BBC Begins Production on Series based on the Aurelio Zen Mysteries by Michael Dibdin

Last summer, we reported that the BBC had commissioned three scripts based on the Aurelio Zen mysteries by Michael Dibdin. Today, the BBC is reporting that production is to begin this spring on the series with Rufus Sewell starring as the fictional Italian detective.

Rufus Sewell said: "I'm thrilled to be a part of this project with the opportunity to play such an intriguing, complex and likeable character."

Andy Harries, Chief Executive of Left Bank Pictures, which will produce the series, said: "The Dibdin novels are much loved and they are great detective stories which are both very entertaining and full of insight into Italian life. Zen is handsome, humorous and romantic and Rufus Sewell is the perfect choice to play Didbin's delightful creation."

Michael Dibdin lived in Italy for many years and published 11 books in the Aurelio Zen series prior to his death in 2007. The titles being adapted for the BBC are the first three in the series, Ratking, Vendetta, and Cabal.

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First Clues Review: The Secret of the Lonely Grave by Albert A. Bell Jr.

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 Secret of the Lonely Grave by Albert A. Bell Jr.
The Steve and Kendra Mysteries

Ingalls (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1-932158-79-0 (1932158790)
ISBN-13: 978-1-932158-79-3 (9781932158793)
Publication Date: July 2007
List Price: $8.95

Review written by Karan, a 6th grade student. Date of review: February 2010.

Review: Put your seat belts on and get ready to go on a wild ride because the book The Secret of the Lonely Grave written by Albert A. Bell, Jr. is jumping to the top 10! There are two other secondary characters in the story too, Dwayne Mitchell, a school bully who finds out that having a friend might help him get away from his crazy dad, and Doc, the “Flower Freak” who guides them to Steve and Kendra’s journey of a lifetime.

Here is a little summary of what the book is about, but you have to read the rest if you want to find all the suspense stuffed in that book. The lonely grave has been abandoned and neglected for a very long time. But 150 years of silence is good enough for two friend, Steve Patterson (a white boy who really likes baseball and is a kid of age 11), and Kendra Jordan (an African American girl who likes Sherlock Holmes, age of 11 too), to embark on a mission to solve the mystery once and for all.

The Secret of the Lonely Grave is a phenomenal book with really suspenseful parts. My favorite part though is when Steve and Kendra get trapped in the tunnel and have to put their minds together and figure out how to get out of the hole. And my second favorite part is when they find Doc, the “Flower Freak”, but if you want to find out who that is then you have to read the book! This book accommodated very good visualization, and also upheld some character contrast between the different race color involved in the plot which brings me to the fact that the plot was satisfying, and honorable. But I’m not the only one who loved The Secret of the Lonely Grave. This book is so good, it got two awards: the “Evelyn Thurman Young Readers Award” and the “Mom’s Choice Award Honoring Excellence”. This book deserves a 5 star rating because it has so much suspense and will surely give anyone a laugh! No wonder it got a quote from Book Review Café saying, “What a fantastic book” and one also from MyShelf.com saying, “… an entertaining mystery that even adults could enjoy. It has some memorable characters, as well as lessons about why hatred and bigotry are wrong … while they learn, kids are treated to a great can’t-put-it-down mystery.” This is why I think the book The Secret of the Lonely Grave is a wonderful book. And I’m even reading the second one in the series, called “The Secret of the Bradford House”. I can’t wait!!!

If you are interested in purchasing The Secret of the Lonely Grave 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 four different age categories: New Sleuths (ages 4 to 6), Future Sleuths (ages 7 to 10), Sleuths in Training (ages 10 to 12), and Apprentice Sleuths (ages 13 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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eHarlequin Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense Titles for March 2010

eHarlequin.com has released the March 2010 titles in their Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense series. Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense books combine suspense, romance, hope and faith to create a unique page-turning series that today’s readers love. To purchase any of the books below, click on the book title. (Previous months titles can be found on the backlist page.)

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Dead Air by Robin Caroll

When she finds her coworker's body in front of the station doors, nighttime DJ Gabby Rogillio knows it was murder. But how can the police suspect the station's owner, a man who's been like a father to Gabby?

She's determined to clear her friend's name, and will recruit anyone she can find to help. Even the mysterious newcomer in town, handsome businessman Clark McKay. Gabby doesn't quite trust Clark, but she can't crack the case alone. Especially when the killer threatens them both—either back down from the investigation … or be silenced forever.

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Midnight Caller by Diane Burke

Three deaths, one connection—the anonymous calls all three women reported in the weeks before they died. Detective Tony Marino wants to close this case before another woman disappears. Especially when he meets a fatherless little boy whose mother is being stalked. Single mom Erin O'Malley tells Tony about her anonymous caller's heavy breathing and unnerving silences. And the feeling of being watched—constantly.

Now, after years of thinking he had nothing to offer a wife and child, Tony will do anything to protect the family that feels like his own. Because Erin is next on the killer's list.

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Running for Cover by Shirlee McCoy

Morgan Alexandria moved to Virginia to escape her past … but her past isn't ready to let her go. Thanks to her ex-husband's shady dealings, someone's after her, and if it weren't for Jackson Sharo, she might already be dead. Can Morgan trust Jackson?

Maybe not.

The former big-city cop is practically a stranger. But trying to handle everything on her own just leads to new disasters. And without Jackson's help, she could find herself running right into a trap …

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Cowboy Protector by Margaret Daley

Two years ago, Hannah Williams left the Witness Protection Program—and she's been running ever since. To stay ahead of the mob, she changes her name and location constantly. So when she takes a job caring for a Montana rancher's sick daughter, she expects to leave soon.

But little Misty Taylor tugs at Hannah's heartstrings—and so does her handsome father. Hannah knows Austin Taylor suspects she's keeping secrets. But how can she tell him the truth without endangering the pair she's come to love?

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If you enjoy the suspense books in this series, you can get 2 free Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense books plus 2 free gifts just for giving the automatic program a try. Accepting your two free Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense 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 Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense 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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Mystery Book Review: Assassins of Athens by Jeffrey Siger

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

Assassins of Athens by Jeffrey Siger
An Andreas Kaldis Mystery

Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-689-1 (1590586891)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-689-1 (9781590586891)
Publication Date: January 2010
List Price: $24.95

Review: Andreas Kaldis, Chief Inspector of the Special Crimes Division, returns to Athens from his "exile" on Mykonos to investigate the murder of a teenage boy in Assassins of Athens, the second mystery in this series by Jeffrey Siger.

Though originally found with no identification on him and found in a squalid area of Athens, the dead boy is Sotiris Kostopoulos, the son of one of Greece's most wealthy and prominent families. The boy's father, Zanni Kostopoulos, owns "The Athenian", possibly the most respected and influential newspaper in the country. But his acquisition of the paper from the Linardos family, which owned it previously, was at the time not without controversy and a little "leverage". Was Sotiris' murder some sort of corporate strategy, forcing the Kostopoulos family to flee the country, and leaving the powerful newspaper available to be acquired by someone else?

Kaldis has far more questions than answers. Someone was obviously hired to kill Sotiris, but that someone was also obviously far removed -- organizationally -- from the person who ordered the hit. No one wants to talk to the police, and Kaldis' search takes him through the forbidding streets of Athens and ultimately back to Mykonos where he reaches out to Sotiris' father to help him find the men who humiliate, disfigure, and kill for profit.

The rapid pacing of Assassins of Athens sets the tone for this thrilling mystery. The author provides a stunning contrast between the breathtaking vistas of Greece and its islands that serve as the backdrop for the thriving tourist trade, and the boarded up buildings, grimy bars, and dope dens that house an equally thriving criminal trade. There is even a bit of Greek history interspersed here and there that adds an element of tragedy to the story. At the center of it all, however, is Inspector Kaldis, who provides both an anchor to and a balance within the story. He's a strong character that readers will readily take to.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Assassins of Athens and to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of the book for this review.

Review Copyright © 2010 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): When the body of a boy from one of Greece’s most prominent families turns up in a dumpster in one of Athens’ worst neighborhoods, Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis of the Greek Police’s Special Crimes Division is certain there’s a message in the murder. But who sent it and why? Andreas’ politically incorrect search for answers takes him deep into the sordid, criminal side of Athens nightlife and on to the glittering world of Athens society where age-old frictions between old money and new breed jealousy, murder, revenge, revolutionaries, and some very dangerous truths.

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eHarlequin Silhouette Romantic Suspense Titles for March 2010

Sparked by danger, fueled by passion, eHarlequin.com has released the March 2010 titles in their Silhouette Romantic Suspense series. Let yourself be swept away with characters who fall in love under larger-than-life circumstances. In Silhouette Romantic Suspense, suspense, emotion and glamour combine to create these highly charged books! For more information or to purchase any of the books below, click on the book title or book cover. (Previous months titles can be found on the backlist page.)

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His Woman in Command by Lindsay McKenna

Captain Nike Alexander is in Afghanistan for one reason only—to use her pilot skills. She doesn't have time for men, especially military men. Playing hard to get with Captain Gavin Jackson comes as naturally to Nike as flying one of her Apaches. But Gavin's sexy-as-sin smile is making it harder and harder to say no.

Captain Gavin Jackson loves a challenge, but has never encountered one as stunning as Nike. Just as the ice between them thaws, Nike finds herself in a dangerous situation. Now Gavin will have to use his expertise as a special ops soldier to rescue the woman he can't live without …

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The Royal Affair by Gail Barrett

"I left you once. I won't let you out of my sight again."

Undercover mercenary Deven Kapur hadn't been able to save his family from the mafia that ruled the kingdom of Romanistan. To protect the woman he loved he'd abandoned her and infiltrated the evil organization. His priority was revenge—until Maya walked back into his life.

Maya Chaudry, aka the Leopard, rescues victims of human trafficking. Nothing will ruin her mission. Not Deven. Not the renewed passion between them. Not the danger that forces them to work together. But as they rush to solve the mystery of an ancient artifact, a secret is revealed that could tear them apart—forever.

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The Forbidden Bride by Debra Cowan

"We have some unfinished business."

Jilted. Betrayed. Hurt. Detective Robin Daly would never forget what being left at the altar felt like. Nor would she forget the part Nate Houston had played in it all. One word from him had caused everything to crumble: her wedding, her trust in men…and the respect she'd once had for him.

A string of arson-murders brings fire marshal Nate Houston back to Presley, Oklahoma—and back into Robin's life. To end the crime spree, he and Robin must work together. But to handle the desire between them, they must settle the past …

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His Case, Her Baby by Carla Cassidy

"The crib is empty."

Peyton Wilkerson's world is shattered when her baby is taken from her very own home. Distraught, she finds comfort—and a growing attraction—in Sheriff Tom Grayson's arms. But knocking down the wall that Tom has erected around his heart will be tough …

Tom knows the heartbreak of losing a child. He aches for Peyton, but refuses to give in to desires he thought long dead. When her life is threatened, Tom discovers that resistance is futile—he'd move mountains to keep mother and baby safe.

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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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The Mystery Bookshelf: The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer

The Mystery Bookshelf, where you can discover a library of new mysteries, is pleased to feature a new mystery title we recently received from the publisher.

The Tourist by Olen Steinhauer
Non-series
St. Martin's Minotaur (Trade Paperback)
Publication Date: February 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-37487-7

About The Tourist (from the publisher): Milo Weaver used to be a “tourist” for the CIA—an undercover agent with no home, no identity—but he’s since retired from the field to become a middle-level manager at the CIA’s New York headquarters. He’s acquired a wife, a daughter, and a brownstone in Brooklyn, and he’s tried to leave his old life of secrets and lies behind. However, when the arrest of a long-sought-after assassin sets off an investigation into one of Milo’s oldest colleagues and exposes new layers of intrigue in his old cases, he has no choice but to go back undercover and find out who’s holding the strings once and for all.

About Olen Steinhauer: The author’s widely acclaimed Yalta Boulevard crime series set in Eastern Europe, which he was inspired to write while on a Fullbright fellowship, is a two-time Edgar Award finalist and has been shortlisted for the Anthony, the Macavity, the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, and the Barry awards.

Film rights to The Tourist have been optioned by Warner Brothers for George Clooney.

Raised in Virginia, Steinhauer currently lives in Germany, where he is teaching a spy fiction course at the University of Leipzig. His website is OlenSteinhauer.com.

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Harlan Coben's Long Lost To Be Filmed

Variety is reporting that French producer Gaumont has acquired the rights to Harlan Coben's 2009 thriller Long Lost, the 9th book featuring sports and entertainment agent Myron Bolitar.

Gaumont's last adaptation of a Coben novel, the stand-alone thriller Tell No One, was filmed in French, though it is reported that Long Lost will be shot in English. Long Lost is set largely in Paris.

About Long Lost (from the publisher): Myron Bolitar hasn't heard from Terese Collins since their torrid affair ended ten years ago, so her desperate phone call from Paris catches him completely off guard. In a shattering admission, Terese reveals the tragic story behind her disappearance-her struggles to get pregnant, the greatest moment of her life when her baby was born ... and the fatal accident that robbed her of it all: her marriage, her happiness and her beloved only daughter.

Now a suspect in the murder of her ex-husband in Paris, Terese has nowhere else to turn for help. Myron heeds the call. But then a startling piece of evidence turns the entire case upside down, laying bare Terese's long-buried family secrets ... and the very real possibility that her daughter may still be alive.

In grave danger from unknown assailants in a country where nothing is as it seems, Myron and Terese race to stay a step ahead of Homeland Security, Interpol, and Mossad. Soon they are working at breakneck pace, not only to learn what really happened to Terese's long-lost little girl-but to uncover a sinister plot with shocking global implications.

In our review of Long Lost, we stated that readers would be tempted to finish it in one setting, adding "the narrative is taut, the pace relentless."

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IDW Announces Exclusive Partnership with James Patterson to Publish Original and Adapted Graphic Novels

In a press release today, IDW Publishing announced an exclusive partnership with James Patterson to publish original comic stories and graphic novel adaptations of his books.

First up will be a 5-part story adapted from his young adult novel Witch & Wizard: Battle for Shadowland, to be published this May. This will be followed in June by an adaptation of Patterson's non-fiction thriller, The Murder of King Tut (2005), to be written by Alexander Irvine (Daredevil: Noir).

About Witch & Wizard: Battle for Shadowland (from the publisher): The world is changing: the government has seized control of every aspect of society, and now, kids are disappearing. For 15-year-old Wisty and her older brother Whit, life turns upside down when they are torn from their parents one night and slammed into a secret prison for no reason they can comprehend. The New Order, as it is known, is clearly trying to suppress Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Being a Normal Teenager. But while trapped in this totalitarian nightmare, Wisty and Whit discover they have incredible powers they'd never dreamed of. Can this newly minted witch and wizard master their skills in time to save themselves, their parents--and maybe the world?

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Film Rights Optioned for Dean Koontz's Frankenstein Series of Thrillers

Variety is reporting that 1019 Entertainment has acquired the film rights to Dean Koontz's series of Frankenstein thrillers. The first novel in the series, Prodigal Son, was published in 2005 and co-written with Kevin Anderson (though Anderson's name disappeared from the covers of later editions, such as that shown to the right). Subsequent titles in the series are City of Night (2005 with Ed Gorman), Dead and Alive (2009), and Lost Souls (to be published this year). Koontz's reimagining of the Mary Shelly classic is set in modern day New Orleans.

A graphic novel based on the first book in the series was published last year.

About Prodigal Son (from the publisher): Every city has secrets. But none as terrible as this. His name is Deucalion, a tattooed man of mysterious origin, a sleight-of-reality artist who’s traveled the centuries with a secret worse than death. He arrives as a serial killer stalks the streets, a killer who carefully selects his victims for the humanity that is missing in himself. Detective Carson O’Connor is cool, cynical, and every bit as tough as she looks. Her partner Michael Maddison would back her up all the way to Hell itself—and that just may be where this case ends up. For the no-nonsense O’Connor is suddenly talking about an ages-old conspiracy, a near immortal race of beings, and killers that are more—and less—than human. Soon it will be clear that as crazy as she sounds, the truth is even more ominous. For their quarry isn’t merely a homicidal maniac—but his deranged maker.

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