Book Trends, a review site for young adult and children books, published several new book reviews this past week. We're presenting here a summary of those in the mystery / suspense category.
Conspiracy 365: May and Conspiracy 365: June by Gabrielle Lord. The fifth and sixth thrillers in the Conspiracy 365 series, recommended for readers aged 14 and older. Lexile measure: 790L and 800L, respectively. Both reviewed by a 6th grade teacher, who writes, "Caution: May is the kind of book that might even cause readers to skip meals in order to find out what happens next!" She also writes that, "June maintains the excitement and energy of the previous five books in the series and has readers anxiously awaiting July." Finally, "The "Conspiracy 365" series is quite possibly one of the best series books for young adults on the market today."
For more reviews of children and young adult books of all genres, visit Book Trends; their reviews will amaze you!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Reviews of Mystery and Suspense Books for Kids, New This Week on Book Trends (100717)
Hidden Mysteries: Vampire Secrets, a Most Mysterious New Game from BFG
Games of Mystery is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery casual game from Big Fish Games released today and available to BFG Club members. 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.
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What was intended as a relaxing vacation to Savannah, Georgia for Claire Donnelly, quickly turned into one of adventure and mystery! Upon her arrival, Claire started experiencing unusual visions, which grew to vivid depictions of evil forces living among the citizens of this coastal city. Help Claire explain these terrifying visions in this most mysterious addition to the Hidden Mysteries series of games.
See also the other games in the series: Hidden Mysteries: Civil War, Hidden Mysteries: Buckingham Palace, and Hidden Mysteries: Titanic, the Fateful Voyage.
Also available: Hidden Mysteries: Vampire Secrets Strategy Guide and Hidden Mysteries: Vampire Secrets Game Walkthrough
Hidden Mysteries: Vampire Secrets may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (224.10 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour.
Watch a preview video below:
Get any standard game for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. Other benefits include the $2.99 Daily Deal, Tomorrow's Game Today, and special member rewards. And if you purchase any 6 games within a single month, you earn a free game with the Big Fish Game Club Monthly Punch Card! (Collector's Editions earn 3 punches each, half-way towards your free game!)
Read Ms. Terri's reviews of the adventure and casual mystery games featured on this site, including Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy, Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses!, Enlightenus, and many more!
Big Fish Games: Bestsellers
Big Fish Games: New releases
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Games of Mystery is your source for mystery-themed video, electronic, and board games, parties for kids and adults, and murder mystery weekends and mystery getaway vacations!
Friday, July 16, 2010
MBN Welcomes Tess Gerritsen, Author of the Rizzoli and Isles Mysteries
Mystery Books News is delighted to welcome Tess Gerritsen as our guest blogger. Tess's latest book is Ice Cold (Ballantine Books, June 2010 Hardcover, 978-0-345-51548-3), the 8th mystery in the Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles series.
Today, Tess writes about the unlikely sources from which book ideas often originate. And she's also providing our readers with an opportunity to win a copy of her book. Visit Mystery Book Contests, click on the "Tess Gerritsen: Ice Cold" contest link, enter your name, e-mail address, and this code (3881) for a chance to win! (One entry per person; contest ends July 30, 2010.)
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Photo credit Paul D'Innocenzo,
courtesy of Tess Gerritsen
The best plot ideas sometimes come from real life misadventures. One such misadventure happened to me a few summers ago in upstate New York, when my husband and I were driving to a rustic bed and breakfast. Since we didn't know the area, we'd brought along our GPS and programmed it to take us in the most direct route possible.
Half an hour later, we were bumping along a dirt road ... through a cornfield. The corn was so tall that we couldn't see in any direction, and there was no room to turn around. In fact, the road was getting even narrower. The conversation went something like this:
Me: "We should have looked at a map."
Hubby: "The GPS says we're on the right road."
Me: "This isn't a road."
Hubby: "She (the GPS) says it's a road!"
GPS (in snooty voice): "Recalculating."
Ten minutes later, we did indeed emerge from that cornfield and eventually reached our destination. "Oh yeah, a lot of our guests have gotten lost in that cornfield," the B&B clerk told us. "It's a GPS glitch."
We came through that experience with just a little mud on our tires. But those GPS "glitches" sometimes end in disaster. In England, a 20-year-old woman's car was wrecked by a train after she followed her GPS onto a railway track. In Oregon, a couple followed their GPS onto a seasonal road and got stranded in the snow for three days. Drivers have followed GPS directions into ponds, into woods, and onto one-way roads ... going the wrong way.
Sometimes, the results are tragic.
In my new book Ice Cold, a GPS mishap sets off a chain of terrifying events. While in Wyoming for a pathology conference, Dr. Maura Isles takes a spur-of-the-moment road trip with a group of new friends. Their GPS sends them up a seasonal mountain road, where their SUV gets stuck in deep snow. As night falls and the blizzard intensifies, the five shivering tourists stumble into the valley of Kingdom Come, where they find twelve identical houses. Meals are still on tables, cars still in garages, but the people have all vanished. Or have they?
Spooked by what they find, Maura and her friends are desperate to escape, but every attempt to leave Kingdom Come leads to disaster. A disaster that all began with the simple mistake of blindly following their GPS.
Ice Cold is fiction, but it also serves as a warning to anyone who's inclined to place too much faith in technology. My own experience in upstate New York taught me an important lesson -- one that Maura Isles also learns in her terrifying adventure in Wyoming.
Never travel without a map.
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Tess Gerritsen took an unusual route to a writing career. A graduate of Stanford University, Tess went on to medical school at the University of California, San Francisco, where she was awarded her M.D. While on maternity leave from her work as a physician, she began to write fiction, initially publishing nine romantic suspense novels and a screenplay before turning her attention to medical thrillers. Now retired from medicine, she writes full time. She lives in Maine. Visit her website at TessGerritsen.com.
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About Ice Cold: In Wyoming for a medical conference, Boston medical examiner Maura Isles joins a group of friends on a spur-of-the-moment ski trip. But when their SUV stalls on a snow-choked mountain road, they’re stranded with no help in sight.
As night falls, the group seeks refuge from the blizzard in the remote village of Kingdom Come, where twelve eerily identical houses stand dark and abandoned. Something terrible has happened in Kingdom Come: Meals sit untouched on tables, cars are still parked in garages. The town’s previous residents seem to have vanished into thin air, but footprints in the snow betray the presence of someone who still lurks in the cold darkness—someone who is watching Maura and her friends.
Days later, Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli receives the grim news that Maura’s charred body has been found in a mountain ravine. Shocked and grieving, Jane is determined to learn what happened to her friend. The investigation plunges Jane into the twisted history of Kingdom Come, where a gruesome discovery lies buried beneath the snow. As horrifying revelations come to light, Jane closes in on an enemy both powerful and merciless—and the chilling truth about Maura’s fate.
Watch the trailer for Ice Cold below.
For a chance to win a copy of Ice Cold, courtesy of Authors on the Web, visit Mystery Book Contests, click on the "Tess Gerritsen: Ice Cold" contest link, and enter your name, e-mail address, and this code (3881) in the entry form. (One entry per person; contest ends July 30, 2010.)
New Trailer for The Town, a Film Adaptation of The Prince of Thieves by Ben Hogan
Warner Bros. has released a new trailer for its upcoming film The Town, based on the 2004 crime novel Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan. Ben Affleck co-wrote the script, stars in and directs the film. You can watch the trailer on the Apple iTunes Movie website.
The Town hits theaters September 17th. New trade paperback and mass market paperback editions of Prince of Thieves, renamed The Town and featuring Ben Affleck on the cover, go on sale August 24th.
About The Town (from the studio): Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) is an unrepentant criminal, the de facto leader of a group of ruthless bank robbers who pride themselves in stealing what they want and getting out clean. With no real attachments, Doug never has to fear losing anyone close to him. But that all changed on the gang's latest job, when they briefly took a hostage -- bank manager, Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall). Though they let her go unharmed, Claire is nervously aware that the robbers know her name ... and where she lives. But she lets her guard down when she meets an unassuming and rather charming man named Doug ... not realizing that he is the same man who only days earlier had terrorized her. The instant attraction between them gradually turns into a passionate romance that threatens to take them both down a dangerous, and potentially deadly, path.
Elixir of Immortality, a New Game of Mystery from BFG
Games of Mystery is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery casual game from Big Fish Games released today and available to BFG Club members. 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.
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Journey to a foreboding island as you go undercover in a spectacular castle and unmask a murderer! Gather evidence and track down the criminal before they strike again. Discover ancient secrets as you explore the mysterious island, and find the legendary Elixir of Immortality that so many have tried to find! And if you find it, do you dare drink the Elixir?
Also available: Elixir of Immortality Strategy Guide and Elixir of Immortality Game Walkthrough.
Elixir of Immortality may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (184.01 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour.
Watch a preview video below:
Get any standard game for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. Other benefits include the $2.99 Daily Deal, Tomorrow's Game Today, and special member rewards. And if you purchase any 6 games within a single month, you earn a free game with the Big Fish Game Club Monthly Punch Card! (Collector's Editions earn 3 punches each, half-way towards your free game!)
Read Ms. Terri's reviews of the adventure and casual mystery games featured on this site, including Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy, Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses!, Enlightenus, and many more!
Big Fish Games: Bestsellers
Big Fish Games: New releases
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Games of Mystery is your source for mystery-themed video, electronic, and board games, parties for kids and adults, and murder mystery weekends and mystery getaway vacations!
Mystery Bestsellers for July 16, 2010
A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending July 16th, 2010 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.
No change in the top seven bestselling mysteries this week, with The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson remaining at number one. Two new titles enter the list this week.
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Debuting in 8th position is The Glass Rainbow by James Lee Burke, the 18th mystery in the Dave Robicheaux series.
Detective Dave Robicheaux is back in New Iberia, Louisiana, and embroiled in the most harrowing and dangerous case of his career. Seven young women in neighboring Jefferson Davis Parish have been brutally murdered. While the crimes have all the telltale signs of a serial killer, the death of Bernadette Latiolais, a high school honor student, doesn’t fit: she is not the kind of hapless and marginalized victim psychopaths usually prey upon. Robicheaux and his best friend, Clete Purcel, confront Herman Stanga, a notorious pimp and crack dealer whom both men despise. When Stanga turns up dead shortly after a fierce beating by Purcel, in front of numerous witnesses, the case takes a nasty turn, and Clete’s career and life are hanging by threads over the abyss.
Adding to Robicheaux’s troubles is the matter of his daughter, Alafair, on leave from Stanford Law to put the finishing touches on her novel. Her literary pursuit has led her into the arms of Kermit Abelard, celebrated novelist and scion of a once prominent Louisiana family whose fortunes are slowly sinking into the corruption of Louisiana’s subculture. Abelard’s association with bestselling ex-convict author Robert Weingart, a man who uses and discards people like Kleenex, causes Robicheaux to fear that Alafair might be destroyed by the man she loves. As his daughter seems to drift away from him, he wonders if he has become a victim of his own paranoia. But as usual, Robicheaux’s instincts are proven correct and he finds himself dealing with a level of evil that is greater than any enemy he has confronted in the past.
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Just one place lower at number 9 is Faithful Place by Tana French, the third suspense novel in the Dublin murder squad series.
Back in 1985, Frank Mackey was nineteen, growing up poor in Dublin's inner city, and living crammed into a small flat with his family on Faithful Place. But he had his sights set on a lot more. He and Rosie Daly were all ready to run away to London together, get married, get good jobs, break away from factory work and poverty and their old lives.
But on the winter night when they were supposed to leave, Rosie didn't show. Frank took it for granted that she'd dumped him -- probably because of his alcoholic father, nutcase mother, and generally dysfunctional family. He never went home again.
Neither did Rosie. Everyone thought she had gone to England on her own and was over there living a shiny new life. Then, twenty-two years later, Rosie's suitcase shows up behind a fireplace in a derelict house on Faithful Place, and Frank is going home whether he likes it or not.
Getting sucked in is a lot easier than getting out again. Frank finds himself straight back in the dark tangle of relationships he left behind. The cops working the case want him out of the way, in case loyalty to his family and community makes him a liability. Faithful Place wants him out because he's a detective now, and the Place has never liked cops. Frank just wants to find out what happened to Rosie Daly -- and he's willing to do whatever it takes, to himself or anyone else, to get the job done.
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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 B0031YJFCQ authors, titles, and series.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Paramount Moves Forward with Film Adaptation of One Shot by Lee Child
The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog is reporting that Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects, Valkyrie, The Tourist) will rework the screenplay for the film adaptation of Lee Child's One Shot, the ninth thriller in the Jack Reacher series. McQuarrie is also looking to direct.
Paramount has an option on the series and may be looking at its franchise potential.
About One Shot (from the publisher): Six shots. Five dead. One heartland city thrown into a state of terror. But within hours the cops have it solved: a slam-dunk case. Except for one thing. The accused man says: You got the wrong guy. Then he says: Get Reacher for me.
And sure enough, ex-military investigator Jack Reacher is coming. He knows this shooter -- a trained military sniper who never should have missed a shot. Reacher is certain something is not right -- and soon the slam-dunk case explodes.
Now Reacher is teamed with a beautiful young defense lawyer, moving closer to the unseen enemy who is pulling the strings. Reacher knows that no two opponents are created equal. This one has come to the heartland from his own kind of hell. And Reacher knows that the only way to take him down is to match his ruthlessness and cunning -- and then beat him shot for shot.
Nintendo Announces Earlier Release Date for Professor Layton and the Unwound Future
In a press release yesterday, Nintendo announced that the company was moving the US release date for the third game in the popular Professor Layton series, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future, up a week to September 12th.
A mesmerizing mix of mystery, time travel and puzzle-solving fun, Professor Layton and the Unwound Future places the professor and his trusted apprentice at the center of a spellbinding adventure after they receive a strange letter sent from 10 years in the future. Players must wind their way through more than 165 mind-bending puzzles as they decipher clues and strive to unlock a time-twisting mystery that threatens to plunge London into chaos.
The first two games in the series, Professor Layton and the Curious Village and Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box, have sold nearly 1.4 million copies in the United States. For more information about these games, as well as many other mystery games for the Nintendo DS, visit Games of Mystery.
Dreamhouse Kings, a Paranormal Suspense Series for Young Adults
Our friends over at Book Trends asked us recently if we were award of the young adult paranormal suspense series Dreamhouse Kings. We weren't, but when we looked into it, we thought it to be a terrific addition to our First Clues: Mysteries for Kids website.
There are six books in the series, the most recent (and last in the series) published this past May. Written by Robert Liparulo, they feature 15-year-old Xander and his 12-year-old brother David, who make a game of exploring the old Victorian home they have just moved in to. But they have no idea of the adventures -- and terrors -- waiting for them in this mysterious house.
For more information about the books, visit our summary and list of titles at First Clues: Dreamhouse Kings or check out the official Dreamhouse Kings website where you can learn more about the series as a whole, including downloading tracks from a soundtrack written to accompany the books.
eHarlequin Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense Titles for August 2010
eHarlequin.com has released the August 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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Silent Protector
His life as a U.S. marshal was something Pastor Ian McNeal had left behind … until he's asked to care for little Charlie Troop. The boy witnessed a terrible crime and hasn't spoken since—except to his Auntie Liz, the one adult he trusts. Ian just wants to find the truth, something only Charlie can reveal. But Charlie isn't talking, and Liz is determined to protect Charlie against anyone who'd hurt, frighten or pressure him—including Ian. Yet with a killer dead set on making sure Charlie never speaks again, a protector like Ian is just what Liz and Charlie need.
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Vanishing Act
Eighteen months ago, Nora James watched as her father was shot in an alley—and then she fled. She changed her name, her appearance and her job, hoping to keep her father's shooter at bay. For months, it worked … but now her luck has run out. A ruthless assassin is on her trail, and soon Nora, now known as Danielle, will be found. But this time, she has FBI agent Nate Andersen by her side—right? The handsome agent would give his life to protect Danielle, but he's wary of giving his heart … until a deadly confrontation leaves him with both on the line.
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Protective Custody
Guarding witnesses? All in a day's work for deputy U.S. marshal Carly Masterson. Protecting the judge who was indirectly responsible for her mentor's death? That's another story.
Still, she won't let harm come to Judge Nicholas Floyd, or the niece and nephew in his care. She's determined to do the job right, and not let her emotions take over—no matter how wonderful it feels to be accepted by the little family. Can she let go of the past and learn to trust again before danger finds them once more?
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Assignment: Bodyguard
Her father will accept only the best for Kit Atkins's protection. So when Kit is threatened, he calls on Shane Warwick, a CHAIM agent. Shane is calm, capable, protective—and way too charming for Kit's peace of mind. Yet despite her protests, Shane refuses to leave her side. As they hide out at a remote Texas ranch, a powerful bond grows between them, even as danger rises. Connections to the mysterious death of Kit's late husband reveal old betrayals. Suddenly, Kit's assigned bodyguard is the only person she can trust.
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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:
End of the Line by Mike Manno (Book Review)
End of the Line by Mike Manno. A Parker Noble Mystery. Five Star Hardcover, June 2010.
Mike Manno's second mystery to feature homicide detective Jerome "Stan" Stankowski and his state attorney liaison Parker Noble, End of the Line, has the mismatched duo investigating the murder of a man found on bus.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: End of the Line by Mike Manno.
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Mysterious Reviews is your source for the latest mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime novel reviews, edited by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
ITW Announces Watchlist Vook Now Available for iPad
In a press release, Vook, the company that pioneered the integration of text and video into an innovative new mixed media experience, and the International Thriller Writers (ITW) announced the release of its newest two-part vook series, Watchlist -- a unique collaboration by twenty-one of the world’s greatest thriller writers including Jeffery Deaver, who conceived the characters and set the plot in motion -- together with 26 original videos and a manuscript reading with award-winning actor Alfred Molina, now available for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch.
“There are endless possibilities in digital publishing, and we’re experimenting with many genres and production processes to empower writers and thought leaders to share content in new and innovative ways,” said Brad Inman, CEO and founder of Vook. “Watchlist introduces a new type of Vook, bringing together some of the best minds in the thriller genre to create a new type of collaborative fiction for anyone with an iPad or iPhone.”
Vooks are available on the web-based Vook Reader and also on-the-go as a unique mobile application for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch through the Apple iTunes App Store.
Watch M. J. Rose talk about the backstory to Watchlist below. You can also read our review of the book at Mysterious Reviews: Watchlist.
Janet Evanovich May Be Leaving Long-Time Publisher St. Martin's Press
It isn't often that an author changing publishers makes news. But when the author is Janet Evanovich and the publisher is the St. Martin's Press imprint of Macmillan and the reported amount involved is $50 million for her next four books, that's news.
Deadline.com is reporting that Evanovich is considering leaving her long-time publisher. The article says she is the publisher's biggest fiction author.
St. Martin's Press has published Evanovich's Stephanie Plum mysteries, without question her most successful series, since 1998, beginning with the fourth in the series. (Scribner published the first three books.) HarperCollins published the two books in a separate mystery series featuring Metro Girl Alexandra "Barney" Barnaby.
The most recent Stephanie Plum mystery, Sizzling Sixteen, has been near the top of the bestseller lists since its publication in mid-June. In addition to the "numbered" books in the series, Evanovich has also written four "between-the-numbers" books featuring the New Jersey bounty hunter.
Justice in June by Barbara Levenson (Book Review)
Justice in June by Barbara Levenson. A Mary Magruder Katz Mystery. Oceanview Publishing Hardcover, June 2010.
Defense attorney Mary Magruder Katz juggles two very demanding cases -- one of which is being tried in the press, the other very much behind the scenes, out of public eye -- in Justice in June, the second mystery in this series by Barbara Levenson.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Justice in June by Barbara Levenson.
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Mysterious Reviews is your source for the latest mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime novel reviews, edited by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.
