Telemystery: Fall 2011 Prime Time Crime Thursdays

In less than two weeks, the Fall 2011 Prime Time Crime season begins. All this week we are profiling new crime dramas (and other shows with mystery, suspense and thriller elements), as well as taking a quick look at the returning series. (All listed times are ET/PT.)

Thursdays … Archer … Bones … Charlie's Angels … The Mentalist … Person of Interest … Prime Suspect …

Another day of conflicts! Three new series premiere on this day, and all on the same date (though all at different times).

First up on September 22nd at 8 PM on ABC is the reboot of Charlie's Angels.

Though the action has been moved to Miami, the premise is basically the same as in the original 1970s series: three angels, all fearless detectives, head-turning beauties and close friends. There's Abby (Rachael Taylor), a Park Avenue princess who became a world-class thief. Then there's Kate (Annie Ilonzeh), a Miami cop who fell from grace, losing both her career and her fiancé. Finally there's Gloria, a disgraced army lieutenant who has a way with explosives. When one of the angels' missions ends in Gloria's tragic death, Charlie persuades them to partner with Gloria's childhood friend, Eve (Minka Kelly), a street racer with a mysterious past. They may not know each other yet, but one thing's for sure — Abby, Kate and Eve will always have each others' backs.

Meet the new angels in a video at the bottom of this post.

Next at 9 PM on CBS is Person of Interest.

This crime thriller features a presumed dead former-CIA agent, Reese (Jim Caviezel), who teams up with a mysterious billionaire, Finch (Michael Emerson), to prevent violent crimes by using their own brand of vigilante justice. Reese's special training in covert operations appeals to Finch, a software genius who invented a program that uses pattern recognition to identify people about to be involved in violent crimes. Using state-of-the-art surveillance technology, the two work outside of the law, using Reese's adept skills and Finch's unlimited wealth to unravel the mystery of the "person of interest" and stop the crime before it happens. Reese's actions draw the attention of the NYPD, including homicide detective Carter (Taraji P. Henson) and Fusco (Kevin Chapman), a cop whom Reese uses to his advantage. With infinite crimes to investigate, Reese and Finch find that the right person, with the right information, at the right time, can change everything.

Get a brief introduction to the series below.

Finally at 10 PM on NBC is Prime Suspect, a reimagination of the original UK series, now set in New York.

Maria Bello stars as tough-as-nails NYPD homicide Detective Jane Timoney, an outsider who has just transferred to a new squad, where her new colleagues already dislike her. Jane is confident and focused — and also rude, abrupt and occasionally reckless. She has her vices, and rumors of a questionable past follow her everywhere — but at the end of the day, she's an instinctively brilliant cop who can't be distracted from the only important thing: the prime suspect.

Watch a preview for the series below.

As to the other series, Archer is returning on September 15th at 10:30 PM on FX with three new episodes, more of a teaser than anything else. The series will return in January 2012 with its new season.

We'll have to wait until November 3rd for the opener to the seventh season of Bones. It will air on Fox at 9 PM.

Finally, The Mentalist begins its fourth season on September 22nd on CBS at 10 PM.

Recently Published Indie Mysteries (110907)

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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Chasing Backwards
by Arthur Smukler
Non-Series
Telemachus Press (Ebook)
August 2011

Confined to a pediatric hospital at age six, the brutal death of his father at age seven, and always desperate for money, left a deep psychological imprint on Joe Belmont. In spite of it, he mowed lawns, pumped gas, waited tables and worked hard in school. When he turned eighteen, he borrowed money, lived low, and worked himself through college and into medical school. Finally the end was in sight …

Then without warning his "saintly" mother was murdered in her modest home, and his uncle, his only living relative, died in a suspicious auto accident. Now, for no apparent reason, whoever killed them are trying to kill him.

From multiple hiding places within the Philadelphia neighborhood where he grew up, to the Jersey shore hospital where he was placed at bedrest for 12 nightmarish months, to the financial district of Zurich, Switzerland, Belmont desperately tries to unlock the secrets that have marked him for death. Only now is he realizing that his only hope of survival lies in the one place he has always avoided — the darkest corner of his own mind.

Also available as a trade paperback and in a Kindle edition.

Busted
by Zachary O'Toole
Non-Series
Less Than Three Press (Ebook)
September 2011

Pulled over on a rainy night, Joe's bad day starts to look up when he realizes the cop pulling him over is none other than his lover, Alex.

But Alex pretends not to know him and finally drags him into the station for driving under the influence — and getting too personal with a detective. Furious, Joe demands to know what the hell is wrong … only to discover that the detective he kissed is actually named Chris, and Chris claims no knowledge of Alex, despite the fact they could be twins.

But before Joe can begin to sort out the mystery of Chris and Alex, the murders begin …

Also available as a trade paperback and in a Kindle edition.

The Devil's Pitchfork
by Mark Terry
A Derek Stillwater Mystery (1st in series)
OROX Books (Ebook)
August 2011

It is called Chimera M13. It is the most dangerous biological weapon on the planet. It is locked away in a vault. Terrorists calling themselves The Fallen Angels steal it. They intend to use it. Only one man stands between The Fallen Angels and Armageddon. Dr. Derek Stillwater, troubleshooter for the Department of Homeland Security is that man. All hell is about to break loose …

Originally published in trade paperback by Midnight Ink in 2006, this is the first of four books (to date) in the series. Also available in a Kindle edition.

See also the second book in the series, The Serpent's Kiss (Smashwords edition / Kindle edition).

To Sleep Gently
by Trent Zelazny
Non-Series
Crossroad Press (Ebook)
August 2011

When career criminal Jack Dempster gets caught and put away for five years in prison, he finds time to seriously reconsider his chosen line of work. Before he can make any serious decision, some old acquaintances track him down with a proposal. They want him to go to Santa Fe, New Mexico. With the help of an inside man, he's to lead a small group of professionals on a daring robbery of the El Dorado Hotel, one of the finest, and most secure establishments in the Southwest.

Double-crosses, love triangles, and immersion in his own self-destructive past conspire to lead him to ruin. It's not easy to sleep when searching for normalcy in the heart of a brutal past.

Also available in a Kindle edition.

Notorious D.O.C.
by Melissa Yi
A Hope Sze Mystery (2nd in series)
Olo Books (Ebook)
September 2011

Eight years ago, someone ran over a young doctor who asked too many questions.

Today, at the still-grieving mother's request, resident doctor Hope Sze untangles the cold case before the killer silences Hope, too.

This time, the sociopath won't back down. But neither will Hope — or the two men vying for her attention.

Hope deserves a rest after solving a murder last month. Unfortunately, the sociopath wants to make sure the now-notorious "detective doctor" rests in a shallow grave.

Also available in a Kindle edition.

See also the first book in the series, Code Blues (Smashwords edition / 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.

OMN Welcomes Mystery Writer Karen Dahood

Omnimystery News is pleased to welcome Karen Dahood, whose first mystery in the Sophie and Sam series is Sophie Redesigned.

Today Karen writes about the aging of crime novel characters, or as she puts it, "New sleuths may wear support hose."

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Have you noticed that the detectives in mystery novels have been getting older?

Photo provided courtesy of
Karen Dahood

Take, for instance, Reginald Hill's Andy Dalziel, first introduced forty years ago. Most reviewers of Midnight Fugue (2009) don't mention Andy's aging, only that he's fatter than ever. However, Richard Marcus, writing for Blog Critic (Nov 28, 2009) gets it. The Superintendent has returned to work after a long hospitalization due to injuries in Death Comes for the Fat Man (2007). Marcus says:

Unfortunately, as anybody who has missed any amount of work could have told him, he discovers that in his absence not only hasn't the world ended because he wasn't there to keep it in one piece, his junior officers have begun to learn how to survive without him. Worse yet he begins to wonder if Pascoe's thought that he might have returned to work a little early might not be correct. What else would explain him rushing out of the house on a Sunday morning to ensure he's not late for his Monday morning conference?

[and]

For the first time in his life Andy Dalziel is actually slowed by self-doubts,

[and] …

Andy Dalziel [is] sitting in a cathedral contemplating his life …

Who at 70 could not love Andy? Who at 70 could not wish for their own cathedral?

Some famous fictional detectives were created to seem old whether or not they were in fact. Inspector Morse is one grumpy example. Sad to say, he had to die when the TV actor who played him passed away. It was smart to continue with his sidekick in the starring role, and now Lewis is growing more Morse-like. I met the author, Colin Dexter, when he gave a talk at St. Peter’s College, Oxford some years ago. I feel blessed to have had two kisses planted on my cheek in parting after the reception. I hope he’s getting rich.

Imagine my disappointment, then, in watching the Aurelio Zen series (first season, just imported from England). In the last few Michael Dibdin novels that I read, the Roman anti-hero is getting on in years, having suffered a great deal, finding it harder to climb around the hills, though still willing to bed women he loves. The author died at age 60 in 2007, and the last Zen novel was published posthumously. Masterpiece Mystery's new abomination turns me off, off, off. Besides, a layer of Italian dialect over British English is hard on the hearing aids.

Miss Marple, of course, is the first female elder sleuth anyone thinks of. There are others, such as Patricia Wentworth’s “Miss Silver,” renowned for unraveling crimes while she knit-stitches baby booties. These books are great fun but today we expect more psychological depth. Finally, Jane Marple is revealed to have had a life of her own in the latest television version.

In the United States, we now have a couple of newly minted oldtimers. I was attracted to Deb Baker's “Gertie Johnson” series especially because I lived in the “UP” (Upper Peninsula of Michigan) for seven years when I was a child. It is reassuring to know there are still lots of trees standing tall and close together, and that the snow continues to be feared. Gertie is a lot more colorful than the elderly people I recall. She is the mother of the Sheriff who always beats him to the punch.

In Florida (where my own elder sleuth resides) we have “Gladdy Gold.” Rita Lakin, a career publicist in Hollywood, has created an ongoing series of capers for a gaggle of occupants living in apartments at a retirement complex on Florida's East Coast. Gladdy and my Sophie have commonalities; both are retired librarians with crushes on cops. I swear, Ms. Lakin, I started drafting my books about 25 years before you published yours! Anyway, Sophie lives on the Gulf Coast, and she doesn’t gaggle.

Of the modern English, female amateur sleuths, I am fascinated by the peripatetic house-sitter in a series by Rebecca Tope. Thea Osborne is a loner, almost homeless, you might think. She’s also a widow. The crimes she comes across can be bizarre, and she’s not someone you might expect to know, only glimpse and wonder why she’s in your village. She’s not quite old enough to be an elder sleuth at 42. I’m hoping she’ll live to be 70 at least.

My favorite in recent years is “Hetty Wainthropp” from a BBC series, starring Patricia Routledge. The origins of this socially conscious, spirited problem-solver in contemporary northern England is a novel titled Missing Persons by David Cook, and the incidents were “inspired by his own mother's real-life experiences,” (Wikipedia). Hetty is a married matron “who has a knack for jumping to conclusions and solving crimes of varying bafflement which often are too minor to concern the police.” (again Wikipedia). But she does seek their advice.

My “Sophie George” is in Hetty’s realm. She is acutely aware of the stresses and strains of aging on her peers, but she does not shrink from the realities of a changing world. She enters a new profession at age 65, and develops a working relationship with a grumpy police detective somewhat like Morse. As their partnership strengthens, and they learn more about each other, they learn more about themselves. I don’t aim for happy endings. It’s the elusive answers that matter to serious fans of mystery fiction and, as well, to thoughtful people in their later years. For that reason, I call my books “not-quite-cozies.”

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Karen Dahood is a septuagenarian whose non-fiction writing career has included the arts and humanities and some health care. As she witnessed older friends and family members struggle to keep their dignity in a culture of ageism and denial, elder issues became more important to her. She now infuses these issues into the web of her mysteries. Karen Dahood’s website is MoxieCosmos.com.

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About Sophie Redesigned:

She knows she's smart, but she's bored. When Sophie meets "Sam," a pre-Internet police detective who depends on her professional skills at the Dorado Bay Public Library, she decides to retire and go freelance. He's reluctant to hire her as a consulting researcher until she beats him to the murder scene and knows the victim. They awkwardly proceed to solve the crime with opposing techniques, uncovering a decades-old killing corporation and a religious cult, all in the same dysfunctional family.

New US Poster for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

A new US poster for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy has been posted to the Yahoo! movies site; click on the image for a slightly larger version.

The film, which is adapted from the spy thriller of the same title by John le Carré, stars Gary Oldman as retired MI6 agent George Smiley on the hunt for a mole.

The time is 1973. The Cold War of the mid-20th Century continues to damage international relations. Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), a.k.a. MI6 and code-named the Circus, is striving to keep pace with other countries' espionage efforts and to keep the U.K. secure. The head of the Circus, known as Control (played by John Hurt), personally sends dedicated operative Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong) into Hungary. But Jim's mission goes bloodily awry, and Control is forced out of the Circus — as is his top lieutenant, George Smiley, a career spy with razor-sharp senses.

Estranged from his absent wife Ann, Smiley is soon called in to see undersecretary Oliver Lacon; he is to be re-hired in secret at the government's behest, as there is a gnawing fear that the Circus has long been compromised by a double agent, or mole, working for the Soviets and jeopardizing England. Supported by younger agent Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch), Smiley parses Circus activities past and present. In trying to track and identify the mole, Smiley is haunted by his decades-earlier interaction with the shadowy Russian spy master Karla.

The mole's trail remains cold until maverick field agent Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy) unexpectedly contacts Lacon. While undercover in Turkey, Ricki has fallen for a betrayed married woman, Irina, who claims to possess crucial intelligence. Separately, Smiley learns that Control narrowed down the list of mole suspects to five men. They are the ambitious Percy Alleline (Toby Jones), whom he had code-named Tinker; suavely confident Bill Haydon (Colin Firth), dubbed Tailor; stalwart Roy Bland (Ciarán Hinds), called Soldier; officious Toby Esterhase (David Dencik), dubbed Poor Man; and — Smiley himself.

Even before the startling truth is revealed, the emotional and physical tolls on the players enmeshed in the deadly international spy game will escalate …

The film opens in US theaters on December 9th, 2011. Watch a trailer for the film below.

TNT Orders Series Pilot for Scent of the Missing, Adapted from the Book by Susannah Charleson

TNT has ordered a series pilot based on the non-fiction book Scent of the Missing by Susannah Charleson.

The book follows Susannah and her adopted dog Puzzle, the adventures they share together, and the close relationship they forge as they search for the lost — a teen gone missing, an Alzheimer’s patient wandering in the cold, signs of the crew amid the debris of the space shuttle Columbia disaster. From the earliest air-scent lessons to her final mastery of whole-body dialog, Puzzle emerges as a fully collaborative partner in a noble enterprise that unfolds across the forests, plains, and cityscapes of the Southwest. Along the way Susannah and Puzzle learn to read the clues in the field, and in each other, to accomplish together the critical work neither could do alone and to unravel the mystery of the human/canine bond.

We're not too keen on the official tagline — "An adrenaline junkie leader of a canine search-and-rescue team assists various law enforcement agencies with her best friend and partner, a golden retriever" — which we think trivializes to some degree the special bond these two individuals share. We hope the marketing department comes up with something more appropriate if the pilot leads to a series.

(Source: EW Inside TV.)

BBC Renews New Tricks for Two More Seasons

The BBC has announced that its light crime drama New Tricks has been renewed for another two seasons.

The series, which follows an unconventional bunch of ex-coppers brought out of retirement to work on unsolved and open cases, sees old school policing clash with today's political correctness. However, they may be eccentric, bend the rules, follow their hunches and ignore procedure, but they get results.

"New Tricks continues to grow and is a huge favourite with the audience making it the highest rating drama on TV so far this year," says Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning. "Amanda, Dennis, Alun and James are a dream team that BBC One viewers have taken to their hearts and I'm thrilled the show will be back on our screens for two more years."

Filming on the next series will begin later this year on location in and around London.

New Tricks recently completed airing its eighth series (season) in the UK. The first four seasons are available on DVD from Telemystery: New Tricks. The fifth season DVDs are released on September 27th.

(Source: BBC Press Release.)

Telemystery: Fall 2011 Prime Time Crime Wednesdays

In less than two weeks, the Fall 2011 Prime Time Crime season begins. All this week we are profiling new crime dramas (and other shows with mystery, suspense and thriller elements), as well as taking a quick look at the returning series. (All listed times are ET/PT.)

Wednesdays … Criminal Minds … CSI … Harry's Law … Law & Order: SVU … Revenge … Psych …

It's clear from the list above that mid-week is going to challenge your DVR, with so many shows to watch.

The only new series is ABC's Revenge (premieres September 21st at 10 PM), a contemporary update on Alexandre Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo.

Emily Thorne (played by Emily Van Camp) is new to the Hamptons. She's met some of her wealthy neighbors, has made a few new friends and seemingly blends into the town. But something is a little odd about a young girl living in a wealthy town all on her own … and the truth is that Emily isn't exactly new to the neighborhood. In fact, this was once her old neighborhood, until something bad happened that ruined her family and their reputation. Now Emily is back, and she's returned to right some of those wrongs in the best way she knows how — with a vengeance.

Take a sneak peak at the series premiere episode at the bottom of this post. And, as of the date of this post, the script for the pilot is available to download for free (Amazon Kindle edition).

On CBS Wednesdays, Criminal Minds returns for its 7th season on September 21st at 9 PM, and CSI airs its 12th season opener featuring Ted Danson as the new head of the unit, also on September 21st, at 10 PM.

Over on NBC, which is starting its 2011 season a week earlier than everyone else, Harry's Law opens its second season on September 14th at 9 PM, followed by the 13th season premiere of Law & Order: SVU at 10 PM.

Finally, about a month later on USA Network, Psych continues its 6th season on October 12th at 10 PM.

Full Circle by Karen Young is eHarlequin's Freebie Friday Featured Book

We're always happy to see a mystery or suspense novel featured on Freebie Fridays at eHarlequin. For those of you unfamiliar with it, if you purchase any two books on Fridays at eHarlequin.com, you receive the featured title free! (eBooks are excluded from this promotion.)

Karen Young's stand-alone thriller Full Circle is this week's free title.

Click on the banner above to start shopping!

About Full Circle (from the publisher): What goes around, comes around … even murder

Thirty-three years ago just outside New Orleans, two young families went cruising on a small yacht. The night was beautiful, the sea calm. And yet the boat, prophetically named Mayday, sank. Six-year-old Kate Madison lost her father, and her best friend, Amber Castille, lost her mother. Neither of the girls remembered anything about that night.

Now Kate, a trauma specialist, is experiencing disorienting episodes that threaten her ability to perform her job. Is it burnout? Or something more sinister?

Kate needs answers, and when Dr. Castille, Amber's father, offers Kate a partnership in his medical practice, it's her best chance to finally put the past to rest—even though the truth about that fateful night could destroy her future.

Review: A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny

A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny. An Armand Gamache Mystery. Macmillan Audio Unabridged CD Audiobook, August 2011.

As I listened to this murderous tale, the changing of possible suspects, I soon became hooked into rooting for Inspector Gamache and his associates through to the unveiling of this changing story.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny.

ABC Acquires Series Project Adapted from Adventure Thrillers by Matthew Reilly

ABC has acquired a potential television series project based on the Jack West Jr. international adventure series by Australian novelist Matthew Reilly. The first of the three books in the series written to date, Seven Deadly Wonders, was published in 2005. (Presumably seven books are intended, as the second title is The Six Sacred Stones and the third title is The Five Greatest Warriors.)

West — a former military officer, now an archeologist — and his team are on a quest to locate the seven wonders of the ancient world. Indeed, nearly every nation on earth is involved. Inside each is a piece of a capstone that once sat atop the Great Pyramid at Giza. Now, with the coming of a rare solar evens, the time has come to locate the pieces and rebuild the capstone.

(Source: Deadline|Hollywood.)