Mystery Bestsellers for the Week Ending December 09, 2011

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending December 9th, 2011 has been posted by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

The Litigators by John Grisham remains atop the list this week, with the next two books — V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton and Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich — swapping positions from their spots last week. Two new titles debut this week.

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Kay Scarpetta returns in her 19th case in Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell.

Determined to find out what happened to her former deputy chief Jack Fielding, murdered six months earlier, Kay Scarpetta travels to the Georgia Prison for Women, where an inmate has information not only on Fielding, but also on a string of grisly killings. The murder of an Atlanta family years ago, a young woman on death row, and the inexplicable deaths of homeless people as far away as California seem unrelated. But Scarpetta discovers connections that compel her to conclude that what she thought ended with Fielding's death and an attempt on her own life is only the beginning of something far more destructive: a terrifying terrain of conspiracy and potential terrorism on an international scale. And she is the only one who can stop it.

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P. D. James draws the characters of Jane Austen’s beloved novel Pride and Prejudice into a tale of murder and emotional mayhem in Death Comes to Pemberley.

It is 1803, six years since Elizabeth and Darcy embarked on their life together at Pemberley, Darcy’s magnificent estate. Their peaceful, orderly world seems almost unassailable. Elizabeth has found her footing as the chatelaine of the great house. They have two fine sons, Fitzwilliam and Charles. Elizabeth’s sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live nearby; her father visits often; there is optimistic talk about the prospects of marriage for Darcy’s sister Georgiana. And preparations are under way for their much-anticipated annual autumn ball.

Then, on the eve of the ball, the patrician idyll is shattered. A coach careens up the drive carrying Lydia, Elizabeth’s disgraced sister, who with her husband, the very dubious Wickham, has been banned from Pemberley. She stumbles out of the carriage, hysterical, shrieking that Wickham has been murdered. With shocking suddenness, Pemberley is plunged into a frightening mystery.

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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.

First Poster for Bones Spin-Off The Finder

Fox has released a kind of silly poster for its upcoming Bones spin-off, The Finder … a different kind of detective.

Geoff Stults stars as Walter Sherman, whose resulting brain damage from the explosion of an IED in Iraq transformed him from someone skilled at recovering people and things into something much more extraordinary: a Finder. Now Walter uses his odd "power" to locate almost anything for about anyone.

We're not quite sure what to make of this series. Clearly the producers are going for a light, comic touch here but based on what little we've seen to date, it almost seems they're trying too hard to win us over. We won't have long to see one way or the other; the series premires on Thursday, January 12th, 2012.

Watch a really old trailer for the series from last spring below.

A&E Announces Cast, Premiere Date of Mini-Series Adaptation of Robin Cook's Coma

A&E announced today that its 4-hour mini-series adaptation of Robin Cook's 1977 medical thriller Coma will premiere on Memorial Day 2012.

Produced by Ridley and Tony Scott, the all-star cast includes Richard Dreyfuss, Ellen Burstyn, James Woods, Geena Davis, Lauren Ambrose and Steven Pasquale. Production has already begun in Atlanta.

The storyline involves a doctor, who discovers that something sinister is going on in her hospital after routine procedures send more than a few seemingly healthy patients into comas on the operating table.

Coma was previously adapted as a theatrical film in 1978 starring Genevieve Bujold and Michael Dogulas and directed by Michael Crichton.

Review: Very Bad Men by Harry Dolan

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Very Bad Men by Harry Dolan.

Recently Published eBooks of Mystery and Suspense from Carina Press (111208)

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 published during November 2011 from Carina Press include:

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Risking Trust by Adrienne Giordano
A Private Protectors Thriller (1st in series)

Roxann Thorgesson's world is out of control. After her father suffers a fatal heart attack, she must take over as publisher of Chicago's second-largest newspaper. Then her ex-boyfriend Michael Taylor, CEO of his own security company, shows up needing a favor. The last thing Roxann needs is Michael around causing trouble—and potential heartbreak—but he's involved in a scandalous story she can't pass up.

Twelve years ago, Michael walked out on Roxann without explanation. Now he needs her help. Michael's estranged wife has been murdered and he is the prime suspect. He offers something no newspaperwoman could refuse: exclusive access to his headline-making murder accusation, in exchange for her help in uncovering the true killer. When their investigation leads them to a city hall conspiracy, both their lives and their newly reignited flame could be permanently extinguished …

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Edge of Survival by Toni Anderson
Non-series

Dr. Cameran Young knew her assignment wouldn't be easy. As lead biologist on the Environment Impact Assessment team, her findings would determine the future of a large mining project in the northern Canadian bush. She expected rough conditions and hostile miners—but she didn't expect to find a dead body her first day on the job.

Former SAS Sergeant Daniel Fox forged a career as a helicopter pilot, working as far from the rest of the human race as possible. The thrill of flying makes his civilian life bearable, and he lives by his mantra: don't get involved. But when he's charged with transporting the biologist to her research vessel, he can't help but get involved in the murder investigation—and with Cameran, who awakens emotions he's desperate to suppress.

In the harsh and rugged wilderness, Daniel and Cameran must battle their intense and growing attraction while keeping ahead of a killer who will stop at nothing to silence her …

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The Hollow House by Janis Patterson
Non-series

Denver, 1919. I decided to use the name Geraldine Brunton. It's not the name I was born with, nor the name I married, but it will hide who I really am … and what I have done.

I've taken a job as companion to wealthy invalid Emmaline Stubbs, whose fragile exterior hides a will of iron. Despite its opulence, the Stubbs household is not a happy one. Emmaline's equally stubborn daughter and charismatic, untrustworthy son-in-law want control of her fortune, forcing the entire staff to take sides in their power struggle. I must tread carefully in this tension-filled household if I want to keep my job and my secrets.

Events take a deadly turn when Mrs. Stubbs is nearly killed and a maid is found murdered. Though I ought to keep a low profile, it soon becomes clear I must uncover the truth. Because if I don't, my past will make me the prime suspect …

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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 BlackBerry and mobile phones.

For more mystery, suspense and thriller ebooks, visit MystereBooks.com.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Opens in US Theaters Friday, December 9th

The film adaptation of John le Carré's cold war spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy opens in US theaters tomorrow, Friday December 9th.

The time is 1973. Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), a.k.a. MI6 and code-named the Circus, is striving to keep pace with other countries' espionage efforts and to keep the U.K. secure. The head of the Circus, known as Control (played by John Hurt), personally sends dedicated operative Jim Prideaux (Mark Strong) into Hungary. But Jim's mission goes bloodily awry, and Control is forced out of the Circus — as is his top lieutenant, George Smiley (Gary Oldman), a career spy with razor-sharp senses.

Estranged from his absent wife Ann, Smiley is soon called in to see undersecretary Oliver Lacon; he is to be re-hired in secret at the government's behest, as there is a gnawing fear that the Circus has long been compromised by a double agent, or mole, working for the Soviets and jeopardizing England. Supported by younger agent Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch), Smiley parses Circus activities past and present. In trying to track and identify the mole, Smiley is haunted by his decades-earlier interaction with the shadowy Russian spy master Karla.

The mole's trail remains cold until maverick field agent Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy) unexpectedly contacts Lacon. While undercover in Turkey, Ricki has fallen for a betrayed married woman, Irina, who claims to possess crucial intelligence. Separately, Smiley learns that Control narrowed down the list of mole suspects to five men. They are the ambitious Percy Alleline (Toby Jones), whom he had code-named Tinker; suavely confident Bill Haydon (Colin Firth), dubbed Tailor; stalwart Roy Bland (Ciarán Hinds), called Soldier; officious Toby Esterhase (David Dencik), dubbed Poor Man; and — Smiley himself.

Even before the startling truth is revealed, the emotional and physical tolls on the players enmeshed in the deadly international spy game will escalate …

Watch a trailer for the film below.

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale is Today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal. The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Thursday, December 08, 2011.

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The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale
Non-Series
Walker Books

Paddy Considine stars as the "Prince of Sleuths" Jack Whicher in a made-for-television adaptation of this book that aired earlier this year in the UK.

About The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher (from the publisher): In June of 1860 three-year-old Saville Kent was found at the bottom of an outdoor privy with his throat slit. The crime horrified all England and led to a national obsession with detection, ironically destroying, in the process, the career of perhaps the greatest detective in the land.

At the time, the detective was a relatively new invention; there were only eight detectives in all of England and rarely were they called out of London, but this crime was so shocking that Scotland Yard sent its best man to investigate, Inspector Jonathan Whicher.

Whicher quickly believed the unbelievable — that someone within the family was responsible for the murder of young Saville Kent. Without sufficient evidence or a confession, though, his case was circumstantial and he returned to London a broken man.

Though he would be vindicated five years later, the real legacy of Jonathan Whicher lives on in fiction: the tough, quirky, knowing, and all-seeing detective that we know and love today … from the cryptic Sgt. Cuff in Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone to Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade.

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):

Amazon Kindle Daily Deal 12/08/2011 Download Link.

Lifetime Orders Made-for-Television Adaptation of Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo

Lifetime has ordered a made-for-television adaptation of Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo. Published in 2009 by Minotaur Books, the author's first mystery introduces Kate Burkholder, the Chief of Police for the Amish community of Painters Mill, Ohio.

Neve Campbell will star as Burkholder in the movie, which also may serve as a pilot for a potential series.

The storyline of the book outlines Burkholder's return to the community of her youth as the head of local law enforcement. She's certain she's come to terms with her past — 16 years ago she survived a series of brutal murders that shattered the peaceful farming community — until the first body is discovered in a snowy field. Kate vows to stop the killer before he strikes again. But to do so, she must betray both her family and her Amish past and expose a dark secret that could destroy her.

(Source: Deadline.)

Three Mysteries from Oceanview are Today's Featured Free MystereBooks

MystereBooks is pleased to three mysteries from Oceanview Publishing today's free mystery ebooks. We don't know how long these will be offered at this special price (typically for a limited time only or 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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Shadow of Death by Patricia Gussin
A Laura Nelson Mystery
Oceanview Publishing

This is the author's debut thriller, and also the first of two books to feature medical student, later thoracic surgeon, Laura Nelson.

About Shadow of Death (from the publisher): Pull a trigger and everything changes.

Medical student Laura Nelson had just finished examining her first patient when she is forced to make a split-second decision that will alter the course of her life — forever.

One life will end, and one life will never be the same.

But keeping her dreadful secret will be one of the toughest challenges Laura will ever face. With a persistent and perceptive detective hot on her trail and a host of eerie incidents suggesting that maybe her secret isn t really a secret, Laura is drawn into an unseemly web of peril, deceit, and treachery and is forced to risk both her freedom and her sanity. Will her deadly secret come to light, or must she live forever in the shadow of death?

Set amidst the upheaval and smoldering chaos of the Detroit riots of 1967, Shadow of Death is a haunting tale of unrest, fear, and consequences.

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):

Amazon Free Kindle Edition Download Link.

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The Fallen by Mark Terry
A Derek Stillwater Mystery
Oceanview Publishing

In our review of this third title in the series, we called this book "a dramatic, well-structured thriller that will keep readers enthralled."

About The Fallen (from the publisher): Twenty world leaders meet for the G8 Summit at the beautiful Cheyenne Resort in Colorado Springs. But an ugly plot lurks beneath the surface: a terrorist group, The Fallen Angels, plans to wreak havoc on the Summit.

With the Secret Service, the FBI, Homeland Security, the military, and security from twenty different governments on-hand, shouldn't the resort be the safest place in the world?

It seems impossible that a terrorist group could infiltrate the Summit. And yet they do. Within minutes, twenty world leaders are taken hostage, and Richard Coffee, the group's leader, makes his first demand: release twenty detainees from Guantanamo Bay, or he'll execute one leader each hour until his demands are met.

Only one man can disrupt this plot. Derek Stillwater is that man.

Working undercover as a maintenance man at the resort, Stillwater will wage war on the world's deadliest, most sophisticated terrorist organization, picking off the terrorists one by one-until he comes face-to-face with an evil force from his past, Richard Coffee, The Fallen Angel himself.

Read our review of The Fallen by Mark Terry.

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):

Amazon Free Kindle Edition Download Link.

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Dead Air by Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid
A Sammy Greene Mystery
Oceanview Publishing

This title is the first in a series that features college campus talk-radio show host Sammy Greene.

About Dead Air (from the publisher): An outspoken, brash, native New Yorker, Sammy Greene isn't afraid to ruffle a few feathers at Ellsford University, her ultraconservative New England college. Host of "The Hot Line", a talk-radio show on campus station WELL, Sammy tackles the toughest, most controversial issues facing Ellsford's students.

When Sammy discovers the body of Dr. Burton Conrad, one of Ellsford's most esteemed professors, her journalistic drive kicks in and she sets out to discover what happened to the beloved professor. But when several Ellsford students mysteriously disappear, Sammy realizes she's uncovered the seamy, terrifying underbelly of this prestigious institute of higher education.

With the entire campus in peril, and demons from her past close behind, Sammy Greene must race to find answers. Along the way, she'll discover some unlikely allies — and even more unlikely enemies. If Sammy isn't careful, someone is going to make sure that she signs off — for good.

Read our review of Dead Air by Deborah Shlian and Linda Reid.

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):

Amazon Free Kindle Edition Download Link.

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

Mr. E. Reviews The River Murders

Purchase/Rental Option(s)

This purported thriller doesn't boast a single frame of originality but that isn't its biggest problem. No, that belongs to the direction and, to a lesser extent, the actors, who by and large seem to want to be anywhere other than in this film.

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

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

Lionsgate Planning Film Sequel to The Lincoln Lawyer

Earlier this year we reported that ABC was developing a crime drama based on the character Mickey Haller, who was first featured in the novel The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly, which was adapted into a theatrical film that was released in March 2011.

Now we're learning that the studio is planning a sequel to the film. During an interview on CNBC this morning, Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns stated that in addition to the joint project with ABC, "we're going to do a sequel on Lincoln Lawyer as well."

Matthew McConaughey starred as Mickey Haller in the film, and it would be a real surprise — and no doubt something of a disappointment — if he didn't reprise his role. Connelly has written three subsequent series books to The Lincoln Lawyer, so there is plenty of material from which to write a sequel.

Angelina Jolie to Play Kay Scarpetta in Film Adaptation of Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell

This is apparently really old news, but we didn't learn of it until we read of it on CriminalElement.com: Angelina Jolie has been cast as Kay Scarpetta in the film adaptation of Red Mist, the 19th mystery in this long-running series by Patricia Cornwell that hits bookstores today.

The author mentions the actress in a biography on her website: "In April 2009, Fox acquired the film rights to the Scarpetta novels, featuring Angelina Jolie as Dr. Kay Scarpetta." (The website is currently listed as "under construction", but you can see the text on a cached version of it.)

Production on the film is apparently in the very early stages, with a speculative date of release listed as 2013.

(Update: I guess we did know of it! Looking back through our posts, we found this entry from April 2009: Fox to Develop Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta Mysteries with Angelina Jolie in Lead Role.)

Review: A King's Ransom by Jude Watson

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: A King's Ransom by Jude Watson.