The Mistaken Masterpiece by Michael D. Beil. A Red Blazer Girls Mystery. Knopf Hardcover, June 2011.
This delightful mystery for tween readers follows the four best friends as they attempt to authenticate a painting for their parish priest. Rivals, movie stars, and a boy who is a friend but is not (necessarily) a boyfriend help keep the story briskly moving along.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: The Mistaken Masterpiece by Michael D. Beil.
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Murder Beneath the Buried Sky by Keith Hartman. Non-series. Pyramid Press Trade Paperback, August 2011.
This novella of suspense has an interesting storyline with a few unexpected twists along the way, and a compelling environment for the action to take place, its only significant flaw being an insufficiently developed subplot that is directly related to the motive for murder.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Murder Beneath the Buried Sky by Keith Hartman.
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MystereBooks is pleased to feature Jolie Blon's Bounce by James Lee Burke as today's free mystery ebook. 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 we urge you to download it while it is still available for free.
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Jolie Blon's Bounce by James Lee Burke
A Dave Robicheaux Mystery (12th in series)
Simon & Schuster
About Jolie Blon's Bounce (from the publisher): When a beautiful teenage girl is killed, the victim of a particularly savage rape, New Iberia, Louisiana, police detective Dave Robicheaux senses from the very start of the investigation that the most likely suspect, Tee Bobby Hulin, is not the actual killer. Though a drug addict and general ne'er-do-well, Hulin just doesn't fit the profile for this kind of brutal crime.
But when another murder occurs — this victim is a drugged-out prostitute who happens to be the daughter of one of the local mafia bigwigs — all clues once again point to Tee Bobby Hulin, and the cries for arrest become too loud to ignore. The dead girl's father, however, prefers to take matters in his own hands and sets out to find - and punish - the killer himself.
But before Robicheaux can solve these crimes and bring the killer or killers to justice, he is forced to battle his own inner demons, including a painkiller addiction, a habit that begins as the result of a brutal and humiliating beating he suffers at the hands of the mysterious and diabolical character known as Legion. A fixture in the area for years, Legion was once the overseer on a local sugarcane plantation and now gets by doing odd jobs. In temperament, however, he's still the malicious and malevolent bully he always was, a man defined by evil and seemingly possessed with supernatural skills of survival.
Added to the mix, and on the good guy side of the balance sheet, is Clete Purcel, a longtime buddy of Robicheaux's and a confirmed boozer and womanizer. Clete comes to New Iberia for a visit and is quickly drawn into the struggle between the various forces of evil in the town, including Jimmy Dean Styles, a black man intent on maintaining his empire of corruption; Joe Zeroski, a trailer park mafioso with palatial aspirations — and of course, Legion Guidry, the devil incarnate, in whom Robicheaux finds himself facing a challenge and an enemy unlike any he has ever known. And soon, what began as a duel of wits has turned into a dance of death.
Important Note: Prices can and do change without prior notice, so please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
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A Spark of Death by Bernadette Pajer. A Benjamin Bradshaw Mystery. Poisoned Pen Press Hardcover, July 2011.
This first in a series, set in Seattle at the turn of the 20th century, introduces an intellectual amateur sleuth, one who uses logic and facts to sort of what's important in a case, but never forgetting that murder is often a crime of emotion.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: A Spark of Death by Bernadette Pajer.
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Despite Jake Gyllenhaal being badly miscast here — or maybe it's just that his character isn't all that credible in a film that requires the viewer to take a leap of faith on its premise — this is an entertaining, tautly plotted thriller.
Read the full text of our review at Mr. E. Reviews Source Code.
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Mr. E. Reviews is your source for mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime drama reviews of television and film.
Each month, Omnimystery News is pleased to present new mystery and suspense titles from Carina Press, an ebook only publisher. Links are provided to purchase the ebook from, where available, Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble, Kobo Books, or the Apple iBookstore; click on the banner to the right to be taken to the CarinaPress.com website to browse for other titles.
New ebooks of mystery and suspense for August 2011 from Carina Press include:
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Dead Silent by Shirley Wells
A Dylan Scott Mystery (2nd in series)
Ten months ago, Samantha Hunt set off for work ... and was never seen again.
Despite the statistics of cold cases, Dylan Scott wants to believe the young woman's alive—and not just because her father, his client, is desperate to find his missing daughter before he dies of cancer. By all accounts Sam was a lovely girl, devoted to her younger stepsisters, well-liked at her work, in love with her boyfriend.
But as usual not everything is as it seems in sleepy Dawson's Clough. Sam's boyfriend has a violent past. She may have been having an affair with her boss. And Dylan can't shake the feeling that her stepfather is hiding something. Meanwhile, someone is trying to scare Dylan off the case.
Who wanted to silence Sam, and why? The truth turns out to be worse than anyone expected ...
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Under Fire by Rita Henuber
Non-series
Coast Guard helicopter pilot Olivia Carver is on a very personal mission. Her twin brother, an undercover officer, was murdered by a drug cartel and she won't stop until she finds the man responsible for his death.
In the course of her own investigation, Olivia meets informant Rico Cortes. He's mysterious and sexy and despite her reservations, the two share a night of passion. But Rico turns out to be more than a one-night stand. He's a DEA agent, deep undercover in Miami's drug world, and possibly the one man who can help Olivia find the justice she seeks.
When Rico realizes his cover is blown, he isn't sure whether it was someone in the cartel or an inside agent. Olivia is the only one he can trust and together they venture on a dangerous, rogue mission to infiltrate a drug lord's inner circle ... with Olivia as bait.
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Deadly Obsession by Katie Reus
Non-series
Ten years ago, Lilly Carmichael left town without an explanation, breaking Braden Donnelly's heart. The death of her aunt has brought Lilly home—and face-to-face with memories she thought were long buried. Still getting over a traumatic incident from her work as an NSA agent, Lilly initially dismisses the face at her window as a figment of stress-induced paranoia.
Now the sheriff of Hudson Bay, Braden has spent the past year hunting a sadistic murderer. His investigation is turned upside down when new evidence indicates that Lilly is the killer's next target. Determined to protect the woman he's never stopped loving, Braden must race against the clock to trap a dangerous psychopath—before it's too late ...
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The Viper's Kiss by Shannon Curtis
Non-series
Librarian Maggie Kincaid yearns for excitement—but being accused of espionage is not what she had in mind. Wanted by the police, the FBI and the criminal element, Maggie goes on the run—and runs straight into sexy Luke Fletcher. Unfortunately, when Luke pulls out the handcuffs, it's not because he has something kinky in mind ...
Security expert Luke is intent on seeing the murderous spy known only as Viper brought to justice. The un-spy-like behavior of his fugitive makes him suspect he's apprehended the wrong woman. Just as they give in to lust, new evidence convinces Luke that Maggie's not as innocent as she claims to be.
Devastated by Luke's inability to trust her, Maggie runs again. She's determined to clear her name, and if that means tracking down a notorious spy even Interpol can't seem to locate, then that's exactly what she'll do ...
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Carina Press, 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, Kobo eReader
For more mystery, suspense and thriller ebooks, visit MystereBooks.com.
MystereBooks is pleased to feature A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow as today's free mystery ebook. 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 we urge you to download it while it is still available for free.
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A Cold Day for Murder by Dana Stabenow
A Kate Shugak Mystery (1st in series)
Gere Donovan Press
This title drifts in and out of the "free" category on most ebook sites. But it's been a while since we've featured it, and it is the start of a terrific mystery series set in Alaska, so it's worth another mention.
About A Cold Day for Murder (from the publisher): Somewhere in the hinterlands of Alaska, among the millions of sprawling acres that comprise “The Park,” a young National Park Ranger has gone missing. When the detective sent after him also vanishes, the Anchorage DA’s department must turn to their reluctant former investigator, Kate Shugak. Shugak knows The Park because she’s of The Park, an Aleut who left her home village of Niniltna to pursue education, a career, and the righting of wrongs. Kate’s search for the missing men will take her from self-imposed exile back to a life she’d left behind, and face-to-face with people and problems she'd hoped never to confront again.
Important Note: Prices can and do change without prior notice, so please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
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Following the success of this year's theatrical film adaptation of The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly, ABC is reportedly developing a television series based on the titular character. Connelly, together with John Romano, will write a pilot script for Lionsgate, the studio that produced the film.
Mickey Haller has spent all his professional life afraid that he wouldn't recognize innocence if it stood right in front of him. But what he should have been on the watch for was evil.
Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense pro who operates out of the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car, to defend the clients at the bottom of the legal food chain. It's no wonder that he is despised by cops, prosecutors, and even some of his own clients.
From bikers to con artists to drunk drivers and drug dealers, they're all on Mickey Haller's client list. But when a Beverly Hills rich boy is arrested for brutally beating a woman, Haller has his first high-paying client in years. It's a franchise case and he's sure it will be a slam dunk in the courtroom. For once, he may be defending a client who is actually innocent. But an investigator is murdered for getting too close to the truth and Haller quickly discovers that his search for innocence has taken him face-to-face with a kind of evil as pure as a flame. To escape without being burned, Haller must use all of his skills to manipulate a system in which he no longer believes.
Haller is featured in three subsequent thrillers by Connelly, as well as appearing in a short story and making a brief appearance in Connelly's Nine Dragons, which features the author's other series character, Harry Bosch.
(Source: Variety.)
20th Century Fox has acquired the rights to Swedish crime novelist Leif G. W. Persson's mysteries featuring Stockholm police officer Evert Backstrom, with the intent to develop a television series based on the character.
Two books have been published to date, Linda … som i Lindamordet (Linda ... as in Linda's Murder) in 2005 and Den som dödar draken (He Who Kills the Dragon) in 2008, neither of which have been translated (to our knowledge) into English.
The author describes Backstrom as "young, bold and primitive, but if necessary both cunning and unforgiving."
The studio hopes to have the series ready for next year's fall season.
(Source: Deadline|Hollywood)
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Late Rain by Lynn Kostoff as today's third free mystery ebook. 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 we urge you to download it while it is still available for free.
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Late Rain by Lynn Kostoff
Non-Series
Tyrus Books (Adams Media)
About Late Rain (from the publisher): Corrine Tedros is a Lady Macbeth wannabe who sets in motion the murder of her uncle-in-law (a soft-drink mogul), and things go awry when the murder is witnessed by a senior citizen in the late stages of Alzheimers. Things are complicated by the fact that the daughter of the man with Alzheimers is involved with a former homicide detective who has resigned and moved South in an attempt to reshape and simplify his life; on his own, Decovic starts to make connections in the case that cause Corrine Tedros to up the ante in keeping herself out of the murder investigation.
Important Note: Prices can and do change without prior notice, so please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
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Millennium Films has optioned the film rights to The Bricklayer by Noah Boyd. Gerard Butler is set to star as ex-FBI agent Steve Vail, who is introduced in this first book of the series.
A woman steps out of the shower in her Los Angeles home and is startled by an intruder sitting calmly in her bedroom holding a gun. But she is frozen with fear by what he has to say about the FBI — and what he says he must do …
A young agent slips into the night water off a rocky beach. He's been instructed to swim to a nearby island to deposit a million dollars demanded by a blackmailer. But his mission is riddled with hazardous tests, as if someone wanted to destroy him rather than collect the money …
Vail has resigned himself to his dismissal and is content with his life as a bricklayer. But the FBI, especially Deputy Assistant Director Kate Bannon, needs help with a shadowy group that has initiated a brilliant extortion plot. The group will keep killing their targets until the agency pays them off, the amount and number of bodies escalating each time the FBI fails. One thing is clear: someone who knows a little too much about the inner workings of the Bureau is very clever — and very angry — and will kill and kill again if it means he can disgrace the FBI.
Steve Vail's options — and his time to find answers — are swiftly running out
Hanna Weg is writing the screen adaptation. No other casting or a director have been named.
(Source: The Hollywood Reporter.)
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