Mystery Book Review: South Beach Shakedown by Don Bruns

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, has written our review of South Beach Shakedown: The Diary of Gideon Pike by Don Bruns. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

South Beach Shakedown by Don Bruns
A Mick Sever Mystery
Oceanview Publishing (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-933515-02-3 (1933515023)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933515-02-1 (9781933515021)
Publication Date: September 2006
List Price: $24.95

Synopsis (from the publisher): Someone is about to make a killing in the music industry. Why would songwriting legend Gideon Pike mysteriously disappear just when he is about to turn a 30-year career into a multi-million dollar profit?

Music columnist Mick Sever is back in Don Brun’s third suspense masterpiece. This time he’s looking for answers and his missing friend in the gritty backrooms of South Beach’s biggest nightclubs, dodging suicide speedboats and running from sniper fire. What surfaces is how the major players in the music industry are not making the headlines, they’re just pulling the strings that create them. Hit it right, and the royalties – even someone else’s – can rake in millions for the rest of your life. The key is finding Gideon before Korean mobster Jimmy Shinn does. Jimmy is ready to cash in on the one secret that will bring Gideon to his knees and strip away what’s left of his career, his fortune, and his life. Whoever gets to Gideon first will ether save him or pull the trigger.

The deadly race is on.

Review: South Beach Shakedown: The Diary of Gideon Pike is the third entry in the mystery series featuring music and entertainment reporter Mick Sever, this time set in sunny and sultry Miami.

At the request of his ex-wife, Ginny, Sever travels to Miami to search for Gideon Pike, a legend of rock and roll and an old friend of Sever's, who has suddenly disappeared after agreeing to allow Ginny to publish his diaries. Though controlling a music catalog worth hundreds of millions of dollars, Gideon is living a fairly austere lifestyle leaving Sever to wonder if this change of fortune has anything to do with a Korean businessman who seems to be intimately involved in Gideon's corporate and personal activities. When some of Gideon's associates are subsequently murdered, Sever looks into Gideon's past and discovers long buried secrets that someone is willing to kill to keep hidden.

The primary problem with South Beach Shakedown is that, with one notable exception, Bruns doesn't develop his characters in any meaningful way, and especially falls flat with the series character, Mick Sever. No matter how interesting a plot may be, if a book is populated with 1-dimensional characters, it simply isn't compelling. The exception here is the richly drawn Jimmy Shinn, Sever's nemesis in the story, though even his presence isn't enough to recommend this book.

Bruns favors a choppy style of writing, using short sentences and paragraphs, clipped dialog, and chapters rarely longer than a few pages. For a mystery set in the world of rock and roll, South Beach Shakedown never develops a rhythm of its own.

Special thanks to Maryglenn McCombs Book Publicity for providing an ARC of South Beach Shakedown: The Diary of Gideon Pike for this review.

Review Copyright © 2006 Hidden Staircase Mystery Books

Visit Mysterious Reviews for other reviews of current and upcoming mystery books. The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books is commited to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Mystery Book Contest: Win a Set of Signed Mysteries by Hailey Lind

New! The True Faux Contest is now available on The Mystery Book Contest Website. Enter daily through October 31, 2006, for a chance to win one of two prize packages featuring copies of the Art Lover's Mysteries by Hailey Lind, each personally signed by the author, and a faux finishing kit!

The mysteries featured in this prize package are:

Feint of Art, the first Art Lover's mystery featuring former art-forger-gone-good Annie Kincaid, whose search for several Old Master drawings may draw her back into the underworld of forgers she swore she'd left behind.

Shooting Gallery, in which Annie has a dead sculptor and a missing Chagall to deal with, mysteries that she must solve fast, because art is long, but life can be very, very short. (Available for purchase October 3, 2006.)


The True Faux Contest is sponsored by Hailey Lind, author of the Art Lover's mysteries, and Mysterious Reviews. Reviews of Feint of Art and Shooting Gallery are available on the Mysterious Reviews website.

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Mystery Book Review: Strawberry Moon by Robert Underhill

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, has written our review of Strawberry Moon by Robert Underhill. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

Strawberry Moon by Robert Underhill
A Hoss Davis Mystery
Arbutus Press (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-9766104-4-2 (0976610442)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9766104-4-1 (9780976610441)
Publication Date: May 2006
List Price: $16.95

Synopsis (from the publisher): When Dr. Barbara Wilson fails to pick up her daughter from school and then does not show up for rounds at the hospital, the Leelanau County sheriff’s department initially treats her disappearance as a carjacking. But when her strangled and scalped body is discovered near her van in the woods outside town, Sheriff Hoss Davis suspects Harry Swifthawk, a member of the Band of Ottawa and Chippewa, who has caused Hoss many problems in the past and has gone into hiding. Davis must walk a fine line in dealing with the tribal authorities, the group of suspects who begin to crop up, and the FBI, which holds jurisdiction.

Review: Strawberry Moon, what the northwestern Michigan Chippewa call the first full moon of summer, is also the title of Robert Underhill's debut mystery, an intricately plotted novel of suspense.

Following the disappearance of a local doctor, Sheriff Hoss Davis is presented with three viable suspects, each of whom seems to have means, motive, and opportunity: her husband, her psychiatrist, and a member of the Chippewa tribe. Sensing a weakness in the Sheriff's investigation, a local land developer sees the chance to do some political damage as well, adding to Davis' troubles and possible list of guilty parties. Underhill credibly interleaves all these storylines—just as one suspect seems to be the obvious culprit, the perspective changes and another takes his place.

It's all very well done up to a point. Several key plot elements remain unresolved at the end of the book, some of which are rather crucial to the resolution of the story. And the oddly ambiguous epilogue raises, probably intentionally, more still more questions.

The final chapters aside, Strawberry Moon is a captivating mystery that deserves a wider audience.

Special thanks to Arbutus Press for providing an ARC of Strawberry Moon for this review.

Review Copyright © 2006 Hidden Staircase Mystery Books

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News: The Strange Case of Hercule Poirot

P. D. James investigates an enduring mystery: Just how has Agatha Christie's best-loved fictional detective survived so long? That is a mystery that might defeat the bizarre Belgian himself.

Hercule Poirot made his debut in Agatha Christie's first detective story, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, which was written during World War I but did not come out until 1920, after being rejected by a number of publishers. The story foreshadows the development of Christie's art, but her hero, far from developing, remains essentially the same. He appears in over 30 novels and 50 stories, and we learn that his eyes appear green in moments of excitement, that he acquires a chauffeur, George, and an efficient secretary, Miss Lemon. He lives in Whitehaven Mansions, a starkly modern London flat which satisfies his love of symmetry and order. We are never privy to his private thoughts and we see and know him only through the eyes of other characters.

But the fact that we feel we know Poirot intimately while actually knowing very little is an advantage. He is at the center of the novel, yet we are never distracted from his purpose - the solving of the crime - nor does he compete for psychological interest with other characters.

Read the rest of this fascinating article on Telegraph.co.uk here.

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books is commited to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Mystery Godoku: Weekly Puzzle for August 28, 2006

A new Mystery Godoku Puzzle has been created by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and is available on our website.

Godoku is similar to Sudoku, but uses letters instead of numbers. To give you a headstart, we provide you a mystery clue to fill in a complete row or column (if you choose to use it!).

This week's letters and mystery clue: A E G L M O R U Y. She is the author of the Deputy Sheriff Claire Watkins mysteries (9 letters).

Previous puzzles are stored in the Mystery Godoku Archives.

Enjoy the weekly Mystery Godoku Puzzle from the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, and Thanks for visiting our website!

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News: LA Times Launches Black Dahlia Archive Site

The Los Angeles Times in association with Universal Pictures has launched a website with original articles on the murder from the newspaper's archives to promote the upcoming release of The Black Dahlia.

Titled The Black Dahlia: The Story as it was Originally Reported, the site includes a downloadable map (PDF format) of the area where the crime took place and reproductions of actual articles from the LA Times reporting on the murder and subsequent investigation.

The Black Dahlia film trailer and photos from the movie are also available to view.

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books is commited to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Mystery Bestsellers for August 25, 2006

A list of the top ten mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending August 25, 2006 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

Not much change in the lists this week. The most significant newcomer is Messenger of Truth, the 4th Maisie Dobbs mystery by Jacqueline Winspear. The night before an exhibition of his artwork opens at a famed Mayfair gallery, the controversial artist Nick Bassington-Hope falls to his death. The police rule it an accident, but Nick's twin sister, Georgina, a wartime journalist and a infamous figure in her own right, isn't convinced. When the authorities refuse to consider her theory that Nick was murdered, Georgina seeks out a fellow graduate from Girton College, Maisie Dobbs, psychologist and investigator, for help. Nick was a veteran of World War I, and before long the case leads Maisie to the desolate beaches of Dungeness in Kent, and into the sinister underbelly of the city's art world. Maisie once again uncovers the perilous legacy of the Great War in a society struggling to recollect itself. But to solve the mystery of Nick's death, Maisie will have to keep her head as the forces behind the artist's fall come out of the shadows to silence her. Mysterious Reviews states that "... Messenger of Truth will almost certainly be remembered as one of the best mysteries of the year."

Visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books often where we provide readers and collectors of mysteries with the best and most current information about their favorite mystery authors, books, and series.

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Mystery Book Review: The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, has written our review of The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld
Non-series
Henry Holt (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-8050-8098-8 (0805080988)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-8098-8 (9780805080988)
Publication Date: September 2006
List Price: $26.00

Synopsis (from the publisher): In this ingenious, suspenseful historical thriller, Sigmund Freud is drawn into the mind of a sadistic killer who is savagely attacking Manhattan’s wealthiest heiresses.

Inspired by Sigmund Freud’s only visit to America, The Interpretation of Murder is an intricate tale of murder and the mind’s most dangerous mysteries. It unfurls on a sweltering August evening in 1909 as Freud disembarks from the steamship George Washington, accompanied by Carl Jung, his rival and protégé. Across town, in an opulent apartment high above the city, a stunning young woman is found dangling from a chandelier—whipped, mutilated, and strangled. The next day, a second beauty—a rebellious heiress who scorns both high society and her less adventurous parents—barely escapes the killer. Yet Nora Acton, suffering from hysteria, can recall nothing of her attack. Asked to help her, Dr. Stratham Younger, America’s most committed Freudian analyst, calls in his idol, the Master himself, to guide him through the challenges of analyzing this high-spirited young woman whose family past has been as complicated as his own.

The Interpretation of Murder leads readers from the salons of Gramercy Park, through secret passages, to Chinatown—even far below the currents of the East River where laborers are building the Manhattan Bridge. As Freud fends off a mysterious conspiracy to destroy him, Younger is drawn into an equally thrilling adventure that takes him deep into the subterfuges of the human mind.

Review: Sigmund Freud's pioneering work on psychoanalysis, William Shakespeare's Hamlet, the aristrocracy of New York in the early 20th century, and the construction of the Manhattan Bridge are all key elements of Jed Rubenfeld's well plotted though curiously rather languid murder mystery, The Interpretation of Murder.

Freud actually plays a minor role in The Interpretation of Murder. The investigation of the murder and attempted murder of two wealthy young women in New York City is conducted by two principal characters in the book: Dr. Stratham Younger, a Freudian adherent, and Detective Jimmy Littlemore of the police department. Younger analyzes the actions, motives, relationships, and personalities of all those involved in the crimes while Littlemore methodically and energetically hypothesizes on what might have happened and sets out to determine if it could, or did, happen. The juxtaposition of the two approaches works well in The Interpretation of Murder, lending credibility to the sometimes implausible.

The historical elements of The Interpretation of Murder both add to, and detract from, the story. It is interesting to see how Younger incorporates both the theories of Freud and the writing of Shakespeare into his investigation, but much of the academic debate regarding Freud, Carl Yung, and the Triumvirate is completely irrelevant to the mystery.

Rubenfeld oddly chose to write Younger's role in first person narrative, using third person point of view for the rest of the book. With at least two principal characters, this method doesn't work well. Rubenfeld illustrates how ill-considered this literary approach was by inexplicably writing a pivotal chapter near the end of the book that includes Younger but is written in third person. Based on this chapter alone, it is highly likely that had the entire book been written in third person, the result would have been significantly better.

The Interpretation of Murder is a cleverly devised murder mystery and Rubenfeld is clearly a talented writer. But flaws in style and editing prevent it from being a memorable novel of suspense fiction.

Special thanks to FSB Associates for providing an ARC of The Interpretation of Murder for this review.

Review Copyright © 2006 Hidden Staircase Mystery Books

Visit Mysterious Reviews for other reviews of current and upcoming mystery books. The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books is commited to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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News: Nominees for 2006 Quill Book Awards Released

The Quill Book Awards, which celebrates the best books of the year in nineteen popular categories, has released their list of nominees for 2006. The Quills, an initiative launched with the support of Reed Business Information and NBC Universal Television Stations, is designed to be an industry qualified "consumers choice" awards program for books, honoring the current titles readers deem most entertaining and enlightening.

In the Mystery/Suspense/Thriller category, the nominees are:

Michael Connelly: The Lincoln Lawyer (Little Brown)
Arthur Conan Doyle: The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes (Norton)
Harlan Coben: Promise Me (Dutton)
Elizabeth Peters: Tomb of the Golden Bird (Morrow)
Janet Evanovich: Twelve Sharp (St. Martin's Press)

Consumer voting is now open at www.quillsvote.com. Voting will continue through September 30th with the winners announced at the Quills awards ceremony October 10th in New York City.

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books is commited to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Press Release: Got Game Entertainment's Barrow Hill: Curse of the Ancient Circle Debuts

Unique first person adventure game sets archaeological mystery against the backdrop of an eerie Cornish landscape

WESTON, Conn., Aug. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The myths and mysteries of ancient Cornwall now haunt North America as Got Game Entertainment LLC today announced that Barrow Hill: Curse of the Ancient Circle has shipped to game retailers. Adventure meets archaeology against the backdrop of an eerie Cornish landscape in this unique first person adventure game for the PC which also comes bundled with bonus features on the real Cornwall, a land rich in folklore, magic, and danger.

Barrow Hill: Curse of the Ancient Circle finds you stranded on a lonely road leading to Cornwall's ancient burial ground of Barrow Hill. Following in the footsteps of fictional archaeologist Conrad Morse, you soon discover that this barrow is frighteningly more than just a mound of earth and a collection of forgotten standing stones. Via the game's point and click interface, and using real archaeological techniques, explore well trodden pathways across the land, seek clues in almost forgotten shrines, unearth ancient artifacts, and delve into Celtic legends to ultimately unravel a detailed and spellbinding mystery.

The engrossing story and Cornish setting of Barrow Hill: Curse of the Ancient Circle transport you to another place. Artistically detailed and moody game environments reflecting the mystical countryside of England's westernmost county, famous for its tales of pirates, ghosts, and sinister ancient sites, coupled with the included bonus travel features, allow you to delve deeply into the supernatural wonders of Cornwall.

Visit the Barrow Hill website for more information and where you can also download the trailer and a demo version of the game.

Games for Mystery provides information about all types of mystery-themed games including games for the PC, board games, mystery parties for adults, teens, and children, mystery vacations, and mysteries online.

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News: Cornwell Donates Sickert Art to Harvard

Patricia Cornwell, author of Portrait of a Killer in which she named British impressionist painter Walter Sickert as Jack the Ripper, has donated the collection of 82 pieces of art by Sickert that she assembled during her research for the book to Harvard University's Fogg Art Museum.

Though Cornwell was not the first person to link Sickert to the deaths of at least five women in London's East End in 1888, she believed that DNA taken from his artwork could be linked to a sample taken from a letter purported to be written by Jack the Ripper.

The art collection includes 24 paintings, 22 drawings, and 36 prints. Estimated to be worth in excess of $5 million, they are currently on loan to the museum.

Cornwell has also donated 23 prints and 2 drawings by James McNeill Whistler to the museum. Sickert studied under Whistler, who is probably best known for his portrait of "Whistler's Mother", a severely dressed woman with a bonnet on a rocking chair.

Read more on this story on The Independent here.

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Profile: Cynthia Riggs Pens Senior Sleuth Mysteries

Martha’s Vineyard is no place to commit murder - not if you hope to get away with it, writes Valerie A. Russo for The Patriot Ledger. Since 2001, seven cases have been solved by Victoria Trumbull, the 92-year-old amateur sleuth of the series written by Martha's Vineyard author Cynthia Riggs.

"My mother, Dionis Coffin Riggs, lived to be almost 99; the series is my way of keeping her alive," said Riggs, a 13th generation Islander. "She was a poet, not a sleuth, but she was a strong woman and very active ‘til the day she died. People who knew her say they recognize her in the character ‘Victoria’."

The Victoria Trumbull mysteries, titled after plants that grow on Martha's Vineyard, are Agatha Christie-style cozies. In addition to more books in this series, she is starting a new mystery series based on her house-boating experiences.

The entire article profiling this interesting and active author can be read on Patriot Ledger.com here.

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books is commited to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series. Please visit often!

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Mystery Book Review: Page One: Hit and Run by Nancy Barr

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, has written our review of Page One: Hit and Run by Nancy Barr. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

Page One: Hit and Run by Nancy Barr
A Robin Hamilton Mystery
ISBN-10: 1-933926-15-5 (1933926155)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933926-15-5 (9781933926155)
Publication Date: July 2006
List Price: $16.95

Synopsis (from the publisher): Sassy, gutsy, reporter Robin Hamilton investigates a murder in a small-town where things are not always as they seem. No one can be trusted. As Robin covers the scoop of a hit and run for the local newspaper, a killer watches her every move.

Review: Nancy Barr introduces Robin Hamilton, a journalist who has recently returned to her home town in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, in the crisply written Page One: Hit and Run.

When a pillar of the community is killed by a hit and run outside her home, Robin begins to think it may have been more than just a tragic accident. The owner of the truck involved in the incident is quickly identified and take into custody. But his story doesn't quite fit the facts and for personal reasons, Robin feels compelled to commence her own investigation. As she conducts both on and off the record interviews with the people involved in the story, she uncovers a complex scheme of deception, fraud, and murder.

Though the plot is, at times, unnecessarily complicated, Barr handles her narrative smoothly. A journalist herself from the Upper Peninsula, she adds authentic details about how a small town newspaper operates and of the community which it serves. Her experience as a news editor shows in her writing, effectively blending concise, clear prose with descriptive details.

Page One: Hit and Run, with its engaging sleuth and appealing locale, serves as a promising start to this mystery series.

Special thanks to Arbutus Press for providing a copy of Page One: Hit and Run for this review.

Review Copyright © 2006 Hidden Staircase Mystery Books

Visit Mysterious Reviews for other reviews of current and upcoming mystery books. The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books is commited to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Mystery Godoku: Weekly Puzzle for August 21, 2006

A new Mystery Godoku Puzzle has been created by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and is available on our website.

Godoku is similar to Sudoku, but uses letters instead of numbers. To give you a headstart, we provide you a mystery clue to fill in a complete row or column (if you choose to use it!).

This week's letters and mystery clue: A B C K O R S T Y. The 30th Spenser mystery in the series by Robert B. Parker had this title (9 letters).

Previous puzzles are stored in the Mystery Godoku Archives.

Enjoy the weekly Mystery Godoku Puzzle from the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, and Thanks for visiting our website!

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Mystery Game: Mansfield Manor Review

Marc Saltzman of the Gannett News Service recently reviewed the new online interactive mystery game, Mystery at Mansfield Manor.

This clever whodunit can best be described as an online interactive movie with nearly three hours of live-action video, Saltzman writes.

The game stars 14 real actors -- most of whom are suspects -- and it's your job as Detective Frank Mitchell to interrogate each one to solve the murder of a wealthy oil industrialist, Colin Mansfield Sr.

Saltzman adds, while a clever concept, Mystery at Mansfield Manor does suffer from occasional overacting, not to mention cliches, such as a renowned detective who is called to the case on the eve of his retirement; a lawyer who is holding unannounced changes to the deceased's will; and the attractive, young and money-hungry "companion" with eyes for other men.

He concludes his review by stating that this murder-mystery adventure is ideal for those in search of a fun challenge, though after you've solved the mystery, there is no reason to play again, unless you want to see the multiple endings.

Read the entire review as published on CNN.com here.

Games for Mystery provides information about all types of mystery-themed games including games for the PC, board games, mystery parties for adults, teens, and children, mystery vacations, and mysteries online.

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