Curses!

Aaron Elkins

Apr 2019 · Gideon Oliver Mysteries Book 5 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Joel Richards

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.

About the author

Aaron Elkins is a former anthropologist who has been writing mysteries and thrillers since 1982. He won an Edgar for Old Bones, as well as a subsequent Agatha with his wife Charlotte, and a Nero Wolfe Award. His major continuing series features forensic anthropologist-detective Gideon Oliver, "the Skeleton Detective."

Joel Richards was the kid who did crazy things just to have a good story to tell afterward. On deciding to make his affection his profession, he received a BFA in acting and a BA in English from the University of Utah. He has narrated over 150 audiobooks and continues to tell his original stories to live audiences.