East on Sunset by Ken Mercer. A Will Magowan Mystery. Minotaur Books Hardcover, June 2011.
This tautly plotted, perfectly paced novel of suspense works on several levels, not the least of which is how intricately integrated some of the plot points are within the overall storyline. It will almost certainly be recognized, rightly so, as one of the best crime novels of the year.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: East on Sunset by Ken Mercer.
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Among the Departed by Vicki Delany. A Molly Smith Mystery. Poisoned Pen Press Hardcover, May 2011.
After the remains of a man missing 15 years are found, the reopening of a cold case investigation becomes personal for the Trafalgar constable when it is known that she may have been the last to see him alive. This fast-reading and nicely plotted mystery is yet another solid entry in this series.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Among the Departed by Vicki Delany.
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The Harry Potter saga draws to a close this Friday, July 15th, 2011, with the theatrical release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.
Adapted from the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series of young adult fantasy thrillers by J. K. Rowling, the film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, who, with the help of his friends and classmates Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson), continue their quest of finding and destroying the Dark Lord's three remaining Horcruxes, the magical items responsible for his immortality. The battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war. The stakes have never been higher and no one is safe. But it is Harry Potter, who may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice as he draws closer to the climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort. It all ends here.
We weren't all that thrilled with Part One of this film finale, which we found rather pointless as little of any substance or consequence happens. But everything we've seen with respect to Part Two suggests it is everything Part One isn't, and are looking forward to seeing it! Watch a trailer for the film below.
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Unlike the first film in this trilogy of Swedish language adaptations of Stieg Larsson's bestselling novels, which works as a stand-alone and can be enjoyed as such, this third film requires you to have seen the second. Unfortunately, in stark contrast to the first two films, which were, respectively, suspense- and action-oriented, this last film of the trilogy plays out as an overlong — and not terribly good — episode of Law & Order.
Read the full text of our review at Mr. E. Reviews Luftslottet som Sprängdes.
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Mr. E. Reviews is your source for mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime drama reviews of television and film.
The first trailer for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows has been posted to the Apple iTunes website.
Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) has always been the smartest man in the room ... until now. There is a new criminal mastermind at large -- Professor Moriarty (Jared Harris) -- and not only is he Holmes's intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective.
Jude Law reprises his role as Dr. John Watson. The film also stars Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler, Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes, and Noomi Rapace as Sim
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, directed by Guy Ritchie, opens in theaters December 16th, 2011.
Tomorrow, Wednesday July 13th, the fourth season of of the legal thriller Damages premieres at 10 PM (ET/PT) on DirecTV (Channel 239). The series aired its first three seasons on FX Networks.
This new season picks up two years after the events that concluded the third season. Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) has returned to work at her old mentor's firm, and seems content with her cases and colleagues. Deep down, however, she wants a bigger challenge. When she discovers her high school sweetheart has been through a traumatic experience while working for High Star, a private security firm hired by the U.S. government to carry out special missions in Afghanistan, she suspects foul play and asks Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) for help. Patty knows that trying a case against High Star can make Ellen's career. Or ruin it.
This fourth season introduces John Goodman as Howard T. Erickson, founder and CEO of High Star, who will (according to previously published reports) become the defendent in a wrongful death suit filed against his company.
Watch a 60 second trailer for the series below.
Crime novelist Karin Slaughter recently sat down to discuss her latest Will Trent thriller Fallen with Jane Dentinger, Editor-in-Chief of Mystery Guild. We've embedded the interview below.
Though several topics are covered, we took particular note of Slaughter's comments about characters:
If it doesn't feel right or organic it just can't happen. I think the reader can sense when you're not 100% into it. I want my readers to know that I am totally committed to these characters, not just for one book but for the long term.
She is so right. Though we haven't read Fallen, we did read and review her previous book featuring the Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent, Broken, saying in part, "How these three [primary] characters react to finding the body, and their subsequent actions, is a study in contrasts. There are myriad interpersonal relationships involved, and the author handles the complexity of these as an extension of the investigation of the murder. It is exceptionally well done."
Last February we reported that the US distribution rights of the Norwegian language film adaptation of Jo Nesbø's art caper thriller Hodejegerne (Headhunters) had been acquired by Magnolia Films. (The film opens in Norway on August 26th, 2011; no US release date has yet been scheduled.)
Now we're learning that Summit Entertainment has optioned the US film rights to the book, and intends to produce an English language adaptation in association with Yellow Bird Films, which is probably best known to American audiences as the production company behind the Swedish language adaptations of Steig Larsson's novels.
Hodejegerne, originally published in 2008, introduces a new character, the charming villain Roger Brown, a man who seems to have it all: he is Norway's most successful headhunter, married to the beautiful gallery owner Diana, owns a magnificent house — and is living larger than he should. Meanwhile, he is playing at the dangerous game of art theft. At a gallery opening, his wife introduces him to the Dutchman Clas Greve. Not only is Greve the perfect candidate for the CEO position of the GPS company Pathfinder that Roger Brown is recruiting for; he is also in possession of "The Calydonian Boar Hunt" by Peter Paul Rubens, one of the most sought-after paintings in modern art history. Roger sees his chance to become financially independent, and starts planning his biggest hit ever. But soon, he runs into trouble — and it's not financial problems that are threatening to knock him over this time …
Headhunters has not yet been published in the US — indeed, we don't even think it's been published anywhere in English, though a German edition was published in 2008 — but soon will be. Vintage Crime is scheduled to publish a trade paperback edition of the book this September.
(Source: TwitchFilm.)
The Valley of Shadows by Mark Terry. A Derek Stillwater Mystery. Oceanview Publishing Hardcover, June 2011.
What distinguishes this action thriller from the many other similarly plotted books from which to choose are the creatively drawn characters that populate the narrative. Though the storyline is typical and rather predictable, the frequent action sequences are nevertheless quite exciting.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: The Valley of Shadows by Mark Terry.
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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 Lincoln Lawyer (2011)
Matthew McConaughey stars as Michael “Mickey” Haller, a slick, charismatic Los Angeles criminal defense attorney, who operates out of the back of his Lincoln Town Car. Having spent most of his career defending petty, gutter variety criminals, Mickey unexpectedly lands the case of a lifetime: defending a rich Beverly Hills playboy (Ryan Phillippe), who is accused of attempted murder. However, what initially appears to be a straightforward case with a big money pay-off swiftly develops into a deadly match between two masters of manipulation and a crisis of conscience for Haller.
The Lincoln Lawyer is adapted from the first mystery in the Mickey Haller series by Michael Connelly.
Telemystery, your source for one of the most comprehensive listings of crime drama, amateur sleuth, private investigator, mystery and suspense television series, mini-series and made-for-television movies, now available on or coming soon to DVD or Blu-ray disc, is profiling three series being released this week.
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The third season of Damages once again follows a single case in which high-powered attorney Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) goes after the billions of dollars that investor Louis Tobin (Len Cariou) has allegedly stolen from his clients. Even after Tobin's suicide, she goes after his heirs, wife Marilyn (Lily Tomlin) and son Joe (Campbell Scott), convinced they must have been in on the scheme. Leonard Winstone (Martin Short), the Tobin's family attorney, blocks Patty's moves at every step of the way.
The series also stars Tate Donovan as Tom Shayes and Rose Byrne as Ellen Parsons.
Damages: Season Three is available on DVD, Amazon Instant, and iTunes (click on the icons displayed for more details), and consists of 13 episodes that originally aired on FX Networks from January through April, 2010.
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MI-5, which airs as Spooks in the UK, opens its penultimate season with a largely new cast.
Relations between the CIA and MI-5 reach breaking point over mysterious hackers. And a horrific truth about Lucas North's (Richard Armitage) past is uncovered by Harry Pearce (Peter Firth) when they come face to face in a compelling interrogation. Friendships are tested to the limit, Harry and Ruth Evershed's (Nicola Walker) bond intensifies and the depth of deceit leads to the ultimate game of cat and mouse.
MI-5 (Spooks): Volume Nine is available on DVD and Amazon Instant (click on the icons displayed for more details), and consists of 8 episodes that originally aired on BBC from September through November, 2010.
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David Suchet reprises his role as Belgian private detective Hercule Poirot in three new adaptations of the Queen of Crime's mysteries in Agatha Christie: Poirot.
The novels adapted for this set are: Three Act Tragedy, in which deadly dinners whet Poirot's investigative appetite; The Clocks, in which Poirot identifies a man whose time ran out; and Hallowe'en Party, in which Poirot looks for ghosts from a young girl's past.
Poirot: The Movie Collection 6 is available on DVD and Blu-ray disc (click on the icons displayed for more details), and consists of these three made-for-television adaptations that originally aired on PBS's Masterpiece Mystery! during June and July, 2011.
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Visit the Telemystery website to discover more television mystery series currently available on and coming soon to DVD, Blu-ray disc, or video on demand.
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 B D E J M N O S
Jeffery Deaver’s 2011 thriller Carte Blanche continues the series featuring this British spy (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!
Two new posters for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows have been posted on the Yahoo! movies website. The film, a sequel to 2009's Sherlock Holmes, reunites Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as Holmes and Watson, this time matching wits with Holmes's arch-nemesis Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris). The film, which is scheduled to be in theaters December 16th, 2011, also stars Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler, Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes, and Eddie Marsan as Inspector Lestrade.
With posters now out, a trailer can't be far behind. Click on the image for a larger version.
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