A Murder in Tuscany by Christobel Kent. A Sandro Cellini Mystery. Minotaur Books Hardcover, August 2011.
This book had me travelling to an elaborate setting and filled interactive characters that impact not only on each other but on the location. I thought I had it figured all out only to be surprised in the end. A great read if you like detail of place and person.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: A Murder in Tuscany by Christobel Kent.
In some news from earlier in the week that we missed, CBS is developing a project adapted from the series of political thrillers by David Baldacci featuring private investigators Sean King and Michelle Maxwell, who take on cases too sensitive for government officials to handle.
Tentatively titled King & Maxwell, the crime drama is being planned for the 2012/2013 television season.
(Source: Deadline|Hollywood.)
We're always on the lookout for new mystery, suspense and thriller books, and with this series of recurring posts, we're looking at Indie Mysteries, books published by small, independent publishers, or self-published, that recently caught our eye ... and may be of interest to you too. Most of these titles, selected primarily from the Smashwords website, are ebook only, though some may also be available in a print format.
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The Suicide Game
by Andy Rausch
Non-Series
Night Publishing (Ebook)
August 2011
When five bored rich kids bet each other as to who will be the first to drive an innocent victim of their choice to death, little do they realise that one of those they randomly select in a shopping mall is the Mafia's top West Coast hitman.
How would they know? He is black and without a single fluid ounce of Italian blood in his veins, albeit with gallons of the stuff on his hands.
This hitman may be sad, he may even be ready to die, but he isn't exactly suicidal – more homicidal, definitely more homicidal, you might say.
Also available in a Kindle edition.
A Twisted Path
by Steve Winshel
Non-Series
Dystel and Goderich (Ebook)
August 2011
Bill Furyk is an ex-cop with an anger management problem and intimate relationship with Vicodin. For the last two years he's been a civilian, but people in need still seem to find him.
When a woman from his past is arrested after being found hunched over the body of her still-bleeding husband, a knife in her hand, he is pulled in. As he tries to untangle what happened to the meek, gentle Merrill, a larger story unravels. He picks at the threads and learns of a brutal, cruel, and profitable venture in which troubled young women are tricked into becoming playthings for powerful men. Politicians, police, and professionals are the clients. The dead man was a therapist who treated the young women, then recruited them into this form of slavery.
Furyk must find out if the wife is the killer. But when he begins to uncover the vast, horrible business that is behind the murder, he is determined to put an end to it.
Also available in a Kindle edition.
The Watcher
by Jo Robertson
A Bigler County Thriller
1st in series
Self Published (Ebook)
August 2011
Forensic psychiatrist Kate Myers believes the killer of two teenage girls in Bigler County, California, is the same man who savagely murdered her twin sister over fifteen years ago. Working with a single-minded tenacity, she sets out to prove it.
Deputy Sheriff Ben Slater hides his personal pain behind the job, but Kate's arrival in his county knocks his world on its axis. He wants to believe her wild theory, but the idea of a serial killer with the kind of pathology she proposes is too bizarre.
Together they work to find a killer whose roots began in a small town in Bigler County, but whose violence spread across the nation. A Janus-like killer, more monster than man, he fixates on Kate. The killer wants nothing more than to kill the "purple-eyed girl again."
Also available in a Kindle edition.
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For more recently published Indie Mysteries, visit the Smashwords Mystery and Detective category page or the Thriller and Suspense category page.
A new promotional poster for the martial arts film Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame has been released (via /Film); click on the image for a larger version.
A bizarre murder mystery brings together the most powerful woman in China, the soon-to-be-Empress Wu Zetian (played by Carina Lau), and a formerly exiled detective, Dee Renjie (Andy Lau), at the infamous Imperial Palace. Hoping that he will solve the crime before her coronation, Wu appoints Dee Chief Judge of the Empire and implores him to combine his indisputable wisdom with his unparalleled martial arts skills to save the future of her dynasty.
The film is an adaptation of the novel Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame by Lin Qianyu. Detective Dee may be best known to American readers as a character in a series of mysteries by Robert van Gulik that were published during the 1950s and 1960s. Van Gulik "borrowed" the character from an 18th century Chinese detective novel, which itself was based on a real historical figure, Dí Rénjié, who lived during the 8th century and was a celebrated official of the Tang Dynasty.
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame opened in China and Hong Kong in September 2010 and is scheduled to have a limited run in the US starting on Friday, September 2nd, 2011 in New York and Los Angeles. Showings in other major US cities will follow. See the official website for more details.
Watch the trailer for the film below.
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Spying in High Heels by Gemma Halliday as today's second free mystery ebook. 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 we urge you to download it while it is still available for free.
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Spying in High Heels by Gemma Halliday
A Maddie Springer Mystery (1st in series)
Smashwords
Gemma Halliday published this first of her "high crime meets high fashion" mysteries in 2006 and went on to write five more in the series. She is also the author of the "Hollywood Headlines" mystery series featuring tabloid editor Felix Dunn.
About Spying in High Heels (from the publisher): L.A. shoe designer, Maddie Springer, lives her life by three rules: Fashion. Fashion. Fashion. But when she stumbles upon the work of a brutal killer, her life takes an unexpected turn from Manolos to murder. And things only get worse when her boyfriend disappears — along with $20 million in embezzled funds — and her every move is suddenly under scrutiny by the LAPD's sexiest cop.
With the help of her post-menopausal bridezilla of a mother, a 300 pound psychic and one seriously oversexed best friend, Maddie finds herself stepping out of her stilettos and onto the trail of a murderer. But can she catch a killer before the killer catches up to her …
Important Note: Prices can and do change without prior notice, so please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
Download Link(s):
Games of Mystery is pleased to announce the availability of new mystery, suspense and thriller adventure and casual games from Big Fish Games released during this past week. 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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Explore the Nightingale Theater, which was ravaged by a devastating fire 40 years ago, and uncover a dark mystery! After receiving a letter and a golden ticket in the mail from your grandfather you are off to see an amazing ballet performance. With fantastic graphics and an incredible mystery, this "macabre mystery" will draw you in to a beautiful world.
See also Macabre Mysteries: Curse of the Nightingale (Collector's Edition), with features not available in the standard edition, including bonus gameplay, an integrated strategy guide, wallpapers, movie gallery, concept art, bonus puzzles, musical soundtrack, and early access.
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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 our 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!
Book Trends, a review site for young adult and children books, published several new book reviews this past week. We're presenting here a summary of those in the mystery/suspense/thriller category.
Kiss of Death by Lauren Henderson. The fourth and final book in the Scarlett Wakefield mystery series. Lexile Measure: N/A (though the first book in the series has a value of 930L). Reviewed by a 7th grade student, who writes, "Anyone who likes realistic fiction, romance, and mystery would die to read this book. This is because Scarlett's life gets pretty complicated in this book. The nonstop action and suspense keeps readers engaged from page one all the way to the end." (Read the entire review here.)
For more reviews of children and young adult books of all genres, visit Book Trends; their reviews will amaze you! You can also follow Book Trends on Twitter.
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Sensei by John Donohue as today's free mystery ebook. 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 we urge you to download it while it is still available for free.
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Sensei by John Donohue
A Connor Burke Mystery (1st in series)
YMAA
John Donohue, who completed a Ph.D. in Anthropology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is also an expert in the study of the martial arts. Fascinated with other cultures and attracted to the Asian martial disciplines because of their blend of philosophy and action, he began to develop fictional storylines set in the world of the martial arts. Sensei was originally published in hardcover by Minotaur Books in 2003 and is the first of (to date) four mysteries in this series.
About Sensei (from the publisher): In every case, the modus operandi is the same, and the only clue available is a cryptic message scrawled on the wall bearing the signature "Ronin" - the Japanese name for a masterless samurai.
Connor Burke, a part-time college teacher with a passion for the martial arts, is called in to help out with the investigation by his brother, an NYPD detective. With the help of his teacher, the master warrior Yamashita Sensei, Burke begins to follow the trail of clues that stretches across time and place, ultimately confronting his own fears, his sense of honor, and the ruthless killer who calls himself "Ronin".
Important Note: Prices can and do change without prior notice, so please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
Download Link(s):
A&E has officially ordered a 10-episode season of Longmire, based on a character created by crime novelist Craig Johnson.
Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire will be played by Robert Taylor. Other series characters include two deputies (Katee Sackhoff and Bailey Chase), his daughter (Cassidy Freeman) and best friend (Lou Diamond Phillips).
There are currently seven books in the mystery series by Johnson, the most recent, Hell is Empty, published this past June. Read our review of the book on Mysterious Reviews.
No start date for Longmire has been announced but we would expect it to premiere sometime next summer.
(Source: TV|Line.)
Your Friendly Neighborhood Criminal by Michael Van Rooy. A Monty Havikko Mystery. Minotaur Books Hardcover, July 2011.
One of the more remarkable aspects about this crime novel is how the author gets inside the head of a career criminal; it's actually a little unnerving at times. And though there are many tangential side trips away from what is presumed to be the central storyline, the final destination is worth the circuitous plot route.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Your Friendly Neighborhood Criminal by Michael Van Rooy.
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