New Series Under Development Feature Michael Dibdin's Aurelio Zen and Peter Robinson's DCI Alan Banks

The Guardian is reporting that the company that produced the Wallander films, which recently aired as part of PBS' Masterpiece Mystery!, is developing two additional series.

Three scripts have been commissioned based on the Aurelio Zen mysteries, written by the late Michael Dibdin, for BBC1. The Zen mysteries are set in Italy. The novels being adapted are Ratking, Vendetta, and Dead Lagoon.

Another drama has been commissioned for ITV1 based on the 2002 novel Aftermath by Peter Robinson, the 12th in the series featuring Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks.

Both of these mystery series are hoped to become franchises for their respective networks.

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Games of Mystery: The Blackwell Convergence, 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.

Download →

A new film opens to rave reviews, despite its bloody history. A beautiful uptown office remains unoccupied, despite its prime location. Help Rosangela Blackwell, and her spirit guide Joey Mallone, discover the sinister conspiracy that ties these events together in this exciting adventure game. The Blackwell Convergence puts you in the middle of famous New York locations and wraps you up in an immersive mystery!

Also available: The Blackwell Convergence Game Walkthrough.

See also the other two games in this series: The Blackwell Legacy and Blackwell Unbound.

The Blackwell Convergence may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (159.78 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour.

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, Enlightenus, Cate West: The Vanishing Files, Return to Mysterious Island 2: Mina's Fate, and Nick Chase: A Detective Story.

Read our new game reviews by Ms. Terri: Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! (Review), The Hardy Boys: The Perfect Crime (Review), Enlightenus (Review), and Nick Chase: A Detective Story (Review).

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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New Mystery Prize Package Giveaway! The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

Mystery Book Contests is thrilled to announce a new mystery book prize package giveaway! Wiredset is giving away two copies of The White Queen, the first novel in the Cousin's War series set amid the deadly feuds of England known as the Wars of the Roses, by Philippa Gregory.

Brother turns on brother to win the ultimate prize, the throne of England, in this dazzling account of the wars of the Plantagenets. They are the claimants and kings who ruled England before the Tudors, and now Philippa Gregory brings them to life through the dramatic and intimate stories of the secret players: the indomitable women, starting with Elizabeth Woodville, the White Queen.

The White Queen tells the story of a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition who, catching the eye of the newly crowned boy king, marries him in secret and ascends to royalty. While Elizabeth rises to the demands of her exalted position and fights for the success of her family, her two sons become central figures in a mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the missing princes in the Tower of London whose fate is still unknown. From her uniquely qualified perspective, Philippa Gregory explores this most famous unsolved mystery of English history, informed by impeccable research and framed by her inimitable storytelling skills.

With The White Queen, Philippa Gregory brings the artistry and intellect of a master writer and storyteller to a new era in history and begins what is sure to be another bestselling classic series from this beloved author.

Become a fan of The White Queen on Facebook. Follow The White Queen on Twitter.

Enter daily! Provide your name and e-mail address on the The White Queen giveaway entry form and correctly answer the contest question for a chance to win one of two copies of The White Queen by Philippa Gregory, courtesy of Wiredset. Estimated prize package value: $26.

See the book trailer below:

Remember to visit Mystery Book Contests regularly to check for new mystery book prize package giveaways.

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Mystery Book Review: The Siege by Stephen White

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

The Siege by Stephen White
Non-series

Dutton (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-525-95122-9 (0525951229)
ISBN-13: 978-0-525-95122-3 (9780525951223)
Publication Date: August 2009
List Price: $25.95

Review: Stephen White's stunning thriller The Siege features a secondary character from his Alan Gregory series, Sam Purdy, who is drawn into an "evolution of terror" on the campus of Yale University.

Purdy has been temporarily suspended from the Boulder (CO) police force so is available to travel to New Haven (CT) at the request, really a plea, of geophysicist Ann Calderon. Her daughter Jane is being held hostage in a fortress-like building at Yale by an unidentified number of people. The building is home to a secret society on campus, the Book and Snake, and the hostages, all students, are either members or tabbed for membership. But the situation is unlike any other, as it appears to be a new group with new goals employing a new strategy and new tactics. Hostages are allowed to leave, one at a time, but only after a request has been made to the student's family and response received. If the answer is satisfactory, the student leaves dressed in blue and is free; if not, the student leaves dressed in orange and is killed in front of the powerless police, FBI and CIA. The terrorists will only negotiate with the families of their hostages, and Ann Calderon isn't sure what they want, or what she has to give.

Purdy eventually joins forces with FBI Agent Christopher Poe and CIA analyst Deirdre Drake and together they throw out the rule book and look to determine what can be done to resolve the situation before any more students lose their lives, either as a the result of being killed by the terrorists or as a consequence of a rescue attempt by the authorities.

Meticulously plotted, unpredictable and unforgettable, The Siege is a gripping thriller that starts strong and never lets up. A must read novel, its story will haunt the reader long after the last page is turned.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of The Siege and to Penguin Group 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 Siege from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right. The Siege (Kindle edition) is also available. Learn more about the Kindle, Amazon's Wireless Reading Device.

Synopsis (from the publisher): As a lovely April weekend approaches on the Yale campus it appears that a number of students—including the sons of both the Secretary of the Army and newest Supreme Court Justice—may have suddenly gone missing. Kidnapping? Prank? Terrorism? The authorities aren't sure. No demands are made. But the high profile disappearances draw the attention of the CIA and the FBI's vaunted Hostage Rescue Team. Attention quickly focuses on the fortress-like tomb of one of Yale's secret societies.

Suspended Boulder police detective Sam Purdy is minding his own business in Miami, where he is attending the engagement party of his girlfriend's daughter. The wealthy mother-of-the-groom to-be, Ann Summers Calderon, pulls Sam aside to confide that she's received an ominous warning. When Ann's daughter, a Yale junior, fails to arrive in Florida for her brother's festivities, Sam soon finds himself on a private jet to New Haven, where he is quickly snared by an unlikely pair of Feds. FBI agent Christopher Poe and CIA analyst Deirdre Drake each have their own reasons to fear, and seek, whoever is behind the mystery. Sam, Poe, and Dee join together, desperately trying to solve the riddle of what is going on inside the windowless Ionic stone tomb on the edge of campus.

The clock is pounding in their ears. The unknown enemy is playing by no known rules ... Is making no demands ... Is refusing to communicate with the hostage negotiator ... Is somehow anticipating every FBI move ... Is completely unconcerned about getting away ...

And ... one by one, is sending students out the building's front door to die.

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New Mystery Prize Package Giveaway! Dead Puzzling by Sue Birch

Mystery Book Contests is thrilled to announce a new mystery book prize package giveaway! Debut children's author Sue Birch is giving away a prize package including a copy of her mystery Dead Puzzling plus an theme- and age-appropriate jigsaw puzzle.

A body in the churchyard turns Lizzie, Tom and Oliver into detectives as they try to find out "whodunit". With Oliver's "help" they are led deeper and deeper into danger and uncover some shocking surprises on the way.

Sue Birch, the author of Dead Puzzling, is donating half her royalties to the National Autistic Society, the UK's leading charity for people affected by autism.

Enter daily! Provide your name and e-mail address on the Dead Puzzling giveaway entry form and correctly answer the contest question for a chance to win a prize package including a copy of Dead Puzzling by Sue Birch and a puzzle, courtesy of the author. Estimated prize package value: $30.

Remember to visit Mystery Book Contests regularly to check for new mystery book prize package giveaways.

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Kid's Mystery Book Review: The Trunk in the Attic by Gloria Smith Zawaski

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of The Trunk in the Attic by Gloria Smith Zawaski. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

The Trunk in the Attic by Gloria Smith Zawaski
An Undercover Kids Adventure

Exciting Read Publishing Group (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-935373-00-5 (1935373005)
ISBN-13: 978-1-935373-00-1 (9781935373001)
Publication Date: February 2009
List Price: $16.95

Review: Do you want to travel to different places around the world without ever having to leave your house? Then The Undercover Kids’ Holland Adventure The Trunk in the Attic is for you. This is the first book in The Undercover Kids’ series by Gloria Smith Zawaski. Katie is a ten year old who has a 7 year old brother named Jake. These two kids are The Undercover Kids who are able to use their bracelets to travel through a secret hole to different parts of the world. Cooper, their crazy dog, gets to go with them.

When Katie and Jake get to their Aunt Jean’s house, they start to dig a hole with Cooper. They are trying to dig to China! The next day they hear Cooper barking, and when they look they see a boy coming out of a manhole. The boy’s name is Dirk. Dirk asks them if they want to come with him, but Katie and Jake aren’t sure so Dirk just leaves to go back home. Then Katie and Jake learn about the Undercover Kids and the next morning they leave with Cooper to travel to Holland through their secret hole. While they are in Holland, Katie and Jake have a lot of fun and meet a lot of interesting people. But, they end up losing Cooper and must find him. Plus, to get home, they have to do a good deed.

This book was a great book. If there could be a 10 star rating, I’d give it 10 stars! I liked it so much, that I read it in one day. I really liked the way the author set up the story. It made me feel like I was Katie since I’m also 10 years old and have a brother (but he’s not 7). I also liked the characters. Katie is very spunky and Jake is always hungry. Plus, Cooper is very crazy in the beginning of the story. The neatest part of the story is being able to travel to Holland. I learned a lot about Holland by reading the book. It’s a lot like The Magic Tree House books in that way. It’s a great way to learn about different places. TheUndercoverKids.com website is also a lot of fun. They have story contests. I’d love to be an Undercover Kid and can’t wait until the next book which is supposed to be published this fall. I hope they go to Paris!

Special thanks to Andrea (age 10) for contributing her review of The Trunk in the Attic and to The Exciting Read Publishing Group for providing a copy of the book for this review.

Review Copyright © 2009 — Andrea Nauert — All Rights Reserved — Reprinted with Permission

If you are interested in purchasing The Trunk in the Attic from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

Synopsis (from the publisher): Mystery. History. And Adventure. The Undercover Kids' Holland Adventure takes Katie and Jake, who are two city kids to their aunt's farm for the summer. They explore the farmhouse with their dog, Cooper, and discover a small room with a very old trunk. The purple wristbands in the trunk lead them to an underground tunnel on Aunt Jean's Farm and the fun begins. They travel across the ocean to Holland. Cooper gets lost. They meet an evil waiter. And they realize that getting home is harder than they thought.

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The Black Circle by Patrick Carman, the 5th Book in The 39 Clues series, Publishes Today

The 5th book in The 39 Clues adventure series for kids, The Black Circle by Patrick Carman, is available in bookstores today.

Where are Amy and Dan Cahill?

The two kids were last seen in Egypt, hunting for one of the 39 Clues that could make them the most powerful people on earth. But no one has seen the siblings since. Has the ruthless Irina Spasky finally tracked them down? Or worse ... the Madrigals?

No one knows where the Clue hunt leads next. But one thing is certain–The Black Circle is gearing up to be Dan and Amy’s most dangerous adventure yet.

(Additional cards for The Black Circle can be found in The 39 Clues: Card Pack 2.)

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First Chapter of Heat Wave by Richard Castle Available Today for Download

The first chapter of the first book in the Detective Nikki Heat mystery series by Richard Castle, Heat Wave, is now available for download on the ABC.com website.

In the ABC series Castle, mystery writer Richard Castle is shown developing a new series with a character based in part on Detective Kate Beckett. It's kind of a running joke through the first season. As a way to promote the second season, a real book has been written (Heat Wave, available September 29th) and ABC is posting chapters from the book a week at a time online. The real author has not been identified.

Book synopsis: A New York real estate tycoon plunges to his death on a Manhattan sidewalk. A trophy wife with a past survives a narrow escape from a brazen attack. Mobsters and moguls with no shortage of reasons to kill trot out their alibis. And then, in the suffocating grip of a record heat wave, comes another shocking murder and a sharp turn in a tense journey into the dirty little secrets of the wealthy. Secrets that prove to be fatal. Secrets that lay hidden in the dark until one NYPD detective shines a light.

Mystery sensation Richard Castle, blockbuster author of the wildly bestselling Derrick Storm novels, introduces his newest character, NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat. Tough, sexy, professional, Nikki Heat carries a passion for justice as she leads one of New York City's top homicide squads. She's hit with an unexpected challenge when the commissioner assigns superstar magazine journalist Jameson Rook to ride along with her to research an article on New York's Finest. PulitzerPrize-winning Rook is as much a handful as he is handsome. His wise-cracking and meddling aren't her only problems. As she works to unravel the secrets of the murdered real estate tycoon, she must also confront the spark between them. The one called heat.

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New Mystery Prize Package Giveaway! Trust Me by Peter Leonard

Mystery Book Contests is thrilled to announce a new mystery book prize package giveaway! FSB Associates is giving away two copies of Peter Leonard's second thriller, Trust Me, a stylistic crime caper. Peter Leonard is the son of mystery novelist and screenwriter Elmore Leonard.

The first mistake Karen Delaney made was entrusting $300,000 to her boyfriend, Samir, the head of an illegal bookmaking operation. The second was breaking up with him---because Samir holds a $300,000 grudge. A few months later, Karen sees a way to get her money back when two thieves break into her house in the middle of the night. She proposes a scheme to steal Samir’s safe, but Karen soon realizes she’s in way over her head as things begin to spin out of control.

Trust Me moves at breakneck speed through the affluent suburbs of Detroit and Chicago as Karen is pursued by O’Clair, an ex-con/ex-cop who works for Samir and wants the money for his own retirement; by Ricky, Samir’s nephew, who sees the money as a way to pay off his own escalating gambling debts; by the thieves who’ve been double-crossed; and by two ruthless hit men who view the money as their stake in the American dream.

Enter daily! Provide your name and e-mail address on the Trust Me giveaway entry form and correctly answer the contest question for a chance to win one of two copies of Trust Me by Peter Leonard courtesy of FSB Associates. Estimated prize package value: $25.

Remember to visit Mystery Book Contests regularly to check for new mystery book prize package giveaways.

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New Fox Crime Drama to be Set in Chicago

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Shawn Ryan, who created the critically acclaimed series The Shield, which recently ended its run on FX, is back on the beat with a new cop series, Ridealong, for Fox. He's currently moving forward with a pilot for the series, which will be set in Chicago and filmed on location.

Ryan is also the executive producer for Fox's drama Lie to Me and has another pilot in the works for FX, Terriers, a comedy/drama featuring an ex-cop who partners with his best friend to launch a private investigation business.

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