Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Mystery Book Review: Mama Does Time by Deborah Sharp

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of Mama Does Time by Deborah Sharp. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

Mama Does Time by Deborah Sharp

by
A Mace Bauer Mystery

Midnight Ink (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-7387-1329-5 (0738713295)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7387-1329-8 (9780738713298)
Publication Date: October 2008
List Price: $13.95

Review: Deborah Sharp introduces Mason "Mace" Bauer, daughter to Rosalee Deveraux a.k.a. Mama, a multi-married, sherbet-colored pantsuit wearing, beauty parlor aromatherapist, in Mama Does Time, a delightful mystery set in Florida.

It’s September in Himmarshee, a town so small it is virtually unheard of outside the county and even if a random visitor managed to find it they couldn't pronounce it. 62-year-old Mama's been taken to the jail by the new detective in town, Carlos Martinez from Miami, for questioning in the death of a man whose body was found in the trunk of her vintage Cadillac convertible. The victim, Jim Alpert, was the owner of the local Booze and Breeze drive-thru, and fiancé of Mama’s new bingo buddy Emma Jean Valentine. Every one in Himmarshee knows Mama would never ever hurt any one, so the thought of her killing someone is ludicrous. Except for Detective Martinez who clearly thinks otherwise.

Although Himmarshee is certainly no tourist center, like most Florida towns it does have an animal park. Mace, Mama's middle daughter who loves the outdoors and the animals, is the caretaker of the park. Mace finds Detective Martinez’s handling of the murder of Jim Alpert outrageous and decides to begin a search on her own for the murderer. Martinez warns her to back off and to let the professionals handle the case, but she knows her mother is innocent and wants her out of jail. For her efforts Mace is run off the road in her Jeep, she and her mother receive threatening notes, and her house is broken into. Each time Martinez warns her to back off. But Mace knows at least three persons who had a good motive for wanting to see Alpert dead, and she's pretty sure she's next on the list.

Much of the appeal of Mama Does Time is in the relationship Mama has with her daughters. This close-knit family of women argue with the best of them, but are fiercely protective of each other. The writing is sharp and the characters quick-witted. The situations Mama and her daughters find themselves in provide much of the humor which has an authentic Southern charm to it. That the plot seems to be secondary to everything else doesn't lessen the interest in the story.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Mama Does Time and to asdf for providing a copy of the book for this review.

Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.

Buy from Amazon.com

If you are interested in purchasing Mama Does Time from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

Synopsis (from the publisher): Meet Mama: a true Southern woman with impeccable manners, sherbet-colored pantsuits, and four prior husbands, able to serve sweet tea and sidestep alligator attacks with equal aplomb. Mama's antics -- especially her penchant for finding trouble -- drive her daughters Mace, Maddie, and Marty to distraction.

One night, while settling in to look for ex-beaus on COPS, Mace gets a frantic call from her mother. This time, the trouble is real: Mama found a body in the trunk of her turquoise convertible and the police think she's the killer. It doesn't help that the handsome detective assigned to the case seems determined to prove Mama's guilt or that the cowboy who broke Mace's heart shows up at the local Booze ‘n' Breeze in the midst of the investigation. Before their mama lands in prison -- just like an embarrassing lyric from a country-western song -- Mace and her sisters must find the real culprit.

For more visit Mysterious Reviews, a partner with the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books which is committed to providing readers and collectors of with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Mystery Savings: Up to $20 off at Alibris.com

Mystery Savings: Discounted Products and Services on Books, Movies, and more!

Mystery Savings periodically provides our readers with current promotions that offer discounts or other incentives for purchasing mystery-themed products and services products through our partner websites. Below is a special offer recently received by us that we're pleased to pass on at this time.

Save up to $20 off books, music, and movies at Alibris.com. From now through February 08, 2009, the following coupon codes can be used to save on all your purchases from one of the largest online retailers of books:

Use coupon code LAW for $2 off $20 or more;
PHYSICS for $4 off $40 or more;
BIOCHEM for $7 off $70 or more;
MARINEBIO for $10 off $100 or more;
ECOLOGY for $15 off $150 or more; or
ECON for $20 off $200 or more.

Click on the Alibris banner below to start shopping. For even more savings, search for books that are eligible for free shippping. When Alibris is listed as a book's seller, it ships from their warehouse and is eligible for free shipping to U.S. addresses. Click on the Free Shipping link on the right side of the home page to browse for books that qualify.

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Tuesday, December 30, 2008

NPR Interviews Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark

NPR has an interview this morning with mystery authors Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter . There's also an excerpt (both as part of the audio version and following the written profile) of their latest collaboration, Dashing Through the Snow, their fifth holiday mystery.

When asked if they share plot ideas or keep them to themselves, "Oh, we wouldn't steal from each other," says Carol Higgins Clark, named for one of the characters in her mother's first published short story. "We actually fax each other pages as we're working on our separate books, just to get feedback." "You know, when you're writing and rewriting, you can get so close to it that it suddenly seems dull," says Mary Higgins Clark. "You need fresh eyes you can count on to say, 'That's fine. What are you worried about?'"

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New Hardcover Mysteries for January 2009

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books has updated its list of with books scheduled for publication in January 2009.

As we've done for several months now, we're listing those authors with returning series characters, new series characters, and non-series or stand-alone mysteries in separate sections. All titles are available on our page. We're also using the "carousel" widget by Amazon.com to display a random selection of titles; refreshing this page will change the selection displayed.

Authors with mysteries having returning series characters (in parentheses) this month:

(Jade Del Cameron), (Shane Scully), (Alafair Tucker), Alys Clare (Hawkenlye), (Dixie Hemingway), Robert Ludlum and James Cobb (Covert One), (Milt Kovak), (Stephanie Plum), (Madeline Bean), (Dek Ekstrom), (Valentin St. Cyr), (Mario Silva), (Sookie Stackhouse, Southern Vampire), Hugh Holton (Larry Cole), (Donna Galbreath, Cedar Harbor), Stuart M. Kaminsky (Lew Fonesca), (Rick Redman), Ralph M. McInerny (Father Dowling), (Savannah Reid), (Harry Hole), (Armand Gamache), (Jane Whitefield), Rosemary Rowe (Libertus Mystery of Roman Britain), Alan Savage (Duncan Morant), (Cealie Gunther), (Ian Rutledge), (Will Lee)

Authors with mysteries introducing new series characters (in parentheses) this month:

(Eliot Ness), (Gary Goodhew), (Karl Werthen and Hanns Gross), (Emmanuel Cooper), (Lola Cruz)

Authors with non-series or stand-alone mysteries this month:

, , , , , , , , , Karen Tintori and Jill Gregory, , Jack Higgins, , , , , , , , , Erica Spindler, , Paul Block and Robert Vaughan

For more information on any of these titles, please visit the page on our website. If you're interested in new paperbacks, visit where you can discover a library of new mysteries, also updated with January 2009 releases.

Please visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books where we are committed to providing readers and collectors of with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Mystery Savings: Free Backpack with $100 or more at B&N.com

Mystery Savings: Discounted Products and Services on Books, Movies, and more!

Mystery Savings periodically provides our readers with current promotions that offer discounts or other incentives for purchasing mystery-themed products and services products through our partner websites. Below is a special offer recently received by us that we're pleased to pass on at this time.

From now through January 30, 2009, Barnes&Noble.com is offering a free traveler backpack when making a single purchase of $100 of more at bn.com. Be sure to check out the offer details on the home page for restrictions and other requirements.

The backpack, shown below, designed exclusively for Barnes & Noble customers, is the perfect bag for carrying your books to class or your gear to the gym. It's light-weight and strong, with re-enforced padding in the back and on the shoulder straps, and includes 3 compartments to help you stay organized. It is regularly priced at $24.95.

Getting your free backpack couldn't be easier: place $100 of qualifying items in your cart, go to the backpack page and add the bag to your cart, and proceed to checkout.

Get a FREE Backpack when you spend $100 or more.

Get a FREE Backpack when you spend $100 or more.

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Monday, December 29, 2008

New Mysteries: Beat the Reaper Website and Trailer

We were reading tweets this morning (yes, we twitter, mostly about ; you can follow us at twitter.com/mysteries), and one from Little Brown caught our eye: a website promoting the upcoming debut suspense novel Beat the Reaper by .

BeatTheReaper.com has all the usual promotional material that accompanies a new release but also has a clever book trailer, a fairly lame and silly game, and excerpts from the book (don't overlook the footnotes!) and audiobook. Turn on your speakers; the background music is really pretty good.

Beat the Reaper comes out next month but is available for pre-order. Our page is online, though not yet linked, but you can get a preview by following the link above. We'll formally post the page of January releases tomorrow or Wednesday.

We don't have any plans to review Beat the Reaper but maybe we can get Little Brown to send us a copy. It does, however, seem like a promising debut.

Please visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books where we are committed to providing readers and collectors of with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Mystery Book Review: The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo

by
A Matt Stevens Mystery

Amulet Books (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-8109-7067-8 (0810970678)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8109-7067-0 (9780810970678)
Publication Date: September 2008
List Price: $15.95

Review: Jack D. Ferraiolo introduces middle school private investigator Matt Stevens in The Big Splash, a hard-boiled noir mystery for young adults that pays homage to the masters of the genre.

The case seemed deceptively simple, but don't they all: Matt is hired by Vincent "Vinnie Biggs" Biggio to retrieve a pendant given by him to his former girlfriend, Nicole "Nicki Fingers" Finnegan. Not only was Nicki a girlfriend, she was also Vinnie's primary enforcer, a sharpshooter with a water gun. Nicki's gone straight to set an example for her younger sister, but just as Matt completes his assignment, Nicki is attacked with a stream of water by an unknown assailant. Matt's now in the middle trying to figure out what's going on. Is someone trying to muscle in on Vinnie's organization? Or is one of Nicki's many victims just getting payback? Or is it something more personal? The possibilities, and suspects, seem endless.

Narrated by Matt, the opening paragraph of The Big Splash definitively sets the tone for the entire book. One can immediately imagine Stacy Keach as Mike Hammer reciting these lines:

"He approached me as I made my way into the caf for lunch. He was small and wiry, with a face that would've been more at home on a rodent. His jaw moved slowly and with great purpose as it worked over a piece of fruit gum, the kind that gave off a sickeningly sweet smell but lost its flavor after three chews. His name was Joey Renoni, a.k.a. the Hyena, and I knew who he worked for."

The Big Splash is clearly written for a younger audience though readers not familiar with the noir classics may not fully appreciate the narrative style. It's likely older children and even adults will enjoy the book. The violence is minimal and references to more mature subjects are replaced by, though hardly masking, age-appropriate themes. From a plot perspective, in many ways Matt and the other characters are adults merely inhabiting children's bodies. Typical of the genre, the plot is filled with unexpected twists and turns, though it seems overly drawn out at times. Still, it's hard not to like Matt and get involved in his investigation as he discovers the true culprit behind the pusillanimous deed.

Though not specifically stated at any point that a sequel is planned, The Big Splash seems an ideal introduction to a noir series featuring Matt Stevens written for a middle school-age audience.

Special thanks to Amulet Books, an imprint of Harry N. Abrams, for providing a copy of The Big Splash for this review.

Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.

Buy from Amazon.com

If you are interested in purchasing The Big Splash from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

Synopsis (from the publisher): “The Frank” is in the clutches of a crime syndicate run by seventh-grader Vinny “Mr. Biggs” Biggio, who deals in forged hall passes and black-market candy. Double-cross him and your number is punched by one of his deadly water-gun-toting assassins. One hit in the pants and you are in “the Outs” forever.

Matt Stevens is a proud loner with his own code of justice. He’s avoided being pulled into Vinny’s organization until now: Mr. Biggs has offered him a job he can’t resist, one that leads to the surprising downfall of Vinny’s top assassin, the beautiful and deadly Nikki “Fingers” Finnegan, at the hands of an unknown assailant. Matt thinks he was used, and he becomes determined to find the trigger-guy or -girl, even if it means bringing down one of his oldest friends.

For more visit Mysterious Reviews, a partner with the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books which is committed to providing readers and collectors of with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Mysteries on TV: A Look Back at Foyle's War

Mysteries on TV

, your source for the most complete selection of detective, amateur sleuth, private investigator, and suspense television mystery series now available or coming soon to DVD, on Mondays typically profiles series that have DVD sets being released the following Tuesday. With the next new release of a mystery series not scheduled until after the first of the year, we thought we'd take the last three Mondays of 2008 to highlight some of our favorite series.

This week: Foyle's War.

Any discussion of our favorite series wouldn't be complete without mentioning . There were but 19 episodes filmed over a period of 5 years yet this series profoundly affected how we view mystery television.

Michael Kitchen starred as Detective Chief Inspector Christopher Foyle, a police officer in the southern coastal town of Hastings. The series is set during World War II and each episode is dated to correspond to a real time (and real events) during the war. Two other characters appeared in every episode: Foyle's right-hand man Sergeant Paul Milner was played by Anthony Howell, and Samantha "Sam" Stewart, Foyle's driver, was played by Honeysuckle Weeks. Julian Ovenden had a recurring role as Foyle's son, Andrew, an RAF pilot. The series was created and written by Anthony Horowitz.

No series is perfect, but Foyle's War comes close. Very close. The casting was ideal and the actor's portrayals of their characters was astonishly believable. Michael Kitchen in particular played Foyle in such a confident, understated manner that he projects a powerful screen presence. To be fair, the actors were given strongly developed characters by Horowitz. Foyle, for example, was never one willing to compromise, but he knew that war was not fair and that sometimes doing the right thing meant doing something unpopular, especially with his superiors. This conflict in values provided the foundation for many of the episodes.

The production values are as high as you'll ever see on series television. The south coast of England is meticulously depicted as it was during the 1940s and the visuals are frequently stunning to look at. If nothing else, it's a marvelous period series.

But what sets Foyle's War above many others of its kind is the first-rate writing and the intricate plots that compel the viewer to pay close attention, listen to every word and take in all details. Most episodes couple a war event (or something to do with the war) with a local crime. That they're connected is almost a given; how they're connected, and how Foyle will use the information available to him, is the mystery. Of the 19 episodes, only 2 or 3 are relatively weakly plotted (though when we rewatched the series with another couple, they completely disagreed). Still and all, it's a good track record.

All five sets of are available on DVD. (ITV aired the series in 6 sets with two of them consisting of 2 episodes each; these two sets were combined into one for the DVD release.) We've also put together a Foyle's War Squidoo lens with additional information about the characters and episodes.

And there may yet be more! Last April The Guardian reported that ITV was in discussion to continue the series as Foyle's Peace. In August, the Daily Mail stated the series was confirmed. But we can find nothing more definitive on the series published recently.

Visit the Mysteries on TV website to discover more currently available on DVD.

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Mystery Godoku Puzzle for December 29, 2008

A new has been created by the editors of the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and is now 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!).

Mystery Godoku Puzzle for December 29, 2008

This week's letters and mystery clue:

A B C D E G I M R

The Cassandra James mysteries by Christine Poulson are set in this university town (9 letters).

We now have two weeks of our puzzles on one page in PDF format for easier printing. Print this week's puzzle here.

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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A Note to our Readers ...

We moved to a new server last night. While we hope the transition was a seamless one, we apologize in advance for any disruption that you may encounter (or may have already encountered). Something we've already noticed is that e-mail subscribers received a long list of posts as if they were all "new". In fact, only the Sunday, December 28th, entries were new.

We hope that this new server will improve both performance and reliability and we'll keep you posted (as it were) on anything that may affect your reading of our blog. Thanks for visiting, we appreciate your support.

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Sunday, December 28, 2008

Best Mysteries of 2008 from January Magazine, Part 2

January Magazine has now published the second and final part of its selection of the best crime fiction of 2008. Listed alphabetically by title, and including their original review, part 2 includes books starting with the letter H and greater. We published a post about the first part of their list earlier today.

An interesting mix of bestsellers and little-known (outside the mystery world) titles. We hope that these "best" lists, including our own list of the , help spread the word about outstanding books readers may be missing.

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Mystery Book Review: Born to Run by James Grippando

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of Born to Run by James Grippando. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

Born to Run by James Grippando

Born to Run by
A Jack Swyteck Mystery

HarperCollins (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-06-155611-4 (0061556114)
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-155611-1 (9780061556111)
Publication Date: December 2008
List Price: $25.99

Review: Life for lawyer Jack Swyteck had never been what most people would call uneventful. Defending death row inmates in Florida is never an easy job, especially when your father, the governor, is frequently signing the orders of execution for your clients. But as Jack reached forty, it seemed his life was finally slowing down: his father was retiring, and both his job and relationship were going well.

Yet, everything turns around with the death of Jack’s father’s friend, who just happens to be the vice president. When his father is named to be the new VP, Jack finds himself drawn into the Washington world of power politics, and before long it becomes clear that nothing is as it seems. Drawn into a web of murder, intrigue, and deception, Jack finds himself inescapably involved in one of his most dangerous and fast-paced mysteries yet.

James Grippando shows that he is clearly a master of the thriller in Born to Run, his latest work featuring Swyteck. From its first pages, Born to Run is packed with action, making it a difficult book to put down. Readers who prefer a story that starts slow and builds gradually with clues will be disappointed, as the book fits an impossible amount of action into almost every scene and the story progresses quickly.

Despite being the eighth installment in this successful series, Born to Run is readable on its own. In fact, it’s a great place to pick up this popular series, as Grippando doesn’t skimp on his character development despite his work in earlier books. Jack Swyteck is witty and fun, and all of Gippando’s characters have strong, believable personalities that jump off the page along with the action.

Born to Run is a fun and exiting read that fans of the genre will undoubtedly enjoy. The scope of the drama in this political thriller may feel a bit over the top at some points, but the fun of the book is suspending disbelief and hanging on for the ride. Born to Run is especially recommended for reading during a long bus trip or a day at the beach because it will immediately pull you out of your chair and into a world of blackmail, murder, and dirty political secrets.

Special thanks to Rebecca Henderson for contributing her review of Born to Run.

Review Copyright © 2008 — Rebecca Henderson — All Rights Reserved — Reprinted with Permission

Buy from Amazon.com

If you are interested in purchasing Born to Run from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

Synopsis (from the publisher): criminal defense lawyer Jack Swyteck guards his own family secrets closely, after his father's two terms as Florida's governor made some personal rifts public. Things between the two men are finally better, and whenever Harry Swyteck asks for Jack's help he gets it. Suddenly, Harry needs it more than ever before.

When Harry's friend, the vice president of the United States, goes hunting for alligators in the Everglades and winds up dead, the president positions Harry to be his new VP. Harry immediately asks Jack to be his lawyer. The prestige that comes from the job turns lethal, however, when Jack finds himself at the heart of a complicated cover-up that spans nearly fifty years and the globe. Before hostages can be released, an old secret must be revealed, one that could threaten the life of the president of the United States himself.

For more visit Mysterious Reviews, a partner with the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books which is committed to providing readers and collectors of with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Games of Mystery: Suspects and Clues, New at Big Fish Games

Games of Mystery

, your source for mystery-themed electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, and mystery getaway vacations, is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery game from Big Fish Games released today. You can find out more about these games from our page or by clicking on the links provided below.

Suspects and Clues

Thieves, vandals, and counterfeiters have joined together for the heist of the century. You'll need keen visual skills to analyze the evidence, piece together clues, and track down the suspects in this photo hunt game. Featuring over 120 challenges with multiple puzzle types and beautiful images from around the world to engage your powers of perception.

Suspects and Clues may be downloaded and purchased for as little as $6.99 with the Big Fish Game Club Jumbo Pack. A demonstration version may be downloaded (50.27 MB) and played for one hour for free.

50% Off All Games at Big Fish Games

Big Fish Games is offering a special deal now through the end of the year. All games are 50% off! To realize your savings, click the Buy button for any game you want. Sign in or create a new account. Select the $19.99 price option. Then type in coupon code HOLIDAY2008 into the box. All purchases must be completed by January 01, 2009.

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Other popular games on our page include several and games, games in the series and in particular the latest, Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst, Art of Murder: FBI Confidential, the Carol Reed mystery Remedy, Veronica Rivers: Portals to the Unknown, Mystery Chronicles: Murder Among Friends, and The Treasures of Mystery Island.

And don't forget to visit for all kinds of mysterious fun!

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Saturday, December 27, 2008

Best Mysteries of 2008 from January Magazine

January Magazine has published the first in a multi-part series of its selection of the best crime fiction of 2008. Listed alphabetically by title, and including their original review, part 1 includes books through letter G.

Mixing some bestselling authors with newcomers, the list (so far) includes two titles that we also reviewed at and rated very highly: (which we called "first class entertainment") and (of which we said was "Swedish noir at its best").

There's no indication on the January Magazine website when the rest of their list will be published, but when it is, we'll let you know.

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Mystery Author Hillary Waugh Dies

The New York Times is reporting that prolific mystery author Hillary Waugh died on December 8th in Torrington CT. He was 88.

Waugh was widely recognized as a pioneer in the mystery subgenre of police procedurals with his 1952 novel Last Seen Wearing. In addition to his many stand-alone novels, he wrote several recurring series books, one of which, the 1959 novel Sleep Long, My Love featuring Chief of Police Fred C. Fellows, was made into the 1962 film Jigsaw. He also published many mysteries under pen names including H. Baldwin Taylor and Elissa Grandower.

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