Prime Time Crime 2010 Emmy Nominations

This morning the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced the nominees for the 2010 Prime Time Emmy Awards. Our attention was drawn -- probably not surprisingly -- to those nominations for mystery, suspense and crime drama, which are summarized below.

Burn Notice (USA): Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Sharon Gless)

The Closer (TNT): Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Kyra Sedgwick)

Damages (FX): Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Glenn Close), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Martin Short), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Rose Byrne)

Dexter (Showtime): Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Michael C. Hall)

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (NBC): Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Mariska Hargitay)

Lost (ABC): Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Matthew Fox), Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Terry O'Quinn and Michael Emerson)

True Blood (HBO): Outstanding Drama Series

MBN Welcomes Rick Mofina, Author of the Jack Gannon Mysteries

Mystery Books News is thrilled to welcome Rick Mofina as our guest blogger. Rick is the author of The Panic Zone (Mira, June 2010 Paperback, 978-0-7783-2794-3), the 2nd mystery featuring international journalist Jack Gannon.

Today, Rick writes about what it means to him to be an author. And he's also providing our readers with an opportunity to win a copy of his book. Visit Mystery Book Contests, click on the "Rick Mofina: The Panic Zone" contest link, enter your name, e-mail address, and this code (5933) for a chance to win! (One entry per person; contest ends July 22, 2010.)

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Photo courtesy of Rick Mofina

I guess telling tales has always been in my blood. I grew up in a working-class family east of Toronto, in Belleville, Ontario, Canada where many of my relatives were natural story tellers. I started writing fiction in grade school and never stopped. I was eighteen when I hitchhiked to California and wrote a (dreadful, still unpublished) novel about the experience. In university I studied Journalism, Religious Responses to Death, and English Literature, including a course in American Detective Fiction. A nice combination to have when I became a cub reporter at The Toronto Star, the same paper where Hemingway once worked. From the Star I embarked on a career in journalism that spanned three decades and several newsrooms.

My reporting has put me face-to-face with murderers on death row in Montana and Texas. I covered a horrific serial-killing case in California, an armored car heist in Las Vegas and the murders of police officers in Alberta. I have flown over Los Angeles with the LAPD, and gone on patrol with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police near the Arctic. I have also reported from the Caribbean, Africa and the Middle East.

It was during my time as crime reporter with the Calgary Herald that I sold my first book, If Angels Fall. My latest release, The Panic Zone, is my 12th book. Now I am published in 16 countries.

The Panic Zone concerns the story of an anguished mother from Wyoming who refuses to believe her baby died in a tragic car crash. Jack Gannon, a wire service reporter from New York, joins her in the hunt for a perfect killer whose trail leads them around the world in a race against time. It is the second book in the Jack Gannon series, which debuted with Vengeance Road.

For Jack Gannon's job as a correspondent with the World Press Alliance based in New York, I drew upon my own time as a newspaper reporter then a wire service reporter in Canada. I also have friends with Reuters and the Associated Press. I visited the AP's world headquarters in NYC and discussed my character with staff there, to get a better feel for him in that sort of environment.

At the outset of The Panic Zone, Gannon is dispatched to Rio de Janeiro to dig up the truth behind a cafe bombing that killed 10 people, including two journalists from the WPA's Rio bureau. I reached into my own experiences of being dispatched at a moment's notice to a story, to places such as the Caribbean, Africa, Kuwait. I recall being told one day, "we need you to go to the Bahamas to chase a story." Then there was the stomach-twisting time I was dispatched to the tragedy in Columbine. "Just grab a laptop and get on a plane." I got on the next flight from Calgary and bought what I needed in Littleton.

For other aspects of The Panic Zone, I did a lot of reading. The research never stops. I'll be researching while I am writing. It all depends on what I need, or think I need.

I think my urge to write reaches back to my earliest years when my mother read bedtime stories to me. She drew me into worlds that were sketched by the writer's words and brought to life in my imagination. This was wild magic. It had captivated me with such intensity that I was compelled to craft my own fiction based on the real things I'd observed. Like how my mother smiled when my father came home and handed me his big lunch bucket, with one cookie left in it for me. Or the way his hands were creased with fine threads of dried concrete as he unlaced his heavy work boots.

I observed the world I was in, then created fiction based on what I saw. Eventually my parents bought me a typewriter and one thing led to another which led to the sale of my first short story for $60.00 to a magazine in New Jersey. My father stared at that check for a long time, trying to make sense of what had transpired. At age 15, I was a professional writer. Or so it seemed. That was 1972. My first novel was published in 2000.

While I left reporting several years ago -- I have a full-time job as a communications advisor -- my writing process has not changed. Once I have an idea I give it a lot of thought to ensure it really grabs me. I get up at 4 am, make notes, and make notes on the bus commute to my day job, I turn those notes into draft pages on the weekends, writing from 5 or 6 a.m. until mid afternoon. When I travel, I work on my laptop in hotels, airports, on planes.

For me, the keys are ritual, routine and discipline. Journalism gave me the discipline, My family gave me everything else. My wife and family are extraordinarily accommodating. Our kids grew up knowing dad was always in the office at the keyboard, coming up for air when reality demands it. Other than that, staying faithful to the writing routine is the only way for me to meet deadlines.

One of the things I love about writing is reader reaction. I've had a lot of nice comments, like ‘you kept me up all night,’ and ‘you need to write more books faster’. But one that stands out came from a lovely handwritten letter from a woman in Indiana. Seems she was on vacation in the west and bought my first book, If Angels Fall, in a used book bin for 25 cents.

After reading it, she liked it so much, she cut me a personal check for the full cover price, $7.00, which she’d attached to her letter. She told me I’d earned it. I was blown away. I thanked her. And yes, I cashed the check, but I’ve kept a photocopy that I intend to frame some day.

And I love the feedback from new readers who have just discovered you. It's very rewarding when someone takes the time to write you a kind note telling you how much they enjoyed your book, that never gets old. Hanging out with other writer friends at conferences is fun, too.

As a writer, one thing I've learned along the way is to never give up. The only guarantee that you will fail, is if you give up. The only thing impeding you stares back at you in the mirror. Don't make excuses for not writing, carve out time and create sentences.

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Rick is currently based in Ottawa, where he lives with his wife and their two children. Visit his website at RickMofina.com, follow him on Twitter (@rickmofina), or check out the Rick Mofina Facebook fan page to learn more about his latest projects.

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About The Panic Zone: A car crashes in Wyoming -- a young mother is thrown clear of the devastating car crash. Dazed, she sees a figure pull her infant son from the flames. Or does she? The police believe it's a case of trauma playing cruel tricks on the mind, until the night the grief-stricken woman hears a voice through the phone: "Your baby is alive."

A bomb explodes in a Rio de Janeiro café -- the heinous act kills ten people, including two journalists with the World Press Alliance news agency. Jack Gannon's first international assignment is to find out whether his colleagues were innocent victims or targets who got too close to a huge story.

A Caribbean cruise ends in horror -- doctors are desperate to identify the mysterious cause of a cruise ship passenger's agonizing death. They turn to the world's top scientists, who fear that someone has resurrected their long-buried secret research. Research that is now being used as a deadly weapon.

With millions of lives at stake, experts work frantically against time. And as an anguished mother searches for her child and Jack Gannon pursues the truth, an unstoppable force hurls them all into the panic zone.

Also available:  The Panic Zone by Rick Mofina (Kindle edition).

For a chance to win a copy of The Panic Zone, courtesy of Planned Television Arts, visit Mystery Book Contests, click on the "Rick Mofina: The Panic Zone" contest link, and enter your name, e-mail address, and this code (5933) in the entry form. (One entry per person; contest ends July 22, 2010.)

Grace's Quest: To Catch An Art Thief, a New Mystery Game from BFG

Games of Mystery is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery casual game from Big Fish Games released today and available to BFG Club members. 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.

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Stop a gang of art thieves before they steal all of the world's priceless treasures! Take the role of Grace as she works with a detective from France to chase down the crooks and rescue her friend, Chloe, whom the criminals have kidnapped. You'll have to bring all of your investigative skills to bear on your search as the felons globe hop from heist to heist, leaving empty art galleries and clues in their wake. Can you crack the case before Mona Lisa's half-cocked smile disappears forever?

Grace's Quest: To Catch An Art Thief may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (183.23 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour.

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! (Collector's Editions earn 3 punches each, half-way towards your free game!)

Read Ms. Terri's reviews of the adventure and casual mystery games featured on this site, including Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy, Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses!, Enlightenus, and many more!

Big Fish Games: Bestsellers

Big Fish Games: New releases

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Games of Mystery is your source for mystery-themed video, electronic, and board games, parties for kids and adults, and murder mystery weekends and mystery getaway vacations!

Supreme Justice by Phillip Margolin (Book Review)

Review of Supreme Justice by Phillip Margolin

Private investigator Dana Cutler looks into a five-year-old murder case involving a "ghost ship" that may be linked to an attack on a Supreme Court Justice in Supreme Justice, the second suspense novel in this series by Phillip Margolin.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews.

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Supreme Justice
Phillip Margolin
A Dana Cutler Mystery

Harper (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-06-192651-5 (0061926515)
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-192651-8 (9780061926518)
Publication Date: June 2010
List Price: $25.99

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Mysterious Reviews is your source for the latest mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime novel reviews, edited by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

New Carina eBook Mysteries for July 2010

Each month, MBN is pleased to list new mystery and suspense titles from Carina Press, an ebook only publisher. Links on this page are for the Kindle edition of the book; click on the banner to the right to be taken to CarinaPress.com to purchase other ebook formats.

New mysteries for July 2010 from Carina include:

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In Plain View by J. Wachowski
A Maddy O'Hara Mystery

SFX: Ker-flush

That's the sound of my career going down the toilet. Three months ago, I was the freelance reporter to call for full-color images of an international crisis.

Now? I'm stationed at the far edge of the Chicago flyover as a disappointing mother-sub to my eight-year-old niece and the babysitter for a newsroom College Boy.

Camera still: a man in Amish clothing hanging from a tree. Dead.

One photo of the lifeless man was all I needed to see—there's more to this story than anyone wants to admit. Especially Sheriff Jack Curzon, with his death-ray eyes watching my every move. I have a feeling that man wants more than my cooperation.

Quick-cut, pan, tilt and—run.

Someone is hiding, just out of sight. And I'll do whatever it takes to protect my new family.

Seeing the truth can be dangerous ...

... when evil is in plain view.

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Allegra Fairweather: Paranormal Investigator by Janni Nell
An Allegra Fairweather Mystery

Allegra Fairweather here. Paranormal investigator. Got problems with specters? Shapeshifters? I'm the woman to call. Just don't call me a Ghostbuster. The last guy who did that ended up flat on his back with my boot at his throat.

With my 99.5% success rate, solving the mystery of a bleeding rose that has sprung up on the shores of Loch Furness should have been an easy gig. But already I've heard the shriek of the local banshee, discovered two bodies (and then lost two bodies), and had a near-death encounter with a three-hundred-year-old ghost. And perhaps most dangerous of all, the hot pub owner who hired me now wants to show me exactly what's under his kilt.

Luckily, I'm ably assisted by my very own guardian angel. I'm grateful for his help—but he's also drop-dead gorgeous. A bit distracting when I've got a mystery to solve, and the clock is ticking ...

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Scene Stealer by Elise Warner
An Augusta Weidenmaier Mystery

"For a moment our eyes met; his were frightened, seeking help. Was it my imagination gone wild? No. After all those years of teaching elementary school, I knew this child was afraid."

After a chance encounter on the subway, Miss Augusta Weidenmaier, a retired schoolteacher living in New York's Greenwich Village, is determined to help the police in the search for missing nine-year-old child actor Kevin Corcoran. Never mind that she has no training in law enforcement—she spent decades teaching. She knows when someone is lying.

Once set upon a course of action, the indomitable Miss Weidenmaier cannot be swayed—or intimidated. Facing down megalomaniacal business executives, stuck-up celebrities, pushy stage mothers and a rabble-rousing talk show host, Miss Weidenmaier will stop at nothing—not even the disapproval of one Lieutenant Brown of the NYPD, who does not take kindly to amateur sleuthing—to bring young Kevin home.

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Blinded By Our Eyes by Clare London
Non-series

London art dealer Charles Garrett has devoted his life to appreciating and acquiring beauty, both in art and in his companions. His fashionable life is rocked to the core when he discovers the body of a young artist, Paolo Valero, in a pool of blood in his gallery.

As Paolo's mentor, Charles is haunted by the horror of his violent death. Seeking closure, he investigates Paolo's past and soon discovers a tangled web of motives and potential suspects, some closer to home than he ever imagined. He's drawn to Antony Walker, an aggressive, handsome sculptor with unsavory ties to Paolo. Charles is unsettled by Antony's forceful nature but irresistibly attracted to his passion and his art.

When the evidence points toward Antony's guilt, Charles is thrown into emotional turmoil. Has he lost his heart to a killer?

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Presumed Dead by Shirley Wells
A Dylon Scott Mystery

Dylan Scott has problems. Dismissed in disgrace from the police force for assaulting a suspect, he has no job, his wife has thrown him out and—worse luck—his mother has moved in. So when Holly Champion begs him to investigate the disappearance of her mother thirteen years ago, he can't say no, even though it means taking up residence in the dreary Lancashire town of Dawson's Clough for the duration.

Although the local police still believe Anita Champion took off for a better life, Dylan's inquiries turn up plenty of potential suspects: the drug-dealing, muscle-bound bouncer at the club where Anita was last seen; the missing woman's four girlfriends, out for revenge; the local landowner with rumored mob connections—the list goes on. But no one is telling Dylan all they know—and he soon finds that one sleepy Northern town can keep a lot of secrets.

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Carina Press, a division of Harlequin, is a digital-first publisher offering ebooks in a variety of genres, including mystery. eBooks from Carina can be read on the Apple iPad, Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, B&N nook, Borders Kobo, BlackBerry and mobile phone.

David Suchet on the Orient Express, a Masterpiece Mystery Special, Airs Tomorrow July 7th on PBS

This Sunday, July 11th, PBS's Masterpiece Mystery airs the first of three new Poirot mysteries, including (as incredible as it may seem) the first appearance of David Suchet as Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express.

In anticipation of this premiere event, PBS is airing a special documentary, David Suchet on the Orient Express tomorrow, July 7th (check your local listings).

Commissioned by ITV, the documentary will touch on the incident in 1929 that inspired Christie's book: the train was stuck in a snowdrift for 10 days, 60 miles outside Istanbul, carrying a full complement of passengers who survived only with the assistance of nearby Turkish villagers.

With insight and charm, Suchet leads an epic journey on this iconic train. From London, he travels to Calais in northern France to board the Venice Simplon Orient Express, and begins his 2,000-mile journey through six countries, with a breathtaking stop in Venice on the way to Prague.The delightful Suchet revels in the artistry and beauty of the train, and explores its attraction for Agatha Christie, who used it as the setting for one of her most recognized novels. It will also use archive material to tell the train's history from its inaugural "Express d'Orient" journey across Europe in 1883 to its role in both world wars.

Watch a short preview below:

Murder in the Abstract by Susan C. Shea (Book Review)

Review of Murder in the Abstract by Susan C. Shea

Susan C. Shea introduces San Francisco museum fund-raiser Danielle "Dani" O'Rourke, who is the center of attention after the body of an up-and-coming artist falls from her fifth floor office window, in Murder in the Abstract.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews.

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Murder in the Abstract
Susan C. Shea
A Dani O'Rourke Mystery

Avalon (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-8034-7768-6 (0803477686)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8034-7768-1 (9780803477681)
Publication Date: June 2010
List Price: $23.95

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Mysterious Reviews is your source for the latest mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime novel reviews, edited by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

Vault Cracker: The Last Safe (Game Review)

Review of Vault Cracker: The Last Safe by Ms. Terri, game reviewer for the Omnimystery Family of Mystery Websites.

Vault Cracker: The Last Safe is a hidden object game with a fair amount of point-and-click action plus some innovative puzzles. But what distinguishes this game from many others is its integrated storyline that compels the player to move forward, if only to see how it all ... pardon the expression ... plays out.

Read her complete review on Games of Mystery.

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Games of Mystery is your source for mystery-themed video, electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, murder mystery weekends and mystery getaway vacations, and more mysterious fun!

Fortuna by Michael R. Stevens (Book Review)

Review of Fortuna by Michael R. Stevens

A Stanford graduate student thinks there may be a connection between his activities in a popular online role-playing game and his actions in real life in Fortuna, Michael R. Stevens' debut stand-alone thriller.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews.

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Fortuna
Michael R. Stevens
Non-series

Oceanview Publishing (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-933515-77-5 (1933515775)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933515-77-9 (9781933515779)
Publication Date: May 2010
List Price: $25.95

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Mysterious Reviews is your source for the latest mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime novel reviews, edited by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

Dragnet 1968 and Life on Mars, The Complete BBC Series, New This Week on DVD

Telemystery, your source for one of the most complete selections of detective, amateur sleuth, private investigator, and suspense television mystery series, mini-series and made-for-television movies, now available or coming soon to DVD or Blu-ray disc, is profiling two series being released this week.

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This is the city: Los Angeles. It is 1968, and Sergeant Joe Friday (Jack Webb) and Officer Bill Gannon (Harry Morgan) are hitting the streets once again in the name of law and order, to protect and to serve in the second season of Dragnet.

The community landscape is littered daily by juvenile delinquency, drug abuse, student dissidence and con-artistry but, just like that, it can all be brought to a screeching halt when Friday and Gannon appear on the scene. Ladies and gentlemen, the stories you are about to see are true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Originally conceived as a radio program and then a popular 1950s television series, Dragnet aired for four seasons on NBC. The Dragnet (1967): Season Two DVD set of 6 discs contain the 28 episodes that aired during the 1967/1968 television season.

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Crazy, in a coma, or back in time? Struck by a passing car in modern-day Manchester, detective Sam Tyler (John Simm) wakes up in 1973, where he’s the newest member of his old police squad in Life on Mars, a BBC series that aired during 2006 and 2007.

Sam’s respect for proper procedure and 21st-century mentality clash mightily with his bullying boss, DCI Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister). Still, Sam gamely adapts to crime solving in this retro world, despite hearing strange voices that call him back to his former life. When he bonds with sympathetic policewoman Annie Cartwright (Liz White), Sam wonders: does he really want to return?

A sequel to Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes, aired for three seasons on BBC from 2008 through 2010. A US adaptation, also called Life on Mars, aired for one season on ABC.

The Life on Mars: The Complete Collection DVD set of 8 discs contain the 16 episodes that comprise the complete original BBC series.

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Visit our Mysteries on TV website to discover more television mystery series currently available on DVD and Blu-ray disc.

City of Dreams by William Martin (Book Review)

Review of City of Dreams by William Martin

Peter Fallon leaves his beloved Boston to search for early American financial instruments with his fiancé Evangeline Carrington in her beloved New York City in City of Dreams, the fourth historical adventure in this series by William Martin.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews.

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City of Dreams
William Martin
A Peter Fallon Mystery

Forge (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-765-32197-1 (0765321971)
ISBN-13: 978-0-765-32197-8 (9780765321978)
Publication Date: May 2010
List Price: $25.99

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Mysterious Reviews is your source for the latest mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime novel reviews, edited by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

Mysteries on TV is now Telemystery!

We are thrilled to announce that our website dedicated to mystery television series and movies, Mysteries on TV, is now Telemystery!

In addition to the new name, we've updated the site's graphics and re-engineered some of the underlying code to make the site faster to load and easier to navigate. We're also providing direct links, where appropriate, from Telemystery to our mystery television and film review site, Mr. E. Reviews.

If you've bookmarked pages on Mysteries on TV, they'll still work under Telemystery. We haven't changed the base subdomain URL.

Over the next few weeks, we'll continue to upgrade the site, replacing some of the individual page series graphics (and fixing a duplicate series air date error that somehow mainfested itself during the migration).

In the meantime, please visit the new Telemystery to discover a selection of over 200 detective, amateur sleuth, private investigator, and suspense television mystery series and made-for-television movies now available or coming soon to DVD.

Mystery Godoku Puzzle for July 05, 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:

A D E H K N O S W

This "Port City" crime takes place in the title of Gerry Boyle's first Brandon Blake mystery. (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!

Prison Break and Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove, Now Available to Download from Amazon Video Games

Games of Mystery is pleased to announce this week's new mystery and suspense casual and adventure games available for immediate download from Amazon Video Games.

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

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Prison Break

Tom Paxton, a Company agent, is dispatched on a mission into Fox River Penitentiary after Michael Scofield, an engineer with no previous criminal record, suddenly attempts a bank robbery and is sent there. In this same prison, Scofield’s brother, Lincoln Burrows, is set to be executed for the murder of the Vice President’s brother. Paxton’s orders are clear: observe Scofield and find out what he’s up to. Paxton must adapt to prison life and remain inconspicuous while maintaining his undercover status. But prison has its rules and regulations, as Paxton quickly –- and often painfully -– learns while digging up information about the key figures in Fox River and their plans. Suddenly, the mission becomes more than simple observation: it’s a deadly game, and survival is the main goal -– and the ultimate prize.

Based on the popular Fox television series Prison Break.

ESRB Rating: Teen.

Windows Vista/XP (1650 MB download).

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Mystery Case Files: Dire Grove

The Celtic legend of Dire Grove has been passed down from generation to generation for centuries. Considered a fairytale, its telling was meant to frighten small children into staying in their beds through the night. A recently unearthed artifact in the United Kingdom, however, proves the dark legend to be true! Use your wits and hidden object talents to follow the trail of a group of missing graduate students.

ESRB Rating: Not Specified.

Windows Vista/XP (485 MB download).

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Games of Mystery is your source for mystery-themed video, electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, murder mystery weekends and mystery getaway vacations, and more mysterious fun!

Reviews of Mystery and Suspense Books for Kids, New This Week on Book Trends (100703)

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.

The Long Way Home by Andrew Klavan. The second thriller in the Homelanders series, recommended for readers aged 12 and older. Lexile measure: N/A. Reviewed by a 6th grade student, who writes, "Andrew Klavan is obviously a very good writer and I cannot wait for the third book in this series to come out! This plot is good, the setting is good, and the characters are phenomenal."

Kiss in the Dark by Lauren Henderson. The third mystery in the Scarlett Wakefield series, recommended for readers aged 14 and older. Lexile measure: 930L (estimated, based on previous books in the series). Reviewed by a 6th grade student, who writes, "The entire book is told through the eyes of a teenager, which makes it great fun. Finally, the mystery is unpredictable and engaging. There are so many twists and turns, the reader is kept guessing until the very last page."

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