Telemystery: BBC One Commissions Special Episode of Jonathan Creek

BBC One announced today that a 90-minute special episode of Jonathan Creek is being produced and scheduled to air in Spring 2013.

Alan Davies stars as the titular character, a man whose day job is to devise tricks for a stage magician while on the side investigating — and ultimately explaining — "impossible" crimes.

In "The Clue of the Savant's Thumb", Creek and fellow investigator Joey Ross (Sheridan Smith) are drawn into a complex case involving a secret society, seemingly supernatural events at a girls' boarding school, and the miraculous disappearance of a body in front of three witnesses.

"The new story has more than the usual amount of twists and surprises, and I'm very much looking forward to sleuthing again," said Davies. "I can't wait to join Sheridan Smith on set again; we're very lucky to have her. It's nearly 17 years since I first auditioned for the part; the duffle coat is always on standby, even if the periods of duffle-hibernation are quite long these days."

Jonathan Creek first aired in 1997, its first of four seasons. Four additional special episodes were also produced. We thought the first three seasons (with co-star Caroline Quentin) were brilliant; we were less thrilled with the fourth season (with new co-star Julia Sawalha). We're not sure we've seen the four special episodes, so can't comment on those. Still, we're excited by this news and look forward to this new episode (if and when it crosses the Atlantic to our shores!).

MystereBooks: Beyond Suspicion by James Grippando, Now Available at a Special Price

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Beyond Suspicion, the second legal thriller featuring Miami attorney Jack Swyteck by James Grippando, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, HarperCollins.

The ebook format of this title was priced at $0.99 from the listed vendors (below) 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.

Review: The Snow White Christmas Cookie by David Handler

A Mysterious Review of …

The Snow White Christmas Cookie by David Handler. A Berger and Mitry Mystery.

Review summary: This is a well-spun holiday mystery, with the romantic crime-solving duo and the diversity of the crimes they're trying to solve making for a very entertaining story. Add to the mix a beloved mail carrier and the result is both appealing and exciting. (Click here for text of full review.)

MystereBooks: A Collection of Stephanie Bond Humorous Mysteries, Free for Two Days Only!

For two days only — today (December 5th, 2012) and tomorrow (December 6th, 2012) — a collection of humorous mysteries by Stephanie Bond — three novels and one short story — is available for free as a Kindle book set. Details below …

Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (121205)

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.

The Tenth Saint by D. J. Niko is Today's Fifth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Tenth Saint by D. J. Niko as today's fifth free mystery ebook (The Sarah Weston Chronicles; Kindle 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.

On the Nickel by Maggie Toussaint is Today's Fourth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature On the Nickel by Maggie Toussaint as today's fourth free mystery ebook (A Cleopatra Jones 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.

The Exiled Element by John L. Betcher is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Exiled Element by John L. Betcher as today's third free mystery ebook (A James Becker 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.

Dark Powers by Rebecca York is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Dark Powers by Rebecca York as today's second free mystery ebook (A Novel of Paranormal Romantic 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.

The Red Rooster by Michael Wallace is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Red Rooster by Michael Wallace as today's free mystery ebook (A Historical Thriller; 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.

Night Game by Kirk Russell is Today's Nook Daily Find

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Night Game by Kirk Russell as today's Barnes & Noble Nook Daily Find.

The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Wednesday, December 05, 2012.

Note: The price has been matched by Amazon.com for today only.

Review: The Callsign by Brad Taylor

A Mysterious Review of …

The Callsign by Brad Taylor. A Pike Logan, Taskforce Short Story.

Review summary: As a stand-alone story this prequel to the "Pike Logan, Taskforce" series of thrillers is exciting but seems unfinished. The intent, however, is more likely to either entice new readers to try the books in the series or to provide existing fans a bit of backstory … in which case, it works just fine. (Click here for text of full review.)

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest Announcement

CreateSpace has announced the details for the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Contest.

New this year are five genre categories including Mystery/Thriller. (The others are General, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror and Young Adult.) The Grand Prize winner will receive a publishing contract and an advance of $50,000; four First Prize winners will receive a publishing contract and an advance of $15,000. The books will be published through Amazon Publishing.

There are five rounds, from pitch through excerpt through full manuscript — which reviewers from Publishers Weekly will read and rate — and on to 25 semi-finalists (five from each category) and then the finals, which will be voted on my Amazon customers from five finalists chosen by the editors of Amazon Publishing.

Get started now! Even though the entry period doesn't begin until January 14th, 2013, only 10,000 entries will be accepted. (There are also individual category limits, but these aren't stated.)

Full details on the contest are available on the CreateSpace website.

Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (121204)

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.

Winners of the 2012 Goodreads Choice Awards Announced

The winners of the Goodreads Choice Awards have been announced, with readers choosing their favorite books in several categories.

• In Mystery & Thriller, the winner was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

• In Historical Fiction, the winner was the suspense novel The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman.

• In Paranormal Fantasy, the winner was Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness.

• And finally in Horror, the winner was The Twelve by Justin Cronin.