Mystery Book Review: Long Lost by Harlan Coben

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

Long Lost by Harlan Coben
A Myron Bolitar Mystery

Dutton (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-525-95105-9 (0525951059)
ISBN-13: 978-0-525-95105-6 (9780525951056)
Publication Date: March 2009
List Price: $27.95

Review: Sports and entertainment agent Myron Bolitar takes on a personal case when he's called to help out an former love not seen in 10 years in Long Lost, the ninth mystery in this series by Harlan Coben.

Terese Collins disappeared from Bolitar's life as quickly as she entered it. Ten years have passed since their brief, but intensely satisfying, affair took place on a tropical island. Now she's calling him, begging him to meet her in Paris. Curious about the urgency, but also hoping to rekindle the passion they once shared, he agrees only to discover she's a suspect in the murder of her ex-husband. When Bolitar is threatened at an outdoor cafe, and kills a man in self-defense, he's whisked out of France to England by his closest friend, Win Lockwood, and becomes a fugitive himself. But it is in England where Bolitar discovers the story behind Terese's current predicament, when she lost her only daughter in a tragic automobile accident many years ago. As he struggles to connect the death of a young girl to the murder of her father, the stakes are raised when anti-terrorist agencies take an interest in his investigation and assume he's in possession of information that they need ... and will get any way possible.

Readers will be sorely tempted to finish Long Lost in one setting. The narrative is taut, the pace relentless. That the author takes more than a few convenient shortcuts to advance the plot is perfectly reasonable; tangential and likely lengthy detours would simply be an unacceptable compromise here. The riveting action scenes are crisply choreographed, and the characters, in particular series leads Bolitar and Win, are in fine form. The potentially trite plot, which notably shares many key story elements with Ira Levin's 1976 thriller The Boys from Brazil, gets a 21st century update with modern technology and a new generation of fundamentalists.

Minor quibbles include jokes about Mee that wear thin very quickly (but maybe that's the point) and Bolitar's occasional sarcastic interaction with the reader. Still, the three-year pause between Bolitar thrillers may be just what was needed to refresh this series; though far from masterful, Long Lost is one of Coben's most entertaining efforts.

Special thanks to Penguin Group for providing a copy of Long Lost for this review.

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

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): Myron Bolitar hasn't heard from Terese Collins since their torrid affair ended ten years ago, so her desperate phone call from Paris catches him completely off guard. In a shattering admission, Terese reveals the tragic story behind her disappearance-her struggles to get pregnant, the greatest moment of her life when her baby was born ... and the fatal accident that robbed her of it all: her marriage, her happiness and her beloved only daughter.

Now a suspect in the murder of her ex-husband in Paris, Terese has nowhere else to turn for help. Myron heeds the call. But then a startling piece of evidence turns the entire case upside down, laying bare Terese's long-buried family secrets ... and the very real possibility that her daughter may still be alive.

In grave danger from unknown assailants in a country where nothing is as it seems, Myron and Terese race to stay a step ahead of Homeland Security, Interpol, and Mossad. Soon they are working at breakneck pace, not only to learn what really happened to Terese's long-lost little girl-but to uncover a sinister plot with shocking global implications.

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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Press Release: Christopher Valen Wins The Garcia Prize for Best Fiction Book of the Year

Mystery Novelist Awarded The Garcia Prize for Best Fiction Book of the Year:
Christopher Valen Wins Prestigious Honor for debut novel, White Tombs

St. Paul (MN) – Mystery novelist Christopher Valen has been awarded The Garcia Prize for his debut mystery, White Tombs. An annual award presented in conjunction with the national Reader Views Book Awards, The Garcia Prize is awarded to the best fiction book of the year. White Tombs also won Best Mystery of the Year honors.

White Tombs (Conquil Press, ISBN: 978-0980001723, $14.95, Mystery) introduces protagonist Detective John Santana. When a prominent leader of St. Paul’s close-knit Hispanic community is murdered, Detective Santana promises the widow he will bring down the killer.

Despite the snow and bitter cold, the case heats up quickly—suspects are killed before they can be questioned; Santana’s alcoholic partner’s trigger finger draws the attention of Internal Affairs; a sexually explicit photo of a murder victim surfaces in an unlikely place; a snow plow becomes a deadly weapon; and police brass threaten to pull Santana off the case.

Hunted by an assassin out for revenge, his violent Colombian past, and the younger sister he left behind, Santana’s simple vow to a dead man’s wife could be the oath that costs him his life. Everybody knows Minnesota winters can be deadly. But if the weather doesn’t kill Detective John Santana, the bullets might.

A chilling, harrowing, and suspenseful tale, White Tombs has garnered lavish praise, including:

“Valen's debut police procedural provides enough plot twists to keep readers engrossed.” – Library Journal

“A superb police procedural starring a fascinating lead detective. Santana is a wonderful new addition to the sub-genre.” – Harriet Klausner, The Mystery Gazette

“This book goes well beyond just being a detective story. The characters are fantastically well-developed and the writing is solid and elegant.” – Reader Views

"Truly a 5-star read." – Armchair Interviews

"John Santana puts Valen's police procedural in a class of its own.” – Abigail Davis, author of Hanging Katherine Garret

"Fast-paced, suspense-filled, and packed with accurate detail. A gripping story of revenge, murder and official corruption." – Brian Lutterman, author of Bound to Die and Poised to Kill

Christopher Valen (www.christophervalen.com) is a writer and college professor who lives with his wife in the St. Paul, Minnesota area. Valen’s second novel, The Black Minute, will be released in September 2009 by North Star Press. White Tombs is available wherever fine books are sold. The Reader Views Awards is an annual literary awards program that recognizes excellence in independent publishing. Founded in 2005, Reader Views (www.readerviews.com) is based in Austin, Texas.

Members of the news media wishing to request additional information, or a review copy of White Tombs, are kindly asked to contact Maryglenn McCombs by phone – (615) 297-9875, or by email – maryglenn@maryglenn.com.

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Harlequin Worldwide Mystery Titles for April 2009

eHarlequin.com has announced the April 2009 titles for their Worldwide imprint, your partner in crime. Amateur sleuths, traditional cozies, police procedurals and private-eye fiction, written by award-winning authors. To purchase any of the books below, click on the book title or the book cover. (Previous months titles can be found on the backlist page.)

The Blood Ballad by Rett MacPherson
A Torie O'Shea Mystery (11th in series)

The roots of her family tree get tangled in murder when New Kassel, Missouri, genealogist Torie O'Shea discovers shocking information about her fiddler grandfather, John Robert Keith. Not only did he have ties to a popular Ozark Depression-era band called the Morgan Family Players, but he apparently wrote many of the songs, for which he received no credit. Before Torie can sort out fact from fiction, she stumbles upon the body of a Morgan descendant, grandson Cliff Weaver, beaten to death and stuffed in an old trunk.

Adding to the grim discovery, Torie receives a CD mailed to her by the victim before he died. On it is a blood ballad that tells the tale of the murder of Belle Morgan, who disappeared years earlier. And when the song leads Torie to Belle's remains, Torie races to solve murders past and present … as family ties become deadly.

Secrets Dark and Deep by Anne White
A Lake George Mystery (4th in series)

Fall has arrived in the beautiful Lake George resort town of Emerald Point—and with it comes a murder mystery as old as a deadly secret. Mayor Loren Graham is pulled into the tangled mess, despite the local sheriff's orders to stick to politics, when a neighbor drags her to the ruins of an old home, where a woman's skeleton lies half-buried.

Local residents, including a newly returned travel writer who left town amidst scandal many years before, and Loren's own reclusive neighbor, understand the significance of the body—identified as a college girl who disappeared twenty-five years earlier. Soon Loren is pulled into the dark past…and the haunting present, where a killer waits to strike. Because some secrets are still worth killing for—and, worse, Loren is about to discover why.

Marked by Fate by Laura Bradford
A Jenkins and Burns Mystery (3rd in series)

Newspaper reporter Elise Jenkins enrolls in a journalism class and finds herself interpreting a strange story of murder when her teacher, Hannah Daltry, is found strangled. What makes the case unusual is that more than three decades ago, when Hannah was just seven, she witnessed a bank robbery by hiding under a desk. Two of the robbers were killed, and one escaped. Is Hannah's murder related to this thirty-five-year-old crime? Or to something else entirely?

Elise's fiancé, detective Mitch Burns, is working all the angles, but it's Elise's nose for a story that leads her through the twists and turns of the mystery—and the secrets that surround Hannah's life…and death. Convinced the killer is someone in the writing class, Elise follows her instincts, connecting the dots of yesterday's crime to the modern face of a killer.

If you enjoy this series, you can join Worldwide Mystery and get 2 free books plus 2 free gifts just for giving the automatic program a try. Accepting your two free Worldwide Mystery books and mystery gifts places you under no obligation to buy anything. You may keep the books and gifts and return the shipping statement marked cancel. If you do not cancel, about two months later, and then every other month, eHarlequin will send you three additional Worldwide Mystery books.

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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Harlequin Mira Mystery and Suspense Titles for April 2009

eHarlequin.com has announced the April 2009 titles for their Mira imprint, the brightest stars in women's fiction. From all titles available, we've only listed those that are mystery, thriller, or suspense on this page. To purchase any of the books below, click on the book title or the book cover. (Previous months titles can be found on the backlist page.)

Cypress Nights by Stella Cameron
Non-series

Roche Savage is a talented psychiatrist with an insatiable—some might say kinky—sex drive. He's always avoided gentle, reserved women because he knows that if he loses control. Unfortunately, he spies reticent Bleu Labeau, a young widow who has come to Toussaint to start a new school—Bleu, who was taught that sex is dirty, wrong and best performed in the dark.

The school has unleashed another passion, as well. When bodies start turning up, the local sheriff and the townspeople must fend for themselves. Taking the lead, Roche and Bleu race to unravel the mystery. But when it's revealed that all the victims are former patients of Roche, speculation arises that the people of Toussaint may not be looking for a stranger, but one of their own.

The Warrior by Sharon Sala
Non-series

John Nightwalker is a strong, rugged Native American soldier who has seen many battles. While hunting down an old enemy, he crosses paths with Alicia Ponte. On the run from her father—a powerful arms manufacturer—Alicia seeks to expose her father's traitorous crimes of selling weapons to our enemies in Iraq. But Richard Ponte will do anything to stay below the radar … even if it means killing his own daughter.

Drawn to the mystery that surrounds Alicia, John feels compelled to protect her. Together they travel through the beautiful yet brutal Arizona desert to uncover deadly truths and bring her father to justice. But their journey is about to take an unexpected turn … one that goes deep into the past.

Bronx Justice by Joseph Teller
A Jaywalker Mystery (2nd in series)

It is the late 1970s and criminal defense attorney Harrison J. Walker, better known as Jaywalker for his rebellious tactics, is struggling to build his own practice when he receives a call from a desperate mother. Her son, Darren Kingston, has been arrested for raping five white women in Castle Hill, an area of the Bronx long forgotten by the city.

A young, good-looking black man, Darren is positively identified by four of the victims as the fifth prepares to do the same. Everyone—from the prosecution to the community at large—sees this as an open-and-shut case with solid eyewitness testimony. Everyone, that is, except Jaywalker.

The young attorney looks deep into the crimes, studying both the characters involved and the character of our society. What he finds will haunt him for the rest of his career.

Nightwalker by Heather Graham
Non-series

Jessy Sparhawk has seen firsthand how gambling can ruin people's lives. But one night, desperate for money, she places the bet that will change her life forever. Just as she's collecting her winnings, a man stumbles through the crowd, a knife protruding from his back, and crashes into her, pinning her to the craps table.

Hired to investigate the murder, private detective Dillon Wolf finds himself fascinated by the gorgeous redhead who'd been trapped beneath the victim—and by the single word the dying man had whispered in her ear. Indigo.

What neither of them realizes is that the nightmare is only just beginning. Because bodyguard Tanner Green may have been killed by that knife, but his angry ghost isn't going anywhere—not without vengeance. Now, literally caught between the living and the dead, Dillon and Jessy have no choice but to forge ahead together. Their investigation will take them from the glitz of the Vegas strip into the dealings of casino magnate Emil Landon, the man who signs both their paychecks, and out into the desert to a ghost town called Indigo, where past and present come together in a search for gold.

Years ago, blood was shed on that very ground, and now it looks as if history is about to repeat itself, with the living and the dead facing off for possession of a fortune, and Dillon and Jessy fighting not only to stay alive but for the chance to build a future.

4 Bodies and a Funeral by Stephanie Bond
A Body Movers Mystery (4th in series)

Ever had one of those days? A surprise visit from her father—who's on the run from the law—has given Carlotta Wren a lot to think about. Should she join her former fiancé, Peter, in proving her father is innocent? If she does, are her body-moving days over?

And then …

A close friend's behavior begins to spin out of control …
The cops turn up the heat on her father's case …
Carlotta discovers that her brother Wesley's gambling debts are child's play compared to his new vice …
And the Charmed Killer, a serial murderer, unleashes his wrath on Atlanta.

Now the bodies are piling up—and Carlotta's father is the number one suspect!

(MBN note: Stephanie Bond was a recent guest blogger on Mystery Books News. Read her account of A Day in the Life of a Mystery Novelist.)

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 Savings: Free Shipping and an Extra Savings Coupon Today Only at eHarlequin.com

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 list of offers recently received that we're pleased to pass on at this time.

It's April Fools Day and eHarlequin.com is not kidding around!

Get a coupon for extra savings on your next purchase plus get free shipping with every order placed today at eHarlequin.com. That includes all the great mysteries in the Harlequin Intrigue and Silhouette Romantic Suspense lines, as well as Harlequin's own imprint, Worldwide Mystery.

But this special offer is for today only, April 01, 2009, and ends 11:59 PM ET.

To keep up to date on all the sales and other promotions offered by eHarlequin.com, especially those for newsletter subscribers only, register to receive their free newsletter by clicking on the link or banner below:

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ITW Announces Nominees for 2009 Thriller Awards

The International Thriller Writers have announced the nominees for the 2009 Thriller Awards recognizing the best books published in this genre from the previous year.

For Best Thriller the nominees are:

Hold Tight by Harlan Coben
The Bodies Left Behind by Jeffery Deaver
The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver
The Dark Tide by Andrew Gross
The Last Patriot by Brad Thor

For Best First Novel the nominees are:

Calumet City by Charlie Newton
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
Criminal Paradise by Steven Thomas
Sacrifice by S. J. Bolton
The Killer's Wife by Bill Floyd

indicates a review by Mysterious Reviews.

David Morrell will also be honored with the ThrillerMaster Award for his influential body of work, and Brad Meltzer will be given the Silver Bullet Award for his outstanding charitable contributions.

The winners will be announced at the Thriller Awards Banquet during ThrillerFest 2009 on July 11, 2009.

Congratulations from everyone at Mystery Books News to the nominees!

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Mystery Book Review: Darkness at the Stroke of Noon by Dennis Richard Murphy

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of Darkness at the Stroke of Noon by Dennis Richard Murphy. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

Darkness at the Stroke of Noon by Dennis Richard Murphy
Non-series

HarperCollins (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-55468-321-1 (1554683211)
ISBN-13: 978-1-55468-321-5 (9781554683215)
Publication Date: February 2009
List Price: C$21.95

Review: Set in Canada’s northernmost territory of Nunavut, where total darkness can descend at the stroke of noon, Dennis Richard Murphy’s posthumously published Darkness at the Stroke of Noon masterfully blends history, mystery and a hatful of contentious current events. The debut novel is a tribute to the talents of an accomplished television writer, director, producer, teacher and short story award winner who died of cancer in June 2008 at age 64, shortly after his book’s final edit.

Murphy’s hero, Booker Kennison, a kickabout orphan as a kid, has served in the RCMP long enough to rise to Sergeant, gain combat experience as a Bosnia-Herzogovinia peacekeeper, and collect a file full of names and slimy secrets connected to the allegations of the Force’s misappropriated pension funds. His partner tried exposing the scandal, but ended up dead. For his role Kennison has been banished to the arctic outpost at Yellowknife, then sent further north to Victory Point to investigate the suspicious deaths of two archaeologists at a camp with sites known as “Heaven,” “Purgatory,” and “Hell.” As soon as he gets there Kennison realizes he has no angels but only demons to deal with, including some of his own plus an assassination attempt on him in addition to a murderer (or is it two killers of the archaeologists), the remnants of the allegations of cannibalism among the Franklin Expedition crew members in the 1840s, a missing 160-year-old journal, and a modern day band of Inuit land claims terrorists known as Turqavik. And he’s got only two days to thaw out the case before the weather ices over it forever and leaves him, the scientists and their campsite exhumations to an eternally frozen fate.

Murphy artfully juggles several stories at once. He uses pages from the journal of a 25-year-old teacher with Franklin’s expedition to reveal the explorers’ stories of cannibalism and mutiny. The journal, in turn, becomes the focus for the story of the murder of the archaeologist, Dr. Karl Conrad Kneiser, who found it. But Kennison must determine why the man had a bullet in his brain when his body was found charred beyond recognition in a fire that also took the life of a twenty-something female photographer when “a volatile conspiracy of wind and flame and fear and fate levelled the shack in seconds.” And why were they together anyway, especially when the Yellowknife pathologist confirms via radio that the young woman was, “Just pregnant – maybe a month or a bit more.”? Then, there’s the shot fired at Kennison by a sniper that an Inuit member of Dr. Kneisser’s crew kills, and how does the sharpshooter fit into the tale? And while these stories are being unravelled another one bubbles up over current claims to the Northwest Passage for which Kneiser’s American-based employer has sent a female FBI agent to the site to escort him and “Ein Buch” home. But while she arrives too late to help him, she’s on time to interfere with Kennison’s investigation before becoming his ally in a heart-warming turn of events. And finally, there’s the trio of Quebec-linked Turqavik terrorists out to kill or be killed since “Whatever they’re after here is valuable to them.”

As an accomplished filmmaker, Murphy knows the value of intercuts and flashbacks, techniques he uses adeptly here to quicken or slow the action. The final scenes are particularly fast-paced as the terrorists move into the camp to take what they have come for and leave no survivors. At other times there are telephone calls between RCMP brass at headquarters and the Yellowknife detachment commander or between Yellowknife and the energy-depleted equipment at Victory Point that Kennison uses. The sometimes wryly black humorous scenes of the Yellowknife autopsy lab and the casual conversation of the pathologists with their makeshift equipment are a far cry from the CSI wherevers of television land. Characterization is another strong point for the novel with separate identities quickly established, consistently maintained and memorably well-rounded with names used like Poncey, Grey Anne, Lillian Ooqlooq or by descriptions such as “the boulder gopher” or “the boy with the piercings.”

Although the principal stories draw neatly to a close, there are enough tag ends and a handful of potential carry-forward characters to form a sequel. Sadly, it won’t be written by Dennis Murphy due to his untimely death, and we’re left wondering what might have been.

Reviewer's note: A tape of the exclusive radio drama of Darkness at the Stroke of Noon can be heard on the HarperCollinsCanada website.

Special thanks to M. Wayne Cunningham (mw_cunningham@telus.net) for contributing his review of Darkness at the Stroke of Noon.

Review Copyright © 2009 — M. Wayne Cunningham — All Rights Reserved — Reprinted with Permission

If you are interested in purchasing Darkness at the Stroke of Noon from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

Synopsis (from the publisher): RCMP Sergeant Booker Kennison knows more dirt than an officer should and has been exiled by his superiors to duty in Yellowknife. When a flash fire claims the lives of two archaeologists at a dig on remote Victory Island in Nunavut, Kennison is dispatched to investigate in a cold wilderness where winter's grip and 24-hour darkness are closing in fast.

Ruby Cruz, ex-FBI agent, is also on her way north, sent to protect the interests of the American corporation that funded the dig. Those interests include Dr. Karl Kniesser and a 160-year-old journal he has secretly cut from the clothing of a frozen corpse. The journal contains the secrets of the ill-fated Franklin Expedition and may hold the key to controlling the Northwest Passage today. But when Ruby arrives, she finds Kniesser dead and the prized journal missing.

As the ice moves in and supplies grow scarce, Kennison confirms that the two deaths are murders, and the hunt for their killer begins -- until Kennison himself becomes a target of a secretive assassin lurking in the barren landscape. Threatened from all sides, Kennison must solve two mysteries before time and light run out.

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 Book Review: Homicide in Hardcover by Kate Carlisle

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

Homicide in Hardcover by Kate Carlisle
A Bibliophile Mystery with Brooklyn Wainwright

Obsidian (Mass Market Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-451-22615-1 (0451226151)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22615-0 (9780451226150)
Publication Date: February 2009
List Price: $6.99

Review: Kate Carlisle introduces San Francisco rare book restorer Brooklyn Wainwright investigating the murder of her mentor in Homicide in Hardcover.

Kate has been invited to attend a gala at the Covington Library where Abraham Karastovsky, Kate's her lifelong teacher but also her former employer, is opening an exhibit of rare antiquarian books. Unfortunately, the two had a falling out after Kate elected to open her own business but she sees this event as a way of making amends. At the opening, Abraham is unexpected thrilled to see Kate and offers to show her the result of his latest project, the restoration of a priceless, but also considered cursed, book. When she enters his basement workshop an hour later, she finds him on the floor, dying. He whispers "Remember the devil" to her just before he dies, killed with a Japanese paper knife. The police initially think she may have had something to do with his murder, but she's more concerned with someone she saw on the stairs just before she entered the workshop: her mother.

Homicide in Hardcover spreads itself a bit too thin, trying to appeal to a wide range of mystery readers and never really succeeding at completely satisfying any. Mysteries set in the world of books are always a promising premise. Featuring an amateur sleuth who is also an expert on rare books is certainly not new, but it is basically handled well here (Kate is a bit too sassy, but that's a minor quibble) and the mystery appropriately incorporates a book (in this case, Goethe's jewel-encrusted, gilded edition of Faust) in its storyline. But Hardcover in Homicide also strays into other areas that are often the setting for genre mysteries, wine and art, which, while providing background and color, end up appearing more than a little affected. Then there are the "chick lit" references to shoes, fashion, and dreamy boyfriends that really seem out of place here.

The author does have some fun with Brooklyn's parents, flower children from the 60s who have successfully adapted to the 21st century while still retaining their commune lifestyle, Daddy's trust fund notwithstanding. Guru Bob is also an unexpected treat. Still, these delightful secondary characters are not really sufficient to carry Homicide in Hardcover, which meanders too much and never really finds its footing.

Special thanks to Breakthrough Promotions for providing a copy of Homicide in Hardcover for this review.

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

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): The streets of San Francisco would be lined with hardcovers if rare book expert Brooklyn Wainwright had her way. And her mentor wouldn't be lying in a pool of his own blood on the eve of a celebration for his latest book restoration.

With his final breath he leaves Brooklyn a cryptic message, and gives her a priceless-and supposedly cursed-copy of Goethe's Faust for safekeeping.

Brooklyn suddenly finds herself accused of murder and theft, thanks to the humorless -- but attractive -- British security officer who finds her kneeling over the body. Now she has to read the clues left behind by her mentor if she is going to restore justice.

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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Mysteries on TV: The Fugitive and In Plain Sight, New on DVD This Week

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, is profiling two series that have season DVDs being released this week.

David Janssen starred as Dr. Richard Kimble in The Fugitive. Wrongly accused of the murder of his wife, he's convicted and sentenced to die. The night before his execution, he escapes. The only chance to prove his innocence is to find the man who killed his wife. Kimble, persecuted by Lt. Philip Gerard (Barry Morse), risks his life several times when he shows his identity to help other people out of trouble.

The Fugitive aired on ABC for 4 seasons from 1963 through 1967. The series finale was the most watched television program in history until M*A*S*H ended its series run in 1983.

The Fugitive: Season Two (V2) DVD set of 4 discs contains the 15 episodes of the second half of the second season that aired from January through April, 1965.

Deputy US Marshal Mary Shannon (played by Mary McCormack) works with individuals in the Federal Witness Protection Program in In Plain Sight, a drama series that debuted on USA Network in early summer 2008. Since 1970, the FWPP has relocated thousands of witnesses, some criminal, some not, to neighborhoods all across the country. Every one of those individuals shares a unique attribute, distinguishing them from the rest of the general population. And that is, somebody wants them dead.

Complicating matters for Mary Shannon is that she must hide her high-risk profession from her family and friends. The series is set in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The In Plain Sight: Season One DVD set of 3 discs contains the 12 episodes, including the pilot, that aired from June through August, 2008.

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

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Mystery Godoku Puzzle for March 30, 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 D E K O P R S W

This is the title of a collection of Nameless Detective mysteries by Bill Pronzini (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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