Anticipation mounts as those who dare to scare plot their return to the Big Apple for ThrillerFest VI, July 6th through 9th, 2011.
"ThrillerFest VI is breaking records again this year!" says ThrillerFest Chair Kathleen Antrim. "It's the only event of its kind on the planet. A summer camp for thriller fans and writers. We're especially excited to have international best seller Ken Follett teaching the craft of writing. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Follett, last year's Thrillermaster, will be one of the many writers leading a class in novel writing at CraftFest.
Also on tap: AgentFest, at which aspiring authors will have three minutes to pitch an agent – and they can pitch to as many agents as they want within two hours. Every year new writers are discovered.
There's felonious fun in store for fans, too. More than 200 of the world's best thriller writers will be in attendance with the express purpose of mixing, mingling and meeting their readers. There will be talks, readings and cocktail parties where tales of suspense will intoxicate more than the libations.
This year's Thrillermaster is R.L. Stine, a name that is sure make those young at heart shiver in anticipation. The mastermind behind the wildly popular "Fear Street" and "Goosebumps" series, Stine has written 330 books for children and four adult thrillers and has sold almost 400 million books around the world.
Other special guests include Robert Crais, author of the bestselling Elvis Cole mystery series and winner of the 2006 Ross Macdonald Literary Award; Diana Gabaldon, whose unique novels blend 20th-century science-fiction with 18th-century historical romantic adventure; and John Lescroart, who took 20 years to become an overnight sensation, but today has novels translated into 16 languages in 75 countries.
ThrillerFest comes to a close with the Awards Banquet, where authors and fans alike will feel pulse-racing anticipation as they wait to find out who will win the International Thriller Writers awards for best novel, best debut novel and best short story. Two crime novelists will also be honored. Karin Slaughter will receive the Silver Bullet Award for her outstanding and meritorious achievement in the pursuit of literacy and the love of reading; whiel the True Thrill Award will go to Joe McGinnis for the verve, guts, and ambition that have inspired three generations of non-fiction suspense and true crime authors.
ThrillerFest VI will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City. Visit the ThrillerFest website to register and for information about hotel reservations.
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
ThrillerFest VI Returns to NYC July 6th through 9th, 2011
The Mystery Bookshelf: I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman
The Mystery Bookshelf, where you can discover a world of mystery and suspense, is pleased to feature a new crime novel we recently received from the publisher.
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I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman
Non-series
William Morrow (Trade Paperback)
Publication Date: May 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-207075-3
About I'd Know You Anywhere (from the publisher): Eliza Benedict cherishes her peaceful, ordinary suburban life with her successful husband and children, thirteen-year-old Iso and eight-year-old Albie. But her tranquillity is shattered when she receives a letter from the last person she ever expects—or wants—to hear from: Walter Bowman. There was your photo, in a magazine. Of course, you are older now. Still, I'd know you anywhere.
In the summer of 1985, when she was fifteen, Eliza was kidnapped by Walter and held hostage for almost six weeks. He had killed at least one girl and Eliza always suspected he had other victims as well. Now on death row in Virginia for the rape and murder of his final victim, Walter seems to be making a heartfelt act of contrition as his execution nears. Though Eliza wants nothing to do with him, she's never forgotten that Walter was most unpredictable when ignored. Desperate to shelter her children from this undisclosed trauma in her past, she cautiously makes contact with Walter. She's always wondered why Walter let her live, and perhaps now he'll tell her—and share the truth about his other victims.
Yet as Walter presses her for more and deeper contact, it becomes clear that he is after something greater than forgiveness. He wants Eliza to remember what really happened that long-ago summer. He wants her to save his life. And Eliza, who has worked hard for her comfortable, cocooned life, will do anything to protect it—even if it means finally facing the events of that horrifying summer and the terrible truth she's kept buried inside.
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About Laura Lippman: She was a reporter for twenty years, including twelve years at The (Baltimore) Sun. She began writing novels while working fulltime and published seven books about “accidental PI” Tess Monaghan before leaving daily journalism in 2001. Her work has been awarded the Edgar, the Anthony, the Agatha, the Shamus, the Nero Wolfe, Gumshoe and Barry awards. She also has been nominated for other prizes in the crime fiction field, including the Hammett and the Macavity. She was the first-ever recipient of the Mayor’s Prize for Literary Excellence and the first genre writer recognized as Author of the Year by the Maryland Library Association. Visit her website at LauraLippman.com.
Read the first chapter(s) of I'd Know You Anywhere below. Use the Aa settings button to adjust text size, line spacing, and word density.
OMN Welcomes Crime Novelist Eliot Pattison
Omnimystery News is pleased to welcome Eliot Pattison, whose latest mystery is Ashes of the Earth (Counterpoint, April 2011 Hardcover, 978-1-58243-644-9).
Pattison has written about the past and present, his Duncan McCallum and Shan Tao Yun series, respectively, and today he steps forward in time, talking about his new near-future thriller.
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Photo provided courtesy of Eliot Pattison
Endings of worlds have occurred throughout human history. Some have been abrupt, like the annihilation of the original, ancient Carthage by the Romans. Some have been gradual, like the destruction of the Tibetan world over the past fifty years by the Chinese. But none have encompassed all of humankind. Only in recent years have we developed the capability for annihilation on a planetary scale. While there may be many reasons to believe that such a nightmare will never occur, the moment that capability became real, global apocalypse entered the realm of the possible.
Ashes of the Earth is certainly not meant to be a prophecy, but implicit in its backdrop are predictions about the state of technology and science after such universal destruction. Even with highly trained scientists among its inhabitants, it seems likely that a society of survivors with no electricity and no internal combustion engines would turn to early industrial age technologies. Locating the Carthage colony on the Great Lakes endowed its inhabitants with an environment rich in minerals, timber, water and wildlife, meaning that simple technologies like those for making matches, paper, cloth, glass and lumber would be readily available. Once foundries and forges were developed, steam engines and other simple machines would not be far behind. The setting on the inland sea also means the colonists are able to travel long distances by water—and in a region of long winters with few roads, incentives would be great to advance the iceboat technology of an earlier century.
The effects of global destruction on the external trappings of a community of survivors strike me as far easier to anticipate than the effects on the human psyche. Certainly baser human cravings and prejudices would not become extinct, yet nor would dignity, honor and spirituality. With survivors comprised of a random cross-section of modern society, there would be ample opportunity for the glory, and the shame, of humankind to be exhibited. It was this unique mix of worlds and peoples that drove my curiosity in writing this book. A stage on which a 21st century cast relying on 19th century technology struggles with murder, starvation, tyranny, and even the meaning of civilization itself provides fertile ground for imagination.
As my characters became more like companions on this journey, I began to sense an inevitable tension between the survivors, who must shoulder the nearly unbearable weight of memories of the past world and collective guilt over its fate, and the new generation, who would have to cope with inexplicable physical and emotional remnants of the old world. After being severed from their world would survivors lose all confidence in their past, would they shy away from history? Would the lost world seem more a myth than a nightmare to the new generation? How would it feel to glimpse the possible dying of humankind’s light? What would define the people who were the most successful survivors—and how far must humanity be sacrificed for the survival of humans? Of all the mysteries explored on these pages, perhaps the greatest is the nature of the spark that must be kept alive.
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A former resident of Boston and Washington, Pattison resides on an 18th century farm in Pennsylvania with his wife, three children, and an ever-expanding menagerie of animals. For more information about the author and his series, visit his website at EliotPattison.com.
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About Ashes of the Earth: Thirty years after global holocaust, the colony of Carthage still struggles to build its new world. While steam engines and other early industrial technology have empowered its economy, the fragile society is undermined by secret crimes, rifts between generations, government censorship, and a legacy of casting out those who suffer from radiation sickness.
Embittered survivor Hadrian Boone—once a revered colony founder—has been hounded by despair and the ghosts of his past into a life of drunkenness and frequent imprisonment for challenging the governor’s tyranny. But when a gentle old man, the colony’s leading scientist, is murdered, Hadrian glimpses chilling secrets behind the killing that could destroy the colony. Realizing that he may be the only one able to expose the truth, Hadrian begins a desperate quest through the underbelly of the colony into the wrenching camps of the outcasts, escorted by a young policewoman who struggles to cope with the physical and emotional remnants of the prior world. Ultimately Hadrian’s journey becomes one of self-discovery, and to find justice his greatest challenge is navigating the tortuous path of the human spirit in a world that has been forever fractured.
Ashes of the Earth is available in Hardcover and popular eBook formats (see icons below book cover).
Read the first chapter of Ashes of the Earth below; use the Aa settings button to adjust font size, line spacing, and word density.
"Oh, Season 7 is GO for Bones" Tweets Star David Boreanaz
Demonstrating once again that Twitter is now "the source" for breaking news, David Boreanaz tweeted last night that Bones has been renewed by Fox for a seventh season.
Based on characters created by crime novelist Kathy Reichs, the series stars Emily Deschanel as forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan and Boreanaz as her partner in solving crimes (and potential romantic partner) Special Agent Seeley Booth.
Mystery and Suspense Films, New This Week on DVD (110503)
Checking through our list of films currently scheduled for release this week on DVD and/or Blu-ray disc, shown below are those that fall into the mystery, suspense, thriller and adventure categories.
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Purchase/Rental Options
The Green Hornet (2011)
Britt Reid (Seth Rogen) is a slacker by day, party animal by night ... until he finds a serious career that's seriously cool: crime-fighting action hero. As the Green Hornet, he teams up with gadget wiz and martial arts master Kato (Jay Chou) to take down LA's underworld. The film, which is based on the classic radio/TV series, also stars Cameron Diaz and Christoph Waltz. (PG-13; 119 minutes)
Monday, May 02, 2011
USA Network's 2011 Upfront Projects Include Several Crime Series
USA Network held its 2011 upfront event today at which it discussed projects in development.
Of 13 projects mentioned, several are potential crime-related series:
• Einstein: The Duncan's are a family of geniuses with three siblings each at the top of their academic fields. They also have a younger sibling named Einstein who is not a genius but he is a good cop and with their help, he might become a great detective.
• The Exceptions: After serving time in jail on trumped up charges, the debutante daughter of the Mayor of New York City uses her resources to solve cases that have slipped through the cracks.
• Hard Cover: The best undercover operative can blend in anywhere and be completely unassuming. Then who better to go on assignment than a middle-aged Mom working with a rogue FBI agent?
• The Special: Featuring an energetic, optimistic homicide detective who suffers from hypomania. Despite his high clearance rate, he remains an enigma to his colleagues in a high-profile unit of the Los Angeles Police Department.
• Winslow: Jimmy Winslow is a private detective who's a recovering alcoholic with a load of debts, a father in prison, and an ex-girlfriend he's trying to win back. He lacks a perfect record in anything except his ability to solve cases and tell the truth to those who don't want to hear it.
Solve a Baffling Murder in The Mysterious Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde, New for Nintendo DS
Tomorrow, May 3rd, the mystery adventure/hidden object game The Mysterious Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde is released for the Nintendo DS.
It is Friday, August 13th, 1886, very early in the morning. The lanes of Soho are quiet and the air is heavy. No one can know what terrifying things happened during the night. The murder of a wealthy citizen with an irreproachable reputation raises a lot of riddles. Was he really murdered here — in Soho? And, why did he have to die?
There have been fearful whispers of a grotesque human monster rowling the shadowy alleys of the Soho district. Who is this creature and are they connected to the crime?
You play Inspector Newcomen. You ask a good friend and forensic doctor for help. Only he is able to provide the answers you need to solve the case. Hopefully, Dr. Jekyll is really useful for your investigations.
Throughout your investigation you will have to complete over thirty exciting mini-games: collect fingerprints, examine your findings, navigate your way through all the twists and turns of the story to solve the crime!
For more mystery games available on the Nintendo DS, visit Games of Mystery.
Telemystery: The Murdoch Mysteries, New This Week on DVD
Telemystery, your source for one of the most comprehensive selections of detective, amateur sleuth, private investigator, and suspense television mystery series, mini-series and made-for-television movies, now available on or coming soon to DVD or Blu-ray disc, is profiling one series being released this week.
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Yannick Bisson stars as Detective William Murdoch of the Toronto Constabulary in The Murdoch Mysteries. The series is based on characters created by crime novelist Maureen Jennings.
Set at the turn of the 20th century, Murdoch employs revolutionary criminology techniques that are at the cutting edge of Victorian science to crack the toughest cases.
This season finds Murdoch making the acquaintance of H. G. Wells, teaming up a second time with Nikola Tesla, investigating art forgery, and using the fledgling science of psychology to out the era’s most elusive murderers.
The Murdoch Mysteries: Season Three DVD set of 4 discs contains the 13 episodes that were originally broadcast in Canada from February through May, 2010. A fourth season has been produced and will begin airing this month in Canada.
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Visit the Telemystery website to discover more television mystery series currently available on and coming soon to DVD and Blu-ray disc.
Mystery Godoku Puzzle for May 02, 2011
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!).
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This week's letters and mystery clue:
A B C E H I L N R
This surgeon is featured in a series of thrillers by A. Scott Pearson (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!
Sunday, May 01, 2011
Harlequin Worldwide Mystery Titles for May 2011
eHarlequin.com has released the list of May 2011 titles for their Worldwide Mystery imprint, your partner in crime. Amateur sleuths, traditional cozies, police procedurals and private-eye fiction, written by award-winning authors.
For more information about the book from eHarlequin.com, click on the title or cover.
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Murder in Exile
A Frank Cole Mystery (1st in series)
The sleepy Florida Panhandle town of Exile is now home to the extremely downsized life of Frank Cole, a former computer company CEO who caught a bum deal in bankruptcy court. Now living on next to nothing as a fact-checker for insurance companies, Frank is cynical and weary, but still savvy enough to spot something rotten with his newest assignment.
A college student, killed in a hit-and-run accident, had recently taken out a large life insurance policy. As Frank digs into the suspicious circumstances, he begins to suspect the young man was simply a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, mistaken for the real target, a high-profile businessman. The claim is legit. But the closer Frank gets to untangling the twisted truth behind murder and corruption, the tighter the noose around his own neck becomes.
Murder in Exile was the winner of the 2005 St. Martin's Press / Malice Domestic Best Traditional Mystery Novel Contest.
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A Matter of Motive
A Dexter Loomis Mystery (1st in series)
Newly appointed police chief Dexter Loomis suspects he's in over his head when murder strikes Higgins Point, Wisconsin. When the ex-engineer signed on for deputy duty, he never expected the murder of the mayor's daughter to land in his inexperienced lap. Luckily, he's got help from friend and state crime bureau detective Ann Summer, who's willing to teach the reticent new lawman the ropes … in exchange for a little help with a case of her own.
It seems the tiny resort town has a surprisingly seedy underbelly hiding drugs, dirty money and death. Could the tragic suicide of Ann's father in a lakeside cabin outside of town be connected to something more sinister? As the bucolic veneer of Higgins Point wears dangerously thin, Dexter and Ann zero in on a motive for murder … and a killer lying in wait.
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Death's Door
A Leigh Girard Mystery (2nd in series)
A killer is targeting young women as spring arrives in Door County, Wisconsin. Assigned to cover the story, local reporter Leigh Girard discovers a teenager—her body ritually arranged in the woods by Mink River. Next, a college student is found positioned the same way, as if sleeping, a purple ponytail holder wrapped around her finger.
As Leigh digs deeper for links between the victims, another girl dies. The police make an arrest, but Leigh suspects the real killer has eluded them. And she's right. Now he's drawing her into his game, sending cryptic clues about what he's going to do next. Leigh's connected the evil playing out before her with a twenty-three-year-old murder case, but she's also discovered another horrifying truth …
She's been carefully baited and trapped—and there's no way out.
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Red Hot
Non-Series
The quiet life of Julie Simms, children's librarian, suddenly reads like a spy novel when she discovers her parents were art thieves. The thrilling bedtime stories her mother told her when she was little weren't imaginary: they were real. And they got both her parents killed. But Julie didn't know that when she compiled the tales into a newly published book for children.
Now as government agents, art thieves and a sexy-but-too-curious new neighbor pop up at every turn, Julie is swept up into her parents' lethal legacy. At the heart of the mystery is a missing painting: Portrait of Isabella. Putting together clues from the past, Julie suspects her only shot at untangling the mess is to find the painting herself—before dying young becomes another family tradition.
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