First Clues Review: Dead Letter by Betsy Byars

First Clues: Mysteries for Kids is delighted to introduce a new feature for our website, book reviews written by students. These students offer their unique perspective on the book in their review and provide a valuable resource to parents looking for new mystery adventures for their kids to read.

Dead Letter by Betsy Byars
The Herculeah Jones Series

Puffin (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-14-240564-7 (0142405647)
ISBN-13: 978-0-14-240564-2 (9780142405642)
Publication Date: June 2006
List Price: $5.99

Review written by Danielle, Age 12, Grade 7. Date of review: May 2009.

Review: The thrilling and suspenseful mystery Dead Letter written by Betsy Byars is a book from The Herculeah Jones mystery series. If you like mysteries that you read while sitting on the edge of your seat and that you just can never seem to get your nose out of the pages, then this book is definitely right for you. It is certainly a page turner that everyone should march on over to their local library to check out.

When the determined detective girl, Herculeah, buys a coat that drew her attention at her local store Hidden Treasures, something unexpected was found in the lining. When she finds a worrying letter from a desperate woman in distress saying that a man is going to kill her, and that she is being held captive, Herculeah jumps on the case. With her incredible hair frizzing up whenever she is in danger, Herculeah is on her toes but never fails to persevere to solve the case through every twist and turn. With her sidekick/best-friend Meat always on her side they are determined to find this woman’s killer. On the way, they are put in danger, and their friendship and trust is tested by this deadly letter, but nothing stops this amazing duo.

This fascinating mystery will never fail to thrill you through the breathtaking plot and the impressive characters like Herculeah’s best friend Meat, whose humor brings a special twist to the book and her police detective father who gives away the information that will stun you. The spine chilling plot has cliffhangers and special clues that no one wants to miss. No one can resist this adventurous Herculeah Jones mystery.

To find out where the dead letter came from read this sensational mystery. Once anyone picks up this book, Dead Letter they will not be able to put it down.

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

First Clue Mysteries is pleased to provide information on over 100 mystery series for children and young adults. Each series is conveniently listed under three different age categories (New Sleuth, ages 4 to 7; Future Sleuth, aged 7 to 10; and Sleuth in Training, ages 10 and older). If you have a favorite mystery series you'd like to see added to our site, please contact us.

All student book reviews are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in any manner, print or electronic, without the express written consent of the copyright owner. Reviews are published here with permission of the copyright owner.

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Mystery Book Review: Divine Geometry by Geraldo Simas

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

Divine Geometry by Geraldo Simas
Non-series

Schiel & Denver (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1-84903-008-1 (1849030081)
ISBN-13: 978-1-84903-008-3 (9781849030083)
Publication Date: April 2009
List Price: $9.99

Review: Geraldo Simas pens a variation in the treasure seeking thriller adventure category with Divine Geometry, this time tracking artifacts purportedly written by famed mathematician Pythagoras.

While on an expedition in southern Italy, a team of archeologists come across a polished granite container in the shape of a perfect octahedron, one of the "five regular polyhedrons [that are] the riddle of the creation of the world." Inside they expect to find, and in fact do find, a collection of manuscripts. Unfortunately, the manuscripts are written in code and there is no Rosetta stone, as it were, to decipher them. Returning to their hotel, the relics are stored in a closet as they are too large for the hotel safe. By morning, all but one of the manuscripts have disappeared, apparently stolen during the night. News of the theft leaks out and a reporter, vacationing in the Mediterranean, is assigned to follow up. She's quickly drawn into the quest, not only for the missing relics, but also to discover what they may mean.

Divine Geometry is a stirring, well-paced novel and it's hard for the reader not to get caught up in the excitement as everyone takes two steps forward, one step backward in solving the puzzles surrounding the manuscripts. But there's also the sense that this path has been taken before. To be sure, the names and places have been changed, but the destination is the same. In addition, though the plot moves along briskly, there are numerous detours into history or geography lessons that are not only unnecessary but also somewhat distracting. It's as if the author wasn't able to seamlessly incorporate the information into the story or simply didn't have sufficient confidence in the reader to understand the situation within the context of the story. Finally, more than a few formatting errors in production result in a less than professional quality to the overall book.

In the end, Divine Geometry isn't an unwelcome entry in this increasingly overcrowded subgenre, it's just not a remarkable one.

Special thanks to Geraldo Simas for providing a copy of Divine Geometry for this review.

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

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): In South Italy, an archaeological expedition sponsored by a computer science business man from India discovers a relic inside a container with an octahedron shape, containing five encrypted manuscripts.

But due to the expedition leader's lack of attention, four of the group are robbed in a violent plot, the same night of the discovery.

As dark forces begin to merge, the discovery and the theft become front page news in the world media. Such are the repercussions, the events trigger different global media companies to budget resources to dig deeper into the sensational story.

The goal of deciphering the remaining manuscript, as well as to discover the whereabouts of the others that had disappeared, become the challenge for several people, but primarily for a reporter from The New York Times and a Le Monde colleague.

The suspicion that it could be work of Pythagoras, the master of Samos who was known to have lived in that particular region, awake all sorts of interests in this taut and exciting mystery.

A disaster of catastrophic proportions, the origin of which is still a mystery for the scientific community, could have a direct connection with this discovery.

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David Suchet to Star in Orient Express Documentary

The Guardian is reporting that David Suchet will embark on a journey across Europe aboard the famed Orient Express for a documentary commissioned by ITV. The Orient Express was the setting for one of Agatha Christie's most famous novels, Murder on the Orient Express featuring her private detective Hercule Poirot. Suchet, probably best known for his inimitable portrayal of Poirot, has never filmed a version of the book but that will change as ITV has ordered 4 new Poirot episodes including Murder on the Orient Express.

The Guardian article notes that the documentary will touch on the incident in 1929 that inspired Christie's book: the train was stuck in a snowdrift for 10 days, 60 miles outside Istanbul, carrying a full complement of passengers who survived only with the assistance of nearby Turkish villagers. The film will also use archive material to tell the train's history from its inaugural "Express d'Orient" journey across Europe in 1883 to its role in both world wars.

Most of the Poirot episodes and movies with David Suchet are available on DVD from Mysteries on TV: Hercule Poirot. Murder on the Orient Express is also available as an adventure game featuring the voice of David Suchet from Games of Mystery: Agatha Christie.

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First Clues Review: The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer

First Clues: Mysteries for Kids is delighted to introduce a new feature for our website, book reviews written by students. These students offer their unique perspective on the book in their review and provide a valuable resource to parents looking for new mystery adventures for their kids to read.

The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer
The Enola Holmes Series

Puffin (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-14-240933-2 (0142409332)
ISBN-13: 978-0-14-240933-6 (9780142409336)
Publication Date: November 2007
List Price: $6.99

Review written by McKenzie, Age 14, Grade 8. Date of review: May 2009.

Review: Action, adventure, suspense, these words all describe The Case of the Missing Marquess by Nancy Springer. It is the first of three novels in the Enola Holmes series.

The main character, Enola Holmes, is a 14-year-old girl, and the younger sister of renowned detective, Sherlock Holmes. When Enola Holmes realizes her mother has strangely gone missing, she embarks on a mission to go out and find her. She knows that her mother sometimes leaves for a few days, but never this long. When Enola's mother is still not back on her birthday, she tries to find out more. She is finally able to escape while being sent off to boarding school by her brothers and begins to search for her mother. Disguised as a widow, she journeys to the city of London. On the way, Enola stumbles upon the case of the young missing Marquess of Basilwether also known as Lord Tewksbury. When she arrives in London, she and the missing Marquess are kidnapped. They manage to escape the men. Enola then leaves Lord Tewksbury to again try to find her missing mother.

This relatively short mystery has many intense chapters. It is puzzling at points, but never very confusing. I recommend this book to kids ages 10 through 14. Nancy Springer provides great images of what the characters are doing and where they are. It really helps you to picture it in your mind. I recommend this book because it is always interesting and not a very long read. I give it two thumbs up.

This book has not been made into a movie, but the author, Nancy Springer, has won the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Mystery twice.

If you are interested in purchasing The Case of the Missing Marquess from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

First Clue Mysteries is pleased to provide information on over 100 mystery series for children and young adults. Each series is conveniently listed under three different age categories (New Sleuth, ages 4 to 7; Future Sleuth, aged 7 to 10; and Sleuth in Training, ages 10 and older). If you have a favorite mystery series you'd like to see added to our site, please contact us.

All student book reviews are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in any manner, print or electronic, without the express written consent of the copyright owner. Reviews are published here with permission of the copyright owner.

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Games of Mystery: Righteous Kill 2, Revenge of the Poet Killer, 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.

In Righteous Kill 2: Revenge of the Poet Killer, the exciting sequel to Righteous Kill, your assignment as an investigator in the NYPD is to hunt down a copycat killer and try to stop a rash of murders across New York City! Work through multiple murder scenes, collecting evidence and clues, and examine the items in exciting forensic based mini-games. Put all the clues together to determine who the new Poet Killer is before another victim is found, and decide who to trust as the suspects begin to include those inside the police force.

Also available: Righteous Kill 2: Revenge of the Poet Killer Strategy Guide and a Righteous Kill 2: Revenge of the Poet Killer Game Walkthrough.

Righteous Kill 2: Revenge of the Poet Killer, a Big Fish Games exclusive, may be downloaded and purchased for as little as $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (185.33 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, 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 Bestsellers for May 22, 2009

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending May 22, 2009 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

No change in the top 3 bestselling mysteries this week, but two titles that just missed the cutoff last week move up, one jumping all the way into 4th position.

The 19th Lucas Davenport mystery by John Sandford, Wicked Prey, is number 4 this week. The Republicans are coming to St. Paul for their convention. Throwing a big party is supposed to be fun, but crashing the party are a few hard cases the police would rather stayed away. Chief among them is a crew of professional stickup men who’ve spotted several lucrative opportunities, ranging from political moneymen with briefcases full of cash to that armored-car warehouse with the weakness in its security system. All that’s headache enough for Lucas Davenport—but what’s about to hit him is even worse. A while back, a stray bullet put a pimp and petty thief named Randy Whitcomb in a wheelchair, and, ever since, the man has been nursing his grudge into a full head of psychotic steam. He blames Davenport for the bullet, but it’s no fun just shooting him. That wouldn’t be painful enough. Not when Davenport has a pretty fourteen-year-old adopted daughter that Whitcomb can target instead. And then there’s the young man with the .50 caliber sniper rifle and the right-wing-crazy background, roaming through a city filled with the most powerful politicians on earth.

Moving up 12 positions into the 7th spot is Road Dogs by Elmore Leonard. Jack Foley, the charming bank robber from Out of Sight, is serving a thirty-year sentence in a Miami penitentiary, but he's made an unlikely friend on the inside who just might be able to do something about that. Fellow inmate Cundo Rey, an extremely wealthy Cuban criminal, arranges for Foley's sentence to be reduced from thirty years to three months, and when Jack is released just two weeks ahead of Cundo, he agrees to wait for him in Venice Beach, California. Also waiting for Cundo is his common-law wife, Dawn Navarro, a professional psychic with a slightly ulterior motive for staying with Cundo: namely, she wants his money. And with the arrival of Jack, she sees the perfect partner in a plan to relieve Cundo of his fortune. Cundo may be Jack's friend, but does that mean he can trust him? And can either of them trust Dawn? The Washington Post says of Road Dogs, "[Y]et another gem in a career that has endured for more than half a century."

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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New Trailer for Bruce Willis Futuristic Thriller Surrogates

FirstShowing.net has the first official trailer for the new Bruce Willis futuristic thriller Surrogates. Produced by Disney's Touchstone Pictures and directed by Jonathan Mostow (U-571, Terminator 3), the film is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Robert Venditti and Brett Weldele. A special edition hardcover edition of The Surrogates is scheduled for a July 2009 release and is intended as a companion volume to the film.

Synopsis: The year is 2054, and life is reduced to a data feed. The fusing of virtual reality and cybernetics has ushered in the era of the personal surrogate, android substitutes that let users interact with the world without ever leaving their homes. It's a perfect world, and it's up to Detectives Harvey Greer (Willis in the movie) and Pete Ford of the Metro Police Department to keep it that way. But to do so they'll need to stop a techno-terrorist bent on returning society to a time when people lived their lives instead of merely experiencing them.

The movie has an oddly creepy website, ChooseYourSurrogate.com, that provides precious little information about the film per se (yet) but sure sets a tone for the film.

View the trailer below:

Surrogates is expected in theaters September 25, 2009.

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eHarlequin's Free Book Friday: The Son Between Them by Molly O'Keefe

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 (05/22/2009) is a Harlequin Super Romance novel.

The Son Between Them by Molly O'Keefe
The "A Little Secret" Series

For ten years Samantha Riggins and J. D. Kronos have convinced themselves they have the perfect relationship. No strings, no commitment, no future. All that changes when the son Sam gave up for adoption walks into her shelter. The son J.D. knows nothing about.

The presence of their child breaks through all the rules they've lived by. And suddenly what Sam thought she knew about J.D. turns out to be wrong. Are the feelings they share enough to keep them together? Especially now when the biggest secret is the one Sam never saw coming.

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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Focus Pictures to Adapt Dean Koontz Thriller The Husband

Variety is reporting that Focus Features is moving forward with an adaptation of the Dean Koontz 2006 bestselling thriller The Husband. Ole Bornedal will draft a new script and will direct.

The Husband presents a simple premise: What would you do for love? Would you die? Would you kill? When landscaper Mitchell Rafferty gets a phone call saying his wife has been kidnapped and he can get her back for $2 million cash, he thinks it must be some kind of joke. But whoever is on the other end of the line is dead serious. He has Mitch’s wife and he’s named the price for her safe return. The caller doesn’t care that Mitch runs a small two-man landscaping operation and has no way of raising such a vast sum. He’s confident that Mitch will find a way. If he loves his wife enough.

We reviewed The Husband when it was originally published, asking the rhetorical question, Could this possibly happen to me?, adding "that its images will haunt the reader long after the last page has been read." (Full text: Review of The Husband by Dean Koontz.) It's a first-rate thriller and has the potential to be a terrific suspense film.

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First Clues Review: Skeleton Key by Anthony Horowitz

First Clues: Mysteries for Kids is delighted to introduce a new feature for our website, book reviews written by students. These students offer their unique perspective on the book in their review and provide a valuable resource to parents looking for new mystery adventures for their kids to read.

Skeleton Key by Anthony Horowitz
The Alex Rider Series

Puffin (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-14-240614-7 (0142406147)
ISBN-13: 978-0-14-240614-4 (9780142406144)
Publication Date: February 2006
List Price: $7.99

Review written by Alana, Age 12, Grade 7. Date of review: May 2009.

Review: Alex Rider the CIA’s one and only teenage agent, is back on another eye opening case in a story called Skeleton Key by Anthony Horowitz. It begins with the main character Alex receiving a seemingly innocent invite by the CIA to the national Wimbledon tournament. He reluctantly agrees for the simple reason that he is told that he is only there to keep an eye on things after a strange break-in, where nothing was taken and no damage occurred there, but it was the night before the opening match. Although the CIA claims there is no danger, a strange security guard that catches Alex’s eye sparks a chain reaction that ends up sending Alex to a far away island called Cayo Esqueleto or Skeleton Key. Two other agents called Troy and Byrne are sent with him to spy on a shady Soviet general called General Sarov. Once again he is told that he is sent there only to act as cover for the two more skilled agents. But, as is his way he uncovers an astonishing secret on the island that if not dealt with will lead to the end of the world.

This book is a page turner that will keep you excited the entire story. It’s a story that’s packed with action and so many twists and turns that you won’t ever know what’s coming next. I loved how the plot never ran cold, the story remained interesting and never failed to entertain me. It is told in a second person point of view that gives the reader a new way to experience this spine tingling mystery. The story takes place mostly in the underbelly of the Russian Government on Skeleton Key. It’s a race against time to uncover the secret of what the shady general is hiding and also what Alex himself must do to save the world from harm yet again.

As you the reader make your way through the story you will find it switches from person to person while telling the story to give you a wide view of what’s going on throughout the plot. For some people this may erase a sense of suspense that most people look for in a mystery. It explains occurrences that may still be unknown to the main character, leaving you unsurprised or affected at all when these secrets finally reveal themselves to Alex himself. Despite that flaw, this story is an amazing read and is a great story to add to the list of books you have read and enjoyed greatly. I give it four out of five stars and I hope you enjoy this wonderful book.

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

First Clue Mysteries is pleased to provide information on over 100 mystery series for children and young adults. Each series is conveniently listed under three different age categories (New Sleuth, ages 4 to 7; Future Sleuth, aged 7 to 10; and Sleuth in Training, ages 10 and older). If you have a favorite mystery series you'd like to see added to our site, please contact us.

All student book reviews are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in any manner, print or electronic, without the express written consent of the copyright owner. Reviews are published here with permission of the copyright owner.

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Mystery Writer Lawrence Block Discusses His New Memoir with USA Today

USA Today reporter Bob Minzesheimer has a conversation with mystery author Lawrence Block, whose recently published memoir Step by Step: A Pedestrian Memoir, relates his passions for traveling, writing and walking, make that, marathon race walking.

Minzesheimer notes that fifteen years ago Block abandoned another memoir, fearing it would be presumptuous or premature, before what he calls "the Age of Relentless Reminiscence, wherein graduate students earn MFA degrees by writing down their life stories, some of them even factual."

But if he's old "to be getting into the memoir game," he figured, "I'd better do it while my memory was still intact."

As a writer, he's "semi-retired" but is working on a movie deal for one of his Matthew Scudder novels. His 1982 book, Eight Million Ways to Die, the fifth in the Scudder series, won a Shamus Award and was made into a film with Jeff Bridges as the alcoholic ex-cop and unlicensed private investigator. He's also the author of several other series, most notably one featuring antiquarian bookseller and burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr (on which the 1987 Whoopi Goldberg film Burglar was loosely, very loosely, based) and another with insomniac Evan Tanner.

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Mystery Book Review: The End Game by Tod Goldberg

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

The End Game by Tod Goldberg
A Burn Notice Mystery with Michael Westen

Signet (Mass Market Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-451-22676-3 (0451226763)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22676-1 (9780451226761)
Publication Date: May 2009
List Price: $6.99

Review: The second tie-in novel to the Burn Notice television series, The End Game by Tod Goldberg, has ex-covert agent Michael Westen taking on a new client, whose family has been kidnapped and held hostage to ensure the outcome of a yacht race.

Weston is the recipient of a "burn notice", the deletion of his identity from all official records. He's made it his personal mission to find out who burned him and to get himself reinstated, before he's erased ... permanently. In the meantime, stuck in Miami with no place to go, he accepts cases that take advantage of his unique talents.

Gennaro Stephano is a master yachtsman who has entered his boat in a high-stakes race. But before the race begins, his family is kidnapped, the ransom demand being Stephano get to the finals, but lose the race. Westen and his friends, Sam and Fiona, have to enter an elite world where the competition is deadly and money is not the only thing worth dying for.

The End Game is a breezy, entertaining episode (as it were) in this series. Readers unfamiliar with the overall premise are soon brought up to speed and quickly immersed in Westen's latest undercover case. The characters are as colorful and dynamic as the city they inhabit, and Westen in particular has a wry sense of humor. It's all good fun as it should be, and The End Game is an engaging addition to both the television and print series.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of The End Game and to Penguin Group 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 The End Game from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right. The End Game (Kindle edition) is also available. Learn more about the Kindle, Amazon's Wireless Reading Device.

Synopsis (from the publisher): Ex-covert op Michael Westen has a new client. Paolo Fornelli is Helmsman for a yacht in the Hurricane Cup—a winner-take-all race financed by the super-rich and preceded by a week of highstakes gambling, high-risk business, and high-class attitude. Paolo’s family has been taken hostage. If Paolo ever wants to see them again, he must make it to the final race—and lose.

To find the kidnappers, Michael will have to infiltrate high society and enter a deadly game against deadlier opponents in a world where money isn’t the only thing worth killing for …

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Paramount to Adapt Techno-Thriller Daemon by Daniel Suarez

Variety is reporting that Paramount Pictures is developing an adaptation of Daniel Suarez's 2009 debut techno-thriller Daemon, to be written by Walter Parkes (Sneakers, WarGames) and David Digilio (ABC series Traveler).

Synopsis: Technology controls almost everything in our modern-day world, from remote entry on our cars to access to our homes, from the flight controls of our airplanes to the movements of the entire world economy. Thousands of autonomous computer programs, or daemons, make our networked world possible, running constantly in the background of our lives, trafficking e-mail, transferring money, and monitoring power grids. For the most part, daemons are benign, but the same can’t always be said for the people who design them.

Matthew Sobol was a legendary computer game designer—the architect behind half-a-dozen popular online games. His premature death depressed both gamers and his company’s stock price. But Sobol’s fans aren’t the only ones to note his passing. When his obituary is posted online, a previously dormant daemon activates, initiating a chain of events intended to unravel the fabric of our hyper-efficient, interconnected world. With Sobol’s secrets buried along with him, and as new layers of his daemon are unleashed at every turn, it’s up to an unlikely alliance to decipher his intricate plans and wrest the world from the grasp of a nameless, faceless enemy—or learn to live in a society in which we are no longer in control..

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CBS Renews Most of its Crime Dramas, Cancels Without a Trace, Adds NCIS Los Angeles and The Bridge

CBS announced its 2009 / 2010 television schedule this morning. As the network currently with the most crime dramas, they had the most to say for mystery and suspense fans.

First the returning series.

All three of the CSI franchise series were renewed. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation retains its Thursday night slot at 9 PM (ET/PT). CSI: Miami will air on Mondays at 10 PM (ET/PT), and CSI: NY will air on Wednesdays at 10 PM (ET/PT). Previous seasons of all of these series are available on DVD: CSI, CSI: Miami, and CSI: NY.

NCIS was renewed for its 7th season, and airs on Tuesdays at 8 PM (ET/PT). The season finale this month served as an introduction for a spin-off that was picked up by the network (see below). The first 5 seasons of NCIS are currently available on DVD.

Criminal Minds returns for its 5th season, and is scheduled to air on Wednesdays at 9 PM (ET/PT). The first 3 seasons of Criminal Minds are currently available on DVD.

Numb3rs returns for a 6th season and is scheduled to air Fridays at 10 PM (ET/PT). The first 4 seasons of Numb3rs are currently available on DVD.

Cold Case moves to a new time for its 7th season, now airing on Sundays at 10 PM (ET/PT). Previous seasons of Cold Case are not yet available on DVD.

Finally, The Mentalist was renewed for a second season and airs in a new time slot, Thursdays at 10 PM (ET/PT). We're still not sure this qualifies a mystery/suspense/crime drama but we're leaning in that direction and may add it to Mysteries on TV when the first season is released on DVD.

The new series is a spin-off from NCIS, titled NCIS: Los Angeles, a drama about the high stakes world of undercover surveillance at the Office of Special Projects (OSP), a division of NCIS that is charged with apprehending dangerous and elusive criminals that pose a threat to the nation's security. By assuming false identities and utilizing the most advanced technology, this team of highly trained agents goes deep undercover, putting their lives on the line in the field to bring down their targets. NCIS: Los Angeles is scheduled to follow NCIS on Wednesdays at 9 PM (ET/PT).

CBS also acquired the Canadian series The Bridge as a mid-season replacement. The Bridge is a crime drama about a tough and dedicated police officer who is voted to become the police union's dynamic leader. The show provides an unflinching look at the struggle street cops face as they not only battle criminals - but also their own bosses - in order to protect society and, ultimately, themselves. It is based on the insights of veteran insider and outspoken former Toronto police union head Craig Bromell.

CBS cancelled, somewhat surprisingly, the crime drama Without a Trace which had run for 7 seasons. The first 2 seasons of Without a Trace are available on DVD.

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First Clues Review: The Case of the Left-Handed Lady by Nancy Springer

First Clues: Mysteries for Kids is delighted to introduce a new feature for our website, book reviews written by students. These students offer their unique perspective on the book in their review and provide a valuable resource to parents looking for new mystery adventures for their kids to read.

The Case of the Left-Handed Lady by Nancy Springer
The Enola Holmes Series

Puffin (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-14-241190-6 (0142411906)
ISBN-13: 978-0-14-241190-2 (9780142411902)
Publication Date: May 2008
List Price: $6.99

Review written by Viveka, Age 14, Grade 8. Date of review: May 2009.

Review: In this second addition to the "Enola Holmes Mystery Series", two-time Edgar Award winner Nancy Springer once again drops readers into Victorian England where they experience all the very real danger and intrigue of London side by side with the heroine Enola Holmes.

The Case of the Left-Handed Lady is a continuation of The Case of the Missing Marquess. Enola, whose name backwards spells "alone", was named by her suffragist mother. "You will do very well on your own, Enola," is what her mother continually told. This memory of her mother's words is the source of Enola's strength, courage, and bravery. Enola is alone in what was then the world's biggest, darkest, dirtiest city. After running away (in the first book), she has masqueraded in this wild city as Ivy Meshle, Dr. Ragostin's secretary.

As she communicates with her run-away mother through the personal ads in the Pall Mall Gazette, she learns through Dr. Watson, a friend of her brother's, that her brother is greatly distressed with the worry of her whereabouts. Sherlock Holmes is the most well known detective. He, however, has failed to solve the mystery of his own missing little sister. But Enola has reason to believe that he has in fact caught on to the ciphers that their mother and she have been publishing. Her too clever brother is hunting her down. For the sake of her freedom she must escape by speed, cleverness, and trickery. But what can she do to ease her loneliness?

Dr. Watson has also, accidentally, informed Dr. Ragostin of the disappearance of Lady Cecily. Dr. Ragostin is a perditorian. "Dr. Ragostin" has his first case. Therefore Enola has her first case. When she ventures into the missing lady's bed chamber, she notices some hidden charcoal drawings that make her feel as though she has found her soul mate. Bravely wandering the streets at night, Enola must continue her quest to find the left-handed lady. In order to save Lady Cecily, Enola risks revealing more than she should. Will her own loneliness betray her?

Suspense, action, even some romance; this book has it all. This sequel is your typical mystery book with a twist. Throughout the book it has its readers guess the solution to the mystery. The clues don't fit and the readers are almost pulled into the story as detectives themselves. Nothing is given away until the very last chapters. This 4½ star book (out of 5) will keep you guessing till the very end. You won't be able to keep yourself from turning the page.

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