Mysteries on TV: The Fugitive, Mannix, and Trial & Retribution, New This Week on DVD

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 three series that have season DVDs being released this week.

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The Fugitive begins its penultimate season with Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen) still on the run after being falsely convicted of murdering his wife. 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 (most notably during the season, Lt. Gerard's wife Marie).

The series, which aired for four seasons on ABC from 1963 through 1967, was the basis for the popular 1993 theatrical film (The Fugitive; also The Fugitive Blu-ray) starring Harrison Ford as Kimble and, later, an update of the series in 2000 starring Timothy Daly.

The Fugitive: Season Three (V1) DVD set of 4 discs contain the first 15 episodes of the third season that aired during the fall of 1965.

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Mannix returns for a third season of nonstop action. This critically acclaimed series starred Mike Connors as Joe Mannix, the tough-talking private detective who brawls with the bad guys, shakes it off with a cocktail, then solves the crime every time.

Early in the series, Mannix worked for a high-tech firm before setting up shop at 17 Paseo Verde as an independent private investigator, aided by his loyal secretary, Peggy Fair (Gail Fisher), a young widow and mother whose policeman husband died in the line of duty.

Mannix was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, the creative force behind Columbo, Murder, She Wrote, and other popular television crime dramas.

The Mannix: Season Three DVD set of 6 discs contain the 25 episodes that aired on CBS from September 1969 through March 1970.

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Trial & Retribution is a long-running British detective series that follows cases from the crime to the courts. Brusque Detective Chief Superintendent Michael Walker (David Hayman) collars London’s killers, and viewers are left to decide if justice was served.

The series was created by Lynda La Plante (Prime Suspect).

The Trial & Retribution: Set Three DVD set of 3 discs contain three 2-part episodes of the series: "The Lovers" (original air dates November 2005), "Sins of the Father" (January 2007), and "Closure" (also January 2007).

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

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Mystery Godoku Puzzle for October 26, 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:

E H J M O P R U Y

This author had two of his short stories appear in Craft Cat Crimes (9 letters).

We now have two weeks of our puzzles on one page in PDF format for easier printing. Print this week's puzzle here.

Previous puzzles are stored in the Mystery Godoku Archives.

Enjoy the weekly Mystery Godoku Puzzle from the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, and Thanks for visiting our website!

   

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Mystery Book Review: Heaven's Keep by William Kent Krueger

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of Heaven's Keep by William Kent Krueger. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

Heaven's Keep by William Kent Krueger
A Cork O'Connor Mystery

Atria (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-4165-5676-1 (1416556761)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-5676-3 (9781416556763)
Publication Date: September 2009
List Price: $25.00

Review: Cork O'Connor faces a personal tragedy when the plane on which his wife is traveling is lost over the Rockies in Heaven's Keep, the ninth mystery in this series by William Kent Krueger.

Jo O'Connor is on a charter flight to Seattle to attend the National Conference of American Indians when the plane disappears during a snowstorm over Wyoming. Cork and his son Stephen fly to the region to assist in the search and recovery efforts but after six days, Cork is forced to admit she may be dead. "Come on, Stephen," he says, "It's time to go home." Several months later, however, the wife of the pilot of the charter flight and her attorney contact Cork with evidence that he may not have been flying the plane. But if not him, then who? Cork reluctantly agrees to investigate, returning to Wyoming where he finds himself in the middle of a political snowstorm involving Indian affairs, mineral rights, casinos on reservations, and the tantalizing possibility that his wife may still be alive.

Heaven's Keep takes about 130 pages to get started, but when it does, the story is captivating. The first part relates Cork's search for Jo, and while heartbreaking in parts, it runs on far too long. True, it provides a foundation for the second part of the book, introducing characters and locations, but it could have been tightened considerably. Once Cork gets into investigative mode, however, the drama and suspense increase markedly. Consider this passage just before Cork returns to Wyoming: "In the woods on either side, the darkness was intense. But he knew those woods and knew what there was in them to fear, and passing through empty-handed was no concern. The darkness ahead, however, all that lurked within it and that was unknown to him, this was something else. And he was afraid."

The plot takes a few welcome twists along the way, Cork is in fine form following the often confusing, sometimes inexplicable clues presented to him, and the book concludes in a poignant, but satisfying manner. Slow start notwithstanding, Heaven's Keep is a solid thriller and one worth reading.

Special thanks to Authors on the Web for providing a copy of Heaven's Keep for this review.

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

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): When a charter plane carrying Cork O'Connor's wife, Jo, goes missing in a snowstorm over the Wyoming Rockies, Cork must accept the terrible truth that his wife is gone forever. But is she? In Heaven's Keep, celebrated author William Kent Krueger puts his intrepid hero through the most harrowing mission of his life.

Months after the tragedy, two women show up on Cork's doorstep with evidence that the pilot of Jo's plane was not the man he claimed to be. It may not be definitive proof, but it's a ray of light in the darkness surrounding Cork's loss. Agreeing to investigate, he travels to Wyoming, where he battles the interference of local law enforcement who may be on the take, the open hostility of the Northern Arapaho, who have much to lose if the truth is known, and the continuing attempts on his life by assassins who shadow his every move.

At the center of all the danger and deception lies the possibility that Jo's disappearance was not the end of her, that somewhere along the labyrinthine path of his search, maybe even in the broad shadow of Heaven's Keep itself, Cork will find her alive and waiting for him.

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First Clues, Mysteries for Kids: New Titles for November 2009

First Clues: Mysteries for Kids, your source for information on over 100 mystery series for children and young adults where each series is conveniently listed under four different age categories (New Sleuths, ages 4 to 6; Future Sleuths, ages 7 to 9; Sleuths in Training, ages 10 to 12; and Apprentice Sleuths, ages 13 and older), is pleased to announce a selection of new mystery books (including series books) scheduled for publication during November, 2009.

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The Hungry Book Club by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and Mitchell Sharmat
A Nate the Great Mystery

Who’s ruining Rosamond’s books in this 26th mystery of the series?

Rosamond has started a book club called Rosamond’s Ready Readers. But she claims there’s an evil page monster on the loose. This monster has ripped and ruined a page of the cookbook Rosamond uses to make treats for the club.

Nate the Great and his dog, Sludge, go to the next meeting of the book club ... as undercover detectives. All the members are there. They are reading a book when one of Rosamond’s Ready Readers discovers that a page is missing. Has the evil page monster struck again?

Nate and Sludge know they have a real case. Their search for evidence takes them to Rosamond’s kitchen and to a school book sale where a librarian gives them important clues. Can the pancake-eating detective and his bonemunching partner solve their hungriest case yet?

The Nate the Great books are recommended for early readers.

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Superstar Watch by Gertrude Chandler Warner
The Boxcar Children Series

A big Hollywood agent wants Watch to appear in a commercial for a new kind of dog food! Even though Watch seems to love the food on-camera, he won't touch it at home. Someone at the studio has been switching the brand and the Aldens must find out the truth behind the cover-up. Should Watch still do the commercial even though he doesn't like the product?

The 121st book in this series.

The Boxcar Children books are recommended for readers aged 7 to 9.

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The Basketball Mystery by David A. Adler
A Cam Jansen Mystery

Cam and her friend Eric are having fun at a local basketball game. They watch the team’s retiring coach receive a basketball signed by his former players, including the governor. But after the game the ball is gone. Was it stolen?

In the 29th book of this bestselling early chapter book series, Cam uses her photographic memory to investigate this hometown mystery.

The Cam Jansen mystery series is recommended for readers aged 7 to 9.

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The Coliseum Con by "Geronimo Stilton"
A Geronimo Stilton Graphic Novel

The Pirate Cats are up to no good again! This time, Bonzo and company travel to Rome, Italy in the year 80 AD to the opening of the Colosseum, Rome’s largest amphitheater. The evil felines want the world to think it was they who designed the Coliseum, and infiltrate the Senate by posing as nobility. Geronimo and friends must hop into their speedy time machine and expose the cats’ wily plot, all the while taking in historical landmarks and breathtaking moments of history.

The 3rd graphic novel in this series.

The Geronimo Stilton Graphic Novels are recommended for readers aged 7 to 9.

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In Too Deep by Jude Watson
The 39 Clues Series

A hint from their parents’ past puts Amy and Dan on the trail of secrets their grandmother Grace would NEVER have wanted them to know. Awful memories begin to crowd in on Amy, just as her enemies circle closer. How far would she go to protect Dan? How much of a Cahill is she prepared to be?

Perhaps Grace was right – some secrets are better left buried.

The 6th book in this adventure series.

The 39 Clues books are recommended for readers aged 10 to 12.

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In Search of Watson by Tracy Mack and Michael Citrin
Sherlock Holmes and the Baker Street Irregulars

In this third book of the series, Sherlock Holmes's trusted assistants, a band of loyal street urchins called the Baker Street Irregulars, are back for their most puzzling mystery yet, in a case that involves murder, abduction, and the hunt for a lost treasure.

As Holmes and the BSI begin their investigations into a gruesome murder, all at once the detectives find themselves in danger. When a personal associate of the master detective disappears, Ozzie, Wiggins, and the gang know that they must uncover the truth -- and quickly! Yet there is deception within their ranks. Who is a friend? Who is a traitor? Who can they trust?

The Sherlock Holmes and BSI mysteries are recommended for readers aged 10 to 12.

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Grk Smells a Rat by Joshua Doder
A Grk Book

Tim Malt, his parents, his dog Grk, and his friends Natascha and Max Raffifi have just arrived in India. They are all set to see the famous sights and watch Max compete in a tennis tournament. But after meeting a boy named Krishnan, they learn about the Blue Rat Gang, a group that enslaves children. Krishnan needs help to rescue his sister from a cruel life of forced labor, and Tim and Grk are up to the challenge.

Racing against time, Tim and Grk are chased through dark alleys only to find themselves face-to-face with the infamous leader inside the Blue Rats’ headquarters. Can they foil his evil plans before it’s too late?

The 4th book in this mystery adventure series.

The Grk books are recommended for readers aged 10 to 12.

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Games of Mystery: The Secrets of Da Vinci, 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.

Click for more information →

Paris, 1522. Valdo, an ambitious young apprentice working for Leonardo Da Vinci's disciple, Francesco Melzi, is least happy when the scholar suddenly dismisses him. However, shortly afterwards, he receives a letter from a mysterious patron, asking him to locate one of the great master's missing codices. To gain access to Da Vinci's last residence, the Manoir du Cloux near Ambroise, Valdo tells its new inhabitant, a courtesan by the name of Babou de la Bourdaisiere, that he is Francesco Melzi's apprentice and that he wishes to examine the inventions that still remain on the estate.

Under this cover, he starts to scour the estate: Babou's bedroom, Leonardo's workshop, the grounds, and dovecot, leaving no stone unturned. In the course of his investigations, he encounters a wide array of intriguing characters: Saturnin, a suspicious looking guardian, as well as the King of France himself. To complete his mission, he has to solve a series of enigmas set by the great master himself if Da Vinci's inventions are to function again. On the trail of the genius, Valdo is no more aware of the secrets he is about to unveil as the danger lurking in store for him.

Also available: The Secrets of Da Vinci Game Walkthrough.

The Secrets of Da Vinci may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. Due to its large size (1.14 GB), a demonstration version is not available.

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: Deadly Descent by Charlotte Hinger

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

Deadly Descent by Charlotte Hinger
A Lottie Albright Mystery

Poisoned Pen Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-59058-645-X (159058645X)
ISBN-13: 978-1-59058-645-7 (9781590586457)
Publication Date: September 2009
List Price: $24.95

Review: Charlotte Hinger introduces Lottie Albright, a woman quite satisfied with her life, a marriage to a widower with grown children and a new career as a historian, in Deadly Descent.

Western Kansas is seen to many as simply the Great American Desert, but Lottie is out to change that. There are enough unwritten stories in the area to keep Lottie publishing forever and a day. Her twin sister, Josie, a psychologist, thinks she's on the wrong path in her life. "It is the land that is flat," she says, "not my life." In the beginning she's accused by the town board members of being an outsider and stirring up trouble, digging up useless stories for her project. But all Lottie wants is the true story of the families that have lived in the area for years.

Zelda St. John has written the history of her family and given it to Lottie for the historical society archives. When Zelda's sister Fiona learns of this, she insists the manuscript be returned. Zelda has written nothing but lies, Fiona asserts. Lottie explains the document is now property of the society, and she cannot give it to her. Fiona is concerned that if the information -- lies, she believes -- becomes public knowledge, her son Brian will not be elected senator of the state, his political career destroyed. Lottie allows Fiona to read the document, but not to keep it. Later that night, while celebrating her seventh wedding anniversary, Lottie is called by Sheriff Sam Abbott, who tells her Zelda has been murdered, and Fiona is the prime suspect. Lottie thinks she can help, and to demonstrate that she can, she takes on a 40-year-old cold case of a pregnant woman who was killed, her unborn child cut from her womb. The woman's husband was arrested and found guilty, but had a stroke and was institutionalized, unable to communicate. In a strange twist of historical fate, Lottie discovers this cold case is linked to the murder of Zelda St. John ... and also poses a threat to Lottie herself.

Deadly Descent is a winning debut. Readers who have lived in small towns, especially those in remote areas, will identify with many of the characters that populate this novel. The mystery plot is well developed and unfolds in such a way one is never quite sure what will happen next. Combining historical research and modern investigative techniques, Deadly Descent is a terrific start to a most promising series.

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

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

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): In historian Lottie Albright’s Western Kansas community, false accusations threaten senatorial candidate Brian Hadley’s political career, secrets whispered to her as editor of the county history books spur a personal search for his aunt’s murderer. Ignoring warnings from her twin sister, Josie, that she is in over her head, Lottie dons a badge to have access to information. She delves into a horrifying “cold case” to prove her merits as a deputy and impresses Sheriff Sam Abbot with her ability to combine historical research methods and police procedure. To help her sister, Josie adds her expertise in untangling the web of families bound by a lethal legacy of prideful secrets. Soon Lottie is stalked by a clever killer threatened by the twins’ ability to connect the dots. Blindsided by her protective husband’s disapproval of new job, and aghast at a bizarre attempt to sabotage her academic credentials, Lottie knows her obsession is destroying her marriage and her reputation.

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Reviews of Mystery and Suspense Books for Kids, New This Week on Book Trends

Book Trends, a review site for young adult and children books, published several new book reviews this past week. We're presenting here a summary of those in the mystery / suspense category.

The Nine Pound Hammer by John Claude Bemis. Book 1 in The Clockwork Dark. Recommended for readers aged 10 to 12. Reviewed by a 6th grade student who wrote, "Fighting, medicine shows, and pirates all in one book. There is not much that The Nine Pound Hammer can do to get much better."

Voices in the Dark by Catherine Banner. Book 2 in the Last Descendants Trilogy. Recommended for readers aged 12 and older. Reviewed by a 6th grade student who wrote, "Voices in the Dark is an action packed book with war, magic, and a family coming together when times get tough."

For more book reviews of children and young adult books, visit Book Trends; their reviews will amaze you!

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Angie Harmon Cast as Jane Rizzoli in New Series based on the Tess Gerritsen Mysteries

A couple of weeks ago we reported that TNT had ordered a pilot based on characters created by mystery writer Tess Gerritsen. Now The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Angie Harmon (Law & Order, Women's Murder Club) has been signed to star as Boston homicide detective Jane Rizzoli in the series. Her partner, medical examiner Maura Isles, has not yet been cast.

The pilot for the series is being written by Janet Tamaro (Bones) and is apparently not based on any specific Tess Gerritsen title. Her most recent book in the series, its seventh, The Keepsake, was published last year. The fifth book in the series, Vanish, won the prestigious Nero Award in 2006.

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Games of Mystery: Ghost Town Mysteries Bodie, 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 →

Don't stay past dark in the Ghost Town of Bodie. Tourists have reported seeing the ghost of Evelyn Byers, a little girl who was killed by a pick axe over a hundred years ago. The tombstones of the twelve witnesses are missing and something is definitely up. Pick up the investigation, explore the abandoned town, and solve this hundred year old mystery once and for all. Over 30 locations and 13 haunted houses ... and oh! Did we mention the ghosts?

Also available: Ghost Town Mysteries: Bodie Game Walkthrough.

Ghost Town Mysteries: Bodie may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (98.59 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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Rumors Circulating on a Planned Update of the Classic Film The Third Man

We typically don't report on rumors, but this post on CHUD got our attention.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire may be starring in a remake of the classic 1949 film The Third Man, which starred Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten and was based on a novella by Graham Greene.

Here's the studio description of the film from its most recent DVD release: Cynical pulp novelist Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton) arrives in shadowy Vienna to investigate the mysterious death of his old friend, black-market opportunist Harry Lime (Orson Welles), and thus begins an ever-thickening web of love, deception, and murder that adds up to one of cinema’s most immortal treats, as well as one of its trickiest. Thanks to brilliant performances by Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, and Orson Welles; Anton Karas’s timeless, evocative zither score; Graham Greene’s razor-sharp dialogue; and Robert Krasker’s haunting deep focus shots, off-kilter angles, and dramatic use of light and shadow, The Third Man, directed by the inimitable Carol Reed, only grows in stature as the years pass.

CHUD speculates on who plays which part and the setting of the update, but really, nothing is known at this point. Still, it is an intriguing possibility and one we'll keep an eye on.

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Games of Mystery: Hidden Expedition in Devil's Triangle, 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 →

Hidden Expedition: Devil's Triangle: Join the Hidden Expedition Team on an exhilarating journey! The fourth edition of this popular series takes you to another famous locale: The Bermuda Triangle.

Follow along as a world renowned explorer and piece together the mysteries of a historically dangerous and largely unchartered area. Discover clues hidden amongst the island’s objects, unlock intriguing new worlds by solving unique puzzles and complete the voyage with your investigative skills. This bizarre journey provides you with a quirky look into one of the most mysterious places on Earth, and lets you uncover the possibilities of the unknown.

Also available: Hidden Expedition: Devil's Triangle Strategy Guide and Hidden Expedition: Devil's Island Game Walkthrough.

Hidden Expedition: Devil's Triangle, a Big Fish Games exclusive, may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (123.57 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour; the full version is 319.93 MB.

The previous games in the series are Hidden Expedition: Titanic, Hidden Expedition: Everest, and Hidden Expedition: Amazon. The series website is HiddenExpedition.com.

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 Bestsellers for October 23, 2009

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending October 23, 2009 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.

A quiet mid-October week, with no new titles entering the top 15. In fact, even though we don't show them all, we track the top 50 titles of the week and there was just a bit of shuffling of all titles in the top 25. Dan Brown's third Robert Langdon thriller, The Lost Symbol, retains the top spot.

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: The September Society by Charles Finch

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

The September Society by Charles Finch
A Charles Lenox Mystery

St. Martin's Minotaur (Trade Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-312-56494-5 (0312564945)
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-56494-0 (9780312564940)
Publication Date: July 2009
List Price: $13.99

Review: Private detective Charles Lenox is hired to search for a missing student at his alma mater, Oxford, in The September Society, the second mystery in this series by Charles Finch.

The young man is George Payson, son of Lady Annabelle Payson, the widow of Captain James Payson who died during the Anglo-Sikh wars twenty years earlier. When Lenox visits Payson's rooms in Oxford, he finds an unusual assortment of items, the most extraordinary of which is a dead cat, stabbed with a letter opener, under which is found a note with cryptic writing. Other oddities include a neat line of ask under a window, a pulpy fried tomato on the rug, and a card identifying The September Society on the front, and a pink and black X on the back. Lenox begins his investigation by locating Payson's friends, but one of them has also gone missing. The police eventually recover a body from the local woods that, though badly decomposed, is identified as Payson. Lenox, unable to prevent Payson's murder, is determined to find out who killed him and why.

The September Society is exceptionally well written, with solid characters and a strong sense of time and place. The plot proceeds at a moderate, methodical pace, much like Lenox himself. He views his profession pragmatically, as he tells a potential colleague interested in working for him: "[It] is, in my mind at least, both one of the least respected professions among our kind of people and one of the most important and noble in its purpose. If you are a detective and a gentleman, expect to be unheralded -- misunderstood except by your friends, and even by them sometimes -- looked on as somewhat odd, if harmless. It will help that you have a position and money, as it has helped me, but it won't save you from a certain, rather hard to bear kind of disrepute." His case is more of a puzzle than anything else, Payson having left what are certainly clues as to why he disappeared, and after his body is found, why he was murdered. Though Lenox makes a wrong turn here and there (he remarks at one point he was "as slow as the milk train" to catch on), he eventually manages to piece the puzzle together, discovering a link between the death of Captain Payson in India and his son twenty years later in Oxford.

A bit slow in places, and probably about 50 pages too long, The September Society is nonetheless a very enjoyable mystery that has a quite engaging private detective participating in a most intriguing investigation.

Special thanks to St. Martin's Minotaur for providing a trade paperback edition of The September Society for this review.

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

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

Synopsis (from the publisher): In the small hours of the morning one fall day in 1866, a frantic widow visits detective Charles Lenox. Lady Annabelle’s problem is simple: her beloved son, George, has vanished from his room at Oxford. When Lenox visits his alma mater to investigate he discovers a series of bizarre clues, including a murdered cat and a card cryptically referring to “The September Society.” Then, just as Lenox realizes that the case may be deeper than it appears, a student dies, the victim of foul play.

What could the September Society have to do with it? What specter, returned from the past, is haunting gentle Oxford? Lenox, with the support of his devoted friends in London’s upper crust, must race to discover the truth before it comes searching for him, and dangerously close to home.

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New Series Planned for US Network Television based on the Michael Dobbs' Thriller The House of Cards

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that a television series based on the novel and UK miniseries The House of Cards is under development. The political thriller, written by Michael Dobbs and featuring politician Francis Urquhart who schemes and backstabs his way into the Prime Minister's office, was the first in a trilogy written from 1989 through 1995. The UK miniseries, based on the first book, aired in 1990 and won a BAFTA award for Ian Richardson (who played Urquhart) and an Emmy for Andrew Davies, who wrote the adapted screenplay.

The new series will be set in the US but, as in the original, maintain a focus on issues of political ambition and blackmail.

The series is still being shopped to US networks.

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Winners of the 2009 CWA Dagger Awards (Crime Thriller Awards) Announced

The 2009 Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards (formerly known as the Crime Writers' Association Dagger Awards) were given out last night at a ceremony in London to honor the very best in crime and thriller writing.

The winners are:

◊ Gold Dagger (Best Crime Novel): A Whispered Name by William Broderick
◊ Ian Fleming Steel Dagger (Best Thriller): The Last Child by John Hart
◊ New Blood Dagger (Best First Novel): Echoes from the Dead by Johan Theorin

In an online poll of ITV3 viewers, Harlan Coben was honored as favorite crime author. HBO's The Wire was also recognized as best crime drama.

Our congratulations to the winners!

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