Dead Men's Hearts

Gideon Oliver #8

by Aaron Elkins

An ancient skeleton tossed in a garbage dump is the first conundrum to rattle Gideon Oliver when he arrives in Egypt. There to appear in a documentary film, he expects an undemanding week of movie star treatment and a luxurious cruise up the Nile with his wife Julie. But when Gideon discovers a tantalizing secret in the discarded bones—and violence claims a famous Egyptologist's life—he is thrust into a spotlight of a different kind. Plying his calipers as the world's foremost forensic anthropologist, Gideon's investigation of the goings-on leads him through the back alleys and bazaars of Cairo and deep into the millennia-old tombs of the Valley of the Kings.

As the puzzle is painstakingly pieced together, Gideon will find that the identifying traits of a cunning killer are the same now as they were in the time of the greed without guilt, lies without conscience…and murder without remorse.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Egypt, Crime, Anthropology, Mystery Thriller, Cozy Mystery

236 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 1994

About the author

Aaron J. Elkins, AKA 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 'skeleton 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".

Aaron and Charlotte live on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.

Japanese: アーロン エルキンズ

Series:
* Lee Ofsted (with Charlotte Elkins)

Series contributed to:
* Malice Domestic

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A trip to Egypt for Julie and Gideon as Gideon is invited to be a presenter in a documentary. There are some enjoyable moments for the couple on this trip, but for the most part there are tense and highly stressful situations that require using all their survival skills to escape death.
The book provides a nice travelogue for the reader. In this case we are given Phil, a friend of theirs, as a companion. He writes books for traveling on the cheap and knows Egypt well, so he is a good guide to have along. Of course murder will make its visit and Gideon eventually makes himself helpful to the police.


Loan from a Friend (thank you!)

[Kamas Kirian · Rating 3 out of 5]

In all, probably closer to 3.5 stars. Not one of my favorite in the Gideon Oliver series. There was just something missing from this story for me. I was never drawn into it the way the others have grabbed me.

I like Gideon and Julie. Phil was OK, but honestly almost all of the rest blurred together. They seemed like interchangeable throw away characters. This was another story sans John Lau. John makes for a better story most of the time. He needed to be involved somehow.

Also, the ending fight seemed hurried and rather unbelievable. I loved the setting of the novel, but it wasn't used much in the story either. The Nile River is one of the oldest cradles of civilization. These are some of the oldest human temples around, but they weren't utilized in the story as well as I hoped. Very little of the story took place there, and virtually none of the important stuff in the storyline. I was disappointed with this one. I expect better from a Gideon Oliver story.

The eBook was formatted well with no obvious spelling or grammar mistakes.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dead Men's Hearts by Aaron Elkins.

Gideon is offered a role in a documentary that will be filmed in Egypt. Gideon accepts the offer on the promise that Julie will be going with him. The trip begins with a cruise down the Nile. A pleasant journey that is until a skeleton is discovered in the Egyptological Institute's garbage. That takes the skeleton detective on a cruise that includes murder.

This was a first rate mystery from page one. Neither John nor Professor Goldstein were in this story and it was still one of the best in this series.

Highly recommended to all fans of the Gideon Oliver series and to those just getting acquainted with him.

[Karen Plummer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should have been my favorite of the series, seeing as it is set in Egypt which is the dream of many archaeologists, but it didn't keep my interest in the way the others in the series did. Interesting story, unusual deaths, and Gideon involved in it all amidst the glamour and mystery that is Egypt. It just seemed to drag and the resolution seemed like it was just thrown together at the last minute. Maybe I'll read this again when I'm feeling better...sometimes not feeling well makes reading (and concentrating) a chore.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve given this the benefit of the doubt. It’s probably about 3.75 stars. It’s the first I’ve read of Aaron Elkins. I thoroughly enjoyed the immersion in archeology and forensic anthropology and its part in the mystery. Like some other readers, I found the cast of characters, beyond the inner circle, very difficult to distinguish. I also found the final showdown a bit unlikely - unless, of course, it is being positioned for a film .

Nevertheless, it was a well-sustained narrative and Gideon Oliver is an appealing investigator.

[Heatherinblack · Rating 4 out of 5]

a sudden solution

the solution was a bit sudden and out of the blue. there were a lot of threads and a lot of bad guys. letting people off of co wring up an accidental death seemed like a bit much.

[Yvette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Gideon Oliver series. Such good story lines!

[Mystereity Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I've said before, this series seems to be hit or miss and this one was in the miss category.

Gideon is in Egypt, having been strong-armed into narrating a documentary about the history of Horizon House, a museum and archaeology facility in Luxor, steps from the Sphinx. This was an audaciously multi faceted plot; the suspicious death of the man in charge of the facility, the theft of ancient artifacts, and a skeleton of a modern day man found labeled as an ancient skeleton. All of this points to an inside job, and Gideon has to work out who. The plot was well done, the scenery beautiful (it's so easy to picture the locations with all the rich descriptions) but it just didn't grab me the way other books in this series have. It was good, but not GOOD. 3 1/2 stars

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

maybe 2.5. this series is about a forensic anthropologist (like the TV series Bones but this came first) who keeps stumbling into murders and then solving them by looking at bone fragments. I do like the characters and it has some nostalgic appeal but the series is pretty dated at this point (written on the 90s). I am however a sucker for good marriages. which makes me like this series.

[Carolyn (in SC) C234D · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good Gideon Oliver mystery, but not fascinating. Gideon and Julie go to Egypt on a film-making trip. Bones are found and examined, then lost, then found again. And who killed the annoying old man in charge of Horizon House, where they are staying?

[Claire Pickett · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I read this Egyptian thriller, a friend was touring that very country and sailing down the Nile. The timing couldn't have been better! Fiction meets real-time Facebook pictures and comments!

First of this series I have read and not my genre, but I would recommend this novel without hesitation. A bit of a beach read! Who doesn't like archaeology in the part of the world that has the most to offer.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

When asked to narrate a documentary on Ancient Egypt for a university donor, Dr. Gideon Oliver declines the request. After being strong-armed into it, he accepts and packs his bags to head over with his wife Julie tagging along. When they arrive, the local American archaeological team is scrambling to deal with the discovered remains of an ancient skeleton from their collection. How did it end up in a rubbish pile and what does it all mean? While Gideon heads out to begin his filming and narration, things heat up with the chair Horizon House (the US archaeological group) ends up tumbling and dying from his injuries. What looks like a case of inebriation and a perilous fall ends up being murder, at least to Oliver's eyes. While trying to track down the murderer, Oliver must liaise with the local police and determine what this man knew that was so explosive, all while trying not to die himself. A great mystery with the expected injection of humour and teachable moments.

Elkins pens the novel series regulars have been waiting for, full of expected jibes about anthropologists in Egypt and the wonders of the ancient world. The reader is treated to yet more wonderful moments of learning and discovery, all wrapped into a wonderful mystery. With some of the key characters back for another round, Elkins keeps his regulars happy and hopes to net new followers with this stellar novel.

Kudos Dr. Elkins on this great piece of work!

[RC Prentice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moomy! An archaeological dig, museum and documentary filming in Luxor, a death on the Nile, two sets of bones with the same labels, ancient blackened wires that look like nothing, and a missing head carved from jasper provide the elements for this mystery that is not quite cozy, but has little in the way of blood and guts and gore. Yes, there are shades of Agatha Christie here, and also Elizabeth Peters, albeit sixty years hence, and as her anthropological self, Barbara Merz, providing important details in her RED LAND, BLACK LAND, about Akhenaten, his wife Nefertiti, and the capital city he constructed 200 miles from the existent capital Thebes, now a rubble of adobe melting into the desert. What a little bump on the head (not his) tells Gideon Oliver is that he has to re-examine his erudite, well-considered, judicious deduction that mislaid bones, dumped all in a heap in the museum junk room are those of a 4,000-years-dead Egyptian scribe. The details of a slice-of-life travelogue in the baking heat of tourist-thronged Egypt and of archaeology and museology there are to relish. Unfortunately, the resolution is not only unanticipated, but also is abrupt, pat, and could even be called contrived, knocking one star off this otherwise well-constructed plot and narrative.

[Liz V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A benefactor of Gideon's university wants Gideon to narrate a film on the history of an archaeology foundation in Egypt.

When Gideon and Julie arrive at the foundation's headquarters in Luxor, a newly discovered skeleton awaits Gideon. It appears to be from the foundation's storeroom, though no one can explain why the skeleton was found in a dilapidated shed. However, the death of the foundation's leading archaeologist, written off by the police as accidental, has Gideon and Julie looking for clues.

My reading, in the past, seldom lent itself to reading series in sequence, so I have been backtracking with authors whom I have enjoyed. Thus, I picked up Dead Men's Heart without realizing it was set in Egypt until reading the acknowledgement. I was delighted that Elkins paid tribute to Dr. Barbara Mertz, who, as a woman, could not find work in the 50s as an archaeologist and turned to writing. Many of her books revolve around archaeology, including the Amelia Peabody series under the pseudonym Elizabeth Peters.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

It had been a while since I read an Arron Elkins and I was not disappointed. Gideon Oliver is in Egypt to help make a documentary about a down-on-its-heels museum. The pompous, hard-drinking curator of the museum is shocked to find a skeleton in an unused shed. In his alcoholic stupor, he thinks he sees a statue's head there, but upon return to the scene, the head and the skeleton were gone. The skeleton reappears in it's box, safe and sound and the Skeleton Doctor, Gideon Oliver determined the skeleton was genuine.
Later, on a posh river boat, the museum curator is found dead - an apparent accident where in a drunken stupor, fell overboard.
After some detection, some danger and some wonderful description of the Egyptian archeological sites, Gideon solves the bones mystery as well as the mystery of the missing statue and its head.
This was an intelligent mystery, set in an exotic locale. Well plotted, rounded characters and excellent writing entertained me.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little too long on setting otherwise good

A good entry into the series...but oh no, the news in the beginning? ——> 😭 <—— that is me, crying. I did skip over paragraphs of descriptions that didn’t seem to have any real relevance to the plot. Julie was absent more than I would have expected; all these times she takes from her job hasn’t made it risky for her to be fired?

Anyway, interesting object/macguffin in this one. I definitely didn’t put the pieces of this one together before Gideon did. 😉

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the Gideon Oliver series of mysteries. They're entertaining and well-constructed, and with a main character who's a forensic anthropologist, I even learn a few things. In this one, it's Egyptology, as well as some interesting descriptions of visiting the Nile area seeing the past and the present side by side...

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty fun. I read it three days ago and can't really remember the plot, so obviously not earth shattering. Elkins is great at creating obnoxious characters that you love to hate - in this case a pompous archeologist who forces people to listen to lectures on verb forms in ancient Egypt.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

First time reading this author with the skeleton detective. Like all the main characters, did not like the setting....name were hard to figure out and keep straight. Will read another in a different setting.

[Bekke · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always i learn something or two from Elkins' books. In this case about anthropology, bone structure, Egypt; all in a well-tied-together mystery. At times it rambled and dragged, but otherwise was a very entertaining read!

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not realize how much I did not know about Egypt. It was informative and entertaining at the same time. I like to read a Gideon Oliver after a less academic book..it keeps my brain from turning to moosh on the fluff and keeps Gideon from becoming overbearing and pretentious.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read!

Nicely put together, this was quite enjoyable in an all’s well that ends well kind of way. Gideon and Julie are a good team and Egypt was the perfect exotic, mysterious setting. On to the next one!

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find these very relaxing mysteries. Not so gripping, or heartstopping, just comfortable and well written.

[Mary Newcomb]

Gideon goes to Egypt (sounds like an easy reader, yes?) and becomes embroiled in a mystery or two. I like this squeamish forensic anthropologist and his approach to complex problems.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of local color, as archaeologists in Egypt deal with old bones, fresh bodies, and reluctant police.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"...DEAD MEN'S HEARTS is set in an unbeatable location for old bones and new skullduggery: the ruins of ancient Egypt.

"A promised role in a documentary film draws Gideon Oliver to Egypt's famed Valley of the Nile, where he expects an undemanding week of movie-star treatment plus a top-of-the-line cruise along the river with his wife, Julie.

"But a skeleton unexpectedly turns up in the garbage of the Egyptological institute where the filming starts. The bones, Gideon determines, are those of an anonymous Fifth Dynasty scribe who has been uneventfully gathering dust in a storeroom for seventy years. These venerable relics are cleaned, sorted, analyzed, and place back in storage with all due respect.

"Sifting through bones is nothing new for the man known as the Skeleton Detective, but wandering skeletons are out of the ordinary. So when the same remains inexplicably wind up in another/i> garbage heap a few days later -- days during which a staff member has died under highly suspicious circumstances -- Gideon hauls out his calipers for a second, longer look.

"What he discovers will send him and Julie through the bazaars and back alleys of modern Egypt and deep into the ancient Valley of the Kings. And as the puzzle is pieced together, Gideon will find that the identifying traits of a cunning killer are timeless: greed without guilt, lies without conscience ... and murder without remorse."
~~front flap

I don't think Aaron Elkins can write a bad book, but I didn't like this one as much as I did some of the others. The plot wasn't one I really enjoyed, although the cast of characters was as wonderful as always -- especially Clifford Haddon, the director of Horizon House, and one of the world's most pompous and excruciating bores. It's worth reading this book for the entertainment of this character alone.

[Suanne]

This is a review of the entire Gideon Oliver mystery series.

Dead Men's Hearts is the eighth of an eighteen-book mystery series with forensic anthropologist Gideon Oliver, Ph.D. as the protagonist. I started with Dead Men’s Hearts (#8 in the series) and liked it enough I started collecting individual books as they came on sale, saving them until I could read the entire series in one fell swoop. The day came when I had almost the entire series, so I bought the last two and settled in for two weeks of reading. Roughly 250 pages each, they are quick reads; some days I could get through two.
Elkins is an anthropologist, and his knowledge of the human body is apparent. As a physician, I enjoyed the science and the anatomy of Gideon’s forensic work with the police and FBI. He visits several foreign countries as well as some of the United States, and these locales seem accurately depicted to this world traveler. There is some romance, rather old-fashioned and staid, but Gideon is that kind of guy. He marries the woman in question and they remain happily married through the series.
Some books, of course, were better than others (I thought Dying on the Vine set in Tuscany, was probably the weakest), but overall, the series rates a solid four stars and are a predictably fast, interesting read with widely varied locales and plots.

[Marty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gideon Oliver is a forensic Anthropologist (expert in studying ancient bones). He enjoys teaching the subject, but a major donor to his university want to make a short video/movie in Egypt and want him (and his wife) to participate in the video. They tell Oliver that it will take about a week, then they will have several days free time. All accommodations would be first class and there would be little prep. The university president assures the Olivers that they will see their schedules are cleared so they can go. –How could they say “no.” Things start happening from the beginning – with their luggage being misplaced and not arriving with them…. Then one of the leaders of the expedition was murdered….. What’s going on????? It was somewhat interesting if you know a little about Egypt and Egyptian history although not much knowledge is really needed. Somehow though, I just didn’t get caught up in the spirit of the book.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Armana Statuette

Gideon has been asked to head to Luxor in Egypt to take part in a documentary and Nile Cruise. When a set of bones turns up outside the Horizon Museum with identifying numbers related to the Armana Period, the scientists want answers as to how they came to be outside of their registered box from the museum. One of the distinguished scientists winds up dead and another set of bones turns up related to the same exhibit. Gideon is on the hunt for the killer if he can talk the Egyptian Police into investigating. I like Gideon Oliver books, and this one does not disappoint. Parts of the story do not necessarily have a plausible ring, but the crux of the story plays out like a made-for-TV movie. I was entertained anyway, especially, since I have visited Luxor, The Valley of the Kings, and taken a cruise along the region in the past.

[Norla Chee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A skeleton found in garbage dump is the first mystery handed to Gideon Oliver when he arrives at Horizon House. Gideon is supposed to be the bone skeleton expert. He thhinks he knows what happened to the skeleton, but then a murder and another copycat skeleton complicate his hypothesis. the frustrations of trying to solve the mystery in Egypt against cultural differrences, and what Americans might see as laziness, slow moving, non-committal are what give the story it's tension and it's humor. I was in a hurry to complete by end of May, so I didn't give it my full attention, but enjoyed it enough that I would read another novel of Aaron Elkins'.