Make No Bones: A Gideon Oliver Novel [Large Print] [Paperback]

Aaron J. Elkins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1993

Gideon Oliver must excuse himself from the festivities of the biennial anthropological convention, bone bash, and weenie roast in order to investigate the disappearance of the remains of Dr. Albert Jasper, previously housed in an Oregon museum. Reprint. PW.

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

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Edgar Award winner Elkins's corker of a mystery is the seventh outing for his "skeleton detective," forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver, who attends a professional convention that is disrupted by death.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Oregon's anthropologist-sleuth Gideon Oliver (A Glancing Light, p. 566, etc.) and his park-ranger wife Julie are attending a conference of anthropologists at Whitebark Lodge, where ten years before Professor Albert Evan Jasper, undisputed top dog in the field, died in a fiery bus crash, at the end of another conference and amid rather mysterious circumstances. Several of the participants in that meeting are once again at Whitebark--one of them is Associate Professor Harlow Pollard, whose bludgeoned body is found in his cottage--the climax of a series of strange events seemingly tied to the past. Gideon cleverly solves the crucial element in that murder--the liveliest part of a sluggish story heavily laden with technical lore, all too rarely lightened with the author's finely honed sense of humor. Fans may be just a tad disappointed--for others, an unrewarding slog. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 310 pages
• Publisher: Chivers North Amer; Lrg edition (April 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792715047
• ISBN-13: 978-0792715047
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,421,219 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

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Book, June 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Make No Bones (Paperback)

I adore mysteries where a man has to figure out what happened with his head rather than his fists. Elkins is a remarkably talented and intelligent individual, and his books about the "Skeleton Dectetive" are charming and fascinating. A lot like how Sherlock Holmes or a Magician, Oliver seems able to pull amazing facts off of skeletons - and even after he explains how it's done, it's still pretty amazing. With Gideon, John, and Julie - who have become some of my favorite characters - there's more of the action for everyone. An Elkins mystery is always perfect for a rainy day.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Funny But At Times Morbid, November 14, 2000

By 

Rosemary Brunschwyler (Homewood, Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Make No Bones (Paperback)

Gideon Oliver's wife Julie takes a more active role in this story set mostly in rural Oregon. The story has elements of a good Elkins book with another lesson in forensic anthropology. At times it is very funny and in spots is quite morbid. Although the proposed motive for the killings is unconvincing, Julie's enhanced role makes the reading worthwhile.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very entertaining., April 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Make No Bones (Paperback)

This novel is one of the most entertaining novels I have ever read. It keeps you guessing until the last page. Some knowledge in forensic anthropology is helpful but not necessary. Well-written, characters are very well-done. The setting adds to the excitement. Great book