Mystery Bestsellers for the Week Ending February 01, 2013

A list of the top 15 Mystery Hardcover Bestsellers for the week ending February 1st, 2013 has been posted by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

Despite a strong showing by Robert Crais's new stand-alone Suspect, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn retains the top spot on our list again this week. Two new books enter the list this week (positions in brackets).

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[11]: Insane City
Dave Barry

Seth Weinstein knew Tina was way out of his league in pretty much any way you could imagine, which is why it continued to astonish him that he was on the plane now for their destination wedding in Florida. The Groom Posse had already sprung an airport prank on him, and he'd survived it, and if that was the worst of it, everything should be okay. Smooth sailing from now on.

Seth has absolutely no idea what he's about to get into. In the next several hours, he and his friends will become embroiled with rioters, Russian gangsters, angry strippers, a pimp as big as the Death Star, a very desperate Haitian refugee on the run with her two children from some very bad men, and an eleven-foot albino Burmese python named Blossom. And there're still two days to go before the wedding.

As it turns out, it's not smooth sailing, it's more like a trip on the Titanic. And the water below him is getting deeper every minute. By the end, amid gunfire, high-speed chases, and mayhem of the most unimaginable sort, violent men will fall, heroes will rise, and many lives will change.

Seth's, not least of all.

            

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[13]: Speaking from Among the Bones
Alan Bradley

Flavia de Luce (5th)

Eleven-year-old amateur detective and ardent chemist Flavia de Luce is used to digging up clues, whether they're found among the potions in her laboratory or between the pages of her insufferable sisters' diaries. What she is not accustomed to is digging up bodies.

Upon the five-hundredth anniversary of St. Tancred's death, the English hamlet of Bishop's Lacey is busily preparing to open its patron saint's tomb. Nobody is more excited to peek inside the crypt than Flavia, yet what she finds will halt the proceedings dead in their tracks: the body of Mr. Collicutt, the church organist, his face grotesquely and inexplicably masked. Who held a vendetta against Mr. Collicutt, and why would they hide him in such a sacred resting place?

The irrepressible Flavia decides to find out. And what she unearths will prove there's never such thing as an open-and-shut case.

            

Cinemystery: Don Winslow's The Power of the Dog to be Adapted for Film

Deadline is reporting that the screenwriters for the Swedish film adaptation of Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will adapt Don Winslow's crime thriller The Power of the Dog.

Nikolag Arcel will direct a screenplay co-written with Rasmus Heisterberg and Shane Salerno, who was also co-wrote the screenplay of another Winslow adaptation, Savages. Shane and Winslow are also teaming up on the screenplay adaptation of the latter's Satori, which is in pre-production at Warner Bros.

No studio is attached to this new project yet.

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The Power of the Dog
Don Winslow

Art Montana is an obsessive DEA agent. The Barrera brothers are heirs to a drug empire. Nora Hayden is a jaded teenager who becomes a high-class hooker. Father Parada is a powerful and uncorruptable Catholic priest. Callan is an Irish kid from Hell's kitchen who grows up to be a merciless hitman. And they are all trapped in the world of the Mexican drug Federación.

From the streets of New York City to Mexico City and Tiajuana to the jungles of Central America, this is the war on drugs like you've never seen it.

      

Telemystery: Lifetime Orders Witches of East End to Series

Last summer Lifetime ordered a pilot for a potential series adaptation of Melissa de la Cruz's novel Witches of East End. Today we're learning that the cable network has moved forward with a 10-episode series order, which will premiere later this year.

Julia Ormond stars as Joanna Beauchamp, who, together with her two daughters Freya (Jenna Dewan-Tatum) and Ingrid (Rachel Boston), are living quiet lives in the Hamptons but are harboring a secret: they are witches. Maggie Friedman (Eastwick, Dawson's Creek) wrote the pilot screenplay and will executive produce.

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Witches of East End
Melissa de la Cruz

The three Beauchamp women — Joanna and her daughters Freya and Ingrid — live in North Hampton, out on the tip of Long Island. Their beautiful, mist-shrouded town seems almost stuck in time, and all three women lead seemingly quiet, uneventful existences. But they are harboring a mighty secret — they are powerful witches banned from using their magic. Joanna can resurrect people from the dead and heal the most serious of injuries. Ingrid, her bookish daughter, has the ability to predict the future and weave knots that can solve anything from infertility to infidelity. And finally, there's Freya, the wild child, who has a charm or a potion that can cure most any heartache.

For centuries, all three women have been forced to suppress their abilities. But then Freya, who is about to get married to the wealthy and mysterious Bran Gardiner, finds that her increasingly complicated romantic life makes it more difficult than ever to hide her secret. Soon Ingrid and Joanna confront similar dilemmas, and the Beauchamp women realize they can no longer conceal their true selves. They unearth their wands from the attic, dust off their broomsticks, and begin casting spells on the townspeople. It all seems like a bit of good-natured, innocent magic, but then mysterious, violent attacks begin to plague the town. When a young girl disappears over the Fourth of July weekend, they realize it's time to uncover who and what dark forces are working against them.

      

New Poster, Trailer for Netflix Original Series, House of Cards

A promtional poster for the Netflix original series House of Cards has been released (right; click for larger image). All 13 episodes of the series will be available to view tomorrow, February 1st, only on Netflix.

Based on the BBC series of the same title, Kevin Spacey stars as Congressman Francis Underwood who, with his wife Claire (Robin Wright), will stop at nothing to conquer everything. This political drama/thriller penetrates the shadowy world of greed, sex, and corruption in modern Washington DC.

Watch a promo video for the series, below.

Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (130131)

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.

Review: Merciless by Lori Armstrong

A Mysterious Review of …

Merciless by Lori Armstrong. A Mercy Gunderson Mystery.

Review summary: The plot in this crime novel is strongly developed as are the characters and yet these elements are overshadowed by dialog that is embarrassing to read. It might be "real" but it sure isn't enjoyable. Readers willing to overlook the hard R-rated vulgarity expressed by nearly everyone in this book will find a really good investigative mystery here. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

Merciless
Lori Armstrong
A Mercy Gunderson Mystery
Touchstone (January 2013)

Publisher synopsis: Newly minted agent Mercy Gunderson is back and ready for action — unfortunately, she's stuck doing paperwork in an overheated government office building. But she gets more than she bargained for when she's thrown into her first FBI murder case, working with the tribal police on the Eagle River Reservation, where the victim is the teenage niece of the recently elected tribal president. When another gruesome killing occurs during the early stages of the investigation, Mercy and fellow FBI agent Shay Turnbull are at odds about whether the crimes are connected.

Due to job confidentiality, Mercy can't discuss her misgivings about the baffling cases with her boyfriend, Eagle River County sheriff Mason Dawson, and the couple's home on the ranch descends into chaos when Dawson's eleven-year-old son Lex is sent to live with them. While Mercy struggles to find a balance, hidden political agendas and old family vendettas turn ugly, masking motives and causing a rift among the tribal police, the tribal council, and the FBI. Soon, however, Mercy realizes that the deranged killer is still at large — and is playing a dangerous game with his sights set on Mercy as his next victim.

      

Cinemystery: Bradley Cooper to Star in Film Adaptation of The Man from Primrose Lane by James Renner

Warner Bros. has cast Bradley Cooper as the lead in the film adaptation of James Renner's debut novel, The Man from Primrose Lane. He will play a true-crime writer, who decides to investigate the titular character, a loner who was mysteriously murdered.

Chad Feehan (Beneath the Dark) will write the screenplay. No director has yet been attached to the project.

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The Man from Primrose Lane
James Renner
A Novel of Suspense

In West Akron, Ohio, there lived a reclusive elderly man who always wore mittens, even in July. He had no friends and no family; all over town, he was known as the Man from Primrose Lane. And on a summer day, someone murdered him.

Fast-forward four years. David Neff, the bestselling author of a true-crime book about an Ohio serial killer, is a broken man after his wife's inexplicable suicide. When an unexpected visit from an old friend introduces him to the strange mystery of "the man with a thousand mittens", David decides to investigate. What he finds draws him back into a world he thought he had left behind forever. And the closer David gets to uncovering the true identity of the Man from Primrose Lane, the more he begins to understand the dangerous power of his own obsessions and how they may be connected to the deaths of both the old hermit and his beloved wife.

      

Entries Now Being Accepted for the Poisoned Pen Press Discover Mystery Award Contest

It's back! The Poisoned Pen Press Discover Mystery Award! The bullet points in the headline sum up the contest quite nicely …

• Write a mystery.
• Win $1000.
• Get published.
• Deadline: March 30th, 2013.

Visit the contest web page on the publisher's website for all the details, but here are some of the requirements and guidelines:

• Open to all authors writing original works in English for adult readers who reside in the United States and Canada.
• This is a first-book award. It is open to writers who have not published a full-length book in the mystery genre.
• Manuscripts must be between 60,000 words and 90,000 words in length.
• A winner will be announced by May 31st, 2013. Entries will be judged based on their synopses and manuscript text, with the assistance of a surprise celebrity judge.

Last year's winner, No Regrets, No Remorse by R. F. Sharp, was published this past November. More details, below.

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No Regrets, No Remorse
R. F. Sharp
A Sydney Simone Mystery

Sydney Simone, wounded herself, is dedicated to helping via a cloaked website and identity those whose wrongs can't be righted by orthodox means. First she verifies the client's story; then she accepts payment: half up front, half on completion of her work. Usually it's a form of human pest control.

For cover, Sydney works as an assistant at the Rose Madder Gallery in West Palm Beach run by Oscar Leopold. Oscar, a sculptor, has left his law practice behind. But now his former partner Roy is arrested for murdering Big Jack, an attorney with a sleazy television advertising presence. At the same time Sydney is dealing with a client who has seemingly penetrated her defenses and demands she complete a job — rubbing out Big Jack — an assignment where she has accepted, and pocketed, an unusually large fee. So now Sydney the client gives Sydney a new target and Sydney switches gears: dedicated to saving herself, Oscar, and Roy, even as she continues to operate HumanPestControl.com.

Teaming with Oscar isn't easy since she can't tell him all she knows, but soon their investigation leads to a complex insurance fraud scheme that implicates Roy — perhaps he really is guilty. But Oscar becomes an investigative target himself and is arrested, then kidnapped and assaulted as he tries to find the true killer.

The story ranges from the corporate offices of South Florida to the backwaters of the panhandle. The bad guys are dangerous and desperate to keep their careers, their freedom, even their lives. Oscar and Sydney, their own lives and livelihoods at stake, must up their game — Sydney may even have to reveal her game — to survive.

      

Please Welcome Mystery Author Matt Witten

by Matt Witten

We are delighted to welcome novelist Matt Witten as our guest.

Matt's first mystery, Breakfast at Madeline's, was the winner of the 1998 Malice Domestic Grant for an unpublished writer. It was subsequently published by Signet in 1999 and he has just released it as an ebook (November 2012, Kindle format).

Today Matt tells us more about how the book came about. And he is also giving two of our readers a chance to win a copy of Breakfast at Madeline's; details below.

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The main piece of advice I give to writers, both new and established, is: Write what you're passionate about. I followed that advice when I wrote Breakfast at Madeline's.

Photo provided courtesy of
Matt Witten

For most of my life, ever since I got hooked on Sherlock Holmes in fourth grade, my favorite form of art was the murder mystery novel. I enjoy going to plays and movies, and seeing the odd folk music concert, and reading a good true crime book; but to me, there's nothing better than making a nice cup of tea and reading a murder mystery. When I hit my late twenties, it occurred to me: I've always enjoyed reading them. Why not try writing one?

For the main characters, I simply chose people based on myself, my wife, and our two sons. It made researching easy — I didn't have to do any!

Establishing the tone for the novel was a great deal trickier. I wanted something light and breezy, but with enough weight to carry a murder narrative. I wrote and rewrote the first four pages of the book for about four months, trying to establish the right tone. Once I was happy with the first four pages, the entire rest of the book took me maybe three months to write.

I always get a kick out of it when people tell me how much they like the breezy tone of Breakfast at Madeline's. Because I remember how hard I worked to make it seem breezy!

Breakfast at Madeline's is both a murder mystery and also a story about how hard it is to create art. The murder victim is a man who's spent his entire life trying to write a memoir. Several of the suspects are struggling artists and arts administrators. As someone who has both struggled and been successful creating art, I identify with everybody who has ever faced a blank page or canvass.

Breakfast at Madeline's is the first of four mystery novels that were published by Signet. They sold well but then went out of print, and this year I've decided to self-publish them on Amazon. So far I must say the book is selling quite well — much better than I expected. I'll be putting out the other three novels every three months.

My totally unsophisticated marketing strategy is: when I put out the books, I'll give them away for free for five days, to build word of mouth. That's what I did with Breakfast at Madeline's. If you'd like to receive an email when I offer the novels for free, you can shoot me a quick email at mwitten@verizon.net.

That's the story from here. Since writing my mystery novels, I've gone on to write for such TV shows as House, Law & Order, and Pretty Little Liars. But my favorite form of art is still the murder mystery. Happy reading to you all!

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Breakfast at Madeline's
Matt Witten
A Jacob Burns Mystery (1st in series)

Jacob Burns — husband, father, and frustrated writer — has finally sold a screenplay. To a major Hollywood studio, no less. But success isn't all it's cracked up to be. Now he has writer's block and spends his days drinking coffee at his favorite cafe, Madeline's. That is, until one warm autumn morning when Donald Penn, an eccentric Madeline's regular, hands Jacob a key and drops dead at his feet.

Soon Jacob's home is burglarized and his family threatened, and he becomes involved in a puzzling mystery that exposes him to some of the finest families in Saratoga Springs, New York — and some of the worst in human behavior.

  

For a chance to win a Kindle ebook of Breakfast at Madeline's, courtesy of the author, visit Mystery Book Contests, click on the "Matt Witten: Breakfast at Madeline's" contest link, enter your name, e-mail address, and this code — 9027 — for a chance to win! (One entry per person, US residents only. Contest ends February 7th, 2013.)

Cheating the Line by Jack D. Atchison is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Cheating the Line by Jack D. Atchison as today's third free mystery ebook (A Terry Handren 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.

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Cheating the Line
Jack D. Atchison
A Terry Handren Mystery
Publisher: Jack B. Atchison

Terry Handren, Chief Financial Officer and of the ultra-posh Midas Touch, one of Las Vegas' most exclusive casinos, thinks something might be amiss in the casino's sports book. He discovers large losses that are connected to large bets made by a handful of big bettors on a few college basketball games. Defying all odds, the big bettors are right all of the time.

Handren takes his suspicions to Lieutenant Rogers and Sergeant Rodriguez of the Las Vegas Police Department. Unable to convince his friends in the department that his concerns are valid, Handren teams up with private investigator, Roscoe Benson, and they soon find themselves knee deep in the world of point shaving, extortion, and murder.

  

Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.

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

Nightmares of Reality by JM Herriott is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Nightmares of Reality by JM Herriott as today's second free mystery ebook (A Novel of 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.

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Nightmares of Reality
JM Herriott
A Novel of Suspense
Publisher: CreateSpace

Peter Bryant dreamed of writing the next In Cold Blood. So, when he reads about an unsolved eight month old murder in the town of his Alma Mater, he takes a sabbatical to investigate the shooting deaths of a young couple. Their youngest son was also shot, but recovered, and is now a ward of the state. The oldest boy suffered a psychotic break, and has lived in a mental hospital since the shooting.

Soon, ghosts from Peter's past returns and he realizes he may have links to the family. His hope for a quick and straightforward wrap-up, are dashed when he uncovers evidence of multi-generational abuse, complex family relationships, and psychological problems. He observes a bizarre and powerful influence the case wields throughout two communities.

Additional complications arise when he unexpectedly falls in love with one of the witnesses. Not only does this present difficulties with his research, but he is forced to deal with his personal relationship demons. Finally, just when he is on the verge of giving up, in a most unique way he learns the surprising truth of what happened.

  

Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.

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

First Time Killer by Zak Allen is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature First Time Killer by Alan Orloff writing as Zak Allen as today's free mystery ebook (A Novel of 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.

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First Time Killer
Alan Orloff writing as Zak Allen
A Novel of Suspense
Publisher: Alan Orloff

In shock radio, nothing is too far over-the-top in the pursuit of ratings.

Not even murder.

During his twenty-six-year career, D.C. radio talk show host Rick Jennings steered clear of outrageous radio. Wasn't his thing. So when WTLK execs tap him for the Afternoon Circus to land a lucrative satellite deal, Rick struggles to maintain his standards — and his dignity. A chilling call ("I'm a long-time listener, first time killer.") leads to the discovery of an intern's arm in a trashcan. Rick spars with the "First Time" killer over the airwaves. The police are stymied. Ratings skyrocket. And First Time continues to knock off members of the Circus, phoning in to gloat afterward.

In a world of psychics and poseurs, crazy deejays and crazier callers, it's up to Rick to bring First Time down before more people perish.

  

Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.

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

Poison Flower by Thomas Perry is Today's Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Poison Flower by Thomas Perry as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal.

The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Thursday, January 31, 2013.

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Poison Flower
Thomas Perry
A Jane Whitefield Mystery
Mysterious Press

Jane Whitefield spirits James Shelby, a man unjustly convicted of his wife's murder, out of the heavily guarded criminal court building in downtown Los Angeles. But the price of Shelby's freedom is high. Within minutes, men posing as police officers kidnap Jane and, when she tries to escape, shoot her.

Jane's captors are employees of the man who really killed Shelby's wife. He believes he won't be safe until Shelby is dead, and his men will do anything to force Jane to reveal Shelby's hiding place. But Jane endures their torment, and is willing to die rather than betray Shelby. Jane manages to escape but she is alone, wounded, thousands of miles from home with no money and no identification, hunted by the police as well as her captors. She must rejoin Shelby, reach his sister before the hunters do, and get them both to safety.

Read our review of Poison Flower by Thomas Perry.

Important Note: This book was listed at the price mentioned above on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.