Review: Father Night by Eric Van Lustbader

A Mysterious Review of …

Father Night by Eric Van Lustbader. A Jack McClure Mystery.

Review summary: Two terrifically drawn characters are at the center of this very complicated storyline that plays out in three places, each with their own separate subplots. The overall theme here is that things are rarely what they appear to be, which is a fine premise for a thriller; it's just that it's taken a little far in this one. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

Father Night
Eric Van Lustbader
A Jack McClure Mystery
Forge (September 2012)

Publisher synopsis: A tidal wave of reform is sweeping across the Middle East. Many lurk in the shadows, eager to seize power — giants of a vast criminal underworld, fueled by revenge and vengeance. Their wars know no end. Their power knows no bounds.

At the center of it all are two men who are inches away from holding the world in their hands: one is known as Dyadya Gourdjiev and the other is known only as the Syrian.

Department of Defense special agent Jack McClure has followed this trail of shadows and lies right into the arms of Gourdjiev’s alluring, powerful granddaughter, Annika Dementiev. The lovers are in Moscow when news of Dyadya’s failing health draws a slew of vultures — circling, anxious to seize the empire of secrets he spent a lifetime building. Jack and Annika find themselves locked in battle to ensure his safety … but when it comes to Dyadya, nothing is as it seems.

Alli Carson, the child of a dead US president, has become Jack’s surrogate daughter. While Jack is in Russia, Alli is targeted by a cyber-stalker who knows more about her than anyone should. With no one to trust but her friend, Vera Bard, Alli is determined to discover the truth, but her path forces her to come face-to-face with the nightmarish terror of her past.

As these two stories play out, Secretary of Defense Dennis Paull, with the help of detectives Nona Hendryx and Alan Frain, follows a trail of lies, corruption, and secret pacts that begins with Washington D.C.’s Head of Detectives.

All paths collide at the feet of one man, an old legend adapting to an ever-changing landscape … a man history might have forsaken, but whose heinous evil is still very much alive: Father Night.

      

Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (120924)

Here is today's list of the Bestselling Free Kindle Crime Fiction: the top nine mysteries, novels of suspense, 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 click on the image to the right or use this link to see the relevant page on Amazon.com.

Mystery and Suspense Films, New This Week on DVD (120925)

Checking through our list of films currently scheduled for release this week on DVD and/or Blu-ray disc, shown below are those that fall into the mystery, suspense, thriller and adventure categories.

See also a list of current mystery and suspense DVD, Blu-ray, or VOD deals on Amazon.com.

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The Letter (2012)

Written and directed by Jay Anania.

Film Synopsis (from the studio): Martine Jamison (Winona Ryder) is a New York theatre director beginning rehearsals for a new play starring her boyfriend Raymond (Josh Hamilton) opposite a young beauty. They are joined by an unknown newcomer, Tyrone (James Franco), who develops a peculiar fascination with Martine and is openly hostile to all others. As rehearsals continue, Martine has periods of disorientation that quickly deteriorate into vivid hallucinations as she becomes convinced someone is trying to poison her. As Martine's mental state devolves she begins to rewrite her play … and art and life become inseparable.

Running time: 92 minutes. Rating: R for sexuality and language.

Purchase/Rental Options

      

Watch a trailer for the film below

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The Tall Man (2012)

Written and directed by Pascal Laugier.

Film Synopsis (from the studio): In an isolated, slowly dying mining town, children are vanishing without a trace – abducted, the townsfolk whisper, by a mysterious entity known locally as "The Tall Man." Town nurse Julia Denning (Jessica Biel) seems skeptical … until her young David disappears in the middle of night. Frantic to rescue the boy, Julia lives every parent's darkest nightmare.

Running time: 106 minutes. Rating: R for violence and terror, and for language.

Purchase/Rental Options

        

Watch a trailer for the film below

Telemystery: Beck, Midsomer Murders, Fog and Crimes, New Tricks, Special Branch, and Wallander, New This Week on DVD

Telemystery, your source for one of the most comprehensive listings of crime drama, amateur sleuth, private investigator, mystery and suspense television series, mini-series and made-for-television movies, now available on or coming soon to DVD or Blu-ray disc, is profiling eleven series being released this week.

We're splitting the list into two posts: this one covers international series; the previous one covers US series.

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Beck
Episodes 7-9

Hes' got no style, no flash and he's middle-aged. But Swedish detective Martin Beck (Peter Haber) is good at one thing: methodically catching criminals so they can be put away for a long time. His tightly-wound partner, Gunvald Larsson (Mikael Persbrandt), is the opposite: an impulsive man who cuts a dashing figure, is in no way politically-correct and who never met a boundary he didn't leap to cross. He'll do anything to get information from a suspect, including enhanced interrogation techniques.

It's classic good cop/bad cop, and together with their team they bring down dangerous criminals lurking in the seedy Stockholm underworld.

These feature-length episodes, which aired on an irregular basis from 1997 through 2001, are in Swedish with English subtitles.

  

Also being released this week on DVD: Beck Episodes 10-12.

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Midsomer Murders
Mayhem & Mystery Files

The "Mayhem & Mystery Files" are fifteen cases — previously released on Sets 13 through 16 — from this popular series set in fictional Midsomer County and based on characters created by crime novelist Caroline Graham.

  

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Nebbie e Delitti (Fog and Crimes)
Season Two

A passion for solving difficult cases makes Franco Soneri (Luca Barbareschi) Ferrara's best investigator but also its most difficult. At crime scenes he stands apart, inscrutable, chomping on a cigar and trying to see what others are missing. He's brusque and irascible but he and his team manage to discover what others would like to keep hidden: addictions, pedophilia, secret loves, and even old injustices left over from World War II. His skill at the job may help him get at the truth, but it takes its toll on his relationship with the beautiful Ukrainian lawyer, Angela Cornelio.

This Italian crime drama is based on characters created by novelist Valerio Varesi. The episodes, which originally aired in 2007, are in Italian with English subtitles.

  

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New Tricks
Season Eight

Detectives Jack Halford (James Bolam), Brian Lane (Alun Armstrong), and Gerry Standing (Dennis Waterman) retired years ago. Then sexy superintendent Sandra Pullman (Amanda Redman) talked them into joining her Unsolved Crime and Open Case Squad. Ever since, they've been cracking cold cases, proving that old-school sleuthing skills are still the best way to solve a crime.

This eighth season of the popular series originally aired on BBC during Summer 2011. Two additional seasons have been commissioned by the network.

  

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Special Branch
Set One

This gritty, realistic police procedural focuses on the Special Branch of London's Metropolitan Police — a force dedicated to stopping terrorist activities and countering espionage in the nation's capital.

In the role of DCI Alan Craven, George Sewell provides a committed but world-weary epicenter to a dangerous, ever-shifting landscape of spies, assassins, surveillance, and sudden death. Working with a team of officers that includes the younger and brasher DCI Tom Haggerty (Patrick Mower), the veteran cop confronts explosive issues with life-or-death consequences.

Though designated as Set 1, the episodes included here are actually from the third season of the series, which originally aired on ITV in 1973.

  

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Wallander
Series Three

Three episodes of this English-language remake of the Swedish crime drama based on a character created by Henning Mankell are featured on this set.

In "An Event in Autumn" — based on a short story by the author — Wallander finds the remains of a young woman buried at the back of his garden. When another woman's body washes up on the shore, Wallander searches for the connection.

In "The Dogs of Riga" — adapted from a novel by the author — the corpses of two Latvian men, covered in mafia tattoos, are discovered in Ystad harbor. When Wallander travels to Riga in search of the killers, he becomes entangled in a web of corruption.

And in "Before the Frost" — adapted from a novel by the author — a childhood friend of Linda Wallander goes missing. Wallander and Linda worry for her safety when they find links between her and a murderer.

    

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Visit the Telemystery website to discover more television mystery series currently available on and coming soon to DVD, Blu-ray disc, or video on demand.

Telemystery: Charlie's Angels, CSI, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, and Law & Order: SVU, New This Week on DVD

Telemystery, your source for one of the most comprehensive listings of crime drama, amateur sleuth, private investigator, mystery and suspense television series, mini-series and made-for-television movies, now available on or coming soon to DVD or Blu-ray disc, is profiling eleven series being released this week.

We're splitting the list into two posts: this one covers US series; the second one covers international series.

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Charlie's Angels (1976)
The Complete Series

Once upon a time there were three little girls who went to the police academy. They were assigned very hazardous duties. But I took them away from all that. And now they work for me. My name is Charlie.

The cast changed over the years, but the premise remained the same: three beautiful women working as private investigators for an unseen Charlie Townsend.

Charlie's Angels aired for five seasons on ABC. The first four have been released on separate DVDs, but this is the first time the fifth season has been made available.

Two theatrical films based on the series were released — Charlie's Angels in 2000 and Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle in 2003 — and a remake, also titled Charlie's Angels, briefly aired in Fall 2011 before being canceled after just four episodes.

  

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CSI
Season Twelve

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is a fast-paced drama about a passionate team of forensic investigators trained to solve crimes the old-fashioned way — by examining the evidence, scouring the scene, collecting irrefutable evidence and finding the missing pieces that will solve the mystery.

This 12th season of the series, which aired on CBS from September 2011 through May 2012, introduces Ted Danson as night shift supervisor D. B. Russell, is the last for original cast member Marg Helgenberger, and the first for Elisabeth Shue, who joins mid-season.

The 13th season premieres this coming Wednesday, September 26th at 10 PM ET/PT.

      

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CSI: Miami
Season Ten

Join lead criminalist Horatio Caine (David Caruso) and his state-of-the-art forensics team as they investigate hot and steamy Miami crimes using cold hard facts. The evidence leads into seedy nightclubs, privileged suburbs and explosive family secrets. The stakes are higher than ever before, because this time it's personal.

This 10th season of the series, the first spin-off from the original CSI, is also its last. It originally aired on CBS from September 2011 through April 2012.

      

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CSI: NY
Season Eight

Gary Sinese stars as Detective Mac Taylor and Sela Ward as his partner Jo Danville in this second spin-off from CSI set in New York City.

This eighth season originall aired on CBS from September 2011 through May 2012.

The ninth — and almost certainly final — season of the series premieres this coming Friday, September 28th at 10 PM ET/PT.

      

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Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Season Thirteen

Law & Order: SVU confronts some of its most controversial and topical crimes yet in its powerful thirteenth year. New changes are afoot: two new detectives (Danny Pino and Kelli Giddish) join the team, while the returning squad members must deal with the fallout of last season's shootout and the departure of one of their own. As they face these challenges, a new slew of sex crimes hit the headlines, making it vital that the team learn how to separate their personal emotions from the intense cases they must see through to their stunning ends.

The 13th season of this spin-off from the original Law & Order originally aired on NBC from September 2011 through May 2012. The 14th season premieres this coming Wednesday, September 26th at 9 PM ET/PT.

    

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Visit the Telemystery website to discover more television mystery series currently available on and coming soon to DVD, Blu-ray disc, or video on demand.

Black Shadows by Simon Swift is Today's Fourth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Black Shadows by Simon Swift as today's fourth 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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Black Shadows
Simon Swift
An Errol Black Mystery
Publisher: Wild Wolf Publishing

When rookie private detective Errol Black gets mixed up in the killing of gangster Dutch Schultz, he vows to clean up his act. But when former partner Dyke Spanner is shot to death, Black is drawn into a violent and bloody quest for a mythical, priceless diamond.

New Jersey 1935: When private detective, Errol Black and his fellow agents, are protecting an Irish mobster they become embroiled in the killing of Dutch Schultz. A gunfight leaves bloody chaos.

Ten years later, Black's past is about to catch up with him. A young woman hires Black for a seemingly routine surveillance job, former partner Dyke Spanner is shot dead and Black is drawn deeper into a violent and bloody quest.

The search for the priceless blue Tavernier Diamond throws Black into the line of fire of New York's ruthless Tongs. To even hope to solve the mystery, Black must journey into his past where both the secret to Dyke's murder and the clues to the hidden diamond lay.

  

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.

An Act of Deceit by Jennifer L. Jennings is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature An Act of Deceit by Jennifer L. Jennings 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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An Act of Deceit
Jennifer L. Jennings
A Sarah Woods Mystery
Publisher: Query Publishing

This is the second mystery in this series.

Sarah Woods has a secret. His name is Carter, a private detective from Boston who hires Sarah to help him carry out a peculiar assignment that requires a woman's touch. Her task? Expose the philandering restauranteur, Marty Quinn. However, the case takes a drastic turn when Marty ends up dead. Was it an accident, or murder?

To find the truth, Sarah agrees to go undercover at a strip joint where the clues to Marty's death may be revealed.But the case takes a dangerous turn of events and leaves Sarah wondering if she's in over her head. Will she put her own life at risk to discover the truth?

  

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.