Karen Walton (Flashpoint) will adapt the first Ava Lee mystery by Ian Hamilton, The Water Rat of Wanchai, to be produced by Strada Films and possibly developed into a franchise.
Ava Lee is a forensic accountant, who specializes in recovering massive debts that aren't likely to be recovered through traditional methods. In her debut — there are currently three mysteries in the series — Ava is persuaded by an old friend of the elderly Hong Kong-based "Uncle" for whom she works to help his nephew, who is owed $5 million from a seafood company. The nephew's business financed purchase orders for a company that was producing cooked shrimp for a major U.S. retailer. The deal went sideways. The money disappeared.
On a journey that takes her from Toronto to Seattle to Hong Kong, Bangkok, Guyana, and the British Virgin Islands, Ava encounters everything from the Thai katoey culture to corrupt but helpful law enforcers. But it's in Guyana where she meets her match: Captain Robbins, a huge hulk of a man and godfather-like figure who controls the police, politicians, and criminals alike. In exchange for his help, he decides he wants of piece of Ava's $5 million action and will do whatever it takes to get his fair share …
Of the three books in the series (to date), which were all originally published in Canada, only the most recent — The Wild Beasts of Wuhan — will be directly available to purchase later this month in the US; it is available to pre-order.
(Related article: The Hollywood Reporter.)
Saturday, February 11, 2012
The Water Rat of Wanchai by Ian Hamilton to be Adapted for Film
The Hell Screen by I. J. Parker is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Hell Screen by I. J. Parker as today's third free mystery ebook.
This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
— ◊ —
The Hell Screen by I. J. Parker
A Sugawara Akitada Mystery
Publisher: Stony Creek Press
Set in 11th century Japan, this is the second mystery (of eight to date) to feature Sugawara Akitada, a minor official in the Ministry of Justice during the Heian Period.
About The Hell Screen (from the publisher): Akitada is on his way to the bedside of his dying mother when bad weather forces him to take refuge in a temple whose central treasure is a brilliantly painted hell screen. Perhaps its violent imagery influences his dreams: that night he is awakened by a scream. It’s only after Akitada returns to a scene of domestic unhappiness and scandal that the significance of that cry becomes clear. For while he slept, a woman was murdered, and now he must find her killer.
Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
Download Link(s):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
The Gathering Storm by Barbara Warren is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Gathering Storm by Barbara Warren as today's second free mystery ebook.
This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
— ◊ —
The Gathering Storm by Barbara Warren
Publisher: Jireh Publishing/Lighthouse Publishing
About The Gathering Storm (from the publisher): Stephanie Walker lives a peaceful life until her undependable and dishonest father, Marty Walker, suddenly arrives at her home pleading with Stephanie to come with him to his Harrington Lodge in the beautiful Ozarks. Stephanie, suspicious of her father’s motives declines her father’s invitation.
After his departure, Stephanie discovers the diamond necklace she borrowed from her aunt is missing. Racing through a raging thunderstorm, Stephanie drives to the lodge to reclaim the stolen item.
But when she arrives, Stephanie finds her father dead, her aunt’s diamond necklace gone and a pair of handcuffs fitted just for her. Stephanie’s claims of innocence fail to sway the local sheriff, who produces several pieces of evidence linking her to the murder. With a shaky alibi and a vindictive stepmother, Stephanie turns to a lodge employee for help. But will Brad Wilson’s assistance lead Stephanie to the real killer or prove to be her undoing? Like a gathering storm on a warm summer evening, Stephanie’s world darkens until she’s forced to turn to the one true source of knowledge. But what she learns about her father, family and her own inner demons is more horrifying than the lies she’s come to believe. The truth can set you free. It can also kill you.
Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
Download Link(s):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
A Little Learning is a Murderous Thing by Lou Allin is Today's Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature A Little Learning is a Murderous Thing by Lou Allin as today's free mystery ebook.
This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
— ◊ —
A Little Learning is a Murderous Thing by Lou Allin
Publisher: Five Star/Tekno Publishing
This stand-alone — which could also serve as the first of a new series — is by the author of two other mystery series.
About A Little Learning is a Murderous Thing (from the publisher): For Maddie Temple, a literature professor at a small Michigan university, the new school year gets off to a rocky start, with the death of a student (who plummeted from one of the library's top floors). Then a top university administrator dies under suspicious circumstances, with the disliked coordinator of the English department becoming the prime suspect.
Allin, author of the popular Belle Palmer series, has written a novel that's about as British cozy as it's possible for a book to be without actually being British. It stars a professor who is a fan of Sherlock Holmes and whose father was a policeman; it's set in and around a university; and its cast is mostly made up of students and faculty. Literary references abound, from Dickens to Frank Norris to Truman Capote. It's a very gentle story, told at an unhurried pace, and readers who like to settle into a comfy chair with a nice cup of well-sugared tea will be in seventh heaven.
Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
Download Link(s):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
Not Comin' Home to You by Lawrence Block is Today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Not Comin' Home to You by Lawrence Block as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal. The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Saturday, February 11, 2012.
— ◊ —
Not Comin' Home to You by Lawrence Block
Publisher: Open Road
Note: The Kindle Daily Deal page lists the price as $1.99 but, as of the time of this post, when you click over to the Kindle book page it is priced at $0.99.
About Not Comin' Home to You (from the publisher): Jimmie John Hall wasn’t anything until he was a killer, and Betty Dienhardt wasn’t anything until she met Jimmie John Hall. When they get together, sparks fly and bullets follow. The first to go are Betty’s parents, but Betty isn’t bothered. She only wants to be with her man—the first person to ever make her feel special. They set off on a cross-country spree, killing for gas money and food, killing to swap their car for one the police aren’t looking for. As the dragnet draws tighter they only grow closer, riding a road that leads to death because death has surrounded them all the time.
Taking inspiration from the true story of Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate—the murderous teenage couple whose rampage inspired the film Badlands—Lawrence Block has crafted a pulsating narrative, as enthralling and terrifying as only young love can be.
This ebook features an illustrated biography of Lawrence Block, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from his personal collection, and a new afterword written by the author.
Important Note: Amazon.com updates its Kindle book deal every day at approximately midnight PT. The title referenced above is available at a discounted price for Saturday, February 11, 2012 only.
Download Link(s):
Friday, February 10, 2012
Review: Hard Target by Howard Gordon
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Hard Target by Howard Gordon.
Nominees for the 2012 Barry Awards Announced
The nominees for the 2012 Barry Awards have been announced by the editorial staff of Deadly Pleasures. The winners will be announced on October 4th, 2012, during the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 Bouchercon in Cleveland.
Best Novel
• The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen
• The Accident by Linwood Barclay
• Hurt Machine by Reed Farrel Coleman
• Iron House by John Hart
• Hell is Empty by Craig Johnson
• The Troubled Man by Henning Mankell
Best First Novel
• Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry
• The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino
• The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnette Friis
• Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante
• The Informationist by Taylor Stevens
• Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson
Best British Novel
• Now You See Me by S. J. Bolton
• Hell's Bells by John Connolly
• Bad Signs by R. J. Ellory
• The House at Sea's End by Elly Griffiths
• The Outrage by Arnaldur Indriðason
• Dead Man's Grip by Peter James
Best Paperback Original
• The Silenced by Brett Battles
• The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch
• A Double Death on the Black Isle by A. D. Scott
• Death of the Mantis by Michael Stanley
• Fun & Games by Duane Swierczynski
• Two for Sorrow by Nicola Upson
Best Thriller
• Carver by Tom Cain
• Coup d'Etat by Ben Coes
• Spycatcher by Matthew Dunn
• Ballistic by Mark Greaney
• House Divided by Mike Lawson
• The Informant by Thomas Perry
Best Short Story
• "Thicker than Blood" (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, September 2011) by Doug Allyn
• "The Gun Also Rises" (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, January-February 2011) by Jeffrey Cohen
• "Whiz Bang" (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, September-October 2011) by Mike Cooper
• "Facts Exhibiting Wantonness" (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, November 2011) by Trina Corey
• "Last Laugh in Floogle Park" (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, July 2011) by James Powell
• "Purge" (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, December 2011) by Eric Rutter
Three New Poster Ads for Official Products of the 74th Hunger Games
Three "advertisements" have been released promoting official products for the 74th Hunger Games. These images are somewhat creepy and ingenious at the same time.
Cinna (played by Lenny Kravitz in the film), Katniss Everdeen's stylist, wears Liquid Skyliner, "the secret weapon used by professionals."
Head Gamemaker Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley) suggests you "up your game" with Cutting Edge.
And Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) wants you to "be the star of your own show" with Smile Away.
The Hunger Games — the film, not the event … though it almost feels real to us by now — opens in theaters March 23rd, 2012.
A Game of Thrones Graphic Novel Publishes Next Month; EW has an Excerpt
Next month, the first volume in the A Game of Thrones Graphic Novel series will be published and EW's Shelf Life has an excerpt from it.
Adapted by Daniel Abraham from a story by George R. R. Martin and with art by Tommy Patterson, this volume includes the first six issues of the graphic series that were issued monthly beginning last September. (The sixth issue comes out at the end of February and EW's excerpt includes pages from it.)
Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost of the fiefdoms that owe allegiance to King Robert Baratheon in far-off King's Landing. There Eddard Stark of Winterfell rules in Robert's name. There his family dwells in peace and comfort: his proud wife, Catelyn; his sons Robb, Brandon, and Rickon; his daughters Sansa and Arya; and his bastard son, Jon Snow. Far to the north, behind the towering Wall, lie savage Wildings and worse—unnatural things relegated to myth during the centuries-long summer, but proving all too real and all too deadly in the turning of the season.
Yet a more immediate threat lurks to the south, where Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, has died under mysterious circumstances. Now Robert is riding north to Winterfell, bringing his queen, the lovely but cold Cersei, his son, the cruel, vainglorious Prince Joffrey, and the queen's brothers Jamie and Tyrion of the powerful and wealthy House Lannister—the first a swordsman without equal, the second a dwarf whose stunted stature belies a brilliant mind. All are heading for Winterfell and a fateful encounter that will change the course of kingdoms.
Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, Prince Viserys, heir of the fallen House Targaryen, which once ruled all of Westeros, schemes to reclaim the throne with an army of barbarian Dothraki—whose loyalty he will purchase in the only coin left to him: his beautiful yet innocent sister, Daenerys.
We've collected the covers of the first six issues below. The series continues with the seventh issue, which is scheduled to be on sale in April 2012.
Dust Devils by Roger Smith is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Dust Devils by Roger Smith as today's second free mystery ebook.
This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
— ◊ —
Dust Devils by Roger Smith
Publisher: Serpent's Tail
This is the author's third crime novel set in South Africa, one that (to our knowledge) has not yet been published in print in the US.
About Dust Devils (from the publisher): Framed for murdering his family, South African journalist Robert Dell's only ally is his oldest enemy: his father, an ex-CIA hitman with one last shot at redemption. Hunting the real killer, father and son take a bloody road trip into the heart of darkness, uncovering a conspiracy reaching to the highest levels of the State.
Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
Download Link(s):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
