Adaptations of Danish crime novelist Jussi Adler-Olsen's first four titles in his "Department Q" series are being planned for film and television.
First up will be The Keeper of Lost Causes (Danish title: Kvinden i buret), which introduces homicide detective and cold case investigator Carl Mørck. Louise Vesth will write the screenplay. Denmark's Zentropa is producing with Danish commercial channel TV2 and German public broadcaster ZDF as partners. Production is expected to begin Fall 2012 with the first film premiering about a year later.
In our review of the book, we called this police procedural a "fine start to this series". The case involves a missing woman, a politician who vanished without a trace five years earlier. The world assumes she's dead. Mørck's colleagues snicker about the time he's wasting. "The pieces of the puzzle are all in the five-year-old file, and it's a pleasure following Mørck along as he puts them together." (Mysterious Reviews, 2011.)
The Keeper of Lost Causes — which was published as Mercy in the UK — is the only book in this series translated into English to date. The other three titles are Fasandræberne, Flaskepost fra P (which won the 2010 Harald Mogensen Prisen for best thriller and the 2010 Glass Key Award for best Scandanavian crime novel), and Journal 64.
(Related article: The Hollywood Reporter.)
Friday, January 06, 2012
Jussi Adler-Olsen's Department Q Mysteries to be Adapted for Film and Television
Sean Bean Expected to Play DI Benny Griessel in Film Adaptation of Deon Meyer's Thirteen Hours
Earlier this week South African crime novelist Deon Meyer revealed (via Twitter) that Sean Bean (Game of Thrones, "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy) is the likely choice to play Detective Inspector Benny Griessel in the film adaptation of Thirteen Hours (Afrikaans title: 13 Uur), the second book in the series to feature the police officer. Malcolm Kohll is writing the screenplay, with principal photography expected to begin in Cape Town this March.
About the book: At 05:36 the woman is running up Lion's Head. She is young, beautiful, American. And terrified. Because she is being hunted, like an animal.
At 05:37, the call wakes DI Benny Griessel. There's been a murder. A girl, her throat slit, her body lying next to St. Martini, the Lutheran Church in Long Street.
At 07:02, the hung-over, alcoholic former singing sensation Alexa Barnard discovers her philandering music mogul husband's body next to her on the floor — and a pistol just inches from her hand.
By nine o'clock, with two murders to solve and his own longing for the bottle almost unbearable, Griessel realizes his mentorship of a new generation of law enforcers is going to be a little more complicated than he anticipated.
Past noon, the race to save a young tourist from death becomes desperate and chaotic, and just before half past five, they shoot Griessel, right in the heart.
Fairly normal day, your typical thirteen hours of Cape Town homicide investigation.
WSJ Profiles Six Crime Novel Characters Portrayed in Film
Speaking of Jason Bourne — see our previous post — The Wall Street Journal has an entertaining look at six crime novel characters that have appeared in film and have also been portrayed by multiple actors. In addition to a description of the character, there is a summary of their appearance in print and in film, and a famous "quirk" of the character.
Listed are Sherlock Holmes ("Dozens of actors have played him in more than 200 films and TV shows."); Jason Bourne ("After an injury, Bourne can't remember anything, including his own identity. Hint: Bourne isn't his real name."); James Bond ("He is very good-looking. He reminds me rather of Hoagy Carmichael …"); Philip Marlowe ("A way with metaphor: It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained glass window."); Jack Ryan ("[P]ortrayed by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck."); and Lisbeth Salander ("A penchant for revenge.").
(Related article: The Wall Street Journal.)
Jeremy Renner as Aaron Cross in The Bourne Legacy
Filming for The Bourne Legacy — sans Bourne — is underway, and USA Today has the first photo of Jeremy Renner as the film's lead character Aaron Cross.
Plot details for the film are all but unknown, but what is known is that the screenplay is not adapted from any of the "Bourne" books, originally written by Robert Ludlum but now written by Eric Van Lustbader. It's a little confusing since the fourth book in the series, published in 2004, is also titled The Bourne Legacy. Aaron Cross is a contemporary of Jason Bourne and the storyline reportedly takes place in the same general universe.
The Bourne Legacy — the fourth in the film franchise — opens in theaters August 3rd, 2012.
(Related article: USA Today.)
Deadly Currents by Beth Groundwater is Today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Deadly Currents by Beth Groundwater as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal. The deal price of $0.99 is valid only for today, Friday, January 06, 2012.
— ◊ —
Deadly Currents by Beth Groundwater
A Mandy Turner Mystery
Midnight Ink
River ranger Mandy Tanner is introduced in this first of a series of white water adventures.
About Deadly Currents (from the publisher): The Arkansas River, heart and soul of Salida, Colorado, fuels the small town’s economy and thrums in the blood of river ranger Mandy Tanner. When a whitewater rafting accident occurs, she deftly executes a rescue, but a man dies anyway. Turns out, it wasn’t the rapids that killed him—he was murdered. Tom King was a rich land developer with bitter business rivals, who cheated on his wife, refused to support his kayak-obsessed son, and infuriated environmentalists.
Mandy’s world is upended again when tragedy strikes closer to home. Suspicious that the most recent death is connected to Tom King’s murder, Mandy goes on an emotionally turbulent quest for the truth—and ends up in dangerous waters.
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):
Mystery Bestsellers for the Week Ending January 06, 2012
A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending January 6th, 2012 has been posted by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.
The new year starts where the previous year ended, with last week's top bestseller —Death Comes to Pemberley, a stand-alone novel by P. D. James — retaining its spot at the top this week.
One new title debuts.
— ◊ —
Coming in at number 12 is the second mystery in the "Private" series, #1 Suspect by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro.
Since former Marine Jack Morgan started Private, it has become the world's most effective investigation firm — sought out by the famous and the powerful to discreetly handle their most intimate problems. Private's investigators are the smartest, the fastest, and the most technologically advanced in the world — and they always uncover the truth.
When his former lover is found murdered in Jack Morgan's bed, he is instantly the number one suspect. While Jack is under police investigation, the mob strong-arms him into recovering $30 million in stolen pharmaceuticals for them. And the beautiful manager of a luxury hotel chain persuades him to quietly investigate a string of murders at her properties.
While Jack is fighting for his life, one of his most trusted colleagues threatens to leave Private, and Jack realizes he is confronting the cleverest and most powerful enemies ever.
Purchase Options:
— ◊ —
For more mystery books news, please visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, where we are committed to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Filmmaker Chris Columbus to Co-Author Middle-Grade Fantasy/Thriller Trilogy
HarperCollins Children's Books announced today that filmmaker Chris Columbus — who produced and directed the first two "Harry Potter" films as well as Percy Jackson the Olympians: The Lightning Thief — will team up with young adult author Ned Vizinni to write a trilogy of middle-school thrillers.
The series involves a San Francisco family that has to downsize when the father loses his job. They move into a home built 100 years earlier by a fantasy writer named Kristoff, where the siblings find themselves on a journey to retrieve a book of untold power.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Columbus talks about the origin of the series:
At one point, I started it as a screenplay, so there were about fifty pages of a screenplay that would become the first seven or eight chapters of the book. Then I thought, "Maybe it'd work as a television pilot," and I immediately discarded that idea because this is something that would be prohibitively expensive for television. Then I put it away and I didn't think about it, but it was always coming back to me at some point or another. Finally, I thought maybe this would work as a young adult novel for no other reason except I really wanted to see it to its conclusion.
The first book in the "House of Secrets" trilogy is scheduled for publication in Spring 2013.
(Related article: EW.com.)
New Trailer for Indie Crime Thriller Thin Ice
A trailer for the indie crime thriller Thin Ice has been released; we've embedded it below.
Filmed from an original screenplay by Jill Sprecher — who also directed — and her sister Karen Sprecher, Thin Ice debuted last year at Sundance with the title The Convincer.
Greg Kinnear stars as Mickey Prohaska, who devises a scheme to steal a rare violin from an old man unaware of its value. Things go awry — as they often do — when the small-time ex-con he hires to help him kills someone in the process.
Thin Ice is scheduled for a limited theatrical release on February 17th, 2012 … though we suspect it will be direct-to-DVD for most of us.
The Mystery Bookshelf: A Gentleman of Fortune by Anna Dean, a Miss Dido Kent Mystery
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.
— ◊ —
A Gentleman of Fortune by Anna Dean
A Miss Dido Kent Mystery (2nd in series)
Minotaur Books (Trade Paperback)
Publication Date: January 2012
ISBN-13: 978-1-250-00382-9
About A Gentleman of Fortune (from the publisher): The second installment in Anna Dean's charming mystery series finds Miss Dido Kent vacationing at her cousin Flora's. When Flora's neighbor passes away, Dido can't help but sense something is amiss. While she is ideally placed to observe the reaction of the community, her suitor, Mr. William Lomax, feels otherwise. Dido won't be stopped, however, and as she learns more about the dirty dealings among the upper classes of Surrey, she brings more to light than even she could have imagined.
— ◊ —
About the author: Anna Dean set about writing at the age of five under the impression that everyone was taught to do so in order to pen books. By the time she discovered her mistake, the habit was too deeply ingrained to give up. She resides in the Lake District of England. To learn more about the author and her historical mysteries, visit her website at AnnaDean.co.uk.
Purchase Options for A Gentleman of Fortune:
BBC America to Premiere Copper in Summer 2012
Last July BBC America announced its first scripted series, the crime drama Copper. At the time, there wasn't much information about the series available, but now (via a press release yesterday) there's a more complete description of the series, including an estimated premiere date (Summer 2012).
Set in the 1860s, most of the action will take place in the teeming Irish immigrant neighborhood of Five Points, but the series will also frequent the Upper East Side/Fifth Avenue mansions of the aristocracy and the emerging neighborhood of Harlem founded by New York’s burgeoning black population. Storylines relating to the Civil War will permeate the series while also exploring themes of power, politics and race in a country and community wrestling with rapid social change.
Kevin Corcoran played by Tom Weston-Jones stars as Kevin Corcoran, a rugged and confident Irish cop who patrols the streets of Five Points and tries to follow his moral compass despite the blunt realities facing his turbulent community. The cast also includes Kyle Schmid as his friend and Civil War compatriot Morehouse, the son of a wealthy New York industrialist residing on Fifth Avenue; and Freeman, another veteran, a black physician/forensics expert who lives in Harlem and is not afraid to question white authority. The three men share a secret from their experience on the battlefield that will link their lives forever.
