Reviews of Mystery and Suspense Books for Kids, New This Week on Book Trends

Book Trends, a review site for young adult and children books, published several new book reviews this past week. We're presenting here a summary of those in the mystery / suspense category.

The Adventures of Jack Lime by James Leck. A collection of three cases featuring a student private investigator. Recommended for readers aged 10 to 12. Lexile measure: N/A. Reviewed by a 6th grade student who wrote, "The Adventures of Jack Lime is a spectacular book! It is thrilling and has many twists. I couldn’t put it down for a second."

For more reviews of children and young adult books, visit Book Trends; their reviews will amaze you!

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Mr. E. Reviews: The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
Director: Tony Scott

Theatrical release: 06/12/2009.
DVD release: 11/03/2009.
Studio: Sony Pictures.

Cast: Walter Garber (Denzel Washington), Ryder (John Travolta), Phil Ramos (Luis Guzman), Bashkin (Victor Cojcaj), Emri (Robert Vataj), Gamonetti (John Turturro), John Johnson (Michael Rispoli), Delgado (Ramon Rodriguez), Mayor (James Gandolfini), Deputy Mayor LaSalle (John Benjamin Hickey).

Rating: R for for intense sequences of strong violence, and pervasive strong language..
Running time: 106 minutes.

Based on the novel The Taking of Pelham One Two Three by John Godey.

Also available: The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (Blu-ray disc)

Review: The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is a remake of the original film adaptation from 1974 that starred Walter Matthau and Robert Shaw in the Denzel Washington and John Travolta roles, respectively. I haven't seen the original in, maybe, 30 years but my recollection is that I greatly enjoyed it.

Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) is a New York city transit system subway dispatcher, a man who had worked his way up through the ranks to senior management only to be demoted while under investigation for accepting a bribe from a train manufacturer. (The character's name in the original is Zachary, but in a nod to Matthau, he was renamed Walter in this film.) He's on the desk when the train designated Pelham 1-2-3 unexpectedly stops in the middle of a tunnel. A group of four men have taken a single car of the train with passengers aboard hostage -- releasing the other cars -- and is demanding $10 million be paid within one hour. For every minute past the hour deadline one hostage will be killed. The leader of the group, who identifies himself as Ryder (John Travolta), forms a bond with Garber over the radio and when it comes time to hand over the money, Ryder insists Garber be the one to deliver it.

The storyline in The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 seems tailor-made for a thriller film, but it's more of a psychological thriller than, say, an action thriller. And that's really how the movie should have been made. The director, however, makes some serious missteps in adding a number of totally needless and pointless action sequences, set on the streets of Manhattan not even remotely near where the story takes place, into the movie. Fortunately, they consume very little time and don't detract significantly from interplay between Garber and Ryder, which is at the heart of the film and generates most of the suspense. What is distracting, though, is the constant movement of the camera. Again, it's unnecessary and serves no purpose.

John Travolta seems ideally cast as Ryder, and plays the character brilliantly. Denzel Washington seems to be a less ideal choice for the role of Garber. Washington is better with characters that have a bit of an edge to them; here, he's rather unassuming and doesn't ever appear to be fazed at all by what's happening or the fact that the fate of over a dozen lives are effectively in his hands. There's something about that that doesn't feel right. Don't get me wrong, his performance is just fine; it's just that he seems slightly miscast in the part.

For the most part, the adapted storyline is plausible though there are a handful of plot points that are, if not outright impossible, then highly improbable, even for a work of fiction. Most come late in the movie and have to do with Ryder's motivation for and execution of his financial plan.

Overall, the film has a crisp look to it, and the pacing is just about right, with a minimum of tangential scenes (the special effects action sequences notwithstanding). I enjoyed watching The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 and recommend it ... and though my recall of the 1974 film is quite hazy, my sense is this updated version doesn't quite measure up to the intensity of the original. I guess I'll have to re-watch it soon to refresh my memory!

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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

New Promo Available for Lifetime's The Front, based on the novel by Patricia Cornwell

As a follow-up to our post yesterday on this weekend's premiere of the made-for-television adaptation of The Front by Patricia Cornwell on Lifetime Television, we've just learned there is a new 30-second promo available, which can be seen below.

Based on the second book of Cornwell’s best-selling Win Garano series, The Front brings back high-powered and sexy Boston District Attorney Monique Lamont (played by Andie MacDowell) and her favorite ace detective, Win Garano (Daniel Sunjata), in a fast-paced mystery. Determined to generate much-needed publicity as her career in politics begins to lose its shine, Monique orders Win to re-open an investigation into an unsolved homicide that took place in one of Boston’s small outlying communities served by “The Front,” a coalition of small, local police departments that have banded together to fight crime.

Also starring Diahann Carroll, Annabeth Gish, and Ashley Williams, The Front airs tomorrow, Saturday April 17th at 9 PM (ET/PT) on Lifetime. For more information on the movie, visit MyLifetime.com.

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First Clues Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

First Clues: Mysteries for Kids is delighted to publish a new student-written review of a mystery or suspense novel. 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.

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The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Hunger Games Trilogy

Scholastic (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-439-02348-3 (0439023483)
ISBN-13: 978-0-439-02348-1 (9780439023481)
Publication Date: September 2008
List Price: $17.99

Review written by Karan, Grade 6. Date of review: April 2010.

Review: Fast, compelling, and fear are correct words to characterize The Hunger Games, a very fast-action fast-paced first in the series written by Suzanne Collins. In the ruins of a zone once known as North America, now lies the nation of Panem, a shining but rude capital surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The capital is very cruel and harsh and keeps the districts in line by maliciously forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 – 18 to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live T.V. throughout the nation of Panem. Sixteen year old Katniss Everdeen, who lives only with her mother and sister, gets picked as the one girl from her home district, #12. Though she regards it as a death sentence, she would rather let herself die out, than her younger sister Prim Everdeen die a sad death. The only good thing on her side is her companion on the death trip, Peeta Mellark, and her survival skills. For Katniss, survival is her second nature! If Katniss wants to live, she will have to step up her game face, and at least try.

Suzanne Collins doesn’t write vaguely at all. All her chapters contain a whole lot of information inside of them! Because she wrote like this, it is a very good and fun book to read anytime of the day! My favorite part in The Hunger Games is the part when Katniss first starts the games, and she is fighting with a boy for a bow and arrow, and the boy gets hit and dies from one of the best throwing knife people, because he wasn’t watching his back. This part in the book is my favorite because it was very climactic and thespian. My favorite quote said by Katniss from the book is “Once I’m on my feet, I realize my escape might not be so simple. Panic begins to set in. I can’t stay here. Flight is essential. But I can’t let my fear show. Winning means Fame and Fortune. Losing means certain Death. The Hunger Games have Begun ...” I think in my opinion, that this book is outstanding! Also, this book and its author were praised by winning the New York Times Bestselling Author Award!

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

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First Clue Mysteries is pleased to provide information on over 100 mystery series for children and young adults. Each series is conveniently listed under four different age categories: New Sleuths (ages 4 to 6), Future Sleuths (ages 7 to 10), Sleuths in Training (ages 10 to 12), and Apprentice Sleuths (ages 13 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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Games of Mystery: Crime and Punishment, Who Framed Raskolnikov?, New at Big Fish Games

Games of Mystery is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery casual game from Big Fish Games released today and available to BFG Club members. 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.

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Agents Alex and Kat of a special department that investigates mysteries of the past are assigned to solve one of the most famous, and heinous, crimes in literary history. Travel back in time to St. Petersburg in 1866, the place and time of the murder of an old woman by the student Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov in Fyodor Dostoevsky's classic novel Crime and Punishment. Or was Raskolnikov framed? Use your hidden object skills to discover the truth.

Crime and Punishment: Who Framed Raskolnikov? may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (116.94 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour.

Watch a preview video below:

Get any standard game for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. Other benefits include the $2.99 Daily Deal, Tomorrow's Game Today, and special member rewards. And if you purchase any 6 games within a single month, you earn a free game with the Big Fish Game Club Monthly Punch Card! (Collector's Editions earn 3 punches each, half-way towards your free game!)

Read our new game reviews by Ms. Terri: Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy (Review), 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

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Games of Mystery is your source for mystery-themed video, electronic, and board games, parties for kids and adults, and murder mystery weekends and mystery getaway vacations!

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Mystery Bestsellers for April 16, 2010

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending April 16, 2010 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

Harlan Coben's non-series thriller Caught retains the top spot this week, but three new titles that actually debuted last week, but just off our cutoff, move into the top 15.

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Jumping from 19 last week to 11 this week is Changes, the 12th book in the Harry Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher.

Long ago, Susan Rodriguez was Harry Dresden's lover -- until she was attacked by his enemies, leaving her torn between her own humanity and the bloodlust of the vampiric Red Court. Susan then disappeared to South America, where she could fight both her savage gift and those who cursed her with it.

Now Arianna Ortega, Duchess of the Red Court, has discovered a secret Susan has long kept, and she plans to use it -- against Harry. To prevail this time, he may have no choice but to embrace the raging fury of his own untapped dark power. Because Harry's not fighting to save the world ...

He's fighting to save his child.

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At number 14 this week is the 10th Joe Pickett mystery, Nowhere to Run by C. J. Box.

Joe Pickett's in his last week as the temporary game warden in the town of Baggs, Wyoming, but there have been strange things going on in the mountains, and his conscience won't let him leave without checking them out: reports of camps looted, tents slashed, elk butchered.

And then there's the runner who simply vanished one day.

Joe doesn't mind admitting that the farther he rides, the more he wishes he could just turn around and go home. And he is right to be concerned. Because what awaits him is like nothing he's ever dealt with, like something out of an old story, except this is all too real and too deadly. When he'd first saddled up, he'd thought of this as his last patrol. What he hadn't known was just how accurate that thought might turn out to be.

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And finally, in 15th position is Cat of the Century, the 18th mystery in the Mrs. Murphy series by Rita Mae Brown.

Harry’s beloved and tart-tongued Aunt Tally is about to turn the big 1-0-0. The alumnae association of her alma mater sees an opportunity to honor the event and make some loot off the centennial as well. The plan is to hold a big fund-raiser in Aunt Tally’s honor to recoup some of the school revenue lost in the cratered economy. But soon there’s more at risk than investments and endowments.

First, an impending blizzard threatens to ruin the whole affair. Then a suspicious transaction is discovered in the association’s account: board member Mariah D’Angelo has mysteriously withdrawn and then replaced $25,000.

But was that enough to get her killed? Mariah’s car is on campus, she’s gone missing, and Tucker has found human blood near the school’s stables.

What’s behind the disappearance? Was it Mariah’s donations to crafty politicians and crooked charities? Her rivalry with fellow board member Flo Langston? And is there a connection to the forty-year-old unsolved death of an old acquaintance of Aunt Tally’s? Using animal cunning and human canniness, Harry and her menagerie of mystery solvers must sniff out the answers or -- even at a hundred years old -- Aunt Talley may outlive them all.

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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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David Suchet is Considering a Live Stage Adaptation of a Poirot Novel

Earlier this week we reported that David Suchet strongly wants to complete filming adaptations of all of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot short stories and novels -- there are but six left to do --- and now The Stage is reporting that the actor is considering playing the character in a live stage adaptation.

“There is talk about this and I am in debate at the moment, not with them [the producers] but in my own mind, as to whether to take Poirot on to the stage,” he said. “There is part of me that is quite keen to do it. Jeremy Brett did it with Sherlock Holmes and had a very nice time, but Poirot has always been, for me, someone on the screen. However, I could be persuaded either way.”

Though there do not appear to be any immediate plans to move forward, Suchet has a definite idea on how it should be done -- should it happen.

“I don’t want to be in a country-house drama as Poirot on the stage,” he said. “If we did it, it would have to be a huge story with a fantastic set, and it would have to be really worthwhile doing.”

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Adaptation of The Front by Patricia Cornwell Premieres This Saturday on Lifetime

This Saturday, April 17th at 9 PM (ET/PT), Lifetime presents the premiere of its made-for-television movie adaptation of The Front by Patricia Cornwell. The film stars Andie MacDowell as Massachusetts District Attorney Monique "Money" Lamont and Daniel Sunjata as State Police Officer Win Garano, who reopen the investigation of the brutal, decades-old murder of a young blind woman in an effort to generate much-needed publicity for Lamont's political aspirations.

The Front is a sequel to At Risk, an adaptation of which premiered last Saturday, and which will air as an encore presentation on Saturday at 7 PM (ET/PT).

Watch a preview of both films following the synopsis of The Front below.

About The Front (from the publisher): District Attorney Monique Lamont, a hard-charging woman with powerful ambitions and a troubling willingness to cut corners, has a special job for Massachusetts state investigator Win Garano. As part of a new public relations campaign about the dangers of declining neighborhoods, she’s sending him to Watertown to “come up with a drama,” and she thinks she knows just the case that will serve. Garano is very skeptical, because he knows that Watertown is also the home base for a loose association of municipal police departments called the "Front", set up in order that they don’t have to be so dependent on the state—much to Lamont’s anger. He senses a much deeper agenda here—but he has no idea just how deep it goes. In the days that follow, he’ll find that Lamont’s task, and the places it leads him, will resemble a house of mirrors—everywhere he turns, he’s not quite sure if what he’s seeing is true.

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eHarlequin Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense Titles for May 2010

eHarlequin.com has released the May 2010 titles in their Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense series. Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense books combine suspense, romance, hope and faith to create a unique page-turning series that today’s readers love. To purchase any of the books below, click on the book title. (Previous months titles can be found on the backlist page.)

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Covert Pursuit by Terri Reed

Boston homicide detective Angie Carlucci thought she was getting a much-needed vacation. But her Florida Keys holiday is interrupted when she sees someone dump a body bag in the ocean. In the tangle between arms dealers and treasure hunters, she's the only witness—and the main target. Unless a certain boat captain can keep her safe …

A pretty cop complicating his mission—and endangering his cover—is the last thing federal agent Jason Bodwell needs. Yet the more Jason and Angie work together, the closer they grow. Jason's willing to risk his life to solve the case … what will he risk for love?

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Dead Ringer by Sharon Dunn

Facts about the Mountain Springs Serial Killer:

• He targets women with long dark hair and blue eyes.

• He finds his victims through an online dating service.

• He's about to strike again.

When a distress call sends Detective Eli Hawkins to Lucy Kimbol, he senses danger straightaway. With her long dark hair and beautiful blue eyes, Lucy's a dead ringer for the local killer's other victims. And she is a member of the online dating service the killer frequents. But with her painful past, Lucy is reluctant to believe Eli's warnings. Winning her trust is the only way to keep her safe … if Eli is not already too late.

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Fatal Secrets by Barbara Phinney

"For my baby's safety, I must give her up …"

An old letter is all Kristin Perry has of her birth mother. When the Witness Protection Program couldn't keep mother or daughter safe, the woman fled "underground." With the help of private investigator Zane Black, Kristin tries to track her down. Instead, though, she finds herself the target of a series of deadly "accidents." Zane's still searching for her missing mother—but now Kristin's starting to wonder if her family reunion will be the death of them all …

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Secret Agent Father by Laura Scott

He has a son?

Although he's never met the boy who arrives on his doorstep, undercover DEA agent Alex McCade can't deny the truth. The four-year-old is his child, and—like father, like son—little Cody has landed himself in the middle of a dangerous situation. Shelby Jacobson, Cody's aunt, tells Alex that Cody is the only one who can identify his mother's killer. So now the killer is after them both. With his newfound family in danger, Alex will do anything to keep Cody—and Cody's beautiful aunt—safely by his side.

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If you enjoy the suspense books in this series, you can get 2 free Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense books plus 2 free gifts just for giving the automatic program a try. Accepting your two free Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense 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 Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense 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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Today's Featured Free Kindle Mystery: The Dark Tide by Andrew Gross

Kindle Mysteries is pleased to feature a mystery title that is currently available in Kindle eBook format for free from Amazon.com. We don't know how long it will be offered at this special price, so download it today!

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The Dark Tide by Andrew Gross
A Ty Hauck Mystery (1st in series)
William Morrow (Kindle eBook)
Download Link

About The Dark Tide (from the publisher): An explosion rips through New York City's Grand Central Station one morning, destroying the train Karen Friedman's husband, a successful hedge fund manager, is riding in to work. Days later, with many bodies still unidentifiable, Karen resigns herself to the awful truth: her husband of eighteen years is dead.

On that same day, a suspicious hit-and-run accident leaves a young man dead in Karen's hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut. Ty Hauck, a detective, becomes emotionally caught up in the case and finds a clue that shockingly connects the two seemingly unrelated events.

Months later, two men show up at Karen's home digging into Charles's business dealings. Hundreds of millions of dollars are missing -- and the trail points squarely to Charles. With doubt suddenly cast on everything she has ever known, Karen, with Hauck, steps into a widening storm of hedge fund losses, international scams, and murder. And as the investigations converge, these two strangers touched by tragedy are pulled into a deepening relationship and unwittingly open the door to a twisted -- and deadly -- conspiracy.

Read our Review of The Dark Tide by Andrew Gross at Mysterious Reviews.

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