A Bitter Truth by Charles Todd. A Bess Crawford Mystery. William Morrow Hardcover, August 2011.
This fast-paced historical whodunit, set in England during The Great War, offers an interesting contrast between the independent-minded nurse and the more traditional women of the time. It is both a well-plotted mystery and a moving story of a woman making a difference.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: A Bitter Truth by Charles Todd.
This is news out of left field.
Warner Bros. and Robert Downey Jr. are looking to reboot Perry Mason as a period theatrical film and the first of a potential franchise. It is expected that Downey would play the role of the famed Los Angeles defense attorney.
While we thought Tom Cruise was a stretch for Jack Reacher, at least it seemed plausible in a kind of alternate universe sort of way. We're having all kinds of trouble, however, imagining Robert Downey Jr. as Perry Mason … in any universe … though we're the first to admit that we couldn't picture him as Sherlock Holmes either, and that turned out pretty well.
(Source: Variety.)
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.
— ◊ —
Jade Lady Burning by Martin Limón
A George Sueño and Ernie Bascom Mystery (1st in series)
Soho Crime (Trade Paperback)
Publication Date: October 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1-61695-090-3
About Jade Lady Burning (from the publisher): Almost twenty years after the end of the Korean War, the U.S. Military is still present throughout South Korea, and tensions run high. Koreans look for any opportunity to hate the soldiers who drink at their bars and carouse with their women. When Pak Ok-Suk, a young Korean woman, is found brutally murdered in a torched apartment in the Itaewon red-light district of Seoul, it looks like it might be the work of her American soldier boyfriend. Sergeants George Sueño and Ernie Bascom, Military Police for the U.S. 8th Army, are assigned to the case, but they have nothing to go on other than a tenuous connection to an infamous prostitute. As repressed resentments erupt around them, the pair sets out on an increasingly dangerous quest to find evidence that will absolve their countryman.
— ◊ —
About the author: Martin Limón retired from the military service after serving multiple tours of duty in the US Army, 20 years in total and half of them in Korea. He lives in Seattle.
Purchase Options for Jade Lady Burning:
It isn't unusual for the broadcast and cable networks to make available their shows to watch for free online a day or two after they've aired.
What is unusual is for the pay cable networks to do so.
Showtime has uploaded the (slightly edited) sixth season premiere episode of its hit series Dexter, which we've embedded below. It isn't a totally altruistic gesture on their part, of course; they'd like you to subscribe to their channel. Still, if you've never seen the show — or watch previous seasons via DVD — here's a chance to get a head start on what may be the final season of the series.
The Hunger Games District posters have begun to surface on Facebook; the one for the home district of Katniss is shown, right.
To see them, visit Facebook and search for "District PN X", where X is the number of the district (1 through 12) or simply use the URL http://www.facebook.com/DistrictXPN and substitute X with 1 through 12.
Just prior to posting this, the following district posters are available: 2 (masonry), 7 (lumber), 8 (textiles), 9 (grain), and 12 (mining).
The Hunger Games, based on the first novel in the YA trilogy of thrillers by Suzanne Collins, opens in US theaters March 23rd, 2012.
A few weeks ago we posted an international trailer (from Belgium) for the English-language film adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Now a new Australian trailer has been released, which we've embedded below. (The code, D, suggests this is the fourth trailer, which if true, means we've missed one or two!)
The film, which stars Daniel Craig as a reporter seeking the truth behind the disappearance of an industrialist's daughter decades ago, opens in US theaters December 21st, 2011.
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.
— ◊ —
Every Bitter Thing by Leighton Gage
A Mario Silva Mystery (4th in series)
Soho Crime (Trade Paperback)
Publication Date: October 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-998-8
About Every Bitter Thing (from the publisher): The son of the Foreign Minister of Venezuela is found dead in his apartment in Brasilia, the victim of a crime of passion … or so it seems. Due to the high-profile nature of the case, Chief Inspector Mario Silva of Brazil's Federal Police is called in to investigate. As he delves deeper, he discovers that a chain of murders have occurred throughout Brazil, all with the same MO. They seem to be the work of the same killer — but the victims, of diverse ethnicities, cities of residence, economic classes, and walks of life, have nothing in common. What sinister motive connects these killings?
— ◊ —
About the author: Leighton Gage has lived in Australia, Europe, and South America and traveled widely in Asia and Africa. He visited Spain in the time of Franco, Portugal in the time of Salazar, South Africa in the time of apartheid, Chile in the time of Pinochet, Argentina in the time of the junta, Prague, East Germany, and Yugoslavia under the Communist yoke. He is fluent in three languages and conversant in three more.
He has a daughter and three grandchildren in Paris, a daughter in The Netherlands, and two more in the United States. He and his wife divide their time between all three of those places and Brazil, her native country.
For more information about the author and his books, visit LeightonGage.com.
Purchase Options for Every Bitter Thing:
A new collection of Midsomer Murders mysteries is being released today by Acorn Media titled Barnaby's Top 10 featuring the best episodes of the series as selected by its star, John Nettles. None of the mysteries in this collection are new — all have been previously released — but they do include an introduction by Nettles, who shares anecdotes with the viewer and explains why these episodes are special to him.
Midsomer Murders is based on characters created by crime novelist Caroline Graham. Indeed, some of the early episodes are adaptations of her books, including the series pilot from 1997, "The Killings at Badger's Drift", which is included in this set. The setting itself is fictional — there is no Midsomer County in England — but so much detail about the county villages is woven into the storylines that it makes it feel real to the viewer.
John Nettles "retired" as DCI Tom Barnaby at the end of the 13th season, which aired in February 2011 in the UK, replaced by his cousin DCI John Barnaby (played by Neil Dudgeon). The producers felt they had to choose a character with the same last name to continue in the role as the series, which airs around the world, is often locally titled Inspector Barnaby or a variation thereof. The 14th season is currently airing in the UK and a 15th season has been commissioned. (Note: There is no correlation between the seasons of the series in the UK and the numbering of the DVD sets in the US. We're about a year behind, with the most recent DVD set including the final episodes of the twelfth UK season.)
Here are the 10 episodes that Tom Nettles has chosen as his favorites, and are included in Midsomer Murders: Barnaby's Top 10; all are from the first six seasons of the series, and feature Daniel Casey as Detective Sergeant Gavin Troy, Barnaby's first partner (of three during the series run to date).
• The Killings at Badger's Drift (episode 1)
• Blue Herrings (episode 11)
• A Worm in the Bud (episode 23)
• Dark Autumn (episode 18)
• Dead Man's Eleven (episode 10)
• Death of a Hollow Man (episode 4)
• The Electric Vendetta (episode 16)
• Murder on St. Malley's Day (episode 21)
• A Talent for Life (episode 24)
• Strangler's Wood (episode 6)
Omnimystery News is pleased to welcome Linda O. Johnston, author of the new Pet Rescue mystery series featuring Lauren Vancouver. The second book in the series, The More the Terrier (Berkley Prime Crime, October 2011 Mass Market Paperback and ebook editions) is published today.
Today Linda writes about dilemmas.
— ◊ —
We all have dilemmas in our lives. They’re situations where we feel torn, where there are at least two choices facing us and deciding on either direction comes with issues of its own.
Photo provided courtesy of
Linda O. Johnston
I’m happy to say that I’ve given Lauren Vancouver, the protagonist of my Pet Rescue Mystery series, one heck of a dilemma in her latest adventure, The More the Terrier. After all, isn’t it fun to read about fictional characters and how they handle their problems?
Lauren is a skilled and dedicated administrator of a private, no-kill pet shelter. She’ll do anything to save animals, and she despises those who harm them. Most of the time.
But in The More the Terrier, Lauren learns that her former mentor, Mamie Spelling, has become an animal hoarder. Lauren is horrified, and of course does all she can to save the animals. Every one of them comes out of it just fine. This is fiction, after all. And in the Pet Rescue Mysteries, “no-kill” means pets, not people!
Yes, someone gets killed. It’s a woman who has been hounding Mamie, and Mamie becomes the major suspect. But Mamie is aging and confused, so here is Lauren’s dilemma: Should she help her former mentor clear her name? But Mamie, as a hoarder, has also harmed animals, and Lauren despises people who harm animals.
What do you think Lauren does? You undoubtedly guessed it. She helps Mamie. That means that Lauren once more must solve a murder.
The Pet Rescue Mysteries are a spinoff series from my Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries, in which Kendra comes to think of herself as a murder magnet. Kendra makes cameo appearances in the Pet Rescue Mysteries, and Lauren’s shelter HotRescues is generously funded by Kendra’s wealthy guy friend Dante de Francisco.
That adds to Lauren’s dilemma. She likes Kendra well enough but she certainly doesn’t want to get involved with solving murders, too.
Not that I’m giving her much choice. And the murder in The More the Terrier isn’t the last one Lauren will need to solve!
It’s really fun writing about Lauren and her shelter, HotRescues. As I mention often, I happen to love animals. I’d love to save them all, and I can--fictionally, of course.
The Pet Rescue Mysteries began in March with Beaglemania, and the next one will be Hounds Abound, which will be published in 2012.
What is the worst dilemma you’ve faced? How did you resolve it?
Please come visit me at LindaOJohnston.com and at KillerHobbies.blogspot.com on Wednesdays. Friend me on Facebook. I’d love to hear what you think of pet rescue — and The More the Terrier!
— ◊ —
About The More the Terrier:
When shelter manager Lauren Vancouver finds out that her old mentor, Mamie Spelling, is an animal hoarder, no one is more shocked, and she jumps in to help re-home the cramped critters.
But Mamie's troubles don't end there. She's accused of murder when the CEO of a pet shelter network is found dead. And Lauren's dogged determination to clear her former friend of murder may put a killer on her tail.
MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Brotherhood by Jerry B. Jenkins 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.
— ◊ —
The Brotherhood by Jerry B. Jenkins
The Precinct 11 Trilogy (1st in series)
Tyndale House
About The Brotherhood (from the publisher): Boone Drake has it made. He’s a young cop rising rapidly through the ranks of the Chicago Police Department. He has a beautiful wife and a young son, a nice starter house, a great partner, and a career plan that should land him in the Organized Crime Division within five years. Everything is going right.
Until everything goes horribly, terribly wrong.
His personal life destroyed and his career and future in jeopardy, Boone buries himself in guilt and bitterness as his life spirals out of control. But when he comes face-to-face with the most vicious gang leader Chicago has seen in decades, he begins to realize that God is a God of second chances and can change the hardest heart … and forgive the worst of crimes.
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):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
Like and Follow Omnimystery News on Facebook to see more television and film mystery news as well as additional new and discounted mysterebooks!
