Elkins, Aaron (1935—)

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Elkins, Aaron (1935—)

Aaron Elkins is the creator of two mystery series. The Gideon Oliver novels feature a forensic anthropologist frequently compelled to work not with ancient bones, but with modern murders. Fellowship of Fear (1982) initiated the series, followed by The Dark Place (1983), an unusually poetic mood-piece, and Murder in the Queen's Armes (1985). Old Bones (1987) received the 1988 Edgar Award for Best Mystery Novel. Subsequent Gideon Oliver novels include Curses! (1989), Icy Clutches (1990), Make No Bones (1991), Dead Men's Hearts (1994), and Twenty Blue Devils (1997). The Chris Norgren novels, whose hero is a museum curator, include A Deceptive Clarity (1987), A Glancing Light (1991), and Old Scores (1993). He has also co-written golf mysteries with Charlotte Elkins: A Wicked Slice (1989), Rotten Lies (1995), and Nasty Breaks (1997). Elkins' forté lies in combining intriguing characters and plots with exotic settings, as far ranging as England, Germany, Mexico, Alaska, Egypt, Tahiti, and the Pacific Northwest.

—Michael R. Collings

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