Compendium of Mystery News 080220

A compendium of recently published mystery news articles:

• File this under "Say It Isn't So": The Digital Spy is reporting that David Suchet is retiring from his iconic role as Hercule Poirot. He is quoted as saying: "After filming Appointment With Death [which is filming] in Jordan, I'm going to end it there." Suchet first played Poirot in The Adventure of the Clapham Cook which aired first aired in January 1989. (In completely unrelated news, Suchet says that the Belgians were keen to put him, as Poirot, on a coin. "Representatives of the Belgian mint got in touch with my agent," he said, "but then the currency switched to the euro. All my hopes were dashed.")

• In his column on NYSun.com, Otto Penzler profiles mystery author April Smith, who's latest Ana Grey mystery, Judas Horse, was published this month by Knopf.

• The BBC reports that a flagstone dedicated to crime writer Ian Rankin has been unveiled outside the City Chambers on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh after being given the writer's touch: his handprints. The stone slab was to commemorate Rankin's 2007 Edinburgh Award. Rankin quipped at the ceremony, "Having written for years about the travails of 'the cooncil', it is only proper and fitting that those same councillors now get to walk all over me for a change."

• It seems the aftermath of Patricia Cornwell's donation of $1 million to the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City is generating more news than the original act. Cornwell has since spent $250,000 to explain remarks she made in an interview with the Associated Press as to why she made the gift in the first place. Read more about the whole thing in The New York Times.

• In technology news, Toshiba announced this week that it has discontinued its HD DVD products. It intends to quickly move on, ceasing all business related to HD DVD by the end of March 2008. Sony's Blu-ray high definition format will now the the standard for the next generation of DVDs. Our partner website, Mystery Movies in High Definition, will continue to promote mysteries in both formats but intends to remove all HD DVD titles by the end of March to coincide with Toshiba's exit from the business.

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Mystery Book Review: Theft of the Master by Edwin Alexander

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

Theft of the Master by Edwin Alexander
An Al Hershey Mystery

Garev Publishing (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-9707558-5-6 (0970755856)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9707558-5-8 (9780970755858)
Publication Date: October 2007
List Price: $22.95

Synopsis (from the publisher): Private investigator Al Hershey travels across the globe in his search for a young woman's killer. Hired by the girl's parents to look into her "accidental" death Al finds he is in the middle of a more than a murder investigation.

Modern day Nazis and a stolen renaissance sculpture all play a part in this intricate character driven tale of promises and deceit.

Review: Edwin Alexander's debut novel, Theft of the Master, is an engrossing international thriller that effectively blends historical fact with a fictional story.

In 1493 the Church of the Holy Spirit in Tallinn, Estonia commissioned Veit Stoss, perhaps Germany’s greatest wood-carver, to create a sculpture. The Church wanted a wooden altarpiece of Christ teaching his followers, the gospels. Six months later, Stoss’ completed work was consecrated before a passionate, nationalistic congregation. Almost 500 years later, in 1992, a young woman, identified as Meg Gilchrist, has washed up on the shore of Half Moon Bay just south of San Francisco. Her parents, distraught by the death of their daughter, hire private investigator Al Hershey to look into whether it was an accident or murder. And what, if anything, could Stoss’ masterpiece possibly have to do with this tragedy? Hershey has only the slimiest of leads that take him on a journey through three continents to solve the mystery of her death.

In a backstory to the main plot, the modern history of the sculpture reveals that the Nazi's stole it in 1941 and sent it to Paraguay. The general in charge of the transfer was ultimately captured and hanged; the sculpture was presumed lost. Alexander bases this part of the story on fact, as it is well documented that Hitler and his followers confiscated large quantities of artwork and had it moved for safekeeping; much of it even today remains undiscovered.

But the real thrill here is in following Hershey as he takes one step forward and two steps back in his investigation that has him traveling from Europe to South America and back to the United States. There are almost as many twists and turns in the plot as places in which Hershey finds himself searching for clues. The author provides vivid and detailed descriptions for the characters and locales in the book that add authenticity and depth to the story. And in between the international intrigue are glimpses of personal humor. It's all very well done.

From start to finish, Theft of the Master is a fast-paced and credible thriller that is not to be missed. It is highly recommended.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Theft of the Master and to Lisa Roe, Online Publicist for providing an a copy 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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Mystery Books News Welcomes Marilyn Meredith

Mysterious Reviews in partnership with the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books is pleased to welcome Marilyn Meredith on her virtual tour to promote her latest book in the Rocky Bluff Police Department series, Smell of Death, which she writes under the name of F. M. Meredith. She is also the author of the award winning Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series.

Marilyn is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, EPIC, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. She was an instructor for Writer’s Digest School for ten years and served as an instructor at the Maui Writer’s Retreat and many other writer’s conferences. She makes her home in Springville, California, which is much like Bear Creek where Deputy Tempe Crabtree lives. For many years, she lived in a beach community similar to her fictional Rocky Bluff.

Today Marilyn is talking to us about writing a mystery.

So often I’m asked, “Where do you get your ideas?”

Sometimes an idea just pops into my head. More often, I’ve seen an article in a newspaper that’s stirred my imagination. Other times, the idea comes from things that have happened either to me or someone I’ve heard about.

With Smell of Death, the latest in my Rocky Bluff P.D. series, several elements contributed to this crime novel. The series itself is set in a fictional beach community along the coast of California, somewhere north of Ventura and south of Santa Barbara. For over twenty years I lived in a similar beach community and had several neighbors who were police officers. Because we were all friends, partying and playing together, I was able to observe how the job affected the family and the family affected the job. This is something I’ve attempted to show in all of the books in this series.

The title came from the fact that in movies and on TV, you can’t smell the horrific odors that accompany death.

My heroine is based on the female officers that I’ve done ride-alongs with, especially one who was raising her son alone. The hero is a composite of several officers I’ve known over the years. The one who contributed the most to the Rocky Bluff P.D. series is no longer with us, a 15- year-veteran of the Oxnard Police Department, who was also my son-in-law and loved to tell me about his adventures. He was a great resource.

One thing I’ve learned over the years is police officers love to tell stories. Once when I was going on a ride-along, I arrived right when they were changing shifts. Once the men learned I was an author, they began telling one story after another. Yes, some of the tales have turned up in my books.

To point out some differences between my Rocky Bluff P.D. crime novels and my Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery series are with the Rocky Bluff P.D. series, the main characters change from book-to-book, and in the Crabtree series, Tempe is always the main character. Though the Rocky Bluff P.D. series is set back in time a bit, it is the darker of the two, while the Crabtree series is more current.

People will often ask, when will either one of the series come to an end. That’s a question I can’t really answer. When the time comes for that to happen, I’ll know. Until that time, the characters in both series are live and well inside my head.

Thanks, Marilyn, for such insightful information. We're delighted you took the time to visit with us today and look forward to having you return again soon.

For more information about Marilyn and her books, visit her website at FictionForYou.com. You can read our review of Smell of Death by F. M. Meredith at Mysterious Reviews.

We'd also like to thank Pump Up Your Book Promotion for organizing Marilyn's virtual book tour and inviting us to participate.

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Mystery Book Review: Smell of Death by F. M. Meredith

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

Smell of Death by F. M. Meredith
A Rocky Bluff Police Department Mystery

Tigress Press (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-9793857-5-X (097938575X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-9793857-5-9 (9780979385759)
Publication Date: December 2007
List Price: $13.95

Synopsis (from the publisher): Rocky Bluff Police Officer Stacey Wilbur is called to the home of Darlene Brantley. Upon entering the home, Wilbur finds Brantley dead, and in a strange twist of events, Brantley's mother is also found murdered on the same night in her own home. While Wilbur assists Detective Doug Milligan in solving these crimes, other members of Rocky Bluff P.D. are on the lookout for the Barefoot Burglars and engage in a search for a missing toddler, hoping to catch the person responsible before another child disappears.

Review: Smell of Death is the fourth mystery in this series by F. M. Meredith featuring the investigative efforts of a police department in the (fictional) small coastal community of Rocky Bluff in southern California.

A veritable crime wave has struck Rocky Bluff. The brutal double murder of a mother and daughter, in separate locations and using different means, has the police department baffled. A series of daring home burglaries has taken place with two things in common: the thefts occur while the homeowners are present and the burglars leave behind bare footprints. A child has gone missing, presumably kidnapped, though no ransom demand is made. And then there are the assorted petty crimes that keep officers busy day and night.

Smell of Death is written largely in the style of a television crime drama. Reading the book is not unlike watching a show; both can be accomplished in one sitting and both typically have an intriguing start and a conclusion that wraps up all loose ends. In this regard, Smell of Death works as a pleasant way of spending a couple of hours.

As a police procedural, Smell of Death often gives up too much information to the reader, leaving very little in the way of suspense. The culprits are known to the reader well before the officers investigating the crime are aware of them. This approach can be quite successful (such as in the Columbo series of television mysteries) but here it's a bit flat possibly because there are too many officers investigating too many cases. To her credit, the author cleverly links everything together in the end, but it seems almost contrived by this point.

The personal lives of these officers are also explored. In contrast to the professional aspects of the story which seem genuine and real, these personal stories don't ring true at all. Fortunately, they don't take up all that much of the narrative but are somewhat distracting nonetheless.

Special thanks to Marilyn Meredith for providing a copy of Smell of Death 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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Mysteriosi: Digital Audio Mysteries February 2008 Update

Mysteriosi, your online source for digital audio mysteries, has updated its website with dozens of additional titles bringing the total number of MP3 mystery audiobooks available to purchase to over 500.

New audiobooks for February include some new titles as well as some old favorites.

The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais. This was the very first Elvis Cole mystery, originally published in paperback in 1987 and reissued in hardcover in 1993. It won the 1988 Anthony Award for Best Paperback and the 1988 Macavity Award for Best First Novel. If you haven't yet read (or heard) an Elvis Cole mystery, this is a great place to start.

Line of Vision by David Ellis. This debut mystery was also an award winner, winning the 2002 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Publishers Weekly called this book "a wicked courtroom thriller" and added, "[Ellis has written] a twisty, spellbinding story with a subtext: that our legal system is vulnerable to producing results that defy both logic and the facts."

Betrayal by John Lescroart. In this 12th and most recent addition to the Dismas Hardy series of legal thrillers, the San Francisco District Attorney is drawn into a case that had its origins in Iraq and involve a conspiracy that may have roots in the US government. Publishers Weekly said that this is "a first-rate addition to the author's ongoing series."

Both Ends of the Night by Marcia Muller. The 18th mystery in the Sharon McCone series (25 have been published to date) has the San Francisco private investigator tracking a man whose actions have already caused the deaths of two women who loved and trusted him.

Please visit the Mysteriosi and search our list of hundreds of digital audiomysteries in MP3 format. If you're interested in trying an audiobook rental service, please consider On the Go Books where new members get a free trial. You may also give the gift of mystery and suspense on their website.

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Mysteries on TV: Walker, Texas Ranger

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 only one new series being released this week.

For 8 seasons on CBS, Chuck Norris starred as Walker, Texas Ranger. Cordell Walker was a contemporary Texas Ranger based in Dallas who used "old-fashioned" methods (read "force", more specifically marshal arts) when dealing with criminals. Clarence Gilyard played his partner, Jimmy Trivette, a former Dallas Cowboy who didn't always agree with his methods, but was glad Walker was on his side. Sheree J. Wilson played Assistant District Attorney Alex Cahill.

The Walker, Texas Ranger Season 4 DVD set is comprised of 7 discs that contain all 24 episodes (including 2 2-part episodes) from the fourth season that aired during the 1995-1996 television season. It should be noted that the DVD sets for this series are being released out of order, with the first 4 seasons and the last season available currently available.

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 18, 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 C F H I L N P U. This author’s novel, Cape Wrath, was a story of mystery on an English island (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: Locked In by Mike Esposito

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

Locked In by Mike Esposito
Non-series

Durban House (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1-930754-98-1 (1930754981)
ISBN-13: 978-1-930754-98-0 (9781930754980)
Publication Date: July 2007
List Price: $15.95

Synopsis (from the publisher): Dr. John Armstrong, a respected Tampa radiologist, lives a privileged life built on a crumbling foundation. Cal Burton, his college roommate, is Tampa's premier malpractice attorney. The two men form a group to defraud insurance companies in medical malpractice cases. Initially their scheme is successful but greed pushed them too far.

Unbeknownst to Armstrong, the group begins to use their patients as pawns in their malpractice game. Armstrong discovers the plot and attempts to break free. Before he can, the group sets him up for one final case. His battle to free himself without losing it all lead to thrilling climax.

Review: Tampa radiologist Mike Esposito's first novel, Locked In, is a medical thriller that tells the story of the dedication of a large number of physicians, the greed of a very few, and the consequences their actions have on everyone.

After years of education, undergraduate college followed by medical school, honest men and women who have dedicated themselves to their chosen specialization decide to devote their lives to their patients and their families. Then something goes wrong. The physician becomes vulnerable because of an unexpected debt or other personal circumstance. But someone comes along with a solution: a simple referral. If that doctor will refer to a lawyer a situation where they are aware of a mistake made in the care of a patient, they will be paid an hourly rate plus a percentage of the settlement from the resulting malpractice lawsuit. No one need know who made the referral, and everyone benefits: the wronged family gets most of the settlement payment, the referring physician gets a nice infusion of cash, and the negligent doctor is hit with higher insurance premiums, a minor price to pay for causing so much suffering. When one such physician succumbs to the temptation of easy cash and then changes his mind, will those who are involved in the scheme trust him to walk away? Or will they try to stop him, and how?

Locked In is an effective thriller in that it provides a reasonable backstory as to how and why an otherwise honest physician finds himself in a situation whereby he feels the need to cross the line in his profession, to compromise his morals and integrity. A lucrative practice leads to an ever more luxurious lifestyle with large homes, expensive cars, vacation retreats, and high-spending spouses. A house of cards that can easily come crashing down. And it does.

There is an astonishing amount of detail here, about the medical profession, malpractice laws, and the diagnosis and treatment of patients, yet it is all seamlessly integrated into the fast-moving plot. This is one book that's hard to put down once started and the conclusion is completely unexpected. Lock In is highly recommended.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Locked In and to Durban House for providing an a copy 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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First Clues: The Gates Family Mysteries

We've updated our website First Clues: Mysteries for Kids by adding a new mystery series based on the National Treasure movies.

Written by Catherine Hapka and collectively called the Gates Family Mysteries, these paperback books feature Benjamin Franklin Gates as he tries to unlock the secrets and mysteries hidden deep within the icons of American history. The books are recommended for readers aged 9 to 12.

The first title in the series, Changing Tides, was published last fall. The second, Midnight Ride, will be published in late March but is available for pre-order now. A third book, Uncharted, is scheduled for publication this summer. All books are published by Disney Press.

First Clue Mysteries is pleased to provide information on over 80 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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Compendium of Mystery News 080217

A compendium of recently published mystery news articles:

• Nancy Drew is back on the case in a new mystery for the Nintendo DS. Nancy Drew: The Mystery of the Clue Bender Society was announced this week by Majesco Entertainment, the developer of the first Nancy Drew game released on the Nintendo DS, Nancy Drew: The Deadly Secret of Olde World Park. The new game is expected to be released this summer. (Press release)

• In related news, the fourth game in the Ace Attorney series for the Nintendo DS, Apollo Justice, Ace Attorney, is being released tomorrow. This is the first appearance for the rookie defense attorney; the previous three games in the series featured Phoenix Wright. [MBN note: Find all the games in this series as well as many more mysteries for the Nintendo DS at Games of Mystery: Nintendo DS.]

• Pat Donnelly of The Gazette (Montreal) spoke to Louise Penny, author of the award-winning series of mysteries featuring Armand Gamache, Chief Inspector with the Sûreté du Quebec. Penny notes that it took several years for her to complete the first book in the series, Still Life. Then she couldn't sell it. "Mostly [my query letters] came back with resounding silence," she recalled. "Once I got my own letter back with a NO scrawled across it." She ultimately entered her novel in a contest sponsored by the British Crime Writers' Association, was chosen a runner up, and won the attention of an agent. Still Life went on to win several prestigious awards, including the 2006 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel, the 2006 CWA New Blood Dagger Award, and the 2007 Anthony Award for Best First Novel.

• Dexter comes to network television. The 12 episodes of the first season of the series, which originally aired on Showtime, are being edited (for obvious reasons) and will be broadcast on 12 consecutive Sundays on CBS, starting tonight. Based on the novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, Dexter stars Michael C. Hall as Dexter Morgan, an incredibly likeable forensics expert for the Miami Metro Police Department who also happens to be a serial killer. [MBN note: the Showtime version of Dexter: Season 1 is available on DVD from the Mysteries on TV website.]

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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.

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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