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/thriller category.
Dial M for Mongoose by Bruce Hale. The 15th mystery in the Chet Gecko series, recommended for readers aged 7 to 9. Lexile measure: N/A (though other books in this series range from 410L to 580L). Reviewed by a 5th grade student, who writes that the book "combines a mixture of mystery and humor", adding that the book was "very well written" and "the characters were very funny." (Read the entire review.)
For more reviews of children and young adult books of all genres, visit Book Trends; their reviews will amaze you! You can also follow Book Trends on Twitter.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Reviews of Mystery and Suspense Books for Kids, New This Week on Book Trends (110326)
Friday, March 25, 2011
No Less in Blood by D. M. Pirrone (Mystery Book Review)
No Less in Blood by D. M. Pirrone. Non-series. Five Star Hardcover, March 2011.
This multi-faceted story is more about interpersonal relationships than the underlying mystery, though there are elements of suspense that are handled well. The plot, with its multiple points of view and alternating timeline, is easy to follow, the narrative clearly written and fast-paced. Those who appreciate a strong, family-centric drama will be taken in by this debut novel.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: No Less in Blood by D. M. Pirrone.
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New Hardcover Mysteries for April 2011
The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books has updated its list of new hardcover mysteries with books scheduled for publication in April 2011. Please note that some titles may publish early (and may already be available) and some may be delayed, published at a later date.
Below we're listing those authors with returning series characters, new series characters, and non-series or stand-alone mysteries in separate sections. All titles are available on our April new mystery books page (which will become the default home page for the site on April 1st).
• Authors with mysteries featuring returning series characters (in italics) this month:
Susan Wittig Albert, China Bayles (19th) — David Baldacci, Sean King and Michelle Maxwell (5th) — Rita Mae Brown, Mrs. Murphy (19th) — Carol Higgins Clark, Regan Reilly (14th) — Cassandra Clark, Abbess of Meaux (3rd) — Jane K. Cleland, Josie Prescott (6th) — Michael Connelly, Mickey Haller (4th) — Douglas Corleone, Kevin Corvelli (2nd) — Jeanne M. Dams, Dorothy Martin (10th) — Diane Mott Davidson, Goldy Schulz (16th) — John DeMers, Brett Baldwin (2nd) — P. C. Doherty, Hugh Corbett (16th) — David Downing, John Russell (4th) — Martin Edwards, Lake District (5th) — Kate Ellis, Wesley Peterson (15th) — Terence Faherty, Scott Elliott (5th) — Christopher Farnsworth, Nathaniel Cade (2nd) — Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain, Murder, She Wrote (35th) — Sarah Graves, Jacobia "Jake" Tiptree, Home Repair is Homicide (14th) — Susanna Gregory, Thomas Chaloner (6th) — J. M. Gregson, Inspector Peach (15th) — James Grippando, Jack Swyteck (9th) — Rosemary Harris, Paula Holliday, Dirty Business (4th) — Carolyn Hart, Death on Demand (21st) — David Hewson, Nic Costa (9th) — James Patrick Hunt, Evan Maitland (4th) — Graham Hurley, Joe Faraday (11th) — Lisa Jackson, Reuben Montoya and Rick Bentz (7th) — Iris Johansen, Eve Duncan and Joe Quinn (12th) — Philip Kerr, Bernie Gunther (7th) — Bernard Knight, Richard Pryor (2nd) — Camilla Lackberg, Bertil Mellberg (2nd) — Donna Leon, Guido Brunetti (20th) — Keith McCarthy, Eisenmenger-Fleming (8th) — Carol McCleary, Nellie Bly (2nd) — Susan McDuffie, Muirteach MacPhee (2nd) — Michael McMenamin and Patrick McMenamin, Bourke Cockran Jr. and Mattie McGary (2nd) — Bill Moody, Evan Horne (7th) — I. J. Parker, Sugawara Akitada (8th) — Eliot Pattison, Hadrian Boone (4th) — Anne Perry, Charlotte and Thomas Pitt (26th) — Amanda Quick, Arcane Society: Looking Glass Trilogy (2nd) — R. T. Raichev, Antonia Darcy and Major Hugh Payne, Country House Crime (6th) — Cynthia Riggs, Victoria Trumbull, Martha's Vineyard (10th) — Sara Rosett, Ellie Avery, Mom Zone (6th) — Ann B. Ross, Julia Springer (12th) — Betty Rowlands, Sukey Reynolds (11th) — John Shannon, Jack Liffey (13th) — Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid, Sammy Greene (2nd) — Clea Simon, Dulcie Schwartz (3rd) — Julia Spencer-Fleming, Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne (7th) — Kathryn R. Wall, Bay Tanner (11th) — Lis Wiehl and April Henry, Triple Threat (3rd) — Jacqueline Winspear, Maisie Dobbs (8th) — Stuart Woods, Stone Barrington (19th).
• Authors with mysteries introducing characters (in italics) in a new series this month:
Sandra Balzo, AnneLise Griggs — Daniel Blake, Franco Patrese — Marcia Clark, Rachel Knight — Patrick Easter, Tom Pascoe — Janice Hamrick, Jocelyn Shore — Meagan J. Meehan, Angelo Zenoni — Clea Simon, Pru Marlowe, Pet Noir.
• Authors with non-series or stand-alone mysteries this month:
David Albahari — Shumeet Baluja — Mary Higgins Clark — Edward Conlon — Ted Dekker — Hallie Ephron — Jessica Tarahata Hagedorn — Linda Lombardi — Lisa Lutz and David Hayward — Isaac Marion — Robert Masello — Ferenc Máté — The Medieval Murderers — Elle Newmark — Peter Prange — Karl Puttlitz — Nora Roberts — Lisa Scottoline — Whitley Strieber — E. Duke Vincent — Norb Vonnegut — Michael Wallner — Barbara Warren — Louise Welsh — Michael Lee West.
For more information on any of these titles, please visit the April new mysteries page on our website. If you're interested in new paperbacks, visit The Mystery Bookshelf where you can discover a library of new mysteries, also updated with April 2011 releases.
Please visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books where we are committed to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.
Bookperk: Insider Access to the World of Books
The folks at HarperCollins e-mailed us this morning to let us know about a new site they've launched called Bookperk, which provides readers with exclusive merchandise and experiences from their favorite authors and books.
The site consists of a number of "offers", some of which require a purchase, some of which are giveaways. Two current offers (they seem to be available for a week or so at a time) piqued our interest (being the mystery and suspense fans that we are!):
• Purchase a copy of Jacqueline Winspear's latest Maisie Dobbs mystery, A Lesson in Secrets, and receive a special gift from AMC's upcoming murder mystery series The Killing. (Offer details link.)
• Enter to win a hardcover edition of I Am Number Four, signed by the cast of the film adapted from the book, plus an "I Am Number Four" hoodie. (Five winners; Offer details link.)
You can sign up for a free newsletter on the site, and also refer your friends to get credit against a future purchase. It's an interesting site; check it out!
(Disclosure: There are no referral links in this post. No request was made by, nor incentive provided by, HarperCollins to write this post.)
Michael Connelly Developing Film Project for Series Character Harry Bosch
Late last year, crime novelist Michael Connelly reaquired the rights to his series character Harry Bosch from Paramount and it looks like he's not wasting any time transitioning the character to film.
Connelly is reportedly in talks with Yellow Bird Films -- the producers behind the "The Girl Who ..." movies adapted from the Stieg Larsson thrillers -- to develop a film project for the LAPD homicide detective.
In 1995, Paramount optioned Connelly's first two books featuring Bosch, The Black Echo and The Black Ice, but the deal also included a 15-year adaptation lock on the character and a reaquisition fee tied to the studio's development costs. (No films were ever made.)
Last week, The Lincoln Lawyer opened in theaters, adapted from another of Connelly's novels (featuring a different series character, criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller).
(Source: Deadline|New York)
Summit to Distribute Film Adaptation of I, Alex Cross by James Patterson
Summit Entertainment has secured the US distribution rights to the upcoming film adaptation of I, Alex Cross by James Patterson. Tyler Perry will star as forensic psychologist Alex Cross, with Matthew Fox cast as the villain.
We'd include a synopsis here, but as we previously reported, the characters and plotline are apparently from a different Patterson novel (Cross), the film adaptation of which at one time had a different star attached (Idris Elba). So we're not entirely sure what the screenwriters have in store for us.
Filming will begin this summer with a release date expected in 2012.
(Source: The Hollywood Reporter)
Go On a Twisted Literary Adventure in Dark Parables: The Exiled Prince, New 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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Many centuries ago, a princess kissed a frog and transformed him into a handsome prince. Unlike the fable, however, they never ended happily ever after. It is rumored that the Frog Prince is still alive and now roams the deserted path in the Black Forest, capturing unsuspecting visitors. When the chancellor's daughter disappears, you are sent to investigate. Journey through the mysterious forest in a hidden world to find the missing princess and break an age-old curse in this eerie hidden object adventure game.
For a more in-depth gaming experience, check out Dark Parables: The Exiled Prince (Collector's Edition), which is full of exclusive extras you won’t find in the standard version, including an integrated strategy guide, bonus gameplay, wallpapers, concept art, an original soundtrack, and early access.
See also the first game in this series, Dark Parables: Curse of Briar Rose.
Dark Parables: The Exiled Prince may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (175.58 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour; the full version is 289.97 MB.
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!
Mystery Bestsellers for March 25, 2011
A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending March 25th, 2011 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness retains the number one spot on the list for the third consecutive week. Two new titles move up from a debut just off the list last week into the top 15 this week.
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Moving all the way up to number 4 is the latest from James Patterson, the non-series thriller Toys.
Hays Baker and his wife Lizbeth possess super-human strength, extraordinary intelligence, stunning looks, a sex life to die for, and two beautiful children. Of course they do -- they're Elites, endowed at birth with the very best that the world can offer. The only problem in their perfect world: humans and their toys!
The top operative for the Agency of Change, Hays has just won the fiercest battle of his career. He has been praised by the President, and is a national hero. But before he can savor his triumph, he receives an unbelievable shock that overturns everything he thought was true. Suddenly Hays is on the other side of the gun, forced to leave his perfect family and fight for his life.
Now a hunted fugitive, Hays is thrown into a life he never dreamed possible -- fighting to save humans everywhere from extinction. He enlists all of his training to uncover the truth that will save millions of lives -- maybe even his own.
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Just a few places lower, in 7th position is the fourth mystery in the Jackson Brodie series, Started Early, Took my Dog by Kate Atkinson.
It's a day like any other for Tracy Waterhouse, running errands at the local shopping center, until she makes a purchase she hadn't bargained for. One moment of madness is all it takes for Tracy's humdrum world to be turned upside down, the tedium of everyday life replaced by fear and danger at every turn.
Witnesses to Tracy's Faustian exchange are Tilly, an elderly actress teetering on the brink of her own disaster, and Jackson Brodie, who has returned to the land of his childhood, in search of someone else's roots. Variously accompanied, pursued, or haunted by neglected dogs, unwanted children, and keepers of dark secrets, soon all three will learn that the past is never history -- and that no good deed goes unpunished.
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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 authors, titles, and series.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Showtime Developing Crime Series Adapted from Chew Comics by John Layman and Rob Guillory
Showtime is developing a half-hour crime series adapted from the Chew comics by John Layman and Rob Guillory.
Tony Chu is a detective with a secret. A weird secret. Tony Chu is cibopathic, which means he gets psychic impressions from whatever he eats. It also means he's a hell of a detective, as long as he doesn't mind nibbling on the corpse of a murder victim to figure out whodunit ... and why. He's been brought on by the Special Crimes Division of the FDA, the most powerful law enforcement agency on the planet, to investigate their strangest, sickest, and most bizarre cases.
The comics have been collected into a series of trade paperbacks, which include Chew: Taster's Choice, Chew: International Flavor, and Chew: Just Desserts.
Terri Hughes Burton and Ron Milbauer (Supernatural, Point Pleasant) wrote the pilot screenplay.
(Source: Deadline|Hollywood)
Typhoon, an International Thriller by Charles Cumming
The Mystery Bookshelf, where you can discover a library of new mysteries, is pleased to feature a new mystery series title we recently received from the publisher.
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Typhoon by Charles Cumming
Non-series
St. Martin's Griffin (Trade Paperback)
Publication Date: March 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-65420-7
About Typhoon (from the publisher): In 1997, a few months before the British government is scheduled to return Hong Kong to Chinese rule, Joe Lennox, a brilliant young operative for SIS (MI6), loses both his girlfriend and his first high profile asset – a prominent defector who disappears from a safe house. The girlfriend, the ravishing Isabella Aubert, he lost to Miles Coolidge, a hard-bitten CIA agent; the asset to collusion between his bosses and the CIA.
A decade later, Lennox is back in China, facing his old nemeses. With the CIA plotting to use an Islamic group to destablize China, the SIS seeking to thwart them and his old asset the key to all of this, Lennox, Coolidge, and the girlfriend they shared are hopelessly intertwined in a plot where trust is impossible and truth is unknowable.
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About the author: Charles Cumming is an Assistant Editor of The Week magazine, and regularly writes book reviews for The Spectator and The Mail on Sunday.
He is one of the trustees of The Pierce Loughran Memorial Scholarship fund which provides tuition fees for the Yeats Summer School in Sligo, Ireland. In 2008 he was a First Story writer-in-residence at Cranford Community College, London. He is also the founder and President of the Jose Raul Capablanca Memorial Chess Society. Visit his website at CharlesCumming.co.uk.
Read the first chapter(s) of Typhoon below. Use the Aa settings button to adjust text size, line spacing, and word density.
One for the Money Now Scheduled for Release in January 2012
If you were looking forward to seeing Katherine Heigl play bounty hunter Stephanie Plum this summer in the film adaptation of One for the Money by Janet Evanovich, you'll have to wait a few months longer.
Just three weeks ago, the studio announced the film's release date was being moved from July to June. Now Lionsgate has announced it is moving the release date back to January 27th, 2012.
One for the Money, originally published in 1994, is the first book in this long running series of bestselling "numbered" mysteries. Smokin' Seventeen is published this June.
(Source: The Hollywood Reporter)
OMN Welcomes Mystery Author Roxe Anne Peacock
Omnimystery News is pleased to welcome Roxe Anne Peacock, whose debut mystery is Leave No Trace (Whiskey Creek Press, February 2011 Trade Paperback, 978-1-61160-071-1).
Today, Roxe Anne discusses her experiences that led to writing the book. And she's also providing our readers with an opportunity to win a copy of her book. Visit Mystery Book Contests, click on the "Roxe Anne Peacock: Leave No Trace" contest link, enter your name, e-mail address, and this code (2462) for a chance to win! (One entry per person; contest ends 04/07/2011.)
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Photo provided courtesy of Roxe Anne Peacock
When we lived close to a local library, I thought I was in heaven. We also went to garage sales where I discovered the Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and The Bobsey Twins. I took my treasured book along with a quilt and sat under the nearest shade tree. Our house had no air conditioning nor did we have many fans. We kept our windows open and hoped for a breeze.
Some of my other favorite books were To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Amelia Earhart, and books on destinations.
My family did a lot of camping and fishing. We spent several summers at Castle Rock State Park; though it wasn’t a park in the 1960’s. Yes, I even helped catch the fish and clean them. My siblings and I caught minnows and crawdads, too. We searched at night by flashlight for the biggest worms we could find. I always try to include a river somewhere in my stories.
My love for caves began as a young teen. I was fortunate enough to visit the Merrimac Caverns and a few other small caves. My passion for these wonders was the inspiration for Leave No Trace.
After reading several books about rappelling caverns, especially the Carlsbad Caverns, I knew my book would be centered around Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, New Mexico.
My plot changed from rappelling the caverns after I heard a news flash about two best friends on a road trip who visited Carlsbad National Park. Their hike to Rattlesnake Canyon was their last. The two friends didn’t take provisions and only had three bottles of water on their trip through the desert. When they were found, Raffi Kodikian was barely alive, and he had killed and buried his best friend, David Coughlin.
Now that I wasn’t using the caverns, I decided to use the Flight of the Bats in my story. It is where hundreds of thousands of Mexican free-tailed bats enter and exit a gigantic hole in the earth. The bat flight talks are scheduled from Memorial Day weekend through September.
I researched Carlsbad to see what river I could use in my story and found the Pecos River. I also found the infamous Flume which was once featured in Ripley’s “Believe It or Not” as the river that crosses itself.
In keeping with the best friend theme, I decided to have my protagonist, Jessica Waters and her best friend, Sandra Adams looking forward to attending college in the fall and sharing a dorm. The plans were put on hold when Sandra disappears after prom.
Mutual friend and Sandra’s boyfriend, Jason Harris was the last known person to have been seen with Sandra. He also had secured both girls a summer position at Sally’s Diner where he works. Jason isn’t the only suspect in Carlsbad. Teacher and cross country coach Carl Lundstrum was accused of having an affair with Sandra.
Her plans to investigate her best friend’s disappearance couldn’t go any better when Sally Cooper, owner of Sally’s Diner, calls and asks her to start her job earlier than planned. What better way to research a disappearance than working at a diner where all the gossip mongers hang out. Jessica was going to make it her business to find her best friend if it was the last thing she ever does.
My decision to add a diner stems from my first job as a teenager; waitressing. My pay was $1.05 an hour, and I worked sixteen hour days. I worked eight hours at one diner and then was transferred to another diner for eight more. At the time, I was only fifteen. The tips were pretty good. I usually received 25 cents for serving a customer a cup of coffee.
The gossiping was heavy and so was the petting that went on in the back room with the manager and a few customers. I refilled many cups of coffee to all the local cops and listened to their police calls. The experience was good for my writing today.
I wouldn’t trade my experiences for all the technology in the world. My childhood let me enjoy the imagination a child should have. How many children do you see playing outside?
In today’s society, children are almost expected to be adults at birth. Where is the imagination in playing video games? Now they even have books for babies to read or should I say, memorize.
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To learn more about the author, visit her website at RoxeAnnePeacock.com.
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About Leave No Trace: Jessica Waters was looking forward to attending college in the fall with her best friend, Sandra Adams. But when Sandra disappears the night after prom, mutual friend Jason Harris becomes the number one suspect. Jason isn’t the only suspect in the tight-knit community of Carlsbad, New Mexico. Before Sandra disappeared, she confessed to having an affair with coach and teacher, Carl Lundstrum. Now Jessica is going to make it her mission to find out what happened to her best friend, if it is the last thing she ever does.
Leave No Trace is available in Trade Paperback and Kindle Edition (see icons below book cover).
For a chance to win a copy of Leave No Trace, courtesy of the author, visit Mystery Book Contests, click on the "Roxe Anne Peacock: Leave No Trace" contest link, enter your name, e-mail address, and this code (2462) for a chance to win! (One entry per person; contest ends 04/07/2011.)
Explore a Mysterious Town in Shiver: Vanishing Hitchhiker (Collector's Edition), New 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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During a rainstorm, you pick up a young hitchhiker, who leads you to an eerie town where nothing is as it seems. Leaving an unusual object in your car, you try to track her down and return it to her. But you are suddenly haunted by memories that are not your own. Explore a spooky landscape as you figure out where the strange woman has gone, diving deeper into the mystery as you progress through incredible locations and scenes. Will you find the vanishing hitchhiker and discover her secret?
This is a special Collector's Edition, full of extras not found in the standard version, including an integrated strategy guide, bonus gameplay, wallpapers, concept art, and early access.
Shiver: Vanishing Hitchhiker (Collector's Edition) may be downloaded and purchased for $13.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (320.06 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!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
TNT Drops Two Crime Drama Projects
Yesterday we reported that TNT has renewed Southland for a fourth season, and ordered Perception, a new series starring Eric McCormack as a neuroscientist who solves complex criminal cases.
Today we're learning that the cable network has passed on two other crime drama projects that were in development: Bird Dog, about father and daughter cops (Gerald McRaney and Ashley Williams), who work as partners; and the untitled adaptation of The Rabbit Factory by Marshall Karp, with Steven Weber and D. L. Hughley attached to star as LAPD detectives Mike Lomax and Terry Biggs.
(Source: Deadline|Hollywood)
The Magician's Nephew to be Next Chronicles of Narnia Film
Walden Media, which owns the film rights to the books in the Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis, has been talking about the next book to be adapted.
The most recent film to be released, Voyage of the Dawn Treader (in December 2010) has been something of a financial disappointment, at least domestically, so expectations for a fourth entry in the film series were considered slim. However, Michael Flaherty, co-founder and president of Walden Media, recently had this to say: ""We are starting to talk to Fox and talk to the C.S. Lewis estate now about The Magician's Nephew being our next film."
This choice for the next book to film may come as something of a surprise, as it is the sixth book (of seven) written in this fantasy adventure series but it is also a prequel to the first (The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe).
The Magician's Nephew introduces readers to the land of Narnia and how it came to be. The storyline features young Digory and Polly, who are tricked by Digory's peculiar Uncle Andrew into becoming part of an experiment, and set off on the adventure of a lifetime. Hurtled into the Wood between the Worlds, the children soon find that they can enter many worlds through mysterious pools there. In one world they encounter the evil Queen Jadis, who wreaks havoc in the streets of London when she is accidentally brought back with them. When they finally manage to pull her out of London, unintentionally taking along Uncle Andrew and a coachman with his horse, they find themselves in what will come to be known as Narnia.
(Source: The Christian Post)
