Bad Luck and Trouble …
That's the theme of this year's Bloody Scotland Short Story Competition. There is a 3000 word limit and the theme can be interpreted in any way as long as it fits within the broad category of "crime fiction".
With the aim of discovering the next big name in crime fiction, this competition gives previously unpublished writers the opportunity to have their work on the Bloody Scotland website, where authors, agents, publishers and readers will have the opportunity to see it.
As if that wasn't enough, the winner will also receive £1000, a weekend pass to Bloody Scotland 2013 and a bottle of whisky. Two runners up will win a selection of tickets for events at Bloody Scotland 2013. Bloody Scotland opens, appropriately enough, on Friday September 13th, 2013.
Entries to the competition must be received by Sunday, July 28th, 2013. For more information, visit the competition webpage for all the details.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Submissions Now Being Accepted for the 2013 Bloody Scotland Short Story Competition
Cinemystery: Film Adaptation of The Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery a Possible Project for Johnny Depp
It's not quite a throw-away comment, but in a recent interview with PopSugar Johnny Depp suggests that one of his next projects — whether to produce or star isn't clear — might be a film adaptation of The Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery, the third and final (due to the author's death) book in this series by Kyril Bonfiglioli.
"It's a very funny series of books," Depp says, "and a very interesting character."
More about the book, which was first published in 1996 and long out of print, below.
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The Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery
Kyril Bonfiglioli
Kyril Bonfiglioli's final novel follows the Hon. Charlie Mortdecai from adventure to misadventure via Jersey and Moscow to a final showdown in a Buckinghamshire bungalow of unparalleled hideousness.
Tackling en route an unhealthy sprinkling of well-seasoned academics, a cryptic monk, an aristocratic Chief Constable, and more spies than you could shoehorn into a black stretch limo, Mordecai finds himself embroiled in another mission of international insecurity.
Left unfinished at the time of the author's death, Craig Brown supplies the plot-resolving final chapter.
Telemystery: Fox Announces Fall 2013 Premiere Dates
Fox has announced its series Fall 2013 premiere dates.
All times, below, are ET/PT.
Monday (09/16/2013) …
8 PM: Bones (9th season)
9 PM: Sleepy Hollow (series premiere)
Note: Bones will be moving to Fridays on November 8th.
Monday (11/04/2013) …
8 PM: Almost Human (series premiere)
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.
A Conversation with Jacqueline T. Lynch, Author of the Double V Mysteries
with Jacqueline T. Lynch
We are delighted to welcome mystery author Jacqueline T. Lynch to Omnimystery News today, courtesy of Cozy Mystery Books Tours, which is coordinating her current book tour. We encourage you to visit all of the participating host sites; you can find her schedule here.
Jacqueline is the author of a cozy mystery series, the first entry of which is Cadmium Yellow, Blood Red (Jacqueline T. Lynch, March 2011 ebook formats). The second book is Speak Out Before You Die (Jacqueline T. Lynch, August 2012 trade paperback and ebook formats). We recently had the opportunity to discuss the series with her.
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Omnimystery News: Cadmium Yellow, Blood Red introduces what would seem on the surface to be a mismatched pair of amateur sleuths, a museum administrator and an ex-con. What can you tell us about them?
Photo provided courtesy of
Jacqueline T. Lynch
Jacqueline T. Lynch: The relationship between my two main characters, Juliet Van Allen and Elmer Vartanian, is intended to be a kind of subplot to the mysteries, another mystery. They come from different worlds, were thrown together by tragic circumstances in the first book, form a partnership out of self-preservation, and then as the books progress, they come to rely more on each other to solve crimes in the books that follow. Their developing relationship, its ups and downs, interests me just as much as the current puzzle they're working on, and I hope it will interest the reader, too.
OMN: Why did you choose to write a cozy mystery series?
JTL: I am fond of the cozy market as a reader, and as a writer, I find the fans of cozy mysteries have such a wide range of personal interests that the possibilities for plot, setting, and characters are really endless.
OMN: Tell us about the setting for the books.
JTL: Hartford, Connecticut in 1949 is the setting for Cadmium Yellow, Blood Red, and the settings use the streets and neighborhoods, and the Wadsworth Atheneum art museum, which are factual. I did take liberties describing an elaborate exurcsion into the museum through an air vent, and the description of some offices there are my own invention. The galleries and paintings described are factual. Juliet's apartment and the Van Allen mansion are fictional.
I am familiar with all of the locations used in the books, have been there, or make further research trips when I need to, which is always fun.
OMN: You write several blogs, including one about New England travels — research for your books, no doubt! — and another about old movies. Does any of the latter find its way into your books?
JTL: I love watching old movies. The mood of some of the old Film Noir movies certainly influence me, but no one particular movie gave me the inspiration to write this book or this series.
OMN: What kinds of questions do you get from readers?
JTL: Some readers ask me when the main characters, Juliet and Elmer, are going to get together romantically. I get a kick out of that. They likely will sometimes, but they're both very stubborn. They both have a lot of emotional baggage to deal with first.
OMN: What's next for you?
JTL: I'm working on the third series in the Double V Mystery series (V is for the characters' surnames: Van Allen and Vartanian). This one is to be called Dismount and Murder, and will be set in the Litchfield hills of Connecticut at a prestigious horse show.
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Jacqueline T. Lynch has had several plays published and produced around the U.S., Canada, and the Netherlands. Her one-act play In Memory of Trixie Gazelle was chosen as a winner in the 2010 Nor'Eastern Playwright's Showcase of the Vermont Actors' Repertory Theatre in Rutland, Vermont, and another, One Good Turn, premiered as a winner of the 2011 Northern Kentucky University Y.E.S. Festival. She has published articles and short fiction in regional and national publications, writes Another Old Movie Blog and New England Travels, and Tragedy and Comedy in New England blogs.
To learn more about the author and her work, please visit her website at JacquelineTLynch.com or find her on Facebook and Twitter.
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Cadmium Yellow, Blood Red
Jacqueline T. Lynch
A Double V Mystery (1st in series)
In Hartford, Connecticut, 1949, Juliet Van Allen, a museum administrator, returns home from work early to find her artist husband having an affair with another woman. Juliet slips unseen back to her office, where she meets an intruder. Elmer Vartanian, recently released from prison for a museum robbery, is coerced into helping scout the museum for a heist by a gang that has kidnapped his daughter. Since Juliet left her apartment, her husband has been murdered. She is the prime suspect, and Elmer is her only alibi.
Juliet, the rebellious only daughter of a wealthy financier, and Elmer, a lower-class ex-convict who has educated himself in prison, learn to rely on each other. Juliet is Elmer's guide to a post-world that has changed so much since he entered prison. He feels guilty for having missed his daughter's childhood, for being safe when friends were killed in World War II, and is bewildered over atomic energy, Modern Art, ballpoint pens, and frozen orange juice concentrate.
Juliet is not sure she believes Elmer's story. Elmer is not sure she didn't kill her husband. They are compelled to work together, dogged by the scandal-monger newsman, the shrewd police detective, and scrutinized by the even more judgmental eye of Hartford's elite in world where Modern Art meets old-fashioned murder.
Two Sliding Sideways Mysteries by Emily Senecal is Today's Featured Free MystereBooks
MystereBooks is pleased to feature two "Sliding Sideways" mysteries by Emily Senecal as today's free mystery ebooks (Kindle format only).
These titles were listed for free as of the date and time of this post, June 27, 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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Strangers on This Road
Emily Senecal
A Sliding Sideways Mystery
Publisher: Emily Senecal
One beautiful day in the quiet Catalina Island town of Avalon, Lainey Parker met her destiny …
Lainey has lived in Avalon for nearly a year, working at the local grocery store, taking time to decide what she wants to do with her life now that she's finished high school and left her unhappy childhood home. She's just getting by, minding her own business, not looking for adventure or excitement. Never in her wildest dreams imagining that she would be thrown headlong into the middle of an international crime investigation, complete with shadowy villains. Or that she would soon be spending time with an unbelievably handsome and charming stranger, who raises more mysterious questions than he answers — a stranger with whom she shares a strong, strange kinship from the first moment they meet.
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Danger in Academia
Emily Senecal
A Sliding Sideways Mystery
Publisher: Emily Senecal
Who knew academic life could be so dangerous?
Lainey Parker, now a senior at Columbia College in New York, is as concerned as the rest of her classmates when her favorite professor goes missing. But unlike her fellow students, Lainey happens to witness two very suspicious characters searching the professor's office for a mysterious "item". And when a certain agent for Interpol shows up to investigate, the very same man who broke Lainey's heart four years before, things really begin to get interesting — not to mention deadly.
Important Note: These books were 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.
No Mark Upon Her by Deborah Crombie is Today's Nook Daily Find
MystereBooks is pleased to feature No Mark Upon Her by Deborah Crombie as today's Barnes & Noble Nook Daily Find.
The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Thursday, June 27, 2013.
Note: The price has been matched by Amazon.com for today only.
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No Mark Upon Her
Deborah Crombie
A Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Mystery
William Morrow
When a K9 search-and-rescue team discovers a woman's body tangled up with debris in the river, Scotland Yard superintendent Duncan Kincaid finds himself heading an investigation fraught with complications. The victim, Rebecca Meredith, was a talented but difficult woman with many admirers — and just as many enemies. An Olympic contender on the verge of a controversial comeback, she was also a high-ranking detective with the Met — a fact that raises a host of political and ethical issues in an already sensitive case.
To further complicate the situation, a separate investigation, led by Detective Inspector Gemma James, Kincaid's wife, soon reveals a disturbing — and possibly related — series of crimes, widening the field of suspects. But when someone tries to kill the search-and-rescue team member who found Rebecca's body, the case becomes even more complex and dangerous, involving powerful interests with tentacles that reach deep into the heart of the Met itself.
Surrounded by enemies with friendly faces, pressured to find answers quickly while protecting the Yard at all costs, his career and reputation on the line, Kincaid must race to catch the killer before more innocent lives are lost — including his own.
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.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
This Friday in Theaters: White House Down Starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx
White House Down. Opens in theaters June 26, 2013.
Capitol Policeman John Cale (Channing Tatum) has just been denied his dream job with the Secret Service of protecting President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx). Not wanting to let down his little girl with the news, he takes her on a tour of the White House, when the complex is overtaken by a heavily armed paramilitary group. Now, with the nation's government falling into chaos and time running out, it's up to Cale to save the president, his daughter, and the country.
Directed by Roland Emmerich from an original screenplay by James Vanderbilt.
Running time: 131 minutes. Rated PG-13 for prolonged sequences of action and violence including intense gunfire and explosions, some language and a brief sexual image.
Watch a trailer for the film below:
Telemystery: The Rules for NBC's Siberia
NBC's new reality show drama Siberia premieres on July 1st, and the network has released a preview video that outlines the "rules" of the game (embedded, below).
The series premise involves an unexplained event from 1908, which occurred deep in the remote Siberian territory of Tunguska. Now, 100+ years later, 16 reality show participants descend on Tunguska unknowing of the land's mysterious past. These contestants, from varied walks of life, will attempt to battle the elements and each other in a quest to survive the harsh winter and claim a large cash prize. What is initially met with unbridled enthusiasm quickly turns to sheer panic as a series of strange events begin to occur. The contestants soon attribute the occurrences to ruses set up by the producers, even dismissing the death of a fellow contestant as accidental. When a contestant is badly injured and no help arrives, the contestants meet the chilling realization that the strange occurrences are not part of the show. With their safety threatened, competing contestants must band together in an effort to survive.
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Winners of the 2013 San Diego Book Awards Announced
The winners of the 2013 San Diego Book Awards were announced last weekend by the San Diego Book Awards Association, honoring the best published books by San Diego County residents.
Many categories are represented, including two related to mystery and crime fiction, the winners of which were:
Mystery: The Angry Woman Suite by Lee Fullbright (Telemachus Press); and
Action, Suspense, and Thriller: Assassin's Game by Dan Walker and Peggy Lang (CreateSpace).
In addition, the winner of the Anthology/Short Story Collection category was Duty: Suspense and Mystery Stories from the Cold War and Beyond by Martin Roy Hill (CreateSpace).
Right as Rain, a Derek Strange and Terry Quinn Mystery by George Pelecanos, Now at a Special Price
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Right as Rain by George Pelecanos, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, Grand Central.
The ebook format of this title was priced at $2.99 from the listed vendors (below) as of the date and time of this post (06/26/2013 at 4:00 PM 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.
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Right as Rain by George Pelecanos
A Derek Strange and Terry Quinn Mystery (1st in series)
Publisher: Grand Central
Derek Strange is black and successful. Terry Quinn is white and barely holding on. Now Strange has been hired to investigate a police shooting in which Quinn played a major role.
For Strange, a savvy and careful man, the investigation goes against his style and instinct. For Terry Quinn, Strange's questions are a chance to absolve his conscience and shake out a little truth.
But in a city that lives in the shadow of a nation's dream, neither man can foresee the dirty little war that will break out around them … or how deadly being right can be.
Important Note: This book was listed at the above mentioned price 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.
Split Second, a Sean King and Michelle Maxwell Mystery by David Baldacci, Now at a Special Price
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Split Second by David Baldacci, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, Grand Central.
The ebook format of this title was priced at $2.99 from the listed vendors (below) as of the date and time of this post (06/26/2013 at 3:30 PM 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.
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Split Second by David Baldacci
A Sean King and Michelle Maxwell Mystery (1st in series)
Publisher: Grand Central
Michelle Maxwell has just wrecked her promising career at the Secret Service. Against her instincts, she let a presidential candidate out of her sight for the briefest moment, and the man whose safety was her responsibility vanished into thin air.
Sean King knows how the younger agent feels. Eight years earlier, the hard-charging Secret Service agent allowed his attention to be diverted for a split second. And the candidate he was protecting was gunned down before his eyes.
Now Michelle and Sean are about to see their destinies converge.
Drawn into a maze of lies, secrets, and deadly coincidences, the two discredited agents uncover a shocking truth: that the separate acts of violence that shattered their lives were really a long time in the making-and are a long way from over …
Important Note: This book was listed at the above mentioned price 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.
Zoo, a Suspense Thriller by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge, Now at a Special Price
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Zoo by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, Little, Brown.
The ebook format of this title was priced at $2.99 from the listed vendors (below) as of the date and time of this post (06/26/2013 at 3:00 PM 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.
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Zoo by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
A Suspense Thriller
Publisher: Little, Brown
All over the world, brutal attacks are crippling entire cities. Jackson Oz, a young biologist, watches the escalating events with an increasing sense of dread. When he witnesses a coordinated lion ambush in Africa, the enormity of the violence to come becomes terrifyingly clear.
With the help of ecologist Chloe Tousignant, Oz races to warn world leaders before it's too late. The attacks are growing in ferocity, cunning, and planning, and soon there will be no place left for humans to hide.
Important Note: This book was listed at the above mentioned price 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.
The Poet, a Jack McEvoy Mystery by Michael Connelly, Now at a Special Price
MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Poet by Michael Connelly, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, Little, Brown.
The ebook format of this title was priced at $2.99 from the listed vendors (below) as of the date and time of this post (06/26/2013 at 2:30 PM 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.
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The Poet by Michael Connelly
A Jack McEvoy Mystery (1st in series)
Publisher: Little, Brown
The winner of the 1999 Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel and the winner of the 1999 Anthony Award for Best Novel.
Jack McEvoy specializes in death. As a crime reporter for the Rocky Mountain News, he has seen every kind of murder. But his professional bravado doesn't lessen the brutal shock of learning that his only brother is dead, a suicide.
Jack's brother was a homicide detective, and he had been depressed about a recent murder case, a hideously grisly one, that he'd been unable to solve.
McEvoy decides that the best way to exorcise his grief is by writing a feature on police suicides. But when he begins his research, he quickly arrives at a stunning revelation. Following his leads, protecting his sources, muscling his way inside a federal investigation, Jack grabs hold of what is clearly the story of a lifetime. He also knows that in taking on the story, he's making himself the most visible target for a murderer who has eluded the greatest investigators alive.
Important Note: This book was listed at the above mentioned price 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.
Blowback, a Scot Harvath Thriller by Brad Thor, Now at a Special Price
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Blowback by Brad Thor, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, Atria Books.
The ebook format of this title was priced at $2.99 from the listed vendors (below) as of the date and time of this post (06/26/2013 at 2:00 PM 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.
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Blowback by Brad Thor
A Scot Harvath Thriller (4th in series)
Publisher: Atria Books
When a mystery thousands of years in the making threatens to catapult the enemies of America to a sure and decisive victory, the only person the president can call for help is the man the administration has just fired.
Caught live on Al Jazeera in an off-the-books operation, Scot Harvath's career has been terminated and he is forced to go to ground as the president bows to pressure from a ruthless senator with her sights set on the White House. But when the tide in the war on terror suddenly turns against the U.S., the president has no choice but to secretly bring Harvath back inside.
Ducking a congressional subpoena, Harvath travels to the Mediterranean, where he learns of a shadowy organization that has been combing the earth for decades in search of the ultimate weapon to use against the United States and her allies.
Now, after three summers of record-setting heat across present-day Europe, one steadily melting Alpine glacier has given up an ancient secret--one with the potential to thrust civilization back into the Dark Ages.
From Cyprus, London, and Paris, to Italy, Switzerland, and Saudi Arabia, Harvath must race against the clock to stop one of the greatest evils ever to face the United States.
Important Note: This book was listed at the above mentioned price 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.
MystereBooks: The First Seven Dortmunder Novels by Donald E. Westlake, Now Available as eBooks
Mysterious Press has released the first seven mysteries in the "Dortmunder" series by Donald E. Westlake this week in ebook format.
John Dortmunder was introduced in The Hot Rock, which was later adapted into a film of the same title starring Robert Redford as the unlucky thief.
We're providing a list of these books below, which were originally published between 1970 and 1990, with a synopsis from the first in the series.
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The Hot Rock
Donald E. Westlake
A John Dortmunder Novel
Fresh out of prison, Dortmunder plans a heist that could mean war.
John Dortmunder leaves jail with ten dollars, a train ticket, and nothing to make money on but his good name. Thankfully, his reputation goes far. No one plans a caper better than Dortmunder. His friend Kelp picks him up in a stolen Cadillac and drives him away from Sing-Sing, telling a story of a $500,000 emerald that they just have to steal. Dortmunder doesn't hesitate to agree.
The emerald is the crown jewel of a former British colony, lately granted independence and split into two nations: one for the Talabwo people, one for the Akinzi. The Akinzi have the stone, the Talabwo want it back, and their UN representative offers a fine payday to the men who can get it. It's not a simple heist, but after a few years in stir, Dortmunder could use the challenge.
(2nd) Bank Shot — Instead of robbing a bank, Dortmunder tries to steal the whole building.
Amazon | iTunes | Kobo
(3rd) Jimmy the Kid — Taking cues from a pulp novel, Dortmunder arranges a kidnapping.
Amazon | iTunes | Kobo
(4th) Nobody's Perfect — An art collector hires Dortmunder to steal one of his own paintings.
Amazon | iTunes | Kobo
(5th) Why Me? — Dortmunder draws international attention when he steals the wrong ring.
Amazon | iTunes | Kobo
(6th) Good Behavior — Dortmunder agrees to do a dangerous favor for a gang of nuns.
Amazon | iTunes | Kobo
(7th) Drowned Hoped — An old cellmate asks Dortmunder for help robbing a reservoir.
Amazon | iTunes | Kobo
