Tonight the Crime Writers' Association (CWA) announced the winners of several Dagger Awards at the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate. These include:
◊ Dagger in the Library: Ariana Franklin, “the author of crime fiction whose work is currently giving the greatest enjoyment to library users”;
◊ Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction: Ruth Dudley Edwards for Aftermath: The Omagh Bombing & the Families’ Pursuit of Justice;
◊ International Dagger: Johan Theorin for The Darkest Room (Sweden);
◊ Short Story Dagger: Robert Ferrigno for "Can You Help Me Out There" (which appeared in Thriller 2);
◊ Debut Dagger: Patrick Eden, for an author who has not yet had a novel published commercially, for the opening to his atmospheric noir tale A Place of Dying.
Friday, July 23, 2010
CWA Announces Winners of 2010 Dagger Awards
Death Watch by Jim Kelly (Book Review)
Death Watch by Jim Kelly. A Peter Shaw Mystery. Minotaur Books Hardcover, May 2010.
The deaths of a brother and sister, twins, eighteen years apart may be related in Death Watch, the second investigation of Detective Inspector Peter Shaw and his partner Detective Sergeant George Valentine by Jim Kelly.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Death Watch by Jim Kelly.
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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.
Short Lists for 2010 CWA Dagger Awards Announced
The short lists for the Crime Writers' Association (CWA) Gold, Ian Fleming Silver, and John Creasey New Blood Dagger Awards, which celebrate the best in crime and thriller writing, were announced earlier today. The winners will be announced at a ceremony later this year. Winners of other dagger awards will be announced this evening.
The short lists are:
Gold
◊ Conman by Richad Asplin (No Exit Press)
◊ Blacklands by Belinda Bauer (Corgi)
◊ Blood Harvest by S. J. Bolton (Bantam Press)
◊ Rain Gods by James Lee Burke (Orion)
◊ Shadowplay by Karen Campbell (Hodder & Stoughton)
◊ The Strange Case of the Composer and his Judge by Patricia Duncker (Bloomsbury)
◊ Still Midnight by Denise Mina (Orion)
◊ The Way Home by George Pelecanos (Orion)
Ian Fleming Steel
◊ 61 Hours by Lee Child (Bantam Press)
◊ A Loyal Spy by Simon Conway (Hodder & Stoughton)
◊ Gone by Mo Hayder (Bantam Press)
◊ Slow Horses by Mick Herron 
◊ The Dying Light by Henry Porter (Orion)
◊ Innocent by Scott Turow (Macmillan)
◊ The Gentleman's Hour by Don Winslow (Heinemann)
John Creasey New Blood
◊ Acts of Violence by Ryan David Jahn (Pan)
◊ Cut Short by Leigh Russell (No Exit Press)
◊ Martyr by Rory Clements (John Murray)
◊ Random by Craig Robertson (Simon & Schuster)
◊ Stop Me by Richard Jay Parker (Allison & Busby)
◊ Rupture by Simon Lelic (Picador)
◊ The Holy Thief by William Ryan (Mantle)
◊ The Pull of the Moon by Diane Janes
Mystery Bestsellers for July 23, 2010
A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending July 23rd, 2010 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.
No change in the order for the top three bestselling mysteries this week, with The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson remaining at number one for the umpteenth week. Two new titles enter the list this week.
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Debuting in 11th position is the first graphic novel by Janet Evanovich and her daughter Alex Evanovich, Troublemaker, featuring characters from the author's Metro Girl mystery series.
Alex Barnaby and Sam Hooker are back together and fighting crime the only way they know how by leaving a trail of chaos, panic, and disorder. Alex, an auto mechanic and spotter for racecar driver Sam Hooker, is drawn to trouble like a giant palmetto bug to a day-old taco. Unfortunately, she's also drawn to Hooker in the same fashion. There's no steering clear of trouble or Hooker when friends Rosa and Felicia call for help. A man has gone missing, and in order to find him Barnaby and Hooker will have to go deep into the underbelly of Miami and south Florida, surviving Petro Voodoo, explosions, gift-wrapped body parts, a deadly swamp chase, and Hooker's mom.
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Just making the list is the 10th mystery with Israeli intelligence officer and art historian Gabriel Allon, The Rembrandt Affair by Daniel Silva.
Determined to sever his ties with the Office, Gabriel Allon has retreated to the windswept cliffs of Cornwall with his beautiful Venetian-born wife Chiara. But once again his seclusion is interrupted by a visitor from his tangled past: the endearingly eccentric London art dealer, Julian Isherwood. As usual, Isherwood has a problem. And it is one only Gabriel can solve.
In the ancient English city of Glastonbury, an art restorer has been brutally murdered and a long-lost portrait by Rembrandt mysteriously stolen. Despite his reluctance, Gabriel is persuaded to use his unique skills to search for the painting and those responsible for the crime. But as he painstakingly follows a trail of clues leading from Amsterdam to Buenos Aires and, finally, to a villa on the graceful shores of Lake Geneva, Gabriel discovers there are deadly secrets connected to the painting. And evil men behind them.
Before he is done, Gabriel will once again be drawn into a world he thought he had left behind forever, and will come face to face with a remarkable cast of characters: a glamorous London journalist who is determined to undo the worst mistake of her career, an elusive master art thief who is burdened by a conscience, and a powerful Swiss billionaire who is known for his good deeds but may just be behind one of the greatest threats facing the world.
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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 22, 2010
Second Trailer for RED Released, based on the Graphic Novel by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner
About a month ago we posted the first trailer for the film RED, based on the graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner, and starring Bruce Willis and Helen Mirren as ex-CIA agents who embark on a new mission to uncover who's trying to kill them.
A second trailer was released by the studio this week at Comic-Con in San Diego, which can be seen below. It doens't necessarily provide any new details about the film, but we never tire of seeing Helen Mirren with a weapon of mass destruction in her hands.
RED hits theaters on October 15th.
A Direct-to-DVD Burn Notice Prequel in the Works?
The Hollywood Reporter Heat Vision blog is reporting that a Burn Notice prequel is in the works.
USA Network, which airs the popular series, and Fox Studios, which produces it, are in talks to develop a straight-to-DVD prequel that would cover Sam Axe's (Bruce Campbell) adventures before his attempts to help his best friend, black-listed spy Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan).
"We've entertained the idea," series creator Matt Nix said. "We all start thinking, 'Wow, we should crash two helicopters into each other. Maybe we need a movie budget.' "
No deal has been closed yet, but it is an intriguing idea.
Mr. E. Reviews the BBC Mini-Series Edge of Darkness
Review of Edge of Darkness (BBC mini-series).
A film remake of this BBC television mini-series from 1985 was released earlier this year, and before I watched it, I wanted to see the original source of the material. Let me start by saying, I can only hope the remake is better -- much better -- than the original.
Read the full text of our review at Mr. E. Reviews.
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Mr. E. Reviews is your source for mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime drama reviews of television and film.
MBN Welcomes Samantha Hunter, Author of the Sophie Turner Tarot Medium Mysteries
Mystery Books News is thrilled to welcome Samantha Hunter as our guest blogger. Samantha is the author of Past Tense (Amazon Digital Services, July 2010), the first book in the Sophie Turner/Tarot Medium mystery series, combining paranormal elements with classic amateur sleuth and mystery fiction. Once Burned, the second book in the series, is planned for next year.
Today, Samantha writes about having some skin in the game, when a romance writer writes a mystery. And she's also providing our readers with an opportunity to win a copy of her ebook. Visit Mystery Book Contests, click on the "Samantha Hunter: Past Tense" contest link, enter your name, e-mail address, and this code (4549) for a chance to win! (One entry per person; contest ends August 05th, 2010.)
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Photo provided courtesy of Samantha Hunter
It's probably no coincidence that the protagonist in my Kindle-published mystery, Past Tense, is undergoing an identity crisis, trying to reconcile conflicting aspects of her life, her personal relationships as well as dealing with secrets of her past, because as a romance writer who loves mystery as much as romance, I sometimes find myself very split between the two, as well.
My Harlequin romances often have degrees of mystery or suspense in them, and I have to admit, I've been a mystery fan longer than I have been a romance fan. As a kid, I was reading Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden long before I was reading romance novels stolen from my mother's night stand. I was also obsessed with anything cop or detective related as a kid. I would stay up late to watch detective shows in the 70s after my parents went to bed. The world of mystery and suspense has always been one I enjoyed as a reader/viewer, so it makes sense that I would eventually go there as a writer.
Romance and mystery address different needs: romance is the emotional journey, and mystery is the ethical one: mystery satisfies the need to find justice in the world, to have good prevail over evil, which is another kind of HEA (happily ever after). If "boy meeting girl and finding love" is one of the great stories of all humanity, "good versus evil" is the other. Wanting good to triumph is just as compelling as wanting people to fall in love, the way I see it.
So maybe my writing personality is not as split as I imagined. The best mysteries, in my view, have emotional components. The emotion doesn't have to be romantic (though romantic subplots are always fun), but in contrast to the objective, analytical mystery of days gone by, I want detectives -- professional or amateur -- to have some skin in the game. They have to care, have to struggle, and have to take risks. They should have some personal stake in what they are investigating. They should have flaws, emotions, and they should grow through their endeavors. Whatever their personal stories, they are idealists: they believe good can prevail, and they will do what they can to make that happen.
In turn, they make us believe in justice the way a good romance will make us believe in love. The satisfaction of discovering the villain and seeing him or her captured is just as strong as seeing the couple in a romance finally overcome their obstacles and unite.
What do you think? Who is your favorite mystery protagonist, and what makes you care about them enough to read book after book?
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Samantha is the author of 16 novels, an avid reader of romance and mystery/suspense, prefers television to movies, and loves spending time with her husband, pets and in her gardens. She lives in Syracuse, New York. Visit her website at SamanthaHunter.com.
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About Past Tense: Sophie Turner runs Talismans, a Boston tarot parlor, where she reads tarot and keeps her family’s psychic legacy alive. However, in spite of her tragic family history and Tarot Alley’s reputation for being a mystical hotspot, Sophie has no psychic powers of her own -- or so she thinks. Engaged to straight-as-an-arrow Boston PD Detective Roger Paris, and finishing her college degree in Computer Science, she’s ready to start a brand new life that has nothing to do with her paranormal past.
When the murder of her friend and client Patrice Bledsoe leaves Sophie traumatized, she can’t trust her own memory about what happened. She remembers a ghostly encounter moments before Patrice was killed, but she can’t remember anything about the murder, making her a prime suspect. Sophie doesn’t understand why the ghost appeared or why she was compelled to read his cards, revealing a story of violence and betrayal, but she is determined to find the truth about her friend’s murder.
It’s not the last time Sophie sees the tragic ghost figure, and she begins to believe her ghost is real when she’s plagued with visions she can’t ignore. When her skeptical fiancé won’t listen, she asks ghost hunter Dr. Gabe Mason for his help, leading her down a path of no return in more ways than one.
For a chance to win one of three copies of Past Tense (provided as an Amazon.com gift card), courtesy of Samantha Hunter, visit Mystery Book Contests, click on the "Samantha Hunter: Past Tense" contest link, and enter your name, e-mail address, and this code (4549) in the entry form. (One entry per person; contest ends August 05th, 2010.)
Echoes of the Past: The Castle of Shadows Collector's Edition, a New Mystery Adventure 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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Few gameplay details were released for this sequel to the hidden object adventure game Echoes of the Past: Royal House of Stone. Taglines embedded in the video say, "Free the castle from an evil spell ... Search for a magical amulet ... Release trapped spirits ..."
This collector's edition version includes an integrated strategy guide, a bonus adventure, concept art, and more.
Echoes of the Past: The Castle of Shadows Collector's Edition may be downloaded and purchased for $19.95 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (374.30 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!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Comic based on the True Blood Series of Mysteries Published Today
In a press release today, HBO and IDW Publishing announced the publication of the first issue of the comic based on the True Blood television series. The popular HBO series is based on the Southern Vampire series of mysteries by Charlaine Harris.
In the first of this series of six comics, blood and sex mix on a hot rainy night at Merlotte's when Sookie Stackhouse and her friends are trapped by a vengeful spirit who feeds on shame. People die and dirty secrets are revealed as Sookie and her friends are all coerced to dig deep and tell painful memories from their past — those things we all have locked within us that we never tell another living soul! Bon Temps, Louisiana has never been stranger, or more twisted, in a story co-plotted by True Blood series creator Alan Ball, with a script by David Tischman and Mariah Huehner, and art by David Messina.
Subsequent issues will explore the ongoing adventures of telepathic heroine Sookie Stackhouse, her vampire lover Bill Compton, best friend Tara Thornton, enigmatic and ancient vampire sheriff Eric Northman, loyal boss Sam Merlotte, brother Jason Stackhouse, perpetual-virgin vampire Jessica, and the flamboyant cook Lafayette Reynolds.
The Magician's Accomplice by Michael Genelin (Book Review)
The Magician's Accomplice by Michael Genelin. A Commander Jana Matinova Mystery. Soho Crime Hardcover, July 2010.
Bratislava Police Commander Jana Matinova is reassigned to a job pushing papers for the international police organization Europol in The Hague following the death of a prosecutor in the attorney general's office -- and her lover -- in The Magician's Accomplice, the third mystery in this series by Michael Genelin.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: The Magician's Accomplice by Michael Genelin.
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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.
Film Adaptation Planned for Hyde Comic based on the Classic Tale by Robert Louis Stevenson
The Heat Vision blog of The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Cole Haddon with adapt the upcoming Dark Horse comic The Strange Case of Hyde for film. Skydance Productions and Dark Horse Entertainment will produce for Paramount.
The comic is, according to the article, "not a retelling" of the classic suspense thriller Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, "but seeks to give it a fresh take by making the split personality the center of a Victorian-era action-adventure that sees him go head-to-head against a historical villain."
The comic is expected to be announced this week by the publisher at Comic-Con.
The Pirate's Treasure: An Oliver Hook Mystery Game, New at 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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Travel the globe in search of Oliver Hook’s lost treasures! Explore exciting photorealistic scenes and find more clues hidden by the legendary pirate. Begin your journey across the world after finding a mysterious scroll containing Oliver Hook’s infamous seal. Dive into a mysterious pirate-themed environment where you'll discover awesome hidden objects and you're faced with challenging minigames.
The Pirate's Treasure: An Oliver Hook Mystery may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (71.92 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!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
The Terrorist by Peter Steiner (Book Review)
The Terrorist by Peter Steiner. A Louis Morgon Mystery. Minotaur Books Hardcover, May 2010.
Louis Morgon was forced out of the CIA 40 years ago, and has retired to France. But the agency hasn't forgotten him and seeks his help in infiltrating a suspected terrorist cell in The Terrorist, the third mystery in this series by Peter Steiner.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: The Terrorist by Peter Steiner.
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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.
DirecTV to Exclusively Air New Episodes of Damages
In a press release yesterday, DirecTV announced a partnership with Sony Pictures Television to produce 20 new episodes of the legal thriller Damages to air over two consecutive seasons in 2011 and 2012.
Negotiations for continuing the series have been on-going for months. The newly announced deal is for an exclusive airing of the new episodes on DirecTV (i.e. no subsequent network or cable airing). DirecTV also acquired the rights to air the first three seasons. (DVDs for seasons one and two are available from Telemystery: Damages.)
