Thursday, October 07, 2010

William Friedkin May Direct Film Adaptation of Dimiter by William Peter Blatty

Dimiter by William Peter Blatty
More information about the book

William Peter Blatty tells the Rue Morgue magazine (as reported by Shock Till You Drop) that he is planning on working with director William Friedkin on a film adaptation of his latest thriller, Dimiter. Friedkin last worked with the author on the 1973 film The Exorcist, adapted from the author's novel of the same name.

Dimiter, published earlier this year, is set in Albania in the 1970s, where an American agent named Paul Dimiter escapes state security, and on his way to freedom in Jerusalem, completes a mysterious mission.

New Trailer for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis
More information about the book

A new trailer has been released for the next movie in The Chronicles of Narnia, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which can be seen below. The film is adapted from the young adult adventure novel The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis; it is the third written in the series, but the fifth chronologically.

This new quest has Edmund and Lucy joining King Caspian on a sworn mission to find the seven lost Lords of Narnia. Sailing uncharted seas, the old friends must survive a terrible storm, encounters with sea serpents, dragons, and invisible enemies to reach lands where magicians weave mysterious spells and nightmares come true. They need every ounce of courage and the help of the great lion Aslan to triumph in their most hazardous adventure of all.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader opens in theaters on December 10th, 2010.

Ridley Scott to Produce BBC Mini-Series Adapted from The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
More information about the book

Deadline|London is reporting that Ridley Scott will produce a mini-series for BBC adapted from the political thriller The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick. Scott previously directed another Dick adaptation, 1982's Blade Runner starring Harrison Ford (which was somewhat loosely based on the short story "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?")

The author's novels and short stories have been a frequent source for film and television adaptations, and include The Minority Report, Total Recall ("We Can Remember It For You Wholesale"), Next ("The Golden Man"), and next year's The Adjustment Bureau.

In the alternate reality presented by The Man in the High Castle, it is 1962 and the United States and its allies have lost World War II, the US now occupied by the Germans and the Japanese. But the two countries cannot agree on how the occupied territory should be governed ... leading to unintended -- but not unexpected -- conflict.

The book won the 1963 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

Read the first chapters of TheMan in the High Castle below.

OMN Welcomes Steven Nedelton, Author of The Raven Affair

Omnimystery News: Authors on Tour

Omnimystery News is pleased to welcome Steven Nedelton as our guest blogger. Steven is the author of The Raven Affair (Asylett Press, Trade Paperback, March 2010, 978-1-934337-78-3), an international novel of suspense.

Today, Steven writes about where plots and characters come from ... how real are they?

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Steven Nedelton
Photo provided courtesy of
Steven Nedelton

“How did the author come up with the idea used in this novel? Are the characters, the protagonist, real people?”

Many readers ask these questions while reading a book they heard about and ended up getting. In the case of the famous historic suspense novel The Three Musketeers, readers are still asking those same questions over a century after the author’s death. A lot of research was done since 1880s and yet, no one is quite sure who the real d’Artagnan was. But does it really matter?

All professional writers are in the business of writing for profit. Sure they like to create; after all, they are creative people. The truly big names, those who are able to sustain themselves by their writing alone, are under contracts demanding new books. These writers are constantly searching for new ideas for their next creation, for their next best-seller. Where do they get them? Life by itself, particularly the everyday jobs, is often drudgery; there are very few individuals who can boast about their daily grinds. And there are very few events/characters that are really worth writing about. But, since the serious readers, the "avids," are constantly looking for new interesting novels, about crime, detectives, lawyers, vampires and monsters, to name a few, most successful books end up in the fiction genre.

In some cases, with monsters and vampires for example, there’s not much substance to the stories. They are the truly pure dream-worlds’ escapes. In other sub-genres writers depict real life drama in a fictitious, mostly exaggerated manner. Such works tend to be somewhat fairly realistic in their content, and can be educational too. It is interesting to note that in the not too far past, the governments of the former Eastern Block and China prohibited all writing and reading of fiction unrelated to the glory of the People and the System, blaming the genre for its otherwise decadent, adverse effect on the minds of the proletariat. Thus, pure imaginary was unacceptable, even punishable. A very pleasant life in such an environment.

My suspense novels, Crossroads and The Raven Affair, fall into the category of books using real people and true events in a fictitious manner. I based The Raven Affair on the life of a real criminal and his successful evasion of justice. The rest of this horror/suspense story is mostly fiction. The avenger, the protagonist, the two priests and the infamous hit-man and his pretty girlfriend, make the story enjoyable, and yet they are imaginary characters. So are the South American drug dealer and his death. Aside from the mass murderer, there is only one other true life character depicted in the novel. Obviously, without the invented characters and events, the novel would not be interesting. Hence, fiction is dominant, most writers employ it in their writing to embellish their work.

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Steven Nedelton is an author with three novels, Crossroads, The Raven Affair and Fear Factor/Dawn for the Fearless (submitted in April). He is working on his fourth novel, Tunnel. Thrillers are his preferred genre though he is not limiting himself and does write in other styles. He lived in London, England and Paris, France for several years and is able to draw from his experiences living abroad to add realistic descriptions of these locales and characters in his novels. Steven’s novels have been reviewed by a number of professionals, Midwest Book Review, Apex Reviews, The US Book Review of Books and others. Visit his website at SNedelton.com.

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The Raven Affair by Steven Nedelton
More information about the book

About The Raven Affair: A man on the run. Anton was on the run for the past twenty years. Italy, Spain, Ireland, America. What is his horrible secret?

Two priests living in San Francisco, Father Dominic and Father Joe, like millions of Americans, had never heard of him. Interpol agents are pursuing him when their employer suddenly and unexplainably stops them. They are unaware that one of them is leading a double life and operating clandestinely as a high priced hit-man "Raven."

And then, there are Mick and Lynnie in San Fran. Mick, ostensibly the very popular maitre d’ at the Westin St. Francis’ Michael Mina Restaurant but—unknown to Lynnie and his employers—also a dreaded underworld figure codenamed "Clerk." What invisible circumstance connects the innocents with the criminals? Romance with a killer?

Watch a trailer for the book below:

Could The Wild Wild West be the Next Series to be Remade?

The Wild Wild West (CBS)

One wonders if CBS's relative success with its update of Hawaii Five-O this season is a good thing ... or not. Will it prompt the network -- or its peers -- to dust off other series to freshen, series best left as is to enjoy?

Earlier this year, for example, NBC was considering a "new" The Rockford Files. Fortunately, that idea didn't get past the pilot stage. Now, Entertainment Weekly is reporting that a remake of the classic series The Wild Wild West is under consideration (by Ron Moore, who, to give him all due credit, successfully updated Battlestar: Galactica). Not that this would be the first time the Robert Conrad/Ross Martin series has been revisited; Wild Wild West, a dreadful film starring Will Smith and Kevin Kline, was made in 1999.

The Wild Wild West ran for 4 seasons on CBS from 1965 through 1969. We're fans of the series -- the first couple of seasons, in particular; it got a little silly there towards the end of its run -- and think, in the right hands, it could be reimagined. What do you think?

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Film Adaptation Planned for The Sitter by R. L. Stine

The Sitter by R. L. Stine
More information about the book

The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog is reporting that Sam Raimi's Ghost House Pictures has secured the film rights to the 2003 horror novel The Sitter by R. L. Stine. Dana Stevens will write the adaptation, tentatively titled The Au Pair.

In The Sitter, Ellie Saks is sick of dead-end jobs in the city and takes a job as a nanny for a family in the Hamptons. But then she meets family's four-year-old Brandon, who hasn’t spoken for months. The boy’s icy stare and demonic laughter make clear to Ellie that he is troubled, haunted by something too horrible for words. She soon begins to receive threatening messages and disturbing gifts, and every once in a while, in a crowd, she sees a face she hasn’t seen in seven years—the face of a boy who died long ago. It would seem that Ellie’s summer of fun has turned into a summer of horror—one she’ll never forget ... if she survives it at all.

Read the first chapters of The Sitter below.

BFG Game Promotions Ending October 19th, 2010

Big Fish Games

Here's a new promotion from Big Fish Games: the popular game Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst is now available for just $3.49 when you use the coupon code RTR349 at checkout. This offer expires on October 19th, 2010.

But there's more! You can save 35% off the retail price of any standard game by using the coupon code FUNGAMES, now through October 19th, 2010. Plus, new customers get a free BFG Game Club Membership for one month! BFG Club Members save 30-70% on all games, have early access to new games, and have the opportunity to earn free games every month!

To Fetch a Thief by Spencer Quinn (Book Review)

Mysterious Reviews: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller and Crime Novel Reviews, edited by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books

To Fetch a Thief by Spencer Quinn. A Chet and Bernie Mystery. Atria Hardcover, September 2010.

Bernie Little of the Little Detective Agency and his canine partner and companion, Chet the Jet, are on the case of a missing elephant trainer -- and a missing elephant -- in To Fetch a Thief, the third mystery in this series by Spencer Quinn.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: To Fetch a Thief by Spencer Quinn.

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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.

New Carina eBook Mysteries for October 2010

Carina Press: Your next great read!

Each month, Omnimystery News is pleased to list new mystery and suspense titles from Carina Press, an ebook only publisher. Links on this page are for the Kindle edition of the book; click on the banner to the right to be taken to CarinaPress.comCarinaPress.com to purchase other ebook formats.

New mysteries for October 2010 from Carina include:

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Storm Warning by Toni Anderson
Buy the Book!

Storm Warning by Toni Anderson
Non-series

Sorcha Logan is looking for peace.

Recently returned to her hometown on Scotland's craggy coast, Sorcha wants to tame the spirits that made her flee. When she finds a corpse in the surf, however, she can't suppress the memory of discovering her father's body. Nor can she suppress the ghosts that haunt her—or the town's conviction that she's dangerous, and a witch.

Ben Foley is looking for a killer.

An American DEA agent, Ben is in town to investigate the suspicious death of his partner. He's sure that Sorcha knows more than she's letting on—but the more time he spends with the sexy suspect, the less he can fight their illicit attraction. And the less certain he is she's involved with a drug cartel.

But can Ben protect Sorcha from being set up? Or worse—killed?

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Trash Course by Penny Drake
Buy the Book!

Trash Course by Penny Drake
Non-series

Terry Faye loves travelling the world while working as a private investigator. But this latest case is a doozy—and it's right here in Ann Arbor.

Two elderly recluses, Howard and Lawrence Peale, have stopped communicating with the outside world, and Terry and her boss have been put on the case. The catch: the Peales are hoarders. A clean sweep isn't going to be easy, even with cute photographer Zack Archer lending a hand.

The more digging Terry does in the Peale mansion, the more dirt she uncovers. And after she discovers two dead bodies, it's going to take a lot more than just elbow grease and a nice guy sidekick to find out what's happened ...

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Carina PressCarinaPress.com, a division of Harlequin, is a digital-first publisher offering ebooks in a variety of genres, including mystery. eBooks from Carina can be read on the Apple iPad, Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, B&N Nook, Borders Kobo, BlackBerry and mobile phone.

Film Adaptation of Larklight by Philip Reeve Gets New Director

Larklight by Philip Reeve
More information about the book

The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog is reporting that Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy) will direct a film adaptation of the young adult space adventure Larklight by Philip Reeve.

In Larklight -- the first of three books in the series -- Art Mumsby and his irritating sister Myrtle live with their father in a huge and rambling house called Larklight … that just happens to be traveling through outer space. When a visitor arrives, it is far from an innocent social call. Before long Art and Myrtle are off on an adventure to the furthest reaches of space, where they will do battle with evil forces in order to save each other -- and the universe.

The other two books in the series are Starcross and Mothstorm.

Mr. E. Reviews Shutter Island

Mr. E. reviews mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime drama television and film for Omnimystery

I had high expectations for Shutter Island. Although I hadn't read the Dennis Lehane thriller from which it was adapted (and still haven't -- it's on my ever-longer to-be-read list), I was drawn to the storyline and the film's trailers really captured my imagination. A cast of A-list actors and an A-list director couldn't hurt ... or so I thought.

Read the full text of our review at Mr. E. Reviews: Shutter Island.

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Mr. E. Reviews is your source for mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime drama reviews of television and film.

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Vermilion Drift by William Kent Krueger (Book Review)

Mysterious Reviews: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller and Crime Novel Reviews, edited by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books

Vermilion Drift by William Kent Krueger. A Cork O'Connor Mystery. Atria Hardcover, September 2010.

PI Cork O'Connor is hired by a local mine operation to look into threats the company has received -- and hired separately by the mine's owner to look for his missing sister -- in Vermilion Drift, the tenth mystery in this series by William Kent Krueger.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Vermilion Drift by William Kent Krueger.

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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.

New Trailer for The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2010)

The trailer for the third and final installment of the Swedish-language films based on the Millennium trilogy of thrillers by Stieg Larsson, The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, was released a few days ago, and can be seen below.

Adapted from book The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, which remains, months after its publication in the US, a bestselling mystery to this day, the film has a limited release opening in theaters October 29th.

English-language adaptations of the books are currently in pre-production. The cast of the first film, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, to be directed by David Fincher, includes Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, and Christopher Plummer.

Solve Six Mysteries in Two Hidden Object Game Collections

Insider Chronicles: A New Perspective on Mystery (Windows PC)
Insider Chronicles: A New Perspective on Mystery (Windows PC)

Two mystery game collections are being released today at special prices.

Insider Chronicles: A New Perspective on Mystery includes three games in the "Insider Chronicles" series, where you travel to some of the world's most famous cities in search of clues.

First, it’s up to you to solve the biggest art robbery in decades! The Stolen Venus puts you on the case to track down the criminals responsible for the theft of Botticelli’s "The Birth of Venus". Discover centuries-old hidden facts and enigmas, and enjoy addicting mini-games on your pursuit of justice!

Next, stroll through the gothic and gloomy alleys of Prague, listen to chansons on the streets of Paris and enjoy the elegant and light architecture of Venice in the second game in the series. This time you are looking for clues to shed some light on Casanova’s life and reveal his greatest secret. Unfold the mystery that is Casanova, the world`s most famous lover and adventurer, in The Secret of Casanova!

Then, when the winners of Italy’s largest lottery mysteriously disappear, and it's up to you to track them down. The case takes on a whole new light when you discover drawings by Leonardo da Vinci that could unlock the mystery. Without a minute to lose, you must put together the clues, unravel the riddles, and solve the puzzles in the exciting seek and find adventure Missing in Rome!

Natalie Brooks: Triple Trouble (Windows PC)
Natalie Brooks: Triple Trouble (Windows PC)

Natalie Brooks: Triple Trouble includes three mysteries to unravel featuring teenage detective Natalie Brooks.

In Secrets of the Treasure House, help Natalie uncover the mystery of a lifetime as you search the secret rooms and hidden corridors of her family estate. Join our intrepid heroine as she solves puzzles, finds hidden items and interacts with colorful characters, including a chief of police whose ambitions might not align with the right side of the law!

In The Treasures of the Lost Kingdom, help Natalie save her grandfather, a renowned archaeologist, from kidnappers holding him ransom for an ancient treasure map. She has just 24 hours to find the map, solve the mystery of a terrible curse and unmask the truth behind a legendary ghost train!

In The Mystery of Hillcrest High, Natalie is on the case to solve another mysterious crime. This time, she’s on a quest to find her missing high school friend Chad Robertson, who has been kidnapped by a gang of criminals who are out to commit the crime of the century!

Macmillan Publishers Creates Film Division

Macmillan Publishers

Deadline|New York is reporting that Macmillan Publishers -- probably best known to mystery fans by its Minotaur Books imprint -- has launched Macmillan Films, with the intent to produce what it publishes.

First up is a co-production with Summit Entertainment for the film adaptation of Tempest, the first in a trilogy of young adult thrillers being written by Julie Cross about a 19-year-old time traveler who witnesses his girlfriend's murder and inadvertently jumps back in time two years; stuck there, he's recruited by a shadowy government agency run by the man he thought was his father and vows to save his girlfriend no matter the cost.

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