NBC Orders Law & Order: Los Angeles for Fall 2010 Season

Deadline.com is reporting that NBC is not only leaning towards renewing Law & Order for a record-setting 21st season (with some financial help from TNT), but that the network has also picked up a 13-episode order for yet another spin-off of the series, Law & Order: Los Angeles. Brotherhood creator Blake Masters is on board to write the new series with creator Dick Wolf, to be set in (probably obviously) Los Angeles.

In addition, according to the article, Law & Order: SVU has been cleared for a 12th season, which, together with Law & Order: Criminal Intent on USA Network, will mean Wolf will have four Law & Order series on the air at the same time (and maybe five, if one counts Law & Order: UK).

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Ridley Scott to Produce Mini-Series Adaptation of Pompeii by Robert Harris

The Guardian is reporting that Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Body of Lies) is on board to produce a 4-hour mini-series adaptation of Pompeii by Robert Harris. Harris is the author of the thriller The Ghost, which was adapted into the recently released film The Ghost Writer starring Pierce Brosnan and Ewan McGregor.

Scott described Pompeii as "a strong and compelling character drama set against a backdrop of a flourishing but ultimately doomed civilisation – exactly what makes great event television."

About Pompeii: All along the Mediterranean coast, the Roman empire's richest citizens are relaxing in their luxurious villas, enjoying the last days of summer. The world's largest navy lies peacefully at anchor in Misenum. The tourists are spending their money in the seaside resorts of Baiae, Herculaneum, and Pompeii.

But the carefree lifestyle and gorgeous weather belie an impending cataclysm, and only one man is worried. The young engineer Marcus Attilius Primus has just taken charge of the Aqua Augusta, the enormous aqueduct that brings fresh water to a quarter of a million people in nine towns around the Bay of Naples. His predecessor has disappeared. Springs are failing for the first time in generations. And now there is a crisis on the Augusta's sixty-mile main line -- somewhere to the north of Pompeii, on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius.

Attilius -- decent, practical, and incorruptible -- promises Pliny, the famous scholar who commands the navy, that he can repair the aqueduct before the reservoir runs dry. His plan is to travel to Pompeii and put together an expedition, then head out to the place where he believes the fault lies. But Pompeii proves to be a corrupt and violent town, and Attilius soon discovers that there are powerful forces at work -- both natural and man-made -- threatening to destroy him.

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Crippen and Landru Announces Its Newest Short Story Collection, Appleby Talks About Crime by Michael Innes

Specialty mystery publisher Cripper and Landru notified us today that its latest collection of short stories, Appleby Talks About Crime by Michael Innes, is now available.

Under the pseudonym of Michael Innes, Oxford don John Innes Macintosh Stewart (1906-1994) was a dominant figure in the Golden Age of Detective Fiction, when the mystery story was an elegant and witty entertainment, when all the clues were given so that the reader (if quick-witted enough) could reach the solution at the same time as the detective.

Innes’s sleuth, Inspector Appleby (later, Sir John Appleby, Commissioner of Scotland Yard), who first appeared in 1936, is sophisticated and educated, just as capable of making an obscure allusion to an English poet as he was to read the clues left by the criminal. The cases Appleby investigates are often convoluted but with a touch of the fantastic, set often in the aristocratic world of country estates and gentleman’s clubs.

Appleby Talks About Crime includes 18 previously uncollected stories, often told by Appleby himself to the six-member Mystery Club, and all have the marvelous gloss of superb storyteller. The book includes an introduction by the editor, an essay on Appleby by Michael Innes, a reminiscence of her father by Dr. Margaret Macintosh Harrison, and a complete list of all the Appleby short stories. It is edited by John Cooper, who has previously compiled collections by Michael Gilbert and Julian Symons.

Two editions of the book are available: Appleby Talks About Crime (Hardcover) and Appleby Talks About Crime (Trade Paperback).

And a quick look at what's ahead for the publisher: The Columbo Collection, 12 original stories by William Link, the co-creator of Lietuenant Columbo, is currently in press and should be available next month!

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Harlequin Intrigue Titles for May 2010

eHarlequin.com has released the May 2010 titles in their Intrigue, breathtaking romantic suspense series. Get these edge-of-your-seat reads today with characters who conquer everything from kidnappings to murder mysteries, only to find themselves irresistibly drawn to one another! For more information or to purchase any of the books below, click on the book title or book cover. (Previous months titles can be found on the backlist page.)

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Man Undercover by Alana Matthews

A cabin in the Colorado mountains promised Tara Richards a break from reporting … until a stranger sent her life into a tailspin. Rough and tumble in those blue jeans, Matt Hathaway brought trouble to her door. There was no mistaking the pistol tucked at his waist, or his urgent need for a hostage.

Deep undercover, Matt had less than a day to stop a bombing, and Tara was his last lifeline. Entrenched in the biggest story of her career, Tara could control her own destiny, but not the man by her side. After all, he promised the most thrilling night of her entire life!

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Stranger in a Small Town by Kerry Connor

The mysterious blue-eyed stranger who showed up in the middle of the night wasn't just looking for work. No, when "John Samuels" signed on with Maggie Harper to restore the decrepit old house, he was hoping for answers and a chance to face the demons of his past. But then strange happenings started threatening his beautiful new boss—and disrupting the passion that sparked between them. Someone didn't want them in that house. Someone who knew the truth about what had happened there thirty years before, about the brutal murder that destroyed John's family.

John never expected redemption. But danger waited in the old house, haunting them both …

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Stranded with the Prince by Dana Marton

Can a royal bachelor and a meddlesome matchmaker ignore their attraction while stranded—with killers?

Prince Lazlo knew he'd been tricked when he wound up stranded on a remote island with a nosy "marriage consultant" who'd been hired to find him the perfect princess bride. And the worst part was, she was the one woman he'd tried—and failed!—to seduce, claiming she never fell for a client. But the squabbling stopped once Lazlo realized they weren't alone, and in order to elude the desperate killers stalking them, they had to work as a team. Imminent danger had a surprising upside, he discovered. Out of her element, Milda let down her hair and her guard. Now if only she'd break her number one matchmaking rule …

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Hitched! by B. J. Daniels

Following a trail of secrets back to his family ranch, Jack Winchester needed a cover to solve a decades-old mystery. And Josey Smith offered him the perfect one—if she would agree to pose as his wife for a week. The gorgeous redhead was up to her neck in trouble, and Jack protected what was his, pretend marriage or not.

On the run from a killer, Josey had no choice but to accept Jack's proposal. She no longer trusted herself to tell the good guys from the bad, but the handsome, blue-eyed cowboy made her feel safe. Yet it soon became apparent that the sparks that flew between them were anything but fake, and the danger they faced was all too real …

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Her Bodyguard by Mallory Kane

Always stubborn and independent, Angela Grayson thought she could take care of herself. Lucas Delancey knew better. Someone was stalking his best friend's little sister, and Lucas wasn't going to leave her side until he knew she was safe. Even though that meant he'd spend torturous hours resisting the curve of her lips.

Angela didn't want a bodyguard. Especially one who'd rejected her after one soul-melting kiss a lifetime ago. But she was in over her head. And she knew she could trust Lucas to protect her. She just didn't know if she trusted him not to break her heart again …

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The Baby's Guardian by Delores Fossen

In the past twenty-four hours Sabrina Carr had been shot at, kidnapped and held hostage. As if being eight months pregnant wasn't stressful enough!

Now, after narrowly escaping the clutches of masked gunmen, Sabrina and her baby needed a protector. That's when hot Texas cop Shaw Tolbert came to her rescue. As the surrogate mother to his child, Sabrina couldn't help the sizzling attraction to Shaw that the danger stirred up … or the kiss that told her she meant more to him than she ever realized. With her attackers still on the loose, Sabrina's priority was keeping the baby safe. But how could she keep her cool when things were so hot?

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If you enjoy the romantic suspense books in this series, you can get 2 free Harlequin Intrigue books plus 2 free gifts just for giving the automatic program a try. Accepting your two free Intrigue books and mystery gifts places you under no obligation to buy anything. You may keep the books and gifts and return the shipping statement marked cancel. If you do not cancel, about two months later, and then every other month, eHarlequin will send you four additional Intrigue books.

Keep up to date by subscribing to eHarlequin.com's free newsletter that contains the latest information about their series of books as well as informing you about subscriber-only special offers and new products. Click on the banner below to subscribe for free:

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MBN Receives the Sunshine Award from In Reference To Murder!

What a pleasant surprise to learn this morning that the BV Lawson over at In Reference to Murder had given us the Sunshine Award, recognizing our "contagious positivity and creativity [that] inspire others in the blogging universe." We can imagine the eyes of our family and friends rolling already, but it's nice to be recognized by one of our peers. If you haven't read In Reference to Murder, subscribe now; her regular features include Media Murder (on Mondays), Mystery Melange (on Wednesdays), and Forgotten Books (on Fridays), all must-read posts for mystery lovers. Thanks so much, BV!

Ah, but with recognition comes responsibility. We're asked to post the rules, and more importantly, follow them!

1. Put the logo (image) on a post;
2. Pass the award on to 12 bloggers;
3. Link to the nominees within the post;
4. Let the nominees know they have received the award by commenting on their blogs; and
5. Link to the person from whom you received this award.

Herewith are our choices for 12 bloggers that we read regularly, in no particular order; we're trying not to include those that may not have already received the award, even though we consider them notable as well:

1. Book Trends
2. Scene of the Crime
3. EuroCrime
4. YA Sleuth
5. Mystery Reader Discussion
6. Bookish Ruth
7. Classic Mysteries
8. Mysterious Matters
9. Shhh I'm Reading
10. Murder by 4
11. Cafe of Dreams
12. Wendy's Minding Spot

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Mystery Book Review: On Deadly Ground by Michael Norman

On Deadly Ground
by Michael Norman
A JD Books Mystery

Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-692-1 (1590586921)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-692-1 (9781590586921)
Publication Date: March 2010
List Price: $24.95

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Review: John David "J. D." Books returns to his hometown in Utah as a law enforcement ranger only to be immediately faced with a controversial murder in On Deadly Ground, a stand-alone mystery, or possibly the first in a series, by Michael Norman.

J. D. had served 11 years as a homicide detective in Denver, but was forced to resign after an ill-fated incident. When he was offered a job in Kanab as a ranger for the new Bureau of Law Enforcement, he jumped at the chance. But Kanab is a town in turmoil, a community deeply divided over the politics of land management. The Escalante Environmental Wilderness Alliance (EEWA), led by activist David Greenbriar who wants to save what is left of the land for future generations, is opposed by the Citizens for a Free West (CFW), led by wealthy rancher Neil Eddins who maintains the land should be used to support its citizens. When Greenbriar is found hanging from a barn rafter -- after being shot -- Sheriff Charley Sutter turns to J. D. for help in solving the crime. A prime suspect is quickly identified, Lance Clayburn, a man having an affair with the dead man's wife who also happens to own a rifle identical to the one used to kill Greenbriar. And if that weren't enough, evidence places Clayburn at the scene of the crime. But J. D. isn't convinced. Something simply doesn't add up. He has the support of the sheriff, but for how long? Long enough, he hopes, for him to try to sort out some of the conflicting facts contributing to this case.

On Deadly Ground is a perplexing mystery, but in the good way that draws readers into the investigation surrounding the circumstances of Greenbriar's murder. J. D. is an appealing, solidly developed character with something of a mysterious past himself; one isn't quite sure if he's allowing his past to dictate his present train of thought or not. He's quick to point out there were plenty of other people who may have wanted the EEWA leader dead, including any of the members of the CFW who thought him inflexible in his dealing with them, members of his own EEWA who thought him too lenient in his dealings with the CFW, even his young widow who stands to inherit a large amount of money and land ... none of whom seem to be considered by others to be potential suspects. And why are people so anxious to pin the crime on Clayburn? J. D. has been given a short amount of time to offer an alternative to Clayburn, and this factor helps quicken the pace of the story while ramping up the suspense. On Deadly Ground is a real page-turner, to see if J. D. can out-maneuver the person -- or persons -- unknown who seem to be both manipulating the investigation ... and possibly J. D. himself.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of On Deadly Ground and to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of the book for this review.

Review Copyright © 2010 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved

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Synopsis (from the publisher): Kanab, Utah is bitterly divided by the politics of land management. When environmentalist David Greenbriar is found dead, County Sheriff, Charley Sutter, seeks help from newly appointed Law Enforcement Ranger, J. D. Books. Books discovers that the victim’s widow has been having an affair with Lance Clayburn. Physical evidence links Clayburn to the killing. Books connects Greenbriar’s murder to a corrupt Kane County Sheriff’s deputy and a Las Vegas business conglomerate with ties to organized crime. Enter Peter Deluca, a very dangerous mob contract killer, who will eliminate anyone who can link him or his employer to Greenbriar’s murder.

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Mysterious Reviews is your source for the latest mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime novel reviews, edited by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

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Mystery Godoku Puzzle for April 12, 2010

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 E K M O P R S T

This John Flanagan mystery introduced ex-Denver police detective Jesse Parker (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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Mr. E. Reviews: The Caveman's Valentine

The Caveman's Valentine
Director: Kasi Lemmons

Theatrical release: 03/02/2001.
DVD release: 07/17/2001.
Studio: Universal Studios.

Cast: Romulus Ledbetter (Samuel L. Jackson), David Leppenraub (Colm Feore), Moira Leppenraub (Ann Magnuson), Arnold (Damir Andrei), Officer Lulu Ledbetter (Aunjanue Ellis), Sheila Ledbetter (Tamara Tunie), Cork (Peter MacNeill).

Rating: R.
Running time: 106 minutes.

Based on the novel The Caveman's Valentine by George Dawes Green.

Review: The Caveman's Valentine has been on my to-watch list for quite some time now. It's about time I got around to it! The movie is an adaptation of the Edgar Award-winning first novel by George Dawes Green, published in 1994.

Samuel L. Jackson stars as Romulus Ledbetter, a former piano prodigy who attended the Juilliard School, and can still compose and play, but who now suffers from what seems to be a multitude of mental illnesses and lives in a shelter made of rocks, a "cave", in a Manhattan park. Called the Caveman by those who know him on the street, one day he finds the frozen body of a 20-year-old man perched in a tree outside his cave. He recognizes the man as someone who had written "Help Me" on a sidewalk poster promoting the art of photographer David Leppenraub, known for his works of depicting human suffering. Believing there to be a connection between Leppenraub and the dead man, but with no one -- not even his daughter, a police officer -- believing him, he sets out to prove that the young man was murdered and didn't simply die of exposure, as the authorities suspect.

Samuel L. Jackson's performance is brilliant in The Caveman's Valentine, but the same can't be said of the murder mystery plot. It seems to me this is more the fault of the screenwriter and director rather than the material on which it is based. From the screenwriter, the "whodunit" aspect isn't well developed; in fact, most viewers will have figured out who the culprit is well before the half-way point -- and they'd be right. They could even guess at the motive -- and likely be right again. In addition, there are far too many leaps of faith required on the part of the viewer in how the story progresses. I found myself mentally asking all sorts of questions as to how one scene led into another without something really important -- or at the very least, really credible -- happening in-between. I'm guessing these lapses would have been dealt with properly in the book, but are simply glossed over in the movie ... in favor of showing some mind-altering visuals intended to reflect the state of Romulus' being. And that's where the director fails. He seems so enamored with these scenes that much of the continuity of the story is sacrificed. We know Romulus has delusions, and not knowing when he's being rational and when he's not should have been a part of the story. Instead, we're hit over the head ... repeatedly ... with visuals to indicate Romulus is going through one of his irrational episodes. To be fair, though, the director tries to put the story back on solid ground during these scenes by inserting a number of tender (though imagined) conversations between Romulus and his wife.

Kind of a mixed review for me. I enjoyed the performances, Jackson's in particular, though really all the supporting cast were first rate as well, but the movie as a mystery left me somewhat disappointed. I would have appreciated more time spent on developing and maintaining a suspenseful environment for the viewer and less on recreating the psychotic episodes inside Jackson's character's head.

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Mr. E. Reviews is your source for mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime drama reviews of television and film.

Copyright © 2010 — Omnimystery — All Rights Reserved

Mystery Book Review: Dark Alley by Evan Marshall

Dark Alley
by Evan Marshall
An Anna Winthrop "Hidden Manhattan" Mystery

Severn House (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-7278-6835-7 (0727868357)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7278-6835-0 (9780727868350)
Publication Date: March 2010
List Price: $27.95

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Review: Soon after Anna Winthrop, a supervisor with the New York City Sanitation Department, breaks up a fight between two men, one of them is found murdered in a courtyard along his route, spurring her to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death in Dark Alley, the third mystery in this series by Evan Marshall.

Garry Thomason had been moody lately, but his spat with a co-worker over a woman seemed hardly serious enough for the other to kill him. While cleaning out his locker, Anna discovers a couple of newspaper articles from Baghdad, where Garry had served a tour of duty, which describe the rape and murder of an Iraqi teenager and the subsequent murder of the suspect while in custody. She considers that Garry's death may be linked to his time in Iraq -- but that theory seems unlikely when another body ... and still another ... are found in local mews. The headlines proclaim "Mews Murderer on the Loose!" and "Serial Killer 'Courts' Murder", yet Anna's curiosity about the events in Iraq intrigue her. It isn't until her own life is threatened that she realizes she's on to a ruthless killer -- one who doesn't want the truth about the past to come to light.

Readers will quickly take to Anna Winthrop, a down-to-earth amateur sleuth in an unusual profession, one that allows the author to explore some of the lesser known areas of Manhattan (hence the series subtitle). Both the character and the setting are well drawn and appealing. The murder mystery plot also plays out nicely, is properly paced with an abundance of red herrings, but ultimately disappoints as it relies too heavily on an improbable sequence of events that are really only disclosed in the final pages. Part of the attraction of a whodunit-style murder mystery -- which this is -- is when the reader is engaged in the investigation, able to figure out, together with the protagonist, the culprit and motive. That really doesn't happen here. So while the journey is enjoyable, the ending is a bit of a letdown.

Special thanks to Evan Marshall for providing a copy of Dark Alley for this review.

Review Copyright © 2010 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved

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Synopsis (from the publisher): When sanitation worker Garry Thomason vanishes on his way to collect the trash, he is the first in a series of people discovered brutally murdered in the middle of hidden mews in New York. As Anna, Garry’s boss, works to expose this "Mews Murderer", she first uncovers Garry’s murky past of crime and drugs, and then becomes a target herself; for this cold-blooded killer will do anything to escape detection and keep hidden a shocking secret of his own ...

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Mysterious Reviews is your source for the latest mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime novel reviews, edited by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

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Mystery Book Review: Abandon by Blake Crouch

Abandon
by Blake Crouch
Non-series

St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-312-53740-9 (0312537409)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-53740-1 (9780312537401)
Publication Date: July 2009
List Price: $25.99

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Review: Blake Crouch’s novel is a masterfully crafted blend of an historical back story and a modern-day search to explain the mysterious disappearance of the citizens of a Colorado mining town over Christmas 1893. Truly, a raw, rapid fire action-adventure whether in elucidating the past or in describing the present, the story sweeps along to expose both the worst and the best of its characters in their pursuit of lost souls and hidden gold.

A chilling scene of a murder committed by a child on December 28, 1893 in the town of Abandon opens the story, and sets the tone for what follows as the action surges ahead to 2009 when several individuals, each with their own motivations, come together to explore the deserted ghost town. Twenty-eight year-old Abigail Foster is there to do a magazine story. Her estranged father, Lawrence, is there to further his academic career as a historian. And a husband and wife team, one a photographer of the paranormal, the other a psychic, round out the group, that is led by a couple of back country guides. But the readers quickly learn this is no ordinary expedition when mysterious events begin to occur and a trio of brigands appears to violently hijack the search for their own devious reasons.

The focus for both stories is the search for gold. In 1893, the tale involves the vicious killing of a gold mine magnate, the hiding of the loot, a deranged preacher, and the disappearance of everyone from Abandon, as regular or unusual as they may be – and some are quite extraordinary, indeed. In 2009, the scenes concern the unravelling of the past but they also focus on the search for the gold that went missing along with the townsfolk 113 years ago. The protagonists here aren’t quite as colourful as their historical counterparts but they exhibit the same universal characteristics of good and evil, cruelty and courage, and the all-consuming desire to find the cache of gold. Crouch’s clever interplay between the two gripping narratives keeps the suspense at its maximum and the reader wanting to know more at every page. He is also adept at portraying credible characters, whether a deranged preacher, an addled widow, cold-blooded killers of any era, or a young woman trying to repair a damaged relationship with her father even as they struggle through a series of kill or be killed episodes with their captors to finally resolve at tremendous cost the mystery of the missing townspeople. Admittedly Crouch’s "most research-intensive project [that he’s] ever undertaken," his story bears the stamp of authenticity in the details of the mining sites, the images of the region and the language, dialogue and slang of the times.

Abandon is the third of Crouch’s novels, the previous two being the two-volume series, Desert Places and Locked Doors. His next novel due for release in June 2010 involves "a separated family, a rogue FBI agent, human-trafficking, ex-Mexican paramilitary soldiers turned cartel enforcers, and a hedonistic lodge in the wilds of Alaska." Crouch promises it will be equally "pedal-to-the-metal fun."

Special thanks to M. Wayne Cunningham (mw_cunningham@telus.net) for contributing his review of Abandon and to St. Martin's Minotaur for providing a copy of the book for this review.

Review Copyright © 2010 — M. Wayne Cunningham — All Rights Reserved — Reprinted with Permission

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Synopsis (from the publisher): On Christmas Day in 1893, every man, woman and child in a remote gold mining town disappeared, belongings forsaken, meals left to freeze in vacant cabins; and not a single bone was ever found. One hundred thirteen years later, two backcountry guides are hired by a history professor and his journalist daughter to lead them into the abandoned mining town so that they can learn what happened. With them is a psychic, and a paranormal photographer—as the town is rumored to be haunted. A party that tried to explore the town years ago was never heard from again. What this crew is about to discover is that twenty miles from civilization, with a blizzard bearing down, they are not alone, and the past is very much alive.

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Mysterious Reviews is your source for the latest mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime novel reviews, edited by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

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