Grace Under Pressure by Julie Hyzy (Book Review)

Grace Under Pressure by Julie Hyzy. A Manor House Mystery with Grace Wheaton. Berkley Prime Crime Mass Market Paperback, June 2010.

Grace Wheaton, assistant curator for the Marshfield Manor, must step up and take charge when her boss is murdered in an apparent case of mistaken identity, in Grace Under Pressure, the first in a new cozy series by Julie Hyzy.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Grace Under Pressure by Julie Hyzy.

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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 Trailer for Fifth Season of Dexter

Showtime has posted a trailer for the fifth season of Dexter on its website, which you can watch below.

Based on characters created by Jeff Lindsay, Dexter stars Michael C. Hall as a forensic blood spatter expert for the Miami Dade Police Department ... who is also a ruthless serial killer.

In this new season, Dexter has more to lose than ever as he is drawn into a deadly game with a killer every bit as dangerous -- and conflicted -- as he is.

The new season premieres Sunday September 26th at 9 PM (ET/PT) on Showtime. Watch the trailer below:

Poirot: Appointment with Death Airs Sunday, July 25th on PBS

Tomorrow, Sunday July 25th, the third and final installment of this summer's Agatha Christie's Poirot Series X airs on PBS Masterpiece Mystery! Check your local listings for times.

Titled "Appointment with Death", archaeologist Lord Greville Boynton (brilliantly played by Tim Curry), accompanied by his universally despised wealthy second wife Lady Boynton, is in zealous pursuit of a major artifact in Syria. A curious array of onlookers has also gathered in the unforgiving desert heat — among them the tormented Boynton children, a psychiatrist, a nun, a travel writer and a cerebral but not exactly rugged Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. When most of the camp returns from an expedition, they find Lady Boynton has been stabbed to death. How can Poirot make sense of a murder when most of the suspects weren't even present at the time of death? Poirot's investigation exposes red herrings, broken personalities and a tragic back story buried deep. Will Poirot give up in frustration or will the voices of his little grey cells sing out and solve the case?

David Suchet stars as Hercule Poirot in this adaptation of the novel by Agatha Christie, originally published in 1938.

Announcing MystereBooks: Mystery, Suspense and Thriller eBooks

We are very pleased to announce the newest member to the Omnimystery Family of Mystery Websites: MystereBooks.com. MystereBooks is your source for the latest, bestselling mystery, suspense and thriller ebooks available for immediate download.

Books on the site are currently linked to two vendors: Barnes&Noble for eBooks that may be read on a variety of electronic devices including the Nook; and Amazon.com for Kindle editions. Other sites may be added in the future. Books that we've reviewed will also display a link to the review on Mysterious Reviews.

The site will be frequently updated with new titles, with older titles archived to a backlist page.

We thank you for visiting the Omnimystery Family of Mystery websites when buying your mystery-themed entertainment products, including books, games, films and television series. Your support helps keep our family strong and growing!

Inner Mysteries, Midnight Mysteries, and Treasure Seekers, New to Download from AVG

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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Doors of the Mind: Inner Mysteries

The nightmares began when my father passed away. I haven't slept in days, and the nightmares even appear when I am awake. My doctor has recommended a dream specialist, and together we are trying to figure out what these nightmares mean.

ESRB Rating: Not Specified.

Windows Vista/XP (190 MB download).

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Midnight Mysteries: Salem Witch Trials

The famed writer Nathaniel Hawthorne has died during a freak snow storm, and his ghost has come to you, asking for help. There's more to this case than first appears, and only you can help free his spirit. Why was it snowing in May? Could Hawthorne's powerful friends and the Oval Office have something to do with the author's untimely death? How do legends of witchcraft play into the death of a writer 170 years later?

ESRB Rating: Not Specified.

Windows Vista/XP (500 MB download).

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Treasure Seekers: Follow the Ghosts

Jump into an exciting adventure as you help Nelly and Tom free some unlucky ghosts who are being trapped by an evil alchemist! Use your hidden object skills to explore a mysterious world, and discover valuable clues. Track down the necessary items to free the dead ancestor of Cardinal House, a shaman, and many other characters. Stop the evil alchemist and save the day!

ESRB Rating: Not Specified.

Windows Vista/XP (158 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 (100724)

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.

Frenzy by Robert Liparulo. The sixth and final thriller in the Dreamhouse Kings series, recommended for readers aged 12 and older. Lexile measure: N/A. Reviewed by a 6th grade teacher, who writes, "Robert Liparulo has created a series that is not only packed with suspense, but is also filled with inspiration. Frenzy is a page-turner that will keep readers up until the wee hours of the morning as they surge ahead through the novel awaiting the shocking conclusion."

The Tilting House by Tom Llewellyn, recommended for readers aged 10 to 12. Lexile measure: 740L. Reviewed by a 7th grade student, who calls the novel "superb", adding "I also like the idea of having many stories about the house chain together to form the main story because it really makes the reader excited and anxious to find out what is going to happen next."

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

All of Felix's Favorite Games are $2.99 This Weekend Only at BFG

Games of Mystery is pleased to provide our readers with current promotions that offer discounts or other incentives for purchasing mystery-themed products and services.

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This weekend only (through Monday, July 26th), all of Felix's favorites at Big Fish Games can be purchased for only $2.99. Simply use coupon code ONEBILLION at checkout.

There are over 60 games from which to choose. We've picked out just a few of the mystery and suspense games, listing them below:

Dark Tales: Edgar Allan Poe's Murders in the Rue Morgue

Drawn: The Painted Tower

All of the Mystery Case Files series of games: MCF Huntsville, MCF Madame Fate, MCF Prime Suspects, MCF Ravenhearst, and MCF Return to Ravenhearst

Nightfall Mysteries: Curse of the Opera

PuppetShow: Mystery of Joyville

Veronica Rivers: The Order of the Conspiracy

... and many more!

Click the banner below to visit BFG this weekend and "reel" in a few new games to play!

Find more (regularly priced) mystery games to download on our BFG Adventure Games and BFG Hidden Object Games pages.

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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!

CWA Announces Winners of 2010 Dagger Awards

Tonight the Crime Writers' Association (CWA) announced the winners of several Dagger Awards at the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate. These include:

◊ Dagger in the Library: Ariana Franklin, “the author of crime fiction whose work is currently giving the greatest enjoyment to library users”;

◊ Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction: Ruth Dudley Edwards for Aftermath: The Omagh Bombing & the Families’ Pursuit of Justice;

◊ International Dagger: Johan Theorin for The Darkest Room (Sweden);

◊ Short Story Dagger: Robert Ferrigno for "Can You Help Me Out There" (which appeared in Thriller 2);

◊ Debut Dagger: Patrick Eden, for an author who has not yet had a novel published commercially, for the opening to his atmospheric noir tale A Place of Dying.

Death Watch by Jim Kelly (Book Review)

Death Watch by Jim Kelly. A Peter Shaw Mystery. Minotaur Books Hardcover, May 2010.

The deaths of a brother and sister, twins, eighteen years apart may be related in Death Watch, the second investigation of Detective Inspector Peter Shaw and his partner Detective Sergeant George Valentine by Jim Kelly.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Death Watch by Jim Kelly.

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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.

Short Lists for 2010 CWA Dagger Awards Announced

The short lists for the Crime Writers' Association (CWA) Gold, Ian Fleming Silver, and John Creasey New Blood Dagger Awards, which celebrate the best in crime and thriller writing, were announced earlier today. The winners will be announced at a ceremony later this year. Winners of other dagger awards will be announced this evening.

The short lists are:

Gold
◊ Conman by Richad Asplin (No Exit Press)
◊ Blacklands by Belinda Bauer (Corgi)
◊ Blood Harvest by S. J. Bolton (Bantam Press)
◊ Rain Gods by James Lee Burke (Orion)
◊ Shadowplay by Karen Campbell (Hodder & Stoughton)
◊ The Strange Case of the Composer and his Judge by Patricia Duncker (Bloomsbury)
◊ Still Midnight by Denise Mina (Orion)
◊ The Way Home by George Pelecanos (Orion)

Ian Fleming Steel
◊ 61 Hours by Lee Child (Bantam Press)
◊ A Loyal Spy by Simon Conway (Hodder & Stoughton)
◊ Gone by Mo Hayder (Bantam Press)
◊ Slow Horses by Mick Herron  (Robinson)
◊ The Dying Light by Henry Porter (Orion)
◊ Innocent by Scott Turow (Macmillan)
◊ The Gentleman's Hour by Don Winslow (Heinemann)

John Creasey New Blood
◊ Acts of Violence by Ryan David Jahn (Pan)
◊ Cut Short by Leigh Russell (No Exit Press)
◊ Martyr by Rory Clements (John Murray)
◊ Random by Craig Robertson (Simon & Schuster)
◊ Stop Me by Richard Jay Parker (Allison & Busby)
◊ Rupture by Simon Lelic (Picador)
◊ The Holy Thief by William Ryan (Mantle)
◊ The Pull of the Moon by Diane Janes  (Robinson)

 indicates a review by Mysterious Reviews.

Mystery Bestsellers for July 23, 2010

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending July 23rd, 2010 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

No change in the order for the top three bestselling mysteries this week, with The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson remaining at number one for the umpteenth week. Two new titles enter the list this week.

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Debuting in 11th position is the first graphic novel by Janet Evanovich and her daughter Alex Evanovich, Troublemaker, featuring characters from the author's Metro Girl mystery series.

Alex Barnaby and Sam Hooker are back together and fighting crime the only way they know how by leaving a trail of chaos, panic, and disorder. Alex, an auto mechanic and spotter for racecar driver Sam Hooker, is drawn to trouble like a giant palmetto bug to a day-old taco. Unfortunately, she's also drawn to Hooker in the same fashion. There's no steering clear of trouble or Hooker when friends Rosa and Felicia call for help. A man has gone missing, and in order to find him Barnaby and Hooker will have to go deep into the underbelly of Miami and south Florida, surviving Petro Voodoo, explosions, gift-wrapped body parts, a deadly swamp chase, and Hooker's mom.

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Just making the list is the 10th mystery with Israeli intelligence officer and art historian Gabriel Allon, The Rembrandt Affair by Daniel Silva.

Determined to sever his ties with the Office, Gabriel Allon has retreated to the windswept cliffs of Cornwall with his beautiful Venetian-born wife Chiara. But once again his seclusion is interrupted by a visitor from his tangled past: the endearingly eccentric London art dealer, Julian Isherwood. As usual, Isherwood has a problem. And it is one only Gabriel can solve.

In the ancient English city of Glastonbury, an art restorer has been brutally murdered and a long-lost portrait by Rembrandt mysteriously stolen. Despite his reluctance, Gabriel is persuaded to use his unique skills to search for the painting and those responsible for the crime. But as he painstakingly follows a trail of clues leading from Amsterdam to Buenos Aires and, finally, to a villa on the graceful shores of Lake Geneva, Gabriel discovers there are deadly secrets connected to the painting. And evil men behind them.

Before he is done, Gabriel will once again be drawn into a world he thought he had left behind forever, and will come face to face with a remarkable cast of characters: a glamorous London journalist who is determined to undo the worst mistake of her career, an elusive master art thief who is burdened by a conscience, and a powerful Swiss billionaire who is known for his good deeds but may just be behind one of the greatest threats facing the world.

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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 B0031YJFCQ authors, titles, and series.

Second Trailer for RED Released, based on the Graphic Novel by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner

About a month ago we posted the first trailer for the film RED, based on the graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner, and starring Bruce Willis and Helen Mirren as ex-CIA agents who embark on a new mission to uncover who's trying to kill them.

A second trailer was released by the studio this week at Comic-Con in San Diego, which can be seen below. It doens't necessarily provide any new details about the film, but we never tire of seeing Helen Mirren with a weapon of mass destruction in her hands.

RED hits theaters on October 15th.

A Direct-to-DVD Burn Notice Prequel in the Works?

The Hollywood Reporter Heat Vision blog is reporting that a Burn Notice prequel is in the works.

USA Network, which airs the popular series, and Fox Studios, which produces it, are in talks to develop a straight-to-DVD prequel that would cover Sam Axe's (Bruce Campbell) adventures before his attempts to help his best friend, black-listed spy Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan).

"We've entertained the idea," series creator Matt Nix said. "We all start thinking, 'Wow, we should crash two helicopters into each other. Maybe we need a movie budget.' "

No deal has been closed yet, but it is an intriguing idea.

Mr. E. Reviews the BBC Mini-Series Edge of Darkness

Review of Edge of Darkness (BBC mini-series).

A film remake of this BBC television mini-series from 1985 was released earlier this year, and before I watched it, I wanted to see the original source of the material. Let me start by saying, I can only hope the remake is better -- much better -- than the original.

Read the full text of our review at Mr. E. Reviews.

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Mr. E. Reviews is your source for mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime drama reviews of television and film.

MBN Welcomes Samantha Hunter, Author of the Sophie Turner Tarot Medium Mysteries

Mystery Books News is thrilled to welcome Samantha Hunter as our guest blogger. Samantha is the author of Past Tense (Amazon Digital Services, July 2010), the first book in the Sophie Turner/Tarot Medium mystery series, combining paranormal elements with classic amateur sleuth and mystery fiction. Once Burned, the second book in the series, is planned for next year.

Today, Samantha writes about having some skin in the game, when a romance writer writes a mystery. And she's also providing our readers with an opportunity to win a copy of her ebook. Visit Mystery Book Contests, click on the "Samantha Hunter: Past Tense" contest link, enter your name, e-mail address, and this code (4549) for a chance to win! (One entry per person; contest ends August 05th, 2010.)

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Photo provided courtesy of Samantha Hunter

It's probably no coincidence that the protagonist in my Kindle-published mystery, Past Tense, is undergoing an identity crisis, trying to reconcile conflicting aspects of her life, her personal relationships as well as dealing with secrets of her past, because as a romance writer who loves mystery as much as romance, I sometimes find myself very split between the two, as well.

My Harlequin romances often have degrees of mystery or suspense in them, and I have to admit, I've been a mystery fan longer than I have been a romance fan. As a kid, I was reading Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden long before I was reading romance novels stolen from my mother's night stand. I was also obsessed with anything cop or detective related as a kid. I would stay up late to watch detective shows in the 70s after my parents went to bed. The world of mystery and suspense has always been one I enjoyed as a reader/viewer, so it makes sense that I would eventually go there as a writer.

Romance and mystery address different needs: romance is the emotional journey, and mystery is the ethical one: mystery satisfies the need to find justice in the world, to have good prevail over evil, which is another kind of HEA (happily ever after). If "boy meeting girl and finding love" is one of the great stories of all humanity, "good versus evil" is the other. Wanting good to triumph is just as compelling as wanting people to fall in love, the way I see it.

So maybe my writing personality is not as split as I imagined. The best mysteries, in my view, have emotional components. The emotion doesn't have to be romantic (though romantic subplots are always fun), but in contrast to the objective, analytical mystery of days gone by, I want detectives -- professional or amateur -- to have some skin in the game. They have to care, have to struggle, and have to take risks. They should have some personal stake in what they are investigating. They should have flaws, emotions, and they should grow through their endeavors. Whatever their personal stories, they are idealists: they believe good can prevail, and they will do what they can to make that happen.

In turn, they make us believe in justice the way a good romance will make us believe in love. The satisfaction of discovering the villain and seeing him or her captured is just as strong as seeing the couple in a romance finally overcome their obstacles and unite.

What do you think? Who is your favorite mystery protagonist, and what makes you care about them enough to read book after book?

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Samantha is the author of 16 novels, an avid reader of romance and mystery/suspense, prefers television to movies, and loves spending time with her husband, pets and in her gardens. She lives in Syracuse, New York. Visit her website at SamanthaHunter.com.

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About Past Tense: Sophie Turner runs Talismans, a Boston tarot parlor, where she reads tarot and keeps her family’s psychic legacy alive. However, in spite of her tragic family history and Tarot Alley’s reputation for being a mystical hotspot, Sophie has no psychic powers of her own -- or so she thinks. Engaged to straight-as-an-arrow Boston PD Detective Roger Paris, and finishing her college degree in Computer Science, she’s ready to start a brand new life that has nothing to do with her paranormal past.

When the murder of her friend and client Patrice Bledsoe leaves Sophie traumatized, she can’t trust her own memory about what happened. She remembers a ghostly encounter moments before Patrice was killed, but she can’t remember anything about the murder, making her a prime suspect. Sophie doesn’t understand why the ghost appeared or why she was compelled to read his cards, revealing a story of violence and betrayal, but she is determined to find the truth about her friend’s murder.

It’s not the last time Sophie sees the tragic ghost figure, and she begins to believe her ghost is real when she’s plagued with visions she can’t ignore. When her skeptical fiancé won’t listen, she asks ghost hunter Dr. Gabe Mason for his help, leading her down a path of no return in more ways than one.

For a chance to win one of three copies of Past Tense (provided as an Amazon.com gift card), courtesy of Samantha Hunter, visit Mystery Book Contests, click on the "Samantha Hunter: Past Tense" contest link, and enter your name, e-mail address, and this code (4549) in the entry form. (One entry per person; contest ends August 05th, 2010.)