Mystery Book Review: The Samaritan's Secret by Matt Beynon Rees

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of The Samaritan's Secret by Matt Beynon Rees. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

The Samaritan's Secret by Matt Beynon Rees
An Omar Yussef Mystery

Soho Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-56947-545-8 (1569475458)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-545-4 (9781569475454)
Publication Date: February 2009
List Price: $24.00

Review: In Nablus, the West Bank, to attend the wedding of a close friend, teacher and historian Omar Yussef finds himself in the midst of a dangerous murder investigation in The Samaritan's Secret, the third mystery in this series by Matt Beynon Rees.

Invited by his friend, Sami Jaffari, to accompany him on a routine police matter, Omar Yussef is also present when the body of a young man is found. Brutally beaten to death, the victim, Ishaq, was the son of a Samaritan priest; coincidentally the same priest Sami Jaffari and Omar Yussef had been visiting to discuss a stolen sacred scroll. Omar Yussef learns Ishaq was a close associate of the former president of Palestine and in charge of managing the vast sums of money that were in hidden accounts around the world. A World Bank representative, in Nablus searching for $300 million that is still missing following the death of the president, had been scheduled to meet with Ishaq. But with his death, and the dead end that results in the search for the money, the World Bank has no choice but to cut off all aid to the Palestinian people. The police seem uninterested, or fearful, to pursue the murder investigation, leaving Omar Yussef determined to discover the truth.

The Samaritan's Secret is another exceptional entry in this series, not quite as sharply written as its predecessor, but outstanding nonetheless. Omar Yussef tends to waver between two objectives here, resolving the murder of your Ishaq and not allowing the World Bank to cut off support of his people. The two would seem to be related, but given the time frame involved, just 3 days, he realizes he may have to compromise one investigation to complete the other. This time element adds a subtle, yet incessant, tension to the story. It also means Omar Yussef initially overlooks some of the obvious, but highly improbable, solutions to the murder mystery in favor of the more expedient, if less practical, ones. Sharp-eyed readers will no doubt pick up on the identity of Ishaq's killer and the motive behind it early on, but it's easy to see how Omar Yussef, with the lack of a single purpose, misses all the clues laid out before him.

Given the setting, politics and conflict, not unexpectedly, play a significant role in The Samaritan's Secret. The politics of inclusion and exclusion, half-truths and outright lies, honor and deception, are evident on nearly every page. And the conflict between the various Palestinian factions, Islamic purists and realists, the absurdly rich and the desperately poor, and of course within families, drive much of the plot. All this is wrapped in a dark, at times claustrophobic, environment accompanied by the sights, smells, and sounds of what is to many a forbidding, if not forbidden, place.

The intricate plot, memorable characters, expressive narrative, and relentless pacing will no doubt cause The Samaritan's Secret to be remembered as one of the best mysteries of the year.

Special thanks to Soho Press for providing a copy of The Samaritan's Secret for this review.

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

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): When Omar Yussef and his family arrive in Nablus for the wedding of a friend, police officer Sami Jaffari, trouble begins. An ancient sacred scroll has been stolen from the Samaritans, a tiny religions community that has lived in Nablus for millennia. Because he knows Omar Yussef is interested in history, Sami takes him along to investigate, but they find that the scroll has been mysteriously returned.

Then the body of a young man is discovered on the peak of the mountain where the Samaritans believe their ancient temple stood. The dead man, it turns out, was not just any Samaritan. He worked for the former Palestinian president and controlled hundreds of millions of dollars of government money that is now missing. If the World Bank cannot locate the money within the next several days, all its aid money to the Palestinians will be cut off. The police are only willing to take their investigation of this dangerous case so far, but Omar Yussef is determined to solve the murder and locate the money. Unless he can find it in time, all Palestinians will suffer.

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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New Hardcover Mysteries: An Interview with Linda Fairstein

Linda Fairstein's 11th mystery in the Alex Cooper series, Lethal Legacy, was published last week with the Assistant District Attorney summoned to an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side to investigate an assault. There she finds a neighbor convinced that the young woman was attacked, 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.

Barnes & Noble has graciously allowed us to post an interview with author Linda Fairstein. Conducted by host Molly Pesce, Fairstein shares her experiences as the former head of the Sex Crimes Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney, and her extensive knowledge of the legal system that she has used to chronicle Alex's story through a string of bestsellers.

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First Clues Review: Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy by Wendelin Van Draanen

First Clues: Mysteries for Kids is delighted to introduce a new feature for our website, book reviews written by students. These students offer their unique perspective on the book in their review and provide a valuable resource to parents looking for new mystery adventures for their kids to read.

Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy by Wendelin Van Draanen
The Sammy Keyes Series

Random House (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-440-41866-6 (0440418666)
ISBN-13: 978-0-440-41866-5 (9780440418665)
Publication Date: May 2002
List Price: $6.50

Review written by Asheena, Age 12, Grade 6. Date of review: February 2009.

Review: Wendelin Van Draanen has used her amazing sense of mystery to come out with the sixth installment of the already mesmerizing and amazing series. This book also has an unusual freaky twist that none of her other books have so far which makes it unique and even more fun to read.

Though Marisa was somewhat against it, Sammy and her run off to Hollywood! No one knows that they are gone, not Hudson, her 72-year old friend, and not even her own Grandmother! Sammy and Marisa (and Marisa’s entire luggage which is frankly a lot) race to get on the train to Hollywood. When they finally arrive they end up on the “bad side” of Hollywood. They get in a taxi and rush to the studio her mom is living in with all these other actors. Her mom’s boss can’t know that Sammy’s mom is married otherwise she’ll get fired. Sammy starts to notice her mom’s boss act all strange around her mom … the studio is surrounded with Egyptian-style artifact and one artifact that might scare someone to death if they saw it. Sammy wants to know why whenever her mom’s boss Max is around her mom he acts as if he is in love with her mom. Sammy feels very uncomfortable when she sees this and knows there is much more behind Max’s affection. Sammy uses her wits and with the help of her friend they set out to solve the mystery. Sammy starts thinking that wherever she goes a mystery creeps up behind her.

Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy was acceptable, but in some places it was difficult to understand and the over-all plot wasn’t very easy to understand and some parts I had to re-read because it was difficult to tell who was talking at certain times. The overall book was okay, but the plot was exciting. The book was a nice variation to her series and is definitely a pleasing book to a mystery lover. The book is also very suspenseful which is a good feature to any book but in this book it made it impossible to finish fast enough.

Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy was a so and so book but it was still quite fun to read.

If you are interested in purchasing Sammy Keyes and the Hollywood Mummy from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

First Clue Mysteries is pleased to provide information on over 100 mystery series for children and young adults. Each series is conveniently listed under three different age categories (New Sleuth, ages 4 to 7; Future Sleuth, aged 7 to 10; and Sleuth in Training, ages 10 and older). If you have a favorite mystery series you'd like to see added to our site, please contact us.

All student book reviews are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in any manner, print or electronic, without the express written consent of the copyright owner. Reviews are published here with permission of the copyright owner.

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Author Online Book Tour: Barbara Levenson Visits Ms. Bookish and Mystery Reader Discussion

Mystery Books News is pleased to be coordinating this week's online book tour for Barbara Levenson whose new mystery, Fatal February, was published earlier this month by Oceanview Publishing. Fatal February is the author's debut mystery and features Mary Magruder Katz, a criminal defense attorney in Miami.

Today, Tuesday February 17th, Barbara will be visiting 2 blog sites:

• Ms. Bookish where Barbara will be interviewed; and
• Mystery Reader Discussion where a review of Fatal February will be posted.

We're also thrilled to announce that Barbara is giving away a signed copy of her new book to one lucky tour visitor. Visit each tour site on the day indicated and pick up a unique PIN to be used to enter the giveaway on that day. The entry form can be found on Barbara's tour page, Author Book Tour: Barbara Levenson, which also has a complete schedule of Barbara's tour including a biography and more information about Fatal February.

We hope you have the opportunity to stop by each of the tour sites later this week to learn more about Barbara and her series character Mary Magruder Katz.

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Hasbro Announces New CLUE Game, Secrets & Spies

Earlier this week Hasbro announced in a press release that its newest version of the iconic mystery game CLUE will take on an international (and 21st century) twist.

CLUE: Secrets & Spies will take players on a globetrotting adventure to foil the plans of the (are you ready for this) Criminal League for Ultimate Espionage (C.L.U.E.). And it gets better. The game will feature an optional text messaging feature that transmits game shaping intelligence to Agents Plum, Scarlet, Mustard, and the others while an ultraviolet, secret decoder reveals hidden missions to the players. The agent who completes the most missions before being discovered by Agent Black will be known as the world’s number one spy and will win the game.

“The use of text messaging to enhance a traditional board game experience is a true innovation in the board game category and we are thrilled to pioneer this experience with Hasbro’s Clue brand,” said Jill Hambley, Global Marketing Vice President of the Clue brand at Hasbro. It should be noted that standard text messaging rates apply for players who elect to use the game’s optional text messaging feature (cell phone, of course, not included), and Hasbro is committed to maintaining text messaging support through December 31, 2011.

CLUE: Secrets & Spies is expected to be available this fall. The image was provided by Hasbro but may not be the final artwork for the game when released.

To see more CLUE mystery games, visit our website Games of Mystery: CLUE Variations.

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Author Online Book Tour: Barbara Levenson, Information and This Week's Schedule

Mystery Books News is pleased to be coordinating this week's online book tour for Barbara Levenson whose new mystery, Fatal February, was published earlier this month by Oceanview Publishing. Fatal February is the author's debut mystery and features Mary Magruder Katz, a criminal defense attorney in Miami.

Barbara will be visiting 10 blog sites this week:

Tuesday (02/17):
• Ms. Bookish: Author Interview
• Mystery Reader Discussion: Book Review

Wednesday (02/18):
• Sam's Book Blog: Book Review
• Lesa's Book Critiques: Author Guest Post

Thursday (02/19):
• Allie's Musings: Author Interview
• Jen's Book Thoughts: Author Guest Post

Friday (02/20):
• Booking Mama: Book Review
• Murder by 4: Author Guest Post

Saturday (02/21):
• Buzz About Books: Author Interview
• Marta's Meanderings: Book Review

A complete schedule of Barbara's tour including a biography and more information about Fatal February can be found at Author Book Tour: Barbara Levenson.

We're also thrilled to announce that Barbara is giving away a signed copy of her new book to one lucky tour visitor. Visit each tour site on the day indicated and pick up a unique PIN to be used to enter the giveaway on that day. The entry form can be found on Barbara's tour page.

We hope you have the opportunity to stop by each of the tour sites later this month to learn more about Barbara, her series character Mary Magruder Katz, and the special relationship she shares with her dogs (one of which served as a model for Sam in the book).

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Games of Mystery: Cate West, The Vanishing Files, New from 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.

Police are baffled by a series of unexplained cases dubbed The Vanishing Files. These unsolved cases have paralyzed the city. Enter Cate West, celebrated novelist and insightful visionary! Help Cate find clues, compile evidence, track down the hideout, and name the culprit! Are these mysterious crimes connected? Featuring loads of locations to search, an engrossing storyline, and addictive gameplay, Cate West: The Vanishing Files is an original whodunit!

Cate West: The Vanishing Files may be downloaded and purchased for as little as $6.99 with the Big Fish Game Club Jumbo Pack. A demonstration version (74.55 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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Mysteries on TV: Case Closed, Law & Order SVU, Murder She Wrote, and Wycliffe, New This Week on DVD

Mysteries on TV, your source for the most complete selection of detective, amateur sleuth, private investigator, and suspense television mystery series now available or coming soon to DVD, is profiling four series that have season DVDs being released this week.

A television staple in Japan since 1996, Case Closed is a weekly anime series featuring high school detective Shinichi (Jimmy) Kudo. The son of a writer of detective novels, Jimmy is given an experimental drug that transforms him into a 7-year-old. He assumes the identity of Conan Edogawa, named in honor of his personal hero, the great consulting detective Sherlock Holmes.

The first 50 episodes (essentially the first two sets) of Case Closed aired on the Cartoon Network in the US during 2004.

The Case Closed: Set Four DVD set of 4 discs contains the 16 episodes (some multi-part) that originally aired from October 1997 through April 1998. (Using the original Japanese episode numbering, Set 4 contains episodes 77 through 99.)

In the criminal justice system, sexually based crimes such as rape, torture, pedophilia and child-abuse are dealt with in New York City by a special unit of the police department known as the Special Victims Unit. Its members include Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay), herself the child of a rape, and Detective Elliot Stabler (Christopher Meloni), a family man trying to protect his family from the horrors of the world. The crimes they deal with are painful, emotional, and scarring. These are their stories.

A spin-off of Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU) first aired on NBC in September 1999. It is currently airing its 10th season and remains one of the network's top-rated shows.

The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Season Eight DVD set of 5 discs contains the 22 episodes that originally aired from September 2006 through May 2007.

One of the most popular cozy crime dramas ever to air on network television, Murder, She Wrote ran for 12 seasons on CBS. The series starred Angela Lansbury as mystery writer Jessica Fletcher.

Though Cabot Cove still gets more than its fair share of murders this season, several episodes take place elsewhere including the season opener which finds Jessica in Milan, Italy, attending a film festival and investigating the murder of a producer, and an episode in Ireland where Jessica looks into the mysterious death of her host while staying on their estate.

The Murder, She Wrote: Season Nine DVD set of 5 discs contains the 22 episodes that originally aired from September 1992 through May 1993.

When murder strikes in Cornwall, Detective Superintendent Wycliffe (played by Jack Shepherd) is there to solve it. Always calm, but serious, the quick-thinking detective works tirelessly, his mind piecing together each crime with breakneck speed and dead-on accuracy. He can spot a liar at a glance and no suspect is spared his ruthless interrogation. Each time Wycliffe and his team of investigators arrive on the scene, the drama unfolds and suspense heightens as they close in on the guilty and swiftly become a killer's worst nightmare.

Wycliffe was a crime drama series that aired on ITV for 5 seasons. It is based on the character featured in a series of crime novels by W. J. Burley.

The Wycliffe: Series One DVD set of 3 discs contains the 6 episodes that originally aired during the summer of 1994.

Visit the Mysteries on TV website to discover more television mystery series currently available on DVD.

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Mystery Godoku Puzzle for February 16, 2009

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 G H N O R T

According to the title of a 2009 Nancy Atherton mystery, Aunt Dimity slays this (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!

   

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Games of Mystery Review: Nancy Drew Dossier, Lights, Camera, Curses!

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, and mystery getaway vacations, is publishing a new review of Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! For readers of Mystery Books News, we are printing it here first in advance of its publication on our website.

Mystery Game Review: Lights, Camera, Curses!, the first game in the Nancy Drew Dossier series.

The incredible popularity of the Nancy Drew PC mystery games (19 and counting) has spawned an extension of the series to games available for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii, and most recently the first game is a series specifically designed for the casual download market and targeted, somewhat paradoxically, towards an older audience. The developer, HerInteractive, calls the series it designates Nancy Drew Dossier "fast fun for busy detectives". The teen sleuth's first adventure is Lights, Camera, Curses!

Like most of the Nancy Drew games, this one isn't based on any of the books by the pseudonymous Carolyn Keene. Rather, the story is typical of one Nancy Drew might encounter. An opening screen shows a letter to Nancy from Molly McKenna, producer of a remake of the film Pharaoh. Strange and dangerous things have been happening on the set, and someone must find out why and make them stop.

A tutorial introduces the player to the mechanics of gameplay. Objects on the screen must be paired with a use in order to move on. For example, a key might be paired with a locked door to open it. Some objects remain hidden until some other action is performed generally giving the game a logical flow. If something is done out of sequence, a screen will usually tell the player that they need to accomplish something else first. The screen goal is given in the lower right corner and the number of objects yet to be found is also given. A task bar where Nancy can view an item up close, use her flashlight, or perform an action is at the middle bottom. This is also where objects Nancy picks up for later use are stored.

Some of the screens are quite dark and it's hard to see everything, even with a flashlight. A sparkle-effect is seen when a clickable object is found, still I had do some random mouseovers to find everything. But the pairings are logical and reasonable within the context of the story and the setting.

There are 26 chapters and though all require the player to do basically the same thing, it doesn't get boring. The story is interesting and there's a real sense of progression towards an outcome, that is, solving the mystery. The cutscreens between the chapters provide plot continuity and offer the player an opportunity to solve puzzles, play mini-games, and brain-teasers in the form of interview questions. Points are awarded for most actions, though I didn't much pay attention to my score the first time through.

The graphics are beautifully rendered, and the characters have individual, well-developed identities. The background music is appropriate to the game, though there doesn't seem to be a game option to mute it.

In short, Lights, Camera, Curses! is a delightfully agreeable game that can be enjoyed by all ages and will provide hours of entertainment. HerInteractive may be on to something here, appealing to older players who enjoyed the Nancy Drew mysteries in their youth. The replay potential is moderately high, especially if one tries to achieve an ever higher score.

I'll definitely be looking forward to the next installment in this series.

Reviewed on February 15, 2009 by Ms. Terri, game reviewer for Mystery Books News.

Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! may be downloaded and purchased for as little as $6.99 with the Big Fish Game Club Jumbo Pack. Due to its large size, a downloadable trial version is not available but the first few chapters may be played online for free.

Watch a preview video below:

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