BookFinder.com Acquired by Abebooks

BookFinder.com has been acquired by Abebooks, based in Victoria BC. BookFinder.com, a price comparison shopping service dedicated to books based out of Berkeley CA, will remain an independently operated and managed entity. Abebooks connects buyers with sellers via its five websites and is dedicated solely to books. It does not compete with its booksellers by also owning and selling books. The purchase of BookFinder.com continues Abebooks' growth through organic development and acquisition.

See the press release of the acquisition on Abebooks' website.

Mystery Hardcover Bestsellers (11/11/2005)

A list of the top ten mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending November 11, 2005 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

Mini-Mysteries (Minute Mysteries)

Mini-mysteries or minute mysteries are short mystery stories that can be read in as little as two minutes and end with a question challenging the reader to solve the mystery; the solution is given separately. Most mini-mysteries involve crimes, though mini-mysteries written for children may involve a puzzling situation instead. Mini-mysteries typically include all the essential elements of the traditional whodunit such as suspects, clues, alibis, etc.

Many schools use mini-mysteries as an effective resource in the classroom. Students become intrigued by the elements that comprise detective fiction and learn to use critical thinking, deductive reasoning, and logic to analyze the clues given and propose a reasonable solution based on the facts presented in the story.

Mini-mysteries appeal to readers of all ages and abilities for the simple reason that everyone enjoys a puzzle and there's satisfaction in following the clues and coming up with the solution.

Although there are several websites that offer mini-mysteries to read online, the best way to enjoy these stories is in print form where they can be shared together with your family. Though mini-mysteries are popular, they can be difficult to locate in your local bookstore. Amazon.com offers many mini-mysteries that can be purchased online and delivered to your doorstep.

Hyperion to Publish "Lost" Fictional Mystery Manuscript

Variety is reporting that Hyperion, the publishing unit of Disney (which owns ABC), will publish a fictional manuscript based on a script idea from the series "Lost". Producers of the show intend to introduce a new storyline centering on the discovery of this manuscript as the work of a fictitious author who perished in the "Lost" plane crash. According to production sources, the novel will be called "Bad Twin" and is a private-eye mystery about a wealthy heir's search for his evil sibling. Hyperion has hired a "well-known" mystery writer to author the book.

Read the original Variety article here, and a related article from the Honolulu StarBulletin here.

Featured Mystery: Cover Your Assets by Patricia Smiley

Mysterious Press is scheduled to release this week the second mystery to feature L. A. business consultant Tucker Sinclair, Cover Your Assets by Patricia Smiley. If you enjoyed the first entry in this series, False Profits, you're in for a treat with Cover Your Assets.

After discovering the lethal side of climbing the corporate ladder, Tucker leaves her fast-track career at Aames & Associates and opens her own management consulting firm. But four's a crowd at the beach cottage she shares with her actress mother, Pookie, Pookie's twenty-pounds-and-counting Westie terrier, and Pookie's new aging hippie boyfriend, Bruce.

With life as normal as it's ever going to get, Tucker's totally blindsided when a cop appears on her doorstep one sunny, spring morning. His news is even more shocking: Evan Brice has just been found stabbed to death. An aspiring poet-turned-agent-to-wannabe-stars, Brice was once the love of Tucker's life. Until he dumped her and married her best friend-now the prime suspect in his murder. With the media dogging her every step and celebrity hounds out for blood, it's up to Tucker to find out who wanted Brice dead.

Between the feng shui-ing of her home, a persistent homicide detective on her tail, and the trials of landing a date for her ex-husband's wedding, Tucker uncovers a Hollywood A-list of enemies and lovers…and a secret life that leads her into the dark underbelly of the drug and porn industries. Speeding in her silver Boxster from the scene of the crime into the sordid detritus of one man's past, she will have to make sure she's got her back covered-or a determined murderer will cancel her account for good.

Cover Your Assets is featured as a new mystery hardcover title for November 2005 on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

New Mystery Hardcovers for November 2005 (updated)

A list of new mystery hardcover titles to be published in November 2005 has been updated on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website. In particular, check out Air Dance Iguana (the fifth Alex Rutledge Key West mystery) by Tom Corcoran and Cover Your Assets (the second Tucker Sinclair mystery) by Patricia Smiley.

Author Profile: William G. Tapply

William G. Tapply is the author of the Boston-based Brady Coyne mystery series. The 21st of these, Nervous Water, was recently published by St. Martin's Press. He is also the author of numerous books about fly fishing and the outdoors. Tapply’s handbook, The Elements of Mystery Fiction: Writing a Modern Whodunit, is used in writing classes and workshops across the country. He is a Contributing Editor for Field & Stream, a columnist for American Angler, and has written hundreds of articles, stories and essays on many subjects for dozens of other publications.

William G. Tapply is married to Vicki Stiefel, herself an author of crime fiction, and together run The Writers Studio at Chickadee Farm. They live in Hancock, NH.

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books carries many hardcover first editions of William G. Tapply's books. Visit Amazon.com to find all of our featured author's works.

Sarah Graves Nail Biter Repair Tips Sweepstakes

Sarah Graves, author of the wonderful Home Repair is Homicide mystery series, is sponsoring a sweepstakes on her website. She's giving you the chance to submit your own helpful fix-its in the Nail Biter Repair Tips Sweepstakes. To enter, submit your contact information on her website together with a two-sentence repair tip that anyone can use around the home. The top entries will be judged by Sarah Graves herself and ten lucky winners will receive an autographed copy of Nail Biter. Hurry! Entries must be submitted by November 11, 2005.

Mystery Hardcover Bestsellers (11/04/2005)

A list of the top ten mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending November 04, 2005 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

Featured Mystery: Delete All Suspects by Donna Andrews

The fourth entry in Agatha Award winner Donna Andrews' Turing Hopper mystery series, Delete All Suspects, has been published by Berkley Prime Crime. Turing Hopper is a most unusual lead character in a mystery, being an almost-sentient computer.

After a hit-and-run leaves a young techie named Eddie in the hospital, Turing tries to help her PI friend Tim find out who did it. While Turing tries to break into Eddie's computers, her human friends do the legwork. It seems Eddie lets his seedy friends use his computers-and some are running highly unsavory websites. Others are using spam to con people out of their credit card numbers. Then the feds show up, looking for an online vigilante who's also using Eddie's computers. Now Turing and her friends are caught in the middle. They can't let the vigilante continue-but they also can't tell the FBI everything without revealing Turing's identity to the world.

Delete All Suspects is featured as one of the new mystery titles for November 2005 on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

Self-Publishing FAQ: an article by Moira Allen

Moira Allen is the editor of Writing-World.com (http://www.writing-world.com) and the author of more than 300 published articles. Her books on writing include Starting Your Career as a a Freelance Writer and The Writer's Guide to Queries, Pitches and Proposals. She has graciously agreed to allow the republication of some of her articles on related websites.

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books has added her comprehensive article on self-publishing (Self-Publishing FAQ) to its growing list of articles and books on writing and self-publishing, emphasizing those that feature writing or self-publishing mystery and/or detective fiction. Please visit the HSMB self-publishing home page for more information.

New Monthly Mystery Book Contest

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books has introduced a new monthly mystery book contest where you can enter to win a free mystery book signed by the author. This month's mystery book is To the Nines by Janet Evanovich. One entry per person or e-mail address, please.

Visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books to enter this contest as well as check out the other features on the website: mystery book reviews, mystery trivia, new hardcover mystery titles, mystery bestsellers, mystery author and publisher links, and more!

St. Martin's Press Mystery Book Contest Winners

The winners of the annual St. Martin's Press first mystery contest for Best Traditional Mystery and Best Private Eye Novel have been added to the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website. The mystery book awards list also currently includes winners of the Edgar, the Agatha, the Anthony, the Shamus, the Macavity, and the Hammett.

Mystery Hardcover Bestsellers (10/28/2005)

A list of the top ten mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending October 28, 2005 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

Featured Mystery: Sacred Cows by Karen E. Olsen

To honor Sara Freed, the former editor-in-chief of Mysterious Press who died last year, the Time Warner Book Group has established the Sara Ann Freed Memorial Award for a first mystery novel. Sacred Cows, an Annie Seymour mystery by Karen E. Olsen, was the first winner of this award.

After a late night on the town, New Haven police reporter Annie Seymour is yanked from her bed by an early morning phone call from her editor. Soon she's shivering on a wet, dark city street, staring down at the once beautiful, now broken, body of a Yale University coed.
Paid to observe and get just the facts before writing up her stories for the New Haven Herald, Annie finds herself drawn to the story of an Ivy League sophomore whose secret moonlighting led to her violent murder. But after Annie links the girl's death to a network of vice and fraud buried deep in the city's shadows, the cynical reporter is shocked to discover her own mother is involved.

With help from a sexy private investigator, Annie investigates but stumbles upon one obstacle after another. Her cop lover stonewalls her, her editor pulls her off the assignment to cover a surreal parade of fiberglass cows grazing throughout the city, and an overeager cub reporter nips at her heels to get the scoop for himself.

Caught in the center of a treacherous scheme, Annie must take the biggest gamble of her career-outwit a dangerous con man to uncover the truth that could win her that elusive Pulitzer…or a mention in the next day's obituary.

Sacred Cows is featured as one of the new mystery titles for September 2005 on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.