Mystery Godoku Puzzle for October 06, 2014

A new Mystery Godoku Puzzle has been created by the editors of the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and is now available on our website.

Godoku is similar to Sudoku, but uses letters instead of numbers. To give you a headstart, we provide you a mystery clue to fill in a complete row or column (if you choose to use it!).

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This week's letters and mystery clue:

A E G H I M N R T

The 3rd Winemaker Detective mystery by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen features this in Burgundy (9 letters).

We now have two weeks of our puzzles on one page in PDF format for easier printing. Print this week's puzzle here.

Previous puzzles are stored in the Mystery Godoku Archives.

Enjoy the weekly Mystery Godoku Puzzle from the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, and Thanks for visiting our website!

California Living by Brad Collier is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

Omnimystery News is pleased to feature …

California Living by Brad Collier

A Raymond Chandler Tribute Novel

Publisher: Noon Street Publishing

… as today's second free mystery ebook.

  

This title was listed for free as of October 05, 2014 at 7:10 AM ET. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of the 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.

More on today's free book, below.

From the author: California Living was written as a tribute to Raymond Chandler, who was and is the best mystery writer of all time. Chandler wouldn't like that description too much — and he'd be right. He was one of the greatest writers all time, period. I tried to write this novel with some of the same gusto, wit, and verve that Chandler always thought were crucial to good writing.

— California Living by Brad Collier

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

Omnimystery News is pleased to feature …

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

A Pretty Little Liars Novel

Publisher: HarperTeen

… as today's free mystery ebook.

  

This title was listed for free as of October 05, 2014 at 7:00 AM ET. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of the 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.

More on today's free book, below.

I'm still here. And I know everything. —A

In ultra-trendy Rosewood, Pennsylvania, four beautiful girls are hiding very ugly secrets. High school juniors Spencer, Hanna, Aria and Emily have grown apart since their best friend Alison DiLaurentis went missing three years ago.

But now someone is sending them anonymous notes, threatening to reveal their darkest secrets. There's only one person who knows that much about them, but Ali's gone … isn't she?

— Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

The Tudor Secret by C. W. Gortner is Today's Kobo Daily Deal

Omnimystery News is pleased to feature The Tudor Secret by C. W. Gortner as today's Kobo Daily Deal.

The deal price of $2.99 is valid only for today, Sunday, October 05, 2014, and has been price-matched by Amazon.com.

The Tudor Secret by C. W. Gortner

A Brendan Prescott, Elizabeth I Spymaster Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Price: $2.99 (as of 10/05/2014 at 6:40 AM ET).

    

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

The era of the Tudors was one of danger, intrigue, conspiracy, and, above all, spies …

Summer 1553: A time of danger and deceit. Brendan Prescott, an orphan, is reared in the household of the powerful Dudley family. Brought to court, Prescott finds himself sent on an illicit mission to the king's brilliant but enigmatic sister, Princess Elizabeth. But Brendan is soon compelled to work as a double agent by Elizabeth's protector, William Cecil, who promises in exchange to help him unravel the secret of his own mysterious past.

A dark plot swirls around Elizabeth's quest to unravel the truth about the ominous disappearance of her seriously ill brother, King Edward VI. With only a bold stable boy and an audacious lady-in-waiting at his side, Brendan plunges into a ruthless gambit of half-truths, lies, and murder.

— The Tudor Secret by C. W. Gortner

Today's Mystery and Suspense Update from Big Fish Games (141005)

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

• The New Release is Whispered Secrets: Into the Wind (Collector's Edition).

• The Daily Deal is Flights of Fancy: Two Doves, just $2.99 today only!

• The current Catch of the Week is Dark Tales: Edgar Allan Poe's The Gold Bug, just $2.99 through Sunday, October 05, 2014 only.

• Today's Special Deal — Fall Harvest Sale: All games are Two for the Price of One! Use coupon code FALL for Collector's Edition games and use coupon code HARVEST for Standard games. Offer valid through October 5th, 2014 only until 11:59 PM PT.

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

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The New Release is Whispered Secrets: Into the Wind (Collector's Edition)

You've been called to the riverside town of Ridleton to investigate a series of missing persons. Strange storms have been sweeping through the town, and with each appearance … comes a disappearance. Who's behind the unnatural weather, and how are they choosing their victims? To find out, you'll need the help of a tough-as-nails Huntress and a well-trained red panda. But you'll all have to work fast … There's a storm brewing in this exciting Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game!

This is a special Collector's Edition release full of exclusive extras you won't find in the standard version, including: Find the source of Vaal's power in the bonus game; Collect flames in every scene to unlock extra content; Free the spirit of the wolves in a secret bonus game; Concept art, music, movies, and more; and an Available Strategy Guide.

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

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Today's Daily Deal is Flights of Fancy: Two Doves

Save your kingdom from disaster! You return home from a royal party to discover that your estate has been robbed. Someone has stolen the magic dove that has been in your family for generations. To make matters worse, the king's magic dove has also been stolen, and if the thief learns how to use the power of the two birds, the consequences could be disastrous! With the king missing and the kingdom's citizens falling victim to a strange curse, it's up to you to save the kingdom. Embark on an extraordinary journey in this gorgeous Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game!

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

Also available for this game:

• Get the Strategy Guide.
• Check out the Blog Walkthrough.
• For a more in-depth experience, see the Collector's Edition.

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The current Catch of the Week is Dark Tales: Edgar Allan Poe's The Gold Bug

Edgar Allan Poe's classic tale gets a reboot in this fourth game in the well-loved Dark Tales series. You and your detective companion Dupin have been summoned to the seashore to help William LeGrand discover the exact location of a treasure lost hundreds of years ago. But LeGrand isn't the only one with designs on the pirate booty … A masked villain tries to make off with the code, and a mysterious woman in a veil seems to be connected.

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

Also available for this game:

• Get the Strategy Guide.
• Check out the Blog Walkthrough.
• For a more in-depth experience, see the Collector's Edition.

New This Week: Unseemly Ambition, A Concordia Wells Mystery by K. B. Owen

Omnimystery News is pleased to present a mystery, suspense, or thriller ebook that we recently found by sleuthing (as it were) through new or recently reissued titles from independent publishers during October 2014 and priced $4.99 or less …

Unseemly Ambition by K. B. Owen

A Concordia Wells Mystery (3rd in series)

Publisher: Misterio Press

Price: $3.99 (as of 10/04/2014 at 5:30 PM ET).

  

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

A murder … a missing boy … a secret society's bold and deadly plot …

It is 1898, and Professor Concordia Wells has come to expect the hectic routine of classes, clubs, teas, and the inevitable student pranks at the women's college. If only she could avoid the cantankerous dean, Randolph Maynard, who has learned about her past experiences as a "lady sleuth." To Concordia's dismay, he scrutinizes her every move for evidence of unseemly conduct.

The dean will certainly scowl over the lady professor's behavior when a disastrous turn of events affects those she loves. First, a mysterious woman claims that Concordia's young friend, the eleven-year-old Eli, is her long-lost child. Soon after, they find the woman murdered and the boy gone.

Lieutenant Capshaw is given the case, only to be abruptly replaced by a junior associate. An innocuous reassignment, or something more?

Concordia calls upon a former ally, Penelope Hamilton, for help. As they search for the child and untangle the mystery of his mother's death, Concordia realizes that not even her own colleagues are above suspicion. Not knowing whom at the school to trust as she attempts to side-step Dean Maynard's continual scrutiny, she must tread carefully. Far more is at risk than the loved ones she seeks to protect, and there is no turning back.

— Unseemly Ambition by K. B. Owen

New This Week: Death in Nostalgia City, A Lyle Deming Mystery by Mark S. Bacon

Omnimystery News is pleased to present a mystery, suspense, or thriller ebook that we recently found by sleuthing (as it were) through new or recently reissued titles from independent publishers during October 2014 and priced $4.99 or less …

Death in Nostalgia City by Mark S. Bacon

A Lyle Deming Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Black Opal Books

Price: $3.99 (as of 10/04/2014 at 4:30 PM ET).

  

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

He thinks he's on edge now … then people start getting killed …

Uptight has-been ex-cop Lyle Deming's default setting for years, but his new job, driving a cab in a theme park, promises to cure his chronic anxieties. Nostalgia City is the ultimate resort for anyone who wants to visit the past. A meticulous recreation of an entire small town from the early 1970s, it's complete with period cars, music, clothes, shops, restaurants, hotels — the works.

The relaxed theme-park atmosphere is just what Lyle needs — until rides are sabotaged and tourists killed. Then park founder, billionaire "Max" Maxwell, drafts Lyle into investigating — unofficially. As the violence escalates and employees get rattled, Lyle gets help. Kate Sorensen, the park's PR director — and former college basketball player — becomes another incognito investigator. Except that she's six-foot-two-and-a-half-inches tall and drop-dead gorgeous. So much for incognito.

Together, Lyle and Kate must unravel a conspiracy of corporate greed and murder.

— Death in Nostalgia City by Mark S. Bacon

Cold Is the Grave, An Alan Banks Mystery by Peter Robinson, Now Available at a Special Price

Omnimystery News is always searching for newly discounted mystery, suspense, thriller and crime novels for our readers to enjoy. Today, we're pleased to present the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, HarperCollins …

Cold Is the Grave by Peter Robinson

An Alan Banks Mystery (11th in series)

Publisher: HarperCollins

Price: $3.99 (as of 10/04/2014 at 4:00 PM ET).

  

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

The nude photo of a teenage runaway shows up on a pornographic website, and the girl's father turns to Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks for help. But these are not typical circumstances, for the runaway is the daughter of a man who's determined to destroy the dedicated Yorkshire policeman's career and good name. Still it is a case that strikes painfully home, one that Banks — a father himself — dares not ignore as he follows its squalid trail into teeming London, and into a world of drugs, sex, and crime.

But murder follows soon after — gruesome, sensational, and more than once — pulling Banks in a direction that he dearly does not wish to go: into the past and private world of his most powerful enemy, Chief Constable Jimmy Riddle.

— Cold Is the Grave by Peter Robinson

Bless Her Dead Little Heart by Miranda James, a New 1st in Series Mystery Introducing Southern Ladies

Omnimystery News is pleased to present you with one of this month's new 1st in Series titles, a mystery, thriller or suspense novel that introduces a recurring character (or characters) …

Bless Her Dead Little Heart by Miranda James

A Southern Ladies Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Berkley

  

What we know about the characters: The Southern Ladies are Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote, two snoopy sisters who are always ready to lend a helping hand to the residents of Athena, Mississippi. For more information about their first murder, see a synopsis of the book, below.

When a stressed socialite brings murder right to their doorstep, even they have trouble maintaining their Southern hospitality …

With the Mississippi sun beating down, An'gel and Dickce are taking a break to cool off and pet sit their friend Charlie Harris's cat, Diesel, when their former sorority sister, Rosabelle Sultan, shows up at their door unexpectedly, with her ne'er-do-well adult children not far behind.

Rosabelle's selfish offspring are desperate to discover what's in her will, and it soon becomes clear that one of them would kill to get their hands on the inheritance. Suddenly caught up in a deadly tangle of duplicitous suspects and deep-fried motives, it will take all of the sisters' Southern charm to catch a decidedly ill-mannered killer …

— Bless Her Dead Little Heart by Miranda James

The Deadliest Denial, A Novel of Romantic Suspense by Colleen Thompson, Now Available at a Special Price

Omnimystery News is always searching for newly discounted mystery, suspense, thriller and crime novels for our readers to enjoy. Today, we're pleased to present the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, Montlake Romance …

The Deadliest Denial by Colleen Thompson

A Novel of Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Montlake Romance

Price: $0.99 (as of 10/04/2014 at 3:00 PM ET).

This title is one of over 100 mysteries and thrillers included in Amazon's The Big Deal, Now through 10/05/2014.

  

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

The worst day of Claire's life begins with a 5:00 AM knock on her door, the summons every cop's wife dreads. But instead of telling her Spence is gone, killed in the line of duty, his sergeant has even worse news for Claire. Her husband is in jail. For murder. And there is irrefutable evidence that the person he really wants dead is her.

But betrayal turns to terror when Spence skips out on his bail and someone begins vandalizing her horse ranch. In the fury of a Texas thunderstorm, her husband reappears with a story that sounds all too credible and a seductive magnetism Claire has never been able to resist. Is her refusal to turn him in, her need to believe in his innocence , nothing but the deadliest denial?

— The Deadliest Denial by Colleen Thompson

Louise's Blunder by Sarah R. Shaber, New in Bookstores during October 2014

Today's featured new hardcover mystery, suspense, or thriller title scheduled to be published during October 2014 is …

Louise's Blunder by Sarah R. Shaber, a Louise Pearlie Mystery (4th in series)

Publisher: Severn House

      

For a list of more new hardcover titles to be published this month, visit our New Mysteries page for October 2014. For new paperback mysteries, visit The Mystery Bookshelf where a selection of October 2014 mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers are shelved.

More about our featured title, below …

1940s, Washington DC. Government. Girl Louise Pearlie is asked to review the file usage of a missing analyst from the Office of Strategic Services — the US's wartime intelligence agency — only to learn he'd drowned in the Tidal Basin days before. OSS confirm it was an accident, and Louise is sent back to her regular job in the file rooms.

Her time spent investigating Paul Hughes at least has one positive outcome, though: Louise meets a young woman in the OSS Reading Room, who asks her to join her "salon", where she is encouraged to talk about controversial issues like racial segregation and equal pay for women. Socializing with the women helps her cope with her beau Joe Prager's transfer to New York City.

— Louise's Blunder by Sarah R. Shaber

Telemystery: Inspector Lewis Season 7 Premieres Sunday, October 5th on PBS's Masterpiece Mystery

The seventh season of Inspector Lewis premieres tomorrow, Sunday October 5th, 2014 on PBS's Masterpiece Mystery.

In three all-new cases ("Entry Wounds", October 5th), "The Lions of Nemea", October 12th, and "Beyond Good and Evil", October 19th), the seasoned Inspector Lewis (Kevin Whately) and the newly-minted Inspector Hathaway (Laurence Fox) encounter the future, in new partner DS Lizzie Maddox (Angela Griffin), and the past, in the reopening of a closed case and the repetition of its grisly murders.

Watch a preview to this season, below.

Down To the Wire by Laura Scott, New from Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense in October 2014

Omnimystery News is pleased to introduce a new mystery, suspense, or thriller title from Harlequin, published this month …

Down To the Wire by Laura Scott

Series: SWAT: Top Cops

Imprint: Love Inspired Suspense

  

For more information about the book, see a synopsis, below.

Who placed the bomb under schoolteacher Tess Collins's classroom desk — and why? There's only one man who can save Tess — SWAT cop Declan Shaw. Her survival depends on him defusing the bomb and protecting her from an unknown enemy. He can't afford to be distracted by the alluring beauty who was his onetime high school crush. But keeping her safe soon becomes more than just a job for the highly trained explosives expert. And it'll take all his professional skills to catch the madman targeting Tess before it's too late.

— Down To the Wire by Laura Scott

The Alpha Deception, A Blaine McCracken Thriller by Jon Land, Now Available at a Special Price

Omnimystery News is always searching for newly discounted mystery, suspense, thriller and crime novels for our readers to enjoy. Today, we're pleased to present the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, Open Road …

The Alpha Deception by Jon Land

A Blaine McCracken Thriller (2nd in series)

Publisher: Open Road

Price: $1.99 (as of 10/04/2014 at 1:00 PM ET).

  

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

A space-borne superweapon rains death down on an American small town, and Blaine McCracken races to learn who pulled the trigger before the fearsome beam turns on Washington …

In the last years of the Cold War, policy and trust for the Russians have led to disarmament treaties and hope for a new beginning. But peace is not yet within grasp. An entire American town has been wiped off the map: not by nuclear strike, but rather a space-borne particle cannon capable of reducing the entire nation to dust in hours.

But who pulled the trigger? Was it the Russians, making a final bid for world domination? Or was it a third power — some aspiring conqueror hoping to pit the superpowers against each other?

It's up to Blaine McCracken to find out. An old flame has contacted the rogue op, begging for help protecting her father, a jeweler who has just been robbed of five rare stones — five rubies that could mean life or death for the United States.

— The Alpha Deception by Jon Land

Mystery Bestsellers for the Week Ending October 04, 2014

A list of the top 15 Mystery Hardcover Bestsellers for the week ending October 4th, 2014 has been posted by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

No change at the top, with the 19th Jack Reacher thriller by Lee Child, Personal, remaining at number one for the fourth week.

One new title enters the list this week; debut position in [brackets].

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[13]: The Lost Key
Catherine Coulter and J. T. Ellison
— A Nicholas Drummond Mystery (2nd in series)

Freshly minted FBI agent Nicholas Drummond is barely out of his Quantico training when he and his partner, Mike Caine, are called to investigate a stabbing on Wall Street.

Their investigation, however, yields more questions than answers. It quickly becomes clear that the victim, John Pearce, was more than the naval historian and antiquities dealer he appeared to be. What Drummond doesn't know is that buying and selling rare books was Pearce's cover, and that he had devoted his life to discovering the whereabouts of a missing World War I U-boat concealing a stash of gold bullion, and an unexpected surprise that only raises more questions. When Drummond and Caine find both of Pearce's adult children have disappeared, the case assumes a new sense of urgency. The FBI agents know their best lead lies in the victim's cryptic final words — "The key is in the lock." But what key? What lock?

The search for Adam and Sophia Pearce takes them on an international manhunt, which threatens to run them afoul of an eccentric billionaire industrialist with his own plans not only for the lost gold, but the creation of a weapon unlike anything the world has ever seen.

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