Cozy Mysteries discussion

I'm going to go ahead and post next month's featured author. This is so that anyone wanting to take part, can have a heads up to find a copy of the book. I know paperbackswap (PBS) and bookmooch and can take a couple weeks to get your book (depending on availablility) and even at your local library you may need to request it and possibly be put on the waiting list. You can, if you so choose, read early, by all means. But during the month in question, feel free to join in our discussions.

I'm going to choose Aaron Elkins as our featured author for June. His Gideon Oliver mysteries were recommended by members here.

A description of the short lived tv series and the books it was based on from wikipedia:

Gideon Oliver is a prime time television series that ran on the ABC television network between February 1989 and May 1989 as part of the ABC Mystery Movie rotation, along with B.L. Stryker, Kojak and Columbo. On the air for only five episodes, the series starred Emmy- and Academy Award-winning actor Louis Gossett, Jr., and was created by Dick Wolf. The title character first appeared in the novel series by mystery writer Aaron Elkins.

About the author:

Aaron Elkins (born Brooklyn July 24, 1935) is an American mystery writer. He is best known for his series of novels featuring forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver—the 'bone detective'. The fourth Oliver book, Old Bones, received the 1988 Edgar Award for Best Novel. As Oliver is a world-renowned authority, he travels around the world and each book is set in a different and often exotic locale.

In another series, the protagonist is museum curator Chris Norgren, an expert in Northern Renaissance art.

One of his stand-alone thrillers, Loot deals with art stolen by the Nazis and introduces protagonist Dr. Benjamin Revere.

With his wife, Charlotte Elkins, he has also co-written a series of golf mysteries about LPGA member Lee Ofsted. They shared an Agatha Award for their short story "Nice Gorilla".

Gideon Oliver novels
Fellowship of Fear (1982)
The Dark Place (1983)
Murder in the Queen's Armes (1985)
Old Bones (1987)
Curses! (1989)
Icy Clutches(1990)
Make No Bones (1991)
Dead Men's Hearts (1994)
Twenty Blue Devils (1997)
Skeleton Dance(2000)
Good Blood (2004)
Where There's a Will (2005)
Unnatural Selection (2006)
Little Tiny Teeth (2007)
Uneasy Relations (2008)
Skull Duggery (2009)




Chris Norgren novels
Deceptive Clarity (1987)
A Glancing Light (1991)
Old Scores (1993)

Lee Ofsted novels (with Charlotte Elkins)
A Wicked Slice (1989)
Rotten Lies (1995)
Nasty Breaks (1997)
Where Have All the Birdies Gone? (2004)
On the Fringe(2005)

Other novels
Loot (1999)
Turncoat (2002)

My library has 12 of the 15 Gideon Oliver books but sadly, not book one, so I had to get that off PBS. Now I need an excuse to try out the new author, so in June I'll be reading Fellowship of Fear.

Briansgirl "Master Book Sale Huntress" wrote: "I'm going to go ahead and post next month's featured author. This is so that anyone wanting to take part, can have a heads up to find a copy of the book. I know paperbackswap (PBS) and bookmooch an..."

I'm so excited to read this! Aaron Elkins is one of my favorite authors and I'm in the process of collecting the Gideon Oliver books I don't already have, with the intention of reading the whole series straight through! Getting to take part in a challenge at the same time makes me a double winner!

Happy it works for you Kate. We'll be reading it together. (And btw, my name's also Kate. hehe)

If I really like the series, I'll have to buy the couple the library is missing to be able to read them all. I got the first one from PBS. I was surprised they'd have so many, yet not the first one in the series. I like reading a series in order. I have skipped books on occassion if you can't get ahold of them, but the first book is hard to skip since it sets up the entire series, characters, etc.

This series/author was recommended to me from members here. I finally got the first book so this looked like a good excuse to to finally get around to reading it.

I'm pretty excited to read Fellowship. Just waitin' for the good ole' library to get the book in already! I'm in a reading rut and this will probably help push me out of it.

I love CSI so I figure this ought to me simliar enough that I should like it. I got it off PBS a couple months ago, and this will get me around to reading it. I don't know how the library has them all but the first, but I hate to miss the first in a series. I'll read the rest from the library as it would get expensive to get as many as this series has.

Oooh, I love Aaron Elkins! I've read every one of his Gideon Oliver books and his series is one I've kept. I recently reread some of the books (when no new books were just out) and I still love them. I was lucky enough to meet him at Malice this year and he said I should read the Lee Ofsted series but I think I'll read the Chris Norgren ones first since I absolutely hate golf. : /

Well, first one bought as a Kindle book, I'll tell you ;)

Finished Fellowship of Fear the other night and really liked it. Have now started The Dark Place, but have found it more difficult to get into this one.

Just got my copy of Fellowship from the library today. Can't wait to start (as soon as I finish what I'm reading now).

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

I have to finish another book or two first before I get to this yet.

I picked up Murder in the Queen's Armes, but am not going to be getting to it this month. I still have six books on the June list to try to get through. I need more reading time! lol

Even if you don't get to it in June, you can still drop by this thread and discuss the author/book/series with us here later.

Kari wrote: "I liked Queen's Armes since it took place in Egypt. If you are taking part in the around the world challenge you can also use it for Africa."

Exactly what I was thinking, though I believe this one takes place in England (Dorchester).

Darn it...now you've got me wanting to read it now, and I can't. No. Really. I still have to read a movie-themed book and a couple others already committed to, and June is running out fast.

Was just reading through some of the blurbs -- Dead Men's Hearts is the one set in Egypt. Will have to keep this one in mind for the challenge, although I also have Elizabeth Peters' Crocodile on the Sandbank for Egypt/Africa.

I was going to use The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency set in Botswana for Africa.

Just finished Where There's a Will. A good solid Elkins.

Kate: Already read that one a couple years ago. It was pretty good, but did nto feel the urge to pick up the next in Smith's series.

Shannon: I hope to be that far down the list some day! lol

Kari: No problem, I figured it out! :)

Kari: Yes, his books look to fit a couple of the geographic challenges. There are books for Oregon, Alaska, and Washington; one for the Yucatan; the first one took us all over Europe... He's an all-purpose challenge author! LOL

I have recently bought all of Elkin's Gideon Oliver books and just finished up Fellowship of Fear. I loved the book but I must say I never put it together with the ABC series. I remember the movies they had for Gideon Oliver and B. L. Stryker. That's funny I would never have pictured Gideon as Louis Gossett, Jr. I had a hard time finding many of the book in the series. Most book stores only had a few of the first books and a few of the newest. Many of the books from the middle of his series I needed to find on-line through Ailbis. Lately I have been into any book that has some sort of archeological theme.

Yes I really like her too. When I buy online I go through Border marketplace.com. It's a service that checks hundreds of seller all over the United States then I can comparison shop. A few other series in this vein are Beverly Connor's Diane Fallon's series and her Lindsey Chamberlain series. Also Iris Johansen's Eve Duncan's series. Eve Duncan is a forensic sculpture. She takes skulls and builds a face on them, but these are more toward the forensic part then the archeology part. That's o.k. because if you like those types of books it leads you to Patricia Cornwell and Kathy Reichs. Let me know if your looking for recommendations

Fred wrote: "Yes I really like her too. When I buy online I go through Border marketplace.com. It's a service that checks hundreds of seller all over the United States then I can comparison shop. A few other..."

I used to love Patricia Cornwell's books, until about #8 or so. Then she just tanked for me. Up until then she was on my "must buy in hardcover" list.

Melodie wrote: "Fred wrote: "Yes I really like her too. When I buy online I go through Border marketplace.com. It's a service that checks hundreds of seller all over the United States then I can comparison shop...."

I agree Melodie I recently finished Predator and it took me forever. It will take a lot to finish the series. I really loved her up until about Cause of Death and then she just went down hill.

Kari: I almost bought that one at B&N yesterday, but figured I'd already done enough damage for one day. Definitely want to get more of his books!

At least two of Elkin's books are set in Hawaii. The Blue Devil one and Where there's a Will. Just in case anyone needs a tropical getaway. ;)

Thanks Shannon. That might very well come in handy for those trying to Read around the USA using only mysteries.

I still have plans to eventually read this, but seeing as this is the last day of the month and I have painters coming today to paint inside my house, it isn't going to happen this month! lol

I read two of the golf ones, Wicked Slice and Rotten Lies. They're not horrible, just so-so. Maybe because it's a collaboration- sometimes those just don't work out. What I like about the Gideon Oliver series is how well "fleshed-out" even the secondary characters are. I felt that the characters in the golf ones were flat. Maybe it just suffers by comparison- I was expecting something as great as the Gideon Oliver books.

No, have not read anything else of his. I'm still working my way through the Gideon Oliver books. Maybe when I get through those I'll give one of the other series a try.

I have all the Gideon Oliver series except Make No Bones (which I read a few years ago from the library) and Skullduggery. I also have The Deceptive Clarity and Old Scores of the Chris Norgren series, and Turncoat and Loot from his non-series books. I love Aaron Elkins books, they are a delight and you can learn from them too. Do I sound like a fan? ;-)

I think I might be the only one who feels this way but... I couldn't finish Fellowship of Fear. I made myself read through the first 100 pages, but I had to give it up. It just didn't do anything for me. Technically speaking, the book should have been perfect for me, but I couldn't connect with Gideon or John Lau (at all - in fact, I found myself wanting to murder him).

I will say that I struggled with Fellowship as well. It wasn't what I expected. I am half way through The Dark Place, Elkins second book. I am enjoying this one much more.