Mystery Godoku Puzzle for March 16, 2009

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 B D E L N O R W

He is the author of a series of techno-thrillers featuring Patrick McLanahan (9 letters).

We now have two weeks of our puzzles on one page 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: A Darker Domain by Val McDermid

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of A Darker Domain by Val McDermid. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

A Darker Domain by Val McDermid
Non-series

Harper (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-06-168898-3 (0061688983)
ISBN-13: 978-0-06-168898-0 (9780061688980)
Publication Date: January 2009
List Price: $24.99

Review: Val McDermid crafts an intriguing decades old cold case mystery in the stand-alone thriller A Darker Domain featuring Detective Inspector Karen Pirie of the Fife (Scotland) police department.

Pirie is actually handed two cases almost simultaneously. The first is a missing persons investigation. What interests Pirie is that the case is 20 some odd years old and the life of a seriously ill child depends on the outcome. Unfortunately, to her superiors, the case is not nearly as important as new evidence that has recently been discovered in Italy regarding the decades old, and still unsolved, kidnapping of a baby boy that also resulted in the murder of his mother. The boy was the grandson of a wealthy, and powerful, local industrialist who blames the police for mishandling the situation. Pirie knows she risks her career pursuing the missing persons investigation while also following up on the new leads in the kidnapping case. But when she suspects there may be a link, if only tenuous, between the two, she plunges forward knowing the dead do not give up their secrets easily ... if ever.

A Darker Domain is a superior mystery novel in so many ways, from the meticulously drawn characters and the intricately developed plot to the superbly written narrative. The seamless use of backstories to fill in the details during Pirie's investigation helps keep the story briskly moving along and the alternate points of view provide depth and interest. The coincident reopening of both cases from a plot perspective is, at best, improbable, yet the author makes it seem credible, linking the two in unexpected, though plausible ways. The overly melodramatic ending is a minor quibble.

A Darker Domain, written as a non-series novel, is a gripping mystery thriller at its best. It is rather unfortunate, however, readers won't have the opportunity to see Karen Pirie in action again.

Special thanks to HarperCollins for providing an ARC of A Darker Domain for this review.

Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.

If you are interested in purchasing A Darker Domain from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right. A Darker Domain (Kindle edition) is also available. Learn more about the Kindle, Amazon's Wireless Reading Device.

Synopsis (from the publisher): Fife, Scotland, 1985. Heiress Catriona Maclennan Grant and her baby son are kidnapped. The ransom payoff goes horribly wrong and Grant is killed. Her son disappears without a trace -- until 2008, when a tourist in Tuscany stumbles upon dramatic new evidence that reopens the investigation.

Fife, 1984. At the height of the politically charged national miners' strike, Mick Prentice abandons his family to join the strikebreakers down south. Labelled a blackleg scab, he's as good as dead as far as his friends and relatives care. Twenty-three years later, a young woman walks into a police station to report Mick Prentice missing. Detective Karen Pirie, head of the Cold Case Review Team, wants to know why it's taken so long for anyone to notice.

For Pirie, already immersed in the Prentice investigation, a second foray into a 1980s investigation gone cold -- this time, the Grant kidnapping -- offers an opportunity to make her mark. But it's sure to come at an extremely high price. As she works to unravel these mysteries, two decades of secrets will lead Karen Pirie into a dark domain of violence and betrayal -- darker than any she has yet encountered.

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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Games of Mystery: Lost in the City, New at Big Fish Games

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, and mystery getaway vacations, is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery game from Big Fish Games released today. You can find out more about these games by visiting our Mystery Games: Big Fish Download Games page or by clicking on the links provided below.

After the first date with a charming girl named April, our hero wakes up alone in an unknown abandoned city after being drugged. He is trapped and believes this somehow involves April. Explore the city while trying to investigate how April is involved. Help the hero survive in an atmosphere of drama and suspense. Are you Lost in the City?

Lost in the City, a Big Fish Games exclusive, may be downloaded and purchased for as little as $6.99 with the Big Fish Game Club Jumbo Pack. A demonstration version (86.34 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour.

Watch a preview video below:

Other popular games on our download Big Fish Mystery Games page include several Agatha Christie and Nancy Drew games, games in the Mystery Case Files series and in particular the latest, Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst, Adventure Chronicles: The Search for Lost Treasure, the Carol Reed mystery Remedy, Mystery Legends: Sleepy Hollow, Mystery Chronicles: Murder Among Friends, and Nick Chase: A Detective Story.

Read our new game reviews by Ms. Terri: Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! (Review), and Nick Chase: A Detective Story (Review).

Big Fish Games: Bestsellers

Big Fish Games: New releases

And don't forget to visit Games of Mystery for all kinds of mysterious fun!

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Author Online Book Tour: Don Bruns Visits Mystery Reader Discussion and Buzz About Books

Mystery Books News is pleased to be coordinating the online book tour for Don Bruns whose new mystery, Bahama Burnout, was published last week by Oceanview Publishing. Bahama Burnout is the fifth book in this series featuring music journalist Mick Sever.

Today, Saturday, March 14th, Don will be visiting 2 blog sites:

• Mystery Reader Discussion where Don will be interviewed; and
• Buzz About Books where Bahama Burnout will be reviewed.

We're also thrilled to announce that Don is giving away a signed copy of his new book to one lucky tour visitor. Visit each tour site and pick up a unique PIN to be used to enter the giveaway on that day. The entry form can be found on Don's tour page, Author Book Tour: Don Bruns, which also has a complete schedule of Don's tour including a biography and more information about Bahama Burnout.

Please stop by each of the tour sites this week to learn more about Don, his series character Mick Sever, and the exotic locales featured in his mysteries.

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Castle and Life on Mars Series DVDs to be Available September 2009

In a press release today, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment announced upcoming DVD release dates for its ABC television shows.

Mystery TV fans will be pleased to note that among the titles listed, the first season of Castle, which just had its premiere earlier this week, is scheduled to be available on DVD on September 22, 2009. The fact that it's labeled the "1st season" implies Disney has enough faith in the series to bring it back for a second season. We hope.

Also on the schedule is the recently cancelled Life on Mars. The complete series on DVD is scheduled for release on September 29, 2009.

Mysteries on TV, your source for one of the largest selections of detective, amateur sleuth, private investigator, and suspense television mystery series that are now available or coming soon to DVD, will be featuring both of these series DVDs when they are available.

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Author Online Book Tour: Don Bruns Visits The Printed Page and Murder by 4

Mystery Books News is pleased to be coordinating the online book tour for Don Bruns whose new mystery, Bahama Burnout, was published last week by Oceanview Publishing. Bahama Burnout is the fifth book in this series featuring music journalist Mick Sever.

Today, Friday, March 13th, Don will be visiting 2 blog sites:

• The Printed Page where Bahama Burnout will be reviewed; and
• Murder by 4 where Don is a featured guest blogger.

We're also thrilled to announce that Don is giving away a signed copy of his new book to one lucky tour visitor. Visit each tour site and pick up a unique PIN to be used to enter the giveaway on that day. The entry form can be found on Don's tour page, Author Book Tour: Don Bruns, which also has a complete schedule of Don's tour including a biography and more information about Bahama Burnout.

Please stop by each of the tour sites this week to learn more about Don, his series character Mick Sever, and the exotic locales featured in his mysteries.

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Mystery Bestsellers for March 13, 2009

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending March 13, 2009 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

Little change in the top 7 from last week, with last week's profiled bestseller, Don't Look Twice by Andrew Gross, making the greatest move this week, landing in 8th position.

New this week in the 15th position is the 16th mystery in the Doc Ford series, Dead Silence by Randy Wayne White. Winter in New York City: Amid sleet and snow, Doc Ford is at the Explorers Club with his new friend, former (and maybe current) British agent Sir James Montbard, researching a jungle expedition and awaiting the arrival of an attractive U.S. senator with whom Ford has become more than friendly. Her car pulls up, she starts to get out -- and the unthinkable happens: an abduction attempt right before Ford’s eyes. Ford engages, managing to save the senator, but the companion in her car is not so lucky. A fourteen-year-old Minnesota boy, in New York as the prize for an essay-writing contest, he is snatched and vanishes -- dead, authorities fear, until they receive the kidnappers’ ultimatum. Ford goes on the hunt, an odyssey that brings him first to Long Island, then to Florida, but if what happened before was unthinkable, it’s nothing compared with what he discovers. The boy’s captors have a definite agenda, and to make sure he isn’t rescued before their thirty-six-hour deadline is up, they’ve put him someplace they’re sure no one will find him: they’ve buried him alive. But there’s something about the boy his captors do not know. He has a past, as do Doc Ford and many of the other key players in these extraordinary events. And before those thirty-six hours are over, all those pasts will catch up to the present -- with catastrophic results. Publishers Weekly calls Dead Silence "high-octane", adding "the action roars along as Doc does what Doc does best: kick butt."

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 shown 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: Deep Waters by Kate Charles

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of Deep Waters by Kate Charles. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

Deep Waters by Kate Charles
A Callie Anson Mystery

Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-602-6 (1590586026)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-602-0 (9781590586020)
Publication Date: March 2009
List Price: $24.95

Review: Anglican curate Callie Anson finds herself drawn into the investigation surrounding the death of a baby in Deep Waters, the third mystery in this series by Kate Charles.

Callie’s troubles begin on a stormy windy night when her roof tiles begin to slide and tear her roof apart. It will take the roofer from six weeks to two months to repair it. She is forced to move into the vicar’s home next to the church where she is not particularly welcomed by his wife. While there a baby girl, the 3-month-old child of celebrities, is found dead in her crib. Detective Inspector Neville Stewart is called away from his honeymoon to investigate the death. The first theory is SIDS. Mark Lombardi, a Catholic who is in love with Callie, is the family liaison officer. He calls Callie since the parents lived within her constituency. The parents decide they want Callie rather than a priest to carry out official duties surrounding the baby's funeral. But there's something else: the baby had a hairline fracture in her neck, the possible result of being shaken too hard. About the same time, DI Stewart and Mark are notified of the death of Joe di Stefano, Mark’s brother-in-law, though there is a mystery surrounding his fatal heart attack. Mark is put on leave because of his family association. Mark’s niece, Chiara, being fond of Callie, leans on her for comfort in her grief. Mark’s sister, however, tells Mark in no uncertain terms that Callie to back off. If Chiara is to talk to anyone is it to be with her or their priest. Can the strain in Callie and Mark’s relationship be revived after Mark issues his sister’s ultimatum? And what will happen to Stewart’s marriage after he chooses his job over his new wife?

Deep Waters is an excellent mystery. Not only is the storyline compelling, but the characters have an emotional range that adds depth and interest for the reader, and the relationship between Callie and Mark is particularly noteworthy. There's also the subplot about celebrities, how easily they are popularized by the press and how quickly they can be forgotten by the public. The actions of the tabloid press are brought to bear here, how a scoop can make or break a journalist's reputation, regardless of who might be hurt in the process or even if the truth is ever reported. This is a series that continues to evolve and improve with each succeeding book.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Deep Waters and to Poisoned Pen Press for providing a copy of the book for this review.

Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.

If you are interested in purchasing Deep Waters from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

Synopsis (from the publisher): In a culture obsessed with celebrity, baby Muffin’s death is big news. Crib death? Or something more sinister? Everyone wants to know, including the police.

Whatever the truth, the bereaved parents -- celebrity couple Jodee and Chazz -- live in curate Callie Anson’s London parish, and Callie becomes involved with funeral arrangements, despite the disapproval of her vicar and his wife.

Detective Inspector Neville Stewart is recalled from his honeymoon to investigate the case -- with disastrous personal results. And journalist Lilith Noone’s professional future is on the line, as she is sucked more and more deeply into her own flirtation with celebrity culture.

Meanwhile, for police family liaison officer Mark Lombardi, the death of baby Muffin is eclipsed by another death, much closer to home, and he finds himself in an impossible position, torn between his loyalty to his family and his growing love for Callie.

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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Harper's Globe, the Online Companion Series to Harper's Island, Now Live

Harper's Globe, the online companion series to CBS's new mystery event, Harper's Island premiering on CBS April 9th, is now live.

Harper's Globe incorporates videos, photos, and blogs all presented on a social network where you can talk to the characters and participate in the story. The first online episode premieres March 18th, but there will be daily content posted to the site starting today and leading up to the launch. It's interactive, engaging, and unlike anything you've experienced before.

Harper's Island is about a group of family and friends who travel to a secluded island off the coast of Seattle for a destination wedding. This island is famous for a streak of unsolved murders from seven years ago. Although they've come to laugh and to love, what they don't know is they've also come ... to die. As the wedding festivities begin, friendships are tested and secrets exposed as a murderer claims victims, one by one, transforming the wedding week of fun and celebration into a terrifying struggle for survival.

In every episode, someone is killed and every person is a suspect, from the wedding party to the island locals. By the end of the 13 episodes, all questions will be answered, the killer will be revealed and only a few will survive.

Watch a video about the series courtesy of CBS below:

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eHarlequin's Free Book Friday: The Magnate's Takeover by Mary McBride

eHarlequin.com gives you another reason to love Fridays! Buy two or more books this Friday and they'll give you their weekly featured book absolutely free! That's right, every Friday, enjoy a featured free book with the purchase of two or more other titles! (Your free book will automatically be added to your cart.)

This Friday's free book (03/13/2009) is from the Silhouette Desire series.

The Magnate's Takeover by Mary McBride
Gifts from a Billionaire

Libby Jost's plan to save her family home has just hit a snag: a sexy stranger with a generous streak and a penchant for distracting her. How could she be expected to focus when David could render her senseless with just a kiss?

Billionaire David Halstrom wants what Libby has. It should have been a simple business deal, but instead he … lied. Now amid a maelstrom of intense passion and twisted hotel sheets, David's white lie could cost him the one thing he's never been able to buy … Libby's love.

Keep up to date by subscribing to eHarlequin.com's free newsletter that contains the latest information about their series of books as well as informing you about subscriber-only special offers and new products. Click on the banner below to subscribe for free:

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Author Online Book Tour: Don Bruns Visits Allie's Musings and Bookish Ruth

Mystery Books News is pleased to be coordinating the online book tour for Don Bruns whose new mystery, Bahama Burnout, was published last week by Oceanview Publishing. Bahama Burnout is the fifth book in this series featuring music journalist Mick Sever.

Today, Thursday, March 12th, Don will be visiting 2 blog sites:

• Allie's Musings where Don will be interviewed; and
• Bookish Ruth where Don is a featured guest blogger.

We're also thrilled to announce that Don is giving away a signed copy of his new book to one lucky tour visitor. Visit each tour site and pick up a unique PIN to be used to enter the giveaway on that day. The entry form can be found on Don's tour page, Author Book Tour: Don Bruns, which also has a complete schedule of Don's tour including a biography and more information about Bahama Burnout.

Please stop by each of the tour sites this week to learn more about Don, his series character Mick Sever, and the exotic locales featured in his mysteries.

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Games of Mystery: James Patterson's Women's Murder Club, A Darker Shade of Grey, New at Big Fish Games

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, and mystery getaway vacations, is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery game from Big Fish Games released today. You can find out more about these games by visiting our Mystery Games: Big Fish Download Games page or by clicking on the links provided below.

An unidentified body is found on a rocky beach … was it an accident, or was it murder? The heroines of Women’s Murder Club are back. This time they must uncover secrets surrounding a recent murder at a prestigious Southern military academy. Investigate each crime scene with a professional eye. Take pictures and samples for examination back to the lab. Solve challenging puzzles and interrogate suspects to reveal the true killer in this thrilling adventure!

James Patterson's Women's Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey may be downloaded and purchased for as little as $6.99 with the Big Fish Game Club Jumbo Pack. A demonstration version (102.28 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour. See also the first game in this series, James Patterson's Women's Murder Club: Death in Scarlet.

Watch a preview video below:

Other popular games on our download Big Fish Mystery Games page include several Agatha Christie and Nancy Drew games, games in the Mystery Case Files series and in particular the latest, Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst, Adventure Chronicles: The Search for Lost Treasure, the Carol Reed mystery Remedy, Mystery Legends: Sleepy Hollow, Mystery Chronicles: Murder Among Friends, and Nick Chase: A Detective Story.

Read our new game reviews by Ms. Terri: Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! (Review), and Nick Chase: A Detective Story (Review).

Big Fish Games: Bestsellers

Big Fish Games: New releases

And don't forget to visit Games of Mystery for all kinds of mysterious fun!

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Dilys Award and Lefty Awards, Winners Announced at Left Coast Crime

The winner of the 2009 Dilys Award, given by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association (IMBA) to the mystery title booksellers most enjoyed selling, was announced earlier today at Left Coast Crime in Hawaii: Trigger City by Sean Chercover.

Three other Left Coast Crime awards were given out:

• The Bruce Alexander Memorial Best Historical Mystery: Nox Dormienda, A Long Night for Sleeping by Kelli Stanley
• The Hawaii Five-O Best Police Procedural: Mahu Fire by Neil Plakcy
• The Lefty for Best Humorous Mystery: Greasing the Pinata by Tim Maleeny

Congratulations to the winners from MBN! (And thanks to Mystery Scene Magazine for posting the results.)

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The Daily Beast Reveals True Identity of Bestselling Mystery Author Spencer Quinn

Sarah Weinman over on The Daily Beast has revealed that the bestselling author of Dog On It, Spencer Quinn, is in fact suspense novelist Peter Abrahams.

As Weinman notes, "The book world's increasingly dog-eat-dog climate works against writers like Abrahams. Honing a subtle, unclassifiable voice requires time publishers no longer have to invest. So Abrahams decided to say goodbye to Peter Abrahams, Cape Cod-based creator of psychological suspense, and hello instead to Spencer Quinn, Cape Cod-based author of the smash-hit series debut Dog On It. The book features one of the most appealing narrators to come down the mystery-novel pike in quite some time: Chet the dog, the steady and stalwart companion of private investigator Bernie Little."

In our most recent update of hardcover mystery bestsellers on March 6th, Dog On It was in 7th position. And as we reported last month, the screenplay rights to Dog On It have already been acquired by Universal Pictures.

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Perfect Crime to Celebrate its 22nd Anniversary and 9000th Performance at NYC's Snapple Theater Center

Do you know the secret behind Perfect Crime, the long-running mystery play about to celebrate its 22nd anniversary and 9,000th performance at New York City’s Snapple Theater Center? Perfect Crime has been running longer than any other play in the history of New York theater – longer than Mamma Mia, longer than Wicked, even longer than Cats. Through the years over a million and a half audience members have watched the play’s taut, compelling storyline unfold onstage at this New York institution The New York Times calls “a wonderfully puzzling urban legend.”

Photo courtesy DBS Press

A secluded mansion. A would-be murderess. The perfect crime. Margaret Brent is an accomplished Connecticut psychiatrist – and potential cold-blooded killer. When her wealthy husband turns up dead, she gets caught in the middle of a terrifying game of cat and mouse with a deranged patient and the handsome but duplicitous investigator assigned to the case. The play contains many unexpected revelations and well-timed surprises and even the most hardcore mystery fan will be kept guessing until the final startling twist. It’s “a true New York mystery,” according to New York magazine, “with gunshots, mistaken identities, a silly romantic subplot and a creepy painting that purportedly holds all the answers.”

The cast contains a colorful assortment of archetypal mystery characters played with a mix of smoldering intensity and laugh-out-loud humor. There’s the leading lady, a brilliant doctor with secrets to spare, played by Catherine Russell. The detective assigned to her case, Inspector Ascher, is played with grit and gusto by All My Children leading man Richard Shoberg. Rounding out the characters are Catherine’s dashing husband (and potential victim) Harrison and her comically unbalanced patient Lionel, played by Broadway veterans Patrick Ryan Sullivan and Michael Brian Dunn. Patrick Robustelli rounds out the cast as David Breuer, the host of a local cable television show.

Photo courtesy DBS Press

Perfect Crime attracts all sorts of audiences: mystery buffs trying to figure out the play’s legendary ending; couples out for date night; book clubs looking for spirited discussion; fans of television shows like Law & Order. There have even been special performances for NYPD detectives (who unsurprisingly seem to figure out more clues than anyone else), Mensa members, and actual figures from the world of crime like Claus von Bulow, Carolyn Warmus and Michael Milken.

Besides being the longest-running play in New York City history, Perfect Crime contains another world record. Catherine Russell has been playing the role of Margaret since the very first performance in 1987. She has acted in every single performance except four in the show’s 22-year history. (She missed four performances to attend her siblings’ weddings.) History is made every night at Perfect Crime as Ms. Russell takes the stage in her complex role, and missing her performance would be the ultimate crime.

Right now tickets for this funny, sexy whodunit are available for just $41-$51 by calling the box office at (212) 921-7862 or Ticketmaster.com at (212) 307-4100. Perfect Crime is performed eight times a week at The Snapple Theater Center, located at 1627 Broadway (at 50th Street) in Times Square. And on April 18, 2009 Perfect Crime will celebrate its 22nd anniversary and 9,000th performance with a special post-performance cocktail party to which everyone holding a ticket for that evening’s performance is invited.

Experience the shocking ending already seen by over a million and a half people and make a date with Perfect Crime today.

Thanks to John Capo, DBS Press, for submitting this article to MBN. For more information about the play, please visit the Perfect Crime website.

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