Monday, November 12, 2007

Mystery Godoku Puzzle for November 12, 2007

Mystery GodokuMystery Godoku Puzzle for November 12, 2007A new 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!).

This week's letters and mystery clue: A C E M O S T U &. This was the 4th mystery in the Alex Cross series by (9 letters, including punctuation).

New! We now have our puzzles 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!

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Sunday, November 11, 2007

News: Love of Reading Online Book Fair

is proud to once again be a sponsor of, and participate in, the Love of Reading Online Book Fair.

Love of Reading.com Online Book FairOn November 14-16, the second annual book fair will be held online. Last year over 25,000 visitors attended the three day event. (View the PDF flyer here.)

The event's website has a lot of information for all readers. Of particular interest to mystery book fans are the large number of book excerpts; 17 different authors of crime fiction are represented. You can also listen to interviews of most of them.

"Today’s online book community is more vital and vibrant than ever" says Fauzia Burke, President of FSB Associates, host of the event. "Throughout the book fair, we want to celebrate their increasingly important voice and connect people who love books in a whole new way."

We hope you take the time to visit the Love of Reading Online Book Fair and take part in all it has to offer. And don't forget to enter the book raffles for a chance to win free books!

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

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Mystery Book Review: The Critic by Peter May

Mysterious ReviewsMysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, has written a review of The Critic by Peter May. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.The Critic by Peter May

The Critic by Peter May
An Enzo Macleod Mystery

Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-458-9 (1590584589)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-458-3 (9781590584583)
Publication Date: November 2007
List Price: $24.95

Synopsis (from the publisher): Gil Petty, the world’s number one wine critic, went missing during a tasting tour of the little-known wine region of Gaillac. Four years ago, his body was discovered strung up on a cross in the vineyards of southwest France.

Dressed in the ceremonial crimson robes of the Brotherhood of the Order of the Divine Bottle, the semi-decayed body had been preserved in red wine before being planted line a scarecrow among the heavily-laden vines. His murderer was never found.

Petty's influence was powerful. A single good review meant overnight success for a winemaker; a single bad one spelled ruin.

But possible clues in Petty's reviews are locked behind the seemingly unbreakable code he invested to keep them secure from prying eyes prior to publication. Advance information would have brought rich rewards for wine speculators. Secrecy was essential.

Scots exile and former forensics expert Enzo Macleod reopens this well-chilled cold case to discover that the genteel world of winemakers hides a busines sdriven by greed, envy, and desperation.

In the idyllic vineyards, Enzo finds no shortage of possible killers, including local winemakers, The Brotherhood of the Divine Bottle (an ancient society dedicated to promoting Gaillac wine), and Petty's daughter, MIchelle.

Enzo, fortified by copious quantities of wine, hunts an elusive murderer who is quite prepared to kill again.

Review: On his quest to solve the greatest unsolved murders in France, Enzo Macleod travels to Gaillac to investigate the death of a wine critic in The Critic, the second mystery of this series by Peter May.

Gil Petty was a world-renown authority on wine and his influence on the industry was considerable. Four years ago he disappeared; a year later his body was found in a Gaillac vineyard preserved in red wine. Enzo, uninvited and unwelcome by the local authorities, manages to get official approval to look into the murder and quickly discovers a number of clues that were originally overlooked and which ultimately lead to the identity of the killer.

Note: Potential spoilers may be included in the following paragraphs.

On balance, The Critic is a generally enjoyable mystery. Wine itself is something of a mystery, and it pairs very well with a whodunit. Winemakers are passionate about their craft, and murder mysteries almost always involve passion of one kind or another. Early in the book, one vintner describes it this way: "There's poetry in the grape, you know. The essence of Man, of civilisation, of sophistication. We've done all manner of things. We have circumnavigated the globe, sent spaceships to Mars, but there's no higher achievement than the making of a fine wine, no greater pleasure than to drink it."

But there are a number of facets to The Critic that are somewhat problematic. Even though Enzo is convinced deciphering Petty's notes will not lead to his killer, an extraordinary amount of narrative is related to accomplishing this. While the coded wine reviews may be of some academic interest, they have, as Enzo predicted, little to do with the murder. It is unclear why so much of the book is devoted to this subject. Late in the book, Enzo's (unnecessary) trip to the California wine country completely disrupts the flow of the story. And in the end, the crime more or less solves itself without Enzo's direct involvement. This is a disappointment since Enzo is a master puzzle solver; the reader is deprived of the pleasure of watching Enzo put all the pieces together.

Despite the problems noted, The Critic is very readable. May carefully develops his story, naturally dispersing clues here and there that will later be important in both creating a suspenseful conclusion and understanding the motive behind the murder. The characters are richly drawn, and Enzo in particular is a wonderful protagonist. It's a shame, however, that he wasn't allowed to use all his skills in closing this particular case.

Special thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of The Critic for this review.

Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.

For more visit Mysterious Reviews, a partner with the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books which is committed to providing readers and collectors of with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Friday, November 09, 2007

Mystery Bestsellers for November 09, 2007

Mystery BestsellersA list of the top 15 for the week ending November 09, 2007 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

No change in the top four mysteries atop the bestseller list this week; , , , and retain their same positions as last week.

New this week ...

Stone Cold by David BaldacciOliver Stone and the Camel Club are back in their most dangerous adventure yet in 's . Casino king Jerry Bagger is hunting Annabelle Conroy who conned him out of millions. Stone and his colleagues marshal all their resources to protect Annabelle. Yet all their skills may not be enough when a deadly new opponent rips off the veneer of Stone's own mysterious past. Bagger's menace pales next to newcomer Harry Finn's lethality. Seeming a normal family-man, Finn has already killed three men with more targets to come. When Finn also sets his bulls-eye on Stone, his reason why will be the greatest shock of all. As bodies and institutions topple, the Stone Cold rockets toward a shattering finale that will leave the survivors of this explosive tale changed forever. Publishers Weekly gives Stone Cold a starred review, calling it "gripping, chilling, and full of surprises."

Creation in DeathNYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas continues to keep the streets of a near-future New York City safe in by J. D. Robb. But even she makes mistakes, and is haunted by those she couldn't save-and the killers she couldn't capture. When the body of a young brunette is found in East River Park, artfully positioned and marked by signs of prolonged and painful torture, Eve is catapulted back to a case nine years earlier. The city was on edge from a killing spree that took the lives of four women in fifteen days, courtesy of a man the media tagged "The Groom" because he put silver rings on the fingers of his victims. When it turns out that the young brunette was employed by Eve's billionaire husband, Roarke, she brings him in on the case-a move that proves fitting when it becomes chillingly clear that the killer has made his attack personal. Publishers Weekly states that Creation in Death "offers a satisfyingly novel mélange of suspense, sex, forensics and heroics."

Third Degree by Greg Iles, the latest southern gothic thriller by , spans just one day in the life of the Shields family in an idyllic town in Mississippi, one that in less than five hours will make the Shields house the vortex of a nerve-wracking siege. While a nervous ring of armed men awaits its chance to storm the suburban home, inside the house the clock ticks down on exposure of Laurel's terrible secret. But she is not alone in her lies. Before the siege is through, this terrifying drama will pull in desperate characters from the town and drive Dr. Shields, his wife, and her lover to the very brink of sanity and survival.

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

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Thursday, November 08, 2007

Compendium of Mystery News 071108

Today's compendium of recently published mystery news articles:

• Tammy Hall, special to the Burlington Times-News, writes about 's Kinsey Millhone mysteries, saying the series provides plenty of entertainment.

• The North County Times (of ) recaps the events of the Sixth Annual Erle Stanley Gardner Mystery Weekend.

• Margaret Cannon reviews several new mysteries in her column on GlobeandMail.com.

• The Edmonton Journal notes that there are just three weeks left to solve the mystery in a serial thriller that has been running on the newpaper's website.

• The Hollywood Reporter writes that ABC has ordered three more scripts for Women's Murder Club, based (loosely) on the series by .

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

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Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Mystery Book Review: Murder with Reservations by Elaine Viets

Mysterious ReviewsMysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, has written a review of Murder with Reservations by Elaine Viets. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.Murder with Reservations by Elaine Viets

Murder with Reservations by Elaine Viets
A Dead-End Job Mystery with Helen Hawthorne

NAL Books (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-451-221111-7 (0451221117)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-221111-7 (9780451221117)
Publication Date: May 2007
List Price: $21.95

Synopsis (from the publisher): Helen Hawthorne has a knack for keeping a low profile. But in South Florida, it's going to get a lot harder to fly under the radar ...

Working at Sybil's Full Moon Hotel in Fort Lauderdale keeps Helen safe and sane. But when a maid is found dead in a dumpster, those days just might be over. Dead bodies mean another chance for the cops to find her. To make matters worse, her ex-husband is hot on her trail. Sadly, the cops don't seem to care much about a murdered maid-but they take notice of her co-worker's shady story. If Helen doesn't manage to dodge their questions and shake off her ex, it could be checkout time.

Review: The clever premise of Elaine Viets' Dead-End Job mysteries is that Helen Hawthorne, a successful executive from , is on the run from the courts after refusing to pay her unfaithful and lazy ex-husband Rob alimony and give him half of their assets. To hide from Rob and the law, she flees to Florida and takes on menial jobs to support herself that pay in cash. Murder with Reservations is the sixth entertaining mystery in this series.

In Ft. Lauderdale, Helen lands a job as a housekeeper with a second-rate motel, The Full Moon. She quickly befriends the other housekeepers, but finds herself the center of attention when one of them is found dead in a dumpster behind the motel. Murders make headlines, so it isn't long before Rob tracks her down, even renting a room at the motel. She manages to hide from him, but when a guest is killed, Helen once again faces questioning by the police. Can she follow the clues to determine the killer's identity while keeping one step ahead of her ex? Or will her cover be blown by these murders?

Murder with Reservations is populated with warm and delightful characters. The story moves along at a brisk pace, is frequently humorous, and has a well considered plot. Everyone seems to have a secret that they just might kill for, so the killer's identity, which is not revealed until the very end, comes as a surprise.

A little mystery, a little romance, and a lot of fun. Murder with Reservations is well worth checking out ... or in, as it were!

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of for contributing her review of Murder with Reservations and to Breakthrough Promotions for providing a copy of the book for this review.

Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.

For more visit Mysterious Reviews, a partner with the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books which is committed to providing readers and collectors of with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Mystery Book Review: Fitness Kills by Helen Barer

Mysterious ReviewsMysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, has written a review of Fitness Kills by Helen Barer. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.Fitness Kills by Helen Barer

Fitness Kills by Helen Barer
A Nora Franke Mystery

Thomson Gale Five Star (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59414-585-7 (1594145857)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59414-585-8 (9781594145858)
Publication Date: July 2007
List Price: $25.95

Synopsis (from the publisher): Nora Franke is a New York food writer stuck in a rut. Hoping to get rid of a broken heart (and the extra pounds that came with it), she accepts a job as a menu consultant at an elite fitness ranch in Baja. With any luck she'll shed the weight, make some friends, and maybe even find a way to get over her ex-lover. But Nora soon finds there's more than just yoga classes, morning hikes and liquid fasts among the flowers and herbs - someone's put murder on the menu, and unless she can solve the mystery of who's behind the death of two of the guests, Nora may just be the next victim.

Review: Helen Barer introduces culinary journalist Nora Franke in Fitness Kills, an agreeable if somewhat ordinary mystery set at a luxurious spa located along the northwestern Mexican coast.

Nora, recently dumped by her high-powered lawyer boyfriend, lands a job as a temporary menu consultant at Rancho de las Flores, a resort in Baja California. This position gives her the opportunity to interact with both the guests and the staff. Many of the guests have been coming to the spa on an annual basis and know each other from previous visits, and when one member fails to show up a general concern is raised. He's found at the base of a cliff, dead of an apparent accidental fall. But when another guest is poisoned just a short time later, Nora realizes the two deaths are connected and assumes the role of investigative journalist to discover what the connection was and why someone at the resort wanted them dead.

Fitness Kills is written largely in the style of an Agatha Christie Miss Marple mystery. The setting and characters are well drawn and the plot comfortably, if predictably, familiar. At one point, Nora states, after writing an article about her stay at the resort, "I'd given a clear, personal, and if I dare say so, richly textured picture of the ranch and its activities, the guests and staff, and the two deaths." All true. There's even the gruff police officer who, over the course of the murder investigation, grudgingly acknowledges the efforts of the amateur sleuth in residence. But the mystery behind the murders isn't all that compelling, and the subplot involving a Mexican mob is clearly intended to portend an ominous future but ends up appearing contrived and somewhat silly.

Nora Franke is an interesting character and the series clearly has potential, especially if Nora is allowed to show more of her investigative strengths. Too often here she plays the victim (both personally and professionally) and seems to stumble through her story.

No review of Fitness Kills would be complete without mention of the abrupt conclusion. Many readers will likely wonder if the publisher inadvertently omitted the final chapter or two. It's not necessarily a bad way to end a mystery, but it certainly is unusual.

Special thanks to Author Marketing Experts for providing a copy of Fitness Kills for this review.

Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.

For more visit Mysterious Reviews, a partner with the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books which is committed to providing readers and collectors of with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Monday, November 05, 2007

First Clues: More New Mysteries for Kids

We've updated our First Clues, Mysteries for Kids website with two new series for the junior sleuths in your family.

The mystery adventures of are for readers ages 8 to 11. Bailey is an 11 year old girl who lives with her grandmother in central . Each book in the series (4 to date) features embedded history, lots of action and contemporary issues that appeal to boys and girls. Linda Salisbury, the series author, is a former newspaper columnist and editor. The first book in the series, The Wild women of Lake Anna, was a finalist for the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year. Listen to Linda Salisbury talk about the book here; visit the series website here. Click on the book cover to purchase books in this series from (in association with Amazon.com).

Wayne Madsen's first children's mystery in the series, The Case of Stolen Time, was selected for the Reading is Fundamental 2007 Summer Reading Booklist. Children aged 8 to 11 will enjoy exploring the crazy and mysterious universe of 11 year old Inspector Jake Moustachio, along with his 8 year old sister Alexa (also known as Inspector Girl) and the one and only Rex the Cat. The second book in the series, The Mystery of Comanche Canyon, is scheduled for publication in early 2008. Click on the book cover to purchase this book from (in association with Amazon.com).

is pleased to provide information on over 50 mystery series for children and young adults. Each series is conveniently listed under three different age categories (New Sleuth, ages 4 to 7; Future Sleuth, aged 7 to 10; and Sleuth in Training, ages 10 and older). If you have a favorite mystery series you'd like to see added to our site, please contact us.

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Mystery Book Review: The Mongoose Deception by Robert Greer

Mysterious ReviewsMysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, has written a review of The Mongoose Deception by Robert Greer. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.The Mongoose Deception by Robert Greer

The Mongoose Deception by Robert Greer
A C. J. Floyd Mystery

North Atlantic Books (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-58394-192-4 (1583941924)
ISBN-13: 978-1-58394-192-8 (9781583941928)
Publication Date: October 2007
List Price: $25.95

Synopsis (from the publisher): When Cornelius McPherson, a former highway maintenance man, finds himself trapped in a tunnel he helped create decades earlier, he's horrified to discover the well-preserved, frozen arm of a fellow worker. McPherson remembers a secret the man whispered to him-that he knew who assassinated John F. Kennedy. When McPherson also turns up dead, CJ Floyd steps in to sort out the details, in the process going on his own hunt for the presidential assassin. CJ's journey is a retrospective trek that has him fielding CIA plots, mafia dons, and Cuban conspirators. But it's not until he realizes that there were two attempts on Kennedy's life prior to his actual assassination in 1963-one in and one in -that he's able to hone in on who might have really killed the president. The investigation takes him from the pristine mountains of Colorado to the muggy swamps of Louisiana, and ultimately leads him to a grieving, long-silent, Louisiana backwoods Creole mother who may hold the key to what happened.

Review: Robert Greer's sixth C. J. Floyd mystery, The Mongoose Deception, is an exceptionally gripping fictional account of those involved in the plans for the "final" assassination of John F. Kennedy. The all too real and colorful characters include various lawmen, a variety of mobsters, Mafia dons and their hit men, plus a couple of mothers, wives and lovers.

“Mongoose” was the code name set up by Robert Kennedy, JFK's brother and attorney general, for a secret project to depose Fidel Castro following the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961. The premise of this thriller is that before the President's assassination on November 24, 1963, there were at least two previous attempts on his life: one in Chicago and one in Tampa.

The books begins in the present on Highway I-70 as it goes through the Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel in a mountain in Colorado. This massive roadway was dug through the mountain and completed nearly four decades ago by the Straight River Tunnel Crew, as they were called by Cornelius McPherson. Just two days before his retirement, Cornelius, now the Colorado Department of Transportation’s chief Eisenhower Tunnel inspector, was walking through the tunnel when an earthquake rumbled through the mountain. The tremor loosened some tiles and exposed, buried in the concrete, a frozen arm and hand bearing a tattoo. Cornelius recognized the arm of that belonging to a fellow worker, a man who had long ago told him he knew the true identity of the man who actually assassinated the President in 1963. Shortly thereafter the man, known only to McPherson as Ducane, disappeared and was never seen by anyone again.

Cornelius is suddenly murdered, and C. J. Floyd reluctantly agrees to look into the circumstances surrounding his death. Through a series of flashbacks, Greer weaves a tale of conspiracy introducing the cast of characters that plotted a deception surrounding Kennedy's assassination. Floyd's quest for the truth leads him from Colorado to the swamplands of Louisiana where he finds a link from the past to the present.

As a conspiracy thriller, The Mongoose Deception works well, effectively mixing historical fact into a fictional story. It's yet another spin on the Kennedy assassination, a subject that seems likely to inspire writers well into the future, and for the most part succeeds in captivating the reader's attention. Floyd's role is relatively minor, however, so readers of the series expecting to see him "solve" a case may be somewhat disappointed.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of for contributing her review of The Mongoose Deception and to FSB Associates for providing a copy of the book for this review.

Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.

For more visit Mysterious Reviews, a partner with the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books which is committed to providing readers and collectors of with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Mystery Godoku Puzzle for November 05, 2007

Mystery GodokuMystery Godoku Puzzle for November 05, 2007A new 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!).

This week's letters and mystery clue: A C L M N O P R S. She is the author of a mystery series featuring deputy sheriff Marty Hopkins (9 letters).

New! We now have our puzzles 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!

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Friday, November 02, 2007

Mystery Bestsellers for November 02, 2007

Mystery BestsellersA list of the top ten for the week ending November 02, 2007 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

's assumes the top position on the bestseller list this week. Otherwise, just a bit of shuffling among last week's titles.

Murder on K Street by Margaret TrumanLurking on our extended list for the past few weeks, the latest Capital Crimes mystery by , , just manages to make it to the 15th spot and is the only new mystery this week. Arriving home after a fundraising dinner at a hotel, Illinois senior senator Lyle Simmons finds his wife brutally murdered on the foyer floor. Detective Charles Chang is determined to find out why. Among other suspects, the detective casts a cold eye on the K Street lobbyists with whom Simmons is famously close. The investigation takes Chang deep into the tangled and largely private world of lobbyists and puts him face to face with the kind of scandalous behavior much in the news these days. But the question at hand is whether there are lobbyists willing to do much worse than lie and steal - lobbyists so compelled by their cause as to be driven to murder - and Chang has no reason to think he'll find a happy answer.

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

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Thursday, November 01, 2007

Mystery Book Review: The Man in the Moon by Tom Tancin

Mysterious ReviewsMysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, has written a review of The Man in the Moon by Tom Tancin. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.The Man in the Moon by Tom Tancin

The Man in the Moon by Tom Tancin
A Lindsey Scott Mystery

Destifire Books (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-9797635-0-9 (0979763509)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9797635-0-2 (9780979763502)
Publication Date: October 2007
List Price: $12.99

Synopsis (from the publisher): After twelve Pocono University students are murdered, the local chief of police decides to call on the services of the number one crime solver in America. Dubbed the 'solver of the unsolvable', Lindsey Scott is the best in the field. Lindsey begins profiling the victims and the killer to solve the case before more bodies accumulate. She starts to get visits from a professor at the local university. The professor helps her find clues she missed and the clues lead her to the next murder site. With a stakeout setup, Lindsey is certain they will finally capture the 'Man in the Moon'. The killer however, is a no show and, apparently, has outsmarted Lindsey with another murder.

Eight college kids are found dead, bodies stacked one on top of the other forming a dam in a creek. Lindsey recalls a college lecture on pareidolia, the phenomenon in which we mistake an image for something it is not. She remembers that the 'Man in the Moon' is an example of pareidolia and uses that to start reevaluating the killer. With twenty college kids murdered, Lindsey must use all of her skills, and the resources she obtains from the investigation, to demystify the 'Man in the Moon' and prevent him from killing again. Can she solve the case to uphold her reputation as the 'solver of the unsolvable' and release a town from the hands of terror?

Review: Tom Tancin introduces Detective Lindsey Scott in The Man in the Moon, a serial killer mystery. Although Scott works out of , she is called all over the country to solve crimes that seem to be unsolvable. She is a divorced woman with two children who live with their father in Northampton, Pennsylvania. The story takes place in and around Pocono.

Twelve students have already been killed. The first two were found at the bottom of the lake locked in their car; the coroner concluded they accidentally drowned. The next four (two couples) were found on the grounds of a local college campus in the apple orchard near the biology lab. They had eaten toxic berries, although investigators could find no berries on the grounds. The next three couples were found shot to death in the field where the yearly October Harvest had been. No gun or bullets were found anywhere in the field. These crimes have nothing in common yet reflect a serial killer at work. The “solver of the unsolvable”, Lindsey Scott is brought in but before she cracks the case, eight more students are poisoned.

The identity of the serial killer in The Man in the Moon, dubbed the "man in the moon", is obvious from the earliest pages, so the appeal here is in the investigative process. The clues to the pattern of the murders are quite clever and Tancin's narrative keeps the story suspenseful. The most significant problem with the book is in the character of Lindsey Scott and the introduction of her dysfunctional family that detracts greatly from the story. Scott's dedication to her job may be admirable, but her lack of love or interest in her children is appalling.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of for contributing her review of The Man in the Moon and to Tom Tancin for providing a copy of the book for this review.

Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.

For more visit Mysterious Reviews, a partner with the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books which is committed to providing readers and collectors of with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Compendium of Mystery News 071030

Today's compendium of recently published mystery news articles:

USA Today reviewed the latest , calling it a "carefully constructed mystery" and "fun for families to play either together or individually."

Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Sony Pictures has fast-tracked production of Dan Brown's Angels & Demons with Tom Hanks reprising his role as religious conspiracy investigator Robert Langdon. Expect the movie to hit theaters in December 2008.

• The Arizona Business Gazette published a profile of Barbara Peters who operates the Poisoned Pen mystery bookstores in Scottsdale.

The creators of the television series CSI and Electric Sheep have set up CSI-themed areas in Second Life, where users can log in and play murder-mystery games, including trying to solve the mystery begun in last Wednesday's episode of . Mitch Wager writes about his experience with the adventure on InformationWeek.com.

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

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Mysteries on TV: Magnum PI and CSI Miami

Mysteries on TVMystery television series being released this week on DVD:

Tom Selleck is a former naval intelligence officer working as a private investigator in . The series, set in Hawaii, originally aired on CBS. The 7th and penultimate season ran from October 1986 through April 1987.

The series also starred John Hillerman as Jonathan Higgins, who ran the estate on which Magnum lived, and Roger E. Mosley and Larry Manetti as Magnum's former navy buddies TC Calvin and Rick Wright.

This DVD set of 5 disks includes all 20 episodes from the 7th season including one featuring none other than Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher ().

David Caruso stars as Lt. Horatio Caine, the lead criminologist for the -based crime scene investigation, in . The series, still in production, is a spin-off from a similar series, , set in and also airing on CBS. (The third show in the franchise, , is set in New York City.)

This DVD set of 6 disks includes all 24 episodes from the 5th season which originally aired from September 2006 through May 2007.

A set of the first five seasons of CSI: Miami is also available from our website.

Visit the Mysteries on TV website to discover more currently available on DVD.

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Monday, October 29, 2007

Mystery Godoku Puzzle for October 29, 2007

Mystery GodokuMystery Godoku Puzzle for October 29, 2007A new 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!).

This week's letters and mystery clue: A C E L O R V Y Z. The 6th mystery in the Bubba Mabry series by has this title (9 letters).

New! We now have our puzzles 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!

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