Pre-Order Discounted Mysteries: Featured Titles for 02/19/2008

Amazon.com recently began offering an additional 5% discount on selected titles if ordered before the publication date. We've collected the most popular mysteries that are included in this program and listed them on a new site, Pre-Order Mysteries.

Each week we'll feature here those titles that are scheduled for publication during the coming week to alert you that the pre-order discount from Amazon.com for these titles will end after the books are published. On the Pre-Order Mysteries website, we have eligible titles scheduled to be published over the next 6 weeks that you may pre-order.

This week's featured pre-order discounted mysteries:

Stalked by Brian Freeman. The third mystery for Las Vegas police detective Jonathan Stride. Scheduled publication date: 02/19/2008.

The Black Dove by Steve Hockensmith. The third mystery in the Holmes on the Range series. Scheduled publication date: 02/19/2008.

The First Patient by Michael Palmer. A medical thriller by one of the masters of the genre. Scheduled publication date: 02/19/2008.

Hush My Mouth by Cathy Pickens. The fourth mystery in the Southern Fried series featuring South Carolina attorney Avery Andrews. Scheduled publication date: 02/19/2008.

Strangers in Death by J. D. Robb. The 26th futuristic "In Death" mystery featuring Eve Dallas. Scheduled publication date: 02/19/2008.

Lady Killer by Lisa Scottoline. The 10th legal thriller in the Rosato and Associates series. Scheduled publication date: 02/19/2008.

An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear. The fifth mystery in the Maisie Dobb series set in 1920s England. Scheduled publication date: 02/19/2008. Look for a review of An Incomplete Revenge by Mysterious Reviews next week.

Aunt Dimity: Vampire Hunter by Nancy Atherton. The thirteenth mystery in the Aunt Dimity series. Scheduled publication date: 02/21/2008.

To qualify for the additional 5% discount at checkout, you must order these books prior to their date of publication. See the terms and conditions for the 5% discount program on the Amazon.com site or at Pre-Order Mysteries.

Please visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books where we are committed 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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Mysteries on TV: Crime Story, Forever Knight, and Randall and Hopkirk

Mysteries on TV, your source for the most complete selection of detective, amateur sleuth, private investigator, and suspense television mystery series now available or coming soon to DVD, has added three new series to its growing list of series titles available for purchase.

From the creative force behind Miami Vice, Michael Mann, was the NBC drama Crime Story. The series starred Dennis Farina (who later starred in Law & Order) as Lt. Michael Torello, the head of the Chicago Police Department's Major Crime Unit. (Trivia: Dennis Farina was once a Chicago police officer before getting into films in the early 1980s.) Anthony Denison starred as Ray Luca, an ambitious street hood who used all his talents to get to the top of organized crime.

Crime Story lasted only 2 seasons, airing from September 1986 through May 1988. Both seasons are available on DVD. The theme music was an updated version of Del Shannon's Runaway.

A cult favorite, Forever Knight starred Geraint Wyn Davies as the 13th century vampire Nicholas de Brabant who spends his modern nights in Toronto as homicide detective Nick Knight. Though drawn to his underground world, he longs to give up his immortal life. Catherine Disher played Dr. Natalie Lambert, a forensic scientist who searched for a cure to Knight's supernatural condition. For the first two seasons, John Kapelos played Knight's partner, Donald Schanke.

Forever Knight aired on CBS for 3 seasons from May 1992 through May 1996. All three seasons are available on DVD. The series was based on a made-for-television movie that aired in August 1989 called Nick Knight. Rick Springfield played the title role in this movie.

Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) aired on ITV1 for just one season during 1969 / 1970. Jeff Randall (played by Mike Pratt) and Marty Hopkirk (played by Kenneth Cope) are private detectives when the series opens, but Marty is killed by a hit-and-run driver. Initially thought to be an accident, Marty returns as a ghost during his funeral to inform Jeff that he was murdered. As the series progressed, Marty helped Jeff out in his cases, always appearing in white. Considered a classic series today, in 1969 it did not receive good ratings and was cancelled after one season. A remake of the series aired on BBC-1 in 2000.

The 26 episodes of the series are split onto two DVD sets. Currently only one containing the first 13 episodes is available for purchase in the US.

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

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Mystery Book Review: Location Location by Kit Sloane

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

Location Location by Kit Sloane
A Max Skull and Margot O'Banion Mystery

Durban House (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1-930754-99-X (193075499X)
ISBN-13: 978-1-930754-99-7 (9781930754997)
Publication Date: February 2008
List Price: $15.95

Synopsis (from the publisher): Film editor Margot O'Banion and director Max Skull head to Panama to make their first independent film. Accompanying them are a celebrated movie star, a guide from his spiritual sect, his powerhouse agent intent on separating him from this sect, two British financiers, and a burgeoning legion moneymen bent on getting in on the action. Filmmaking takes second place on the set as the players scramble for position in a murderous game of upmanship.

Review: Filmmaker Max Skull spends precious little time actually producing his first independent movie when he and his editor Margot O'Banion head to Panama for location shooting in Location Location, the sixth mystery in this series by Kit Sloane.

Shortly after arriving in Panama, Max and Margot discover their financing is missing together with their line producer, Charley Greenfield. Charley had arranged for $3 million needed to film in Panama to be transferred to a local bank for which only he knew the account number; he had another $3 million in cash from an angel financier. No one actually believes Charley took off with the money, and that's confirmed when a short time later Max and Margot are informed by the police that Charley was found unconscious in another city near the Costa Rican border. Margot is dispatched to bring him back to Panama City, but when she gets there Charley has disappeared again. Despite losing $6 million even before filming starts, there is no shortage of people willing to invest in Max's film. Max is torn between accepting the money (a "loan" in his mind) and getting started, or postponing until Charley can be found.

Even if readers buy into the unrealistic premise of Location Location, there isn't much of a story that follows. Put into movie terms, this is a 90 minute film that's been stretched into a 2-hour showing. For the most part, Margot is the center of the action here which is fortuitous; when present, Max can be especially annoying.

The real entertainment here is in the characters of Sean Peters, Lydia Norris, and Venus Stromberg. The star of Max's movie, Sean is no doubt modeled here after a Tom Cruise kind of actor, only (slightly) more rational. He belongs to a sect (cult?) called Fateology. Lydia, a Fateologist, is Sean's handler. When Max asks her what are the precepts of Fateology, he's told, "The precepts are not a list of things, Mr. Skull. They are deep principles absorbed and assimilated through years, a lifetime or more, really, of study. My job is to facilitate the learning process." Finally, Venus is Sean's agent who is determined to save him from the clutches of Lydia. It's never quite clear in what context she is referring, as Lydia's beauty is extraordinary and, in Margot's words, she is a work of art.

The main plot ultimately involves characters of dubious repute and illicit motives for being so generous with offers to finance Max's film and yes, eventually there is a death that is deemed suspicious, but none of it really makes any sense. So, though neither Sean, Lydia, nor Venus plays a role in the disappearance of Charley or the film's financing, their mere presence is the primary reason to read Location Location.

Special thanks to Durban House for providing an a copy of Location Location for this review.

Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.

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Mystery Bestsellers for February 15, 2008

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending February 15, 2008 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

James Patterson's 7th Heaven moves into the top spot this week while Robert B. Parker's Strangers in Paradise claims the third position. Two new titles enter the list this week.

M. C. Beaton fans will be delighted with her 24th mystery in the Hamish Macbeth series, Death of a Gentle Lady. (The first Hamish Macbeth mystery, Death of a Gossip, was published in 1985.) Everyone in the sleepy Scottish town of Lochdubh adores elderly Mrs. Gentle - everyone but Hamish Macbeth, that is. Hamish thinks the gentle lady is quite sly and vicious, and the citizens of Lochdubh think he is overly cranky. Perhaps it's time for him to get married, they say. But who has time for marriage when there's a murder to be solved? When Mrs. Gentle dies under mysterious circumstances, the town is shocked and outraged. Chief Detective Inspector Blair suspects members of her family, but Hamish Macbeth thinks there's more to the story, and begins investigating the truth behind this lady's gentle exterior.

Ariana Franklin combines the best of modern forensic thrillers with the drama of 12th-century historical fiction in The Serpent's Tale (UK title: The Death Maze), the second mystery to feature medieval heroine Adelia Aguilar. Rosamund Clifford, the mistress of King Henry II, has died an agonizing death by poison, and the king's estranged queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, is the prime suspect. Henry suspects that Rosamund's murder is probably the first move in Eleanor's long-simmering plot to overthrow him. If Eleanor is guilty, the result could be civil war. The king must once again summon Adelia Aguilar, mistress of the art of death, to uncover the truth. Publishers Weekly states, "A colorful cast of characters, both good and evil, enhance a tale that will keep readers on edge until the final page."

On our bestseller page, we've added an icon next to every title that is available for immediate download onto the Amazon Kindle. To learn about this wireless reading device, visit the Amazon Kindle page for more information.

The top four mystery bestsellers this week are depicted below:

Please visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books where we are committed 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: A Reunion to Die For by Lauren Carr

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, has written a review of A Reunion to Die For by Lauren Carr. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

A Reunion to Die For by Lauren Carr
A Joshua Thornton Mystery

Five Star (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59414-548-2 (1594145482)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59414-548-3 (9781594145483)
Publication Date: June 2007
List Price: $25.95

Synopsis (from the publisher): Murder reveals all secrets. Gail Reynolds left Chester, West Virginia, to become a hard-hitting investigative journalist and never looked back. Twenty years later, no one is more surprised than Joshua Thornton when she returns to write a book about the long-ago death of classmate Tricia Wheeler. Before Gail has time to unpack her laptop, a second girl is killed and the small town finds itself in the midst of a killing spree. When Gail is added to the body count, her death reveals a deeply kept secret that casts a shadow of suspicion on Joshua. Suddenly, the newly elected county prosecutor finds his own name at the top of the list of murder suspects.

Review: Lauren Carr's second mystery featuring West Virginia district attorney Joshua Thornton, A Reunion to Die For, reunites classmates 20 years after their high school graduation only to have the past meet the present ... with a murder.

Twenty-one years earlier in October of 1984, a very popular cheerleader, Tricia Wheeler, was found dead in her home by her mother. As there seemed to be little or no evidence to support any other theory, Tricia’s death was ruled suicide. Now, twenty years later, a high school classmate reveals that she has written a book that will tell the true story of what happened to Tricia. Soon after her announcement another popular cheerleader, Grace Henderson, is found dead. This time there is proof of murder. Josh Thornton, a graduate of Oak Glen High School and once a good friend of Tricia, becomes involved in the investigation of the crime. When he views the body of Grace, still dressed in her cheerleaders outfit as was Tricia when she died, memories flood in. He was too young to question her death in 1984, but now he wonders: Could it have been murder? The information or lack thereof concerning both girl’s deaths bring about more questions than answers.

The old divisions of high school remain today: the boys were either jocks or nerds, the girls were either "in" or "out". For Josh, this investigation means dealing with people who were like him in high school, and those who were not. But he soon finds more suspects than victims, more enemies than friends, and not enough concrete clues to take to court so an arrest can be made.

Then it gets worse when Josh, himself, becomes a suspect in the murder. At one point, he says, "It's difficult to keep track of the players." And that's the most significant problem with A Reunion to Die For: there are far too many characters. It's almost impossible to keep track of who did what to whom for what reason and when it happened. The intersecting plots at times are so complex the temptation is to simply skip forward a few pages, over the sometimes tedious narrative.

A Reunion to Die For isn't necessarily a bad mystery, simply an over-written one. A tighter plot, far fewer characters, and considerable editing would have done wonders here.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of A Reunion to Die For and to Breakthrough Promotions for providing a copy of the book for this review.

Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.

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Compendium of Mystery News 080212

A compendium of recently published mystery news articles:

• The Associated Press is reporting that Patricia Cornwell is donating $1 million to start the Crime Scene Academy at New York's Jay College of Criminal Justice. Cornwell, the author of the bestselling mysteries featuring medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, blames television and movies for misleading the public on how crimes are investigated.

• Jamie Portman of the Canwest News Service reports that the strike by the Writers Guild of America 20 years ago caused at least one writer to turn to a life of crime ... crime fiction, that is. April Smith is the author of the Ana Grey mysteries, the latest of which, Judas Horse, is being published this month. It wasn't just the strike itself which toppled her world. It was also the aftermath. "What you don't realize is that when you get back from a strike, the landscape will have changed," Smith says. "I was so disgusted with Hollywood that I just wanted to write novels."

• The Mystery Writers of America has elected Harlan Coben to be the national president of the organization. (Press release)

• The BBC (among others) is reporting that Julia McKenzie has landed the role of Miss Marple in the ITV television crime series based on the novels by Agatha Christie. McKenzie will be the seventh actress to portray the character in the series, and replaces Geraldine McEwan who announced she was leaving last month.

• Murder in the Grove, Idaho's annual mystery conference, goes "thriller" for 2008. Over twenty authors, agents, and forensics specialists will explore mysteries, thrillers, the writer’s life, and the publishing industry in panel discussions, workshops, and manuscript evaluations for readers and writers of crime fiction. (Press release)

• Big Fish Games announces the worldwide release of Mystery Case Files: Madame Fate, the 4th episode in this franchise. Mystery Case Files has sold more than 1.5 million units to date. "In this latest chapter of Mystery Case Files, we transport players to Madame Fate's carnival to solve a brand new mystery. Players experience a new cast of characters, beautiful scenes and challenging new puzzles," said Patrick Wylie, vice president of Big Fish Games Studios. (Press release) [MBN note: Find more mystery games at our partner site, Games of Mystery.]

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Mysteries on DVD: Gone Baby Gone

Mysteries on DVD, the website for mystery books that have been adapted into movies, has added a new title to its list of mystery movies now available on DVD.

Based on the best-selling novel by Dennis Lehane, and adapted for the screen by Academy Award winner Ben Affleck who also directed, Gone Baby Gone arrives on DVD this week. The movie stars Affleck's younger brother Casey as Patrick Kenzie, and Michelle Monaghan as Angela Gennaro, private investigators in Boston who are hired to take a closer look at the mysterious disappearance of a little girl and soon discover that nothing is what it seems. Ultimately, they will have to risk everything -- their relationship, their sanity, and even their lives -- to find a little girl-lost. Gone Baby Gone has already won a large number of film critic awards, and is nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for Amy Ryan's performance as Helene McCready, the mother of the missing girl.

A trailer for the movie can be viewed on the Amazon.com product page. Gone Baby Gone is also available on Blu-ray disc.

Gone Baby Gone is the fourth book in Lehane's series of mysteries that feature Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro. It is also the second of his books to be made into a movie. The first, the non-series novel Mystic River, was released in 2003 and directed by Clint Eastwood. It was nominated for six Academy Awards and ultimately won two, Sean Penn for Best Actor, and Tim Robbins for Best Supporting Actor. Mystic River is currently available on DVD in a 3-disc collector's edition. For more information about these two books and the movies adapted from them visit Mysteries on DVD: Gone Baby Gone and Mysteries on DVD: Mystic River.

Look for another Lehane novel to hit the big screen next year. Shutter Island is currently in production starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Teddy Daniels, a US Marshal investigating the disappearance of a patient confined to a hospital for the criminally insane on a remote and desolate island.

Visit the Mysteries on DVD website to discover more mystery books that have been adapted for film and are available on DVD.

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Mysteries on TV: The Equalizer

Only one new DVD set of a mystery and suspense television series is being released this week.

Got a problem? Odds against you? Call The Equalizer, a suspense crime series that aired on CBS from September 1985 through August 1989. The series starred the wonderful Edward Woodward who was perfectly cast in the role of Robert McCall, a former government agent who combats injustices against those who cannot seek protection from the law. (Woodward was nominated for a lead actor Emmy for every season the series aired, winning for the second season.) Robert Lansing had a recurring role as McCall's former boss at the "Company".

The Equalizer: Season 1 DVD set consists of 5 disks that contain all 22 episodes that comprised the first season of this series. Additional features include a commentary with the creator of the show, Michael Sloan, and a bonus episode from the second season.

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

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Mystery Godoku Puzzle for February 11, 2008

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

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

This week's letters and mystery clue:  A D E H M N O R W. This was the 4th mystery in the Cat Marsala series by Barbara D’Amato (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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Mystery Book Review: The Secret Scroll by Ronald Cutler

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

The Secret Scroll by Ronald Cutler
Non-series

Beaufort Books (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-8253-0515-2 (0825305152)
ISBN-13: 978-0-8253-0515-3 (9780825305153)
Publication Date: February 2008
List Price: $24.95

Synopsis (from the publisher): Josh Cohan, a work-obsessed archaeology professor, has a recurring dream about a great secret. He follows his instincts to the Judean desert, where he makes a fantastic discovery an ancient scroll which seems to have been written by Jesus Christ. The Israeli Antiquities Authority has a claim on the scroll, but another, more sinister organization wants the scroll as well. The Guardians, members of an ancient extremist religious sect, are willing to kill to get what they want.

Josh joins the government-sponsored team of translators who believe the scroll might be genuine, and falls in love with Danielle, the fiery daughter of one of the translators. When a friend turns up dead and Danielle goes missing, Josh realizes that the scroll might be more powerful and controversial than he had ever imagined. Will Josh be able to prevent something terrible from happening to the woman he loves without giving up the most important discovery mankind has ever made?

Review: Ronald Cutler's debut novel, The Secret Scroll, is an imaginative tale that reaches to the center of Jerusalem where the great religions of the world converge in a single city.

Josh Cohan, a disillusioned Professor of Archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania, takes a much-needed sabbatical from the politics of the university museum hierarchy where he is employed and travels to Israel where he has been many times before. While he is driving through the hills of Masada where there is so much history, he feels he is meant to go to find a hidden cave. When he finds the cave, he unearths an ancient cylinder containing a scroll that he could tell has been buried for many years. Although it is a requirement of the law to present any archaeological find to the Israeli Antiquities Authority (IAA), Josh decides to take it to his hotel for his own expert examination. After all, it had been buried for at least 2000 years; a few more days wouldn’t hurt. With surgical gloved hands he removes the scroll and sees that the words are written in Aramaic, a language he had studied at the university. He translates a few sentences and it becomes aware that these words were written by the man known today as Jesus Christ.

Josh turns over the scroll to the IAA which consists of seven men of different faiths. It is their responsibility to investigate the find, and when finished attest to its authenticity or declare it a fraud. Because of the nature of the scroll, the men decide it would be best to keep the discovery a secret. Even if it was a fraud, much unwelcome chaos could be brought to bear. If it proved to be true, it would change the beliefs of many churches and synagogues around the world. Everyone agreed, including Josh. There was one among them, however, who though he agreed did not keep the secret. This man was a member of a secret, very prejudiced religious cult dating back at least 200 years. The cult hated Jews, Catholics, Muslims, Protestants, and any other sect that did not believe as they taught. They had already killed, and now they were willing to kill again to get their hands on the scroll and destroy it. As Josh tries to discover the man in the IAA who had betrayed them, their leader (the "Master”) kidnaps the woman Josh loves, whose safe return is guaranteed in exchange for the scroll.

Cutler cleverly weaves history, scholarly writings, and a fictional story with (admittedly) a fair amount of speculation into a very suspenseful novel that races toward a thrilling conclusion. The "damsel in distress" aspect is a bit overdone, but otherwise the plot is well reasoned with believable characters.

The Secret Scroll is not only very well written and inventive, it is a thought-provoking novel that is both enthralling and entertaining.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of The Secret Scroll and to Meryl L. Moss Media Relations for providing an ARC of the book for this review.

Review Copyright © 2008 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.

For more mystery book reviews visit Mysterious Reviews, a partner with the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books which is committed 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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Compendium of Mystery News 080209

A compendium of recently published mystery news articles:

• The New York Times is reporting that Phyllis A. Whitney, a prolific best-selling author of romantic mysteries, young-adult novels and children’s mysteries for more than a half-century, has died. She was 104. In 1988 Ms. Whitney received the prestigious Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement from the Mystery Writers of America. (MBN note: Some of the earliest memories we have of reading mysteries are the children's mysteries written by Ms. Whitney. How many times we wished we still had those books.)

• Publishers Weekly has an interesting article on mass market paperbacks and the role they play in the bookselling marketplace.

• John Lichfield of The Independent talks to French literary critic and psychoanalyst Pierre Bayard who is attempting to invent a new literary genre. He calls himself a "critical detective". He reinvestigates the plots of famous books, correcting the errors of their authors and reversing literary injustices.

• Terrence P. McCauley has won "The Search for the Next Great Crime Writer" contest from Borders, truTV and Gather.com. McCauley's manuscript, Prohibition, was chosen as a semi-finalist by the Gather.com community and then picked out of the finalists by a panel of judges including authors David Baldacci, Sandra Brown and Harlan Coben. (Read the Press Release on FoxBusiness.com.)

• Lighthouse Interactive, a leading publisher of video games for the PC, has confirmed that Belief & Betrayal will ship in late March, 2008. As journalist Jonathan Danter, you discover that a ten year old murder is somehow part of a greater mystery that could destroy humanity itself. Filled with baffling plot twists and conspiracy theories, you must uncover the mystery that reaches back through history. (MBN note: Belief & Betrayal is available for pre-order on the Games of Mystery website.)

• In other game news, Professor Layton and the Curious Village is being released this week for the Nintendo DS. In the curious village of St. Mystere, townsfolk greet each other with rebuses, lock their doors with sliding puzzles and hide their secrets within brainteasers. When a wealthy baron passes away, his will reveals an elusive treasure hidden someplace inside the village. Now it's up to Professor Layton to untangle St. Mystere's riddles and puzzles, find the hidden treasure and crack the case. (MBN news: Find more mystery games for the Ninendo DS at Games of Mystery: Ninendo DS.)

• Here's a movie / mystery book tie-in we missed: the Gates Family Mysteries featuring none other than the Gates family of the National Treasure movies. The first title, Changing Tides, was released last fall. The second, Midnight Ride, will be published next month. The books, written by Catherine Hapka and published by Disney Press, are intended for young adults. (MBN note: We'll be adding this series to our First Clues: Mysteries for Kids website in the near future.)

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