Curses! [Hardcover]

Aaron J. Elkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1989

Mayan ruins in the Yucatan...a secret room in a tomb...an ancient skeleton. To Gideon Oliver, anthropologist, this archaeological find is paradise on earth. He and his wife, Julie, have joined his old mentor, Abe Goldstein, at Tlaloc, Mexico, to make sure there are no dirty doings at the dig. Five years before scandal rocked the site when a colleageue ran off with a priceless relic. Now Abe suspects something illegal is again going on. The discovery of a Mayan curse protecting the ruins suddenly make Tlaloc seem closer to hell than heaven. But the mysteries waiting inside the sone temples are too tempting to let mere words scare away the famous "skeleton detective." Only when the curse seems to be coming true and Gideon has a modern murder to solve does evil stop being academic...and death in the Yucatan seems imminently real.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Biological anthropologist Gideon Oliver, the Skeleton Detectivemost recently featured in the Edgar-winning Old Bones heads down to the Yucatan to the archeological dig of Tlaloc, where five years previously he had been witness to the theft, by the project leader, of a priceless Mayan codex. After the scandal, the Mexican government closed the dig for several years but is now allowing work to resume under the direction of Gideon's old friend and mentor, Abe Goldstein. When Gideon and his wife, Julie, arrive to study some old bones, some recent remains make their appearance. A freelance reporter who is writing a sensational series on the dig and the theft is shot. Then the codex and a body are found under a rock fall; the victim turns out to be the main suspect. Most of the members of the current expedition, amateurs working without pay, are now under suspicion. While Gideon renews his friendship with the testy inspector of the Yucatan police, copes with an ancient Mayan curse and exercises his artful detective powers, he comes close to being killed himself. Elkins provides another delightful, semiserious romp through science and an exotic police culture.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Returning to the site of an archaeological dig at Tlaloc on the Yucutan Peninsula, physical anthropologist Gideon Oliver is confronted with mysterious events from the distant and not-so-distant past as well as the present. Closed five years earlier amid scandal when the then project director apparently absconded with a priceless Mayan codex, the dig had recently resumed only to disclose some unauthorized excavation and an ancient curse, the details of which are being methodically fulfilled in graphic detail. Oliver and his wife, Julie, join forces with the local police to uncover the truth about what happened five years ago and its connection with the current problem. A well-written effort, perfect for an evening's entertainment.
- Judith A. Gifford, Salve Regina Coll. Lib., Newport, R.I.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 204 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Pr; First Edition edition (February 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892962631
• ISBN-13: 978-0892962631
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #931,912 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a former anthropologist who has been writing mysteries and thrillers since 1982, having won an Edgar for Old Bones, as well as a subsequent Agatha (with my wife Charlotte), and a Nero Wolfe Award. My major continuing series features forensic anthropologist-detective Gideon Oliver, "the Skeleton Detective."

Lately, I've seen myself referred to as "the father of the modern forensic mystery," and, by gosh, I think I am! Before "Fellowship of Fear," the first Gideon Oliver, published in 1982, you'd have to go back 70 years and more to Austin Freeman and his Dr. Thorndyke series. Between the two good doctors (Thorndyke and Oliver), there was only Jack Klugman's "Quincy," so far as I know, and he was a TV character.

The Gideon Oliver books have been (roughly) translated into a major ABC-TV series and have been selections of the Book-of-the-Month Club, the Literary Guild, and the Readers Digest Condensed Mystery Series. My work has been published in a dozen languages. Charlotte and I live on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, our marriage having survived (more or less intact) our collaboration on novels and short stories.

Although I've been a full-time writer for some time now, I also remain active in real-life forensics by serving as the forensic anthropologist on the Olympic Peninsula Cold Case Task Force.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MAYANS PUT A CURSE ON GIDEON, January 16, 2001

By 

Kenri A. Mugleston - See all my reviews

This review is from: Curses! (Paperback)

I am beginning to think that the field of archaeology is a dangerous one. Gideon is called to the Yucatan by his mentor Abe to look at a skeleton found in the Priest's House at the dig there. Gideon and his wife Julie excitedly take the trip to the excavation, only to find more than just a skeleton there. Gideon has to dredge up memories of the previous dig at the site when a Mayan codex was stolen by the leader of the dig. A curse left by the Mayans in the Priest's House warns that horrible things will happen to any person who disturbs the site. Little by little the curses begin to happen to the group. Are the Gods of the Maya exacting their revenge, or is someone trying to cover something up?

Aaron Elkins is very good at spiriting the reader away to foreign lands and leading them on exciting quests and mysteries. You are sure to enjoy this one.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Curse is me, February 17, 2003

By 

"tsm224" (Cleveland ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Curses! (Hardcover)

After his last trip aboard, Gideon is back in his office being a professor. He is depressed over his latest birthday and wondering if his life has come to writing papers and teaching students. He wants to go back into the field and make discoveries on archaeological digs. Julie is trying to make him happier with an
decadent lunch when he gets a call From Abe. Back in 1982 they were both on a dig that was shut down due to dangerous conditions and a theft. He leaps at the chance to be back digging in dirt and discovering the lost secrets of the Maya Tribe. As the title suggest their is a curse on the place whether it is real or
someone is manipulating accidents to fit the clues only the reader can deduce that. Gideon is a character that
is easy to like and Elkins surrounds him with great settings and cast of characters that make the plot move forward without effort. Since these books take place in the 1980's it is interesting to see how they determine cause of death and identify bones without the modern technology of DNA and computers. I can't
wait to read more of this series as Elkins has Gideon keeping up with current trends in his field. Unlike Sue Grafton ( Kinsey Milhone series) who doesn't equip her with modern convinces like a cell phone, I can't wait until Gideon meets a computer.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars jungle fever, July 25, 2000

By 

sara hemenway (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Curses! (Paperback)

A. Elkins is one of my all time favorite author's. He won the Edgar award a few years ago for a number of reasons. Any fan of Oliver's is sure to like this book. Once more our hero has to get out of a pickled mess and explore the jungle. Gideon is fast becoming a world traveller! The book is a lot of fun to read at the beach and is part of a good mystery collection!