Harlequin Mira Mystery and Suspense Titles for October 2011

eHarlequin.com has released the list of October 2011 titles for their Mira imprint, the brightest stars in women's fiction. From all titles available, we've only listed those that are mystery, thriller, or suspense on this page.

For more information about the book from eHarlequin.com, click on the title or cover; other purchase options (see icons below cover) are also provided.

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Blood Trails by Sharon Sala
The Searchers Trilogy (3nd in series)

Her "father's" deathbed confession reveals that Holly's real father was almost certainly the notorious serial killer known as "The Hunter," and that her mother gave Holly up to save her life. But The Hunter was never caught—and Holly's mother simply vanished.

In search of her past, Holly leaves both her home and Bud Tate, the handsome ranch foreman she's afraid to love, horrified by the knowledge that the blood of a depraved killer might run through her veins. Haunted, driven, she searches for The Hunter and hopes her mother was wrong.

But her search leads to a terrible truth no one could have imagined, and even Bud's determination to follow and protect the woman he loves may not be enough to save Holly from the terrors of a past become present.

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Where All the Dead Lie by J. T. Ellison
A Taylor Jackson Mystery (7th in series)

In her showdown with the murderous Pretender, a bullet taken at close range severed the connection between Taylor's thoughts and speech. Effectively mute, there's no telling if her voice will ever come back. Trapped in silence, she is surrounded by ghosts—of the past, of friendships and trusts lost … of a lost faith in herself and her motives that night.

When Memphis Highsmythe offers Taylor his home in the Scottish Highlands to recuperate, her fiancé can't refuse her excitement, no matter his distrust of the man. At first, Memphis's drafty and singularly romantic castle seems the perfect place for healing. But shortly the house itself surrounds her like a menacing presence. As Taylor's sense of isolation and vulnerability grows, so, too, does her grip on reality.

Someone or something is coming after Taylor. But is she being haunted by the dead … or hunted by the living?

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Fatal Judgment by Irene Hannon is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Fatal Judgment by Irene Hannon 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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Fatal Judgment by Irene Hannon
A Guardians of Justice Novel of Suspense
Revell

About Fatal Judgment (from the publisher): U.S. Marshal Jake Taylor has seen plenty of action during his years in law enforcement. But he'd rather go back to Iraq than face his next assignment: protection detail for federal judge Liz Michaels. His feelings toward Liz haven't warmed in the five years since she lost her husband — and Jake's best friend — to possible suicide. How can Jake be expected to care for the coldhearted workaholic who drove his friend to despair?

As the danger mounts and Jake gets to know Liz better, his feelings slowly start to change. When it becomes clear that an unknown enemy may want her dead, the stakes are raised. Because now both her life — and his heart — are in mortal danger.

Read our review of Fatal Judgment by Irene Hannon.

Important Note: Prices can and do change without prior notice, so please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.

Download Link(s):

B&N Free Nook Book Download Link.

For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.

Review: The Sixes by Kate White

The Sixes by Kate White. Non-series. Harper Hardcover, August 2011.

The premise for this book is fine — a secret society on the campus of a small rural college that may or may not be involved in murder — but it's never fully developed or realized and seems more appropriate for the outline of a movie-of-the-week rather than the plot for a novel of suspense.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: The Sixes by Kate White.

The Mystery Bookshelf: The Dove of Death by Peter Tremayne, a Sister Fidelma of Cashel Mystery

The Mystery Bookshelf, where you can discover a world of mystery and suspense, is pleased to feature a new crime novel we recently received from the publisher.

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The Dove of Death by Peter Tremayne
A Sister Fidelma of Cashel Mystery (20th in series)
Minotaur Books (Trade Paperback)
Publication Date: September 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-60927-6

About The Dove of Death (from the publisher): In A.D. 670, an Irish merchant ship is attacked by a pirate vessel off the southern coast of the Breton peninsula. Merchad, the ship’s captain, and Bressal, a prince from the Irish kingdom of Muman, are killed in cold blood after they have surrendered. Among the other passengers who manage to escape the slaughter are Fidelma of Cashel and her faithful companion, Brother Eadulf.

Once safely ashore, Fidelma — sister to the King of Muman and an advocate of the Brehon law courts — is determined to bring the killers to justice, not only because her training demands it but also because one of the victims was her cousin. The only clue to the killer’s identity is the symbol of the dove on the attacking ship’s sails, a clue that leads her on a dangerous quest to confront the man known as The Dove of Death.

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About the author: Peter Tremayne is the fiction pseudonym of Peter Berresford Ellis, a renowned Celtic scholar who has written over 30 books on the Ancient Celts and the Irish. As Tremayne, he is best known for his stories and novels featuring 7th century Irish religieuse Fidelma of Cashel. He lives in London.

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Review: The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen

The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen. A Carl Mørck, Department Q Mystery. Dutton Hardcover, August 2011.

The police procedural aspect of the book is excellent, with the pieces of a missing person's puzzle all contained within a five-year-old cold case file. It's a real pleasure following Mørck along as he puts them together in an effort to locate "the woman in the cage" (the original Danish title of this book).

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Adler-Olsen.

Review: The Queen by Steven James

The Queen by Steven James. A Patrick Bowers Mystery. Revell Trade Paperback, September 2011.

This thrilling adventure-style mystery has lots of twists and turns and plenty of action. But what makes it truly special are the characters of Patrick Bowers and his step-daughter Tessa, who bring a grounded personal element to the story that contrasts well with the unpredictability of the storyline.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: The Queen by Steven James.

Mystery Bestsellers for the Week Ending September 30th, 2011

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending September 23rd, 2011 has been posted by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

Retaing the top spot — and we have to say, we're somewhat surprised at the staying power of this book — is The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, the third and final thriller in the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson. Two new titles debut on the list.

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New at number 11 is The Affair, the latest Jack Reacher thriller by Lee Child.

Everything starts somewhere …

For elite military cop Jack Reacher, that somewhere was Carter Crossing, Mississippi, way back in 1997. A lonely railroad track. A crime scene. A coverup.

A young woman is dead, and solid evidence points to a soldier at a nearby military base. But that soldier has powerful friends in Washington.

Reacher is ordered undercover — to find out everything he can, to control the local police, and then to vanish. Reacher is a good soldier. But when he gets to Carter Crossing, he finds layers no one saw coming, and the investigation spins out of control.

Local sheriff Elizabeth Deveraux has a thirst for justice — and an appetite for secrets. Uncertain they can trust one another, Reacher and Deveraux reluctantly join forces. Reacher works to uncover the truth, while others try to bury it forever. The conspiracy threatens to shatter his faith in his mission, and turn him into a man to be feared.

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And just making the list at number 15 is the third Hackberry Holland mystery, Feast Day of Fools by James Lee Burke.

Sheriff Hackberry Holland patrols a small Southwest Texas border town with a deep and abiding respect for the citizens in his care. Still mourning the loss of his cherished wife and locked in a perilous almost-romance with his deputy, Pam Tibbs, a woman many decades his junior, Hackberry feeds off the deeds of evil men to keep his own demons at bay.

When alcoholic ex-boxer Danny Boy Lorca witnesses a man tortured to death in the desert and reports it, Hack’s investigation leads to the home of Anton Ling, a regal, mysterious Chinese woman whom the locals refer to as La Magdalena and who is known for sheltering illegals. Ling denies having seen the victim or the perpetrators, but there is something in her steely demeanor and aristocratic beauty that compels Hackberry to return to her home again and again as the investigation unfolds. Could it be that the sheriff is so taken in by this creature who reminds him of his deceased wife that he would ignore the possibility that she is just as dangerous as the men she harbors?

The danger in the desert increases tenfold with the return of serial murderer Preacher Jack Collins. Presumed dead, Preacher Jack has reemerged with a calm, single-minded zeal for killing that is more terrifying than the muzzle flash of his signature machine gun. But this time he and Sheriff Holland have a common enemy.

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For more mystery books news, 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.

Adrian Magson's Debut Spy Thriller Optioned for Film

The 2010 spy thriller Red Station by Adrian Magson, which introduces MI5 officer Harry Tate, has been optioned for film. A search for a screenwriter is currently underway by the studio.

In the book, having been made the scapegoat for a botched drugs intercept operation, Tate is dispatched to "Red Station", a remote outpost in the Balkans, ostensibly to avoid press scrutiny, but where in effect the security services send "problem" agents they’d like to be rid of. But the outpost is thrust into the international spotlight when troops begin massing in the area; and, as the situation becomes increasingly dangerous, Tate discovers the real, truly shocking, purpose behind "Red Station" — and decides to fight back …

The second book in the series, Tracers, was published earlier this year. The producers are no doubt considering a franchise here.

(Source: The Hollywood Reporter.)

NBC Acquires Project based on Elmore Leonard Short Story

NBC has acquired a television series project based on an Elmore Leonard short story, which originally appeared in his collection When the Women Come Out to Dance. (We can't identify which short story it is, based on news reports to date.)

This collection is also the source material for the FX series Justified — the short story "Fire in the Hole" features US Marshal Raylan Givens played by Timothy Olyphant.

One of the stories included here, "Karen Makes Out", features US Marshal Karen Sisco, which is the principal character in the 1998 film Out of Sight and in the 2003 television crime drama Karen Sisco. It seems unlikely that a new series would be developed around this character, but remakes are currently all the rage at the networks, so it's always possible.

(Source: The Hollywood Reporter.)

Mr. E. Reviews The Eagle

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The epic adventure, with an element of suspense, features two young men, master and slave, who embark on a quest to restore one family's honor. It is a solid combination of story, look, and action, the only significant downside being some rather wooden acting on the part of the principals.

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

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