Good Blood (Ulverscroft Large Print) [Import] [Hardcover]

Aaron J. Elkins (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Ulverscroft Large Print Books Ltd; Large Print Ed edition (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846174406
• ISBN-13: 978-1846174407
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,072,461 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

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Merely very good, February 6, 2004

By 

Jonathan A. Turner (Nashua, NH United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Good Blood (Gideon Oliver Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Let me declare my prejudices up front. I think Aaron Elkins is the best writer of "classical" mysteries working today, bar none. I'll buy any book he writes as soon as it comes out. _Good Blood_ is an engaging read, with characters whom I'd love to meet in the flesh and an honest puzzle.

That said, the book is merely very good--not great. The plotting is fine, but the editing and structural choices are a little odd. For instance:

* There's a substantial prologue that explicitly gives away what could have been a major plot point. Furthermore, if you're an experienced mystery reader, you will *immediately* guess one of the book's later twists when you finish the prologue.

* Gideon himself doesn't have as much to do as I'd prefer. He's absent for a surprising number of scenes. He gets one skeleton to work with, but has to ask a minor walk-on character (via telephone!) for the information he needs.

* The family of suspects is under-developed, compared to other Elkins books. None of them gets enough face time to be convincing. This is particularly true of the love interest, who's very sketchy; Elkins handled a similar dynamic more deftly in _Old Bones_.

All the same, aficionados of the true mystery will probably want to read this one. Too many "mystery" authors are either (a) Chandler knock-offs who conflate meanness with truth, or (b) lazy plotters, who offer "surprise" endings that are simply dropped on the reader out of thin air. Aaaron Elkins knows his stuff. (If you're new to Elkins, though, I'd recommend starting with one of his earlier books--_Old Bones_ is a good one.)

I just hope Elkins isn't getting tired of Gideon Oliver, that's all!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For Italy Lovers, February 5, 2005

By 

Carlo Vennarucci (Berkeley, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Good Blood (Gideon Oliver Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Aaron Elkins has set his eleventh Gideon Oliver mystery in the Piedmont region of Italy. The action takes place in the charming town of Stresa on Lake Maggiore, which is a refreshing pleasure for fans of Italian mysteries and a stark departure from the frequently used locations of Venice, Florence, or Rome. The story begins with a gripping 1960s prologue that introduces us to Domenico de Grazia's aristocratic family and sets the stage for the present day story that involves the next two generations of his family. When the present day story begins, Domenico has been dead for a decade and his son, Vincenzo, has inherited the responsibility of maintaining the estate and the good family name. When Vincenzo's rather obnoxious son, Achille, gets kidnapped, the case gets assigned to the Carabinieri's Colonel Tullio Caravalle.

Up to this point in the story it is very easy for the reader to forget that this "is" the next mystery in the Gideon Oliver series. One asks oneself just how could that famous American forensic anthropologist "Skeleton Detective" possibly get involved in this case. Well, Gideon and his wife Julie are assisting their friend Phil, from Seattle, put on a tour of the Italian lake country. Much to their surprise Phil is really Filiberto Ungaretti and a close relative of the de Grazia family in Stresa. So when, shortly after their arrival, a skeleton is found, Gideon is asked to help identify the remains and therefore gets deeply involved in this case and the kidnapping along with the very competent Colonel Caravalle. Together by combining their talents, Gideon and Caravalle proceed to unravel these two interesting and complex cases. Over the course of the story, we get introduced to all of the members of the extended de Grazia family thus furnishing a long list of suspects.

I commend Elkins for his research on this one. I loved his Italian references, particularly the occasional phrases and the food descriptions. His Lake Maggiore setting makes one want to go visit and explore more. Except for protagonist Gideon and his wife Julie, all of the characters were Italian. As a regular visitor to Italy, I found these characters credible and loved all of the petty family infighting. In my opinion, this the best mystery novel Aaron Elkins has written. I would really like him to do more novels set in Italy.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable mystery with a nice Italian setting, April 3, 2004

By 

booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Good Blood (Gideon Oliver Mysteries) (Hardcover)

It was supposed to be a peaceful vacation in Italy, but when his friend's relative is kidnapped, American forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver offers his assistance. The kidnapping was badly botched--resulting in the death of the chaufeur, but Italian police Colonel Caravale can't see any use for a high-powered bone man. They know what killed the chaufeur. Still, bones do turn up--on property owned by the aristocratic family of the kidnapped boy. And Caravale doesn't believe in coincidence. Still, could a skeleton that looks to have been underground for a decade have anything to do with a kidnapping?

Caravale and Gideon overcome initial distrust and begin to work together as a team--but someone is watching and knows too much. Gideon finds that the decade-old murder poses real danger to him--in the present. What started out as a vacation just might end up terminal.

Author Aaron Elkins combines the best elements of an Italian opera, forensic science, and an old-fashioned cozy in his well written and entertaining GOOD BLOOD. The aristocratic Italian family, with their internal feuds and snobish belief in the 'good blood' of the family, rings true as do Gideon and his friend Phil--the distant but looked down-on relative of the family who now makes his living giving cheap tours of the world. Elkins' strong descriptions make Italy come to life.

Aaron Elkins is an Edgar Award Winner and with GOOD BLOOD it's easy to see why. I recommend this one highly.