In news from last week that we missed — and for which we are incredibly disappointed — the fifth season of Murdoch Mysteries, currently in production, will be its last.
Based on a character created by crime novelist Maureen Jennings, Canadian-produced Murdoch Mysteries stars Yannick Bisson as William Murdoch, a late 19th century Toronto police detective, who uses cutting edge technology to solve crimes. Murdoch is featured in seven mysteries written by Jennings and published between 1997 and 2007.
Several Canadian newspapers have been pondering the mystery, as it were, of why the show is coming to an end. It's not for lack of viewers, as the recently completed fourth season was its highest rated ever. Some have speculated that the series, a period crime drama, doesn't fit in with the image its network, Citytv, wants to move forward with. The show's producers, who are partnered with ITV in the UK, are optimistic that a sixth season may find a home somewhere.
We've enjoyed the series — see our reviews of Seasons 2 and 3 on Mr. E. Reviews — and are looking forward to seeing Season 4 on DVD.
(Source: Toronto.com.)
Friday, October 07, 2011
Citytv Cancels Murdoch Mysteries
New Carina eBook Mysteries for October 2011
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 October 2011 from Carina Press include:
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Unfinished Business by W. Soliman
The Hunter Files (1st in series)
Charlie Hunter retired from the force at 40 to relax, work on his boat and go fishing with his son on weekends, not become an amateur sleuth. But he can't say no to Kara Webb when she seeks his help in tracking down her sister, missing for 15 years.
The disappearance of teenaged Jasmine Webb was one of the first cases Charlie worked on after being made a detective. He's never forgotten it or his suspicions, even after the girl's parents told police they'd heard from her and the file on Jasmine was closed.
When Charlie's son is threatened, finding Jasmine becomes even more important—it's no longer just about closure, it's about protecting his family. Which makes the constant dead ends all the more frustrating. Until Charlie realizes that the question they should be asking isn't where Jasmine is, but who Jasmine has become …
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Hot Trick by Patricia Rosemoor
A Shelley Caldwell Mystery (2nd in series)
Shelley Caldwell's career as a Chicago homicide detective is complicated by her city's supernatural underground, her abilities as a sensitive and her half-vampire lover, Jake DeAtley.
Meeting a crazy banshee with visions of someone drowning in a trunk is the latest strange incident. Shelley ignores the warning — until famous illusionist Sebastian Cole reveals his new trick: escaping from a locked trunk submerged in the Chicago River. Sebastian gets out alive, but a woman across town isn't so lucky. Then another person is found killed in circumstances eerily similar to one of Sebastian's acts.
Shelley is certain there's a link between the magician and the murders. Even more unsettling is the way Sebastian invades her mind and stirs her senses. Not to mention Jake's negative reaction to the man. Can Shelley fight off Sebastian's supernatural influence to determine if he's the killer … or another victim?
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Behind the Scenes by Natalie J. Damschroder
Non-series
Kennedy Smyth's firm provides security for companies and charities in seriously dangerous countries. She doesn't usually take on "frivolous" jobs, but when an old friend asks her to protect his son's movie shoot, she finds it hard to refuse. Also hard to resist is the film's charismatic star, Rogan St. James. The handsome actor piques her interest, while the strange actions of the terrorist threatening the set raise her suspicions.
Even though he's a successful actor, Rogan wants more — a real woman to love, the type he doesn't think exists … until he meets Kennedy. She intrigues him with her confidence and passion for her work, and frustrates him with her refusal to let him get close.
But Kennedy finds herself in a vulnerable position when she discovers that the terrorist isn't actually out to derail the film. She's the real target — and if he finds out how much Rogan means to her, he could be next …
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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
For more mystery, suspense and thriller ebooks, visit MystereBooks.com.
The Dead Saint by Marilyn Brown Oden is Today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal
MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Dead Saint by Marilyn Brown Oden as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal. The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Friday, October 07, 2011.
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The Dead Saint by Marilyn Brown Oden
A Bishop Lynn Peterson Mystery (1st in series)
Abingdon Press
About The Dead Saint (from the publisher): It begins with a single gunshot, and Bishop Lynn Peterson watches in horror as a good friend, who is a member of the New Orleans Saints, collapses on the street.
When a medal the player wore — a medal Lynn had promised to return to the man's family — disappears, Lynn is thrust into a suspenseful and fast-moving journey through four assassinations, an attempt on her life, conflicts with a mysterious and ancient society, and a behind-the-scenes conspiracy that reaches all the way to the White House.
The turbulent, unstoppable intrigue challenges Lynn mentally, physically, and spiritually as she engages in a desperate battle with an opponent who is just as determined to kill as Lynn is to stop him even though she has no idea where — or who — he will strike next.
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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Mystery Bestsellers for the Week Ending October 07th, 2011
A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending October 07th, 2011 has been posted by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.
Moving up to number one this week is last week's featured title, The Affair by Lee Child. No new titles debut this week.
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The highest ranking new title at number 17 is Tag Man, the 22nd mystery in the Joe Gunther series by Archer Mayor.
Across Brattleboro, Vermont, rich people (some with dark secrets) are waking up in their high security, alarm-equipped homes to find a Post-it note stuck to their bedside tables reading, "You're it." There is little sign of disturbance anywhere, nothing stolen (that anyone admits,) and only a bit of expensive food eaten as a signature. The Press loves the story and dubs the burglar the Tag Man.
But who is he? And what’s he actually doing? In fact, he’s quickly running for his life, for what he discovers in one of these houses appears to be proof of a heinous string of murders. But is it? Joe Gunther, struggling to recover from a devastating personal loss, leads his VBI team to untangle the many conflicting pieces of evidence, while the burglar himself struggles for survival in the no-man’s-land between the police and the villains. With no one knowing what to believe, or who to trust, with Tag Man running for his life in a way he never imagined possible, as no one knows who’s watching as they sleep, or who truly did what.
Purchase Options:
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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.
Thursday, October 06, 2011
Mr. E. Reviews Henry's Crime
Purchase/Rental Option(s)
I'm not entirely sure how so much could go so wrong with this film — I actually like the premise and can see where it would have a lot of potential in the right hands and with the right actors — but I certainly don't recommend it as released, even as a rental.
Read the full text of our review at Mr. E. Reviews Henry's Crime.
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Mr. E. Reviews is your source for mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime drama reviews of television and film.
Review: Dandy Gilver and the Proper Treatment of Bloodstains by Catriona McPherson
Dandy Gilver and the Proper Treatment of Bloodstains by Catriona McPherson. A Dandy Gilver Mystery. Minotaur Books Hardcover, August 2011.
There is definitely some appeal in this multi-faceted socialite amateur sleuth, and the murder mystery plot itself is a well developed country manor-style whodunit. But this is also a very wordy, chatty mystery, one in which the reader just wants Dandy to get on with it all and solve the case.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Dandy Gilver and the Proper Treatment of Bloodstains by Catriona McPherson.
OMN Welcomes Crime Novelist Mark Capell
Omnimystery News is pleased to welcome Mark Capell, whose debut thriller is Run, Run, Run (Aptus Creative, September 2011 ebook).
Today Mark asks an interesting question: How "bad" can a "good guy" be?
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In writing my novel, Run, Run, Run, this is the question I had to ask myself: can the hero of a crime thriller do bad things and still be a good guy?
Photo provided courtesy of
Mark Capell
Not to give too much away, here's some story information you will need to understand my dilemma. In Run, Run, Run a law abiding man gives evidence that puts an influential gangster in prison. Such is the reach of the villain's gang that our hero, Dan, has to disappear into the Witness Protection Scheme. But that's not enough to keep him safe. The problem is that the gang's influence is so widespread they even have a police officer in the Witness Protection Unit in their pay.
This means that Dan and his wife, Sally, have to go on the run from both the vengeful gang and the corrupt police assigned to look after them.
But Dan and Sally are a normal, everyday couple, unprepared for life on the run. Think about it. Would you be? We've all read enough crime fiction, watched enough spy thrillers to know that there are some things you must do to avoid being tracked - don't use your credit cards, for instance. That's fine. But what happens when you run out of cash? How do you deal with that? Especially if your wife's eight months pregnant. Her body, at this stage, is not built for running away and sleeping rough.
So Dan needs cash for himself, his wife and his unborn child. What does he do to get it? He can't take a job. They're constantly moving to keep one step ahead of the gang and they can't trust the police anymore.
The only way to get cash quickly is to steal it.
But that isn't easy. He can't just explain his problem to a friendly looking cashier at the local store and hope for the best. So he might have to take a gun. Now he's carrying out an 'armed' robbery. Does this make him a bad guy even if he's only doing it to survive? What if the gun accidentally goes off and kills somebody? Is he now on the same level as the gang leader he helped put away?
I guess this takes us back to what a hero should be. Luckily, I think we've moved on from the days where the good cowboy wore the white hat and the bad guy wore the black one. Characters these days tend to be less black and white. They're more rounded. After all, there's good and bad in us all, right? But it's still difficult to give your hero bad traits, or have him do bad things. As a writer, even as a person, you feel guilty, even embarrassed. You want to put your head in your hands and hide from the character for making him do bad things. An apology just doesn't seem enough.
But I like it when the hero of a novel does bad things or has less than pure thoughts. That's real life. And though my novel is a thriller, not a slice of reality, I like my hero because he has to draw upon his 'inner criminal'. I don't think that makes him a bad person.
I once met a famous British gangster, called 'Mad' Frankie Fraser. He'd spent forty-two years in prison for his exploits. He's legendary, having been a member of the Richardson gang and hung around the Kray Twins. When I asked him about the murder of Jack 'the hat' McVitie, he said, "Well he was off his head, Mark. You'd have killed him."
My hero, Dan, is forced to do bad things. But only to protect his loved ones. He's not a bad person. He would never say what Frank said.
And that's the difference.
But if you'd like to decide for yourself read the book.
For more information about this crime thriller, including video trailers and extracts, go to Run-Novel.com.
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About Run, Run, Run:
When Dan Thompson gives evidence in the murder trial of an influential gangster he and his wife find themselves hunted by both sides of the law — the gangster’s brother, and a corrupt Witness Protection Unit. To survive they must learn to live like criminals — to lie, steal, shoot and keep running. What will it take to return to a normal life?
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
Review: Northwest Angle by William Kent Krueger
Northwest Angle by William Kent Krueger. A Cork O'Connor Mystery. Atria Books Hardcover, August 2011.
This superior novel of suspense is not a whodunit, but a "how is it going to play out"-type of mystery. The characters, the setting, and the danger — real and imagined — are in perfect alignment here. With each succeeding entry, this fine series just keeps getting better.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Northwest Angle by William Kent Krueger.
Review: A Bitter Truth by Charles Todd
A Bitter Truth by Charles Todd. A Bess Crawford Mystery. William Morrow Hardcover, August 2011.
This fast-paced historical whodunit, set in England during The Great War, offers an interesting contrast between the independent-minded nurse and the more traditional women of the time. It is both a well-plotted mystery and a moving story of a woman making a difference.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: A Bitter Truth by Charles Todd.
Robert Downey Jr. as Perry Mason?
This is news out of left field.
Warner Bros. and Robert Downey Jr. are looking to reboot Perry Mason as a period theatrical film and the first of a potential franchise. It is expected that Downey would play the role of the famed Los Angeles defense attorney.
While we thought Tom Cruise was a stretch for Jack Reacher, at least it seemed plausible in a kind of alternate universe sort of way. We're having all kinds of trouble, however, imagining Robert Downey Jr. as Perry Mason … in any universe … though we're the first to admit that we couldn't picture him as Sherlock Holmes either, and that turned out pretty well.
(Source: Variety.)
The Mystery Bookshelf: Jade Lady Burning by Martin Limón, a George Sueño and Ernie Bascom 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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Jade Lady Burning by Martin Limón
A George Sueño and Ernie Bascom Mystery (1st in series)
Soho Crime (Trade Paperback)
Publication Date: October 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1-61695-090-3
About Jade Lady Burning (from the publisher): Almost twenty years after the end of the Korean War, the U.S. Military is still present throughout South Korea, and tensions run high. Koreans look for any opportunity to hate the soldiers who drink at their bars and carouse with their women. When Pak Ok-Suk, a young Korean woman, is found brutally murdered in a torched apartment in the Itaewon red-light district of Seoul, it looks like it might be the work of her American soldier boyfriend. Sergeants George Sueño and Ernie Bascom, Military Police for the U.S. 8th Army, are assigned to the case, but they have nothing to go on other than a tenuous connection to an infamous prostitute. As repressed resentments erupt around them, the pair sets out on an increasingly dangerous quest to find evidence that will absolve their countryman.
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About the author: Martin Limón retired from the military service after serving multiple tours of duty in the US Army, 20 years in total and half of them in Korea. He lives in Seattle.
Purchase Options for Jade Lady Burning:
