Mystery Book Review: Written in Blood by Sheila Lowe

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

Written in Blood by Sheila Lowe
A Forensic Handwriting Mystery with Claudia Rose

Signet (Mass Market Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-451-22487-6 (0451224876)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22487-3 (9780451224873)
Publication Date: September 2008
List Price: $6.99

Review: A novel that starts with all of the trappings of a cosy, Written in Blood soon escalates into a captivating story with tinges of noir and episodes of abduction, human trafficking, car chases and, of course, murder most foul. It’s an exhilarating ride well worth the taking.

A handwriting expert herself in her day job, Sheila Lowe treads the fine line between lecturing about forensic graphology and using her knowledge to capture and hold the reader’s interest as her amateur sleuth, Claudia Rose, is hired as an expert witness to prove or discredit the authenticity of a signature on a will. It’s a complicated challenge since her employer, Paige Sorensen, is the widow of 73-year-old Torg Sorensen who died of a mysterious heart attack, was “at least twice Paige’s age,” and left a hen scratching of a signature for Claudia to decipher at a hearing where her hated handwriting rival opposes her testimony, leaving her feeling as if “a herd of butterflies in elephant boots danced the tarantella in her stomach.” Even the trial has its moments of gripping tension over who will win and what will happen afterwards as elements of the family rivalry between Paige and her three adult step-children are introduced with the two older ones hating her with a passion and the youngest wheelchair-bound male madly infatuated with her. With that mix the reader just knows something bad is bound to happen and it does.

Paige, as Claudia discovers, is no angel even though she is the headmistress at Sorensen Academy and truly concerned about a rebellious 14-year-old student, Annabelle Giordano, the daughter of a local gangster whom the teen-aged girl is convinced is a murderer and a would-be rapist. Claudia, against her better sense, develops a friendship of sorts with Paige and a mentoring relationship with Annabelle when she initiates a three-month remedial graphotherapy program for the troubled teenager. But when Claudia discovers that both Paige and Annabelle are interested in the school’s athletic director Cruz Montenegro, one with a schoolgirl crush, the other with a passion for rough sex, she realizes there’s more than forensic graphology at play. And then, when both the headmistress and the jealous teen-ager with her vow “to get that skanky slut” disappear, Claudia begins a search that uncovers the corpse of one and takes her in pursuit of the other from their hometown Los Angeles to Las Vegas with mysteries and surprises galore before the story concludes with an abduction, revelations about foreign children’s kidnappings, a hair-raising car chase, rough justice for a murderer and accomplice, and a parental reconciliation of a father and daughter that would do Hollywood proud.

Besides doing a bang-up job with the storyline, Lowe handles the settings, atmosphere and characterization equally well. Her sexpot friend, Kelly, adds some relief to the serious tone of the main plot and her mentor, forensic psychologist Zebediah Gold is a stalwart friend as well. This time around her live-in lover, Joel Jovanic, a detective with the LAPD, appears as more of a cameo character travelling back and forth on cases of his own, but he’s always in the background and shows up when Claudia needs him most. Similarly, Claudia’s likeable teenage niece serves as a useful conduit for information between Annabelle and “Aunty C.” Annabelle, Paige and Cruz are believable types too, one as the angst-ridden teenager, the other as the bereaved widow looking for love and justice, and the third as a support for both of them, but for one in a totally surprising way. The Sorensen brood very competently play out their roles in opposition as does the hated handwriting expert and a school financial officer with eyes for more than just Paige’s money.

“The Moving Finger writes and having writ, Moves on..., “the poet Omar Khyam said. Hopefully, author Sheila Lowe having written a couple of great stories about forensic handwriting expert, Claudia Rose, will move on to write a few more.

Special thanks to M. Wayne Cunningham (mw_cunningham@telus.net) for contributing his review of Written in Blood and to Penguin Group for providing a copy of the book for the review.

Review Copyright © 2009 — M. Wayne Cunningham — All Rights Reserved — Reprinted with Permission

If you are interested in purchasing Written in Blood from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right. Written in Blood (Kindle edition) is also available. Learn more about the Kindle, Amazon's Wireless Reading Device.

Synopsis (from the publisher): Hollywood forensic handwriting expert Claudia Rose is about to prove once more that no matter what words it forms, a pen will always write the truth.

Claudia's latest client is a dime-a-dozen type. The widow of a rich, older man, Paige Sorensen is younger than -- and hated by -- her stepchildren. And they’re dead set on proving that she forged their father’s signature on his will, which left his entire estate, including the Sorensen Academy for Girls, to her.

Claudia admits she’s intrigued by this real-life soap opera, and breaks her first rule: never get personally involved. But she’s grown attached to a troubled Sorensen student -- and when disaster strikes, she’ll realize that reading between the lines can mean the difference between life and death.

For more mystery book reviews visit Mysterious Reviews, a partner with the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books which is committed to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Games of Mystery: Righteous Kill, New for PC

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, and getaway vacations, is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery game for the PC. More mystery games for Windows PCs are available from our recently updated Games of Mystery: PC webpage.

Step into the shoes of Erica Dean as she investigates crime scenes in New York City in Righteous Kill.

It's a man hunt for a vigilante on a killing spree through 16 locations containing over a thousand hidden objects. With the help of Sergeant Vasquez, Erica will use clues she collects in a number of detective-themed mini games.

Inspired by the motion picture film of the same name, Righteous Kill features clips from the movie and 15 animated levels. Scheduled for release February 17th, this hidden object game is rated T for Teen. Righteous Kill (download version) is also available for immediate download from Big Fish Games.

Watch a video introduction to the game, courtesy of Big Fish Games, below:

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Games of Mystery: Art of Murder, Hunt for the Puppeteer, New for PC

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, and getaway vacations, is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery game for the PC. More mystery games for Windows PCs are available from our recently updated Games of Mystery: PC webpage.

FBI agent Nicole Bonnet returns in Art of Murder: Hunt for the Puppeteer. This time she has to face new challenges and solve another dark mystery that will take her to two continents, from France and Spain to exotic Cuba.

The United States is stricken by a series of mysterious, brutal murders. A seemingly similar death is discovered across the ocean in Paris. The killer seems to have a special trademark: the body is always accompanied by a mysterious doll dressed in 17th century clothing.

You must make an investigation demanding courage, devotion and logical thinking. Find out why the perpetrator leaves mysterious dolls by the corpses of the murdered people. Check what connects the victims, seemingly chosen by random. What are the motives behind the actions of the ruthless slayer?

Art of Murder: Hunt for the Puppeteer, scheduled for release February 17th, is a point-and-click adventure game that is a sequel to the popular game which introduced Nicole Bonnet, Art of Murder: FBI Confidential. Both are rated T for Teen.

Watch the trailer below:

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Mystery Book Review: The Sky Took Him by Donis Casey

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of The Sky Took Him by Donis Casey. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

The Sky Took Him by Donis Casey
An Alafair Tucker Mystery

Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-571-2 (1590585712)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-571-9 (9781590585719)
Publication Date: January 2009
List Price: $24.95

Review: Donis Casey's stellar fourth mystery, The Sky Took Him, has Alafair Tucker traveling to her sister's home in Enid when she learns her brother-in-law is dying. But the missing husband of her niece becomes her real concern. What has he gotten himself in to now?

When Ruth Ann, Alafair's sister, writes telling her of her husband's imminent death, Alafair knows she must come quickly. This is what family is all about. She, her eldest daughter, Martha, and youngest, Grace, take the train from their home in Muskogee, Oklahoma to her sister’s home in Enid. Here they find Lester very frail and totally bedridden. His business rests in the hands of his partner and his only daughter, Olivia. Olivia's husband, Kenneth, is also involved but Lester has little trust or confidence in his son-in-law. For reasons known only to Kenneth, he is away on business. When he doesn’t return home when he is scheduled to, Olivia gets in touch with the businesses he had said he was contacting, only to be told no contacts were ever made. Where had Kenneth gone, and where is he now? Some members of the family suspect that Kenneth has gotten himself into some illegal situation. This gives Martha cause to worry that her mother will haul off and get herself into some pickle again. It seems Alafair has a habit of sniffing around where she isn’t welcome and running afoul of those who could do her harm. Will she be able to find Kenneth? If so, what condition will he be in?

Although the mystery in The Sky Took Him starts out as a simple case of a missing person, it soon becomes clear that the real mystery is Kenneth himself. He owes a “ruthless business man in town” thousands of dollars that was used to invest in an oil well driller. He may be shipping smuggled goods to Mexico through the family business. He has evidently hidden something, because his office, his home and the oil well site are all broken into and trashed. What is he trying to hide? And from whom?

But this book is more than a mystery. It's also a study in family relationships. Alafair and Martha take a hard look at their own mother-daughter relationship and communicate their feelings about life and death, the love of parents and children, of untold dreams and hopes for the future.

The Sky Took Him is an awesome book that contrasts a gripping mystery with the story of a caring, loving family. Balancing page-turning suspense with passages of love and laughter, this is one of the year's best books.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of The Sky Took Him and to Poisoned Pen Press for providing a copy of the book for this review.

Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.

If you are interested in purchasing The Sky Took Him from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

Synopsis (from the publisher): It’s a sad duty that brings Alafair Tucker to Enid, Oklahoma, in the fall of 1915. Her sister Ruth Ann’s husband, Lester, is not long for this world, and the family is gathering to send him to his reward. Alafair had planned to make the trip on her own with her youngest daughter Grace. So she is surprised and gratified when her eldest daughter Martha volunteers to come along and care for Grace, freeing Alafair to comfort the soon-to-be-bereaved.

But her niece’s irresponsible husband, Kenneth, has disappeared at a most inconvenient time. When it comes to light that Kenneth has been involved in some shady dealing with Buck Collins -- the most ruthless businessman in town -- everyone is convinced that Collins has done him in. In fact, no other possibility is considered, not by the family or by the local lawmen. But Alafair suspects that things are not so simple.

Over the next few days, Alafair and Martha come face-to-face with blackmail, intimidation, murder, and family secrets that stretch back over twenty years. And in the process, they discover things about each other that will change their relationship forever.

For more mystery book reviews visit Mysterious Reviews, a partner with the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books which is committed to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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The Globe and Mail Profiles Mystery Author Alan Bradley

For every aspiring mystery writer out there (and, be serious, aren't we all?), you gotta love this story.

In tomorrow's print edition of the Globe and Mail (but online today), Fiona Morrow profiles Alan Bradley who, at the tender age of 70, is a newly published mystery author with a six-book international deal and a contract "well into six figures".

And it all started with but a 15 page opening chapter for a proposed mystery submitted into the Debut Dagger competition sponsored by the UK Crime Writers' Association in 2007. Bradley's entry won, and by November of 2008 his debut mystery, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie featuring 11-year-old amateur sleuth Flavia de Luce, was published in the UK. It hits Canadian booksellers this week, and is available in the US in April. [MBN note: the link is for the US edition; pre-orders are being taken by Amazon.com.]

Set in 1950s Britain, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is powered by its indefatigable narrator, the precocious chemist and incipient Miss Marple, Flavia de Luce. Aided and abetted by her trusty BSA bicycle, Flavia careens around between the genteel village of Bishop's Lacey and Buckshaw -- her family's stately home -- attempting to solve the mystery of the dead man she discovered in the cucumber patch.

Morrow reports that with the manuscript of the second novel just delivered and the remaining four mapped out, Bradley has settled into a writing routine. He wakes at 4:30 AM, makes tea, eats an orange and works his way toward his desk. "The hardest part of writing," he confides, "is sitting down. Once I'm there, I'm good -- I write about 1,000 words a day.".

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WETA Interviews Mystery Author David Baldacci

This morning on the In Reference to Murder blog, media murder was highlighted, one of our favorite topics.

Among the many interesting items listed was an interview with David Baldacci we had missed. As part of the Author Author series on WETA.org earlier this month, Bethanne Patrick had a conversation with the author of The Camel Club thrillers. The fourth book in the series, Divine Justice, was published late last year by Grand Central Publishing. (Also available for download: Divine Justice, Kindle edition.)

The interview was posted in two parts (1 and 2) and is provided as a video.

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Mystery Savings: Save 14% This Weekend Only on All Books at eHarlequin.com

Mystery Savings periodically provides our readers with current promotions that offer discounts or other incentives for purchasing mystery-themed products and services products through our partner websites. Below is a list of offers recently received that we're pleased to pass on at this time.

It's Valentine's Day and eHarlequin.com has an offer you won't want to miss.

This weekend only, February 14th and 15th, save an extra 14% off every book in your order. That includes all the great mysteries in the Harlequin Intrigue and Silhouette Romantic Suspense lines, as well as Harlequin's own imprint, Worldwide Mystery.

Plus, with your order, you'll get a free book: The Markonos Bride by Michelle Reid, a Harlequin Presents title.

But remember, this special offer ends on 11:59 PM Sunday, 02/15/2009.

To keep up to date on all the sales and other promotions offered by eHarlequin.com, especially those for newsletter subscribers only, register to receive their free newsletter by clicking on the link or banner below:

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Games of Mystery: The Dead Mountaineer's Hotel, New for PC

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, and getaway vacations, is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery game for the PC. More mystery games for Windows PCs are available from Games of Mystery: PC.

After multiple and extensive delays, and barring any last minute change of heart by the developer, The Dead Mountaineer's Hotel, an original and highly anticipated adventure mystery game, is being released in the US by Lighthouse Interactive on February 15th.

Playing as a vacationing police detective traveling through a snowy mountain range, you are caught in an avalanche and seek shelter at a remote inn, Dead Mountaineer's Hotel. Upon your arrival everything appears normal. You meet the other hotel guests, talk about the stormy weather, have a drink, and take in the beautiful scenery. Quite unexpectedly, you are thrust into the heart of a compelling mystery that turns into an intricate and bizarre murder investigation.

Strange and mystical events have been occurring at the hotel over the last few days leading up to the shocking murder. Each and every hotel guest becomes a criminal suspect. You must find the murderer and discover who, or what, is behind the disturbing incidences at the hotel. Reveal terrible secrets throughout your investigation and uncover the astounding truth behind Dead Mountaineer's Hotel.

The Dead Mountaineer's Hotel features 15 unique and lifelike characters, each with their own personalities, stories, and agendas. There are 5 different endings determined by a player's actions, decisions, and behavior. The game is based on an original story by the Russian writers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky (the "Strugatsky Brothers") and is also known as Inspector Glebsky's Puzzle.

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Games of Mystery: Undiscovered World, The Incan Sun, New at Big Fish Games

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, and mystery getaway vacations, is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery 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.

Embark on an eye-popping adventure and discover a world of fantastic treasures in Undiscovered World: The Incan Sun, a challenging hidden object game. After your plane crashes on a remote island, you quickly become part of mystery that has haunted your family for generations -- the secret treasure of the Incan Sun God. Explore a vibrant tropical town for carefully hidden items. Journey deep into the lush jungles and solve ancient puzzles. Collect powerful hint coins and secret statues. Undiscovered World: The Incan Sun is a thrilling challenge featuring three great game modes, stunning scenery, and hidden object fun for the whole family.

Undiscovered World: The Incan Sun may be downloaded and purchased for as little as $6.99 with the Big Fish Game Club Jumbo Pack. A demonstration version (52.43 MB) may be downloaded and played for one hour for free.

Watch a preview video below:

Other popular games on our download Big Fish Mystery Games page include several Agatha Christie and Nancy Drew games, games in the Mystery Case Files series and in particular the latest, Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst, Adventure Chronicles: The Search for Lost Treasure, the Carol Reed mystery Remedy, Mystery Legends: Sleepy Hollow, Mystery Chronicles: Murder Among Friends, and Lost Realms: Legacy of the Sun Princess.

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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Mystery Bestsellers for February 13, 2009

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending February 13, 2009 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

John Grisham and James Patterson assume the top two positions this week with their respective thrillers, The Associate and Run for Your Life. There were seven new titles on the list this week, but only two made it into the top 15.

New this week at number 13 is the latest Linda Fairstein thriller, Lethal Legacy, featuring Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Alex Cooper. When Alex is summoned to Tina Barr’s apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, she finds a neighbor convinced that the young woman was assaulted. But the terrified victim, a conservator of rare books and maps, refuses to cooperate with investigators. Then another woman is found murdered in that same apartment with an extremely valuable book, believed to have been stolen. As Alex pursues the murderer, she is drawn into the strange and privileged world of the Hunt family, major benefactors of the New York Public Library and passionate rare book collectors. Eventually Alex connects their internal family rivalries to a priceless edition of Alice in Wonderland, which also contains the world’s oldest map. Would one of the well-bred Hunts be willing to kill for the treasures? The search for the answer takes Alex and her team on a breathtaking chase from Manhattan’s grandest apartments to the secret tunnels and chambers of the New York Public Library, and finally to a nineteenth-century underground vault. There, in the pitch-black darkness, Alex comes face-to-face with the killer who values money more than life.

Just below it at number 14 is Bones of Betrayal, the 4th mystery in the Body Farm series by Jefferson Bass. Dr. Bill Brockton is in the middle of a nuclear-terrorism disaster drill when he receives an urgent call from the nearby town of Oak Ridge -- better known as Atomic City, home of the Bomb, and the key site for the Manhattan Project during World War II. Although more than sixty years have passed, could repercussions from that dangerous time still be felt today? With his graduate assistant Miranda Lovelady, Brockton hastens to the death scene, where they find a body frozen facedown in a swimming pool behind a historic, crumbling hotel. The forensic detectives identify the victim as Dr. Leonard Novak, a renowned physicist and designer of a plutonium reactor integral to the Manhattan Project. They also discover that he didn't drown: he died from a searing dose of radioactivity. As that same peril threatens the medical examiner and even Miranda, Brockton enlists the help of a beautiful, enigmatic librarian to peel back the layers of Novak's life to the secret at its core. The physicist's house and personal life yield few clues beyond a faded roll ofundeveloped film, but everything changes when Brockton chances upon Novak's ninety-year-old ex-wife, Beatrice. Charming and utterly unreliable, she takes him on a trip back into Oak Ridge's wartime past, deep into the shadows of the nuclear race where things were not quite as they seemed. As Beatrice drifts between lucidity and dementia, Brockton wonders if her stories are fact or fancy, history or myth. But he knows one thing -- that she holds the key to a mystery that is becoming increasingly labyrinthine. For as the radiation count steadily rises, and the race to find the truth intensifies, the old woman's tales hint at something far darker and more complex than the forensic anthropologist himself could have ever imagined.

On our bestseller page, we've added an icon next to every title that is available for immediate download onto the Amazon Kindle. To learn about this wireless reading device, visit the Amazon Kindle page for more information.

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.

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