Telemystery: DCI Banks, based on a Character by Peter Robinson, to Air on PBS in January 2013

Here's some telemystery news we missed from a few days ago: crime novelist Peter Robinson announced on his website that the ITV drama DCI Banks, based on his series character, will air on PBS in January 2013. (We can't find any mention of it on the PBS website, but we'll make a note to check back later this month.)

Stephen Tompkinson stars as Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks. A two-part pilot was originally filmed adapted from the twelfth book in the series, Aftermath (details below). Three additional two-part episodes comprise the first season: "Playing with Fire", "Friend of the Devil", and "Cold is the Grave", all based on existing books in the series. These episodes originally aired on ITV in late 2011.

A second season of three two-part episodes aired on ITV this fall, and a third season has been commissioned by the network.

Please Welcome Crime Novelist Robin Burcell

with Robin Burcell

We are delighted to welcome police officer — and crime novelist — Robin Burcell to Omnimystery News today.

Robin's third "Sydney Fitzpatrick" thriller is The Dark Hour (Harper, December 2012 mass market paperback and ebook formats).

We recently had a chance to talk to the Robin about her books and character.

Louisiana Bigshot by Julie Smith is Today's Fourth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Louisiana Bigshot by Julie Smith as today's fourth free mystery ebook (A Talba Wallis Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

Death by Deadline by Mel Taylor is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Death by Deadline by Mel Taylor as today's third free mystery ebook (A Matt Bowens, "Deadline" Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

A Killing in Kensington by Mary Lydon Simonsen is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature A Killing in Kensington by Mary Lydon Simonsen as today's second free mystery ebook (A Patrick Shea Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

Seraphim by Jon Michael Kelley is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Seraphim by Jon Michael Kelley as today's free mystery ebook (A Novel of Psychological Suspense; Kindle format only).

This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

MystereBooks: Read4Free Promotion Includes 5 Mysteries and Thrillers

We're not exactly sure what Reads4Free is, but several authors are participating in what seems to be an irregularly scheduled promotion and are making available the Kindle format of their books for free on December 4th and 5th, 2012 only.

The authors and titles are:

• The Ninth District by Douglas Dorow;
• Allegiance by Derek Blass;
• A Murderous Game by Patricia Paris;
• Arcadia's Gift by Jesi Lea Ryan; and
• Bound by Shannon Mayer.

All of the above could be categorized as mystery, suspense or thriller novels or novellas.

Important Note: Any prices and/or special deals mentioned above were correct as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.

Telemystery: Fox Orders Animated Crime Comedy, Murder Police

Fox has ordered a 13-episode animated series titled Murder Police. The storyline is centered on a dedicated but inept detective and his partner as they attempt to get to the bottom of crime.

"It's about bumbling homicide detectives who are trying to do their jobs but are just not very good at it," co-creator Jason Ruiz told The Hollywood Reporter. "It's like if Scooby Doo was solving murders."

Murder Police will likely premiere in Fall 2013.

Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (121203)

Here is today's list of the Bestselling Free Kindle Crime Fiction: the top nine mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers.

We're using a script to embed an RSS feed from Amazon.com, which is updated hourly; as an alternative, you can click on the image to the right or use this link to see the relevant page on Amazon.com, which includes a list of both the Top 100 Paid and Top 100 Free Kindle Mysteries and Thrillers.

MystereBooks: 99 Cent Kindle Books from Snubnose Press

We discovered a new crime publisher today while searching for discounted mysterebooks: Snubnose Press.

Here's a description from their website:

The snubnose revolver dominated visual crime stories in the 20th century. Every cop, every detective, every criminal in every TV show and movie seemed to carry a snubnose. The snubnose is a classic still used today.

The snubnose is easy to conceal and carry.
The snubnose is powerful.
The snubnose is compact.

That's how we like our fiction. Welcome to Snubnose Press.

What caught our eye this morning, however, is that they have recently discounted nearly 30 titles — a combination of novels, novellas, and short story collections — to just 99 cents. This appears to be a Kindle book only promotion.

Rather than list the titles individually, here is a link to a list of them on Amazon.com. To be sure, there are many authors here with which we are unfamiliar, but there are a few names, whose books we've read and enjoyed in the past. We encourage you to check out the available titles; it's always fun to explore new authors, especially when the price makes it easy and inexpensive to do so.

Important Note: Any prices and/or special deals mentioned above were correct as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.

Telemystery: Cagney & Lacey, Mannix, and McMillan & Wife, New This Week on DVD

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 from our site being released this week.

Please Welcome Novelist Eliot Pattison

with Eliot Pattison

We are delighted to welcome novelist Eliot Pattison to Omnimystery News today.

Eliot is the author of the Edgar Award-winning series featuring exiled Chinese inspector Shan Tao Yun, the seventh book of which is Mandarin Gate (Minotaur Books, November 2012 hardcover and ebook formats).

We recently had a chance to talk to Eliot about his books.

Mystery Writers of America Announce 2013 Grand Masters

The Mystery Writers of America have chosen Ken Follett and Margaret Maron as this year's Grand Masters.

MWA's Grand Master Award represents the pinnacle of achievement in mystery writing and was established to acknowledge important contributions to this genre, as well as a body of work that is both significant and of consistent high quality. Mr. Follett and Ms. Maron will be presented with their awards at the Edgar Awards Banquet, which will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on Thursday, May 2, 2013.

Follett is the author of twenty novels, and has sold more than 100 million books since he began writing in the 1970s. His career has been wide reaching and after mastering the mystery genre, he expanded into literary epic fiction, TV, movies and children's books.

"I am delighted and honored," said Follett. "My first successful book, Eye of the Needle, won the Edgar for Best Novel more than thirty years ago. I'm thrilled to know that my fellow writers still hold me in such high regard."

Maron is the author of twenty-six novels and two short story collections. Her first mystery, One Coffee With, was published in 1981 and was the beginning of her Sigrid Harald series featuring a New York City police officer. But it wasn't until 1992, and a fictional return to her North Carolina roots with Bootlegger's Daughter (the first of the Deborah Knott series), that Maron was awarded an Edgar, Agatha, Anthony and Macavity award.

"It still hasn't fully sunk in," said Maron. "I keep remembering my first MWA dinner when I was half-afraid that I would be asked to leave because I only had a few short stories and a half-published book to my name, so how could I possibly belong there with those luminaries? Grand Master? Wow!"

Other awards announced today by the MWA include the recipients of the 2013 Raven Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing: the specialty bookstore The Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego and journalist Oline Cogdill.

Finally, the 2013 Ellery Queen Award will be given to Johnny Temple, founder and editor of Akashic Books. The Ellery Queen award is given to editors or publishers who have distinguished themselves by their generous and wide-ranging support of the genre.

Entangled by Barbara Ellen Brink is Today's Fourth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Entangled by Barbara Ellen Brink as today's fourth free mystery ebook (A Fredrickson Winery Mystery; Kobo and iTunes formats).

This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

A Shot in the Dark by Mackenzie Morgan is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature A Shot in the Dark by Mackenzie Morgan as today's third free mystery ebook (A Tracy Forrester Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.