New Hardcover Mysteries for December 2009

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books has updated its list of new hardcover mysteries with books scheduled for publication in December 2009. Please note that some titles may publish early (and may already be available) and some may be delayed, published at a later date.

Below 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 December mystery books 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:

Maggie Barbieri (Alison Bergeron), Steve Berry (Cotton Malone), Robin Burcell (Sydney Fitzpatrick), Stephen Coonts (Tommy Carmellini), Isis Crawford (Murder with Recipes), Loren D. Estleman (Valentino), Jonathan Gash (Lovejoy), Lee Goldberg (Mr. Monk), Ed Gorman (Sam McCain), Sue Grafton (Kinsey Millhone), Sarah Graves (Home Repair is Homicide), W. E. B. Griffin (Honor Bound), Cora Harrison (Mara, Brehon of the Burren), Stephen Hunter (Bob Lee Swagger), J. A. Jance (Ali Reynolds), Stan Jones (Nathan Active), Laura Lippman (Tess Monaghan), Colleen McCullough (Carmine Delmonico), Christopher Nicole (Anna Fehrbach), Barbara Parker (C. J. Dunn), Michael Pearce (Sandor Seymour), Ann Purser (Lois Meade), Betty Webb (Lena Jones), Liz Williams and Jon Foster (Inspector Chen)

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

M. R. Hall (Jenny Cooper), Jayne Ann Krentz (Dreamlight Trilogy), Russel D. McLean (J. McNee), Brad Parks (Carter Ross), James Patterson (Witch & Wizard), Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid (Sammy Greene), David Niall Wilson (DeChance Chronicles)

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

Colin Campbell, Anthony J. Cardieri, Michael Crichton, Barbara D'Amato, Jeanne M. Dams, and Mark Richard Zubro, Philip K. Dick, Richard Doetsch, Dominick Dunne, Martin Edwards, Julie Garwood, David Handler, Brandon Hebert, David Heinzmann, Tami Hoag, Ryan David Jahn, Bill James, Alex Markman, Shira Nayman, Frederick Ramsay

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

Please visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books where we are committed 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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Games of Mystery: Echoes of the Past, Royal House of Stone, New from Big Fish Games

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, and murder mystery weekends 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 by visiting our Mystery Games: Big Fish Download Games page or by clicking on the links provided below.

Having made an incredible journey in time, you’ll find yourself in the medieval kingdom of Orion. Reveal an ancient curse and save the kingdom and its inhabitants. The last prince of Orion is waiting for your help! Open the weird locks and explore every room of the castle. You will meet the castle’s inhabitants and learn the horrible mystery of the royal family in this exciting hidden object adventure game.

Echoes of the Past: Royal House of Stone, a Big Fish Games exclusive, may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (165.68 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour.

Watch a preview video below:

Get any game for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. Other benefits include the $2.99 Daily Deal, Tomorrow's Game Today, and special member rewards.

Read our new game reviews by Ms. Terri: Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy (Review), Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! (Review), The Hardy Boys: The Perfect Crime (Review), Enlightenus (Review), and Nick Chase: A Detective Story (Review).

Big Fish Games: Bestsellers

Big Fish Games: New releases

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

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First Clues, Mysteries for Kids: Joey Fly, Private Eye and Homelanders

First Clues: Mysteries for Kids is your source for information on over 100 mystery series for children and young adults where each series is conveniently listed under four different age categories (New Sleuths, ages 4 to 6; Future Sleuths, ages 7 to 9; Sleuths in Training, ages 10 to 12, and Apprentice Sleuths, ages 13 and older).

This week we added two series, for which the first book in was published last spring (but we somehow missed).

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The Joey Fly, Private Eye Mystery Series

Aaron Reynolds is the author of several graphic novels for kids. His most recent, Creepy Crawler Crime, is the start of a new series featuring Joey Fly, Private Eye, which incorporates a noir-ish feel to the graphic novel format. The plot of this novel and those that follow will use the hard-boiled classics as inspiration, and are likely to be as enjoyable for parents as they will be for kids.

Synopsis from the publisher: Have you ever had one of those moments? You know—you’re trying to find a stolen diamond pencil box for your beautiful butterfly customer, your mosquito witness won’t give you any information, and your clumsy scorpion assistant has just tampered with your only bit of evidence? Joey Fly has those moments a lot. In fact, he’s probably having one right now. But that won’t stop him from solving the mystery in Creepy Crawly Crime, his fantastic first graphic novel!

The Joey Fly, Private Eye graphic novel mysteries are recommended for children aged 7 to 9.

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The Homelander Series

Adult mystery author Andrew Klavan starts a new young adult series with The Last Thing I Remember, featuring ordinary high school student Charlie West, who goes to bed one night only to wake up as a hunted man. Terrorists are trying to kill him. The police want to arrest him for the stabbing death of his best friend. He doesn’t know whose side he’s one or whom to trust. Is he a terrorist himself? A murderer? He isn’t sure.

Book synopsis: Charlie West just woke up in someone else's nightmare. He's strapped to a chair. He's covered in blood and bruises. He hurts all over. And a strange voice outside the door just ordered his death. The last thing he can remember, he was a normal high-school kid doing normal things -- working on his homework, practicing karate, daydreaming of becoming an air force pilot, writing a pretty girl's number on his hand. How long ago was that? Where is he now? Who is he really? And more to the point ... how is he going to get out of this room alive?

The second book in the series, The Long Way Home, publishes February 2010.

The Homelander mysteries are recommended for children aged 13 and older.

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We are also pleased to offer First Clues Reviews, reviews of mysteries featured on our site written by students. These book reviews provide a unique perspective by their young readers, often insightful, always entertaining.

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Reviews of Mystery and Suspense Books for Kids, New This Week on Book Trends

Book Trends, a review site for young adult and children books, published several new book reviews this past week. We're presenting here a summary of those in the mystery / suspense category.

Nate the Great and the Hungry Book Club by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Mitchell Sharmat. 26th book in the Nate the Great series. Recommended for readers aged 7 to 9. Reviewed by a 6th grade student who wrote, "I would recommend this book to any young reader who is interested in sleuthing, or loves to read."

For more reviews of children and young adult books, visit Book Trends; their reviews will amaze you!

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Games of Mystery: Dream Sleuth and Wisegal, New This Week from Amazon Video Games

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, murder mystery weekends and mystery getaway vacations, and more mysterious fun, is pleased to announce this week's new mystery and suspense games available for immediate download from Amazon Video Games.

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Dream Sleuth

Catherine has always had normal dreams. That is, until one day she had one about a little girl that went missing and that the police couldn't find. The dream was so clear and vivid that she decided to start her own investigation. Delve into Catherine's mind as she interviews people that knew the missing girl and sifts through the facts and rumors in the real world ... but pay attention at night, as the most important clues are to be found in her dreams ...

Windows Vista / XP (81 MB download).

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Wisegal

Take the role of Patty Montanari, a real life Mafia mom, as she struggles to track down her son from the world of the Wiseguys. Follow the clues as they guide you through the seedy Mafia underworld. Drawing on the past of a "Wisegal," you must find objects and piece together evidence to save her son. Be loyal to the family, but devoted to your own!

Based on the hit TV movie of the same name.

Windows Vista / XP (60 MB download).

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A complete list of downloadable mystery games is available on our Games of Mystery: Amazon.com Game Download page.

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Breaking the Wall of Crime Fiction, an Article in Publishers Weekly

In an article earlier this week in the Publishers Weekly Talkback section, Jordan Foster writes about breaking the wall of crime fiction.

What separates the genre of crime fiction from literary fiction may be more membrane than wall, Foster writes, but it's still a barrier that is often tricky to penetrate. The very act of categorizing brings with it an implicit ranking and the idea that anything shelved under “genre” is somehow lacking. In particular, the genre's rigidness of structure seems to work against it. Yet crime novelists have come up with myriad ways to work around this perceived limitation.

In the end, Foster writes, what matters to writers and readers of crime fiction—and fiction in general—is the quality of the writing, the depth of the characters, the intricacies of the plot, and the richness of the setting. “When you're working to make a sentence as perfect as it can be,” says Tana French, author of the Rob Ryan and Cassie Maddox mystery series, “or to make a character real and vivid and three-dimensional, how and whether you do that isn't dependent on where the book will be shelved.”

Read this interesting article in its entirety here.

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Mystery Bestsellers for November 27, 2009

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending November 27, 2009 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

A quiet Thanksgiving week, with little change among the top 15, with only one new title entering the list.

A rollicking adventure thriller marks Pirate Latitudes by the late Michael Crichton.

The Caribbean, 1665. A remote colony of the English Crown, the island of Jamaica holds out against the vast supremacy of the Spanish empire. Port Royal, its capital, is a cutthroat town of taverns, grog shops, and bawdy houses.

In this steamy climate there's a living to be made, a living that can end swiftly by disease—or by dagger. For Captain Charles Hunter, gold in Spanish hands is gold for the taking, and the law of the land rests with those ruthless enough to make it.

Word in port is that the galleon El Trinidad, fresh from New Spain, is awaiting repairs in a nearby harbor. Heavily fortified, the impregnable harbor is guarded by the bloodthirsty Cazalla, a favorite commander of the Spanish king himself. With backing from a powerful ally, Hunter assembles a crew of ruffians to infiltrate the enemy outpost and commandeer El Trinidad, along with its fortune in Spanish gold. The raid is as perilous as the bloodiest tales of island legend, and Hunter will lose more than one man before he even sets foot on foreign shores, where dense jungle and the firepower of Spanish infantry stand between him and the treasure.

The top four mystery bestsellers this week are shown below:

Please visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books where we are committed 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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Games of Mystery: Mystery Case Files, Dire Grove Collector's Edition, New from Big Fish Games

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, and murder mystery weekends 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 by visiting our Mystery Games: Big Fish Download Games page or by clicking on the links provided below.

Be the first to play Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove with this special Collector's Edition.

Considered a fairytale, its telling was common at campfires and as a bedtime story meant to frighten small children into staying in their beds through the night. However, a recently unearthed artifact in the United Kingdom corroborates the legend and so begins a journey of survival for a small band of graduate students in the secluded resort of Dire Grove.

The exclusive Collector's Edition includes bonus "Easter egg" levels and puzzles that reveal secrets related to both past and future Mystery Case Files episodes. The integrated Deluxe Strategy Guide also includes extra video outtakes, concept art, screenshots, and desktop wallpapers.

Visit the website, MCF: Dire Grove, for more information about the game, including a game trailer.

Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove Collector's Edition, a Big Fish Game exclusive, may be downloaded and purchased for $19.95 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version for this Collector's Edition is not available. The $6.99 standard edition, with a free trial version, will be available in early December.

Watch a preview video below:

Get any game for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. Other benefits include the $2.99 Daily Deal, Tomorrow's Game Today, and special member rewards.

Read our new game reviews by Ms. Terri: Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy (Review), Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! (Review), The Hardy Boys: The Perfect Crime (Review), Enlightenus (Review), and Nick Chase: A Detective Story (Review).

Big Fish Games: Bestsellers

Big Fish Games: New releases

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

Return to Mystery Books News ...

First Clues, Mysteries for Kids: Nancy Drew Titles for December 2009

First Clues: Mysteries for Kids is your source for information on over 100 mystery series for children and young adults where each series is conveniently listed under four different age categories (New Sleuths, ages 4 to 6; Future Sleuths, ages 7 to 9; Sleuths in Training, ages 10 to 12, and Apprentice Sleuths, ages 13 and older), is pleased to announce Nancy Drew series books that are scheduled for release during December, 2009.

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Princess Mix-Up Mystery by Carolyn Keene
Series: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew

24th book in this series featuring an 8-year-old Nancy Drew.

No summary available.

Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew books are recommended for readers aged 7 to 9.

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Green-Eyed Monster by Carolyn Keene
Series: Nancy Drew, Girl Detective

1st book in the Eco-Mystery Trilogy.

George, Bess, and I were so excited when we won an amazing vacation at an eco-resort in Costa Rica. Fun, sun, surf -- all in the name of ecology and helping to keep our planet clean. But, as always, dirty business seems to follow me wherever I go, and this resort isn't as spic 'n' span as we originally thought.

After a string of increasingly dangerous "accidents," it seems that there is a jealous predator staying at the resort, making trouble for the management and the guests. Against the urging of my friends, I know that I need to take this case and get to the bottom of it before our entire week at Casa Verde is ruined -- or worse. Can I uncover who is sabotaging the press tour before it's too late? Or will our vacation come to an unhappy end?

Nancy Drew, Girl Detective books are recommended for readers aged 10 and older.

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The Mystery Bookshelf: A Secret and Unlawful Killing by Cora Harrison, a Mystery of Medieval Ireland

The Mystery Bookshelf, where you can discover a library of new mysteries, is pleased to feature a new mystery series title we recently received from the publisher.

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A Secret and Unlawful Killing by Cora Harrison
A Burren Mystery (2nd in series)
St. Martin's Minotaur (Trade Paperback)
Publication Date: November 2009
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-58602-7

About A Secret and Unlawful Killing (from the publisher): It is 1509 and, for the people of the Burren in western Ireland, the Michaelmas Fair is a joyous time for trade and celebration, signaling the start of autumn. It’s a chance to gather, buy and sell their wares, and pay tribute to the lord of their clans. But this year is different. The steward of the MacNamara clan has decided to raise the amount demanded for its tribute, and it’s not long before tempers are running high.

When the steward’s body is found in the local churchyard, it falls upon Mara, the Burren’s Brehon Judge, to piece the puzzle together. Was it revenge, greed, or something more sinister that motivated the murder? When another body is discovered, it is up to Mara—despite the distraction of a surprising marriage proposal—to bring the killer to justice before there can be yet another death.

Originally published as Michaelmas Tribute in the UK.

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About the author: Cora Harrison lives in the Burren in the west of Ireland, an area whose landscape and history form the background to a medieval series of which this is the second novel. She has published twenty-six books for children, mainly dealing with Irish history and mythology. Please visit her Web site at CoraHarrison.com.

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First Clues, Mysteries for Kids: New Titles for December 2009

First Clues: Mysteries for Kids, your source for information on over 100 mystery series for children and young adults where each series is conveniently listed under four different age categories (New Sleuths, ages 4 to 6; Future Sleuths, ages 7 to 9; Sleuths in Training, ages 10 to 12; and Apprentice Sleuths, ages 13 and older), is pleased to announce a selection of new mystery books (including series books) scheduled for publication during December, 2009.

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January Joker by Ron Roy
Calendar Mysteries

First book in a planned series of twelve.

Green Lawn, we have a problem! When Bradley Pinto wakes up in the night to strange lights in his backyard, he thinks there are aliens in town. When he sees three-toed footprints in the snow, he’s sure of it. His twin, Brian, and friends Lucy and Nate aren’t so certain. But then Lucy’s cousin Dink, the twins’ brother, Josh, and Nate’s sister, Ruth Rose, all disappear. Are there really aliens in Green Lawn? And where could they be taking Dink, Josh, and Ruth Rose?

Calendar Mysteries are recommended for readers aged 7 to 9.

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February Friend by Ron Roy
Calendar Mysteries

Second book in this series.

It's a Valentine's Day party! Bradley is passing out his class’s valentines, but one of them has no name on it. Inside, the card tells the class to look in the closet. When they open the closet door, the kids find a rabbit named Douglas in a cage! What mysterious “friend” left him there? And why? Then the bunny gets sick. It’s up to Bradley, Brian, Lucy, and Nate to track down his owner and figure out what is wrong with poor little Douglas.

Calendar Mysteries are recommended for readers aged 7 to 9.

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Fox Announces Midseason Schedule, including New Series Past Life and Human Target

In a press release today, Fox Television announced its 2009 / 2010 midseason schedule, which includes the new thriller Past Life, the action drama Human Target, and an additional 9 episodes of the crime drama Lie to Me.

Past Life is based on the novel The Reincarnationist (read our review) and features detectives who investigate the world of the unexplained. It will air its 2-hour premiere on Thursday, February 11th at 8 PM, with subsequent episodes airing on Thursdays at 9 PM.

Human Target is based on the comic book series of the same name and features a private detective and bodyguard who will stop at nothing to protect his clients. It will air its premiere on Sunday, January 17th, with subsequent episodes airing on Wednesdays at 9 PM. (This is the second adaptation of Human Target for television. ABC aired a summer series in 1992 with Rick Springfield in the title role.)

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Tommy Lee Jones Leaves Production of The Lincoln Lawyer, based on the Novel by Michael Connelly

Last month, we reported that Tommy Lee Jones was in negotiations to direct and co-star in the film adaptation of Michael Connelly's 2005 legal thriller The Lincoln Lawyer. Variety is now reporting that, much to our dismay, Jones has left the production over "creative differences on the script." No replacement was announced. Matthew McConaughey, much to our dismay, apparently is still attached to play the lead, Los Angeles defense attorney Mickey Haller.

The Lincoln Lawyer was the winner of the 2006 Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel, and won the 2006 Shamus Award for Best P. I. Hardcover.

Book synopsis: Mickey Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense attorney who operates out of the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car, traveling between the far-flung courthouses of Los Angeles to defend clients of every kind. Bikers, con artists, drunk drivers, drug dealers -- they're all on Mickey Haller's client list. For him, the law is rarely about guilt or innocence, it's about negotiation and manipulation. Sometimes it's even about justice.

A Beverly Hills playboy arrested for attacking a woman he picked up in a bar chooses Haller to defend him, and Mickey has his first high-paying client in years. It is a defense attorney's dream, what they call a franchise case. And as the evidence stacks up, Haller comes to believe this may be the easiest case of his career. Then someone close to him is murdered and Haller discovers that his search for innocence has brought him face-to-face with evil as pure as a flame. To escape without being burned, he must deploy every tactic, feint, and instinct in his arsenal -- this time to save his own life.

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Psych Renewed for Fifth Season by USA Network

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that the Psych sleuths will return for another year of "psychic" investigations. USA Network has ordered 16 episodes for its fifth season.

The series stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer who, with his keen eye for detail, convinces the police that he has psychic abilities and can assist them in solving crimes. Dule Hill plays his best friend and partner in their police consulting business.

The fifth season of Psych is expected to premiere during the summer of 2010.

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Games of Mystery: Cajun Cop in The French Quarter Caper, New from Big Fish Games

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, and murder mystery weekends 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 by visiting our Mystery Games: Big Fish Download Games page or by clicking on the links provided below.

Join Cajun Cop Jacques Lamont as he pursues a gang of jewel thieves through the streets of the Big Easy. Scour the city for clues, from the haunts of the rich to gritty back alleys. As the evidence piles up, the puzzles and mini-games only become more baffling. You'll need sharp eyes and keen wits as the gangsters attempt to cover their tracks. Will the long arm of the law ever bring them to justice? Join the pursuit and find out!

Also available: Cajun Cop: The French Quarter Caper Game Walkthrough.

Cajun Cop: The French Quarter Caper may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (55.09 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour.

Watch a preview video below:

Get any game for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. Other benefits include the $2.99 Daily Deal, Tomorrow's Game Today, and special member rewards.

Read our new game reviews by Ms. Terri: Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy (Review), Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! (Review), The Hardy Boys: The Perfect Crime (Review), Enlightenus (Review), and Nick Chase: A Detective Story (Review).

Big Fish Games: Bestsellers

Big Fish Games: New releases

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

Return to Mystery Books News ...