Law & Order UK Second Season Premieres Friday, January 14th on BBC America

Tomorrow, Friday January 14th, the second season of Law & Order: UK premieres on BBC America (9 PM ET/PT).

Based on Law & Order (the original US version), Law & Order: UK follows a group of detectives and prosecutors as they work together to solve crimes and bring perpetrators to justice in London.

Ronnie Brooks (played by Bradley Walsh) is a cop from the East End. His partner, the charming Matt Devlin (Jamie Bamber), has an approach to policing that’s part seduction and part force. Both report to Natalie Chandler (Harriet Walter), a working mom who always has their backs.

On the other side of the court are crown prosecutors James Steel (Ben Daniels) and Alesha Phillips (Freema Agyeman) and their superior, George Castle (Ben Daniels).

The two teams encounter never-ending action in their quest to keep London safe.

In the first episode of the second season (titled "Broken"), the terrifying CCTV image of a toddler being led to his death haunts the team as they deal with the moral complexities of policing and putting on trial children who kill. The season premiere tests the bounds of compassion and questions whether some crimes really are unforgivable.

On a lighter note, watch an amusing video ("Lessons in British Justice") about the series below:

The Green Hornet Opens in Theaters Friday, January 14th

The Green Hornet opens in theaters tomorrow, Friday January 14th.

Based on a character for a 1930s radio program created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, this latest adaptation stars Seth Rogan as Britt Reid, son and heir to Los Angeles' largest newspaper fortune, a rich, spoiled playboy who has been happy to maintain a direction-less existence. When his father James Reid dies, Britt meets an impressive and resourceful company employee, Kato (Jay Chou). They realize that they have the resources to do something worthwhile with their lives and finally step out of James Reid's shadow. Kato builds the ultimate weapon, The Black Beauty, an indestructible car with every weapon imaginable and Britt decides that in order to be heroes, they will pose as villains. With the help of Britt's new secretary, Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz), they learn that the chief criminal in the city is named Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz). He has united all the gangs under his power, and he quickly sees that the Green Hornet is a direct threat to the prosperous criminal underworld he controls.

We previously posted a trailer for The Green Hornet; watch a clip ("Front Wheel Drive") from the film below (via Yahoo! Movies):

House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo is Today's Featured Free NookBook Mystery

MystereBooks is pleased to feature a mystery title that is currently available as a NookBook for free from Barnes&Noble. We don't know how long it will be offered at this special price (typically only until a certain number of downloads have been completed), so download it today!

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House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo
The Dreamhouse Kings (1st in series)
Thomas Nelson (NookBook)
Download Link

About House of Dark Shadows (from the publisher): When the Kings move from L.A. to a secluded small town, fifteen-year-old Xander is beyond disappointed. He and his friends loved to create amateur films ... but the tiny town of Pinedale is the last place a movie buff and future filmmaker wants to land.

But he, David, and Toria are captivated by the many rooms in the old Victorian fixer-upper they moved into--as well as the heavy woods surrounding the house.

They soon discover there's something odd about the house. Sounds come from the wrong directions. Prints of giant, bare feet appear in the dust. And when David tries to hide in the linen closet, he winds up in locker 119 at his new school.

Then the really weird stuff kicks in: they find a hidden hallway with portals leading off to far-off places--in long-ago times. Xander is starting to wonder if this kind of travel is a teen's dream come true ... or his worst nightmare.

Uncover a Mysterious Conspiracy in Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars, New from BFG

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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When freelance photo-journalist Nico Collard is invited to interview statesman Pierre Carchon in Paris, she finds herself inextricably drawn into a terrifying conspiracy when the man is murdered! Dissect the clues and help Nico and American tourist George Stobbart discover motive for the murder ... and the secret truths of the Knights Templar. Decipher an ancient manuscript, and race against a mysterious organization in this exciting adventure game.

Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (560.11 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 Rockford Files Remake Shelved at NBC

Good news for fans of The Rockford Files: Deadline|Hollywood is reporting that the project to remake the series has been shelved ... at least for the time being (i.e. the current development season).

Last January, we reported that NBC was interested in reviving the 1970s series that starred James Garner as Los Angeles private investigator Jim Rockford. And in April, it appeared as if the series update was a go, moving forward to the pilot stage. But when NBC announced its Fall 2010 schedule in May, The Rockford Files was conspicuously absent.

With the success of the reboot of Hawaii Five-0 at CBS, it seemed a sure thing that NBC would reconsider its decision at some point regarding The Rockford Files. David Shore, the creative force behind the remake, however, has been unable to devote much attention to it, and thus it has now been back-burnered. We can only hope it stays that way.

Sherlock Holmes and the Ghosts of Bly by Donald Thomas (Book Review)

Sherlock Holmes and the Ghosts of Bly by Donald Thomas. A Sherlock Holmes Collection of Short Stories. Pegasus Books Hardcover, December 2010.

Fans of Sherlock Holmes will certainly want to add this collection of three short stories (plus one character background) to their collection; it is, for the most part, worthy of that. But it seems unlikely that new readers will be enticed to seek out the originals or previous volumes in the series by this author.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Sherlock Holmes and the Ghosts of Bly by Donald Thomas.

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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.

Crime Novelist Joe Gores Has Died

Earlier today Janet Rudolph posted the news that crime novelist Joe Gores has died.

Gores is the author the Dan Kearney mysteries, which he based on his own experiences as a San Francisco private investigator, as well as a number of non-series novels, including Hammett, which was adapted for the 1982 film of the same name. A former president of the Mystery Writers of America, he was also a prolific screenwriter, whose credits include Kojak, Columbo, Magnum P.I., and more.

His most recent work is Spade & Archer, an authorized prequel to Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon, which we reviewed in 2009: "Gores seems to have captured the essence of Sam Spade exceptionally well; the rapid, clipped dialog pitch perfect."

Kiefer Sutherland to Star in Web Series, The Confession

EW.com is reporting that 24 series lead Kiefer Sutherland will star in a series of webisodes to premiere exclusively online in March on Hulu.

Filmed last month in New York, The Confession features Sutherland as a hitman who discusses theology with a priest (played by John Hurt).

Written and directed by Brad Mirman (Body of Evidence, Resurrection), 10 episodes of 5 to 7 minutes each have been produced.

Rooney Mara in Character as Lisbeth Salander on Cover of W Magazine

W Magazine features Rooney Mara in character as Lisbeth Salander on the cover of its February 2011 issue. (See also the online article: On Set with David Fincher.)

Mara is starring as the "androgynous, bisexual computer hacker with multiple piercings and a distinctive tattoo on her back" in the English-language adaptation of the first book in the Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

The film, directed by David Fincher, also stars Daniel Craig as investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist, who teams up with Lisbeth to find out what happened to the niece of a Swedish industrialist, who disappeared 40 years ago.

We recently published our review of the original Swedish-language adaptation, released in 2009; read it on Mr. E. Reviews: Män Som Hatar Kvinnor.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo hits theaters December 21, 2011.

Mr. E. Reviews Inception

With striking visuals, Inception is a stunning film to watch. Still, the focus here is on the plot: how much of the film is a dream in which the characters are playing roles in someone's mind, and how much, if any, is reality. Coming up with answers to that question, and many more, is clearly part of the fun and appeal of this creatively devised film.

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

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