Review: Enigma of China by Qiu Xiaolong

A Mysterious Review of Enigma of China by Qiu Xiaolong. An Inspector Chen Mystery.

Review summary: This crime novel set in China is structured mostly as a whodunit/howdunit-style police procedural. The premise is a solid one, but isn't really developed much beyond the setup and is resolved in a rather disappointing manner. Overall, not a bad mystery but rather a somewhat mundane, if also a not uninteresting, one. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

Enigma of China
Qiu Xiaolong
An Inspector Chen Mystery
Minotaur Books (June 2013)

Publisher synopsis: Chief Inspector Chen Cao of the Shanghai Police Department is in an unusual situation — a poet by training and inclination, he was assigned by the party to the Police Department after he graduated college, where he has continued to shine. Now he's a rising cadre in the party, in line to take over the top politic position in the police department, while being one of most respected policeman in the department. Which is why he's brought in by the Party to sign off on the investigation into the death of Zhou Keng.

Zhou Keng — a trusted princeling, son of a major party member — was head of the Shanghai Housing Development Committee when a number of his corrupt practices were exposed on the internet. Removed from his position and placed into extra-legal detention, Zhou apparently hanged himself while under guard. While the Party is anxious to have Zhou's death declared a suicide, and for the renowned Chief Inspector Chen to sign off on that conclusion, the sequence of events don't quite add up. Now Chen will have to decide what to do – investigate the death as a possible homicide and risk angering unseen powerful people, or seek the justice that his position requires him to strive for.

      

Compound Fractures by Stephen White, New in Bookstores This Week

Today's new hardcover mystery title, scheduled to be published this week by Dutton, is Compound Fractures by Stephen White.

For a list of more new hardcover mysteries published this month, visit our New Mysteries page for August 2013. For new paperback mysteries, visit The Mystery Bookshelf where a selection of August 2013 mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers are shelved.

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Compound Fractures
Stephen White
Series: Alan Gregory (20th)

In this explosive conclusion to the decades-long saga, Dr. Alan Gregory is forced to acknowledge that the perils that may bring him to his knees are not the dangers he recognizes, nor are they orchestrated by the nemesis he has long feared. Instead he is confronted by unexpected threats from unanticipated adversaries and by intimate betrayal from those who have been closest to him. He is compelled to reconsider what he has long believed about trust and about love while he is trying to cope with overwhelming loss and grief.

To protect himself he must revisit the cruel ethical dilemma that turned his life upside down as a young psychologist. He has to judge whether the people reentering his life after long absences are friends or foes. He has to make sense of echoes of distant tragedies while he decides if there is anyone he can really trust. Mostly, as the clock ticks down, he must solve a deadly mystery in Eldorado Springs that has been brewing for more than a decade.

      

Telemystery: Luther To End After Season 3

The upcoming third season of Luther on BBC America will be its final one, says creator Neil Cross.

"There is none," he replied at the Edinburgh TV Festival, when asked about the future of the series. "The show's finished. Idris [Elba, who plays DCI John Luther], as he should be, he's gone on to be a big movie star."

But that likely won't be the end of the character. "I think there will be a Luther movie," Cross added, "that's the plan."

Luther Season 3 premieres September 3rd, 2013.

MystereBooks: Angel in Black by Max Allan Collins, Available this Month at a Special Price

Every month Amazon releases a new selection of Kindle books priced $3.99 or less.

Today's featured title from the Mystery & Thrillers category is Angel in Black by Max Allan Collins. This Kindle book was listed at $1.99 as of the date and time of this post, Sunday, August 25, 2013 at 1:30 PM ET, and should be available at this price through the end of the month.

More information about the book is below; if other vendors have priced-matched this title, links to their sites are also shown.

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Angel in Black by Max Allan Collins
A Nathan Heller Mystery
Publisher: AmazonEncore

The newspapers dubbed her The Black Dahlia. Nathan Heller knew her — intimately — as Elizabeth Short. To discover the identity of the fiend who destroyed her, Heller must rely on old friend Eliot Ness to help solve the crime and lay bare the terrifying truth behind Hollywood's make-believe facade.

  

Click on the Amazon button to see also the special Whispersync offer associated with this title.

Important Note: 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.

Frame 232, a Jason Hammond Novel by Wil Mara, Now at a Special Price

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Frame 232 by Wil Mara, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, Tyndale House.

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 (08/25/2013 at 1:00 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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Frame 232 by Wil Mara
A Jason Hammond Novel
Publisher: Tyndale House

The time had come, she decided, to rid herself of this burden, to take the steps necessary to put the matter to rest once and for all. And the first step, she knew — against every instinct and desire — was to watch that film.

During the reading of her mother's will, Sheila Baker discovers that she has inherited everything her parents ever possessed, including their secrets. A mysterious safe-deposit box key leads her to the answers to one of history's greatest conspiracies: Who killed John F. Kennedy? Not only does she have the missing film, revealing her mother as the infamous babushka lady, but she has proof that there was more than one shooter.

On the run from people who would stop at nothing to keep secrets buried, Sheila turns to billionaire sleuth Jason Hammond for help. Having lost his own family in a tragic plane crash, Jason knows a thing or two about running from the past. With a target on their backs and time running out, can Jason finally uncover the truth behind the crime that shook a generation — or will he and Sheila become its final victims?

      

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.

A New MystereBook: Cruising in Your Eighties Is Murder by Mike Befeler

Here is a mystery, suspense, or thriller ebook that we recently found by sleuthing (as it were) through new or recently reissued titles from independent publishers …

Cruising in Your Eighties Is Murder by Mike Befeler is the fourth book in this series to feature octogenarian and amateur sleuth Paul Jacobson, and was first published earlier this year in hardcover by Five Star.

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Cruising in Your Eighties Is Murder by Mike Befeler
A Paul Jacobson, Geezer-Lit Mystery
Publisher: Mike Befeler

Octogenarian Paul Jacobson becomes involved in a series of crimes while struggling with the problems of his short-term memory loss.

On an Alaskan cruise, he must deal with mayhem, missing people and murder and use all his geezer resources to solve a case of international intrigue.

      

New Hardcover Mysteries for September 2013

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books has updated its list of new hardcover mysteries with books scheduled for publication in September 2013. Please note that some titles may publish early, and may already be available, and some may be delayed, published at a later date.

Below we're listing those authors with returning series characters, new series characters, and non-series or stand-alone mysteries in separate sections. All titles are available on our September new mystery books page, which will become the default home page for the site on September 1st.

• Authors with mysteries featuring returning series characters (in italics) this month:

Laurien Berenson (Melanie Travis, 16th) — Mark Billingham (Tom Thorne, 10th) — Benjamin Black (Quirke, 6th) — Robin Blake (Titus Cragg and Luke Fidelis, 2nd) — Gail Bowen (Joanne Kilbourn, 14th) — Rhys Bowen (Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, Royal Spyness, 7th) — Chelsea Cain (Archie Sheridan and Gretchen Lowell, 6th) — Alys Clare (Aelf Fen, 5th) — Barbara Cleverly (Joe Sandilands, 11th) — Cheryl Crane (Nicki Harper, 3rd) — Bill Crider (Sheriff Dan Rhodes, 20th) — Judith Cutler (Lina Townend, 6th) — Arne Dahl (Paul Hjelm, 2nd) — Diane Mott Davidson (Goldy Schulz, 17th) — Anna Dean (Miss Dido Kent, 4th) — Vicki Delany (Molly Smith, 6th) — Carole Nelson Douglas (Midnight Louie, 25th) — David Ellis (Jason Kolarich, 4th) — Chris Ewan (Charlie Howard, Good Thief's Guide, 5th) — Conor Fitzgerald (Alec Blume, 4th) — Ed Gorman (Dev Conrad, 4th) — David S. Goyer and Michael Cassutt (Heaven's Shadow, 3rd) — W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV (Badge of Honor, 11th) — Sophie Hannah (Simon Waterhouse and Charlie Zailer, 7th) — Ed Ifkovic (Edna Ferber, 4th) — Faye Kellerman (Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus, 21st) — William Kent Krueger (Cork O'Connor, 13th) — Al Lamanda (John Bekker, 2nd) — Jon Land (Caitlin Strong, 5th) — Tom MacDonald (Dermot Sparhawk, 2nd) — Nancy Martin (Blackbird Sisters, 9th) — Priscilla Masters (Joanna Piercy, 11th) — Laurie Moore (Dainty Prescott, Debutante Detective, 3rd) — Carol O'Connell (Kathleen Mallory, 11th) — Michael Pearce (Mamur Zapt, 17th) — Louise Penny (Armand Gamache, 9th) — Anne Perry (William Monk, 19th) — Robert J. Randisi (Rat Pack, 8th) — Kathy Reichs (Temperance Brennan, 16th) — David Rich (Rollie Waters, 2nd) — Todd Ritter (Kat Campbell, 3rd) — Karen Robards (Charlotte Stone, 2nd) — Sheldon Russell (Hook Runyon, 4th) — Lynn Shepherd (Charles Maddox, 2nd) — Brad Smith (Virgil Cain, 3rd) — Robert K. Tanenbaum (Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi, 25th) — Charles Todd (Bess Crawford, 5th) — Stephen White (Alan Gregory, 20th)

• Authors with mysteries introducing characters in a new series (in italics) this month:

David Riley Bertsch (Jake Trent) — Zoe Burke (Annabelle Starkey) — Douglas Corleone (Simon Fisk) — Ellen Crosby (Sophie Medina) — Karin Fossum (Konrad Sejer) — Melodie Johnson Howe (Diana Poole) — Holly Menino (Tink Elledge)

• Authors with non-series or stand-alone mysteries, novels of suspense, or thrillers this month:

Steve Alten — Kelley Armstrong — Linwood Barclay — Dennis Bock — Kelly Braffet — Sam Cabot — Thomas H. Cook — Frederick Forsyth — David Handler — Richard Helms — Gregg Hurwitz — Carolyn Jess-Cooke — Allison Leotta — Javier Marias — Joyce Maynard — Len McDougall — John D. Nesbitt — James Patterson and David Ellis — Marisha Pessl — Andrew Rosenheim — Charles Salzberg — Ferdinand von Schirach — Erica Spindler — Jason P. Stadtlander — Whitley Strieber — Anne Sward — Lawrence Thackston — Danny Tobey — Steve Yarbrough

For more information on any of these titles, please visit the September new mysteries page on our website. If you're interested in new paperbacks, visit The Mystery Bookshelf where you can discover a library of new mystery, suspense and thriller books, also updated with September 2013 releases.

Please visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books where we are committed to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

Deadly Chase by Wendy Davy is Today's Fourth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Deadly Chase by Wendy Davy as today's fourth free mystery ebook (A Novel of Romantic Suspense; iTunes format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, August 25, 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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Deadly Chase
Wendy Davy
A Novel of Romantic Suspense
Publisher: White Rose Publishing

Sierra Malone trusted the wrong man and now he's trying to kill her. After narrowly escaping Kevin Eason's brutal attack, Sierra leaves her home, her family, and everything familiar. She finds temporary shelter, but it provides little relief from her constant fear. Desperate and alone, she considers an offer of protection from a stranger — but she soon learns he's harboring a potentially deadly secret.

Chase Price wants Eason behind bars, and he's willing to do anything to get him there, even if it means waiting for Eason to strike again. With an innocent life on the line, Chase sets out to finish this battle once and for all — but he soon learns guarding Eason's beautiful victim leaves him wanting much more than he anticipated.

  

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.

Raked Over by Linda Seals is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Raked Over by Linda Seals as today's third free mystery ebook (A Lily Raffenport Mystery; iTunes format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, August 25, 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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Raked Over
Linda Seals
A Lily Raffenport Mystery
Publisher: Linda Seals

Discount a 50-something woman as just a "pathetic old hag", and see where that gets you. The arrogant young boyfriend of a former employee of Lily Raffenport, a mellow but irreverent Colorado garden designer, finds out when he dismisses everything about Lily as he trowels on the story of his girlfriend's drunken suicide. That write-off spurs the reluctant sleuth Lily into action because she isn't buying his self-important tale, and her curiosity for the truth takes her to New Mexico and back, before she herself becomes the main mark in a drug ring's cover up of torture and murder.

Is exposing the killer to find the truth worth the risk of revealing herself to the cartel's mastermind?

  

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 Midnight Murderer by Brian Fleming is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Midnight Murderer by Brian Fleming as today's second free mystery ebook (An Adam Sharpe Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, August 25, 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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The Midnight Murderer
Brian Fleming
An Adam Sharpe Mystery
Publisher: Brian Fleming

Adam Sharpe must lead his team to unravel a string of gruesome murders in Bensen, a quaint farming community in Colorado. The residents of Bensen, led by their charismatic mayor Aaron Schwimmer, attempt to close the case without FBI intervention. The Bensenites' determination to catch the local serial killer they've dubbed "The Midnight Murderer" devolves into a deadly witch-hunt. Sharpe and his BAU team must step in to reinstate law and order.

Unfortunately, the reveal of marital infidelity and the unraveling of Sharpe's sanity threaten to both derail the Bensen investigation and Sharpe's personal life.

  

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.

Truth Kills by Nanci Rathbun is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Truth Kills by Nanci Rathbun as today's free mystery ebook (An Angelina Bonaparte Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, August 25, 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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Truth Kills
Nanci Rathbun
An Angelina Bonaparte Mystery
Publisher: Cozy Cat Press

Librarian-turned-private-investigator Angelina Bonaparte is a woman on a mission: to uncover deception.

Angie has plenty of experience with lying, cheating and cover-ups — and not just because of her former husband. Working as a P.I. means tracking down deadbeats and exposing unfaithful spouses. Now she's been asked by a betrayed wife to prove her cheating husband innocent of the murder of his lover. Angie's heart tells her to let the skunk rot in prison, but her head convinces her that adultery is not grounds for incarceration.

During the investigation, Angie encounters so many people who wished the victim dead that she has to develop a chart to keep track. She also encounters hunky police detective Ted Wukowski, who is still reeling from the death of his former MPD female partner at the hands of a narcotics gang and thinks women don't belong in the path of danger. As they work toward the same goal — discovering the truth — Angie and Detective Wukowski realize their attraction for each other and must decide whether they are strong enough as individuals to work through her lack of trust and his fear of loss.

  

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 Boy from Reactor 4 by Orest Stelmach is Today's Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Boy from Reactor 4 by Orest Stelmach as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal.

The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Sunday, August 25, 2013.

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The Boy from Reactor 4
Orest Stelmach
A Nadia Tesla Thriller
Thomas & Mercer

Nadia's memories of her father are not happy ones. An angry, secretive man, he died when she was thirteen, leaving his past shrouded in mystery. When a stranger claims to have known her father during his early years in Eastern Europe, she agrees to meet — only to watch the man shot dead on a city sidewalk.

With his last breath, he whispers a cryptic clue, one that will propel Nadia on a high-stakes treasure hunt from New York to her ancestral homeland of Ukraine. There she meets an unlikely ally: Adam, a teenage hockey prodigy who honed his skills on the abandoned cooling ponds of Chernobyl. Physically and emotionally scarred by radiation syndrome, Adam possesses a secret that could change the world — if she can keep him alive long enough to do it.

Click on the Amazon button to see also the special Whispersync offer associated with this title.

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.

Today's Mystery and Suspense Update from Big Fish Games (130825)

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

• The New Release is Fearful Tales: Hansel and Gretel (Collector's Edition).

• The Daily Deal is Eternal Journey: New Atlantis, just $2.99 today only!

• The current Catch of the Week is Theatre of the Absurd, just $2.99 through Sunday, August 25, 2013 only.

• Today's Special Deal — This weekend only, buy one Collector's Edition and get a second for just $1.99! Use coupon code PLAY and pay just $1.99 for your second game. Offer ends August 25th, 2013 at 11:59 PM PT.

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

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Today's New Release is Fearful Tales: Hansel and Gretel (Collector's Edition)

You awake from a strange dream to find gingerbread men trashing your home. Where are your children? They left for the village store hours ago and have not returned. A mysterious woman appears, taunting you. Is she responsible for your children's disappearance? One gingerbread man has promised to help you, but can you really trust him?

This is a special Collector's Edition release full of exclusive extras you won't find in the standard version, including: Bonus game; Achievements; and an Integrated Strategy Guide.

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

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Today's Daily Deal is Eternal Journey: New Atlantis

Travel from the deepest trenches of the Atlantic Ocean to the awe-inspiring wonders of Mars as you solve the greatest archeological puzzle known to man: the origin of Atlantis. Through stunning production values and cunningly designed puzzles, this hidden object adventure will draw you into an experience unlike any other.

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour. You can purchase this game today only — Sunday, August 25, 2013 — for $2.99.

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The current Catch of the Week is Theatre of the Absurd

Scarlett Frost, specialist in the dark arts, has been summoned to a luxurious and remote theatre in the snowy Italian Alps. Could it be that the infamous and diabolical Hapsburg Cube has been found and purchased by the sinister theatre proprietor, Dr. Corvis? The cube is said to imprison a powerful and ancient Babylonian demon that would wreak hellish destruction if the cube should break. In a moment of desperate confusion the cube breaks and the demon bursts forth into the souls of the Dr. Corvis and his young Daughter Bethany. The ancient theatre in the lonely winter mountains becomes an arena of spiritual war, between the darkest forces of the underworld and the cunning and esoteric mind of Scarlett Frost. But Scarlett soon finds out that the only way to fight a demon this powerful is to become possessed by one herself. Only then can she acquire a ticket to the Theatre of the Absurd.

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, August 25, 2013.

A New MystereBook: Shock and Awesome by Camilla Chafer

Here is a mystery, suspense, or thriller ebook that we recently found — and you may have missed — by sleuthing (as it were) through new titles from independent publishers …

Shock and Awesome by Camilla Chafer is the fourth mystery in this series featuring PI Lexie Graves. For a free short story featuring the character, "Grave Trouble", set between the second and third books, visit the author's website.

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Shock and Awesome by Camilla Chafer
A Lexi Graves Mystery
Publisher: Audacious

When a thief who preys on the super rich women of a high-end dating website turns up in Montgomery, it's up to Private Investigator, Lexi Graves, to lure him out before he goes to ground. To make matters worse, he's evaded capture numerous times, and this might be the last chance to catch him before he retires altogether from the high stakes game.

Newly single and thoroughly confused, the last thing Lexi wants to do is date a string of men whose photos are optimistic, to say the least. But one on her short list is the thief and a rogue. Faux-dating a string of Not The Ones could help her discover not only which one he is, but also help her decide whom and what she wants in her personal life. Will it be her sexy, mysterious, boss, Solomon? Or handsome cop, Maddox?

Posing as a wealthy, glamorous, eligible bachelorette, complete with walk-in closet of designer clothes, sports car, and mansion, can be fun and games, but Lexi may have met her match when she becomes the next target in the thief's sights. After all, he'll stop at nothing to get what he wants. Along with her cash and borrowed jewels, this master thief might also want to steal her heart in the ultimate sting.

But as the case comes together, tragedy strikes, causing Lexi to question what is more important to her: racing to the aid of her best friend, or solving the case, no matter the cost.

      

New Poster for Historical Action Thriller The Monuments Men

Earlier this month we featured the first trailer for the historical action thriller The Monuments Men. Now, a new poster has been released by the studio (right; click for larger image).

Based on the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history, this action-thriller focuses on an unlikely World War II platoon, tasked by FDR with going into Germany to rescue artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves and returning them to their rightful owners. It would be an impossible mission: with the art trapped behind enemy lines, and with the German army under orders to destroy everything as the Reich fell, how could these guys — seven museum directors, curators, and art historians, all more familiar with Michelangelo than the M-1 — possibly hope to succeed?

But as the Monuments Men, as they were called, found themselves in a race against time to avoid the destruction of 1000 years of culture, they would risk their lives to protect and defend mankind's greatest achievements.

Directed by George Clooney from an adapted screenplay by George Clooney and Grant Heslov and based on the book of the same title by Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter, The Monuments Men opens in theaters December 18th, 2013.