and a gorgeous setting redolent with gitanes and goose liver all combine to make this mystery an especially delectable treat." - Publishers Weekly |
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Twenty Blue DevilsGideon Oliver is up to his elbows in bones, stones, and murder in gorgeous Tahiti, at the Paradise Coffee plantation, producer of the world's most expensive coffee, the winey, luscious Blue Devil. "Whimsical. Intricately plotted. ... Terribly clever." - Entertainment Weekly |
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Dead Men's HeartsA role in a documentary film draws Gideon Oliver to Egypt's famed Valley of the Nile, where he expects an undemanding week of movie-star treatment and a top-of-the-line river cruise with his wife Julie. But when a skeleton unexpectedly turns up in Luxor's Egyptological Institute's garbage dump, he's called on to employ all his skills and intuition to prevent the appearance of more corpses."The heart of the book ... Is Gideon Oliver's expertise, his ability to look at a smattering of bones and, if not solve the crime, at least tell an awful lot about the victim. He does that twice this time, and, as usual, one wishes he had a chance to do it more." - Baltimore Sun "Elkins once again exhibits his uncanny ability to make forensic research exciting." - Chicago Sun-Times |
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Make No Bones Gideon Oliver faces his most formidable and clever antagonist--a murderous fellow anthropologist who knows every bit as much about disguising forensic clues as Gideon knows about uncovering them. "Witty, intelligent, and delightful." - Washington Times "(A) seamlessly plotted corker of a mystery." - Publishers Weekly |
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Icy ClutchesIn the 1960s. three members of a scientific expedition are killed in a tremendous glacial avalanche in Alaska. Decades later, human bones begin popping out of the foot of the glacier. The remains of the scientists? Well, yes, but there is something very strange about them, and Gideon Oliver is the man to find out what it is."A marvelous mystery."- The Baltimore Sun-Times |
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Curses!Mayan ruins in the Yucatan . . . a secret room in a tomb . . . a prehistoric skeleton. To Gideon Oliver, the archaeological site of Tlaloc is paradise on earth. Until the horrible Mayan curse that was laid on "despoilers" of the ancient graves begins coming true, literally and murderously."Curses! Is a pleasure . . . Sit back and enjoy it."- USA Today "You go around digging in a Mayan tomb ... Riling all those righteous gods, so what do you expect for your trouble? A curse is what; or more precisely, curses! ...The hero's enthusiastic lectures on human bones make him fascinating company." - New York Times Book Review |
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Old BonesWinner of the 1988 Edgar Award for the Best Novel of the year "With the roar of thunder," goes the old Breton nursery song, "and the speed of a galloping horse, comes the tide to Mt. St. Michel." Family secrets, murders, and old Nazis in Normandy.Voted one of the Hundred Best Mysteries of the Twentieth Century by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. "The action gallops along as fast and compelling as the tide itself." - Publishers Weekly "A nice touch of humor... A likeable, down-to-earth, cerebral sleuth." - Chicago Tribune "(A) look at our collective family tree, nuts and all." - San Francisco Chronicle |
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Murder in the Queen's Armes"But . . . but why would anyone steal a thirty-thousand-year-old parieto-occipital calvareal fragment?" asks the understandably distraught curator of the Dorchester Museum of Archaeology, staring at the empty case. "Beats the hell out of me," is Gideon's reply, but it doesn't take long for him to roll up his sleeves and get to work ferreting out the startling--and murderous--answer."A breathtakingly well-worked mystery." - Booklist |
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The Dark PlaceThe second Gideon Oliver novel. A small pile of bones--all that remains of a hiker who vanished years ago in the Olympic Peninsula's dense, remote, primeval rainforest--but more than enough for Gideon Oliver to deduce that someone, or something, of superhuman strength had killed him . . . with a bone spear point! And now a young woman has disappeared as well. What's out there?"A thundering adventure, to be savored for Elkins' insouciant wit, the thrill of the chase and, not least the love affair between Gideon and Julie" - Publishers Weekly |
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Fellowship of FearThis is where it all began: Gideon Oliver before the Edgar, before the TV series, before they called him the Skeleton Detective . . before even Julie. Fellowship of Fear is generally credited (or blamed, some would say) with launching the modern revival of the forensic mystery. "At last . . . A new Sherlock Holmes rises before us." - The Houston Post |