Mystery Book Review: Dead Write by Sheila Lowe

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

Dead Write by Sheila Lowe
A Forensic Handwriting Mystery with Claudia Rose

Obsidian (Mass Market Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-451-22812-X (045122812X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-451-22812-3 (9780451228123)
Publication Date: August 2009
List Price: $6.99

Review: Renowned graphologist Claudia Rose is hired by the owner of an exclusive dating service to help profile prospective clients and provide better matches in Dead Write, the third mystery in this cozy series with an edge by Sheila Lowe.

Or at least that's what Claudia thinks. Actually, she really doesn't know why Baroness Grusha Olinetsky hires her. Claudia leaves Los Angeles for New York City on the spur of the moment only to find she's the third handwriting expert hired by Grusha, and then she discovers that two of the samples that she's given to analyze are of dead people. "[Claudia] considered the demographics: four women, six men, aged from their mid-twenties to late thirties. Their careers were varied. From the information in their files, there was no connection that she could see. Except that two of them are dead. It kept coming back to that. Why would the baroness want me to analyze the handwritings of two dead clients?" Why indeed. She shouldn't need to wonder; she should just submit her analysis report, and return to Los Angeles.

And that's the real problem with Dead Write: Claudia's motivation for staying and participating in what ends up being a fairly complicated police investigation. She doesn't seem to need the money, the handwriting samples aren't intellectually challenging, the assignment isn't furthering her career professionally, and she misses her daughter and her boyfriend. Any sensible person would submit an invoice for services rendered and move on. This isn't to say that the plot isn't well thought out, or isn't suspenseful in and of itself with an interesting twist and turn here and there. It's just that it's hard to engage the reader when the protagonist has no rational, or even probable, reason for being involved.

Special thanks to Penguin Group for providing a copy of Dead Write for this review.

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

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): When it comes to solving murder, sometimes the pen can be mightier than the sword ...

Handwriting expert Claudia Rose heads to the Big Apple at the behest of Grusha Olinetsky, the notorious founder of an elite dating service whose members are mysteriously dying. Drawn into the feckless lives of the rich and single, Claudia finds herself in a twisted world of love and lies fueled by desperation. But is one among them desperate enough to kill?

Claudia must find clues in the suspects' handwriting before more victims are scribbled into the killer's black book ...

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Mystery Book Review: All My Enemies by Barry Maitland

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

All My Enemies by Barry Maitland
A Brock and Kolla Mystery

St. Martin's Minotaur (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-312-38400-9 (0312384009)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-38400-5 (9780312384005)
Publication Date: September 2009
List Price: $13.99

Review: DS Kathy Kolla is promoted to work in the Serious Crime Division of Scotland Yard with DCI David Brock, her first case a brutal murder, in All My Enemies, the third mystery in this series by Barry Maitland, originally published in the UK in 1996 but now available in the US.

Angela Hannaford attended a performance of Hamlet in the city alone, returned home by train, again apparently alone, but was found sexually assaulted and murdered in her bedroom. There was no sign of forced entry to her home. Kathy finds out as much as she can from the victim’s family and co-workers, and learns she was a good worker, had a steady boyfriend, and loved the theater. But her boyfriend found plays boring and uninteresting, so she would usually go with other friends or alone. The night she was so viciously murdered she had two tickets for the play Macbeth, but had attended alone. Who had the other ticket? Kathy finds out Angela had given it to her friend Rhona, but Rhona had to leave town because of a death in her friend’s family. So who did Rhona give the ticket to? Kathy believes this is an important area in her investigation, but there are plenty of other suspects that demand her attention, especially when it's discovered other murders committed in a similar manner. It isn't long before Kathy finds herself in a twisted case in which the victim becomes a guide to the solution of her own murder.

All My Enemies is a multi-faceted mystery that offers a glimpse into the early professional relationship between Kathy Kolla and David Brock. Brock allows Kathy some latitude in her investigation, but based on two previous cases in which they've worked, he knows that she can be a bit of a loose cannon. This fast-paced, engrossing novel with its suspenseful murder investigation will keep readers up late into the night.

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): Just before D.S. Kathy Kolla reports to New Scotland Yard and to D.C.I. David Brock's Serious Crime Division, a young woman is found viscously murdered in a leafy, well-heeled suburb, and the grotesque details of the slaughter appear to be well-rehearsed, even theatrical. Assigned to the case, Kolla's only improbable lead draws her to a local amateur drama group. Once in their orbit, she is lured into a piece of theatre over which, increasingly, she has little control.

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Mystery Book Review: Hardball by Sara Paretsky

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

Hardball by Sara Paretsky
A V. I. Warshawski Mystery

Putnam (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-399-15593-7 (0399155937)
ISBN-13: 978-0-399-15593-2 (9780399155932)
Publication Date: September 2009
List Price: $26.95

Review: V. I. Warshawski is hired to find a young man who disappeared over 40 years ago in Chicago during a very turbulent time in the city's history in Hardball, the 14th (and final?) mystery in this series by Sara Paretsky.

V. I. is reluctant to take on the case. For starters, there seems to be little financial incentive to do so, and if there's one thing she's learned, it's that pro bono cases don't pay the bills. But take the case she does, agreeing to spend a day or two on it. Lamont Gadsden disappeared in 1966 and was never heard from again. It's probable he's dead, but his mother wants to know for sure, one way or the other, before her sister, who's recently had a stroke, dies. Then V. I.'s investigation takes a personal turn: her cousin, Petra, visiting from Kansas City, disappears. As V. I. says, "it was hard to imagine two people with less in common" yet it seems there's a connection between Petra's current disappearance and that of Lamont 40 years earlier. The case gets even more personal when her dead father, a Chicago cop, and his brother, a former Chicago cop and Petra's father, enter the picture. What links them together? A baseball signed by a White Sox second baseman, but found in the personal effects of V. I.'s father, a die-hard Cubs fan.

It's hard to imagine an author trying to combine a cold case mystery, race relations from the 1960s, the Chicago political machine, and the rivalry between White Sox and Cubs fans into a single book, but Paretsky has done this ... and done it supremely well. The author takes as the foundation of her story a real event: Martin Luther King Jr. visited Marquette Park in a largely white area of southwest Chicago in 1966, at which time a riot broke out with objects being thrown at at King, including a brick that actually hit him. In Hardball, the object at the center of the story is a baseball, which misses King but hits, and kills, a young woman, Harmony Newsome. Her death, and the police investigation that followed, comes to haunt V. I. as she learns who was involved, and how it impacts her current case.

It isn't clear if Hardball is the final chapter in the V. I. Warshawski series, but if so, it's a wonderful way to end. The concept of "closure" is an important plot element here, so it seems appropriate that readers also get closure with V. I. in a memorable, and possibly the best, title in this exceptional series.

Special thanks to Penguin Group for providing an ARC of Hardball for this review.

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

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): Chicago's unique brand of ball is sixteen-inch slow pitch, played in leagues all over the city for more than a century. But in politics, in business, and in law enforcement, the game is hardball.

When V. I. Warshawski is asked to find a man who's been missing for four decades, a search that she figured would be futile becomes lethal. Old skeletons from the city's racially charged history, as well as haunting family secrets-her own and those of the elderly sisters who hired her-rise up to brush her back from the plate with a vengeance. A young cousin whom she's never met arrives from Kansas City to work on a political campaign; a nun who marched with Martin Luther King Jr. dies without revealing crucial evidence; and on the city's South Side, people spit when she shows up. Afraid to learn that her adored father might have been a bent cop, V. I. still takes the investigation all the way to its frightening end.

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Games of Mystery: Delaware St. John in The Town With No Name, 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.

Download →

After uncovering the secrets of Midnight Manor, Delaware St. John and partner Kelly Bradford find themselves involved in a new mystery that proves to be darker and more sinister than the manor. Deep in the woods of northern Maine there lies a town, a town that has never been recorded on any map. For twenty years the town has stood vacant after all occupants vanished one fateful night. The voices have called to Delaware and as he explores the Town with No Name he comes to realize that the most important secret he's about to uncover is his own.

See also the first game in the series, Delaware St. John: The Curse of Midnight Manor. Also available for this game: Delaware St. John: The Town With No Name Game Walkthrough.

Delaware St. John: The Town With No Name may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (96.41 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, Enlightenus, Cate West: The Vanishing Files, Return to Mysterious Island 2: Mina's Fate, and Nick Chase: A Detective Story.

Read our new game reviews by Ms. Terri: Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses! (Review), The Hardy Boys: The Perfect Crime (Review), Enlightenus (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: Skull Duggery by Aaron Elkins

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

Skull Duggery by Aaron Elkins
A Gideon Oliver Mystery

Berkley Prime Crime (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-425-22797-9 (0425227979)
ISBN-13: 978-0-425-22797-8 (9780425227978)
Publication Date: September 2009
List Price: $24.95

Review: Gideon Oliver heads to Mexico with his wife Julie for a week at a luxury dude ranch in Skull Duggery, the 16th mystery in this series featuring the "Skeleton Detective" by Aaron Elkins.

Julie's cousin Annie has to return to the US, and asks Julie to manage the Hacienda Encantada for a week in her absence. Julie is thrilled by the opportunity to get away from Seattle for a bit. They're barely off the plane before Gideon is asked to consult on a body that the local authorities have just found. "I told him something like this would turn up," Julie says to Annie. "It never fails." The body is of a man who appears to have been shot, but there's no bullet and no exit wound. Gideon determines the cause of death, and that would appear to be the end of his involvement. But then another skeleton turns up in a local mine, this time apparently of a young woman. In a community that is virtually crime free, this is too much of a coincidence. Gideon wants to pursue an investigation, but the police chief warns him, "Even if you were to ferret something out, even if you were to identify her murderer, [due to Mexico's statute of limitations] nothing could be done about it, you understand?" But that's not Gideon's style.

Skull Duggery is at its strongest when Gideon is alone with his bones. Even after 16 books, there's a sense of wonder and awe as Gideon coaxes the most obscure information from the bones. "Like any forensic anthropologist, he took satisfaction and pleasure in working with skeletons, in reconstructing, at least in part, the living human being -- sex, age, habits, appearance, occupation, the whole history of a life, and often the nature of its death -- from a pile of bones." The exotic setting in Oaxaca, with centuries of history and culture, would seem to be a perfect place for Gideon to practice his craft. And the A-ha! moment, when it happens, is always a thrill.

But the rest of the story is completely forgettable, the characters, for the most part, indistinguishable and interchangeable. It seems more effort was put into describing Gideon's meals (for lunch "a bowl of creamy Oaxacan-style gazpacho, made with eggs and sour cream, and garnished with jicama and cumin-coated tortilla chips"; for breakfast "hibiscus juice, cubed melon and papaya, a tender, perfectly cooked vegetable frittata, and toast, jam, and coffee"; for dinner "tacos al pastor, marinated pork [shaved] from the sides of a trompo, a top-shaped vertical spit, [laid] over two stacked, warm, freshly made corn tortillas, and neatly [topped] with a slice of grilled pineapple") than in creating a credible, interesting plot. Though Gideon is entertaining as per usual, Skull Duggery is not one of his better adventures.

Special thanks to Penguin Group for providing a copy of Skull Duggery for this review.

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

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): Gideon and his wife are on vacation in Mexico when a local police chief requests his assistance on a case. A mummified corpse was discovered in the desert and the coroner believed the victim was shot. But Gideon's examination reveals the victim was stabbed with a Phillips-head screwdriver. Then Gideon is asked to examine the skeleton of a murder victim found a year earlier -- only to discover another error. The coroner misidentified the remains as belonging to a twelve to fifteen-year-old girl, when in fact the remains were that of a young woman of twenty.

Gideon knows these two "mistakenly" identified bodies aren't a coincidence. But finding the connection between them will prove more dangerous than he could possibly imagine -- and place him into the crosshairs of the killer he's hunting.

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NBC Cancels Southland Before Airing Second Season Premiere

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that NBC has cancelled its crime drama Southland even before the second season begins. Six episodes had been produced and were scheduled to begin airing October 23rd.

Southland debuted as a mid-season replacement last April and was quickly renewed for a second season. It's not clear now when, or if, the episodes will air. The producers are actively shopping the series to other networks.

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TNT Orders Pilot based on Tess Gerritsen Mystery Series

Earlier this week The Hollywood Reporter reported that TNT has given a cast-contigent pilot order for Rizzoli, a crime drama based on characters created by mystery writer Tess Gerritsen. The pilot will be written by Janet Tamaro (Bones) who will also executive produce.

Gerritsen's Boston-based series features detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles. The most recent book in the series, The Keepsake, was published in September 2009.

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CBS Orders Pilot for New Hawaii Five-O

Variety is reporting that CBS has committed to a pilot for an updated version of its iconic crime drama series Hawaii Five-O. Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Fringe) will supervise the script.

CBS has long wanted to reboot the series, which originally aired on the network for 12 seasons (from 1968 through 1980). In August 2008 it was widely reported that an updated version of the series was in the works for CBS, with the son of Steve McGarrett as the new head of elite state police unit, but it was not picked up. No information about the direction the new pilot will take was reported.

The first seven seasons of the series are available on DVD from Mysteries on TV: Hawaii Five-O. Fancast has a rotating and somewhat random selection of episodes from the series available to view online. Watch "One for the Money" (Season 2, Episode 19) below:

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Mystery Bestsellers for October 09, 2009

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending October 09, 2009 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

Yet another week with no change in the top four, with the third Robert Langdon thriller by Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol, remaining in the top spot. Two titles enter the list this week.

Coming in at number 11 is The Professional, the 37th Spenser novel by Robert B. Parker. A knock on Spenser's office door can only mean one thing: a new case. This time the visitor is a local lawyer with an interesting story. Elizabeth Shaw specializes in wills and trusts at the Boston law firm of Shaw & Cartwright, and over the years she's developed a friendship with wives of very wealthy men. However, these rich wives have a mutual secret: they've all had an affair with a man named Gary Eisenhower- and now he's blackmailing them for money. Shaw hires Spenser to make Eisenhower "cease and desist," so to speak, but when women start turning up dead, Spenser's assignment goes from blackmail to murder.

As matters become more complicated, Spenser's longtime love, Susan, begins offering some input by analyzing Eisenhower's behavior patterns in hopes of opening up a new avenue of investigation. It seems that not all of Gary's women are rich. So if he's not using them for blackmail, then what is his purpose? Spenser switches tactics to focus on the husbands, only to find that innocence and guilt may be two sides of the same coin.

Just making the list in 15th position is the 24th Alex Delaware thriller, Evidence by Jonathan Kellerman. In the half-built skeleton of a monstrously vulgar mansion in one of L.A.’s toniest neighborhoods, a watchman stumbles on the bodies of a young couple–murdered in flagrante and left in a gruesome postmortem embrace. Though he’s cracked some of the city’s worst slayings, veteran homicide cop Milo Sturgis is still shocked at the grisly sight: a twisted crime that only Milo’s killer instincts–and psychologist Alex Delaware’s keen insights–can hope to solve.

While the female victim’s identity remains a question mark, her companion is ID’d as eco-friendly architect Desmond Backer, who disdains the sort of grandiose superstructure he’s found dead in. And the late Mr. Backer, it’s revealed, was also notorious for his power to seduce women.

The rare exception is his ex-boss, Helga Gemein, who’s as indifferent to Desmond’s death as she apparently was to his advances. Though Milo and Alex place her on their short list of suspects, the deeper they dig for clues the longer the list grows. An elusive prince who appears to harbor decidedly American appetites, an eccentric blueblood with an ax to grind, one of Desmond’s restless ex-lovers and her cuckolded husband–all are in the homicidal mix spiced with eco-terrorism, arson, blackmail, conspiracy, and a vendetta that runs deep. But when the investigation veers suddenly in a startling direction, it’s the investigators who may wind up on the wrong end of a cornered predator’s final fury.

The top four mystery bestsellers this week are shown below:

Please visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books where we are committed to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

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Mystery Book Review: In the Guise of Mercy by Wendy Hornsby

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

In the Guise of Mercy by Wendy Hornsby
A Maggie MacGowen Mystery

Perseverance Press (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1-56474-482-5 (1564744825)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56474-482-1 (9781564744821)
Publication Date: September 2009
List Price: $14.95

Review: After an absence of 12 years, Maggie MacGowen returns to film a documentary with a very personal connection in In the Guise of Mercy, the sixth mystery in this series by Wendy Hornsby.

Monday began as an ordinary day, but it became anything but for Maggie. Suffering from a brain cancer and determined not to let it eat at him any longer, Maggie's husband, ex-cop Mike Flint, kills himself. In a final message to Maggie, he asks that she document the one open case that has dogged him since he left the LAPD. About a decade earlier, a teenage boy named Jesus Ramon got out of the backseat of Mike's official car at high noon in downtown Los Angeles, and was never seen again. "Go back to the beginning and walk it down," Mike wrote. "And be careful who you trust. Watch six, Maggie. There are people who won't want anyone opening this up again." Maggie's not sure she can learn anything new about the case, but believes she has to try, as a tribute to her late husband.

As an investigative documentary filmmaker, Maggie proposes to use her profession as a means of accomplishing her task. After presenting her overview to Lana, her producer, she asks if Maggie will have it all figured out by the scheduled air date. "Maybe not all of it, maybe none of it. That isn't the point, is it? We're going to look at two cultures in the city, law enforcement and street criminals. Minimally, we'll explain some of the complexities of that relationship. Maximally, we'll find Jesus." And this is really what In the Guise of Mercy is all about. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of a documentary. The story is at times riveting, the revelations surprising. Cops and criminals using each other as a means of advancing their own agendas is the primary theme here (Jesus was, in fact, a snitch for Mike), but the author (through Maggie) studies the nuances, results and outcomes of these partnerships. It's quite well done, and an interesting variation on a cold case investigation.

Of special note here is the author's style of writing. Here's a passage from early in the book that illustrates the elegance that imbues much of the narrative:

After Jesus got into Mike's car, myth and fact became so muddied by speculation, obfuscation, personal agenda and moral attitude that Jesus, the actual boy, a missing child, was forgotten. Out of the inevitable distortions that came from the endless telling and retelling of events imperfectly known, in his absence Jesus Ramon emerged as a sort of mythic giant, a symbol for something far larger than anyone who was present on Alvarado Avenue that January day could ever have imagined. His disappearance became a ten-ton gorilla on the back of the Los Angeles Police Department, and on Mike Flint's heart.

Finally, the title merits mention. It comes from a netsuke called Malice in the Guise of the Goddess of Mercy, a rendition of Kuan Jin, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy, from whose robes peeked out the hideous face of Malice. It's an interesting, and most appropriate, title for this terrific novel.

Special thanks to Perseverance Press for providing an ARC of In the Guise of Mercy for this review.

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

If you are interested in purchasing In the Guise of Mercy from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

Synopsis (from the publisher): Filmmaker Maggie MacGowen has taken on many tough assignments over the years. However, when she discovers a note from her newly dead husband, Detective Mike Flint, urging her her to take a fresh look at a decade-old unsolved case of a boy who went missing, she isn't sure that she s up to the challenge. But how does one say no to a dead man? Maggie seeks information from anyone who has a connection: a spoiled cop, an ex-con taxi dancer, the dead youth's gang set -- the hookers, the cons, the addicts, the homeless and the hopeless -- and the good and decent people among them who remain the foundation of a community always in transition, always under siege. The answers Maggie discovers aren't what she expects, nor is the sometimes deadly opposition from all sides. But she finds strength from her own resilience ... and an acceptance of Mike's final decision.

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Second Season of The Mole Available to View Online

Several weeks ago we reported that the first season of The Mole was available to view online. We've now learned that the second season is now available as well (though, unlike the first season, it is not available on DVD).

The Mole was a reality series that aired on ABC, in both its original format and as a celebrity edition. Contestants were required to complete a series of (sometimes) complex challenges to move on in the game, however one of the contestants was a "mole", someone whose role it was to sabotage as secretly as possible the tasks to be completed. At the end of each challenge, contestants were asked a series of questions; the one answering the least correctly (the mole will, of course, know all of them) was eliminated.

The series (well, the original ones, not necessarily the celebrity editions) was intelligent, well produced, and had an exceptional host in Anderson Cooper. The first season of The Mole as well as the first celebrity edition are available on DVD from Mysteries on TV: The Mole. Meanwhile, enjoy the second season online as long as it is available; the first episode can be seen below:

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Mystery Book Review: The Yard Dog by Sheldon Russell

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

The Yard Dog by Sheldon Russell
A Hook Runyon Mystery

St. Martin's Minotaur (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-312-56670-0 (0312566700)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-56670-8 (9780312566708)
Publication Date: September 2009
List Price: $24.99

Review: Set in the mid-1940s along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway lines in northern Oklahoma, Sheldon Russell introduces a rather unusual character, Hook Runyon, a one-armed railroad agent, sometimes known as a "yard dog", hired to run off hobos and arrest pickpockets, in The Yard Dog, the first mystery in this series.

Spark Dugan, a non-too-bright loner, has lived in a tar paper shack beneath a railway trestle just about all his life. He discovered early on that when the coal cars stopped at the station, chunks of coal would fall to the ground. He gathered the bits of coal and finding a ready market, sold them to local residents for heating or cooking. On a good day he would make enough money for some “shine” to drink, a Bull Durham to smoke, and some baloney for frying. But now there's a war on, and Oklahoma has a POW camp with 5000 prisoners along the rail lines. More trains are coming, which means more people, which means Spark has to be more careful not to be seen taking the coal, even at night. One night he is evidently not careful enough. The next morning his body is found beneath a refrigerator, or "reefer", car on the tracks. Hook Runyan was both a friend and customer of Spark. Spark had delivered a bucket of coal every morning to Hook’s home–an old caboose. Although the men that find him said Spark must have committed suicide, Hook does not even consider that as an option. He believes Spark was murdered. But why? He doesn’t know. But he and his good friend Runt, the local moonshiner, set out to learn the truth. What they find is a far greater crime than any they could have ever imagined.

Russell has created one of the most noteworthy characters in modern detective fiction. Hook Runyon is tough, smart, witty ... and collects first editions! When he begins to investigate the death of Spark, he heads for the POW camps, the only recent change in the landscape. There are prisoners who are ordered to help unload the trains that pass through, and of course there are men who guard them. But there's also the local millionaire, Hugh Favor, who owns the Favor Oil Company. Hook's investigation suggests there is some relationship–conspiracy?–between Favor and the train deliveries, but he's unsure how to proceed ... and who at the camp may also be involved and benefits.

The Yard Dog has so much to offer. Russell relives the horrors of Hitler's Germany, and its impact on rural Americans in the form of POW camps. Into this mix he brings a one-armed yard dog, a book collector who takes a shine to moonshine. And there's a new lady in his life, Dr. Reina Kaplan, who is down from New York to teach English to the prisoners. The plot is well thought out, the characters memorable, the setting unusual, overall it's incredible. The Yard Dog is not only one of the best debuts of the year, it is among the best mysteries of the year.

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): The Yard Dog takes place near the close of World War II, when a large number of Nazi POWs were incarcerated in camps scattered across the prairies of the United States.

At Waynoka Divisional Point, near POW Camp Alva, the disillusioned Hook Runyon is assigned by the railroad to run off hobos and arrest pickpockets. Left behind in the war because of the loss of his arm in a car accident, Hook lives in a caboose, collects rare books, and drinks busthead liquor. When a coal picker by the name of Spark Dugan is found run over by a reefer car, Hook and his sidekick, Runt, the local moonshiner, suspect foul play and are drawn into a scheme far greater than either could have imagined. This conspiracy reaches the highest echelons of the camp and beyond and will push Hook and Runt to their physical and mental limits.

Hook is a complex character, equal parts rough and vulnerable, an unlikely and unwilling hero. He is more than matched by Dr. Reina Kaplan, a Jewish big-city transplant to Camp Alva who is battling her own demons and has been put in charge of educating the Nazi inmates in the basics of democracy before their eventual return to Germany.

Vivid descriptions of period detail, stark landscapes, and unique characters make this first book in the Hook Runyon series a fascinating mystery full of tension and deep insight.

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HBO Renews Noir-otic Comedy Bored to Death

Despite what seem to be decidedly tepid reviews, and after airing only 3 of its 8 episodes to date, in a press release today HBO announced it has renewed Bored to Death for a second season. (We watched the pilot episode online several weeks ago, but sometimes series start slow and get better. The pilot is no longer available online, but is available On Demand.)

Created by author Jonathan Ames, Bored to Death follows the misadventures of a fictional Jonathan Ames, a young Brooklyn writer who pursues his quixotic dream of emulating heroes from classic private detective novels. The show stars Jason Schwartzman as Ames; Ted Danson as George Christopher, a high-profile magazine editor and Jonathan’s needy boss; and Zach Galifianakis as comic book illustrator Ray Hueston, Jonathan’s confidant.

Bored to Death airs Sundays at 9:30 PM on HBO. More information about the series can be found on the HBO: Bored to Death website; and the trailer can be seen below:

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Amazon.com Lowers Price of Kindle to $259; Introduces International Version for $279

Amazon.com announced today a new price reduction for its Amazon Kindle, to $259 effective immediately. An Amazon Kindle with international access was also announced for $279. The international version can be pre-ordered, with shipments expected to begin within two weeks.

The Kindle is a wireless reading device that is just over 1/3" thick, and at 10.2 oz., lighter than a typical paperback. 3G wireless allows you to purchase and download books anywhere, anytime, with no monthly fees or service plans, and no need to search for Wi-Fi hotspots. Up to 1500 books can be stored on a Kindle.

Currently, over 350,000 books, newspapers, magazines, and more are available for the Kindle. For more information about the Amazon Kindle, including all technical details, use this link.

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Her Interactive Announces Twitter Soap Opera for Warnings at Waverly Academy

In a press release today, Her Interactive announced a Twitter soap opera to promote the next game in the Nancy Drew PC game series, Warnings at Waverly Academy, due in stores on October 13th but available for pre-order now.

Watching Waverly starts today and continues through October 16th. Five game characters fill in background and details of the game from their own perspective: Leela Yadav, Megan Vargas, Izzy Romero, Danielle Hayes, and Corine Myers, who tweet out their daily lives and update fans about the events as they unfold.

Gameplay description: You, as Nancy Drew, are undercover at a prestigious girls' boarding school to discover the culprit behind threatening notes and dangerous accidents aimed at its valedictorian candidates! Is there a secret someone wants to protect or are the malicious pranks intended to scare away the competition - permanently? Solve the mystery before the threats turn deadly and you're expelled from the case!

Watch a trailer for Nancy Drew: Warnings at Waverly Academy below:

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