Games of Mystery: AGON: From Lapland to Madagascar

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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Professor Samuel Hunt, a middle-aged historian from the British Museum, embarks on a journey after finding a mysterious letter, a few torn codex pages, and an unknown artifact. His travels take him to 12 corners of the world, where he has to rediscover long-forgotten board games, and has to remove the curse of the families who guard them. Finding the keepers of the games and the rules is not an easy task, but the facts that come into his possession in the process suggest a legend of horrible doom, and by this knowledge his original goals are questioned.

Dive into this mystery and get lost in the immersive atmosphere of the game, which includes the second and third episodes of the series ("Adventures in Lapland", and "Pirates of Madagascar").

See also the first episode of the series, AGON: The London Scene.

Also available: AGON: From Lapland to Madagascar Strategy Guide.

AGON: From Lapland to Madagascar may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (491.59 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 Ms. Terri's reviews of the adventure and casual mystery games featured on this site, including Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy, Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses!, Enlightenus, and many more!

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!

The Mystery Bookshelf: Midnight Fires by Nancy Means Wright, a Mary Wollstonecraft Mystery

The Mystery Bookshelf, where you can discover a library of new mysteries, is pleased to feature a new mystery series title we recently received from the publisher.

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Midnight Fires by Nancy Means Wright
A Mary Wollstonecraft Mystery
Perseverance Press (Trade Paperback)
Publication Date: April 2010
ISBN-13: 978-1-56474-488-3

About Midnight Fires (from the publisher): Mitchelstown Castle in County Cork, seat of the notorious Anglo-Irish Kingsborough family, fairly hums with intrigue. In 1786 the new young governess, Mary Wollstonecraft, witnesses a stabbing when she attends a pagan bonfire at which an illegitimate son of the nobility is killed. When the young Irishman Liam Donovan, who hated the aristocratic rogue for seducing his niece, becomes the prime suspect for his murder, Mary -- ever a champion of the oppressed, and susceptible to Liam's charm -- determines to prove him innocent.

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About Nancy Means Wright: The author of the Ruth Willmarth mystery series and two mysteries for children, one an Agatha Award winner and the other a nominee, she is longtime teacher, Vermont Humanities Council Scholar, and Bread Loaf Scholar, who has also written other fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. She lives and writes in the environs of Middlebury, Vermont. Visit her website at NancyMeansWright.com.

Mysteries on TV: Burn Notice, Foyle's War, and Midsomer Murders, 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 or Blu-ray disc, is profiling three series being released this week.

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Jeffrey Donovan stars as spy-turned-private eye Michael Westen in Burn Notice, an entertaining series of intrigue, action and humor as the former government operative continues his quest to discover why he was "burned" -- cut loose by the agency without explanation.

Along the way, Michael and pals Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar) and Sam (Bruce Campbell) put their talents to work helping victims of injustice. Sharon Gless co-stars as Michael's neurotic mother.

The fourth season of Burn Notice premieres this Thursday, June 3rd, on USA Network.

The Burn Notice: Season Three DVD set of 4 discs contain the 16 episodes that originally aired on USA Network from June through August 2009 and January through March 2010.

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Returning for a three-episode encore, this enormously popular, award-winning mystery series stars Michael Kitchen as Detective Chief Inspector Christopher Foyle, a police investigator in the British coastal community of Hastings, in Foyle's War.

In the immediate aftermath of World War II, Foyle finds his longed-for retirement interrupted by cases involving international intrigue, military racism, and an accused traitor all too willing to go to the gallows.

Also starring Honeysuckle Weeks and Anthony Howell, and featuring Max Brown, Christopher Good, Tim Pigott-Smith, Charlotte Riley, Sam Spruell, Andrew Scott, David Yelland, and Anastasia Hille.

The Foyle's War: Set Six DVD set of 3 discs contain the three episodes that originally aired on PBS Masterpiece Mystery! during April 2010.

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John Nettles stars as DCI Tom Barnaby in three more episodes of murder and intrigue in Midsomer Murders. Based on characters created by Caroline Graham, the series also stars Jason Hughes as his efficient protégé, Detective Sergeant Ben Jones.

John Nettles announced his retirement a year or so ago after playing the character since the series debut in 1998. (He's had three Detective Sergeants during his run.) Neil Dudgeon will replace Nettles, playing Tom Barnaby's cousin, DCI John Barnaby; he was introduced in an episode that aired in the UK this past February. There are, however, some 11 or 12 episodes yet to be released on DVD with Nettles as DCI Tom Barnaby, so we'll have plenty to look forward to.

The Midsomer Murders: Set Fifteen DVD set of 4 discs contain the three episodes that originally aired during May 2008 on ITV. A fourth bonus disc is a documentary about Midsomer Murders in which John Nettles, Caroline Graham, Anthony Horowitz, and others reflect on the show’s first decade. 

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Visit our Mysteries on TV website to discover more television mystery series currently available on DVD and Blu-ray disc.

Games of Mystery: The Inquisitor

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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Take on the role of a young and inquisitive monk -- an "inquisitor" -- in this exciting hidden object adventure set in the Middle Ages and based on Wolfgang Hohlbein's thrilling 1990 novel Der Inquisitor.

Tobias is in search of the truth that will save a remote village. Not only does he know the supposed witch accused of bringing disaster to the village, they were once madly in love. Uncover clues and solve challenging puzzles in this timeless journey filled with mystery and intrigue.

Also available: The Inquisitor Game Walkthrough.

The Inquisitor may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (188.70 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 Ms. Terri's reviews of the adventure and casual mystery games featured on this site, including Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy, Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses!, Enlightenus, and many more!

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!

Mystery Godoku Puzzle for May 31, 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 C D E H L O R T

This is the title of Sarah Moss’s debut thriller set in the Arctic (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!

Winner of the 2009 Hammett Prize Announced

The winner of the Hammett Prize was announced last night by the North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers during the Bloody Words X Mystery Conference in Toronto. The Hammett Prize is given annually to recognize excellence in the field of crime writing.

The winner, for a book published during 2009, is The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry (Penguin).

Mystery Book Review: The Black Cat by Martha Grimes

Review of The Black Cat by Martha Grimes

Detective Superintendent Richard Jury's presence is specifically requested on the scene of the murder of a stylishly and expensively dressed young woman outside a country pub in Buckinghamshire -- a woman who inexplicably remains unidentified two days after her death -- in The Black Cat, the 22nd mystery in this series by Martha Grimes.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews.

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The Black Cat
Martha Grimes
A Richard Jury Mystery

Viking (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-670-02160-1 (0670021601)
ISBN-13: 978-0-670-02160-4 (9780670021604)
Publication Date: April 2010
List Price: $25.95

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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.

Tom Selleck To Play NYC Police Chief ... and Star on Broadway?

As if Tom Selleck weren't busy enough, Broadway World is reporting that he's looking to return to the stage.

"I'll probably do a Broadway play soon," he said. "There's a lot of possibilities but it requires time which I'm happy to say I don't have right now."

Selleck made his stage debut back in 2001 in the lead of A Thousand Clowns.

His next project is portraying New York City police chief Frank Reagan in Blue Bloods, which has been confirmed on CBS's Fall 2010 schedule. He also plays (now former) Paradise police chief Jesse Stone in the series of made-for-television films based on characters created by Robert B. Parker. The most recent of these aired earlier this month and will be released on DVD July 27th; see Mysteries on TV: Jesse Stone for more information.

Games of Mystery: Faded Reality

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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After Monica receives a cornea transplant, she begins having cryptic visions. Help her use her new abilities to decipher these images and solve the mystery of a faded reality! Find the clues to re-create the events of the past. Follow the steps of Monica’s cornea donor and find out what happened to him and other patients of a mysterious clinic.

Faded Reality may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (53.30 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 Ms. Terri's reviews of the adventure and casual mystery games featured on this site, including Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy, Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses!, Enlightenus, and many more!

Big Fish Games: Bestsellers

Big Fish Games: New releases

— ◊ —

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!

Mystery Book Review: The Cold Room by J. T. Ellison

Review of The Cold Room by J. T. Ellison

Recently demoted Nashville homicide detective Taylor Jackson is called in to investigate an obviously staged murder scene that is eerily similar to several found in Europe ... and under investigation by her FBI boyfriend and expert in behaviorial analysis John Baldwin, in The Cold Room, the fourth mystery in this series by J. T. Ellison.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews.

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The Cold Room
J. T. Ellison
A Taylor Jackson Mystery

Mira (Mass Market Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-7783-2714-0 (0778327140)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7783-2714-1 (9780778327141)
Publication Date: March 2010
List Price: $7.99

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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.