Games of Mystery: Mystery Case Files Return to Ravenhearst, Now Only $2.99 for One Week Only at Big Fish Games

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, and mystery getaway vacations, is pleased to announce a special sale on a mystery game from Big Fish Games announced today. You can find out more about these games by visiting our Mystery Games: Big Fish Download Games page or by clicking on the links provided below.

For one week only, from today through June 23, 2009, Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst may be purchased for only $2.99! Simply use coupon code RETURNSALE during checkout.

Emma's soul is free. But her ghost has delivered a dire warning: evil still lurks in Ravenhearst Manor. Go deep inside the cursed estate in Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst, the thrilling sequel to Mystery Case Files: Ravenhearst. Experience Ravenhearst's spectral halls as never before with new immersive adventure-style gameplay and an epic original soundtrack. Feel the floorboards creak as you move from room to room solving puzzles and seeking out clues in over 150 detailed scenes.

Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A sample version (92.86 MB) may be downloaded and play for free for one hour; the full unlimited version is 290.93 MB.

Watch a preview video below:

Other popular games on our download Big Fish Mystery Games page include several Agatha Christie and Nancy Drew games, games in the Mystery Case Files series and in particular the latest, Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst, Adventure Chronicles: The Search for Lost Treasure, Syberia and Syberia II, The Serpent of Isis, James Patterson's Women's Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey, and Nick Chase: A Detective Story.

Read our new game reviews by Ms. Terri: Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! (Review), The Hardy Boys: The Perfect Crime (Review), and Nick Chase: A Detective Story (Review).

Big Fish Games: Bestsellers

Big Fish Games: New releases

And don't forget to visit Games of Mystery for all kinds of mysterious fun!

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Author Book Tour: Larry Kaplan, Author of House of Ghosts

Mystery Books News is pleased to be coordinating the upcoming online book tour for author Larry Kaplan and his debut novel House of Ghosts.

Larry will be visiting ten blog sites this week:

Tuesday, June 16, 2009
• In Reference to Murder: Author Interview
• Bloggin' 'bout Books: Book Review 

Wednesday, June 17, 2009
• Wendy's Minding Spot: Book Review 
• Books, Books, The Magical Fruit: Author Guest Post

Thursday, June 18, 2009
• Bookish Ruth: Author Interview
• Meritorious Mysteries: Author Guest Post

Friday, June 19, 2009
• Bookopolis: Book Review 
• Mystery Books News: Author Guest Post

Saturday, June 20, 2009
• Allie's Musings: Author Interview
• Secret Dreamworld of a Bookaholic: Book Review 

A complete schedule of Larry's tour including a biography and more information about House of Ghosts can be found at Author Book Tour: Larry Kaplan.

We're also thrilled to announce that Larry is giving away a signed copy of his book to one lucky tour visitor. Visit each tour site on the day indicated and pick up a unique PIN to be used to enter the giveaway on that day. The entry form can be found on Larry's tour page.

We hope you have the opportunity to stop by each of the tour sites this week to learn more about Larry, his thrilling novel, and the history behind it.

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Joseph Finder's New Thriller Will Have Comic Book Tie-In

Publishers Weekly has an interesting article discussing the link between Joseph Finder's upcoming thriller Vanished (to be published in August by St. Martin's Press) and an 11-page comic book tie-in.

According to the article, Finder ran into "a couple of guys" at Bouchercon last year who happened to be an editor and writer for DC Comics. The result of that chance meeting is The Cowl, a comic book based on the characters and comic in Finder's thriller that also offers an important clue to the novel's mystery.

The comic book is free and will be available online as a downloadable PDF from Finder's website (JosephFinder.com). Signed hard copies will be given away as prizes. (MBN note: We just checked the author's website and though the comic book is mentioned, it isn't there yet for download.)

Vanished introduces Finder's first series character, Nick Heller. Nick is tough, smart, and stubborn. And in his line of work, it's essential. Trained in the Special Forces, Nick is a high-powered intelligence investigator -- exposing secrets that powerful people would rather keep hidden. He's a guy you don't want to mess with. He's also the man you call when you need a problem fixed. Desperate, with nowhere else to run, Nick's nephew, Gabe makes that call one night. After being attacked in Georgetown, his mother, Lauren, lies in a coma, and his step-dad, Roger, Nick's brother, has vanished without a trace. Nick and Roger have been on the outs since the arrest, trial, and conviction of their father, the notorious "fugitive financier," Victor Heller. Where Nick strayed from the path, Roger followed their father's footsteps into the corporate world. Now, as Nick searches for his brother, he's on a collision course with one of the most powerful corporations in the world -- and they will stop at nothing to protect their secrets.

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Harlequin Intrigue Titles for July 2009

eHarlequin.com has released the July 2009 titles in their Intrigue, breathtaking romantic suspense series. Get these edge-of-your-seat reads today with characters who conquer everything from kidnappings to murder mysteries, only to find themselves irresistibly drawn to one another! To purchase any of the books below, click on the book title. (Previous months titles can be found on the backlist page.)

Mountain Investigation by Jessica Andersen (book cover shown)

FBI special agent Michael "Gray" Grayson had an agenda … and it didn't include protecting a beautiful loner in the wilds of Colorado who probably knew more than she was sharing. Still, the fear in Mariah Shore's amber eyes after he rescued her from the clutches of a terrorist mastermind seemed all too real. And since Gray wasn't about to watch another person suffer while he felt helpless to stop it, Mariah was now his unwilling partner in uncovering a deadly plot. Before long, looking for answers and hiding out in the cold, tight canyons of the Colorado mountains turned their investigation much more intimate. And believing in Mariah's claims of innocence gave Gray that much more to lose.

Captive of the Desert King by Donna Young

As the King of Taer, Jarek Al Asadi was used to having total control, but then he met the feisty and independent American Sarah Kwong. Sarah made him forget his responsibilities as a royal—until he discovered she was a journalist. She had been granted unrestricted access to his kingdom, but not his private life. Determined to keep her at arm's length, Jarek's plans were thwarted when his enemies set their deadly sights on Sarah. Racing to her rescue, he became her only hope for survival in the unforgiving desert. And she, as always, was the one temptation he couldn't resist.

Small-Town Secrets by Debra Webb (book cover shown)

Mission: Close a 16-year-old cold case: three teenage girls slain in a small Midwest town.

Client: Dana Hall, twin sister of one of the victims. Troubled, amnesiac, alienated from family, suffering from horrific nightmares about the killer's identity.

Investigator: William "Spence" Spencer. Thirty-six. Bachelor. Top-notch skills, on the job 24/7. Shows exceptional sensitivity to client's needs.

Comments: Significant danger. Escalating threats against Dana's presence in town. Spence believes Dana is hiding something relevant to investigation. Possibility he may be hiding something himself. Has his strong, naturally protective nature compromised his professionalism? There's always a first time.

Pregnesia by Carla Cassidy

Former navy SEAL Lucas Washington was an expert at tackling impossible missions. But when a striking—and very pregnant—woman turned up in a car he was repossessing, suddenly he was in over his head. Shaken and bruised, she couldn't remember what had happened to her or why she was terrified of going to the police. Lucas made it clear he could be trusted, and vowed to protect her until she was safe. Hours turned to days as they searched for clues to her hidden past. Then a family came to claim her, and a happy ending seemed imminent. But had he just delivered his Jane Doe to safety … or into the hands of a killer?

Showdown in West Texas by Amanda Stevens (book cover shown)

Cochise County needed a new deputy and Cage Nichols needed a cover—pronto. Unfortunately, Cage unknowingly assumed the identity of an undercover hit man who'd marked stand-in Sheriff Grace Steele to be murdered.

He was an ex-cop sidelined by a bullet. Now, Cage was embedded in the dusty West Texas border town with no choice but to assume the role of a double agent in order to expose a conspiracy and to protect his own hide. That was the plan. Until he met Grace.

Whether it was the isolation of the no-man's-land town of Jericho Pass or the intense desert heat, he couldn't say, but Cage was fast falling for Grace. He only hoped she wouldn't lock him up after he saved her.

She's Positive by Delores Fossen

Although forced to put aside personal differences to rescue a child, FBI hostage negotiator Colin Forester and his estranged wife, Danielle, couldn't ignore the issues that had pushed them apart … or the chemistry that still stirred their blood.

Still, focusing on the case was crucial. Not to mention it kept Colin's mind off the secret he sensed Danielle was torn about revealing. As the standoff with the hostage-taker intensified, so did the reignited passion Colin had feared was lost forever. But would what Danielle was hiding guarantee their future—or irreparably tear them apart?

* * *

If you enjoy the romantic suspense books in this series, you can get 2 free Harlequin Intrigue books plus 2 free gifts just for giving the automatic program a try. Accepting your two free Intrigue books and mystery gifts places you under no obligation to buy anything. You may keep the books and gifts and return the shipping statement marked cancel. If you do not cancel, about two months later, and then every other month, eHarlequin will send you four additional Intrigue books.

Keep up to date by subscribing to eHarlequin.com's free newsletter that contains the latest information about their series of books as well as informing you about subscriber-only special offers and new products. Click on the banner below to subscribe for free:

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Finalists for 2009 Nero Award Announced

Janet Rudolph, editor of Mystery Fanfare, posted yesterday the finalists for the 2009 Nero Award, which is presented annually by the Nero Wolfe Society to an author for literary excellence in the mystery genre. The winner is announced at the Black Orchid Banquet, which is traditionally held on the first Saturday in December in New York City.

And the finalists are ...

The Dark Tide by Andrew Gross,
The Tenth Case by Joseph Teller,
The Fault Tree by Louise Ure.

indicates a review by Mysterious Reviews.

Our reviewers had the pleasure of reading two of the finalists this year, awarding both our top rating.

Congratulations from everyone at MBN to the finalists!

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Mysteries on TV: Burn Notice, The Murdoch Mysteries, and Jesse Stone in Thin Ice, New This Week on DVD

Mysteries on TV, your source for the most complete selection of detective, amateur sleuth, private investigator, and suspense television mystery series now available or coming soon to DVD, is profiling one made-for-television movie and two series that have season DVDs being released this week.

Combining the best action/thriller elements with good-natured humor and an iconic new breed of espionage, the second season of USA Network hit Burn Notice heats up as blacklisted spy Michael Westen (played by Jeffrey Donovan) hones his unique skills for new clientele. After being fired as a professional spy and dumped in his hometown of Miami without money or resources, Westen struggles to put his life back together and find out why he has been "burned." The series also stars Gabrielle Anwar as Fiona, a beautiful ex-IRA operative who happens to be Westen’s ex-girlfriend; Bruce Campbell as Sam, Michael's closest buddy in town; and Sharon Gless as Madeline, Westen's hypochondriac mother. Joining the cast this season is Tricia Helfer as Carla, the woman who may be behind Michael's "burn notice."

The Burn Notice: Season Two DVD set of 4 discs contain all 16 episodes that aired on USA Network, half during late summer 2008 and the remaining episodes in early 2009.

Jesse Stone is back! Paradise (Massachusetts) Police Chief Jesse Stone (played by Tom Selleck) finds himself in trouble with the Town Council when he inadvertently becomes involved in a shoot-out on a Boston street in Jesse Stone: Thin Ice. His friend, State Homicide Commander Healy, is seriously wounded and Jesse comes under investigation by the Boston Police Department's Internal Affairs Division, which causes him to be away from Paradise for extended periods of time in this exciting fifth installment of the popular series. When Chief Stone fires the Paradise Police Department's most enthusiastic ticket-writer, the city's main source of revenue takes a serious hit. His status with the Town Council already faltering, the chief puts his own job in serious jeopardy by agreeing to help a celebrated out-of-towner search for her missing child

These made-for-television movies are based on the bestselling books by Robert B. Parker. A sixth movie, Jesse Stone: No Remorse, wrapped up production last November. No air date has yet been set by CBS.

Cutting-edge Victorian science meets cunningly plotted mystery in The Murdoch Mysteries. In the 1890s, Detective William Murdoch (played by Yannick Bisson) adopts modern techniques like "finger marks" and forensics to track Toronto's most sinister killers. Though derided by his skeptical boss (Thomas Craig), Murdoch finds friends and allies in a lovely pathologist (Hélène Joy) and an eager-to-learn constable (Jonny Davis). Along the way they cross paths with some of the era’s most famous figures, including Nikola Tesla, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Prince Alfred.

The The Murdoch Mysteries: Season One DVD set of 4 discs contain the 13 episodes that originally aired on Canadian television from January through April 2008.

Visit the Mysteries on TV website to discover more television mystery series currently available on DVD.

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Mystery Godoku Puzzle for June 15, 2009

A new Mystery Godoku Puzzle has been created by the editors of the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and is now 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 letters and mystery clue:

A B D E G I L N R

This is the title of the 2nd mystery by Terri Persons featuring psychic FBI agent Bernadette St. Clare (9 letters).

We now have two weeks of our puzzles on one page in PDF format for easier printing. Print this week's puzzle here.

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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Mystery Book Review: Fifty Grand by Adrian McKinty

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of Fifty Grand by Adrian McKinty. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

Fifty Grand by Adrian McKinty
Non-series

Henry Holt (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-8050-8900-4 (0805089004)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8050-8900-4 (9780805089004)
Publication Date: April 2009
List Price: $25.00

Review: Adrian McKinty's meticulously plotted novel Fifty Grand is exceptionally well written and such a joy to read that it is ever so slightly disappointing that the author chose to populate it with stereotypical characters and end it on such a weak note.

Cuban police officer "Maria" Mercado's father, a defector and traitor to the Revolution, has been killed by a hit-and-run driver in Colorado. Not satisfied with the official investigation, she decides to risk her own life, and that of her brother and mother who remain in Havana, to illegally travel to the US to determine the true circumstances of his death and, if possible, to avenge it. Receiving permission from Cuban authorities to travel to Mexico, she assumes there a false identity and crosses the border as an illegal alien, one of many Mexicans looking for work in the US. Though she ultimately discovers who killed her father, there are many questions that remain unanswered. And she realizes too late that the answers are, in fact, back in Havana.

Fifty Grand opens with Maria imprisoning, in an ice-filled lake of all places, the person she believes responsible for her father's death. And when he cries out, "How d-did it c-come to this?", she answers, "We've got time. I'll tell you." The narrative then goes back in time and relates how she came to be in Colorado and why she's watching a man slowly freeze to death in a lake. It is, admittedly, very slow going at times, especially in the early chapters. Still, it's strongly written, often punctuated with short, descriptive, bulleted sentences. "A bus stop. Mountains to the west and east. A spear of cloud in a cobalt sky. The road a straight line running through woods on either side of a broad valley. The outskirts of Fairview to the south, nothing but forest to the north. Forest all the way to Canada. The sound of a chain saw." Maria is able to quickly adapt to her new surroundings and go about the task at hand, "[t]he dull clothes better than camouflage, just another Mex going about her silent business, just another invisible with no plans or dreams or thoughts in her head."

Though the characters are, for the most part, fully and richly drawn, the author isn't above resorting to racial profiling. White Americans are typically depicted as rich, corrupt, ignorant or lazy; sometimes all of the above, often worse. Latinos, on the other hand, are honest, hard-working and exploited. Two icons of American culture, Hollywood and Starbucks, are also specifically and repeatedly targeted as examples of "yuma" excess. There are even less than subtle political overtones, that in spite of the desperate poverty and inefficiency of Communist Cuba, its manner of governing is superior to that of its richer, far more powerful neighbor, the United States. None of this is really relevant to the plot, thus its unnecessary inclusion in the book made all the more obvious.

Despite these relatively minor annoyances, the brilliance of the writing in Fifty Grand and the intricate plot are sufficient to recommend it. But as carefully crafted as most of the book is, the conclusion comes off as pedestrian, predictable to be sure, a quick and clean, albeit uninspired, way of ending what is otherwise an exceptional novel.

Special thanks to Henry Holt for providing an ARC of Fifty Grand for this review.

Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved

If you are interested in purchasing Fifty Grand from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

Synopsis (from the publisher): A man is killed in a hit-and-run on a frozen mountain road in the town of Fairview, Colorado. He is an illegal immigrant in a rich Hollywood resort community not unlike Telluride. No one is prosecuted for his death and his case is quietly forgotten.

Six months later another illegal makes a treacherous run across the border. Barely escaping with her life and sanity intact, she finds work as a maid with one of the employment agencies in Fairview. Secretly, she begins to investigate the shadowy collision that left her father dead.

The maid isn’t a maid. And she’s not Mexican, either. She’s Detective Mercado, a police officer from Havana, and she’s looking for answers: Who killed her father? Was it one of the smooth- talking Hollywood types? Was it a minion of the terrifying county sheriff? And why was her father, a celebrated defector to the United States, hiding in Colorado as the town ratcatcher?

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Games of Mystery: The Hardy Boys in The Perfect Crime, New for Windows PC

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, and getaway vacations including murder mystery weekends, is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery game for Windows PC. More mystery games for this platform are available on our recently updated Games of Mystery: Windows PC webpage.

In the second game to feature The Hardy Boys, a series of malicious crimes grips their hometown of Bayport and it's up to Frank and Joe Hardy to assist the police in their attempt to capture the culprits. From the first crime scene, however, it becomes apparent that there's an even deeper plot to these sinister activities.

Search and explore more than 30 unique locations across 50 different levels as you attempt to unravel the mysterious case and uncover the mastermind behind the recent crimes.

The Hardy Boys: The Perfect Crime is currently scheduled for release on June 16th, 2009. The first game of the series, The Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft, is also available.

Visit the Hardy Boys Game website for more information. View the trailer below:

Don't forget to visit Games of Mystery for all types of mysterious fun!

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Mystery Book Review: The Keys to the Vault by Jim Colombo

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of The Keys to the Vault by Jim Colombo. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

The Keys to the Vault by Jim Colombo
A Caroline Baker Mystery

Strategic Book Publishing (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-60693-768-5 (1606937685)
ISBN-13: 978-1-60693-768-6 (9781606937686)
Publication Date: January 2009
List Price: $25.50

Review: Jim Colombo introduces Chicago commodities trader Caroline Baker in The Keys to the Vault, a book that reads more like a fantasy/adventure tale than a novel of mystery/suspense.

Caroline is filling her sports car with gas when she is approached by a stranger, S. Bentley "Ben" Parker, who needs a lift into Chicago. Ordinarily, she tells him, she didn’t give rides to strangers, but her intuition tells her he's harmless, so yes, she will take him to Chicago. It turns out that he needs more than a ride, he needs her help in retrieving a sensitive file from his office concerning a woman named Claudia Seiffert who is a person of interest in some suspicious criminal activity. Caroline, always up for a bit of intrigue, agrees to get the file knowing that if Claudia became aware that Caroline had the file, she would be in grave danger. It takes Caroline just 35 minutes to locate Ben’s office, find the file, and return to her car, only to find Ben missing. She takes the file home and it reads like an international spy thriller. But that's only the beginning. She soon finds herself in London and Paris, in the midst of a love affair which endangers her life, and trying to prevent the collapse of the worldwide banking system.

The real problem with The Keys to the Vault is that it is all just too unbelievable, even for what is arguably escapist entertainment. No rational woman would do what Caroline does, and even if the reader assumes Caroline temporarily takes leave of her senses for a chance at adventure, there's still the question of why. At one point she asks herself a most rhetorical question, "Am I crazy?" For the story to be even slightly credible, Caroline has to be grounded in some way, have a focal point upon which the plot can evolve. And that's missing.

To be fair, The Keys to the Vault is a quick and easy read, and for those willing to suspend reality for an hour or two, it can be fun. But more likely than not, readers will be rolling their eyes or shaking their head in disbelief at the antics of Caroline Baker.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of The Keys to the Vault and to Jim Colombo for providing a copy of the book for this review. See also an interview with Jim Colombo, who discusses his book, on DeniseRobbins.com

Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved

If you are interested in purchasing The Keys to the Vault from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

Synopsis (from the publisher): While playing hooky from her job as an independent soybean trader at the Chicago Board of Trade, Caroline is approached by a man looking for a lift into the city.

As they are driving to his downtown office, the stranger makes another request: he needs her help in retrieving a sensitive file from his office. Caroline agrees and easily collects the file, filling the rest of her day with bathing suit shopping, fending off attempted purse snatchings and giving a philandering boyfriend the boot.

It is only after this very long, very strange day that Caroline finally opens the mysterious file. Its contents will not only spring unlucky-in-love Caroline into the romance of a lifetime, it will plunge her headlong into an international adventure with the fate of the entire international banking system at stake!

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Games of Mystery: Flower Sun and Rain, Murder and Mystery in Paradise, New for Nintendo DS

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, and getaway vacations including murder mystery weekends, is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery game for the Nintendo DS. More mystery games for this platform are available on our recently updated Games of Mystery: Nintendo DS webpage.

A mystery / adventure set on a tropical island, Flower Sun and Rain places players in control Sumio Mondo. Sumio finds things for a living, but in this case what he finds is himself caught in a temporal loop. Gameplay within this scenario consists of players attempting to put clues together to solve the mystery of how to stop the bombing as well as the nature of the temporal loop itself which results in the devastating explosion of a bomb over and over again as each day comes to an end. The catch within this is that the history revolving around gameplay has yet to be written, meaning that it is changeable with each new day. To this end, the game contains 18 different scenarios that play out according to the events that players put into motion as they go through their day, finding lost items for island residents, taking notes on each encounter they have and using Sumio's portable computer "Catherine" to probe the minds of non-playing game characters and solving additional puzzles.

Originally released on the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and quickly gaining notoriety for its eccentricity, Flower Sun and Rain has never been available outside of Japan until now. This updated Nintendo DS release features all the creative quirks that made the original a cult hit while adding touch screen functionality and 50 new puzzles.

Flower Sun and Rain Nintendo DS is currently scheduled for release on June 16th, 2009.

Watch the European trailer for Flower Sun and Rain below:

Don't forget to visit Games of Mystery for all types of mysterious fun!

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Games of Mystery: Mystic Diary, Lost Brother, New at Big Fish Games

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, and mystery getaway vacations, is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery game from Big Fish Games released today. You can find out more about these games by visiting our Mystery Games: Big Fish Download Games page or by clicking on the links provided below.

In Mystic Diary: Lost Brother, you take on the role of a Victorian-era magician on a noble quest to find his lost brother. Travel throughout the world using the magical pages of the Mystic Diary to unlock the mystery behind your brother's sudden disappearance. Find hidden objects and solve fun mini puzzles in this one-of-a-kind adventure game. Save your brother and become a master of the Mystic Diary!

Also available: Mystic Diary: Lost Brother Strategy Guide and a Mystic Diary: Lost Brother Game Walkthrough.

Mystic Diary: Lost Brother may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (104.25 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour.

Watch a preview video below:

Other popular games on our download Big Fish Mystery Games page include several Agatha Christie and Nancy Drew games, games in the Mystery Case Files series and in particular the latest, Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst, Adventure Chronicles: The Search for Lost Treasure, Syberia and Syberia II, The Serpent of Isis, James Patterson's Women's Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey, and Nick Chase: A Detective Story.

Read our new game reviews by Ms. Terri: Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! (Review), The Hardy Boys: The Perfect Crime (Review), and Nick Chase: A Detective Story (Review).

Big Fish Games: Bestsellers

Big Fish Games: New releases

And don't forget to visit Games of Mystery for all kinds of mysterious fun!

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National Indie Excellence Award Winners for 2009 Announced

The winners of the 2009 National Indie Excellence® Awards have been announced. This competition is judged by an independent panel of experts from all aspects—editing, marketing, publicity, and design—of the publishing industry. There are several categories, including Mystery / Suspense and Thriller.

And the winners are ...

Mystery / Suspense: Stuff Dreams Are Made Of by Don Bruns
Thriller: The Deal by Adam Gittlin

indicates a review by Mysterious Reviews.

Congratulations from everyone at MBN to the winners!

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First Clues, Mysteries for Kids: The Red Blazer Girls

First Clues: Mysteries for Kids is your source for information on over 100 mystery series for children and young adults where each series is conveniently listed under four different age categories (New Sleuths, ages 4 to 6; Future Sleuths, ages 7 to 9; Sleuths in Training, ages 10 to 12, and Apprentice Sleuths, ages 13 and older).

Earlier this week when we were updating our website with new series, we inadvertantly omitted one we had tagged to add.

The Ring of Rocamadour by Michael D. Beil
1st book in The Red Blazer Girls Series

It all began with The Scream. And ended with ... well, if we told you that, it wouldn’t be a mystery! But in between The Scream and The Very Surprising Ending, three friends find themselves on a scavenger hunt set up for a girl they never met, in search of a legendary ring reputed to grant wishes. Are these sleuths in school uniforms modern-day equivalents of Nancy, Harriet, or Scooby? Not really, they’re just three nice girls who decide to help out a weird lady, and end up hiding under tables, tackling word puzzles and geometry equations, and searching rather moldy storage rooms for “the stuff that dreams are made of” (that’s from an old detective movie). Oh, and there’s A Boy, who complicates things. As boys often do.

The Ring of Rocamadour was published in April with the second in the series, The Vanishing Violin, scheduled for publication next spring. The Red Blazer Girls Series are recommended for readers aged 10 to 12. For more information about the series and author, visit RedBlazerGirls.com.

We are also pleased to offer First Clues Reviews, reviews of mysteries featured on our site written by students. These book reviews provide a unique perspective by their young readers, often insightful, always entertaining.

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Time Magazine has 10 Reader Questions for Janet Evanovich

The June 22nd issue of Time Magazine, online today, has 10 questions with mystery author Janet Evanovich. The questions were submitted from fans from around the world.

And these readers don't pull any punches! The first question asks, "Have you ever felt that the quality of your stories was declining?" Evanovich answers, somewhat cautiously we think, "I think that some books are more successful than others to certain readers. People who read my books for the humor, they're going to love one book. People who read my books for the mystery, they might not like that book quite as much."

Evanovich currently publishes two Stephanie Plum books a year, a standard "numbered" title and a "between-the-numbers" title. The 15th of the former, Finger Lickin' Fifteen, already a pre-release bestseller, hits bookstores June 23rd.

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