Inspector Lewis in Dark Matter, Sunday, September 12th, on PBS

Tomorrow, Sunday September 12th, the third of five new episodes of Series III of Inspector Lewis airs on PBS (check your local listings for air times).

In "Dark Matter", Oxford professor and amateur stargazer Andrew Crompton emerges from a church confessional, cryptically exclaiming that on Friday at 3:15, he'll have an "excess of joy." Later, Crompton is found dead at the foot of the stairs in the Oxford observatory. The investigation draws Detective Inspector Lewis (Kevin Whately) and Detective Sergeant Hathaway (Laurence Fox) into the ethereal writings of a 17th-century astronomer and a modern-day circle of scientists and musicians, and their unexpected connections to the deceased. The cosmos aside, there's a dark deception at the center of the case, one that Lewis and Hathaway won't be able to fully comprehend until Friday at 3:15.

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. This third series will be released on DVD on October 12th, and may be pre-ordered.

Broken by Karin Fossum (Book Review)

Broken by Karin Fossum. Non-series. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Hardcover, August 2010.

Some authors say they never outline a story or create character profiles, preferring instead to simply start writing and let the character and plot develop in real time, as it were. Karin Fossum, author of the Konrad Sejer mysteries, has taken this process a step further, developing it into Broken, a her first stand-alone novel of suspense.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Broken by Karin Fossum.

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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.

Noomi Rapace ("The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo") Cast in Sherlock Holmes Sequel

In a bit of casting news, the Heat Vision blog of The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Noomi Rapace has been signed to star as the female lead in the sequel to Sherlock Holmes.

Rapace is probably best known to American audiences as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (and its Swedish-language sequels). Sherlock Holmes II will be her first English-language film.

Sherlock Holmes II, which has yet to begin production, will also star returning leads Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. Watson.

BBC Releases Archived Radio and Television Items on Agatha Christie

In recognition of the 120th anniversary of the author's birth, the BBC today released a small collection of radio and television items related to Agatha Christie from its archives.

Christie herself was renowned for her shyness and reticence in public, but in this collection one can listen to testaments from those who knew her and see some of the efforts made to analyze the secret of her amazing success. There's also an amusing interview from 1962 with the author, Richard Attenborough, and Mysie Monte on the 10th anniversary of her play The Mousetrap.

Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, New for Nintendo DS

This weekend, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future is released, the third entry in this popular series of puzzle adventure games for the Nintendo DS.

Professor Layton and the Unwound Future places the professor and his trusted apprentice Luke at the center of a spellbinding adventure after they receive a strange letter –- sent by Luke 10 years in the future. According to this message something is askew in the days to come. The London of the future is in chaos and disarray, and according to Luke, the only person who can help set things right is Professor Layton.

This third release contains the same addictive gameplay, hand-painted art style graphics and invocative music as its two predecessors, making it a must-have title for both new puzzle players and longtime fans of the series. Additional features include: 165 built-in puzzles, easy to use hint and game save systems and additional puzzles available for download on a weekly basis for a limited time following game launch.

The previous two games in the series are Professor Layton and the Curious Village and Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box.

Professor Layton and the Unwound Future is scheduled for release this Sunday, September 12th. Watch a trailer for the game below:

The Last Talk with Lola Faye by Thomas H. Cook (Book Review)

The Last Talk with Lola Faye by Thomas H. Cook. Non-series. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Hardcover, August 2010.

Martin Lucas "Luke" Paige, a Harvard-educated historian, is in a St. Louis museum on tour to promote his latest book, Fatal Choices, when a woman from his past -- his father's mistress -- come up to him, suggesting they might get together for a drink, talk about old times in The Last Talk with Lola Faye, a novel of suspense by Thomas H. Cook.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: The Last Talk with Lola Faye by Thomas H. Cook.

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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.

Samantha Swift and the Fountains of Fate, More Mystery and Adventure from AVG

Games of Mystery is pleased to announce this week's new mystery and suspense casual and adventure games available for immediate download from Amazon Video Games.

A complete list of downloadable mystery games is available on our Games of Mystery: Amazon Video Games Download page.

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Samantha Swift and the Fountains of Fate

When Samantha's quest to follow the trail of Cortez and the conquistadors is interrupted by the manipulative M'Alice, she embarks on a journey to reclaim the Emerald of Judgment. With the help of Dr. Butler and technology-whiz Adam, the archaeologist and adventurer soon discovers that she's in possession of an even greater artifact -- could this golden statuette lead her to the mythical Fountain of Youth?

As Sam, you'll circle the globe collecting waters of longevity, immortality and life that give the new-found artifact special powers. You'll have to solve brain-bending puzzles, and take on six hidden-object adventure missions while outwitting M'Alice and the evil Markus Payne.

From the swamps of the Florida Keys to the Great Wall of China, you'll have to collect tools to help you uncover finds for the Museum of Secrets Lost and thwart Payne's plans to capture the healing waters for himself!

See also the previous game in this series, Samantha Swift and the Mystery of Atlantis.

ESRB Rating: Everyone.

Windows Vista/XP (402 MB download).

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

Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas may be Adapted for Film

It's just a random tweet, so nothing may become of it, but Production Weekly is noting that director/screenwriter Stephen Sommers (The Mummy) may be interested in directing his own adaptation of Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz.

Here's what 21-year-old Odd Thomas has to say about himself (from the author's website): "I see dead people, spirits of the departed who, each for his own reason, will not move on from this world. Some are drawn to me for justice, if they were murdered, or for comfort, or for companionship; others seek me out for motives that I cannot always understand. This complicates my life."

The Odd Thomas series currently consists of four novels and two graphic novels (the latest, Odd Is on Our Side, to be published next month), so there's plenty of material from which to draw for a potential franchise.

Mystery Bestsellers for September 10, 2010

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending September 10th, 2010 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

For the second straight week, just some minor shuffling among the top seven bestsellers with The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson remaining on top. One new title debuts this week.

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Entering the list in the 15th position is Dexter is Delicious, the fifth thriller featuring serial killer Dexter Morgan by Jeff Lindsay. The television series Dexter is based on this character.

Dexter Morgan has always lived a happy homicidal life. He keeps his dark urges in check by adhering to one stead-fast rule ... he only kills very bad people. But now Dexter is experiencing some major life changes—don’t we all?—and they’re mostly wrapped up in the eight-pound curiosity that is his newborn daughter. Family bliss is cut short, however, when Dexter is summoned to investigate the disappearance of a seventeen-year-old girl who has been running with a bizarre group of goths who fancy themselves to be vampires. As Dexter gets closer to the truth of what happened to the missing girl, he realizes they are not really vampires so much as cannibals. And, most disturbing ... these people have decided they would really like to eat Dexter.

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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.

Mr. E. Reviews Cop Out

Review of Cop Out.

I've been a fan of Bruce Willis since way back when, and will watch almost anything he plays in. I may not watch it again, but his presence pretty much guarantees that it will be seen at least once by me. And though I really don't care for buddy cop movies, the previews for Cop Out suggested it may have at least a few laughs in it, and if not worthy of a purchase, at least good for a rental.

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.