Save 20% on BFG 2009 Customer Favorite Award Winners

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed board, electronic and video games, parties for kids and adults, and murder mystery weekends and mystery getaway vacations, is pleased to pass on a new promotion from Big Fish Games that was announced yesterday.

From now through Sunday, January 17th, 2010, you can save 20% on any of the winners of the Big Fish Games 2009 Customer Favorites Awards. 19 titles (listed below) qualify. Simply use coupon code GAMEOFTHEYEAR at checkout.

We're pleased to see several mystery games that we featured on Games of Mystery were included on this list. To indicate these titles, we've provided the original link to our post on Mystery Books News when the game was announced.

And now, the BFG list of customer favorites from 2009:

Game of the Year: Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove (MBN link)

Best Hidden Object Game: The Serpent of Isis
1st Runner-Up: Hidden Expedition: Devil's Triangle (MBN link)
2nd Runner-Up: Hidden in Time: Mirror Mirror

Best Puzzle Adventure Game: Princess Isabella: A Witch's Curse
1st Runner-Up: Dream Chronicles: The Chosen Child (MBN link)
2nd Runner-Up: Treasure Seekers: The Enchanted Canvases (MBN link)

Best Artwork: Drawn: The Painted Tower (MBN link)
1st Runner-Up: Echoes of the Past: Royal House of Stone (MBN link)
2nd Runner-Up: Strange Cases: The Tarot Card Mystery (MBN link)

Most Innovative Game: PuppetShow: Mystery of Joyville (MBN link)
1st Runner-Up: Avenue Flo
2nd Runner-Up: Enlightenus (MBN link, Review)

Best Story: Flux Family Secrets
1st Runner-Up: Lost in the City (MBN link)
2nd Runner-Up: Adventures of Robinson Crusoe

Best Time Management Game: Hotel Dash: Suite Success
1st Runner-Up: My Kingdom for the Princess
2nd Runner-Up: Be Richer!

To receive 20% off any of the above games, click on the game title or the banner below and enter coupon code GAMEOFTHEYEAR before January 19th, 2010.

Games of Mystery has two categories of mystery games available from Big Fish Games: a list of adventure mystery games and a list of hidden object mystery games. We have also started posting reviews of these games. You can read these reviews here: Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses!, The Hardy Boys: The Perfect Crime, Enlightenus, Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy, and Nick Chase: A Detective Story.

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

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First Clues Review: Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator by Jennifer Allison

First Clues: Mysteries for Kids is delighted to introduce a new feature for our website, book reviews written by students. These students offer their unique perspective on the book in their review and provide a valuable resource to parents looking for new mystery adventures for their kids to read.

Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator by Jennifer Allison
The Gilda Joyce Mysteries

Puffin (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-14-240698-8 (0142406988)
ISBN-13: 978-0-14-240698-4 (9780142406984)
Publication Date: November 2006
List Price: $6.99

Review written by Sarah, a 6th grade student. Date of review: January 2010.

Review: Haunted mansion, footsteps at night, suicide, spooky tower, and séances! They all come together in my current favorite book, Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator, (which is a first in a series) by Jennifer Allison. Scary, mysterious, suspenseful and, at the same time, exciting and funny are all the feelings that I felt as I read through the book. Get ready for a gut-wrenching and mind-blowing ride!

Thirteen years old Gilda Joyce, a self-claimed psychic investigator, is going to San Francisco to visit a newly discovered distant and rich uncle, Lester Splinter and his daughter, Juliet. The first person she meets there is the housekeeper who tells her the mansion the Splinters live in is haunted. Footsteps are heard late at night in the house, and strange sounds come from a mysterious tower connected to the house. Her cousin, Juliet, is a frail, skinny, and solitary girl who is also 13. She is anything but thrilled to see Gilda at first. As Gilda warms up to the family, Juliet starts revealing some of the mysteries around the house. Juliet had an aunt who was an artist and acted very bizarre sometimes. One day she “fell” out of the window on top of the spooky tower to her death. Soon Gilda hears the footsteps and strange sound at night herself and decides to solve the mystery once and for all. However the girls are strictly forbidden to enter the tower. Armed with Gilda’s numerous hilarious and brilliant ideas, Gilda and Juliet tried desperately to get into the tower without being caught to find answers to all the mysteries. Do they succeed? What did they see in the tower? Do they find out what really happened to Juliet’s aunt? Is the house really haunted?

This is an absolutely sensational book that will grasp your mind from cover to cover. I read it through in one shot and love every bit of it! The author not only did a fantastic job at making the plot so real that I felt like I was part of the story as I read it, but also at making each character so vividly described, like ”Mr. Splinter's shoulders stiffened and his face contorted for a split second, resembling the lopsided grimace one makes when avoiding tears.” I can “see” Mr. Splinter’s facial expression. I could not thank the author enough for creating such a real character, Gilda Joyce. She is a smart, outgoing and adventurous girl like me. I feel like I was her in the story. I think what she thinks, I feel what she feels. I get frightened when she is scared. I am exhilarated when she is excited. I followed the story through her eyes as the story is unfolded. There is only one thing that was disappointing to me, that is the end of story when Gilda returns home in Detroit. It seems a bit unnecessary because it is not directly related to the actual case. Overall this book is astounding and deserves a rating of 4.5 stars! I look forward to reading the next book of the series: The Ladies of the Lake by Jennifer Allison.

If you are interested in purchasing Gilda Joyce, Psychic Investigator from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

First Clue Mysteries is pleased to provide information on over 100 mystery series for children and young adults. Each series is conveniently listed under four different age categories: New Sleuths (ages 4 to 6), Future Sleuths (ages 7 to 10), Sleuths in Training (ages 10 to 12), and Apprentice Sleuths (ages 13 and older). If you have a favorite mystery series you'd like to see added to our site, please contact us.

All student book reviews are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in any manner, print or electronic, without the express written consent of the copyright owner. Reviews are published here with permission of the copyright owner.

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Fox Orders Pilot for Chicago-Based Crime Drama Ridealong

In more television pilot news, Variety is reporting that Shawn Ryan (The Shield) has been given an order for the Chicago-based crime drama Ridealong. The pilot (and series, if it's picked up) will center on three groups of police officers, icnluding the central lead character, a Polish-American cop who plays up his heritage.

"There will be a few twists that make it different from other cop shows on the air and will make it Fox-like," Ryan said. He adds that the series will showcase close-ended cases, "but something will happen in the pilot that will have overarching (ramifications) that we deal with over time."

Ryan is also producing the new Terriers series on FX Networks as well as being an executive producer for Lie to Me on Fox.

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Mystery Book Review: Bad to the Last Drop by Deb Lewis and Pat Ondarko

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of Bad to the Last Drop by Deb Lewis and Pat Ondarko. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

Bad to the Last Drop by Deb Lewis and Pat Ondarko
A Best Friends Mystery

Langdon Street Press (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1-934938-56-4 (1934938564)
ISBN-13: 978-1-934938-56-0 (9781934938560)
Publication Date: November 2009
List Price: $15.95

Review: Best friends Deb Lewis (a lawyer) and Pat Ondarko (a pastor) together pen their first "best friends" mystery featuring Ashland residents Deb Linberg (a lawyer) and Pat Kerry (a pastor) in Bad to the Last Drop, a cozy set along the northern Wisconsin shores of Lake Superior.

The gathering spot in Ashland is the local coffeeshop, the Black Cat. Pat and Deb are regulars as is Joe Abramov, a Vietnam War veteran who seemed to live in another world, one filled with contacts at the CIA and lottery winnings. But when Joe doesn't show up for 4 days, the Black Cat barista calls the police, who find him dead in his apartment. There is no sign of forced entry, no unusual wounds on the body -- a seemingly natural death. But an autopsy reveals poison in his system giving Pat and Deb an opportunity to play the role of amateur sleuth and solve the mystery of who might have wanted this much beloved, colorful character dead.

The narrative in Bad to the Last Drop is casual, conversational even, not unlike a leisurely visit to a local coffeeshop to enjoy in a cup of Italian roast and catch up with friends and neighbors. It is, however, also somewhat uneven, with frequent backstories that don't necessarily add anything to the story, and a non-linear chronology with passages that start with "Several weeks prior to that morning ..." and "Earlier that evening ..." And though Pat and Deb are the principal characters, several others occasionally share the point-of-view, popping up unexpectedly in the conversation. It's all a bit disjointed.

There isn't much of a mystery here, the story focused squarely on Pat and Deb individually and Pat and Deb, best friends. Still, Bad to the Last Drop is a pleasant book, and short enough (at less than 150 pages) to be completed in one sitting in front of the fire on a cold winter day. (The final pages of the book include recipes "guaranteed good to the last bite" and a short preview of the next book in the series, Too Much at Stake.)

Special thanks to Langdon Street Press for providing an ARC of Bad to the Last Drop for this review.

Review Copyright © 2010 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved

If you are interested in purchasing Bad to the Last Drop from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

Synopsis (from the publisher): Everyone who frequented the Black Cat Coffeehouse in picturesque, rural Ashland, Wisconsin, knew Joe Abramov. Joe was the local eccentric, a "predictable fixture" at the Black Cat, "as much a part of the scene as the aroma of good coffee." Whether Joe was insisting that the CIA was spying on him or talking about hitting it big in the lottery, Ashland residents came to expect--even depend on--his daily conversations.

When Joe goes missing and is later found dead, the regulars at the Black Cat are understandably upset. But when it's discovered that Joe might have been killed, the town of Ashland is rocked to its core. Best friends Deb Linberg and Pat Kerry take it upon themselves to help solve what becomes increasingly evident is Joe's murder.

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Throw a Mystery Party This Valentine's Day!

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed board, video and electronic games, parties for kids and adults, and mystery getaway vacations, has several recommendations for your next party or family and friends get-together.

Valentine's Day is but six weeks away, and here's suggestion for something different this year: Host a mystery party! We have several suggestions below, but feel free to visit our Mystery Party pages to find more.

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For older kids and teens, there is Love Potion Number Five.

It’s everybody’s worst nightmare: somebody has spiked the party punch with a potent love potion.

Thankfully, the victims of the potion are not declaring undying love for anybody at the party. Instead, they are emphatically revealing the thing they would most love to do -- their secret passion.

Soon these comical admissions become dangerous as the affected guests stop at nothing to act on their obsession. The guests must discover who spiked the punch, concoct and administer the antidote before somebody bruises something worse than an ego!

A party perfect for any combination of girls and boys, up to 16 guests can play a character. Follow this link, Love Potion Number Five, for more information about this party, or this link, List of Characters in Love Potion Number Five, for character information. This mystery party is rated E.

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For adults, what could be more intriguing than Death by Chocolate.

A joint party is being held at Thornbury's Chocolates to launch the new range of Symphony Chocolates and also to celebrate the 40th birthday party of Shopin Channill (That's pronounced Show-pan) who is the daughter of Thornbury's owner Cocoa Channill. What could possibly go wrong on such a happy night?

A chocolatey murder mystery is for 8 to 12 players aged 18 and older, and is rated M. Follow this link, Death by Chocolate, for more information about this party, or this link, List of Characters in Death by Chocolate, for character information. A "women's only" version of Death by Chocolate is also available.

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How exciting to celebrate Valentine’s Day with trivia and dancing and ... murder! Everyone is a suspect, so join the fun in A Broken Heart Murder on Valentine's Day.

Join the guests at Rosie Valentine’s celebration of the purchase of her latest novel, Heartbreak to Heaven, by movie mogul Hugh Hadaway. The evening is filled with high spirits, fun and laughter, ‘til the party is disrupted by the revelation of a real broken heart!

"A Broken Heart Murder" is a simple to use murder mystery, and a great way to have lots of fun and entertain your guests. For 6 to 14 guests, 18 and older, this game is rated M. Follow this link, A Broken Heart Murder on Valentine's Day, for more information about this party, or this link, List of Characters in A Broken Heart Murder, for character information.

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For a great "come as your favorite Roarin' 20s character" party, there's A St. Valentine's Day Murder Mystery.

The year is 1929 and Prohibition is at its height. Until last week Chicago was run by four big players. Tommy Gunn, who runs booze and girls, Al Kohol, who runs booze and protection rackets, Spits Feathers, who runs booze and gambling dens through his bakery business cover and, until his murder last week, Buck Fifty who ran booze and slot machines. As the rival gangs move in on Buck's empire, Tommy Gunn has called a party to celebrate his 40th birthday, but does he have other sinister plans?

A gangster style murder mystery set at a St Valentines Day 1929 party to celebrate Tommy Gunn's 40th birthday. The M-rated game is for between 6 and 10 players who will attend a birthday party they will never forget. Follow this link, A St. Valentine's Day Murder Mystery, for more information about this party, or this link, List of Characters in A St. Valentine's Day Murder Mystery, for character information.

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Finally, just for the ladies, there's Revenge Against a Ladies' Man.

If hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, then eight women scorned are a force to be reckoned with indeed! Eight women have discovered something terrible: they have all been dating the same man, famed singer/songwriter John Lothario! In their outrage, they have joined forces to exact their revenge on the man who broke their hearts. They planned only to ruin his career and make him pay for his disrespect, but now it appears that one of them has taken things too far. John Lothario has turned up missing, his hotel room filled with mysterious spatters of blood, his favorite lucky jacket found floating in a river! Now the women must determine who betrayed their plans, before they are all blamed for John Lothario's disappearance.

A standard mystery game played in rounds, designed specifically for women who love sleuthing. Great for a “girls’ night in,” or a Valentine’s Day celebration for unattached women! For 8 women, 18 and older, rated M. Follow this link, Revenge Against a Ladies' Man, for more information about this party, or this link, List of Characters in Revenge Against a Ladies' Man, for character information.

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Visit Games of Mystery: Mystery Parties for a wide selection of parties for kids, teens, and adults. You'll find all sorts of themed parties available to suit every occasion throughout the year.

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Southland Co-Star Joins Cast of True Blood

In other television news, The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Southland co-star Kevin Alejandro is joining the cast of True Blood for its third season on HBO.

Alejandro will play Jesus, an orderly who is taking care of Ruby Jean Reynolds (Alfre Woodard) at her care facility, who becomes involved with her son Lafayette (Nelsan Ellis).

True Blood is based on the series of Southern Vampire mysteries by Charlaine Harris, and stars Anna Paquin as telepathic barmaid Sookie Stackhouse. The first season of True Blood is available on DVD. The third season, filming now, is expected to premiere in June.

Southland moves from NBC to TNT beginning January 12th.

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ABC Orders Pilot for Crime Drama 187 Detroit

It's only the first week in 2010 and the television networks are already making announcements for the fall season.

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that ABC has picked up the series pilot for 187 Detroit, a documentary-style crime drama. Set in (presumably) Detroit, the series features a news crew that follows the top homicide division of a police department.

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Mystery Godoku Puzzle for January 04, 2010

A new Mystery Godoku Puzzle 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!).

This week's letters and mystery clue:

C E I J N O P R S

Chris Simms writes a crime series featuring this Detective Inspector (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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Mystery Book Review: Texas Panic! by Harry Haines

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of Texas Panic! by Harry Haines. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

Texas Panic! by Harry Haines
A Jim Bob Masterson Mystery

Mayhaven Publishing (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-932278-60-5 (1932278605)
ISBN-13: 978-1-932278-60-6 (9781932278606)
Publication Date: October 2009
List Price: $19.95

Review: Texas panhandle veterinarian James Robert "Jim Bob" Masterson is caught up in a possible disaster involving cattle owners, feed chains, the stock market, even banks in Texas Panic, the second thriller in this series by Harry Haines.

A single case of the disease has been identified in Spokane, Washington, on Christmas Eve. The diseased cow had been brought in from Canada. Immediately all cattle purchases from Canada had been stopped. Was this a case of too little too late? It isn’t long after that a rancher in Sagebush, Texas, observes one or two of his cows showing signs of the disease. Jim Bob Masterson, an authority on diseases of cattle, is called in to test and ascertain the condition of the cows. It is, indeed, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or BSE -- mad cow disease. How could this happen in the Texas panhandle? The disease has to come from an infection transferred from an infected animal or its remains. Virtually no West Texas operations bring in stock from areas where the infectious animals were found or known to exist -- and those that are brought in are subject to rigorously testing. It would seem that for all intents and purposes it would be impossible for an outbreak to occur here. Yet, here it is. When asked by the media why such a fuss was being made over a few cows dying, Jim Bob answers, “Humans or cattle, once you get it you die.”

On the home front, Jim Bob's daughter is in a contest to sing with the Metropolitan Opera. His wife of twenty-seven years and his mother-in-law want him to be at their side, showing support for his talented daughter. Although he has every intention to be supportive, the possibility of a mad cow disease outbreak is his first concern. Jim Bob has a small ranch, but one of his friends has a ranch with a total of 490,000 head of cattle, worth nearly half a million dollars, a total loss if any of the herd exhibits signs of the disease and all put down. Even if the herd doesn't show sign of the disease, but the government could order all cattle be slaughtered. The stock market has plummeted, and bankruptcy at the Texas State Bank seems just round the corner. Everyone from the cattle ranchers, to those dependent on them, including veterinarians, are concerned about their futures. Jim Bob must find the cause of the outbreak in Texas -- and soon -- before the FBI and USDA decide to kill every cow in Texas.

Texas Panic is an absorbing account of how a local incident, a "what if scenario", can have national ramifications. The potential for disaster is very realistically envisioned, the plot well paced. But the book is primarily a character study, a story about family and friends, cooperation and collaboration, fear and hope. It is especially from this perspective that makes it a truly exceptional novel.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Texas Panic! and to Harry Haines for providing an ARC of the book for this review.

Review Copyright © 2010 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved

If you are interested in purchasing Texas Panic! from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

Synopsis (from the publisher): B-S-E spells death. Cattle or human -- if you get it, you will die.

The Washington Post calls Texas veterinarian Dr. James Robert Masterson the "World's Foremost Expert" in BSE -- Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, more commonly referred to as mad cow disease. Jim Bob, as he is known to friends and family, achieved his celebrity through a test he invented, a remarkable accomplishment considering the fact that Texas has never had a case of BSE.

Until now.

The story opens when a cow slips and goes down in a feed yard in Sagebrush, Texas, a tiny rural community sixty-five miles north of Amarillo. Bearing in mind that there are thirty-five million cattle in the Texas Panhandle, where one-third of the nation's fed beef is produced, one "downer" would hardly seem noteworthy.

But two factors escalate the seriousness of the incident. First, this is the health scare with everything -- a gruesomely exotic disease, unknown dangers, bungling bureaucrats, and a common food item found in virtually every home. And second, the sensation-hungry American press finds the story irresistible.

Jim Bob is sure they have a false alarm. BSE has to come from somewhere. Infected prions don't mutate or appear spontaneously. But "The Masterson Test" becomes suspect as the USDA struggles to confirm its diagnosis. Meanwhile the panic escalates. Cattle futures tank. Beef processing plants close. Millions of Texas cattle become worthless. Billions are at stake.

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Mystery Book Review: Winter of Secrets by Vicki Delany

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of Winter of Secrets by Vicki Delany. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

Winter of Secrets by Vicki Delany
A Molly Smith Mystery

Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-676-X (159058676X)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-676-1 (9781590586761)
Publication Date: November 2009
List Price: $24.95

Review: Sergeant John Winters and Constable Molly Smith are simply trying to keep order in their small town when a blizzard hits and tragedy strikes in Winter of Secrets, the third mystery in this series by Vicki Delany.

It is the Christmas holiday season in this small picturesque, peaceful mountain village. University students have come for two weeks of fun, skiing, drinking, and carousing. Jason Wyatt-Yarmouth and five of his college friends, plus his younger high school sister, Mary, are among those visiting from Ontario, having rented rooms at the Glacier Chalet, Mrs. Carmine’s cozy bed-and-breakfast. Although there is always snow in December, drawing the skiing crowds, this Christmas Eve there a blizzard descends upon the town. There are stalled cars, fender benders, and traffic snarls all associated with stormy white-outs. But it soon gets worse when a car misses a turn and skids into the icy waters of the local river. Jason and his best friend Ewan are found in the car, dead. They had been inseparable friends since they were children. Now they're both dead, killed by tragedy on Christmas Eve. The police and medics on the scene all agree this was a terrible accident. When the coroner arrives to examine the bodies, however, he finds that Ewan died twenty hours or more before the accident, the result of a blow to the head. This came as a shock not only to the other students who claim to know nothing about it, but to John and Molly as well. What had happened to Ewan? Why was Jason driving around with a corpse in his car? Molly and John are thrust into an investigation where privileged kids indulging in recreational drugs and sexual promiscuity are of the norm. Their holiday plans have to be put on hold while they sort out who did what and why.

Winter of Secrets paints a grim, often disturbing picture of a cross-section of today's youth, their disregard for other's feelings, seemingly perverse satisfaction in seeing a disliked person being hurt. There are also the attitudes of the distant rich, including the Wyatt-Yarmouth family, towards the local poor. The contrast of these characters with the warmth and good spirit typically associated with Christmas is jarring. The mystery surrounding the death of Ewan, however, will keep the reader's attention to the very end as Molly, with some help from her mother Lucky, unravels the twisted threads of this case.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Winter of Secrets and to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of the book for this review.

Review Copyright © 2010 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved

If you are interested in purchasing Winter of Secrets from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

Synopsis (from the publisher): It’s Christmas Eve and the snowstorm of the decade has settled over the peaceful mountain town of Trafalgar, B.C. Constables Smith and Evans have a busy shift, attending fender-benders, tumbling pedestrians, and Christmas tree fires. At the stroke of midnight, they arrive at the scene of a car accident: a vehicle has gone off the snowy road into the icy river. An accident, agree police, coroner, medics. But when the autopsy reveals a shocking secret, Constable Molly Smith and Sergeant John Winters are plunged into the world of sexual predators, recreational drugs, privilege, and high-living.

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James McAvoy Reportedly Attached to Star as Ian Fleming in Film Biography

The Telegraph is reporting that James McAvoy (Atonement, The Last Station) is attached to star in the film adaptation of Andrew Lycett's biography Ian Fleming: The Man Behind James Bond. Palmstar Entertainment is expected to begin production based on Matt Brown's script later this year.

Lycett has also authored several other biographies, including his 2007 portrait of The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes: The Life and Times of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

About Ian Fleming: Andrew Lycett's direct access to Fleming's family, friends and contemporaries has enabled him to reveal the truth behind the complicated facade of this enigmatic and remarkable man. Updated to include new information on the Bond phenomenon, the definitive biography of author Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond 007, also includes information about Fleming's career in naval intelligence where he masterminded many top-secret operations. With an extraordinary cast of characters, this is biography at is best -- part history, part gossip and part an informed reassessment of one of this century's most celebrated yet mysterious personalities.

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Games of Mystery: Nancy Drew in The Final Scene, New at Big Fish Games

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed video, 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 casual 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.

When your high school friend Maya gets kidnapped in a historic St. Louis theater, you, as Nancy Drew, are plunged into a desperate race against the clock! With the theater being torn down in just three days, can Nancy outwit the kidnapper and rescue her friend before the wrecking ball flies? Or will this be Maya's final scene? Use your best detective skills to explore this once grand theater in a frantic quest for clues, secret passageways, hidden rooms -- anything that will help you find your friend. Her life depends on it. Tick-tock!

Also available: Nancy Drew: The Final Scene Strategy Guide.

Nancy Drew: The Final Scene is the fifth game in this series featuring the teen sleuth, and is based on the character created by Carolyn Keene. For a complete list of available games, visit our Nancy Drew Games page.

Nancy Drew: The Final Scene may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. Due to its large size, a demonstration version is not available.

Watch a preview video below:

Get any standard 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. And if you purchase any 6 games within a single month, you earn a free game with the Big Fish Game Club Monthly Punch Card!

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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Second Season of Durham County Premieres this Sunday on Ion

If you missed the airing of the first season of Durham County last September on Ion Television, the network is re-airing all six episodes tomorrow, Saturday January 2nd, 2010 (5 PM ET). The US premiere of the second season begins Sunday, January 3rd (9 PM ET). Subsequent episodes will air on Sundays at 10 PM ET.

Durham County is a moody, even grim, crime drama series that originally aired in Canada in 2007. Two seasons of six episodes each were produced, with a third season that began production last October. The series won 5 Gemini Awards (the Canadian equivalent of the Emmy Awards) in 2008.

About Durham County: After his partner is murdered, Detective Mike Sweeney (played by Hugh Dillon) moves his family back to the small town where he grew up. But beneath the rural calm of Durham County lurk secrets so dark that even those who carry them can no longer see the light of truth, and Sweeney is no exception.

Before long, Mike must come face to face with his past when he discovers that Ray Prager (Justin Louis), a friend from his teenage years, is his new neighbor. A deadly rivalry plays out in a psychological game of murder and revenge, drawing the members of both families ever deeper into a deadly web of desire and violence.

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NPR Interviews Mystery Author Kwei Quartey

Earlier this week, NPR had a conversation with Kwei Quartey, whose debut novel Wife of the Gods introduced Ghanian Detective Inspector Darko Dawson, and was on our list of the best mysteries of 2009.

Quartey, who was born in Ghana and is currently a physician with an urgent care center in southern California, points out that there are many similarities between his life as a doctor and his work as a mystery writer, since both involve following clues to reach a conclusion.

"When a detective interviews a suspect or a witness, it's very much like a physician interviewing a patient, because a patient comes in with something that is often a mystery on its own," he says. "And in the end, when the doctor makes his diagnosis, it's exactly like the detective finding the culprit."

Listen to the entire conversation with NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday host Liane Hansen here, where you can also find an excerpt from the novel. You can read our review of Wife of the Gods on Mysterious Reviews.

About Wife of the Gods: In a shady grove outside the small town of Ketanu, a young woman—a promising med student—has been found dead under suspicious circumstances. Eager to close the case, the local police have arrested a poor, enamored teenage boy and charged him with murder. Needless to say, they are less than thrilled when an outside force arrives from the big city to lead an inquiry into the baffling case.

Detective Inspector Darko Dawson, fluent in Ketanu’s indigenous language, is the right man for the job, but he hates the idea of leaving his loving wife and young son, a plucky kid with a defective heart. Pressured by his cantankerous boss, Dawson agrees to travel to Ketanu, sort through the evidence, and tie up the loose ends as quickly and as efficiently as possible. But for Dawson, this sleepy corner of Ghana is rife with emotional land mines: an estranged relationship with the family he left behind twenty-five years earlier and the painful memory of his own mother’s sudden, inexplicable disappearance. Dawson is armed with remarkable insight and a healthy dose of skepticism, but these gifts, sometimes overshadowed by his mercurial temper, may not be enough to solve this haunting mystery. In Ketanu, he finds that his cosmopolitan sensibilities clash with age-old customs, including a disturbing practice in which teenage girls are offered by their families to fetish priests as trokosi, or Wives of the Gods.

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Harlequin Worldwide Mystery Titles for January 2010

eHarlequin.com has announced the January 2010 titles for their Worldwide imprint, your partner in crime. Amateur sleuths, traditional cozies, police procedurals and private-eye fiction, written by award-winning authors. To purchase any of the books below, click on the book title or the book cover. (Previous months titles can be found on the backlist page.)

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Sleight of Hand by Robin Hathaway
A Jo Banks Mystery (3rd in series)

In rural New Jersey, motorcycle-riding, self-exiled Dr. Jo Banks earns a living as "house doctor" to a group of motels in the New Jersey countryside. On a day that turns out to be anything but ordinary, she stumbles across the body of what looks like an execution-style Mob hit, then faces a double shock when her curiosity leads to a barn and a grim accident, involving a crushed hand caught in a printing press.

At gunpoint, Jo is ordered to return with the necessary tools for delicate hand surgery. Her patient, Max, is a strange, secretive man—a once-famous magician turned recluse with a mentally impaired grown daughter. As Jo is drawn to the odd family, she finds a darker mystery, involving a missing wife and a Mob-run counterfeit operation. Unable to walk away from hidden truths, she discovers some disappearing acts are better left unsolved.

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Exile Trust by Vincent H. O'Neil
A Frank Cole Mystery (3rd in series)

Freelance insurance "fact-checker" Frank Cole agrees to look into a situation at the local bank in the town of Exile, Florida. Something is squirrelly with one of the safe-deposit boxes and, with the state preparing an audit, Frank agrees to look for anomalies. He finds a glaring one—the recent emptying of a box by a local man for his wife. It turns out the man's been dead for a year, and his wife has only recently, accidentally and suspiciously joined him.

Frank digs into Dorothea Freehoffer's recent fatal fall and discovers that the woman was not only unpopular and loathed, she was probably involved in Panhandle land corruption—and its darker dangers. Mix in double-dealing officials, shady speculators, missing persons, a map and murder, and Frank is going to need more than just his wits to stay in Exile … alive.

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Death at Play by Nancy Gotter Gates
A Tommi Poag Mystery (3rd in series)

When Tommi Poag is invited to join the board of her Greensboro, North Carolina, condo homeowners' association her first "assignment" is a doozy. Her job: convince Fulton Ridenhour to drop the lawsuit he launched after his prize show dog ran away while the association homes were being painted. But before Tommi can charm or negotiate some sense into her nasty and unscrupulous neighbor, the man is found murdered at a popular historic battle reenactment—stabbed with a bayonet.

Tommi's friend, Garland Merritt, also a reenactor, is arrested when the victim's blood is found on his sword. Certain of his innocence, Tommi is determined to look deeper into Fulton's past. What she finds are shocking and downright dangerous scams involving larceny, cons and worse—putting Tommi on the wrong end of some deadly secrets and convincing the killer it's time to make Tommi herself history.

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If you enjoy the books in this series, you can join Worldwide Mystery and get 2 free books plus 2 free gifts just for giving the automatic program a try. Accepting your two free Worldwide Mystery books and mystery gifts places you under no obligation to buy anything. You may keep the books and gifts and return the shipping statement marked cancel. If you do not cancel, about two months later, and then every other month, eHarlequin will send you three additional Worldwide Mystery books.

Keep up to date by subscribing to eHarlequin.com's free newsletter that contains the latest information about their series of books as well as informing you about subscriber-only special offers and new products. Click on the banner below to subscribe for free:

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