Mystery Book Review: Where Truth Lies by Christiane Heggan

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, has written our review of Where Truth Lies by Christiane Heggan. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

Where Truth Lies by Christiane Heggan
Non-series
Mira Books (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-7783-2337-4 (0778323374)
ISBN-13: 978-0-7783-2337-2 (9780778323372)
Publication Date: September 2006
List Price: $6.99

Synopsis (from the publisher): Beneath the small-town charm is a big-time secret.

Museum curator Grace McKenzie is shocked when she receives word that her ex-fiancé, Steven Hatfield, has been murdered. In his will, Steven has left her his art gallery in New Hope, Pennsylvania. Anticipating that she would turn down the bequest, he asked that she spend a week at the gallery before making her final decision. Motivated by a sense of duty to a man she once loved, Grace agrees to go to New Hope for one week.

She isn't the only person drawn to the small town. FBI agent Matt Baxter has returned to his hometown for one reason only -- to clear his father of a bogus murder charge. While he and Grace seek answers, they discover that beneath the surface of this charming, peaceful town lies an old secret a few of its citizens would rather keep buried. And when their search takes an unexpected turn, they have only hours to find out where the truth lies -- or be buried with it.

Review: Christiane Heggan cleverly weaves several disparate plot threads together in Where Truth Lies, a very intriguing suspense novel.

When Boston-based art curator Grace MacKenzie inherits an art gallery from Steven Hatfield, her former fiancé, it comes with a stipulation—before she can refuse to accept it, she must spend a week running the gallery, located in New Hope PA.

Soon after arriving, Grace is faced with several aspects of Steven's life in New Hope that trouble her. A known womanizer, could Steven have been murdered by an outraged husband or jealous lover? Why did he have a forged painting for sale in the gallery? What was his relationship to a loner in the community? An outsider, why was he so adamant to prevent commercial development of a local farm? Grace, together with FBI agent Matt Baxter, devise an endgame that neatly answers these questions at the same time resolving the 20 year old disappearance of a young girl from the area.

Prologues are sometimes used to quickly grab the reader's interest or to provide continuity later in the book. In Where Truth Lies, the prologue achieves neither. It is not particularly provocative nor does it add any information that isn't otherwise disclosed elsewhere. If anything, it gives away too much too early, and should be avoided.

It has been reported that Christiane Heggan is retiring with the publication of Where Truth Lies. Though it is regrettable that she will no longer be writing outstanding suspense fiction, it is with pleasure to note that she ends her remarkable writing career on a high note.

Special thanks to Book Trends for providing an ARC of Where Truth Lies for this review.

Review Copyright © 2006 Hidden Staircase Mystery Books

Visit Mysterious Reviews for other reviews of current and upcoming mystery books. The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books is commited to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Press Release: Nancy Drew Goes Digital With Big Fish Games

Number One PC Adventure Gaming Franchise from Her Interactive to Expand Reach Online

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 11, 2006--Big Fish Games, a leading developer and distributor of casual games, and Her Interactive, a creator of interactive entertainment for mystery lovers of all ages, today announced that Nancy Drew 13: Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon is available for the first time as a digital download from Big Fish Games. The Nancy Drew game series is the #1 PC adventure game franchise in units, outselling Harry Potter, Myst, and Lord of the Rings for two consecutive years and winner of 13 consecutive Parents' Choice awards.

Nancy Drew: Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon sends players on a train ride filled with adventurous thrills. Players investigate the train and its hidden secrets, as well as explore old mining towns with deep mineshafts and hidden passageways, to unravel a century-old secret. Like all Nancy Drew games, Nancy Drew: Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon contains puzzles that yield clues when solved.

Read the entire press release here.

Find information about the entire series of Nancy Drew mystery games and more at Games of Mystery.

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News: Geraldine McEwan to Appear in 4 New Miss Marple Mysteries

ITV, the biggest commercial television network in the UK, is reporting that the celebrated actress, Geraldine McEwan, will reprise the role of the shrewd and inquisitive Jane Marple in a series of four adaptations of some of Agatha Christie’s most loved stories.

The Stage adds that Tom Baker, Alan Davies, Saffron Burrows and Julian Sands are among stars lined up for the first of the films, Towards Zero. The other three films have yet to be announced.

The previous Miss Marple mysteries starring Geraldine McEwan have appeared on Mystery! on PBS in the US.

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books is commited to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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News: Real Case Inspires Seattle Mystery Author

John Marshall, in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, writes that local author G. M. Ford's latest Frank Corso mystery, Blown Away, was inspired by a real case.

The thriller's action is set in motion by an incident very similar to the one involving a Pennsylvania pizza delivery guy who robbed a bank with explosives wrapped around his neck, then, when cornered by police, pleaded that he had been forced to participate in the crime -- pleaded until the bomb around his neck went off and killed him, writes Marshall.

Ford says, "Was he a victim or a perpetrator? Had the police acted properly? What would happen if the scenario repeated itself? How does law enforcement deal with a bank robbery if the robber is a kidnap victim? The questions went on and on." The case remains unsolved to this day.

Ford adds, "As I had never written anything with a reality tie-in, I was somewhat reticent about mucking around in an unsolved case."

Read the rest of the article on SeattlePI.com here.

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books is commited to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Mystery Book Review: Targets of Affection by RG Willems

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, has written our review of Targets of Affection by RG Willems. We are reprinting it here for the convenience of our blog readers.

Targets of Affection by RG Willems
A Shelby James Mystery
Cormorant Books (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1-896951-98-8 (1896951988)
ISBN-13: 978-1-896951-98-0 (9781896951980)
Publication Date: June 2006
List Price: CDN$21.95

Synopsis (from the publisher): Shelby James has a soft-spot for the underdog. Sick dogs, homeless cats, hurt birds, she goes to bat for them all as a veterinary nurse. So it's no surprise that Miranda Wall and her menagerie of needy animals appeal to her. But there's more to Miranda than meets the eye: a silent daughter named Jessie, and a stalking husband, among other disasters. When Shelby takes a closer look into Miranda's life, her search takes her into the sinister world of mental illness, child abuse, and domestic violence.

Review: Targets of Affection, RG Willems first mystery in a new series, introduces Shelby James, a veterinary technician working at a clinic outside of Saskatoon in northern Saskatchewan.

Shelby suspects a new client, Miranda Wall, of intentionally harming her pets in order to receive sympathetic attention in return when she brings them in for treatment. As Shelby is drawn into Miranda's world, an asthmatic daughter, recovering dog, and potentially abusive ex-husband complicate her investigation into why a woman would perform such acts.

Some mysteries defy simple classification. Targets of Affection has many elements of a cozy but also has a darker, harder edge to it. There is no overt violence, but the graphic descriptions of some of the procedures that take place in the veterinary clinic are definitely not for the squeamish.

Willems is a talented, articulate writer, though she takes well over half the book setting up the mystery in Targets of Affection. Once it becomes clear where the story is heading, the pace picks up and the ending, while not unexpected, has Shelby uncovering the necessary clues to confront Miranda about her suspicions.

There is every reason to believe that this Saskatchewan veterinary clinic will have its fair share of clients in need of Shelby's unique brand of sleuthing providing ample opportunities for Willems to write more mysteries in this series.

Special thanks to RG Willems for providing a copy of Targets of Affection for this review.

Review Copyright © 2006 Hidden Staircase Mystery Books

Visit Mysterious Reviews for other reviews of current and upcoming mystery books. The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books is commited to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Mystery Hardcover Bestsellers (08/11/2006)

A list of the top ten mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending August 11, 2006 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

Very little change at the top of all the lists this week. New on the Barnes&Noble.com list is the 12th mystery in the Deborah Knott series by Margaret Maron, Winter's Child. When the ex-wife of Deborah's husband of one month disappears, she travels to Virginia with Dwight to aid in the investigation. Now, as a stranger in another woman's house, she sees a side of Dwight she never knew, contends with feelings she doesn't want to confront, and senses something dangerous stalking a boy and his mother. But while she and Dwight pry open the most intimate secrets of a life, the one thing Deborah is not prepared for is the ferocious darkness lurking just beneath the surface of a seemingly genteel life-or the danger that is waiting just for her. Publishers Weekly calls Winter's Child "outstanding" and adds, "Maron brilliantly connects the unconnected, hides one killer in plain sight and tucks another into a most unexpected position."

Visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books often where we provide readers and collectors of mysteries with the best and most current information about their favorite mystery authors, books, and series.

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Mystery Book Contest: Win a Set of Signed Mysteries by Diana Killian

New! The Poetic Deaths Contest is now available on The Mystery Book Contest Website. Enter daily through October 16, 2006, for a chance to win a complete set of all three published Grace Hollister Poetic Death mysteries by Diana Killian, each personally signed by the author!

The mysteries featured in this prize package are:

High Rhymes and Misdemeanors, the first Grace Hollister mystery, whose adventures lead straight into the heart of a caper of the highest order, one that might lead to a spectacular literary discovery and poetic justice for all.

Verse of the Vampyre, where it seems a real vampire may be roaming the village in England's Lake District where Grace is staying.

Sonnet of the Sphinx, with Grace discovering an old letter that refers to a lost Shelley sonnet and unless she can unravel an inscrutable riddle, her story might be at an end.


The Poetic Deaths Contest is sponsored by Diana Killian, author of the Grace Hollister Poetic Death mysteries, and Mysterious Reviews.

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diana killian. Omnimystery keyword(s): lake district, cumbria

Profile: Writer and Rider Tami Hoag

Thriller writer Tami Hoag leads a dual life that can turn the simplest telephone conversation into an Abbott and Costello routine, writes Jay MacDonald of Bankrate.com. This "writer" is also a "rider" who competes in international dressage at the Grand Prix level. And for her, the subject of shoes can either mean the iron ones she buys for her beloved mare, Coco Chanel, or the closet full of Stuart Weitzmans that the author has brought home from Rodeo Drive.

Originally a romance author, In the mid-1980s, Hoag left that stable to try her hand at thrillers and soon found green pastures -- hardcover, best-seller, money-green pastures, to be exact. Success in more than one genre of fiction is rare enough; success in such disparate disciplines as romance and hard-boiled crime is almost unheard of.

Bankrate caught up with Hoag in Wellington (FL) during the winter Grand Prix season to discuss writing, riding, horseshoes and Jimmy Choos. Read the entire interview on Bankrate.com here.

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books is commited to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series. Please visit often!

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New Mystery Hardcover Titles for August 2006 (updated)

An update of new hardcover mysteries for August 2006 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website. Five new titles have been added to those already present including ...

Boston attorney Shelby Baskin, and her fiancé Bruce Arrujo, return again to the streets of Boston, this time to prevent a terrorist attack on the city in The Wrong Abraham, the second mystery in this series by David S. Brody. Shelby Baskin has it all-a successful law practice, a condo in the Back Bay, a fiancé who adores her. Then she receives a baffling letter from her rich Uncle Abraham, a Holocaust survivor: Only she, he mysteriously proclaims, can prevent a major terrorist attack on Boston. Working with Homeland Security, Shelby and her fiancé, Bruce Arrujo, race through the streets of Boston, first attempting to stop a Hiroshima sized LNG tanker explosion in Boston Harbor, then fighting to prevent a deadly release of anthrax powder at Fenway Park. Yet the terrorists always seem to be one step ahead of them. Through it all, a question haunts Shelby: Why does Uncle Abraham always seem to be one step ahead of the terrorists?

The icy interior of Alaska is the setting for the breathtaking first mystery from the winner of the Robert L. Fish Award for short fiction, Mike Doogan, in Lost Angel. Moses Wright founded the Christian commune of Rejoice. The rough-and-tumble interior of Alaska may seem a strange place for such a community, but for twenty years it has served as a beacon in the wilderness. Two decades later Moses granddaughter, Faith, is the star of the younger generation. Pretty and intelligent, she's the first teenager in the town to choose to experience the outside world. When Faith disappears, the elders of Rejoice look beyond their village for help. Ex-cop Nik Kane lost his faith long ago-dissolved in a bottle. A few drinks, a dark night, and a shooting led to seven years in jail for a crime he didn't commit. Nothing can give him back his career or his family, but the search for Faith may restore his soul.

Visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books often where we provide readers and collectors of mysteries with the best and most current information about their favorite mystery authors, books, and series.

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Mystery Book Review: Out Cold by William G. Tapply

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, has written our review of Out Cold by William G. Tapply. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

Out Cold by William G. Tapply
A Brady Coyne Mystery
St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-312-33746-9 (0312337469)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-33746-9 (9780312337469)
Publication Date: September 2006
List Price: $24.95

Synopsis (from the publisher): Brady Coyne is a Boston attorney, whose routine legal work and sedate lifestyle usually keep him far away from trouble. Unfortunately, one cold January morning, trouble comes to him. When Brady lets his dog out into the backyard of his Back Bay brownstone, he finds a girl buried under the snow in Brady's back yard. A teenager, maybe fifteen or sixteen, who had apparently crawled into the backyard, bleeding, in the middle of the night, only to die from hypothermia and blood loss. The singular clue to her identity is a small piece of paper with the brownstone's address scribbled on it.

Now Brady is determined to find out who the girl was, why she had his address, and what happened to her. But the mysterious girl's death is only the beginning - someone out there knows Brady is trying to find out what happened that night and is willing to do anything, or kill anyone, to keep the truth from coming out.

Review: Boston attorney Brady Coyne investigates the circumstances surrounding the death of a teenage girl in Old Cold, the 22nd mystery in this long running series by William G. Tapply.

Though he was not responsible for the teenager's death, the fact she died in his backyard and his belief that he might have done something to save her drives Brady to learn her identity and the reasons behind her death. His investigation ultimately leads to a secluded estate in northern New Hampshire where he uncovers a family's shocking secrets.

Old Cold is, for the most part, a well constructed mystery. The plot is topical and the final resolution is unexpected. It is odd, however, that Brady has such a strong connection to a girl whom he had never known but who happened to die at his home, yet has little apparent remorse for two other women whom he had met and interacted with but were later presumably killed as a direct result of his involvement. Furthermore, the motive for the murders of these two women is never fully explained. They "knew something" but what it was or how they came about this information is never revealed. In the end, these two murders serve no purpose as they don't advance the plot in any meaningful way.

The longevity of the Brady Coyne series is a testament to the consistency of Tapply to write mystery fiction that not only sells well, but is interesting to read. Old Cold is typical of the series, but not among the best.

Special thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing an ARC of Out Cold for this review.

Review Copyright © 2006 Hidden Staircase Mystery Books

Visit Mysterious Reviews for other reviews of current and upcoming mystery books. The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books is commited to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Press Release: David Suchet to Voice Poirot in Mystery Games

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 27, 2006--DreamCatcher, Inc. today announced that it has signed British Actor David Suchet to a voice acting role for three of its upcoming Agatha Christie inspired video games. Suchet's voice will debut as Belgian Detective Hercule Poirot this fall in Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express. Suchet made Detective Poirot famous through his well-known portrayals of the character in an array of television appearances.

"We're thrilled to add David Suchet's talent to the Agatha Christie video game series," said Richard Wah Kan, President and CEO of DreamCatcher, Inc. "When players step into our games, we want them to become fully immersed in the excitement and adventure of solving an Agatha Christie-style mystery and the addition of Mr. Suchet's distinctively recognizable voice will certainly heighten that element. We can't wait to give players the delight of interacting with the Hercule Poirot they've come to love through the popular television movies."

Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express, due out this fall, will beckon travelers to step aboard a luxury train and become part of a murder mystery where the player and Hercule Poirot must rely on their superior detective skills to find the killer in a heinous murder.

Read the entire press release from DreamCatcher Inc. here.

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Weekly Mystery Godoku Puzzle for 08/07/2006

A new Mystery Godoku Puzzle has been created by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and is 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!).

This week's letters: C E I L N R S T Y. This week's mystery clue: William Monk investigates a case of suspected patricide in this Anne Perry mystery (with “The”) (9 letters).

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!

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Profile: For Nora Roberts, Writing Novels is a 9-to-5 Job

Ben Nuckols of the Canadian Press writes that endless of imagination aren't all it takes to write 165 novels. It also requires the discipline of a drill sergeant.

Roberts is in the middle of a typically busy year. Her latest romantic suspense book, Angels Fall, came out this summer. Later this year will bring the release of a new "In Death" mystery featuring Eve Dallas, written under the pseudonym J. D. Robb, and three romantic fantasy paperbacks, The Circle Trilogy, in successive months. There's also a new J. D. Robb novella published as part of an anthology.

"I think I have a really strong work ethic, plus I really love the work. I think if you love what you do, you do a lot of it. I have a lot of discipline ... and I have a fast pace," the 55-year-old author says.

Since her first New York Times bestseller in 1991, her books have spent 660 weeks on the Times list of bestsellers, including 100 weeks in the top spot. Each book published under the Nora Roberts name since 1999 has been a bestseller; there are 280 million Roberts books in print. She is published in 35 countries. Her books sold 12 million copies in 2005, according to Publishers Weekly.

Roberts' favorite hobby - gardening - appeals to her meticulous, workaholic nature and keeps her close to home, which she prefers. She talks enthusiastically about weeding and warding off the deer that might want to munch on her lilies, as she strolls through her multitiered garden.

Read the entire profile of Nora Roberts on Canada.com here.

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books is commited to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series. Please visit often!

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News: Trailer Available for The Black Dahlia

James Ellroy's bestselling crime novel, The Black Dahlia, weaves a fictionalized tale of obsession, love, corruption, greed and depravity around the true story of the brutal murder of a fledgling Hollywood starlet that shocked and fascinated the nation in 1947 and remains unsolved today. Brian De Palma directs the screen adaptation of the book, the trailer of which is now available on Yahoo! movies.

Two ex-pugilist cops, Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart) and Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett), are called to investigate the homicide of ambitious silver-screen B-lister Betty Ann Short (Mia Kirshner) also known as "The Black Dahlia". The attack was so grisly that images of the killing were kept from the public. While Blanchard's growing preoccupation with the sensational murder threatens his marriage to Kay (Scarlett Johansson), his partner Bleichert finds himself attracted to the enigmatic Madeleine Linscott (two-time Academy Awary winner Hilary Swank), the daughter of one of the city's most prominent families ... who just happens to have an unsavory connection to the murder victim.

The Black Dahlia is expected to be released in theaters on September 15, 2006.

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books is commited to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series. Please visit often!

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Mystery Hardcover Bestsellers (08/04/2006)

A list of the top ten mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending August 04, 2006 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

The writing team of James Patterson and Andrew Gross top the bestseller list this week with Judge & Jury. Senior FBI agent Nick Pellisante is closing in on the notorious mob boss "The Electrician," when the scheduled sting goes spectacularly awry. Two FBI agents are dead, the boss is wounded, and Pellisante vows the Electrician's next move will be from a jail cell. Andie Echeverra, a part-time actress and a single, full-time mom, is assigned her next role as Juror #11 in the landmark trial against Mafia Don Dominic Cavello. Everybody is on edge. No one has ever crossed the man whose orders have made entire families disappear. Though Cavello's influence extends across blue uniforms and black robes, the case should be open-and-shut. But the legal system fails with devastating results, and Nick and Andie are the only ones left to seek justice. To stop the Electrician, they must take matters into their own hands. They are the judge and jury now.

Also debuting in the top ten this week: the haunting story of three cops—one good, one bad, one broken—and the murder that reunited them in a showdown decades in the making is the premise of The Night Gardener by George P. Pelecanos. Reviews have been enthusiastically positive for this book. The New York Times calls it "... beautifully delineated moral tales, filled with gut-wrenching turns of fate and razor-sharp, boisterously vivid characters." Publishers Weekly adds that "Pelecanos ... delivers a dignified, character-driven epic that succeeds as both literary novel and page-turner."

Visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books often where we provide readers and collectors of mysteries with the best and most current information about their favorite mystery authors, books, and series.

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