Mystery and Suspense Films, New This Week on DVD (110517)

Checking through our list of films currently scheduled for release this week on DVD and/or Blu-ray disc, shown below are those that fall into the mystery, suspense, thriller and adventure categories.

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The Mechanic (2011)

When his mentor is murdered, lone hit man Arthur Bishop (Jason Statham) trains the man's son, Steve McKenna (Ben Foster), in the ways of the professional kill. Together Arthur and his eager apprentice hunt down those responsible for executing Steve's father. But the partnership gives rise to new dangers and deceptions. A remake of the 1972 film The Mechanic, with Charles Bronson in the title role. (R; 93 minutes)

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The Rite (2011)

Despite his conviction that demonic possession is just so much supersitious mumbo jumbo, Catholic priest-in-training Michael Kovak (Colin O'Donoghue) journeys to Rome to attend a special exorcism school being taught at the Vatican. Before long, true-believer Father Lucas (Anthony Hopkins) introduces the young cleric to the devil's power firsthand. (PG-13; 114 minutes)

Telemystery: Covert Affairs and Flashpoint, New This Week on DVD

Telemystery, your source for one of the most comprehensive selections of detective, amateur sleuth, private investigator, and suspense television mystery series, mini-series and made-for-television movies, now available on or coming soon to DVD or Blu-ray disc, is profiling two series being released this week.

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Piper Perabo stars as Annie Walker, fluent in six languages and a world-traveler, and a new field operative for the CIA in Covert Affairs.

In a shadowy world full of cons, killers, and international crime rings, what she doesn’t know is there's something—or someone—from her past that her bosses want badly enough to put her in harm's way. She just has to survive long enough to find out why.

The Covert Affairs: Season One DVD set of 3 discs contain the 11 episodes that aired on USA Network from July through September, 2010. Covert Affairs as been renewed for a second season, which begins June 7th, 2011.

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The tough, risk-filled lives of a group of cops in the Strategic Response Unit (SRU, inspired by Toronto's Emergency Task Force), is the subject ofFlashpoint.

It's a unique unit that rescues hostages, busts gangs, defuses bombs, climbs the sides of buildings and talks down suicidal teens. Members of a highly-skilled tactical team, they're also trained in negotiating, profiling and getting inside the suspect's head to diffuse the situation to try and save lives

The Flashpoint: Season Three DVD set of 4 discs contain 16 episodes, the first 7 of which aired from July through September 2010 on CBS (though we're not exactly sure when the remaining episodes aired). The fourth season of Flashpoint began airing a couple of weeks ago.

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Visit the Telemystery website to discover more television mystery series currently available on and coming soon to DVD and Blu-ray disc.

Prime Time Crime: Fox Announces Fall 2011 Schedule

Fox is out with its Fall 2011 television schedule. There are no new Prime Time Crime shows premiering on the network -- well, maybe one -- though a couple are expected to be scheduled as mid-season replacements. (All times below are ET.)

Monday: We're unsure if Terra Nova qualifies as a mystery/suspense/thriller drama. The network calls it an "epic family adventure". It will air at 8 PM.

Thursday: Bones has been renewed for a 7th season and airs at 9 PM.

Friday: Fringe comes back for a 4th season, and airs at 9 PM.

Midseason replacements: Alcatraz and the Bones spin-off Finder.

Previously announced as canceled: The Chicago Code, Human Target, and Lie To Me.

Not ordered: Locke & Key, adapted from the Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez supernatural graphic novels, and the spy thriller Exit Strategy.

Mystery Godoku Puzzle for May 16, 2011

A new Mystery Godoku Puzzle has been created by the editors of the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and is now available on our website.

Godoku is similar to Sudoku, but uses letters instead of numbers. To give you a headstart, we provide you a mystery clue to fill in a complete row or column (if you choose to use it!).

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This week's letters and mystery clue:

A C E I L M N O S

This author introduced Pru Marlowe in the pet noir mystery Dogs Don’t Lie (9 letters).

We now have two weeks of our puzzles on one page in PDF format for easier printing. Print this week's puzzle here.

Previous puzzles are stored in the Mystery Godoku Archives.

Enjoy the weekly Mystery Godoku Puzzle from the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, and Thanks for visiting our website!

Enter to Win the Audio Movie Vengeance by A. J. Scudiere

We are so thrilled to be participating in a giveaway for A. J. Scudiere's audio movie Vengeance, nominated for a 2011 Audie Award in two categories, Best Audio Drama and Best Thriller/Suspense. The Audie winners will be announced on Tuesday, May 24th, 2011.

Nine years ago, Claymore Beller tried to do the right thing. It was the last thing he did. In retaliation for his efforts, his mafia bosses laid waste to his family. Only the youngest -- Cynthia -- came up fighting.

Three years ago, Lee Maxwell made the same error. His wife and daughter paid for his mistake. In a haze of booze and regret, Lee disappeared.

Now, Owen Dunham is following the trail of the "Grudge Ninja" -- only all his evidence is false and the profilers can't get their heads around anything except the obvious fact that the Ninja is extracting a deadly revenge for an old wrong.

As the Ninja gets bolder and far more dangerous, Owen is forced to recognize that he hasn't always made the right decisions -- he's spent far too much time trying to be right. Even as he questions whether bringing in the Ninja is the right thing to do, the voice in the back of his head is telling him that it will make his career.

For more information about the book, including a free download of the first track of the audio movie, visit the author's website at AJScudiere.com.

For this giveaway, we're doing something a little different. E-mail us at contests(@)omnimystery.com between now and 6 PM ET Tuesday, May 17th, 2011 with the subject "Vengeance", and you'll be entered to win. We'll randomly select 10 winners from all messages received, and we'll e-mail the winners on Tuesday evening, May 17th, 2011 with the code needed to download the audiobook, a $19.95 value, for free. (We value your privacy; see our Privacy Policy for more information.)

Prime Time Crime: NBC Announces Fall 2011 Schedule

Though it isn't official until tomorrow, NBC has released its Fall 2011 television schedule. Here's a summary of the Prime Time Crime shows to air on the network (all times are ET):

Wednesday: Harry's Law has been renewed for a second season, and airs at 9 PM. Law & Order: SVU (the last of this once powerful franchise to air on NBC) is scheduled for 10 PM.

Thursday: The Prime Suspect remake airs at 10 PM.

Friday: The new series Grimm is set for 9 PM.

An adaptation of John Grisham's The Firm, set 10 years after the events depicted in the book (and film), is being pushed back to mid-season and will air on Sundays at 10 PM (after Sunday Night Football comes to a close).

Not on the schedule, but expected to air at some point: the Inception-inspired drama Awake (formerly REM).

Previously announced as canceled: The Cape, The Event, Chase, and Law & Order: Los Angeles.

Mr. E. Reviews The Tourist

Available on

This film has all the elements of a light, romantic comedy and suspense thriller yet is consistently none of these. Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp never seem committed to their respective roles, and the uninspired direction and an unimaginative screenplay fail to take advantage of their star power.

Read the full text of our review at Mr. E. Reviews The Tourist.

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

Review: Stolen Lives by Jassy Mackenzie

Stolen Lives by Jassy Mackenzie. A Jade de Jong Mystery. Soho Crime Hardcover, April 2011.

This solidly crafted sequel to the fine first book in this series has the Johannesburg PI almost constantly on the move, helping to keep the plot moving briskly forward. The exotic setting serves as a backdrop to Jade's investigation, with several interconnected subplots providing a credible backstory.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Stolen Lives by Jassy Mackenzie.

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Read the first chapter(s) of Stolen Lives below. Use the Aa settings button to adjust text size, line spacing, and word density.

Review: Murder Half Baked by Kathleen Delaney

Murder Half Baked by Kathleen Delaney. An Ellen McKenzie Mystery. Camel Press Trade Paperback, May 2011.

At the center of this entertaining mystery, which is a delightful mix of humor (wedding plans going astray) and crime (murder and arson), are Ellen and Dan, two people who seem ideally made for each other, characters who really make this novel so enjoyable.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Murder Half Baked by Kathleen Delaney.

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Read the first chapter(s) of Murder Half Baked below. Use the Aa settings button to adjust text size, line spacing, and word density.

Casting News for Film Adaptation of Agatha Christie's Crooked House

A couple of months ago we wrote that Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) was writing an adaptation of Agatha Christie's Crooked House. Now we're learning that an all-star cast -- including Julie Andrews, Gemma Arterton, Matthew Goode, and Gabriel Byrne -- has been signed to star in the film to be directed by Neil LaBute (Death at a Funeral).

In the book, three generations of Leonides, one big Anglo-Greek family, are living happily in a sprawling, ramshackle mansion. That is until the head of the household, Aristide, is murdered with a fatal barbiturate injection. Suspicion naturally falls on the old man's young widow, fifty years his junior. But the murderer has not reckoned with the tenacity of Charles Hayward, fiancé of Sophia, the late millionaire's granddaughter, who must find the killer before he can marry her.

Production is expected to begin this summer.

(Source: Variety.)

Pre-Order L.A. Noire from Amazon.com and Receive a $15 Promotional Credit

The highly anticipated interactive crime drama L.A. Noire comes out next week, but if you pre-order it from Amazon.com, you can get a $15 promotional credit towards the purchase of items shipped and sold by Amazon.com (though certain exclusions apply, including Kindle books, MP3s, and video rentals and downloads).

L.A. Noire is a gritty, single player detective game set on the infamous streets and in the smoke-filled back rooms of postwar Los Angeles. Designed and developed with a nod to the classic film noire movie genre, L.A. Noire blends crystal clear graphics that bring the iconic look and feel of the era to life, with a combination of innovative technology and unique gameplay that allow you to solve crimes through interrogations and investigation. Additional features include: five LAPD based crime desks to work, the ability to analyze the case as well as suspects for clues, an accurate block-by-block recreation of eight square miles of 1947 Los Angeles, multiple difficulty settings and more.

You play as newly minted detective Cole Phelps, who is thrown headfirst into a city drowning in violence and corruption. Utilizing groundbreaking new technology that captures an actor's facial performance in astonishing detail, L.A. Noire is a violent crime thriller that blends breathtaking action with true detective work to deliver an unprecedented interactive experience. Interrogate witnesses, search for clues and chase down suspects as you struggle to find the truth in a city where everyone has something to hide.

Against an overarching plot of violence and betrayal, L.A. Noire challenges players to solve a series of self-contained cases as they work their way through the ranks of the LAPD. Each case features a distinct storyline with a beginning, middle and end, and each successfully solved case brings new challenges and leads Cole closer to the true story at the dark heart of the Los Angeles criminal underworld.

L.A. Noire is being released exclusively for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. In order to receive your $15 promotional credit, you must purchase the game before its release date, May 17th, 2011.

Watch the television commercial for the game below. More videos can be found on the Rockstar Games website.

Earn a Free Game in May from Big Fish Games!

Big Fish Games is running a special promotion for the month of May!

Buy any two standard edition games or one collector's edition game during May 2011 and receive a coupon good for a free standard edition game in June! No promotion code is needed, and this offer is available to both new and existing customers. Discounted games -- including the Daily Deal, Catch of the Week, and any other game purchased with a coupon code, Game Club credit, or other discount -- qualify as purchases. Limit one free game per customer.

Click on the banner below to visit the site. You can see a list of mystery- and suspense-themed games available from Big Fish Games on our website, Games of Mystery.

Prime Time Crime: CBS Orders Person of Interest

CBS hasn't announced much (yet) in the way of its upfront Fall 2011 television lineup, but we do know that the network has picked up the J. J. Abrams/Jonathan Nolan project Person of Interest, starring Jim Caviezel as a presumed dead ex-CIA agent, who teams up with a reclusive billionaire to fight crime in New York City.

Prime Time Crime: ABC Orders Charlie's Angels, Renews Body of Proof, Cancels Detroit 1-8-7

Here's the latest from ABC regarding their Prime Time Crime upfront announcements for the Fall 2011 television season.

The network has ordered its contemporary (and relocated) update to Charlie's Angels and renewed Body of Proof for a second season.

ABC has canceled Detroit 1-8-7 after its freshman season and passed on the Poe project, a concept we rather liked.

Prime Time Crime: NBC Cancels Law & Order LA and The Event, Passes on 17th Precinct

More upfront news from NBC.

The Event, a series we tried to like but never really clicked with us, has been canceled.

And the network is passing on picking up 17th Precinct, set in the fictional town of Excelsior where magic and supernatural elements rule over science, a premise we found intriguing.

UPDATE: Law & Order: Los Angeles, an extension of the "Law & Order" franchise that never attracted much of an audience, has also been canceled.