Mystery Bestsellers for August 28, 2009

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending August 28, 2009 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

Not much change at the top of the list this week with The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson retaining the top spot for the fourth straight week. Two new titles debut this week.

Entering the list in 10th position is the 15th thriller in the Alex Cross series by James Patterson, Alex Cross's Trial. Separated by time ... From his grandmother, Alex Cross has heard the story of his great uncle Abraham and his struggles for survival in the era of the Ku Klux Klan. Now, Alex passes the family tale along to his own children in a novel he's written--a novel called Trial. Connected by blood ... As a lawyer in turn-of-the-century Washington D.C., Ben Corbett represents the toughest cases. Fighting against oppression and racism, he risks his family and his life in the process. When President Roosevelt asks Ben to return to his home town to investigate rumors of the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan there, he cannot refuse. United by bravery ... When he arrives in Eudora, Mississippi, Ben meets the wise Abraham Cross and his beautiful daughter, Moody. Ben enlists their help, and the two Crosses introduce him to the hidden side of the idyllic Southern town. Lynchings have become commonplace and residents of the town's black quarter live in constant fear. Ben aims to break the reign of terror--but the truth of who is really behind it could break his heart.

Coming in at number 14 is 206 Bones, the 12th mystery in the Temperance Brennan series by Kathy Reichs. There are 206 bones in the human body. Forensic anthropologists know them intimately, can read in them stories of brief or long lives and use them to reconstruct every kind of violent end. 206 Bones opens with Tempe regaining consciousness and discovering that she is in some kind of very small, very dark, very cold enclosed space. She is bound, hands to feet. Who wants Tempe dead, or at least out of the way, and why? Tempe begins slowly to reconstruct ... Tempe and Lieutenant Ryan had accompanied the recently discovered remains of a missing heiress from Montreal to the Chicago morgue. Suddenly, Tempe was accused of mishandling the autopsy -- and the case. Someone made an incriminating phone call. Within hours, the one man with information about the call was dead. Back in Montreal, the corpse of a second elderly woman was found in the woods, and then a third. Seamlessly weaving between Tempe's present-tense terror as she's held captive and her memory of the cases of these murdered women, Reichs conveys the incredible devastation that would occur if a forensic colleague sabotaged work in the lab. The chemistry between Tempe and Ryan intensifies as this complex, riveting tale unfolds.

The top four mystery bestsellers this week are shown below:

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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Mystery Book Review: Where Petals Fall by Shirley Wells

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

Where Petals Fall by Shirley Wells
A Jill Kennedy and DCI Max Trentham Mystery

Soho Constable (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-56947-572-5 (1569475725)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-572-0 (9781569475720)
Publication Date: May 2009
List Price: $25.00

Review: Forensic psychologist Jill Kennedy and DCI Max Trentham are shouldering more than their fair share of collective guilt. She is on stress leave, worry-ridden whether she made the right call in an earlier case where a suicide “wrongly accused, hanged himself” and wondering what it will be like to return to work shortly. Her own husband was a cop killed in a street shoot-out. Trentham hasn’t fared too well either, what with his superiors constantly nagging him, a mole in his squad room leaking information to the press, and himself a widower with two boys to raise and Jill to deal with both as a colleague and a lover. Now, they are haunted by the vicious death of a young woman that leads them to believe a serial killer may have returned from the dead. Part British police procedural and part psychological thriller, Wells’ Where Petals Fall is total entertainment.

What Jill and Max quickly discover is that 38-year-old floral designer, Carol Blakeley, has been murdered and her body left in Lee Quarry where two lads find it. The MO for the killing is identical to that of an alleged serial killer’s five years earlier when four other young married women had their throats slashed, their bodies wrapped in a white undertaker’s shroud, and their wedding rings threaded onto red ribbons tied around their midriffs. The earlier case was closed when the suspect was killed while fleeing the police, but his body was never found in the car that plunged into the sea. Now, the Kennedy-Trentham duo have to set aside Jill’s demons and their own domestic upsets to concentrate on finding Blakeley’s killer and keeping their supervisors, critics and the media at bay.

They go about their business in fine style. Despite the nagging reminders of "The Undertaker," as the press dubbed the serial killer, Jill and Max deal with the realities of the current apparent suspects. Blakeley’s philandering husband is a prime candidate, especially when a girlfriend turns on him. Then there’s a next-door neighbour of Jill’s who keeps popping up at all the wrong times but in the right places. There’s even a supposedly close friend of Blakeley’s who deserves every bit of the scrutiny she gets from Max, Jill and their colleagues as they sift and sort the similarities of the clues from the present and past murders.

Like other first-class British mystery novels, this one by Wells is tightly structured, keeps the reader guessing about whodunit, and has characters with depth, soul and interesting backgrounds. Who doesn’t feel compassion for Jill as she struggles on her comeback trail past her doubting Thomas colleagues? And surely, most readers will be on Max’s side when he takes on his browbeating supervisors more interested in career moves than in solving a particularly pernicious crime? And when the two have solved the case, who isn’t ready for their next one?

Special thanks to M. Wayne Cunningham (mw_cunningham@telus.net) for contributing his review of Where Petals Fall and to Soho Press for providing a copy of the book for this review.

Review Copyright © 2009 — M. Wayne Cunningham — All Rights Reserved — Reprinted with Permission

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): When two young boys find a woman’s body in a quarry, Jill Kennedy and DCI Max Trentham experience a definite feeling of déjà vu.

Five years earlier, four women were found murdered in exactly the same way. Weirdly the bodies had each been discovered wrapped in a shroud – so the killer was soon dubbed "The Undertaker".

Following Jill’s profiling the police tried to arrest a loner called Edward Marshall, but the man had fled and, after a high-speed car chase, lost control and went over a cliff. His car was found but his body never was.

Now there are three possibilities: Marshall somehow survived the plunge into the sea; Marshall was innocent and the real killer is back – or a copycat is at work. It is up to Jill and Max to work out whether a terrible mistake was made by the police five years ago ... or whether the original murderer had an apprentice waiting in the wings.

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Games of Mystery: Resorting to Danger, the Nancy Drew Dossier Series, 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.

Download →

The second in a new series of casual games featuring the teen sleuth!

A terrifying and mysterious bomber is plaguing the exclusive Redondo Spa! Can you defuse the situation and prevent the resort from losing all of its customers? Nab the culprit or you're out of business in Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting to Danger. This fun and exciting game will immerse you in a suspense-filled hunt as you piece together clues, discover the criminal, and crack the case!

Also available: Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting to Danger Strategy Guide and a Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting to Danger Game Walkthrough.

Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting to Danger, a Big Fish Game Club exclusive, may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (93.43 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour; the full version is 254.45 MB.

See also the first game in the series, Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses!.

Watch a preview video of Nancy Drew Dossier: Resorting to Danger 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, Enlightenus, Cate West: The Vanishing Files, Return to Mysterious Island 2: Mina's Fate, 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), Enlightenus (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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Steven Spielberg to Develop Posthumously Published Michael Crichton Novel Pirate Latitudes

USA Today is reporting that Steven Spielberg is developing a film based on a book Michael Crichton had written before his death, Pirate Latitudes, an adventure story set off the coast of Jamaica in 1665, which is scheduled for publication this November. David Koepp, who adapted Crichton's novels Jurassic Park and The Lost World, will write the screenplay.

— ◊ —

Synopsis (from Michael Crichton's website): The Caribbean, 1665. A remote colony of the English crown, the island of Jamaica holds out against the vast supremacy of the Spanish empire. Devoid of London's luxuries, Port Royal, its capital, is a cutthroat town of taverns, grog shops, and bawdy houses. In this steamy climate, life can end swiftly by dysentery — or dagger. But for a daring soul like Captain Edward Hunter, this wild outpost in the New World can also lead to great fortune, if he abides by the island's code. In the name of His Majesty King Charles II of England, gold in Spanish hands is gold for the taking and the law of the land rests with those ruthless enough to make it.

Word in port is that the Spanish galleon El Trinidad, fresh from New Spain, is awaiting repairs in nearby Matanceros. Heavily fortified, the impregnable Spanish harbor is guarded by the bloodthirsty Cazalla, a favorite commander of King Philip IV. With the Jamaican governor's backing, Hunter assembles a crew of ruffians to infiltrate the enemy island and commandeer the galleon and its fortune in Spanish gold. The raid is as perilous as the bloodiest tales of Matanceros legend, and Hunter will lose more than one man before he makes it onto the island's shores, where dense jungle and the firepower of Spanish infantry stand between him and the treasure.

With the help of his cunning band, Hunter hijacks El Trinidad and escapes the deadly clutches of Cazalla, leaving plenty of carnage in his wake. But the danger — and adventure — are only just beginning.

— ◊ —

"Michael wrote a real page-turner that already seems suited for the big screen," Spielberg said of Pirate Latitudes. "Michael and I have had almost two decades of solid collaborations. Whenever I made a film from a Michael Crichton book or screenplay, I knew I was in good hands. Michael felt the same, and we like to think he still does." DreamWorks plans to wait for Koepp's script before setting any formal schedule for the project.

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Mystery Book Review: The Triumph of Caesar by Steven Saylor

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

The Triumph of Caesar by Steven Saylor
A Gordianus the Finder Mystery

St. Martin's Minotaur (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-312-55699-3 (0312556993)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-55699-0 (9780312556990)
Publication Date: July 2009
List Price: $14.99

Review: At age 64, Gordianus the Finder is retired but cannot resist the plea of Calpurnia, the wife of Julius Caesar, to investigate a potential danger against the state in The Triumph of Caesar, the 10th full length novel (there have been 2 short story collections) in this series by Steven Saylor.

But Gordianus wasn't Calpurnia's first choice as she thought he was dead, drowned in Egypt; she'd originally hired a man she learns is Hieronymous, an old friend of Gordianus, who has now been murdered. The dead man has left a large number of papers that Gordianus decides to use as a starting point for his investigation. Hieronymous had a decidedly mixed view of his good friend, as he writes, "Beginning to think dear old Gordianus was a bit of a puffed-up charlatan. This 'finder' business not remotely as difficult, or as dangerous, as he always made it out to be. The tales he used to tell, portraying himself as the fearless hero on a relentless quest for the truth! Half of those stories were probably made up. Still, if he's truly dead, as people say, I shall miss the old windbag ..." More pertinent to the case, Hieronymous makes clear he believes Caesar may indeed be in danger. "I dare not write my supposition even here; what if this journal were to be discovered? Must keep it hidden. But what if I am silenced? To any seeker who finds these words and would unlock the truth, I shall leave a key. Look all around! The truth is not found in the words, but the words may be found in the truth." Gordianus is determined to continue the pursuit of the truth that Hieronymous began, a quest that would be infinitely easier if he could only decipher the code left in the journal.

Fans of historical mysteries will delight in the characterizations of people and places, and the detailed descriptions of life in Rome at the time The Triumph of Caesar takes place. The mystery plot is a good one, and, as befits its genre, incorporates a historical event. In some, maybe many, ways the book seems symbolic of the reign of Julius Caesar, which (though its characters don't know it) is drawing to a close. Gordianus is as mentally sharp as ever, but his body is getting old and he has trouble with physical activity. There can't be too many more adventures for this aging sleuth, but in the meantime, however many there may be are sure to be as remarkable as Gordianus the Finder himself.

Special thanks to St. Martin's Minotaur for providing a trade paperback edition of The Triumph of Caesar for this review.

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

If you are interested in purchasing The Triumph of Caesar from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right. The Triumph of Caesar (Kindle edition) is also available. Learn more about the Kindle, Amazon's Wireless Reading Device.

Synopsis (from the publisher): The Roman civil war has come to its conclusion – Pompey is dead, Egypt is firmly under the control of Cleopatra (with the help of Rome’s legions), and for the first time in many years Julius Caesar has returned to Rome itself. Appointed by the Senate as Dictator, the city abounds with rumors asserting that Caesar wishes to be made King – the first such that Rome has had in centuries. And that not all of his opposition has been crushed.

Gordianus, recently returned from Egypt with his wife Bethesda, is essentially retired from his previous profession of "Finder" but even he cannot refuse the call of Calpurnia, Caesar’s wife. Troubled by dreams foretelling disaster and fearing a conspiracy against the life of Caesar, she had hired someone to investigate the rumors. But that person, a close friend of Gordianus, has just turned up dead – murdered – on her doorstep. With four successive Triumphs for Caesar’s military victories scheduled for the coming days, and Caesar more exposed to danger than ever before, Calpurnia wants Gordianus to uncover the truth behind the rumored conspiracies – to protect Caesar’s life, before it is too late. No fan of Caesar’s, Gordianus agrees to help – but only to find the murderer who killed his friend. But once an investigation is begun, there's no controlling what it will turn up, who it will put in danger, and where it will end.

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New Hardcover Mysteries for September 2009

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books has updated its list of new hardcover mysteries with books scheduled for publication in September 2009. Please note that some titles may publish early (and may already be available) and some may be delayed, published at a later date.

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 September 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:

Susan Wittig Albert (Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter), Tasha Alexander (Lady Emily Ashton), David Armstrong (Frank Kavanagh), Suzanne Arruda (Jade Del Cameron), M. C. Beaton (Agatha Raisin), James R. Benn (Billy Boyle, WWII), William Bernhardt (Ben Kincaid), Michael Bowen (Rep and Melissa Pennyworth), Gyles Brandreth (Oscar Wilde), Dan Brown (Robert Langdon), Chelsea Cain (Archie Sheridan), Ann Cleeves (Shetland Quartet), Margaret Coel (Wind River), Susan Rogers Cooper (Milt Kovak), Elizabeth Darrell (Max Rydal), Ted Dekker (Circle Trilogy), Carola Dunn (Daisy Dalrymple Fletcher), Aaron Elkins (Gideon Oliver), James Ellroy (Underworld USA), Janet Evanovich (Stephanie Plum), Christine Feehan (Dark Series), Sharon Fiffer (Jane Wheel), Deborah Grabien (John Peter "JP" Kinkaid), June Hampson (Daisy Lane), Veronica Heley (Ellie Quicke), Arnaldur Indridason (Reykjavik Murder Mystery), Claude Izner (Victor Legris), Alan Jacobson (Karen Vail), Bill James (Harpur and Iles), Quintin Jardine (Skinner), Michael Jecks (Medieval West Country, Knights Templar), R. M. Johnson (Million Dollar Series), Andrea Kane (Sloane Burbank), William Kent Krueger (Cork O'Connor), Jeff Lindsay (Dexter Morgan), Peter Lovesey (Peter Diamond), Stuart MacBride (Logan McRae), Barry Maitland (Brock and Kolla), Archer Mayor (Joe Gunther), Brian McGilloway (Benedict Devlin), Beverle Graves Myers (Tito Amato), Helen Macie Osterman (Emma Winberry), Barry Ozeroff (Ben Geller), Sara Paretsky (V. I. Warshawski), Louise Penny (Armand Gamache), Robert J. Randisi (Rat Pack), Kinley Roby (Harry Brock), Betty Rowlands (Sukey Reynolds), John Sandford (Virgil Flowers), Alexander McCall Smith (Isabel Dalhousie), James Swain (Jack Carpenter), William G. Tapply (Stoney Calhoun), Jeri Westerson (Crispin Guest, Medieval Noir), Sharon Wildwind (Elizabeth Pepperhawk / Avivah Rosen), F. Paul Wilson (Repairman Jack), Stuart Woods (Holly Barker)

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

Richard Castle (Nikki Heat), Clive Cussler and Grant Blackwood (Fargo Adventure), Alex Dryden (Finn), David Ellis (Jason Kolarich), Charlotte Hinger (Lottie Albright), Tracy Kiely (Elizabeth Parker), Charles Kipps (Conor Bard), Vincent McCaffrey (Henry Sullivan), Sheldon Russell (Hook Runyon), Annelise Ryan (Mattie Winston), Clea Simon (Dulcie Schwartz), Jeffrey Stephens (Jordan Sandor), Charles Todd (Bess Crawford)

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

Nevada Barr, Lisa Black, R. J. Ellory, Peter Gadol, M. E. Harrigan, Karin Hofland, Joseph Kanon, Michael Lister, Bill Loehfelm, Ronald Damien Malfi, Lou Manfredo, Pamela Oldfield, Richard North Patterson, Ralph Peters, Stephen Jay Schwartz, Rebecca Stott, Lisa Tucker, Norb Vonnegut

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 September 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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New Trailer for HBO Series Bored to Death

HBO has released a new trailer for its upcoming "noir-otic" comedy Bored to Death, which can be seen on the series website. The series stars Jason Schwartzman as mystery writer Jonathan Ames, who moonlights as a private investigator ... not unlike the character in his stories. The series also stars Zach Galifianakis as his friend and confidant Ray Hueston, a graphic artist.

There is a real Jonathan Ames, a writer credited with creating the series.

The 30-minute series premieres on September 20th at 9:30 PM (ET/PT) and HBO will initially air 8 episodes as its first season. Watch a 30-second introduction to the series below:

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Mystery Book Review: Abracadaver by Peter Lovesey

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

Abracadaver by Peter Lovesey
A Sergeant Cribb Investigation

Soho Constable (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1-56947-561-X (156947561X)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-561-4 (9781569475614)
Publication Date: June 2009
List Price: $14.00

Review: Sergeant Cribb is assigned to look into mischief taking place at entertainment halls in Victorian London in Abracadaver, the third mystery in this series by Peter Lovesey. This novel was originally published in 1972, and now available in a new trade paperback edition by Soho Press.

Sergeant Cribb fears the incidents, all relatively minor in nature so far, will escalate into something more serious when he receives a playbill with the following words circled: "Sensational" Hatchet Thrower, Jason Buckmaster "Tragedy" Actor and Rhetorician, Grampian in Blackfriars Road "Tonight" -- Sensational Tragedy Tonight. Cribb and his partner Constable Thackery believe they have the answer but then another crime is committed, this time murder. Together, the detectives set a trap that they hope will ensnare the killer before another death occurs.

The relatively short books in this series are all about crime and resolution. There isn't a lot of action, nor are they brimming with "edge of your seat" thrills, and they are largely free of the cumbersome backstories that typically weigh down modern murder mysteries. Rather, they include cleverly devised plots that often rely on deduction and reasoning to expose the culprit. True, the situations in which the detectives, especially Thackery, find themselves are somewhat amusing, but never at the expense of a story well told. Abracadaver is a terrific example of the series, and one worth seeking out.

Special thanks to Soho Press for providing a copy of Abracadaver for this review.

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

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): A sadistic practical joker is haunting the popular music halls of London, interfering with the actors and interrupting their acts by orchestrating humiliating disasters that take place in view of the audience. A trapeze artist misses her timing when the trapeze ropes are shortened. A comedian who invites the audience to sing along with him finds the words of his song “shamefully” altered. Mustard has been applied to a sword swallower’s blade. A singer’s costume has been rigged. The girl in a magician’s box is trapped. Then the mischief escalates to murder. Or was murder intended all along?

That indomitable detective team, Sergeant Cribb and Constable Thackeray of Scotland Yard, must track down the elusive criminal.

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New Mystery Prize Package Giveaway! The Amateurs by Marcus Sakey

Mystery Book Contests is delighted to announce a new mystery book prize package giveaway! Dutton is giving away a signed copy of Marcus Sakey's fourth thriller, The Amateurs.

Alex is failing as a father. Ian keeps dangerous secrets. Jenn is pining for adventure; Mitch is pining for Jenn. Four friends just getting by. Every Thursday night they've found solace in a couple of beers and a couple of laughs. But months turn to years, and suddenly a decade is gone. None of them are where -- or who -- they hoped to be.

And they've decided to do something about it. To stop waiting, and start taking.

But what was supposed to be a victimless crime has become a bloody nightmare. People have been killed. A child is in danger. Ruthless men pursue them with relentless fury. And tensions they thought were long-buried threaten to destroy them. As their whole world begins to unravel, each will have to choose between their own life and the lives of others-including their best friends.

Enter daily! Provide your name and e-mail address on the The Amateurs giveaway entry form and correctly answer the contest question for a chance to win a prize package that includes a signed copy of The Amateurs by Marcus Sakey, courtesy of Dutton. Estimated prize package value: $35.

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

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Mystery Book Review: Murder on Waverly Place by Victoria Thompson

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

Murder on Waverly Place by Victoria Thompson
A Gaslight Mystery

Berkley Prime Crime (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-425-22775-8 (0425227758)
ISBN-13: 978-0-425-22775-6 (9780425227756)
Publication Date: June 2009
List Price: $24.95

Review: Amateur sleuth Sarah Brandt and Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy investigate murder with a supernatural twist in Murder on Waverly Place, the 11th mystery in the historical Gaslight series by Victoria Thompson.

Sarah's mother, Elizabeth Decker, who had turned her unmarried pregnant daughter away when she needed her mother the most and died in childbirth, wants to know if her daughter can forgive her and decides to seek help from a local medium, Madame Serafina. Mrs. Decker and her best friend since childhood, Mrs. Burke, attend a séance together with three others: two men, Mr. Sharpe and Mr. Cunningham, and one other woman, Mrs. Gittings. They sit in a circle each holding the wrist of the person seated next to them. Yellow Feather, an Indian warrior who passed away over 100 years ago, is Madame Serafina’s spirit guide. While Yellow Feather is trying to answer the questions of each one, the room becomes unsettled and noisy. Suddenly Mrs. Gittings slumps over, falls to the floor and dies. When the lights come on it is discovered she has been stabbed in the back with a stiletto. How can this be? Everyone was holding on to another person. No one could have possibly stabbed another person without letting go of a wrist and no one felt anyone let go of their wrist.

The people in the room are wealthy, and DS Frank Malloy knows how difficult it is to question them. He asks Sarah to get involved; she can talk to them and they won't realize they are being interrogated. It turns out each attendee at the fatal séance had a grudge against Mrs. Gittings, and although they weren’t overly saddened by her death, each declared their innocence. This being the case, which one killed Mrs. Gittings? And how and why? In order to try to find answers to these questions, another séance is scheduled with someone sitting in for Mrs. Gittings. Sarah and Frank believe they will be able to solve the case before anyone else gets a stiletto in their back.

Murder on Waverly Place is a very entertaining entry in this series. The interplay between Sarah and Frank is light and playful, each trying to one up each other during the murder investigation. The author provides historical details that not only add authenticity to the story but also interest and depth. The characters are well drawn, and the supernatural element adds a bit of intrigue. Readers who enjoy historical mysteries will find this a good introduction to the characters and the setting; those familiar with the series will look forward another satisfying entry.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Murder on Waverly Place and to Penguin Group for providing a copy of the book for this review.

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

If you are interested in purchasing Murder on Waverly Place from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right. Murder on Waverly Place (Kindle edition) is also available. Learn more about the Kindle, Amazon's Wireless Reading Device.

Synopsis (from the publisher): Sarah Brandt is not completely surprised when her very proper mother asks her to attend a séance. She knows that Mrs. Decker still carries great guilt over the death of her older daughter, Maggie. So Sarah accompanies her and the spiritualist does seem to contact Maggie—convincing Mrs. Decker to attend another séance.

Only this time, one of the attendees doesn’t succeed in speaking to the dead—she joins them. Now, it’s up to Sarah and Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy to protect Mrs. Decker from scandal—by determining how a woman was murdered in the pitch dark when every suspect was holding the hand of the person next to them.

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Nominations for 2009 SCIBA T. Jefferson Parker Mystery Award Announced

The nominees for the 2009 T. Jefferson Parker Mystery Award, given out by the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association (SCIBA), have been announced. This award recognizes excellence in books that reflect Southern California culture or lifestyle, with authors/illustrators living within the SCIBA region. The mystery award is named after T. Jefferson Parker, a life-long resident of Southern California and Edgar Award-winning author.

The nominees are:

◊ Trust No One by Gregg Hurwitz (St. Martin's Minotaur)
◊ The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston (Ballantine Books)
◊ The Grift by Debra Ginsberg (Shaye Areheart Books)

Visit Mystery Book Awards for more information on over 30 other awards recognizing outstanding mystery fiction.

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New DVD in the Hurray for Huckle! Mystery Series for Kids Available Today

A new DVD in the "Hurray for Huckle!" series of mysteries for kids is now available: The Spooky Secrets of Busytown. Your child will love detecting mysteries with Huckle and friends using clues and information to solve the questions: Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How? Do those mysterious footprints belong to a monster? Is that a ghost near the old lighthouse? Help Huckle and the gang get to the bottom of these spooky secrets and more!

The series is based on the books by Richard Scarry and features Huckle Cat, his sister Sally Cat, and their friend Lowly the Worm who solve mysteries by examining evidence. The cartoon series currently airs as part of Kids' CBC in Canada; it is scheduled to air as part of the Cookie Jar TV on CBS in the US this September.

The series also has a new website, BusytownMysteries.com, where kids can explore different neighborhoods of Busytown, play fun games, and interact with the Busytown characters.

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Mysteries on TV: Booker, Lie to Me, NCIS, The Untouchables, and Wiseguy, 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 five series that have season DVDs being released this week.

— ◊ —

The success of 21 Jump Street prompted Fox to spin-off one of the characters in his own series. Booker featured Richard Grieco as Dennis Booker, a disgraced former member of the Vancouver police department now working as an investigator with a Japanese conglomerate. The series also starred Carmen Argenziano, Marcia Strassman, Katie Rich, and Lori Petty.

The series was scheduled as a lead-in to the 4th season of 21 Jump Street (Grieco as Booker having been introduced during the 3rd season), but it never caught on with viewers and lasted only one season.

The Booker: The Complete Series DVD set of 4 discs contain the 22 episodes of the series that aired on Fox from September 1989 through May 1990.

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Tim Roth stars as Dr. Cal Lightman, a man who can detect the truth by analyzing a person's face, in Lie to Me, a Fox series that debuted as a mid-season replacement in January 2009. The series has been renewed for a second season, scheduled to premiere September 28, 2009.

Assisting federal law enforcement, government agencies and local police with their most difficult cases, Lightman's company, The Lightman Group, study facial expressions and involuntary body language to discover if someone is lying and why. In its first season, the drama unfolds as the team is faced with numerous cases to unravel, including a student fleeing a murder scene, a college basketball player accused of accepting a bribe from his university, a NASA test pilot accused of intentionally crashing a multimillion dollar aircraft, and much more.

The Lie to Me: Season One DVD set of 4 discs contain the 13 episodes that aired during the spring of 2009. Also available: Lie to Me: Season One (Blu-ray disc).

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NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) is more than just an action drama. With liberal doses of humor, it's a show that focuses on the sometimes complex and always amusing dynamics of a team forced to work together in high-stress situations.

NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs (Mark Harmon), a former Marine gunnery sergeant, whose skills as an investigator are unmatched, formerly led this troupe of colorful personalities. Gibbs, a man of few words, only needs a look to explain it all. From murder and espionage to terrorism and stolen submarines, these special agents travel the globe to investigate all crimes with Navy or Marine Corps ties.

The NCIS: Season Six DVD set of 6 discs contain the 25 episodes that aired on CBS from September 2008 through May 2009. The series has been renewed for a 7th season, which premieres September 22, 2009 at 8 PM (ET/PT). A spin-off from the series, NCIS: Los Angeles, will have its premiere an hour later.

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The Untouchables followed an elite Chicago crime squad led by Special Agent Eliot Ness (Robert Stack) going after the mob during Prohibition in 1930. The series aired on ABC for 4 seasons.f

The third season featured a number of prominent guest actors, including Peter Falk, Telly Savalas, Lee Marvin, Martin Landau, Dyan Cannon, Patricia Neal, Martin Balsam, and Cloris Leachman, and, at the time the relatively unknown, Leonard Nimoy and Ed Asner.

The studio is issuing the series on DVD as two-part seasons. The Untouchables: Season Three (V1) DVD set of 4 discs contain the 14 episodes that aired on ABC during the first half of the third season, from October 1961 through February 1962.

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Ken Wahl starred as a Justice Department agent reassigned to the Organized Crime Bureau (OCB) in Wiseguy. The series aired on CBS for 4 seasons.

Created by veteran producer Steven J Cannell, Wiseguy deviated from traditional crime dramas by allowing stories to span several episodes allowing the OCB to bring its case—and its charismatic criminal suspects—to a logical conclusion. No matter the cost to criminal, victim, or cop.

The Wiseguy: Season One DVD set of 4 discs contain the 21 episodes that aired on CBS from September 1987 through March 1988.

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

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Mystery Godoku Puzzle for August 24, 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 C E I J M O P S

He co-wrote a neo-noir crime series with Tom Fassbender featuring PI Benjamin Drake (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: Breathing Water by Timothy Hallinan

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

Breathing Water by Timothy Hallinan
A Poke Rafferty Mystery

William Morrow (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-06-167223-8 (0061672238)
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-167223-1 (9780061672231)
Publication Date: August 2009
List Price: $24.99

Review: Here's what Timothy Hallinan's third Bangkok thriller, Breathing Water, isn't: it isn't a murder mystery (there is no murder to solve), it isn't a police procedural (no crime has been committed to investigate), it most definitely isn't a cozy (no cats or recipes to try at home). It is, however, an exceptionally compelling novel of a man caught up in a sequences of events that are spiraling out of control for everyone involved ... with little chance that anyone can come out unscathed.

The man is journalist Poke Rafferty, who's participating in a staged poker game, though with real and unsuspecting players, at the request of his police buddies, which is being videotaped to teach casino owners how to spot cheaters. One of the players, however, takes exception when he apparently loses to Rafferty. He is Pan, the richest man in Thailand. He isn't pacified when he learns it was simply a training exercise, and challenges Rafferty to another game to save face. The stakes: if Pan wins, Rafferty must exit the country, leaving his wife and young daughter behind; if Pan loses, Rafferty gets to write a biography of Pan with Pan's full cooperation. The journalist in Rafferty understands that behind every great fortune is a great crime. Still, he really has no choice but to play.

Soon after winning the hand, Rafferty is threatened by two separate groups. One insists he not write the biography, the other insists he does. Both make it clear the consequences of his action -- or inaction -- are physical harm to him and his family. Rafferty's sure Pan is behind the "don't write" group, but Pan's sudden cooperation makes him doubtful. "I don't know what I think about him," Rafferty says at one point, "and a lot depends on who he really is." It seems inconceivable, but Rafferty suspects there might be a third, unknown, party involved. Soon it becomes obvious that Rafferty is in the middle of something much bigger than the stakes of a poker game, rather "a maze, an urban labyrinth with several ways in and probably only one safe way out."

The thrill in reading Breathing Water comes from the subtle, but relentless, escalation of tension in the story. A number of unexpected plot points, including Pan's apparent sudden change of heart with regard to the biography, keep the reader wary. There is also a separate subplot that is interweaved into the Rafferty / Pan storyline involving a woman and a child, and the street kids that were introduced in the first book of the series. Interesting and compelling in and of itself, the author does finally merge it into the main story as a way of getting the kids involved in Rafferty's scheme to salvage what he can of his situation; and while it's a welcome addition, it's not clear its inclusion is strictly necessary as it does tend to slow the pace at times. The poignant conclusion will no doubt bring a tear or two to one's eyes.

The title comes from a conversation Rafferty's police friend Arthit has with him. "Let me give you an image," Arthit says. "If it would clarify your situation to think about it visually, then imagine this: You're at the bottom of the Chao Phraya [River], wandering around on the riverbed without a map, and breathing water. You just haven't realized it yet." Breathing Water is really quite a remarkable and unusual novel and may be Hallinan's best to date.

Special thanks to Timothy Hallinan for providing an ARC of Breathing Water for this review.

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

If you are interested in purchasing Breathing Water from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right. Breathing Water (Kindle edition) is also available. Learn more about the Kindle, Amazon's Wireless Reading Device.

Synopsis (from the publisher): Behind every great fortune is a great crime ...

For American ex-pat writer Poke Rafferty, a late-night poker game delivers an unexpected prize: an "opportunity" to write the biography of Khun Pan, a flamboyant, vulgar, self-made billionaire with a criminal past and far-reaching political ambitions. The win seems like a stroke of luck, but as with so many things in vibrant, seductive, contradictory Bangkok—a city of innocence and evil, power and poverty—the allure of appearances masks something much darker. Within a few hours of folding his cards, Rafferty, his wife, Rose, beloved adopted daughter, Miaow, and best friend, Arthit, an honest Bangkok cop, have become pawns in a political struggle among some of Thailand's richest, most powerful, and most ruthless people.

A hero to the poor and dispossessed, Pan is like a bone in the throats of the beautiful, sophisticated "good" people who own and control every facet of Thailand and want more. There are many who would prefer that a book, especially a sympathetic book, stay unwritten. And there are others who want to expose Pan's darker secrets, information useful in a preemptive strike against this profligate billionaire who can threaten their hold on power—a situation they will go to murderous lengths to prevent.

Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't, Rafferty is breathing water and sinking deeper in a sea of intrigue with each passing hour. The trouble multiplies when a missing young street friend of Miaow's reappears, needing Rafferty's help to protect an innocent village girl trapped in a baby-selling ring. Pushed ever closer to the abyss, Rafferty has one chance to get them all out alive. But to succeed, this foreigner must do the impossible—keep a cool Thai heart.

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