Mystery Godoku Puzzle for August 30, 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 L M O R S T

This is the title of Alan Loots’ debut thriller with Professor Michael Lund (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!

The Koala of Death by Betty Webb (Book Review)

The Koala of Death by Betty Webb. A Theodora "Teddy" Bentley Zoo Mystery. Poisoned Pen Press Hardcover, August 2010.

Zookeeper Theodora ("Teddy") Bentley wakes up to the sound of something -- the body of her colleague Kate Nido, better known as "Koala Kate" -- bumping against the Merilee, the houseboat on which she lives at Gunn Landing harbor in Betty Webb’s second zoo mystery, The Koala of Death.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: The Koala of Death by Betty Webb.

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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.

ITV Announces Fall Schedule Featuring Several Crime Dramas

We probably should have combined this information with our previous post, but in a separate press release, ITV announced its upcoming fall slate of programming that includes the two-part drama DCI Banks: Aftermath, adapted from the novel of the same name by crime novelist Peter Robinson and starring Stephen Tompkinson as Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks. As we reported earlier this year, Aftermath is expected to serve as a pilot for a potential series featuring the character.

Returning series include Whitechapel, Law & Order: UK, Midsomer Murders, and Agatha Christie's Poirot.

ITV Commissions Three New Crime Dramas for 2011

ITV announced in a press release this weekend three new series for 2011, all of which are crime dramas.

Injustice is from writer Anthony Horowitz and involves a criminal barrister who is recovering from a traumatic series of events that have shaken his belief in the legal system. This isn't the Horowitz project we were hoping to see here ... ahem ... Foyle's War ... but pretty much anything he does is definitely worth keeping an eye out for.

Scott and Bailey are two Manchester homicide detectives in the Major Incident Team and is written by Sally Wainwright (Unforgiven).

The Jury, written by Peter Morgan, is a series which features everyday people who find themselves at the center of one of the most controversial criminal re-trials in their time.

Laura Mackie, ITV Director of Drama Commissioning, said, “Peter, Sally and Anthony are three of the finest British screenwriters and the quality of their scripts are attracting top flight acting talent. We’re totally committed to original, authored drama and these commissions are brilliant additions to our slate for 2011.”

Mystery Books News to become Omnimystery News

Mystery Books News was begun in October 2005 as a blog with information about -- no surprise here -- mystery books. And although our focus remains primarily on mystery books, authors and series characters, over the years we've expanded our coverage to include other forms of mystery entertainment, including games, television and film.

With this in mind, we've decided to rebrand our blog to be more reflective of this expanded coverage. A week from today, Mystery Books News will become Omnimystery News. We'll be using a new template for our posts and there will be a new domain: OmnimysteryNews.com.

We've chosen the Labor Day weekend to make the changeover because it is typically a slow couple of days and we want to minimize any disruption to our service. However, we fully expect some down time starting Saturday, September 4th, and possibly continuing on into the following day. Still, if everything goes as planned, the transition from Mystery Books News to Omnimystery News, when complete, should be transparent to you. We'll point all posts from the old domain to the new one, and we'll be using the same feed address, so subscribers won't have to resubscribe.

We thank you for being a visitor to the Omnimystery Family of Mystery Websites and look forward to continuing to provide you with the most comprehensive information for and reviews of mystery books, games, television and film.

Winners of the 2010 Davitt Awards Announced

The winners of the 2010 Davitt Awards have been announced by Sisters of Crime Australia, recognizing the best in Australian crime writing by women. The winners are:

◊ Best Adult Novel: Sharp Shooter by Marianne Delacourt
◊ Best Young Adult Novel: Liar by Justine Larbalestier
◊ Readers Choice Award: Forbidden Fruit by Kerry Greenwood
◊ Best True Crime: Lady Killer by Candace Sutton and Ellen Connolly

Mr. E. Reviews Agatha Christie Marple Series 5

Review of Agatha Christie: Marple Series 5.

Three episodes comprise Series 5 of Agatha Christie's Marple, which are included on this DVD set that also features a bonus disc titled "Agatha Christie's Garden: Murder and Mystery in Devon", an intimate tour of the writer's most private retreat.

The "three new thrilling mysteries" (as proclaimed on the box art) are "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side", "The Secret of Chimneys", and "The Blue Geranium", which aired on PBS's Masterpiece Mystery! earlier this year. All were adapted from novels or short stories by Agatha Christie, though not necessarily originally featuring Miss Marple.

Read the full text of our review at Mr. E. Reviews.

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

BBC Officially Renews Sherlock and Luther

Earlier this month we reported that the original BBC series Sherlock was going to be renewed for a second series.

Today, the BBC confirmed this, stating in a press release that the series will return in Fall 2011 with three new 90-minute episodes. The network also confirmed that the crime drama Luther will also return, with two new 2-hour specials.

Sherlock stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as his loyal friend, Doctor John Watson, in a comtemporary take on the classic characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Luther stars Idris Elba as DCI John Luther, who works as an officer in London's Serious Crime Unit.

BBC One Controller Jay Hunt says: "Sherlock was the hit of the summer. Luther the most memorable new detective on the block. I am delighted they will both be returning to BBC One."

Sherlock will air on PBS's Masterpiece Mystery! later this fall, and be released on DVD and Blu-ray disc on November 9th.

Running Dark by Jamie Freveletti (Book Review)

Running Dark by Jamie Freveletti. An Emma Caldridge Mystery. William Morrow Hardcover, July 2010.

Chemist Emma Caldridge is drawn into an international struggle for control of what may be a cache of chemical or biological weapons about to be sold to terrorists on the high seas in Running Dark, the second mystery in this series by Jamie Freveletti.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Running Dark by Jamie Freveletti.

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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.

Inspector Lewis Series III Begins Sunday, August 29th on PBS

Tomorrow, Sunday August 29th, Series III of Inspector Lewis begins on PBS (check your local listings for air times). Five new episodes will be presented this season.

In the first of these episodes, titled "Counter Culture Blues", loud gunshots on a local estate interrupt an Oxford church service, and Detective Inspector Lewis (Kevin Whately) and Detective Sergeant Hathaway (Laurence Fox) are stirred from their quiet Sunday plans to investigate. The estate owner is an aging rock star, Richie Maguire, part of an iconic band from Lewis's youth. The offending gunfire is the least of the chaos on the estate. Esme Ford (Joanna Lumley), the band's singer long presumed dead, has just resurfaced. And, Lewis suspects that an orphan boy has recently died just outside the estate gates. As Lewis remembers his rock-and-roll youth, the violence escalates. Yet, these fading rockers don't seem capable of much of anything, much less murder. It will take the inspiration of Inspector Morse to sort out the true suspects from the rock stars.

Inspector Lewis is a spin-off of the long-running Inspector Morse mysteries, based on characters created by crime novelist Colin Dexter.

The first two series of Inspector Lewis are available on DVD from Telemystery: Inspector Lewis.