Mystery Savings: Save up to $10 on Books and more at Alibris

Mystery Savings periodically provides our readers with current promotions that offer discounts or other incentives for purchasing mystery-themed products and services products through our partner websites. Below is a special offer recently received by us that we're pleased to pass on at this time.

Save up to $10 off books, music, and movies at Alibris.com. From now through April 30, 2009, the following coupon codes can be used to save on all your purchases from one of the largest online retailers of books:

Use coupon code HARPERLEE for $2 off $20 or more;
HURSTON for $4 off $40 or more;
WELTY for $6 off $60 or more;
ANGELOU for $10 off $100 or more.

Click on the Alibris banner below to start shopping. For even more savings, search for books that are eligible for free shippping. When Alibris is listed as a book's seller, it ships from their warehouse and is eligible for free shipping to U.S. addresses. Click on the Free Shipping link on the right side of the home page to browse for books that qualify.

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Mystery Book Review: Bahama Burnout by Don Bruns

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

Bahama Burnout by Don Bruns
A Mick Sever Mystery

Oceanview Publishing (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-933515-20-1 (1933515201)
ISBN-13: 978-1-933515-20-5 (9781933515205)
Publication Date: March 2009
List Price: $24.95

Review: Music journalist Mick Sever ("Do you often involve yourself in other people's problems, Mr. Sever?" "Are you kidding? It's what I do for a living.") is on assignment to write an article on the rebirth of a legendary recording studio but finds murder and a Cadillac purportedly owned by Elvis Presley instead in Bahama Burnout, the fifth mystery in this series by Don Bruns.

Sever is in the Bahamas to do a feature on the "new" Highland Studios. The "old" studio, where some of the top names in the business recorded and mixed bestselling records in the past, mysteriously burned down several years ago claiming the life of a still unidentified man, presumably the arsonist. Jonah and Rita Britt, the studio's owners, are trying to stage a comeback and have persuaded the group Johnny Run to record their new album there. But petty acts of vandalism threaten to jinx the already superstitious band. When Johnny Run's manager is found murdered, the most likely suspect is the group's previous manager who is coincidentally on the island, looking to regain his old job. Mick sees a story here, but he knows he doesn't have all the facts. Worse, he doesn't know who he can trust to get them.

Mick Sever takes on a minor role in Bahama Burnout that, somewhat unexpectedly, works to the book's advantage. He's more of an observer than a player, though he does get roughed up at one point (Hey Mick, what happened to you? To your face? Sever told him the other guy looked worse.) Set on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, the location adds a tropical flair to the story though for the most part it is background color rather than an integral element of the plot. Many of the characters are in a constant semi-lucid state of mind, either from alcohol or weed (which seems surprisingly abundant) or a combination thereof. This tends to act as a metaphor for the reader as to what is happening on the island: are events being seen as they should; are the right connections being made. And the old rusted-out Cadillac provides a focal point about which everything revolves.

Bahama Burnout ends rather abruptly with much of the story unresolved, what happens next left for the reader to imagine and piece together. But instead of being unsatisfactory, this too works in the book's favor; not every story has a clean ending and this one certainly doesn't. Though Bahama Burnout is a rather difficult mystery to categorize, with its atmospheric setting and colorful characters it is probably the author's best to date.

Special thanks to Maryglenn McCombs Book Publicity for providing a copy of Bahama Burnout for this review.

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

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): For rock and roll writer Mick Sever, another story, another deadly island paradise is all in a day's work. This time, Mick heads to Nassau, Bahamas, home of the legendary Highland Studio. Known for pumping out hits that burn up the charts, Highland is where the magic happens-or rather, where the magic happened until a devastating fire destroyed the entire studio. No one knows how the fire started, who started it-or whose body was found among the charred ruins.

Sent to get the inside story on the opening of the new Highland Studio, Mick finds this is hardly the Phoenix-rising-out-of-the-ashes story he expected. Some say the studio's haunted, some say it's cursed, but one thing is for sure: someone-or something-wants to stop the music. A smashed guitar and erased tracks send a subtle warning, but murder? That's an entirely different tune. If Mick doesn't act fast, Highland Studio, along with everything and everyone in its path, could go up in smoke. It's not always better to burn out than to fade away.

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, Mysteries for Kids: Steel Trapp

First Clues: Mysteries for Kids, your source for information on over 100 mystery series for children and young adults where 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), is pleased to announce a new series now available on our website.

Bestselling adult mystery author Ridley Pearson introduces 14-year-old Steven "Steel" Trapp in a proposed series for young adults. Steel is both blessed and cursed with a remarkable photographic memory—just one look and whatever he sees is imprinted for keeps.

In the first book, Steel Trapp: The Challenge, Steel sets off with his mom and their dog, Cairo, on a 2-day Amtrak journey to compete in the National Science Competition in Washington, DC. Trying to be a good Samaritan on the train, he instead becomes embroiled in an ingenious plot of kidnapping and bribery that may have links to terrorists.

Federal agents (first seen in Pearson's adult thriller Cut and Run) track Steel and his new-found science geek accomplice, Kaileigh Augustine, as they attempt to put together the pieces of a complex puzzle. Using Steel's science contest invention—and with the help of Cairo—Steel and Kaileigh lead readers on an action-packed chase adventure as they attempt to prevent the unimaginable, before it's too late.

The Steel Trapp thrillers are recommended for readers aged 10 and older.

Watch the author's introduction to the book below:

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Games of Mystery: Echo, Secret of the Lost Cavern, 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.

Walk the path of Arok, a prehistoric tribesman in search of his destiny in Echo: Secret of the Lost Cavern. His journey will take him into the heart of an enchanted mountain and through a cavernous maze. Armed with his wits, and the help of a mysterious spirit guide, Arok seeks out magic cave paintings to help him solve cunning puzzles and face deadly traps. Modeled after the real-world cave network of Lascaux in France, this adventure game is sure to challenge and inspire.

Echo: Secret of the Lost Cavern may be downloaded and purchased for as little as $6.99 with the Big Fish Game Club Jumbo Pack. Due to its large size, a demonstration version is not available. Also available: Echo: Secrets of the Lost Cavern Strategy Guide.

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, Syberia and Syberia II, The Serpent of Isis, James Patterson's Women's Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey, 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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Games of Mystery: CSI NY, The Game, 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.

Detectives Mac Taylor and Stella Bonasera, from the hit TV show CSI: New York, need your help to crack some of the most bizarre cases ever! Piece together clues and bring criminals to justice using forensic science. To uncover the truth in this hidden object adventure game, you must visit crime scenes, interrogate suspects, and collect and analyze physical evidence. Work with some of New York’s top CSI agents and solve mysterious crimes!

CSI: NY (The Game), 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 (161.81 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour. Also available: CSI: NY (The Game) Strategy Guide.

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, Syberia and Syberia II, The Serpent of Isis, James Patterson's Women's Murder Club: A Darker Shade of Grey, 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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Mystery Book Review: Lone Star by Edward Ifkovic

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

Lone Star by Edward Ifkovic
An Edna Ferber Mystery

Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-587-9 (1590585879)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-587-0 (9781590585870)
Publication Date: April 2009
List Price: $24.95

Review: Edward Ifkovic magically captures the essence of Hollywood in the 1950s when he puts real-life author Edna Ferber into the role of amateur sleuth in his debut mystery, Lone Star.

Edna Ferber’s award winning novel, Giant, is being adapted and produced for the silver screen by Jack Warner. He has invited Edna to Los Angeles to be on the set while filming the final scenes. An old friend, Mercedes McCambridge, has a principal role in the film making it special reason for her to accept the invitation. There she meets the stars of the film: Rock Hudson, Liz Taylor, and Hollywood's latest teen idol, James Dean. Trouble is looming on the set, however. A bit player in the movie, Carisa Krausse, has been fired and is now threatening to publicly accuse James Dean of fathering her unborn child. This is fodder for not only the tabloids, but is also national news, thereby risking the much publicized release of the movie. Warner insists the company will take care of shutting the rumors down. Even though Dean denies the claim he goes to see her inciting a violent argument heard by other tenants in the building. When she is later found dead in her apartment, James Dean becomes the prime suspect.

Most people who knew James believed he was very capable of killing. After all, he was mean and had a bad temper when provoked. He would hit a woman if she rebuked him. But Edna does not see this side of Jimmy and she does not believe he is capable of murder. With Mercedes at her side, Edna decides to do a little investigating on her own. She goes to Carisa’s apartment on the seediest side of Los Angeles where she encounters half-truths, bold lies, distrust and resentment. But she is determined to find the truth. Will she? And if so, will the truth be what she hopes it to be?

Lone Star is an engrossing mystery highlighted by the gleaming lights of Hollywood and its stars. The reader gets a taste of the behind the scenes duplicity between producers, writers, gofers, bit players and stars. A murder thrown in with the bad boy of Hollywood as the prime suspect and Edna Ferber as an engaging amateur sleuth make for a most enjoyable read.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Lone Star and to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an ARC of the book for this review.

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

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): In 1955 Edna Ferber is basking in the success of her blockbuster novel Giant. Director George Stevens and Warner Brothers Studio are in the final days of filming her Texas oil epic, and Edna looks forward to meeting Rock Hudson, Liz Taylor, and especially young James Dean.

But there is trouble brewing. James Dean, the new box-office sensation and teen heartthrob, has been accused of fathering a child with an unstable extra named Carisa Krausse. The studio fears the negative publicity will jeopardize the release of the movie.

Then the actress is murdered, and James Dean is the prime suspect.

With character-actress Mercedes McCambridge as her sympathetic sidekick, a shaken Edna investigates the killing, determined to clear Dean’s name.

Edna soon entrenches herself in the life of the often secretive maverick actor. But can she prove his innocence? The more she investigates the more she uncovers simmering rivalries, petty jealousies, and cruel infidelities—the dark underside of glittering Hollywood.

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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New Hardcover Mysteries for April 2009

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books has updated its list of new hardcover mysteries with books scheduled for publication in April 2009.

As we've done for several months now, we're listing those authors with returning series characters, new series characters, and non-series or stand-alone mysteries in separate sections. All titles are available on our April mystery books page. We're also using the "carousel" widget by Amazon.com to display a random selection of titles; refreshing this page will change the selection displayed.

Authors with mysteries having returning series characters (in parentheses) this month:

Susan Wittig Albert (China Bayles), Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain (Jessica Fletcher, Murder She Wrote), David Baldacci (Sean King and Michelle Maxwell), Nevada Barr (Anna Pigeon), Mike Befeler (Paul Jacobson), Carol Higgins Clark (Regan Reilly), Jane K. Cleland (Josie Prescott), Gabriel Cohen (Jack Leightner), Diane Mott Davidson (Goldy Schulz), Garry Disher (Inspector Challis), Robert Dugoni (David Sloane), Anthony Eglin (Lawrence Kingston, English Garden), Sally Goldenbaum (Seaside Knitters), Michael Gregorio (Hanno Stiffeniis), Jane Haddam (Grego Demarkian), Parnell Hall (Puzzle Lady), Carolyn Hart (Annie Darling, Death on Demand), Roderic Jeffries (Inspector Alvarez), Laurie R. King (Mary Russell), Donna Leon (Guido Brunetti), Jon Loomis (Frank Coffin), Edward Marston (Captain Rawson), Leslie Meier (Lucy Stone), Hakan Nesser (Van Veeteren), James Patterson (Women's Murder Club), Cynthia Riggs (Victoria Trumbull), Sara Rosett (Ellie Avery, Mom Zone), Ann B. Ross (Julia Springer), Greg Rucka (Atticus Kodiak), John Shannon (Jack Liffey), Clea Simon (Theda Krakow), Alexander McCall Smith (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency), Frank Smith (Neil Paget), David Stone (Micah Dalton), Marilyn Todd (High Priestess Iliona), Kathryn R. Wall (Bay Tanner), Stuart Woods (Stone Barrington)

Authors with mysteries introducing new series characters (in parentheses) this month:

Wayne Barcomb (Frank Russo), Alan Bradley (Flavia de Luce), Kenneth Cameron (Denton), Elizabeth J. Duncan (Penny Brannigan), Quintin Jardine (Primavera Blackstone), Tom Lowe (Sean O'Brien), Ross Pennie (Zol Szabo), Stefanie Pintoff (Simon Ziele), Jon Talton (Will Borders), Ronald Tierney (Carly Paladino and Noah Lang)

Authors with non-series or stand-alone mysteries this month:

Gordon Aalborg, Ace Atkins, Elisabeth Bastion, Sebastian Beaumont, Giles Blunt, Ben Bova, Michael Byrnes, Mary Higgins Clark, Paulo Coelho, John Darrin, Ted Dekker, Lyndsay Faye, Jack Ford, Janet Frame, Keith Gilman, Matthew Glass, Ivan G. Goldman, Heather Graham, Lynne Griffin, Aaron Gwyn, Paul Harris, Mick Herron, Jilliane Hoffman, Edward Ifkovic, Iris Johansen, Tom Knox, James LePore, Kathy-Diane Leveille, Frederic Lindsay, Peter Lovesey (Short Story Collection), Henning Mankell, Priscilla Masters, Charles McCarry, Adrian McKinty, Sarah Rayne, Robert J. Sawyer, Lisa Scottoline, Ann Stamos, Mark T. Sullivan, Dennis Tafoya, Louise Ure, Lis Wiehl

For more information on any of these titles, please visit the New Mysteries page on our website. If you're interested in new paperbacks, visit The Mystery Bookshelf where you can discover a library of new mysteries, also updated with April 2009 releases.

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 Bestsellers for March 27, 2009

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending March 27, 2009 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

For the third week in a row there was little change at the top of the bestseller list. A minor shuffling among the top 8 from last week is about all to report.

New this week in the 10th position is True Detectives, a new series by Jonathan Kellerman featuring LAPD detective Moses Reed and private investigator Aaron Fox who were introduced in Kellerman's last Alex Delaware mystery Bones. (Alex Delaware makes an appearance here as well.) Bound by blood but divided by troubles as old as Cain and Abel, Moses Reed and Aaron Fox are sons of the same strong-willed mother, and their respective fathers were cops, partners, and friends. Their turbulent family history has set them at odds, despite their shared calling. Usually they go their separate ways. But the disappearance of Caitlin Frostig isn’t usual. For Moses, it’s an ice-cold mystery he just can’t outrun, even with the help of psychologist Alex Delaware and detective Milo Sturgis. For Aaron, it’s a billable-hours bonanza from his most lucrative client. Like it or not, Moses and Aaron are in this one together–and the rivalry that rules them won’t let either man quit till the case is cracked. A straight-arrow, straight-A student from Malibu, Caitlin has only two men in her life: her sullen single father and her wholesome college sweetheart, who even the battling brothers agree seems too downright upright to be true. Reluctantly tag-teaming in a desperate search for fresh leads, Moses and Aaron zero in on Caitlin’s white knight as their primary “person of interest,” hoping that, like most people in L.A., he has a secret side. But they uncover more than just a secret as they descend into the sinister, seamy side of the City of Angels after dark, populated by a Hollywood Babylon cast of the glamorous and the damned: a millionaire movie director turned hatemongering eccentric; a desperate Beverly Hills housewife looking for an exit from the fast lane; a heartthrob actor being eaten alive by personal demons; a hooker who’s probably seen it all ... and might just know too much. And at the center, a dead young woman whose downward spiral and brutal end loom over Moses and Aaron like an omen of what may come to be if the dark end of the street claims another lost soul.

Also new in the top 15 this week but debuting last week at number 18 is The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl. Boston, 1870. When news of Charles Dickens’s untimely death reaches the office of his struggling American publisher, Fields & Osgood, partner James Osgood sends his trusted clerk Daniel Sand to await the arrival of Dickens’s unfinished novel. But when Daniel’s body is discovered by the docks and the manuscript is nowhere to be found, Osgood must embark on a transatlantic quest to unearth the novel that he hopes will save his venerable business and reveal Daniel’s killer. Danger and intrigue abound on the journey to England, for which Osgood has chosen Rebecca Sand, Daniel’s older sister, to assist him. As they attempt to uncover Dickens’s final mystery, Osgood and Rebecca find themselves racing the clock through a dangerous web of literary lions and drug dealers, sadistic thugs and blue bloods, and competing members of Dickens’s inner circle. They soon realize that understanding Dickens’s lost ending is a matter of life and death, and the hidden key to stopping a murderous mastermind.

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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eHarlequin's Free Book Friday: Buy 4 Books, Get a 5th Free

eHarlequin.com gives you another reason to love Fridays! Typically, when you buy two or more books on Fridays, 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.)

But this Friday (03/27/2009), with any purchase of 4 books you get the 5th free! Pick 5 books and pay for 4. Choose from their vast library of titles, including our favorites in these categories: Harlequin Intrigue, Silhouette Romantic Suspense, Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense, and Worldwide Mystery.

Visit eHarlequin.com this Friday to pick out 5 mysteries (or books from any other category) and get 1 of them free.

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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Mystery Author Louise Penny to Sponsor This Year's CWA New Blood Dagger Award

In other mystery award news (press release), crime novelist Louise Penny has agreed to sponsor the CWA New Blood Dagger Award this year. Penny won the award in 2006 for her debut mystery Still Life which introduced Armand Gamache, a Chief Inspector with the Sûreté du Quebec. (MBN note: Still Life also won the Arthur Ellis Award, the Anthony Award, the Barry Award, and the Dilys Award.)

Penny said, "It is a pleasure for [my husband] Michael and me to be able to do this for an emerging crime writer. I've been helped so much by other writers and the CWA in particular." Penny and her husband have also established a similar award with the Crime Writers of Canada.

The New Blood Dagger (also called the John Creasey Dagger) was first given out in 1973. Previous winners include bestselling mystery authors Patricia Cornwell, Walter Mosley, and Janet Evanovich.

Shortlists for the CWA Dagger awards are expected to be announced in early June with awards presented to the winners in mid-July.

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The Strand Magazine Announces Nominees for 2008 Critics Awards for Mystery Fiction

The Strand Magazine announced the nominees for the 2008 Critics Awards for Best Mystery Novel and Best First Mystery Novel in a press release yesterday. The nominees for these annual awards recognize excellence in the field of mystery fiction and are selected by book reviewers from the nation's top daily newspapers.

For Best Novel the nominees are:

When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson (Little, Brown)
Master of the Delta by Thomas H. Cook (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)
Lush Life by Richard Price (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Hollywood Crows by Joseph Wambaugh (Little, Brown)

For Best First Novel the nominees are:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Knopf)
City of the Sun by David Levien (Doubleday)
A Cure for Night by Justin Peacock (Doubleday)
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith (Grand Central Publishing)
A Carrion Death by Michael Stanley (Harper)

indicates a review by Mysterious Reviews.

The winners will be announced at an invitation-only cocktail party, hosted by The Strand on July 8, 2009, in New York City. A lifetime achievement award will be given posthumously to English author John Mortimer.

Congratulations from everyone at Mystery Books News to the nominees!

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The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Premieres this Sunday on HBO

Television viewers who subscribe to HBO should be in for a real treat this weekend. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, based on the novels by Alexander McCall Smith, premieres Sunday, March 29, 2009 (8 PM ET) on HBO.

Jill Scott stars as Precious Ramotswe, the cheerful, eminently sensible proprietor of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, the first and only female-owned detective agency in her country of Botswana. Aided by her efficient yet high-strung secretary Grace Makutsi (played by Anika Noni Rose), Precious investigates a variety of cases, helping townspeople solve mysteries in their lives, from missing children to philandering husbands to con-artist scams. The series also stars Lucian Msamati as JLB Matekoni, the finest mechanic in Botswana, and Desmond Dube as BK, owner of the Last Chance Hair Salon located next door to the detective agency.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency was filmed entirely on location in Botswana. The 2-hour premiere will be followed by 6 1-hour episodes.

View the HBO-produced commercial for the series below:

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Games of Mystery: Insider Tales, The Stolen Venus, 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.

Help solve the biggest art robbery in decades and recover a stolen masterpiece in this mysterious hidden object game! Set in the heart of Italy, Insider Tales: The Stolen Venus puts you and Inspector Francesca di Porta on the case, as you track down the criminals responsible for the theft of Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. Discover centuries-old hidden facts and enigmas, and enjoy addicting mini-games on your pursuit of justice in this intriguing mystery game!

Insider Tales: The Stolen Venus may be downloaded and purchased for as little as $6.99 with the Big Fish Game Club Jumbo Pack. A demonstration version (53.87 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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Mystery Book Review: Unseen by Nancy Bush

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

Unseen by Nancy Bush
Non-series

Zebra (Mass Market Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1-4201-0340-7 (1420103407)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4201-0340-3 (9781420103403)
Publication Date: April 2009
List Price: $6.99

Review: Some may consider Nancy Bush's stand-alone novel Unseen a supernatural thriller, but it's really not: it's an imaginative mystery that will beguile the reader.

Gemma LaPorte wakes up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there, or when, or why. Detective Will Tanninger, who is at the hospital to speak with her, tells her she had walked into the emergency room and collapsed. She had been badly bruised and was bleeding. Further examination strongly suggested that she had a mild concussion, all injuries comparable to those sustained in an automobile accident. She had been admitted as Jane Doe inasmuch as she had no identification with her. Awake and alert, questions are now being asked: What is your name? What happened? Who brought you here? Gemma tells Tanninger her name and that she has no memory of what had happened or how she got to the hospital. He then asks what her last memory is. She tells him she remembers having breakfast and looking out her window watching a heavy rainfall. Tanninger knows the last rain they had was three days ago. He tells Gemma that a woman answering her description was seen the day before deliberately running down a man, a pedophile, with her automobile and then speeding away. Although she has no memory of the incident, Gemma is positive she could not have done it. From that moment on Gemma’s life takes on two time dimensions: before the accident -- and after the accident. After the accident is becoming clear in her mind, but before the accident is like a jigsaw puzzle of memories with missing pieces. She hopes to restore her splintered memories, but in doing so what will she find out about herself?

Unseen is a riveting novel and the character at the center of it all is mesmerizing. Gemma has been told by her mother that she has the "gift", that she can see, or at least feel, the future. Gemma has never believed this herself, but she knows she has violent headaches and blackout spells. A deranged man in town certainly believes it, perceiving himself as a wolf and Gemma as a witch, someone to be burned on a pyre, to be sent to hell. As Gemma learns more about her past she begins to see herself as both good and evil. But she doesn't know which is her true self.

The suspense continues to build through the twisted maze of Gemma's memories to what can only be described as a shocking conclusion. Unseen is, quite simply, an electrifying thriller.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Unseen and to Nancy Berland Public Relations 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 Unseen from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

Synopsis (from the publisher): She Woke Up With No Memories …
She wakes up in a hospital room...bruised…bloody...confused. She knows her name is Gemma La Porte—but that’s all. She doesn’t remember smashing her car. She doesn’t remember anything from the last three days. But a policeman, Deputy Will Tanninger, is waiting for answers and wants to know if she’s responsible for a fatal hit-and-run …

But Remembering Her Past Could Kill Her …
Hoping to restore her shattered memory, Gemma has no choice but to put her trust in Will. But if it turns out she’s guilty of murder, he has no choice but to arrest her. Torn by her growing feelings for Will, and haunted by her shadowy past, Gemma is determined to learn the truth. But, in this case, the darkest truths are unknowable—and the deadliest enemies are unseen …

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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Persuader by Lee Child, eBook Available for Free Download

Bestselling author Lee Child has written 13 thrillers featuring drifter and ex-military policeman Jack Reacher. Now you can read the 7th mystery in this series, Persuader, free!

Random House is making available Persuader free to download from now through May 19, 2009. Available formats include PDF, Kindle, Sony Reader, and more. It's also available for the iPhone using Stanza.

Jack Reacher is the ultimate loner. He's moved from place to place ... without family ... without possessions ... without commitments.

And without fear. Which is good, because trouble—big, violent, complicated trouble—finds Reacher wherever he goes. And when trouble finds him, Reacher does not quit, not once … not ever.

But some unfinished business has now found Reacher. And Reacher is a man who hates unfinished business.

Ten years ago, a key investigation went sour and someone got away with murder. Now a chance encounter brings it all back. Now Reacher sees his one last shot. Some would call it vengeance. Some would call it redemption. Reacher would call it … justice.

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