Gideon Oliver Series by Aaron Elkins

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... moreWhen 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. less

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... moreGideon 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. less

Edgar® winner Aaron Elkins follows "skeleton detective" Gideon Oliver on his honeymoon, one that will prove none too sweet.

This winner of the 1987 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Mystery of the Year is back in print. When an old skeleton is found beneath the floor of the du Rocher estate, American skeleton detective Dr. Gideon Oliver is called in to uncover the secrets behind the bones.

First the Liberals took all the guns. Then they took away the people's freedom. Now, Ben Raines and his patriot army are driving a weakened United States government into full-fledged retreat. Emerging as an unstoppable force, the Southern States are winning over one strategic ally after another, from the states in the American Northwest to the Canadian provinces-all wanting to be a part of a society based on law, justice, and old-fashioned values enforced by the barrel of a gun... moreFirst the Liberals took all the guns. Then they took away the people's freedom. Now, Ben Raines and his patriot army are driving a weakened United States government into full-fledged retreat. Emerging as an unstoppable force, the Southern States are winning over one strategic ally after another, from the states in the American Northwest to the Canadian provinces-all wanting to be a part of a society based on law, justice, and old-fashioned values enforced by the barrel of a gun. But to be recognized by the world community, the Southern States of America must pay a price. The U.N. wants Ben Raines's warriors to play cops in a world overrun by criminals, gangs, and cannibalistic punks. Now, Raines and his army must engage in an all-out war of liberation across a crime-ravaged Europe, one bloody mile at a time... less

"There is a small village in France that is well known for pate de foie gras . . .and bones. Boasting the largest concentration of prehistoric fossils in Europe, Les Eyzies-de-Tayac is the home of the prestigious Institut de Prehistoire—where eminent scientists study and squabble ...and perhaps, on occasion, commit murder."Professor Gideon Oliver knows bones... more"There is a small village in France that is well known for pate de foie gras . . .and bones. Boasting the largest concentration of prehistoric fossils in Europe, Les Eyzies-de-Tayac is the home of the prestigious Institut de Prehistoire—where eminent scientists study and squabble ...and perhaps, on occasion, commit murder."Professor Gideon Oliver knows bones. That's why the mild-mannered sometime-investigator is the forensic specialist the Chief Inspector in Les Eyzies calls when a local dog emerges from a nearby cave carrying parts of a human skeleton—and a not-all-that-long-ago-interred one at that. But murder piles on murder—and surprise upon electrifying surprise—following Gideon's arrival, as his search for answers leads him quickly, into the darkest corners of the scientific community ... and sets him on a shocking trail of death, greed, and deception nearly forty thousand years in the making. less

Edgar® Award–winning author Aaron Elkins’s creation—forensics professor Gideon Oliver—has been hailed by the  Chicago Tribune  as “a likable, down-to-earth, cerebral sleuth.” Now the celebrated Skeleton Detective unearths a wealthy family’s darkest secrets…Alex Torkelsson has just gotten his late uncle Magnus’s plane has been found south of Hawaii’s Big Island after ten long years... moreEdgar® Award–winning author Aaron Elkins’s creation—forensics professor Gideon Oliver—has been hailed by the  Chicago Tribune  as “a likable, down-to-earth, cerebral sleuth.” Now the celebrated Skeleton Detective unearths a wealthy family’s darkest secrets…Alex Torkelsson has just gotten his late uncle Magnus’s plane has been found south of Hawaii’s Big Island after ten long years. So too have Magnus’s few skeletal remains, now handed over to the only man who can fit together the pieces of this mystery...What forensic detective Gideon Oliver discovers could shake the Torkelsson family tree to its very roots. But this time his work is yielding more questions about the past than answers. Questions about the long-ago execution-style murder of Magnus’s brother...about a mysterious will that benefits—as well as incriminates—its heirs...and most disturbing of questions as to the true identity of the corpse in the lagoon. As lie upon lie is revealed, Gideon’s only hope is to let the bones of the dead condemn the living—before the living take revenge. less

A new mystery to chill the bones-from the Edgar(r) Award-winning author of Unnatural Selection. When forensics professor Gideon Oliver joins an Amazon riverboat expedition with a group of research botanists, he expects a nice vacation. What he gets is heat, corrupt officials, dangerous insects and animals-and worse. As they travel upriver, one of the botanists is killed by a deranged passenger who leaps overboard and flees into the darkness. No one can explain why... moreA new mystery to chill the bones-from the Edgar(r) Award-winning author of Unnatural Selection. When forensics professor Gideon Oliver joins an Amazon riverboat expedition with a group of research botanists, he expects a nice vacation. What he gets is heat, corrupt officials, dangerous insects and animals-and worse. As they travel upriver, one of the botanists is killed by a deranged passenger who leaps overboard and flees into the darkness. No one can explain why. Theories begin to simmer, and stories of long-past, half-forgotten grudges-and new ones as well-boil to the surface. Only when a fresh skeleton turns up in the river, scoured to the bone by voracious piranhas, does Gideon realize that in this jungle full of predators, humans may be the deadliest of all. less

The Edgar® Award-winning author of Little Tiny Teeth returns with his professor of forensics, Gideon Oliver, a.k.a. the Skeleton Detective. No one does it better than Aaron Elkins, ( San Diego Union-Tribune ) and this time, Gideon Oliver will be up on the Rock of Gibraltar, where he'll inspect his oldest bones yet... moreThe Edgar® Award-winning author of Little Tiny Teeth returns with his professor of forensics, Gideon Oliver, a.k.a. the Skeleton Detective. No one does it better than Aaron Elkins, ( San Diego Union-Tribune ) and this time, Gideon Oliver will be up on the Rock of Gibraltar, where he'll inspect his oldest bones yet. But a killer's loose…Around 25,000 years ago, did the Neanderthal live peacefully with his smarter, handsomer cousin, the Homo sapiens? The answer, recently found in the Rock of Gibraltar, left everyone speechless… 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… less