Order of Book Series
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Gideon Oliver Books in Order

Gideon Oliver by Aaron Elkins contains 18 books, published between 1982 and 2016. The first book is Fellowship of Fear (1982) and the newest is Switcheroo (2016). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
18
Published
1982–2016
Confirmed
18 of 18 titles
Pages on record
4,363 in 17 of 18 books
Reading time
73–109 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,363 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 17 of 18 titles with a page count on record.

See all 18 books in order Printable Gideon Oliver checklist

Gideon Oliver is a mystery series by Aaron Elkins, built around a forensic anthropologist who teaches at a college. Eighteen books are catalogued, published between 1982 and 2016, opening with Fellowship of Fear (1982) and closing with Switcheroo (2016). Bones give several titles their names: Old Bones (1987), Make No Bones (1991), Skeleton Dance (2000). France appears among the subject headings, alongside anthropologists and crimes against Americans. The series is likely complete.

How many Gideon Oliver books are there?

Gideon Oliver has 18 books, released between 1982 and 2016.

Gideon Oliver Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 18 Gideon Oliver books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Fellowship of Fear by Aaron Elkins, book 1 of the Gideon Oliver series (1982)
  2. Cover of The Dark Place by Aaron Elkins, book 2 of the Gideon Oliver series (1983)
  3. Cover of Murder in the Queen's Armes by Aaron Elkins, book 3 of the Gideon Oliver series (1985)
  4. Cover of Old Bones by Aaron Elkins, book 4 of the Gideon Oliver series (1987)
  5. Cover of Curses! by Aaron Elkins, book 5 of the Gideon Oliver series (1989)
  6. Cover of Icy Clutches by Aaron Elkins, book 6 of the Gideon Oliver series (1990)
  7. Cover of Dead Men's Hearts by Aaron Elkins, book 8 of the Gideon Oliver series (1994)
  8. Cover of Twenty Blue Devils by Aaron Elkins, book 9 of the Gideon Oliver series (1997)
  9. Cover of Skeleton Dance by Aaron Elkins, book 10 of the Gideon Oliver series (2000)
  10. Cover of Good Blood by Aaron Elkins, book 11 of the Gideon Oliver series (2004)
  11. Cover of Where There's a Will by Aaron Elkins, book 12 of the Gideon Oliver series (2005)
  12. Cover of Unnatural Selection by Aaron Elkins, book 13 of the Gideon Oliver series (2006)
  13. Cover of Little Tiny Teeth by Aaron Elkins, book 14 of the Gideon Oliver series (2007)
  14. Cover of Uneasy Relations by Aaron Elkins, book 15 of the Gideon Oliver series (2008)
  15. Cover of Dying on the Vine by Aaron Elkins, book 17 of the Gideon Oliver series (2012)
  16. Cover of Switcheroo by Aaron Elkins, book 18 of the Gideon Oliver series (2016)
  1. 1
    Fellowship of Fear1982 · 288 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1982288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Dark Place1983 · 272 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1983272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Murder in the Queen's Armes1985 · 256 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1985256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Old Bones1987 · 212 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1987212
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Curses!1989 · 192 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1989192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Icy Clutches1990 · 226 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1990226
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Make No Bones1991 · 200 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1991200
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Dead Men's Hearts1994 · 256 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1994256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Twenty Blue Devils1997 · 230 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1997230
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Skeleton Dance2000 · 220 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2000220
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Good Blood2004 · 293 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2004293
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Where There's a Will2005 · 278 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2005278
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Unnatural Selection2006 · 288 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2006288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Little Tiny Teeth2007 · 292 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2007292
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Uneasy Relations2008 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2008304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Skull Duggery2009 · 272 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2009272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Dying on the Vine2012 · confirmed 3/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Switcheroo2016 · 284 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2016284
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for Gideon Oliver?

No separate chronological order is on record for Gideon Oliver, because none of the book listings this catalogue draws on publishes one; the publication order above is the only order given.

Do you have to read Gideon Oliver books in order?

You should read the Gideon Oliver books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each Gideon Oliver book also stands alone.

Where to start with Gideon Oliver

Start with Fellowship of Fear (1982), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Gideon Oliver book?

Switcheroo (2016) is the newest Gideon Oliver book released so far.

Is there a new Gideon Oliver book coming?

No next Gideon Oliver book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Gideon Oliver at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Gideon Oliver title on record dates from 2016, 10 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Gideon Oliver books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
4,363 pages across the 17 of 18 books with a recorded length, a median of 272 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Gideon Oliver books, 7 of 18, were published in the 2000s.

What the Gideon Oliver books are about

All 18 Gideon Oliver books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective is tagged on 14 of 18. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • Mystery & detective 14 of 18 books
  • Forensic anthropologists 13 of 18 books
  • Oliver, gideon (fictitious character) 13 of 18 books
  • Americans 7 of 18 books
  • College teachers 7 of 18 books
  • Anthropologists 3 of 18 books
  • Crimes against 2 of 18 books
  • France 2 of 18 books

More books by Aaron Elkins

The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.