Review: The Night Detectives by Jon Talton

A Mysterious Review of …

The Night Detectives by Jon Talton. A David Mapstone Mystery.

Review summary: This murder mystery divides its time between Phoenix and San Diego, and is centered on a case in which a series of deaths have newly licensed PIs David Mapstone and Mike Peralta puzzled. There are plenty of twists and turns that will keep readers asking, "What next?" … and with a fast-paced narrative and a good mix of action and intrigue, it doesn't take long to find out. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

The Night Detectives
Jon Talton
A David Mapstone Mystery
Poisoned Pen Press (May 2013)

Publisher synopsis: The private-detective business starts out badly for former Phoenix Deputy David Mapstone and his old friend Sheriff Mike Peralta. Mapstone and Peralta are investigating a suspicious death involving a young Arizona woman who fell from a condo tower in San Diego. The police call Grace Hunter's death a suicide, but the client doesn't buy it. He's her brother. Or is he? Shortly after hiring the team, he is gunned down, and police find multiple driver's licenses. His real identity is a mystery.

David travels to San Diego reluctantly. He was a history professor there and married to a beautiful, wealthy woman. Now his second marriage is hanging by a thread, with his wife Lindsey gone and their future uncertain. Peralta makes him go anyway. This is their first case and they must get it right.

In San Diego, David finds the woman's boyfriend, who is trying to care for their baby. He, too, hires the pair to solve Grace's death. Their work reveals that this was no suicide, and Grace proves to be only the first victim of a murderous spree that reaches into the world of high-priced call girls, their millionaire clients, the white supremacist movement and a high stakes kidnapping.

Neither the lovely beaches of San Diego nor the enchanting desert of Arizona can conceal the brutal danger that lies beneath. Solving the case will require all of Mapstone's and Peralta's skills, and even these might not be enough to stop killers who are matching them step for step and planning far more deadly attacks.

      

Telemystery: Latest News on New Series, Renewals, and Cancellations

Lots of late Friday night telemystery renewal/cancellation news to get to this morning.

ABC …

Ordered to Series: Betrayal, Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
Renewed: Castle, Once Upon a Time, Revenge.
Canceled: Body of Proof, Red Widow.

CBS …

Ordered to Series: Hostages.
Canceled: CSI NY, Golden Boy, Vegas

TNT …

Canceled: Southland.

Keep up to date on the status of your favorite mystery and suspense television with our Telemystery Scoresheet. We've updated it with today's news.

Reviews of Mystery and Suspense Books for Kids, New This Week on Book Trends (130511)

Book Trends, a review site for young adult's and children's books, published several new book reviews this past week. We're presenting here a summary of those in the mystery/suspense/thriller category.

Theodosia and The Last Pharaoh by R. L. LaFevers. A Theodosia Throckmorton Fantasy Mystery (4th in series). Lexile measure: N/A (though two of the previous books in this series have been rated between 750L and 760L, and this one is likely to be comparable). Reviewed by a 6th grade student, who writes, "This book is just spectacular. I have many great things to say about this book so I'm going to start with the plot of the story. The beginning got me right into the book which I loved since in other books it takes me at least two to three chapters to actually get into the book. The rising action and climax were really fast-paced and suspenseful." (Read the full review of this mystery novel here.)

For more reviews of children and young adult books of all genres, visit Book Trends; their reviews will amaze you! You can also follow Book Trends on Twitter.

Today Only, Save 30% on Select Kobo eBooks

Today only, Saturday May 11th, 2013, you save 30% on any of over 100 ebooks at Kobo when you use the coupon code 24HOUR30 at checkout. This is an unlimited use coupon, which can be used on any number of these titles.

There are plenty of mystery, suspense and thriller ebooks from which to choose, including Richard Castle's new Derrick Storm thriller, Storm Front.

Remember, this 30% off coupon at Kobo is available only through Sunday, May 12, 2013 at 6 AM ET.

Subterranean by James Rollins is Today's Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Subterranean by James Rollins as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal.

The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Saturday, May 11, 2013.

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Subterranean
James Rollins
A Suspense Thriller
HarperCollins

Beneath the ice at the bottom of the Earth is a magnificent subterranean labyrinth, a place of breathtaking wonders — and terrors beyond imagining.

A team of specialists led by archaeologist Ashley Carter has been hand-picked to explore this secret place and to uncover the riches it holds. But they are not the first to venture here — and those they follow did not return. There are mysteries here older than time, and revelations that could change the world.

But there are also things that should not be disturbed — and a devastating truth that could doom Ashley and the expedition: they are not alone.

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.

Loose Ends by Terri Reid is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Loose Ends by Terri Reid as today's second free mystery ebook (A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, May 11, 2013 at 7:20 AM ET. 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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Loose Ends
Terri Reid
A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery
Publisher: Terri Reid

Dying is what changed Mary O'Reilly's life. Well, actually, coming back from the dead and having the ability to communicate with ghosts is really what did it.

Now, a private investigator in rural Freeport, Illinois, Mary's trying to learn how to incorporate her experience as a Chicago cop and new-found talent into a real job. Her challenge is to solve the mysteries, get real evidence (a ghost's word just doesn't hold up in court), and be sure the folks in town, especially the handsome new police chief, doesn't think she's nuts.

Twenty-four years ago, a young woman drowned in the swimming pool of a newly elected State Senator. It was ruled an accident. But now, as the Senator prepares to move on to higher positions, the ghost of the woman is appearing to the Senator's wife.

Mary is hired to discover the truth behind the death. She unearths a connection between the murder and the disappearance of five little girls whose cases, twenty-four years later, are still all unsolved. As she digs further she becomes the next target for serial killers' quest to tie up all his loose ends.

  

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.

Hazard Pay by Melissa Simonson is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Hazard Pay by Melissa Simonson as today's free mystery ebook (A John Maxwell Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, May 11, 2013 at 7:10 AM ET. 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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Hazard Pay
Melissa Simonson
A John Maxwell Mystery
Publisher: Melissa Simonson

Allison and her brother Miles have been on their own as long as they remember, but they're not doing badly — they've got two million in an overseas account. The downside is that how they make their living is illegal.

The second drawback is Reid.

A lie seals her death warrant when Reid decides it's high time for house-cleaning. She escapes with the aid of an unlikely partner, but Miles isn't as lucky.

Bobby — Allison's savior — tells her to run. It's what Miles would have wanted. He's right. But she can't leave and allow her brother's murderers to carry on with their business.

Murderous vengeance isn't healthy, Bobby says. It'll lead her to a very dark place. Maybe she'd pay his advice more mind if he weren't enforcement for a drug kingpin.

She doesn't know when she'll feel whole again or if it'll ever happen, but there's one thing she wants before worrying about the healing process: blood.

  

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.

Today's Mystery and Suspense Update from Big Fish Games (130511)

Here is today's mystery and suspense update from Big Fish Games …

• The New Release is Empress of the Deep 3: Legacy of the Phoenix.

• The Daily Deal is House of 1000 Doors: The Palm of Zoroaster, just $2.99 today only!

• The current Catch of the Week is Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers, just $2.99 through Sunday, May 12, 2013 only.

Visit the Omnimystery Entertainment Network for more games of mystery and suspense!

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Today's New Release is Empress of the Deep 3: Legacy of the Phoenix

After vanquishing her evil twin, Pandora, Empress Anna must find her lost tribe. In a fever dream she learns they are threatened by a cursed colossus on a distant and mysterious temple city, adrift on the waves below. Helped by the ghost of Jacob and an ancient phoenix she escapes the burning palace in the clouds and finds the beautiful floating city, constructed by her lost people. But where have they gone? Only a sinister two-headed wizard and his cats remain. Can she trust him? Will he help her find the lost tribe before the colossus fully awakens?

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour.

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Today's Daily Deal is House of 1000 Doors: The Palm of Zoroaster

Guide Kate Reed as she searches for the artifacts that can break the power of a cursed gem that has left a trail of smoldering bodies in its wake. It is threatening the residents of the House of 1000 Doors, prompting the head of the mystical dwelling to once again summon Kate Reed to its aid. Guide Kate as she searches for the artifacts that can break the power of the gem!

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour. You can purchase this game today only — Saturday, May 11, 2013 — for $2.99.

— ♦ —

The current Catch of the Week is Dark Strokes: Sins of the Fathers

Guide Ethan Black as he attempts to rescue his bride-to-be from a terrifying menace known as the Faceless Ones! When Evil comes for the people you love, what will you do? That moment of reckoning has arrived for Ethan Black and he needs your help! Guide Ethan in this Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game as he explores a decimated city, searches for clues, and peels back the layers of a chilling supernatural mystery!

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour. You can purchase this game at the special price of $2.99 through Sunday, May 12, 2013.

Telemystery: NBC Orders New Ironside; Burn Notice To End After 7th Season on USA

NBC has ordered a reboot of Ironside to series. Blair Underwood will star as wheelchair-bound Chief of Detectives Robert T. Ironside, a role first played in the NBC series of the same title by Raymond Burr.

In other prime time crime news, USA Network has announced that the upcoming seventh season of Burn Notice will be its last. The final 13-episode season will premiere on June 6th, 2013.

Keep up to date on the status of your favorite mystery and suspense television with our Telemystery Scoresheet. We've updated it with today's news.

Mystery Movie News: Casting Update for The Equalizer

Chloë Moretz has joined the cast of The Equalizer, a film based on a the central character of late 1980s CBS crime drama also titled The Equalizer. Denzel Washington will play the titular character, Robert McCall, who was played in the television series by Edward Woodward.

In an interesting side note, Deadline reports that Michael Sloan, who created the series, will write an original novel featuring the character, to be published by St. Martin's Press in early 2014 to coincide with the release of the film by Sony Pictures, now scheduled for April 11th, 2014.

The Equalizer will be directed by Antoine Fuqua from an original screenplay by Richard Wenk.

Review: Messenger by Craig Johnson

A Mysterious Review of …

Messenger by Craig Johnson. A Walt Longmire Short Story.

Review summary: The primary purpose of short stories such as this is to introduce potential readers to the series. To that end, the present tale achieves its goal rather admirably. Within just a few pages, one gets a sense of who these characters are, and almost as importantly from a series perspective, how they interact with each other. As a bonus, the story itself is both whimsical and mystical, a rare combination of narrative elements that works exceptionally well. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

Messenger
Craig Johnson
A Walt Longmire Short Story
Viking (April 2013)

Publisher synopsis: Sheriff Walt Longmire, his long-time friend Henry Standing Bear, and his undersheriff Victoria Moretti are returning from a fishing trip in the Bighorn Mountains when Walt receives a distress call from Crazy Woman Canyon. Forest service ranger Chuck Coon is in trouble. Walt, the Bear, and Vic arrive to find Coon and a young woman up a tree, so to speak. The unlikely duo are fending off three very real bears from the top of a Porta Potty and tell a mystifying story of another dangerous creature inside the "convenience". When Walt, Henry, and Vic face the creature what they find may be a Messenger from the Camp of the Dead, with a very personal tie to Walt himself.

      

Stealing Liberties by Lisa Pietsch is Today's Fifth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Stealing Liberties by Lisa Pietsch as today's fifth free mystery ebook (A Task Force 125 Thriller; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, May 10, 2013 at 7:50 AM ET. 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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Stealing Liberties
Lisa Pietsch
A Task Force 125 Thriller
Publisher: Lisa Pietsch

With hefty bounties on Vince, Sarah and Will's heads the team has to be creative in finding a way to do their job as well as stay one step ahead of the powerful man who wants them dead. The way they choose is creative but it is also deceptive, inconvenient and very dangerous. A new guy who isn't at all what he seems must be brought into the fold.

What happens when people start stealing liberties is likely to turn everyone's life upside down.

But that may not be such a bad thing after all.

  

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.

The Seven Year Itch by S. D. Skye is Today's Fourth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Seven Year Itch by S. D. Skye as today's fourth free mystery ebook (A J. J. McCall Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, May 10, 2013 at 7:40 AM ET. 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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The Seven Year Itch
S. D. Skye
A J. J. McCall Mystery
Publisher: LadyLit Press

When turncoats betray America's human intelligence assets, there is no greater failure than the loss of life — and no one knows that better than FBI Special Agent J. J. McCall, a born lie detector who recruits foreign spies to catch American traitors. She and co-case agent Tony Donato have lost two of their most critical Russian sources in the past two years, and they may lose another in just a few short days if they don't catch him. The Ice Phantom.

Decades of investigations have yielded nothing and the Intelligence Community fears it's chasing ghosts — but J.J. and Tony suspect he might be burrowed deep inside FBI counterintelligence. And his body count is going up.

In a twist neither expects, the pair is drawn into an unsanctioned mole hunt. With Tony's help and her lie-detecting ability, J. J. has a week to catch the Ice Phantom, save a key source's life — and her own.

  

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.

The Singer by Rick Soper is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Singer by Rick Soper as today's third free mystery ebook (A Mystery Thriller; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, May 10, 2013 at 7:30 AM ET. 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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The Singer
Rick Soper
A Mystery Thriller
Publisher: Rock Hard Press

The Monterey Bay is known for it's pristine golf courses, it's amazing views, and it's incredible restaurants. The Monterey Bay is where artists go to be inspired, where the rich look to retire, and where tourists go to be happy. The Monterey Bay isn't a place that you associate with murder, but the bodies are starting to pile up.

Three gruesome murders have occurred within days of each other and it's left this vacation community devastated. Damaged FBI Agent Jon Stevens is working through his own demons as he tries to help local Sheriff Ken Dalton to track down the killers, who seem to be sending very specific messages, with each murder. And if that wasn't enough, the Vigilante Gabriel lures FBI agent Max Harris back to Monterey to continue his investigation. While at the same time The Russians are working with The Band and The Hacker to pull off The Concert.

  

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.

Middle River Murders by Ann Mullen is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Middle River Murders by Ann Mullen as today's second free mystery ebook (A Jesse Watson Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, May 10, 2013 at 7:20 AM ET. 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.

— ♦ —

Middle River Murders
Ann Mullen
A Jesse Watson Mystery
Publisher: Afton Ridge Publishing

Who's killing off members of an elite, yet dysfunctional, social club in Stanardsville? That's what private investigator Billy Blackhawk has to find out before another member meets an untimely death. With the help of Jesse's mom, Minnie Watson, the two of them set out to find the answer.

Still recuperating in the hospital, Jesse discovers that Billy and her mother have been covering up their involvement in a dangerous hunt for a killer. She is furious with them both, but the minute she's released from the hospital, she overcomes her anger and joins in their search.

What started out as a prank, the antics of a seemingly sweet, little old lady, lands Daisy Clark in hot water when she becomes the suspect in the death of a club member. Could she possibly be responsible? Eyebrows are raised when others around her start dropping like flies — one member is poisoned, a neighbor goes missing, and the one person who sees right through Daisy Clark is killed when her car is run off the road.

Bodies start piling up and their own lives are put in jeopardy as Billy, Jesse and Minnie are caught in a race against time. Their search for a relentless serial killer can lead to only one conclusion — someone is going to die!

  

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.