In Tuscany visiting friends with his wife, Gideon Oliver is asked to reexamine the bones of a couple whose deaths were ruled a murder-suicide. His findings do not agree with those of the Italian police.
Gideon is happy to be in Mexico with his wife-until he's asked to examine the mummified corpse of a drifter thought to be shot to death. Gideon's findings reveal that the cause of death is far more bizarre. Then he's asked to examine the skeleton of a murder victim found a year earlier-only to discover another coroner error. The Skeleton Detective knows that two "mistakenly" identified bodies are never a coincidence. But if he isn't careful, unearthing the connection between them could make him another murder statistic in Mexico.
First in the Edgar Award–winning series “that never disappoints,” featuring the forensic anthropologist known as the Skeleton Detective (The Philadelphia Inquirer). When anthropology professor Gideon Oliver is offered a teaching fellowship at US military bases in Germany, Sicily, Spain, and Holland, he wastes no time accepting. Stimulating courses to teach, a decent stipend, all expenses paid, plenty of interesting European travel . . . What’s not to like? It does not take him long to find out. On his first night, he is forced to fend off two desperate, black‐clad men who have invaded his Heidelberg hotel room with intent to kill. And then there are a few trivial details that the recruiting agency forgot to mention—such as the fact that the two previous holders of the fellowship both met with mysterious ends. From there, it is all downhill. Gideon finds himself the target in an unfamiliar game for which no one has bothered to give him the rules. What he does have is his own considerable intellect and his remarkable forensic skills. He will need them, for he is playing for some fairly high stakes: the security of Western Europe. Fellowship of Fear is the 1st book in the Gideon Oliver Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Gideon Oliver earns his moniker “The Skeleton Detective” in this riveting entry to the Edgar Award–winning mystery series “that never disappoints” (The Philadelphia Inquirer) Deep in the primeval rainforest of Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula, the skeletal remains of a murdered man are discovered. And a strange, unsettling tale begins to unfold, for forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver determines that the murder weapon was a primitive bone spear of a type not seen for the last ten thousand years. And whoever—or whatever—hurled it did so with seemingly superhuman force. Bigfoot “sightings” immediately crop up, but Gideon is not buying them. But something is continuing to kill people, and Gideon, helped by forest ranger Julie Tendler and FBI special agent John Lau, plunges into the dark heart of an unexplored wilderness to uncover the bizarre, astonishing explanation. Fans of authors Kathy Reichs and Tess Gerritsen and television shows like Bones will be fascinated by Aaron Elkins’s award-winning landmark forensic detective series. The Dark Place is the 2nd book in the Gideon Oliver Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Joining a team researching a prehistoric ceremonial burial of a human woman and a part-human, part-Neanderthal child on Gibralter, forensics specialist Professor Gideon Oliver is confronted by all-too-modern murder when two suspicious deaths rock Gibralter.
Bone-chilling cases featuring the forensic anthropologist known as the Skeleton Detective, in the Edgar Award–winning series “that never disappoints” (The Philadelphia Inquirer). Edgar Award winner and former anthropologist Aaron Elkins “thoroughly understands the art of the murder mystery” (The Philadelphia Inquirer). In books five through seven from the long-running Skeleton Detective series, Elkins brings back his “likable, down-to-earth cerebral sleuth,” Professor Gideon Oliver (Chicago Tribune). Curses!: Mayan ruins in the Yucatán . . . a secret room in a tomb . . . age-old skeletons . . . Anthropologist Gideon Oliver is thrilled to join the archaeological excavation of Tlaloc—until ancient Mayan curses against desecrators of the site seem to materialize as modern murders. “Another delightful semiserious romp through science and an exotic police culture.” —Publishers Weekly Icy Clutches: On a trip to Glacier Bay, Alaska, with his forest ranger wife, Julie, the Skeleton Detective pursues a coldhearted killer who buries evidence in an avalanche. “A literate, amiable story . . . a credible plot, a likable hero.” —Kirkus Reviews Make No Bones: In accordance with the wishes of Albert Evan Jasper, after his demise in a car crash, his remains—a few charred bits of bone—are installed in an Oregon museum to create a fascinating macabre exhibit. A fitting end for the “dean of American forensic anthropologists”—until what is left of him disappears during the biannual meeting—a.k.a. the “bone bash and weenie roast”—of the Western Association of Forensic Anthropologists. Gideon has one question: Why? “[A] seamlessly plotted corker of a mystery . . . Readers who like their humor dark and their gumshoes smart are sure to enjoy the ‘bone bash.’” —Publishers Weekly
Edgar Award–winning author: “A cunning plot, a remarkably appealing hero, some uproariously funny dialogue . . . a winning combination.” —Booklist An ancient skeleton tossed in a garbage dump is the first conundrum to rattle Gideon Oliver when he arrives in Egypt. There to appear in a documentary film, he expects an undemanding week of movie star treatment and a luxurious cruise up the Nile with his wife, Julie. But when Gideon discovers a tantalizing secret in the discarded bones—and violence claims a famous Egyptologist’s life—he is thrust into a spotlight of a different kind. Plying his calipers as the world’s foremost forensic anthropologist, Gideon’s investigation of the goings‐on leads him through the back alleys and bazaars of Cairo and deep into the millennia‐old tombs of the Valley of the Kings. As the puzzle is painstakingly pieced together, Gideon will find that the identifying traits of a cunning killer are the same now as they were in the time of the pyramids: greed without guilt, lies without conscience . . . and murder without remorse. Dead Men’s Hearts is the 8th book in the Gideon Oliver Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
When Gideon Oliver's wife Julie attends a conservation forum on the emerald Isles of Scilly, Gideon tags along, expecting a holiday. To amuse himself, he explores the Neolithic sites there. But instead of ancient ruins, he finds evidence of a very recent murder.
The Skeleton Detective puzzles over the theft of an ancient bit of bone—and a student’s murder—in this novel by the Edgar Award–winning author of Switcheroo. Anthropology professor Gideon Oliver would prefer to keep his mind on his beautiful new bride Julie during their English honeymoon, but one intrusive question will not stop nagging at him: Who would want to steal a thirty‐thousand‐year‐old parieto‐occipital calvarial fragment? Yet someone has lifted this chunk of prehistoric human skull from a musty museum in Dorchester. Then, thirty miles away, an archaeology student is murdered, increasing tension and suspicion at a dig that had already seethed with suspicion, rivalry, and mistrust. Could there be a connection between a hot bone and a cold‐blooded murder? Gideon is called on by the police to apply the unique skills for which the media have named him “the Skeleton Detective,” and he reluctantly agrees. Before he is done, his sleuthing will lead him to another murder and will—in the most literal and terrifying manner imaginable—sic the dogs on him, putting Gideon himself, and Julie as well, in mortal danger . . . Murder in the Queen’s Armes is a suspenseful, fun-filled whodunit by the author of the Alix London and Chris Norgren series—a celebrated master who “thoroughly understands the art of the murder mystery” (The Philadelphia Inquirer). Murder in the Queen’s Armes is the 3rd book in the Gideon Oliver Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.
Book 11 of the Gideon Oliver mysteries finds Gideon on vacation with his wife in Italy. However, things take a troubling turn when their host's only child goes missing and local construction workers find bones in the ground.