We've just published our Review of Madhattan Mystery by John J. Bonk. Walker Hardcover, May 2012.
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Thursday, June 14, 2012
The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton Optioned for Film
Steve Hamilton's 2011 Edgar Award-winning Best Novel The Lock Artist has been optioned for film by Shane Salerno, who co-wrote the screenplay adaptation of Don Winslow's Savages. Salerno is expected to co-write the adapted screenplay with Hamilton.
Marked by tragedy, traumatized at the age of eight, Michael, now eighteen, is no ordinary young man. Besides not uttering a single word in ten years, he discovers the one thing he can somehow do better than anyone else. Whether it's a locked door without a key, a padlock with no combination, or even an eight-hundred pound safe ... he can open them all.
It's an unforgivable talent. A talent that will make young Michael a hot commodity with the wrong people and, whether he likes it or not, push him ever close to a life of crime. Until he finally sees his chance to escape, and with one desperate gamble risks everything to come back home to the only person he ever loved, and to unlock the secret that has kept him silent for so long.
The Lock Artist — the Kindle edition is, as of the date and time of this post, priced at just $2.99 by its publisher, Minotaur Books — is Hamilton's second stand-alone novel; he is also the author of the Alex McKnight mystery series, the first entry of which also recognized with an Edgar Award for Best First Novel. (Important Note: eBook prices can and do frequently change without prior notice. The price indicated on the vendor website at the time of the sale is the price of the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.)
(Related article: Deadline.)
Nominees for the 2012 Macavity Awards Announced
The nominees for the 2012 Macavity Awards have been announced by Mystery Readers International (via Janet Rudolph). Each year the members of organization nominate and vote for their favorite mysteries in several categories. The winners will be announced during the Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in Cleveland this October.
Best Mystery Novel …
• Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• 1222 by Anne Holt (Scribner)
• The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz (Mulholland Books)
• The Ridge by Michael Koryta (Little, Brown)
• A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books)
• The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes by Marcus Sakey (Dutton)
• Hell & Gone by Duane Swierczynski (Mulholland Books)
Best First Mystery Novel …
• Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry (Crown)
• Nazareth Child by Darrell James (Midnight Ink)
• Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante (Atlantic Monthly)
• All Cry Chaos by Leonard Rosen (The Permanent Press)
• The Informationist by Taylor Stevens (Crown)
• Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson (Harper)
Best Mystery-Related Non-Fiction …
• Books, Crooks and Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law and Courtroom Procedure by Leslie Budewitz (Linden)
• Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making: More Stories and Secrets from Her Notebooks by John Curran (HarperCollins)
• Wilkie Collins, Vera Caspary and the Evolution of the Casebook Novel by A. B. Emrys (McFarland)
• The Savage City: Race, Murder, and a Generation on the Edge by T. J. English (William Morrow)
• The Sookie Stackhouse Companion by Charlaine Harris (Ace)
Best Mystery Short Story …
• Disarming by Dana Cameron (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, June 2011)
• Facts Exhibiting Wantonness by Trina Corey (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, November 2011)
• Palace by the Lake by Daryl Wood Gerber (Fish Tales: The Guppy Anthology)
• Truth and Consequences by Barb Goffman (Mystery Times Ten)
• Heat of Passion by Kathleen Ryan (A Twist of Noir)
• The Man Who Took His Hat Off to the Driver of the Train by Peter Turnbull (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, March/April 2011)
Sue Feder Historical Mystery Award …
• Naughty in Nice by Rhys Bowen (Berkley)
• Narrows Gate by Jim Fusilli (AmazonEncore)
• Dandy Gilver and the Proper Treatment of Bloodstains by Catriona McPherson (Minotaur Books)
• Mercury’s Rise by Ann Parker (Poisoned Pen Press)
• Troubled Bones by Jeri Westerson (Minotaur Books)
• A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear (Harper)
Copper Producers Discuss Making the BBC America Crime Drama
Executive producers Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana talk about the making of the new BBC America original series Copper in a new video uploaded by the network (and embedded below). The historical crime drama is set in 1860s Manhattan.
"I think the idea of doing a period piece is really exciting because you're now looking at New York City 140 some-odd years ago," says Levinson. "It was a messy, confusing time."
Tom Weston-Jones stars as Kevin Corcoran, an intense, rugged Irish-immigrant cop working the city's notorious Five Points neighborhood. Corcoran is struggling to maintain his moral compass in a turbulent post-Civil War world while on an emotional and relentless quest to learn the truth about the disappearance of his wife and the death of his daughter.
Copper premieres on BBC America on August 19th, 2012.
Burn Notice Season 6 Premieres Thursday, June 14th
The sixth season of Burn Notice premieres tonight, June 14th, on USA Network.
In an episode titled "Scorched Earth", Michael hunts Anson through the streets of Miami in the wake of the Season 5 finale. Refusing to let Anson get away, Michael races against the clock to find him … but time may not be his only obstacle. Meanwhile, Fiona is taken into federal custody after her surrender, where she's interrogated by an old nemesis.
Also debuting is the third volume of the "Burn Notice" graphic novel series. Titled First Contact, the first chapter picks up after the events of tonight's premiere: Michael is trying to cope with Fiona's imprisonment and has barely left the house. Sam and Jesse finally convince him to leave his loft for a meet-up, but an enemy from his past has different plans.
You can download (or read online) the chapter — a new one will be available every week — from the First Contact website.
Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (120614)
Here is today's list of the top bestselling free Kindle mysteries, suspense novels and thrillers.
We're using a script to embed an RSS feed from Amazon.com, which is updated hourly, but if you cannot see the box below — or have scripts blocked — you can use this link to see the relevant page on Amazon.com.
Enter to Win a Copy of The Cold Dish, the First Longmire Mystery by Craig Johnson
A&E has recently begun airing episodes of Longmire, a western crime drama based on a character created by mystery author Craig Johnson.
In recognition of the new television series, Penguin Books has reissued the first book to feature Wyoming sheriff Walt Longmire, The Cold Dish, as a trade paperback and we're delighted to be able to give away, courtesy of the publisher, a copy to one of our readers. See entry details at the bottom of this post.
The citizens of the Cowboy State boast a long and bloody history of dispensing rough justice but the last few decades have bred peace between the white and Native American communities. So when Cody Pritchard is found dead near the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, Sheriff Walt Longmire and the general population of Absaroka County are inclined to think it's a hunting accident. But two years earlier Cody was one four high school boys convicted of brutally raping Melissa Little Bird, a young Cheyenne girl with fetal alcohol syndrome. The boys were guilty but let off with suspended sentences. Was this a revenge killing? Sheriff Longmire intends to find out.
After twenty-four years as sheriff, Walt, along with Deputy Victoria Moretti and lifelong friend Henry Standing Bear, is embroiled in the most volatile and challenging case of his career. He might be the only thing standing between the three remaining boys and a Sharps .45-70 buffalo rifle.
Though we haven't read this title, we have read and reviewed the three most recent mysteries in the series — Junkyard Dogs, one of our picks as the best mysteries of 2010; Hell Is Empty; and As the Crow Flies; as well as the short story "Divorce Horse" — and it is one that we enthusiastically recommend.
Longmire currently airs Sundays at 10 PM (ET/PT) on A&E. You can watch a trailer for the series below.
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For a chance to win a trade paperback edition of The Cold Dish, visit Mystery Book Contests and click on the Craig Johnson: Longmire contest link, enter your name, e-mail address, and this code: 3148. (One entry per person. US residents only. Contest ends June 22nd, 2012.)
New Poster, Trailer for Sinister
A first poster (right; click for larger image) and trailer (below) have been released for the horror thriller Sinister. The film's tagline: "Once you see him, nothing can save you."
Ethan Hawke stars as a true crime novelist, who discovers a box of mysterious, disturbing home movies that help him understand how and why a family was murdered in his new home, though his discoveries put his own family in the path of a supernatural entity.
Directed by Scott Derrickson from an original screenplay co-written with C. Robert Cargill, Sinister opens in theaters October 5th, 2012.
The Stunt Man, Free to Watch on Hulu
We were looking through the free feature films on Hulu last night and came across several that we thought we'd highlight here over the next few weeks.
First up: The Stunt Man.
We can't remember when we first saw the film — probably not until it came out on VHS since it didn't receive a wide theatrical release — but it immediately hit our Top 10 list and has remained there since. Peter O'Toole's performance is nothing short of brilliant, but it's the twisty screenplay that captured our imagination. (It was adapted from the 1970 novel of the same title by Paul Brodeur.) O'Toole, screenwriters Lawrence B. Marcus and Richard Rush, who also directed, were all nominated for Academy Awards (Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director).
Here's a summary of the film:
Running from the law, Vietnam vet Cameron (Steve Railsback) stumbles on a movie shoot just in time to interfere with a staged accident, causing the stunt man's death. Rather than turn Cameron in, director Eli Cross (Peter O'Toole) makes him an offer he can't refuse: replace the dead stunt man in return for safe harbor. Despite objections about Cameron's inexperience, Eli keeps him on, figuring that a vet will add an extra charge of realism to the World War I opus that he's filming. As leading lady Nina (Barbara Hershey) returns Cameron's affections, and Eli becomes ever more inscrutably mercurial, Cameron begins to wonder how far Eli will go to get the screen effects he wants, and if he would think twice about killing the stunt man.
The Stunt Man is rated R for pervasive strong language, intense action and violence (within the context of a film production), and nudity. We've embedded it below, but free films on Hulu aren't generally available for very long. (The film is also available on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.)
CBC Commissions Adaptation of Louise Penny's Still Life
CBC has commissioned a made-for-television adaptation of Louise Penny's debut mystery, Still Life. The book, which introduces Armand Gamache, a Chief Inspector with the Sûreté du Québec, was the winner of multiple literary awards, including the 2006 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel, the 2006 CWA New Blood Dagger Award, the 2007 Anthony Award for Best First Novel, and several others.
In the book, Gamache and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montreal. Jane Neal, a local fixture in the tiny hamlet of Three Pines, just north of the U.S. border, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it’s a tragic hunting accident and nothing more, but Gamache smells something foul in these remote woods, and is soon certain that Jane Neal died at the hands of someone much more sinister than a careless bowhunter.
(Related article: CBC News.)
The Crypt by Jonas Saul is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Crypt by Jonas Saul as today's third free mystery ebook.
This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
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The Crypt by Jonas Saul
A Sarah Roberts Mystery
Publisher: Imagine Press
This is the third paranormal mystery in this series.
About The Crypt (from the publisher): Sarah Roberts is in search of a weapon on the streets of Budapest.
A strange man in a fedora follows her, but before she can find out who he is, she is arrested. After her release from the Hungarian jail, she is ordered out of the country.
The man in the fedora shows up at her Budapest hotel before she has a chance to leave for the airport. He is from a psychic research organization and she is to come with him back to the States. When she refuses, she is informed that she does not have a choice. She is now property of the United States government.
Sarah then receives a message that it all ends in "The Crypt" in nine days. An apology accompanies the note.
While Sarah remains in Hungary and struggles to locate her target, she has to keep the Hungarian government off her back as well as the fedora-wearing American who has a ten-man team hunting her.
The only way to escape their reach is to fake her own death. Convinced it's her only option, Sarah concocts a plan that will deal with her target and have herself killed in the process.
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.
Download Link(s):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
Relatively Dead by Alan Cook is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Relatively Dead by Alan Cook as today's second free mystery ebook.
This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
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Relatively Dead by Alan Cook
A Carol Golden Mystery
Publisher: Alan Cook
This is the second mystery in this series.
About Relatively Dead (from the publisher): Carol Golden has recovered her identity if not her memory and she would like to find more relatives. She discovers cousins with the last name of Boyd and finds they are apparently being targeted for murder. In addition, her grandmother is developing Alzheimer's Disease and has been a victim of the "Grandparent Scam," losing a lot of money to someone in Los Angeles who is impersonating Carol's dead brother.
Carol travels to Los Angeles from her home in North Carolina to attend a memorial service for one murdered cousin and to try and determine whether the scammer and the murderer are the same person. However, she finds out soon after her arrival in L.A. that someone doesn't want her sticking her nose into any of this.
A group calling itself The Syndicate is promoting what looks suspiciously like a Ponzi scheme, and at least one of her cousins could be involved, bilking people out of their money. Is there a connection to the murderer here? Will Carol become disillusioned about her relatives? Maybe she would have been better off not finding them.
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.
Download Link(s):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
The Scent of Murder by Jeffrey Marks is Today's Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Scent of Murder by Jeffrey Marks as today's free mystery ebook.
This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
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The Scent of Murder by Jeffrey Marks
Publisher: Delphi Books
About The Scent of Murder (from the publisher): Kantor's Department Store calls Marissa back from a seminar when a co-worker discovers the body of her ex-husband's fiance at Marissa's desk. When the police find evidence that points to a killer within the department store, Marissa is drawn into the investigation. Her closeness with her ex-husband, spurred by their son's illness, complicates both the investigation and her relationship with her current police boyfriend.
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.
Download Link(s):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
The Ehrengraf Defense by Lawrence Block is Today's Featured Free Mystere-Short Story
MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Ehrengraf Defense by Lawrence Block as today's free mystery ebook.
This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
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The Ehrengraf Defense by Lawrence Block
A Ehrengraf for the Defense Short Story
Publisher: Lawrence Block
A note about The Ehrengraf Defense from the author: It was in 1976 that I wrote this short story, introducing a dapper gentleman with a highly idiosyncratic approach to the practice of criminal law. My agent sent the story to Frederic Dannay, one of two cousins who constituted the writing team of Ellery Queen. Fred edited Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine as well, and loved the story; he saw Martin H. Ehrengraf as a lineal descendant of Randolph Mason, the creation of Melville Davisson Post. (Since I’d never heard of Post’s stories, let alone read them, I doubt he was my inspiration. Indeed, the character was entirely my idea—although I did lift a plot element from Fletcher Flora.)
Fred wanted more Ehrengraf stories, and over time I wrote a total of ten of them. Most of them made their first appearance in EQMM, and proved popular with readers—and especially with members of the legal profession. Make of that what you will.
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.
Download Link(s):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
Twisted Justice by Patricia Gussin is Today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Twisted Justice by Patricia Gussin as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal. The deal price of $0.99 is valid only for today, Thursday, June 14, 2012.
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Twisted Justice by Patricia Gussin
A Laura Nelson Mystery
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing
About Twisted Justice (from the publisher): For better … Laura Nelson has it all — a successful career as a surgeon, five well-adjusted kids and a gorgeous, prominent husband Steve, a nightly news anchor at the Tampa TV News.
For worse … Laura's seemingly perfect world shatters when she discovers that Steve is sharing much more than a news desk and a billboard with Kim, his sexy co-anchor. But Steve's torrid fling with his coworker is about to come to an abrupt end.
Till death do us part … When Kim is murdered, Laura is left holding the smoking gun. How far would Laura go to preserve her perfect life? That's about to become yesterday's news.
Now, Laura must fight to protect her freedom as lies, deception and dark secrets threaten to close in on her and change her perfect life into a perfect nightmare.But, looks can be deceiving. And deceit can be deadly.
Important Note: Amazon.com updates its Kindle book deal every day at approximately midnight PT. The title referenced above is available at a discounted price for Thursday, June 14, 2012 only.
Download Link(s):
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
NBC Orders Pilot based on Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives by Josie Brown
The Fall 2012 television season is still months away but in the never-ending world of network pilots — just in case, read when, one of the new series fails — NBC has ordered one from Jerry Bruckheimer, Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives based on the 2010 novel by Josie Brown.
Normally we'd give a pass on this since there is no indication from the synopsis of the book that it is a murder mystery or suspense thriller of any sort, but the pilot is described as "equal parts thriller and dramatic soap that is centered on a murder and the secrets exposed in its aftermath."
Clearly there is more to learn here …
The 4th International Mystery Writers's Festival Opens Tomorrow, June 14th
The 4th International Mystery Writers's Festival "Discovering New Mysteries" opens tomorrow, June 14th in Owensboro, Kentucky, and will continue through Sunday, June 17th.
In years past, the festival has hosted an unprecedented array of best-selling authors, internationally known actors and successful TV writer/producers including: Gene Hackman, Mary Higgins Clark, Josh Hutcherson, Sue Grafton, Anthony E. Zuiker, Rene’ Balcer, William Link, and dozens of others who actively participated in workshops, panel discussions, and retrospectives of their work. And, the new plays “discovered” at the Festival by up-and-coming writers in 2008 and 2009 have gone on to win multiple Edgar Awards.
This year’s festival is sure to be as exciting, ground-breaking and celebrity-packed as previous years. The Festival received hundreds of play submissions from authors around the world and from those submissions, three works will be presented:
• Absolutely Dead by Michael Walker. It’s the rocky coast of Maine and there’s a Nor’easter blowing like a stink outside. The causeway’s flooded and (of course) the local sheriff is stranded on the mainland. Naturally, on a turbulent night like this, the phones are down and who would ever expect cell phones to work in a place like this? Does it sound like a good night for a roaring fire and a dinner party with a lot of laughs from a boisterous, tipsy actress? Does it sound like a good night for a murder — or two? People are dying and the party really isn’t funny anymore.
• Encore for Murder by Max Allan Collins. Another opening — another Broadway hit, only the celebrity star is kidnapped and Mike Hammer is brought in to solve the kidnapping — is it the producer, is it her deceased husband’s mob connected family, is it her stalker fan, is it the understudy — there’s plenty here for Mike Hammer and his trusted secretary, as well as the audience, to wade through, with twists and turns and still a surprise at the end!
• Lost at Sea by Donald Drake. When an aging playwright takes his three grown children along with his secretary/companion on a cruise, someone disappears and the mystery begins! What happened? An accident — a murder — a plot? Come aboard the cruise ship and see for yourself!
Visit the festival website for ticket information and a schedule of events.
Charlize Theron to Co-Produce, May Star in Murder Mystery
The phrase "comedic murder mystery" always makes us cringe a little bit. Not so much in the context of a book, but when applied to a film. So many have tried, yet there are so few memorable titles … Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? … the early "Pink Panther" films … Kiss Kiss Bang Bang … come to mind, but this really isn't a stellar list by any means.
That doesn't stop producers from trying. The latest is the simply titled Murder Mystery, with John Madden ("Inspector Morse", The Debt) directing a script by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, The Amazing Spiderman). Charlize Theron is co-producing and is negotiating to star. (That fact alone is probably enough to capture our interest.) No specific details on the plot are known, but here's the general storyline: An affectionate deconstruction of an Agatha Christie-style thriller involving comedy, action, and mystery centered on an American couple traveling abroad.
We'll try to keep an open mind.
(Related article: The Hollywood Reporter.)
The Mystery Bookshelf: The Inspector and Silence by Håkan Nesser, a Van Veeteren Mystery
The Mystery Bookshelf, where you can discover a world of mystery and suspense, is pleased to feature a new crime novel we recently received from the publisher.
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The Inspector and Silence by Håkan Nesser
A Van Veeteren Mystery (5th in series)
Vintage (Trade Paperback)
Publication Date: June 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0-307-38724-0
About The Inspector and Silence (from the publisher): When one of the Pure Life’s members is found raped and strangled in the forest near the group’s camp, the Chief Inspector is called to investigate. The Pure Life has chosen to remain silent about the incident rather than defend itself, so Van Veeteren’s only lead is the anonymous caller who reported the body. As the unidentified woman continues to assist the authorities, her knowledge suggests she’s more than just a passing Good Samaritan, but her tips become doubly perplexing as a new string of increasingly horrifying crimes defy everything Van Veeteren and his team thought they knew about the case.
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About the author: The Inspector and Silence was originally published in 1997 under the title Kommissarien och tystnaden. Håkan Nesser's first crime novel, Det grovmaskiga natet, published in 1993, won the Swedish Crime Academy's award for the best debut work in the genre. He has since gone on to win several other awards for the books in this series. He currently lives in Sweden and London.
Purchase Options for The Inspector and Silence:
Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (120613)
Here is today's list of the top bestselling free Kindle mysteries, suspense novels and thrillers.
We're using a script to embed an RSS feed from Amazon.com, which is updated hourly, but if you cannot see the box below — or have scripts blocked — you can use this link to see the relevant page on Amazon.com.
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