Two New Games of Suspense, New This Week from AVG

Games of Mystery is pleased to announce this week's new mystery and suspense casual and adventure games available for immediate download from Amazon Video Games.

A complete list of downloadable mystery games is available on our Games of Mystery: Amazon Video Games Download page.

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Laura Jones and the Secret Legacy of Nikola Tesla

Young Laura Jones picks up a mysterious box left to her grandmother by scholar and inventor Nikola Tesla, with whom her grandmother worked with during her youth. The box contains clues to the locations of the part needed to start Tesla's greatest invention, the location of which is also unknown, but promises to rid the world of its energy problems. Unfortunately, energy is big business and Laura's not the only one trying to find and start Tesla's invention. It's a race against time in this fantastic prequel to Laura Jones and the Gates of Good and Evil.

ESRB Rating: Not Specified.

Windows Vista/XP (99 MB download).

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The Tarot's Misfortune

Rosalie the fortune-teller has been put to sleep and tossed into a dangerous prison by a mysterious drifter in town! Search through the town to recover her stolen tarot card deck, while uncovering clues to help rescue the residents of Luzio and beta the evil magician at his own game. Follow the spirits of the tarot cards and use your hidden object skills to find slight differences in the tarot cards and uncover the mysteries in this magical adventure!

ESRB Rating: Not Specified.

Windows Vista/XP (186 MB download).

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Games of Mystery is your source for mystery-themed video, electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, murder mystery weekends and mystery getaway vacations, and more mysterious fun!

Mystery Bestsellers for December 10, 2010

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending December 10th, 2010 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

No new titles on the list this week, but the real news that The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson and The Confession by John Grisham are tied for the top spot with identical scores. The two titles have been close in recent weeks, but this is the first time that the latter has closed the gap.

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Even though there are no new titles in the top 15, we thought we'd feature the highest ranking new book: The Sherlockian by Graham Moore, which comes in at number 18.

In December 1893, Sherlock Holmes-adoring Londoners eagerly opened their Strand magazines, anticipating the detective's next adventure, only to find the unthinkable: his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, had killed their hero off. London spiraled into mourning -- crowds sported black armbands in grief -- and railed against Conan Doyle as his assassin.

Then in 1901, just as abruptly as Conan Doyle had "murdered" Holmes in "The Final Problem," he resurrected him. Though the writer kept detailed diaries of his days and work, Conan Doyle never explained this sudden change of heart. After his death, one of his journals from the interim period was discovered to be missing, and in the decades since, has never been found.

Or has it?

When literary researcher Harold White is inducted into the preeminent Sherlock Holmes enthusiast society, The Baker Street Irregulars, he never imagines he's about to be thrust onto the hunt for the holy grail of Holmes-ophiles: the missing diary. But when the world's leading Doylean scholar is found murdered in his hotel room, it is Harold -- using wisdom and methods gleaned from countless detective stories -- who takes up the search, both for the diary and for the killer.

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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 authors, titles, and series.

Taylor Lautner to Star in Film Adaptation of Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Deadline|Hollywood is reporting that Taylor Lautner (Twilight Saga) has been tapped to star in the film adaptation of the young adult thriller Incarceron by Catherine Fisher.

Incarceron is a prison so vast that it contains not only cells, but also metal forests, dilapidated cities, and vast wilderness. Finn (to be played by Lautner), a seventeen-year-old prisoner, has no memory of his childhood and is sure that he came from Outside Incarceron. Very few prisoners believe that there is an Outside, however, which makes escape seems impossible.

And then Finn finds a crystal key that allows him to communicate with a girl named Claudia. She claims to live Outside; she is the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron, and doomed to an arranged marriage. Finn is determined to escape the prison, and Claudia believes she can help him. But they don't realize that there is more to Incarceron than meets the eye. Escape will take their greatest courage and cost more than they know.

The sequel to Incarceron, Sapphique, is on bookshelves later this month (it may be pre-ordered).

The Romantic Thriller The Tourist Opens Friday, December 10th

The romantic thriller The Tourist opens in theaters this Friday, December 10th.

Johnny Depp stars as Frank Tupelo, an American tourist on an impromptu trip to Europe to mend a broken heart, who unexpectedly finds himself in a flirtatious encounter with Elise Clifton-Ward (Angelina Jolie), an extraordinary woman who crosses his path.

Against the breathtaking backdrop of Paris and Venice, their whirlwind romance quickly evolves as they find themselves unwittingly thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse.

The Tourist is a remake of the 2005 French film Anthony Zimmer.

More information about the film can be found on the The Tourist website; watch the trailer below:

Code Blue by Richard L. Mabry is Today's Featured Free Kindle Mystery

Kindle Mysteries is pleased to feature a mystery title that is currently available in Kindle eBook format for free from Amazon.com. We don't know how long it will be offered at this special price (typically only until a certain number of downloads have been completed), so download it today!

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Code Blue by Richard L. Mabry
A Prescription for Trouble Mystery (1st in series)
Abingdon Press (Kindle eBook)
Download Link

About Code Blue (from the publisher): Code Blue means more to Dr. Cathy Sewell than the cardiac emergency she has to face. It describes her mental state as she finds that coming back to her hometown hasn't brought her the peace she so desperately needs.

Cathy is seeking healing after a broken relationship, but discovers that among her friends and acquaintances is someone who wants her out of town ... or dead. Lawyer Will Kennedy, her high school sweetheart, offers help, but does it carry a price tag? Is hospital chief of staff Dr. Marcus Bell really on her side in her fight to get hospital privileges? Is Will s father, Pastor Matthew Kennedy, interested in advising her or just trying to get her back to the church she left years ago? When one of Cathy's prescriptions almost kills the town banker, it sets the stage for a malpractice suit that could end her time in town, if not her career. It's soon clear that this return home was a prescription for trouble.

Read the first chapters of Code Blue below.

TNT Casts Leads for Series Pilot Bird Dog

Back in October we reported on Bird Dog, a new crime drama pilot for TNT in which two cops, a father and daughter, work together as partners in a small Pacific Northwest town.

Now we're learning from Deadline|Hollywood that the series leads have been cast: Gerald McRaney (Undercovers, Deadwood, Simon & Simon) and Ashley Williams (Saving Grace, Novel Adventures) as, respectively, Sam McGrath and Gail McGrath.

The series title comes from their call sign: Bird Dog.

Discover the Secret behind the Cards in Haunted Legends: The Queen of Spades (Collector's Edition), New 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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Once upon a time, a countess, having lost a fortune playing cards, made a deal with a great magician and illusionist. She received a set of magical cards that allowed her to win, regaining her wealth and incurring the wrath of the local people. But now someone has disappeared, and it is up to you to search a haunted mansion to discover the secret behind the cards, find the countess, and put a stop to the curse before it claims another victim.

This is a special Collector's Edition full of exclusive features you won't find in the standard version, including bonus gameplay, an integrated strategy guide, wallpapers and screensavers, and more!

Haunted Legends: The Queen of Spades (Collector's Edition) may be downloaded and purchased for $13.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (288.68 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour; the full version is 537.87 MB.

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!

HBO Not Moving Forward with Adaptation of The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death by Charlie Huston

Deadline|Hollywood is reporting that HBO has decided not to move forward with a project adapted from Charlie Huston's 2009 crime novel The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death.

As we reported last July when the project was announced, Huston had written the screenplay for the pilot and Alan Ball (True Blood) was tapped to direct. HBO ultimately decided that there was no place on its schedule for the series.

Cast Update for USA Network's Buddy Cop Crime Drama Common Law

USA Network's cast-contingent pilot for Common Law took a step forward today. Deadline|Hollywood is reporting that Warren Kole (24) has joined Michael Ealy (FlashForward, The Good Wife) to star in a buddy cop comic crime drama that centers on LAPD homicide detectives, partners so different from each other -- a methodical former lawyer with a passion for cars, gardening and his ex-wife; and a maverick ladies' man who has served time -- that their captain sends them to couples counseling.

Trailer Online for BBC Series Pilot of Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency

A 30 second trailer for the upcoming series pilot for a potential BBC series adapted from Douglas Adams's Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, has been posted online.

Stephen Mangan stars as detective Dirk Gently with Darren Boyd playing his sidekick Richard Macduff. Filming begain in Bristol in October. The pilot is expected to air on BBC4 early in 2011.

The story, which appears to be a faithful adaptation of the first of only two books by Adams to feature this character, sees Gently investigating the disappearance of an old lady's cat and unwittingly stumbling across a double murder.

Those of us in the US may have to wait for the DVD to see it (unless BBC elects to show it on BBC America). In the meantime, watch the trailer below.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Opens Friday, December 10th

The third film in the Chronicles of Narnia, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, opens in theaters this Friday, December 10th.

The film is based on the third book in the series of fantasy suspense novels by C. S. Lewis, originally published in 1952. (As several sources point out, it is now considered the fifth book in the series, when ordered by the overall series internal chronological timeline.)

The storyline follows Edmund and Lucy Pevensie (Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley), along with their cousin Eustace (Will Poulter), who are swallowed into a painting and transported back to Narnia and the magnificent ship The Dawn Treader. They join King Caspian (Ben Barnes) and a warrior mouse named Reepicheep (voice of Simon Pegg) for a mission which holds the fate of Narnia itself. The courageous voyagers overcome their own greatest temptations, as they travel to mysterious islands; have fateful confrontations with magical creatures and sinister enemies; and reunite with their friend and protector, the "Great Lion".

More information about the film can be found on the Narnia website; watch the trailer below:

New Poster for Cowboys & Aliens

A few weeks ago we had our first look at the sci-fi/western/action/thriller Cowboys & Aliens with a poster and teaser trailer. Now a new poster has been released by the studio. Though it says "Coming Soon" on the poster, the announced release date for the film is July 29th, 2011.

Set in 1873, Daniel Craig stars as a stranger with no memory of his past, who stumbles into the Arizona Territory town of Absolution, run by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.

The film is adapted from a 2006 graphic novel of the same title created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg and written by Fred Van Lente and Andrew Foley with illustrations by Luciano Lima. Cowboys & Aliens is being re-released in hardcover this coming February and may be pre-ordered.

The Cloud Pavilion by Laura Joh Rowland, A Sano Ichiro Mystery (14th in series)

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

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The Cloud Pavilion by Laura Joh Rowland
A Sano Ichiro Mystery (14th in series)
Minotaur Books (Trade Paperback)
Publication Date: December 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-65255-5

About The Cloud Pavilion (from the publisher): Japan, 1701. A terrified woman is brutally attacked amid a swirling storm of clouds. Meanwhile, at Edo Castle, samurai detective turned chamberlain, Sano Ichiro, is suspicious of his old rival, Yanagisawa, who has been oddly cooperative since returning from exile. But just as Yanagisawa’s true motives begin to emerge, Sano’s estranged uncle comes to him for help: His daughter has disappeared, and he begs Sano and his wife, Reiko—who once suffered through the kidnapping of their own son—to find her before it is too late.

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About Laura Joh Rowland: The author of 14 samurai detective historical mysteries, she is has also written a series featuring the secret adventures of Charlotte Brontë. She lives in New Orleans (LA). Visit her website at LauraJohRowland.com.

Read the first chapters of The Cloud Pavilion below.

No Spring Season for Fox's Crime Drama Lie To Me

Deadline|Hollywood is reporting that Fox has not ordered a 2011 spring season of its crime drama Lie to Me.

The article notes that in 2009 Fox only aired a fall season of the series, airing its spring season during this past summer -- and therefore one shouldn't assume that the series has been canceled.

The Chicago Code takes over Lie to Me's Monday 9 PM (ET/PT) time slot in early February.

Watchlist by Jeffery Deaver (and others) is Today's Featured Free Kindle Mystery

Kindle Mysteries is pleased to feature a mystery title that is currently available in Kindle eBook format for free from Amazon.com. We don't know how long it will be offered at this special price (typically only until a certain number of downloads have been completed), so download it today!

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Watchlist by Jeffery Deaver (and others)
Non-series
Vanguard Press (Kindle eBook)
Download Link

About Watchlist (from the publisher): Watchlist is a unique collaboration by twenty-one of the world’s greatest thriller writers including Lee Child, Joseph Finder, David Hewson, S. J. Rozan, Lisa Scottoline, and Jeffery Deaver, who conceived the characters and set the plot in motion. In turn, the other authors each wrote a chapter and Deaver then completed what he started, bringing each novel to its startling conclusion.

Read our Review of Watchlist by Jeffery Deaver at Mysterious Reviews.

Read the first chapters of Watchlist below.