Friday, February 17, 2006

Mystery Hardcover Bestsellers (02/17/2006)

A list of the top ten mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending February 17, 2006 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

James Patterson's fifth entry in the Woman's Club Murder series, The 5th Horseman, debuts at the top of the Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble mystery bestsellers list.

From the publisher's description: Accompanied by the newest member of the Women's Murder Club, Yuki Castellano, Lieutenant Lindsay Boxer probes deeper into a series of incidents at a hospital where, as patients are about to be released with a clean bill of health, their conditions take a devastating turn for the worse. Could these cases just be appalling coincidences? Or is a maniac playing God with people's lives? When someone close to the Women's Murder Club begins to exhibit the same frightening symptoms, Lindsay fears no one is safe.

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Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Online Review for The Princess of Burundi

Timothy Peters recently reviewed The Princess of Burundi by Kjell Eriksson (translated by Ebba Segerberg) for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Eriksson's second novel (and first to be published in America) offers a much more privileged and detailed perspective on the myriad factors behind a crime and its widespread effects on the community and families involved. Peters adds, "This is a terrific mystery, and it transcends the too-often pejorative label of genre fiction." He concludes, "As with most mysteries, we're rooting for the detective to set things right, but Eriksson's fine book is a reminder that even the best possible outcome -- catching the guilty -- can never fully repair the damage wrought."

Read his entire review here.

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Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Newspaper Editor Pens Mystery Novel

Karen E. Olson, a wife, mother, and newspaper editor, was the recipient of an award for a debut mystery novel from Mysterious Press, an imprint of Warner Books, which has published the book and will put out her second one in September. Olson covered the police beat when she had to, but didn't love it like the spunky protagonist in her first mystery novel, Sacred Cows. Her character, Annie Seymour, is a smart, bawdy, single police reporter at a newspaper in New Haven, a workaholic who's not afraid to say what's what.

The News-Times of Danbury CT recently ran a profile of Karen Olsen. Olson chose the newsroom for her setting because of her familiarity with one. She's worked for newspapers since 1984, with her last 13 years at the New Haven Register.S he made Annie a more boisterous reporter than newsroom protagonists who precede her. And she picked New Haven as the city since it's the first time it's been chosen for a mystery series, she said.

Read the rest of this interesting profile here.

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Monday, February 13, 2006

Nero Wolfe Author, Goldsborough, Wins Readers' Choice Award

Nero Wolfe award winning author, Robert Goldsborough, wins an award for "Best Historical Mystery" for his first mystery, Three Strikes You're Dead, since writing the Nero Wolfe books.

This award follows close on the heels of the first academic placement for Three Strikes You're Dead. The first book in the Steve "Snap" Malek mystery series has been selected for inclusion in the "History of Chicago" class curriculum at the Loyola Academy in Wilmette (IL), a well respected Jesuit College Preparatory High School.

Three Strikes You're Dead takes fans back to 1938 Chicago, to a time when politics were king and baseball ruled. Dizzy Dean sat in the driver's seat of the Cubs' World Series ride, while scandal rocked the tight political community of the Windy City.

Read the entire press release here.

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Weekly Mystery Godoku Puzzle for 02/13/2006

A new Mystery Godoku Puzzle has been created by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and is available on our website.

Godoku is similar to Sudoku, but uses letters instead of numbers. To give you a headstart, we provide you a mystery clue to fill in a complete row or column (if you choose to use it!). This week's mystery clue: Rhys Bowen writes the popular Evan Evans mystery series. What is Evans’ profession? (9 letters: A B C E L N O S T).

Previous puzzles are stored in the Mystery Godoku Archives.

Enjoy the weekly Mystery Godoku Puzzle from the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, and Thanks for visiting our website!

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Saturday, February 11, 2006

Online Review for Arthur & George

Arthur & George, the latest novel by Julian Barnes, appeared on the New York Times Bestseller List this past week. Arthur is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, physician, sportsman, gentleman par excellence and the inventor of Sherlock Holmes; George is George Edalji, also a real, if less well-known person, whose path crossed not quite fatefully with the famous author's.

Rob Thomas recently reviewed the book for The Capital Times (Madison WI).

Thomas writes, " ... readers looking for a no-frills mystery might be surprised by the book's considerable literary ambitions." He concludes his review with, "Just as we're resigned to think that the resolution of the mystery will mean the end of the novel, Barnes ties his narrative strands together with a truly breathtaking final scene ... It is an unexpectedly moving coda to a brilliant book, one that suggests that life's real mysteries are ephemeral ones that lie far beyond the reach of even the world's greatest detective."

Read the review in its entirety here.

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Author Sets Mystery In Her Home Town

Rebecca Forster, Long Beach (CA) native, visiting a friend who lives in the International Towers, was taken in by the view of the beach and ocean from the condo’s balcony. But her thoughts weren’t on just the scenery. She mused, "What if someone took a nose dive off this building?” Sounds like the premise for a mystery!

The third installment in her “Witness” series, featuring attorney Josie Baylor-Bates, Privileged Witness, revolves around the death of a wealthy woman, the wife of a Senate hopeful. His sister is accused of pushing his wife from the penthouse balcony of International Towers. Josie, who just happens to be his ex-lover, must defend her.

Gazettes.com recently ran an article profiling Rebecca Forster. Read the entire article here.

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Friday, February 10, 2006

Mystery Book Review: Blondes Have More Felons by Alesia Holliday

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, has posted a mystery book review for Blondes Have More Felons, a new series introducing December Vaughn, by Alesia Holliday. Published by Berkley Prime Crime, the book has a scheduled publication date of March 07, 2006.

December Vaughn is a corporate attorney who has relocated to Florida to set up her own private practice. Her first client: a man whose wife died because of defective insulin. The consequence of taking the case: a drug company and its ruthless lawyers doing anything in their power to derail the case.

Read our review of Blondes Have More Felons here.

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Mystery Hardcover Bestsellers (02/10/2006)

A list of the top ten mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending February 10, 2006 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

New this week: Sea Change, the fifth Jesse Stone mystery by Robert B. Parker. Reviews have been generally mixed. Publisher's Weekly concludes their review with, "Stone is a work in progress whose following is likely to increase as he continues to grow." While Booklist states, "Shortcomings aside, though, Parker's setting and plotting are enough to make most readers forgive the unrelenting Guy Noir style."

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Thursday, February 09, 2006

More Literary Clues Soon to Be Discovered on 'Lost'

The Book Standard is reporting that more literary clues will soon be discovered on ABC's hit series Lost. Gary Troup’s manuscript for Bad Twin made its debut last night as the reading material of character Hugo “Hurley” Reyes.

Disney’s Hyperion Books, a sister company of ABC, hired a well-known mystery author to pen Bad Twin, about a wealthy heir who searches for a long-lost evil sibling. Hyperion will release the book on May 2, 2006.

Read the entire article here.

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Edgar Award Nominees for 2006

The Mystery Writers of America has announced its nominees for the 2006 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction, television and film published or produced in 2005. The Edgar Awards will be presented to the winners at the 60th Gala Banquet, April 27, 2006 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City.

Best Novel Nominees

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)
Red Leaves by Thomas H. Cook (Harcourt)
Vanish by Tess Gerritsen (Ballantine Books)
Drama City by George Pelecanos (Little, Brown)
Citizen Vince by Jess Walter (Regan Books)

Best First Novel By An American Author

Die A Little by Megan Abbott (Simon & Schuster)
Immoral by Brian Freeman (St. Martin's Minotaur)
Run the Risk by Scott Frost (G.P. Putnam's Sons)
Hide Your Eyes by Alison Gaylin (Signet)
Officer Down by Theresa Schwegel (St. Martin's Minotaur)

Best Paperback Original

Homicide My Own by Anne Argula (Pleasure Boat Studio)
The James Deans by Reed Farrel Coleman (Penguin - Plume)
Girl in the Glass by Jeffrey Ford (Dark Alley)
Kiss Her Goodbye by Allan Guthrie (Hard Case Crime)
Six Bad Things by Charlie Huston (Ballantine Books)

For a complete list of nominees in all categories, visit the MWA website.

Visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books to see a list of previous Edgar Award winners as well as winners of many other mystery awards.

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Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Online Review for Memory in Death

Marcia Anderson, writing for ThisWeek Newspapers (Columbus OH), recently reviewed the latest futuristic mystery from J. D. Robb (Nora Roberts), Memory in Death. Following in the footsteps of witty crime-fighting couples like The Thin Man's Nick and Nora Charles, police detective Eve Dallas and her techno-savvy billionaire husband Roarke use their complementary talents to solve murders in mid-21st century New York City.

Anderson writes, "The In Death novels offer something for every fan of genre fiction. Mystery aficionados get their whodunit fix while science fiction buffs appreciate Robb's futuristic vision. And Eve and Roarke's sexy love life appeals to Nora Roberts' romance readers." She adds, "Fans aren't worried about the series 'jumping the shark' -- to borrow a TV term -- anytime soon, since the author has no plans to wrap up her In Death mysteries. Haunted in Death, a novella in the Bump in the Night anthology, will be on the shelves this April, and Born in Death hits bookstores in July."

Anderson concludes, "Memory in Death is a welcome addition to the ongoing saga of Eve and Roarke."

Her review in its entirety can be read here.

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Mysteries with a Hook: An NPR Interview with Victoria Houston

On February 02, 2006, NPR featured an interview with mystery author Victoria Houston. Houston writes murder mysteries set in the fictional Wisconsin town of Loon Lake. One way or another, her characters solve the mystery through clues that center around the sport of fly fishing, a sport the author also enjoys.

You can listen to the interview here as well as read the first chapter of her book Dead Creek (Penguin 2000).

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Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Mystery Trivia for February 2006

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books has posted new trivia questions for February 2006.

Susan Wittig Albert writes a series of herbal mysteries featuring China Bayles. What was China's profession prior to opening an herbal shop in Pecan Springs TX?

What is the title herb in the first book of this series?

Visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books to see the answers to these questions as well as previous mystery book trivia questions from prior months.

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New Mystery Hardcovers for January 2006 (updated)

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books has updated (a bit late!) the list of new hardcover mystery books for January 2006. This is the final update for this list.

Among the newcomers are:

Laura Van Wormer's Mr. Murder, the sixth Sally Harrington mystery, which Publisher's Weekly states is "... plotted with Van Wormer's customary self-deprecating humor, eye for glamour and attention to convincing detail."

All Night Long by Jayne Ann Krentz, which quickly hit the bestseller lists.

The debut mystery from Joseph R. Gannascoli, best known for his role as the hit man Vito Spatafore on HBO's The Sopranos, A Meal to Die For, a culinary novel of crime about good food, good times, and goodfellas.

Visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books often to keep current on your favorite mystery authors and series.

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