Mystery Hardcover Bestsellers (02/17/2006)

A list of the top ten mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending February 17, 2006 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

James Patterson's fifth entry in the Woman's Club Murder series, The 5th Horseman, debuts at the top of the Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble mystery bestsellers list.

From the publisher's description: Accompanied by the newest member of the Women's Murder Club, Yuki Castellano, Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer probes deeper into a series of incidents at a hospital where, as patients are about to be released with a clean bill of health, their conditions take a devastating turn for the worse. Could these cases just be appalling coincidences? Or is a maniac playing God with people's lives? When someone close to the Women's Murder Club begins to exhibit the same frightening symptoms, Lindsay fears no one is safe.

Technorati tags: mystery books blogs, mystery, mystery books, mystery bestsellers, james patterson, the 5th horseman.

Online Review for The Princess of Burundi

Timothy Peters recently reviewed The Princess of Burundi by Kjell Eriksson (translated by Ebba Segerberg) for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Eriksson's second novel (and first to be published in America) offers a much more privileged and detailed perspective on the myriad factors behind a crime and its widespread effects on the community and families involved. Peters adds, "This is a terrific mystery, and it transcends the too-often pejorative label of genre fiction." He concludes, "As with most mysteries, we're rooting for the detective to set things right, but Eriksson's fine book is a reminder that even the best possible outcome -- catching the guilty -- can never fully repair the damage wrought."

Read his entire review here.

Technorati tags: mystery books blogs, mystery, mystery books, kjell eriksson, the princess of burundi.

Newspaper Editor Pens Mystery Novel

Karen E. Olson, a wife, mother, and newspaper editor, was the recipient of an award for a debut mystery novel from Mysterious Press, an imprint of Warner Books, which has published the book and will put out her second one in September. Olson covered the police beat when she had to, but didn't love it like the spunky protagonist in her first mystery novel, Sacred Cows. Her character, Annie Seymour, is a smart, bawdy, single police reporter at a newspaper in New Haven, a workaholic who's not afraid to say what's what.

The News-Times of Danbury CT recently ran a profile of Karen Olsen. Olson chose the newsroom for her setting because of her familiarity with one. She's worked for newspapers since 1984, with her last 13 years at the New Haven Register.S he made Annie a more boisterous reporter than newsroom protagonists who precede her. And she picked New Haven as the city since it's the first time it's been chosen for a mystery series, she said.

Read the rest of this interesting profile here.

Technorati tags: mystery books blogs, mystery, mystery books, karen olsen, mysterious press.

Nero Wolfe Author, Goldsborough, Wins Readers' Choice Award

Nero Wolfe award winning author, Robert Goldsborough, wins an award for "Best Historical Mystery" for his first mystery, Three Strikes You're Dead, since writing the Nero Wolfe books.

This award follows close on the heels of the first academic placement for Three Strikes You're Dead. The first book in the Steve "Snap" Malek mystery series has been selected for inclusion in the "History of Chicago" class curriculum at the Loyola Academy in Wilmette (IL), a well respected Jesuit College Preparatory High School.

Three Strikes You're Dead takes fans back to 1938 Chicago, to a time when politics were king and baseball ruled. Dizzy Dean sat in the driver's seat of the Cubs' World Series ride, while scandal rocked the tight political community of the Windy City.

Read the entire press release here.

Technorati tags: mystery books blogs, mystery, mystery books, robert goldsborough, nero wolfe.

Weekly Mystery Godoku Puzzle for 02/13/2006

A new Mystery Godoku Puzzle has been created by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and is 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 mystery clue: Rhys Bowen writes the popular Evan Evans mystery series. What is Evans’ profession? (9 letters: A B C E L N O S T).

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!

Technorati tags: mystery books blogs, mystery, mystery books, mystery godoku, sudoku, godoku.

Online Review for Arthur & George

Arthur & George, the latest novel by Julian Barnes, appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List this past week. Arthur is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, physician, sportsman, gentleman par excellence and the inventor of Sherlock Holmes; George is George Edalji, also a real, if less well-known person, whose path crossed not quite fatefully with the famous author's.

Rob Thomas recently reviewed the book for The Capital Times (Madison WI).

Thomas writes, " ... readers looking for a no-frills mystery might be surprised by the book's considerable literary ambitions." He concludes his review with, "Just as we're resigned to think that the resolution of the mystery will mean the end of the novel, Barnes ties his narrative strands together with a truly breathtaking final scene ... It is an unexpectedly moving coda to a brilliant book, one that suggests that life's real mysteries are ephemeral ones that lie far beyond the reach of even the world's greatest detective."

Read the review in its entirety here.

Technorati tags: mystery books blogs, mystery, mystery books, julian barnes, arthur & george.

Author Sets Mystery In Her Home Town

Rebecca Forster, Long Beach (CA) native, visiting a friend who lives in the International Towers, was taken in by the view of the beach and ocean from the condo’s balcony. But her thoughts weren’t on just the scenery. She mused, "What if someone took a nose dive off this building?” Sounds like the premise for a mystery!

The third installment in her “Witness” series, featuring attorney Josie Baylor-Bates, Privileged Witness, revolves around the death of a wealthy woman, the wife of a Senate hopeful. His sister is accused of pushing his wife from the penthouse balcony of International Towers. Josie, who just happens to be his ex-lover, must defend her.

Gazettes.com recently ran an article profiling Rebecca Forster. Read the entire article here.

Technorati tags: mystery books blogs, mystery, mystery books, rebecca forster, josie baylor-bates.

Mystery Book Review: Blondes Have More Felons by Alesia Holliday

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, has posted a mystery book review for Blondes Have More Felons, a new series introducing December Vaughn, by Alesia Holliday. Published by Berkley Prime Crime, the book has a scheduled publication date of March 07, 2006.

December Vaughn is a corporate attorney who has relocated to Florida to set up her own private practice. Her first client: a man whose wife died because of defective insulin. The consequence of taking the case: a drug company and its ruthless lawyers doing anything in their power to derail the case.

Read our review of Blondes Have More Felons here.

Technorati tags: mystery books blogs, mystery, mystery books, mystery book review, alesia holliday.

Mystery Hardcover Bestsellers (02/10/2006)

A list of the top ten mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending February 10, 2006 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

New this week: Sea Change, the fifth Jesse Stone mystery by Robert B. Parker. Reviews have been generally mixed. Publisher's Weekly concludes their review with, "Stone is a work in progress whose following is likely to increase as he continues to grow." While Booklist states, "Shortcomings aside, though, Parker's setting and plotting are enough to make most readers forgive the unrelenting Guy Noir style."

Technorati tags: mystery books blogs, mystery, mystery books, mystery bestsellers, robert b. parker, jesse stone.

More Literary Clues Soon to Be Discovered on 'Lost'

The Book Standard is reporting that more literary clues will soon be discovered on ABC's hit series Lost. Gary Troup’s manuscript for Bad Twin made its debut last night as the reading material of character Hugo “Hurley” Reyes.

Disney’s Hyperion Books, a sister company of ABC, hired a well-known mystery author to pen Bad Twin, about a wealthy heir who searches for a long-lost evil sibling. Hyperion will release the book on May 2, 2006.

Read the entire article here.

Technorati tags: mystery books blogs, mystery, mystery books, abc's lost, gary troup.