Before there was “CSI,” “Bones,” or bookstore shelves sagging with forensic mysteries, there was Aaron Elkins. The northwestern author was a pioneer of the now wildly popular forensic crime genre, introducing his renowned forensic investigator, Gideon Oliver, to the world in 1982. Now, thirty years, two dozen books and many awards later, Elkins is still producing cutting-edge mystery.
Born in 1935, Elkins began his study in the field of cultural anthropology, a course that would eventually lead him to forensic science. Says Elkins, “I started off in cultural anthropology, but I found it a bit thin on fact and thick on theory and opinion. I needed something solid that I could hang my hat on. And physical and forensic anthropology provided it. I mean, you had to DELIVER: ‘Is this bone human? Yes or no? What’s the race? What’s the sex? How did he or she die?’ and so on. Unlike cultural anthropology, which is rife with gray areas that can never be proven one way or the other, physical and forensic anthropology have to come up with real answers that will be demonstrably right or wrong. I like that very much.”
Elkins’ experiences with bones and bodies is not based on pure library research. He uses his knowledge in the forensic field for practical purposes as well as literal ones, serving the Clallam County Cold Case Task Force in Washington as a forensic anthropologist. “When skeletal material is found, I’m the person the police agencies call in to see what I can tell them about it.”
Elkins insists the story of his crossover from anthropologist to mystery writer is to long and involved to tell. As for giving advice to struggling writers, he has this to say: “I certainly wouldn’t advise anyone to follow in my footsteps. I’ll just say that for every writer, there was a time when he was just a would-be writer, and he or she was as ignorant about how to break in as I was. Basically, you just write a book and send in a few query letters to publishers and agents. Not so hard, right? Yeah, right.”
Elkins can offer simple advice on what makes a good mystery. He believes there are two main qualities every mystery must have to be successful. “One, characters that engage the reader. Or at least ONE character that the reader cares about. Two, a reasonable resolution to it all -that is, something that is unexpected, but, on thinking about it, is perfectly logical.”
Though he was one of the first, Elkins now finds himself sharing bookshelves with a glut of other forensic mysteries. He finds that the genre is both oversaturated and much decayed in past years. Still, he believes his work continues to rise above the fray . “I do believe that my forensic material is about as accurate as it can get. And of course I think I’m just a better writer than most of my colleagues: wittier, sharper, a better plotter. But then, every writer who is being honest would tell you that, I think. But in my case it’s true!”
To learn more about Aaron Elkins visit aaronelkins.com.
