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    Curses!
    Curses!
    Curses!
    Audiobook7 hours

    Curses!

    Written by Aaron Elkins

    Narrated by Joel Richards

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Mayan ruins in the Yucatán . . . a secret room in a tomb . . . age-old skeletons. To anthropologist Gideon Oliver, the renowned Skeleton Detective, the invitation to join the archaeological excavation of Tlaloc promises two months of paradise on Earth.

    That is, until an ancient series of Mayan curses against desecrators of the site is unearthed. When the first one comes to pass ("The bloodsucking kinkajou will come freely among them"), it is taken by all as a practical joke. But by the time the fourth one is apparently consummated ("The one called Xecotcavach will pierce their skulls so that their brains spill onto the earth"), nerves have begun to fray and suspicions and discord are mounting.

    The steamy jungles weigh down on the band of eccentric anthropologists as one by one the curses continue to materialize. It takes Gideon's special talents for deduction-along with the enigmatic insights of Mexico's one and only Mayan Indian inspector of the state judicial police-to resolve an ancient riddle and a modern, murderous mystery.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateApr 23, 2019
    ISBN9781977337511
    Author

    Aaron Elkins

    Aaron Elkins’s mysteries and thrillers have earned him an Edgar, an Agatha, a Nero Wolfe Award, and a Malice Domestic Lifetime Achievement Award. His nonfiction works have appeared in Smithsonian magazine, the New York Times magazine, and Writer’s Digest. A former anthropology professor, Elkins is known for starting the forensic-mystery genre with his 1982 novel, Fellowship of Fear. He currently serves as the anthropological consultant for the Olympic Peninsula Cold Case Task Force in Washington State. Elkins lives in Washington with his wife, Charlotte—his occasional collaborator—who is also an Agatha winner.

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    Reviews for Curses!

    3.5/5

    90 ratings7 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Gideon Oliver is a specialist in bones. He is called to a dig on a Mayan temple site to analyze a skeleton found there. This is a site he worked on ten years before, which was shut down under a pall of dishonesty and theft. The same crew is back, hoping for a better result, but perhaps the Mayan curse will not allow.The mystery was pretty transparent to me, but I enjoyed the setting and characters enough that I would read another Elkin's novel should the chance arrive.
    • 3/5
      Nice little archaeological mystery set in the 1980s - so no computers, internet. Picked this one up earlier in the year at a book sale - pity I could not find the rest there as well. I enjoyed it.
    • 3/5
      Cozy mystery with a scientific basisJune 23, 2019Format: Kindle EditionVerified PurchaseElkins writes excellent cozy mysteries with a solid scientific foundation - forensic anthropology. He started years before the TV show Bones made forensic anthropology cool and his writing is much better than Kathy Reichs’s, IMHO.I call these “cozy” mysteries because they just aren’t heavy with drama and tragedy like those of Elizabeth George, for example. George is an excellent author, just a different style.All of Elkins’s books are filled with history, mystery, and interesting science. Excellent books!
    • 4/5
      Julia and Gideon are invited to a dig in Mexico where a codex mysteriously disappeared during a previous expedition. All the usual suspects return and Gideon avoids death twice before resolving the case. With substantial help from his wife.
    • 4/5
      During the winter break, Professor Gideon Oliver and his wife Julie jump at an opportunity to join an archaeological project in Yucatán. Five years earlier, Gideon had been part of a project at the same location that went terribly wrong. After a rare Mayan codex was discovered at the site, both the codex and the project leader had disappeared. The reopening of the site gave several members of the earlier team an opportunity to redeem their reputations. One of the new team's first discoveries is a Mayan curse on those who would disturb the site. Soon, things start to go very wrong, just as the curse predicted. Do the events really have a supernatural origin, or is someone very human behind them?I picked this one up mainly for the atmosphere and setting. I spent several days in Yucatán a few years ago, and I'm planning another trip soon. This book gave me just what I was looking for – a decent mystery mixed with adventure and a strong sense of place. Gideon successfully solved the mystery, so I won't need to worry about the curses befalling me on my next visit to Yucatán!
    • 4/5
      I liked this book. It was exciting and had some interesting history of the Maya. It was interesting to see how it was finally solved. If you like Aaron Elkins books, or books that have some antropology in them you will like this book!
    • 4/5
      This one's also fun to re-read. This time I didn't remember who (though I figured it out about the same time Gideon did); also didn't remember why, though how was kind of obvious. Rich backgrounds, interesting people, puzzling events...though Gideon is rather an idiot for a while! Unnecessary risks.