New Mystery Prize Package Giveaway! Blood Lines by Kathryn Casey

Mystery Book Contests is thrilled to announce a new mystery book prize package giveaway! To celebrate Kathryn Casey's second Sarah Armstrong mystery, Blood Lines, the author is giving away a signed ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) of the book plus the first book in the series, Singularity.

Texas Ranger Sarah Armstrong has her hands full with two cases at once: a persistent and potentially lethal stalker pursues pop mega-star Cassidy Collins, and a high-energy Houston businesswoman is found dead in her house. Though the businesswoman’s death is being called a suicide, when Sarah is shown photographs of the scene, something seems off. It looks too perfect, almost staged, and Billie Cox apparently had every reason to live. Meanwhile, teenage idol Cassidy receives threatening e-mails and text messages and hears creepy whispers over her headset at performances. Sarah once again teams up with FBI agent David Garrity, and together they plot to outwit and capture the stalker, but at the concert the unthinkable happens.

Enter daily! Provide your name and e-mail address on the Blood Lines giveaway entry form and correctly answer the contest question for a chance to win a prize package courtesy of Kathryn Casey.

The prize package consists of a signed ARC of Blood Lines plus a copy of the first Sarah Armstrong mystery, Singularity. Estimated prize package value: $50.

Remember to visit Mystery Book Contests regularly to check for new mystery book prize package giveaways.

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Duchess of Death: The Unauthorized Biography of Agatha Christie by Richard Hack, Available July 1st

Although she is the most popular novelist in history, with over two billion books sold worldwide, Agatha Christie lived a life shrouded in secrecy and fueled by curiosity. Nearly as notorious for her aversion to the press as she was for her 80 books and collections of short stories, Christie made no secret of her need for privacy. Utilizing over 5,000 previously unpublished letters, notes, and documents, award-winning biographer Richard Hack allows Christie to write again, 33 years after her death. Duchess of Death is her story, as full of romance, travel, wealth, and scandal as any mystery Christie ever crafted.

There have been numerous biographies of the Queen of Crime, all of which claim to be definitive. According to the publisher, Duchess of Death is the first to draw from such an enormous number of previously unpublished correspondence and notes, effectively establishing it as the most authoritative, penetrating look at the personal and literary life of Christie.

Duchess of Death is scheduled for publication by Phoenix Books on July 1st. It is available for pre-order.

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Games of Mystery: Enlightenus, 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.

A reclusive author has asked for your help! Travel to the mysterious world of Enlightenus and use your detective skills to track down Edgar Lee's missing novels! Explore an entirely different maze full of perplexing puzzles and intricate locks, as you collect each chapter of the missing books. This unique hidden object adventure game challenges you to solve each riddle in order to escape the land of Enlightenus!

Also available: Enlightenus Strategy Guide and an Enlightenus Game Walkthrough.

Enlightenus, a Big Fish Game Club World Premiere Exclusive, may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (152.56 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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CBS Announces Its Fall 2009 Prime Time Schedule

CBS, the network with the most crime dramas on television, announced its fall prime time schedule today.

On Monday, September 21st, CSI: Miami returns for its 8th season at 10 PM (ET/PT).

On Tuesday, September 22nd, NCIS returns for its 7th season premiere at 8 PM (ET/PT), followed by its spin-off series NCIS: Los Angeles at 9 PM (ET/PT).

On Wednesday, September 23rd, Criminal Minds airs its 5th season premiere at 9 PM (ET/PT). CSI: NY follows at 10 PM (ET/PT) with its 6th season premiere.

On Thursday, September 24th, the 10th season premiere of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation airs at 9 PM (ET/PT) followed by the 2nd season premiere of The Mentalist at 10 PM (ET/PT).

On Friday, September 25th, Numb3rs returns with its 6th season premiere at 10 PM (ET/PT).

On Sunday, September 27th, the 7th season premiere of Cold Case airs at 10 PM (ET/PT).

Finally, a 2 hour block on Saturdays from 8 PM to 10 PM (ET/PT) is designated as Crimetime Saturday during which selected CBS crime dramas will re-air.

The Canadian series The Bridge, which CBS acquired the rights to, will air as a mid-season replacement.

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New Trailer for The Box, Based on the Short Story Button, Button by Richard Matheson

AOL Video has the first trailer for The Box, a thriller based on the short story Button, Button by Richard Matheson.

In The Box, a mysterious man (played by Frank Langella) presents a wooden box with a button to a couple (Cameron Diaz, James Marsden) which, when pressed, does two things: the couple will receive $1 million and someone, somewhere in the world will be killed. The couple has 24 hours to decide whether or not to push the button.

Button, Button was first published in Playboy in 1970 and adapted as an episode for the television series The Twilight Zone in 1986.

Watch the trailer for The Box below; the movie is scheduled for release October 30th, 2009.

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John Grisham's The Testament to be Filmed

Variety is reporting that John Grisham has made a movie deal for his 1999 novel The Testament, in which a billionaire defies his greedy relatives and leaves his $11 billion fortune to a mysterious illegitimate daughter doing charity work in the Brazilian wetlands. A down-and-out lawyer helps her battle her relatives over the fortune.

During the 1990s, a string of Grisham bestsellers were filmed: A Time to Kill (1996), The Firm (1993), The Pelican Brief (1993), The Client (1994), The Chamber (1996), and The Rainmaker (1997). With The Testament, Grisham adds another title to those already in various stages of development. The Innocent Man, based on Grisham's nonfiction book, is scheduled for a 2011 release; an adaptation of his non-thriller Playing for Pizza is moving forward; and Grisham's most recent thriller, The Associate, has been optioned by Paramount.

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Mystery Book Review: Sacrifice by S. J. Bolton

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

Sacrifice by S. J. Bolton
Non-series

St. Martin's Minotaur (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-312-38186-7 (0312381867)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-38186-8 (9780312381868)
Publication Date: June 2009
List Price: $14.95

Review: Sacrifice by S. J. Bolton is her debut medical mystery thriller filled with more twists and turns than Lombard Street in San Francisco. It keeps you guessing and leaves you astounded with its final pages. Tess Gerritsen, Michael Palmer, and Robin Cook move over, you have some serious competition in the medical mystery field.

Set in the rocky hills of the Shetland Islands off the northern coast of Scotland, Tora Hamilton discovers a secret. In her attempt to bury her beloved horse, she uncovers the body of a young woman. But is this woman centuries old or recently buried? Tora, an obstetrician, discovers that the young woman was killed recently, just after having given birth. In addition, her heart has been cut out. What bizarre ritual has she stumbled upon? Who would do such a thing? Tora sets out to find the answers and puts her own life in jeopardy in the process. Her husband, the police, and her coworkers all urge her to let “sleeping dogs lie” but Tora gives them no heed. Who can she turn to, who can she trust?

For a debut novel, Bolton has done an outstanding job. Every time I thought I had the mystery figured out, I was wrong. In fact, I was unable to solve the mystery ahead of time, something that is usually not a problem for me. In addition, the unique setting, combined with the ancient folklore, all add up to a “can’t put down” book. Her female characters are believable and demonstrate courage beyond your typical female sleuth. Tora’s audacity and tenaciousness in the solving the mystery kept me hooked until the very end. I would rate this novel a five out of five stars. It was the best medical mystery novel that I have read in the past year, and I look forward to reading her next novel Awakening.

Sacrifice was nominated for several awards: The Mary Higgins Clark Award, and 2009 International Thriller Writers "Best First Novel" Award. Unfortunately, Sacrifice did not win. I consider this a great miscarriage of justice. If you are looking for a stimulating mystery, one that will keep you surprised until the very end, then pick up a copy of Sacrifice. The sacrifice your wallet feels will definitely be worth it!

Special thanks to Ruth Miller for contributing her review of Sacrifice and to St. Martin's Minotaur for providing a trade paperback edition of the book for this review.

Review Copyright © 2009 — Ruth Miller — All Rights Reserved — Reprinted with Permission

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): Tora Hamilton is an outsider at her new home on the rocky, windswept Shetland Islands, a hundred miles from the northeastern tip of Scotland. Though her husband grew up here, it’s the first time he’s been back in twenty years. Digging in the peat on their new property, Tora unearths a human body, at first glance a centuries-old bog body, interesting but not uncommon. But realizing that the body is in fact much newer, that the woman’s heart has been cut out, and that she was killed within a few days of bearing a child, Tora, herself an obstetrician, becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to her—even when the police, her colleagues, and eventually her husband warn her against getting involved.

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Games of Mystery: Dream Sleuth, 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.

Follow the crystal clear dreams you've been having about a missing little girl in Dream Sleuth! Help our hero, Catherine, take matters into her own hands and become a one-of-a-kind Dream Sleuth. Investigate the little girl's disappearance, using your dreams as a guide, to help find and save her in this mystical hidden pbject game. Can you sift through the facts and rumors and interpret all the clues in your dreams?

Also available: Dream Sleuth Game Walkthrough.

Dream Sleuth may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (86.10 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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ITV Orders 4 More Episodes of Inspector Lewis

Several news organizations are reporting that the television series Inspector Lewis has been renewed for a 4th series of four episodes by ITV. A spin-off from the long-running Inspector Morse series, Inspector Lewis (titled simply Lewis in the UK) stars Kevin Whately as Detective Inspector Robert "Robbie" Lewis and Laurence Fox as Detective Sergeant James Hathaway of the Thames Valley Police based in Oxford. The series is set chronologically five years after the death of Inspector Morse.

ITV's Sally Haynes said, "Lewis is always one of the highlights of the year on ITV1 and features not only a great partnership between Lewis and Hathaway but some great plot lines and twists that keep the audience gripped."

Inspector Morse creator Colin Dexter will again work as a consultant on the series.

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Mystery Book Review: Jump by Tim Maleeny

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

Jump by Tim Maleeny
Non-series

Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-574-7 (1590585747)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-574-0 (9781590585740)
Publication Date: June 2009
List Price: $24.95

Review: A hated landlord takes a leap from the top of his 20-story building -- aided or unaided to be determined -- in Jump, a most enjoyable summer thriller by Tim Maleeny.

Retired cop Sam McGowan lives on the 20th floor and is the first person his old partner Danny Rodriguez turns to when he arrives to investigate. Danny would just as soon label it a suicide and call it a day. But he feels obligated to look into the case and arm-twists Sam into making some unofficial inquiries, talk to the neighbors, that sort of thing. Sam quickly finds out everyone on his floor had a reason to hate the landlord. Between tales of blackmail, extortion, and attempted rape, there are no shortage of suspects who would like to have seen the man dead. But in a strange twist of fate, Sam becomes a target himself of a Mexican drug lord and he must balance finding out the truth about his landlord's unfortunate demise and keeping one step ahead of an assassin.

There are several remarkable aspects to Jump, from an extraordinary cast of characters to Maleeny's rapid-fire narrative style to a deftly plotted story that has a familiar ring to it yet feels uncommonly new.

Sam's neighbors (read suspects) are an eclectic bunch to be sure: a little old lady with a tongue as sharp as her mind; an aging movie producer who hasn't had a hit in, well, never; two brothers who make and deliver sandwiches with a side of weed to corporate offices around the city; two female roommates who operate a soft-core porn site from their bedroom to pay for their graduate education; and a mysterious woman who's a graphic designer by day, jazz singer by night. And, of course, Sam himself who's torn between his ingrained duty as a cop (albeit an ex-cop) and how to act as a private citizen. And though everyone seems to be doing something, if not outright illegal then acting in a grayish area of the law, these are truly engaging characters that readers care about.

The plot moves along briskly, switching between character points of view frequently but always in a fluid manner. It's clever and funny, at times even poignant. The ending is both anticipated and unexpected, and puts a refreshing twist on a conventional theme.

Though Jump is listed as a stand-alone thriller, it would be a shame not to bring Sam (and maybe some of his neighbors) back for another go round. It is one of the most entertaining mysteries to be published this year, and is a perfect reading companion this summer.

Special thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of Jump for this review.

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

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): When the most hated landlord in San Francisco takes an unexpected jump off the roof of his own building, it isn’t too hard to find suspects. But the police want to call it a suicide, since both the Mayor and press are complaining about the dismal closure rate for homicide investigations. Call it a suicide and no one has to solve the case.

But ex-cop Sam McGowan knows it was murder. He also knows that anyone living on the top floor of the building should be a suspect, including himself. So Sam decides to get to know his neighbors:

A lonely jazz singer more than willing to confess to any crime, past or present;

Two young women paying for graduate school by operating a website that reveals a lot more than their SAT scores;

The B-movie producer with a swollen prostate and shrinking bank balance;

And the brothers at the end of the hall, who just quit their day jobs to sell marijuana for the Mexican mob.

The only thing they have in common is a general agree-ment that their dead landlord got what he deserved--and that one of them is probably responsible. As more bodies surface and alliances shift, Sam finds himself jumping back and forth between his old life as a cop and his new one as a murder suspect, unable to decide where he really belongs.

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New Poster Unveiled for Shutter Island

A new poster for Shutter Island was unveiled at Cinema Expo International today, which is taking place from June 22 through 25, 2009 in Amsterdam.

This is not necessarily an "official" poster from Paramount, simply one shown during the conference by the studio. But we like the look of it. The first trailer for Shutter Island was released a couple of weeks ago.

Shutter Island, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is based on a novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane. The film takes place in the year 1954. U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) and his new partner, Chuck Aule (played by Mark Ruffalo), have come to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane, to investigate the disappearance of a patient. Multiple murderess Rachel Solando is loose somewhere on this remote and barren island, despite having been kept in a locked cell under constant surveillance. As a killer hurricane bears relentlessly down on them, a strange case takes on even darker, more sinister shades -- with hints of radical experimentation, horrifying surgeries, and lethal countermoves made in the cause of a covert shadow war. No one is going to escape Shutter Island unscathed, because nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is what it seems. But then neither is Teddy Daniels.

Shutter Island is secheduled to be in theaters October 02, 2009.

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Enter the HBO True Blood Escape the Everyday Sweepstakes for a Chance to Win $10,000

HBO is offering fans of its hit series True Blood a chance to win $10,000 in the Escape the Everyday sweepstakes.

Battle to collect items, enter codes and play three instant win games daily for the chance to win the complete True Blood Season 1 DVD Set and other great prizes.

True Blood is based on the series of Southern Vampire mysteries by Charlaine Harris and stars Anna Paquin as telepathic barmaid Sookie Stackhouse. Sookie is "cursed" with the ability to listen in on people's thoughts but is tolerant of vampires who have no brainwave activity. She's particularly attracted to Bill Compton (played by Stephen Moyer), a handsome 173-year-old living up the road. But as Sookie is drawn into a series of mysteries surrounding Bill's arrival in the small Louisiana town of Bon Temps, her tolerance of vampires will be put to the test.

Click on the banner below to begin your hunt in HBO's True Blood Escape the Everyday sweepstakes.

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New Hardcover Mysteries for July 2009

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books has updated its list of new hardcover mysteries with books scheduled for publication in July 2009.

Below we're listing those authors with returning series characters, new series characters, and non-series or stand-alone mysteries in separate sections. All titles are available on our July mystery books page. We're also using the "carousel" widget by Amazon.com to display a random selection of titles; refreshing this page will change the selection displayed.

• Authors with mysteries having returning series characters (in parentheses) this month:

Rennie Airth (John Madden), Susanne Alleyn (Aristide Ravel), Donna Andrews (Meg Langslow), A. C. Baantjer (Jurriaan DeKok), Brett Battles (Jonathan Quinn), James Scott Bell (Ty Buchanan), Anna Blundy (Faith Zanetti), Rhys Bowen (Her Royal Spyness), Suzanne Brockmann (Troubleshooter), James Lee Burke (Hackberry Holland), Mike Carey (Felix Castor), Kathryn Casey (Sarah Armstrong), Chris Collett (Tom Mariner), Darwyn Cooke (Parker), P. C. Doherty (Hugh Corbett), Kate Ellis (Joe Plantagenet), Clyde W. Ford (Charlie Noble), Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza (Inspector Espinosa), Michael Genelin (Jana Matinova), Lee Goldberg (Monk), Philip Gooden (Thomas Ansell), Mitchell Graham (Katherine Adams), Kerry Greenwood (Phryne Fisher), Susanna Gregory (Matthew Bartholomew), Carolyn Haines (Sarah Booth Delaney, Southern Belle), Judith Koll Healey (Alais Capet), Steve Hockensmith (Holmes on the Range), Dorothy Howell (Haley Randolph), Declan Hughes (Ed Loy), J. A. Konrath (Jack Daniels), Julie Kramer (Riley Spartz), Chris Kuzneski (Jonathon Payne and David Jones), Deryn Lake (John Rawlings), Mike Lawson (Joe DeMarco), David Liss (Benjamin Weaver), Steve Martini (Paul Madriani), Pat McIntosh (Gil and Alys Cunningham), Lynda La Plante (Anna Travis), John Ringo (Posleen War), James Rollins (Sigma Force), Pauline Rowson (Andy Horton), Daniel Silva (Gabriel Allon), Chris Simms (Jon Spicer), Karin Slaughter (Grant County), Eric Stone (Ray Sharp), Steven M. Thomas (Robert Rivers), Nicola Upson (Josephine Tey), Donald E. Westlake (John Dortmunder)

• Authors with mysteries introducing new series characters (in parentheses) this month:

Mark Bouton (LAPD), Nick Brownlee (Jake Moore and Daniel Jouma), Kwei Quartey (Darko Dawson), Andrea J. Sisco (Penelope Santucci), Laura Wilson (Ted Stratton)

• Authors with non-series or stand-alone mysteries this month:

Jeff Abbott, Elizabeth Adler, Mary Kay Andrews, Liz Balmaseda, Stephen L. Carter, F. G. Cottam, Blake Crouch, Harry Dolan, George Dawes Green, Richard Hack, Jane Stanton Hitchcock, Linda Howard, Greg Iles, Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen, Jamie S. Rich and Joelle Jones, David Levien, David Morrell, Nora Roberts, Theresa Schwegel, Vikas Swarup, Robert W. Walker, Robert Ward, Gordon Zuckerman

For more information on any of these titles, please visit the New Mysteries page on our website. If you're interested in new paperbacks, visit The Mystery Bookshelf where you can discover a library of new mysteries, also updated with July 2009 releases.

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.

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First Clues Review: The Falcon's Malteser by Anthony Horowitz

First Clues: Mysteries for Kids is delighted to introduce a new feature for our website, book reviews written by students. These students offer their unique perspective on the book in their review and provide a valuable resource to parents looking for new mystery adventures for their kids to read.

The Falcon's Malteser by Anthony Horowitz
The Diamond Brothers Series

Puffin (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-14-240219-2 (0142402192)
ISBN-13: 978-0-14-240219-1 (9780142402191)
Publication Date: July 2004
List Price: $6.99

Review written by Kevin, Age 11, Grade 6. Date of review: June 2009.

Review: Need a laugh, need a thrill? Then The Falcon’s Malteser is the book for you. As the first book in the Diamond Brothers series, it puts comedy into an action story. Main character Nick Diamond, age 13 and brother of Herbert Simple, is on a dangerous adventure.

In the beginning of the story, private detective Herbert Simple gets an odd case from a dwarf, Johnny Naples. When Naples leaves, the brothers find out what the package is and what it means. Many dangerous men are involved with the box and the things that lead to it. Nick and Herbert come in counter with many strange people and end up in many strange situations. One of the most dangerous men that they meet is called the fat man. The two brothers find out the hotel that their client is staying at, they need to talk to him. When they arrive at the hotel, and go up to his room, they find him dead on the hotel bed. The smoking gun is on the ground next to him. Herbert picks it up, and the police kick down the door to find Herbert next to the dead man, holding the smoking gun. This is the first of many exciting incidents that happen to the Diamond Brothers in The Falcon’s Malteser. Can the brothers find out the mystery of the box, or will they die at the hands of the fat man. Check out the book at your local library.

Overall, I did not think the book was Anthony Horowitz’s best work. The book did contain suspense, action, comedy, and drama but not tied together very well. I think that the book jumped from scene to scene with random happenings that really didn’t make sense. Some of the characters were forgotten about in parts of the story and then were brought back at random parts of the story that really didn’t fit in. Also, the way that some of the characters did some of the things that they accomplished were way too far fetched. Elaborating is one thing, but exaggerating is another. If Mr. Horowitz toned down the exaggeration, the novel would’ve been ten times better because it would be more realistic. I would recommend this novel if you have nothing else to read, and you are using it as a pastime. For ages 12-25.

If you are interested in purchasing The Falcon's Malteser from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

First Clue Mysteries is pleased to provide information on over 100 mystery series for children and young adults. Each series is conveniently listed under three different age categories (New Sleuth, ages 4 to 7; Future Sleuth, aged 7 to 10; and Sleuth in Training, ages 10 and older). If you have a favorite mystery series you'd like to see added to our site, please contact us.

All student book reviews are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in any manner, print or electronic, without the express written consent of the copyright owner. Reviews are published here with permission of the copyright owner.

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Enter to Win a Copy of Linda Castillo's New Thriller, Sworn to Silence

St. Martin's Press is offering our readers a chance to win a copy of Linda Castillo's powerful new thriller, Sworn to Silence, in which some secrets are too terrible to reveal ... and some crimes are too unspeakable to solve.

In the sleepy rural town of Painters Mill, Ohio, the Amish and “English” residents have lived side by side for two centuries. But sixteen years ago, a series of brutal murders shattered the peaceful farming community. In the aftermath of the violence, the town was left with a sense of fragility, a loss of innocence. Kate Burkholder, a young Amish girl, survived the terror of the Slaughterhouse Killer but came away from its brutality with the realization that she no longer belonged with the Amish.

Now, a wealth of experience later, Kate has been asked to return to Painters Mill as Chief of Police. Her Amish roots and big city law enforcement background make her the perfect candidate. She’s certain she’s come to terms with her past—until the first body is discovered in a snowy field. Kate vows to stop the killer before he strikes again. But to do so, she must betray both her family and her Amish past—and expose a dark secret that could destroy her.

To enter to win a copy of Sworn to Silence, follow this link: Sworn to Silence Book Promotion Sweepstakes

For more information about the book or the author, please visit US.Macmillan.com/SwornToSilence.

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