Firsts on the 1st: New Series Characters Being Introduced in February 2010 Mysteries

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books recently updated its list of February 2010 hardcover mysteries as well shelved new February paperbacks on The Mystery Bookshelf. In this post, which we're calling Firsts on the 1st, we're introducing readers to new series characters who will make their debut during February.

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Title: The Bricklayer
Author: Noah Boyd
Series Character: Steve Vail
Format: Hardcover

What we know about the character: Steve Vail is an ex-FBI agent who's been fired for insubordination but is lured back to the Bureau.

His first case: A woman steps out of the shower in her Los Angeles home and is startled by an intruder sitting calmly in her bedroom holding a gun. But she is frozen with fear by what he has to say about the FBI—and what he says he must do. A young agent slips into the night water off a rocky beach. He's been instructed to swim to a nearby island to deposit a million dollars demanded by a blackmailer. But his mission is riddled with hazardous tests, as if someone wanted to destroy him rather than collect the money. Vail has resigned himself to his dismissal and is content with his life as a bricklayer. But the FBI, especially Deputy Assistant Director Kate Bannon, needs help with a shadowy group that has initiated a brilliant extortion plot. The group will keep killing their targets until the agency pays them off, the amount and number of bodies escalating each time the FBI fails. One thing is clear: someone who knows a little too much about the inner workings of the Bureau is very clever—and very angry—and will kill and kill again if it means he can disgrace the FBI. Steve Vail's options—and his time to find answers—are swiftly running out.

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Title: Deadly Disclosures
Author: Julie Cave
Series Character: Dinah Harris
Format: Mass Market Paperback

What we know about the character: Dinah Harris is an FBI agent struggling with alcohol and depression, seeking answers amidst the fallout of her own personal issues.

Her first case: Thomas Whitfield, proud Secretary of the Smithsonian and its extensive scientific influence, has disappeared from his office with foul play suspected. Whitfield's body is eventually found, and other people connected to him begin dying as well, ultimately exposing a broader conspiracy connected to him begin dying as well, ultimately exposing a broader conspiracy connected to Whitfield's recent conversion to Christ and promotion of a biblical worldview in an academic world of financial gain hostile to this concept. Will Dinah be able to experience the redemptive power of Christ before it's too late? Or will the ominous danger stalking her investigation claim another victim?

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Title: Bellfield Hall
Author: Anna Dean
Series Character: Miss Dido Kent
Format: Hardcover

What we know about the character: Miss Dido Kent is an amateur sleuth in early 19th century England.

Her first case: An engagement party is taking place for Mr. Richard Montague, son of wealthy landowner Sir Edgar Montague, and his fiancee Catherine. During a dance with his beloved, a strange thing happens: a man appears at Richard's shoulder and appears to communicate something to him without saying a word. Instantly breaking off the engagement, he rushes off to speak to his father, never to be seen again. Distraught with worry, Catherine sends for her spinster aunt, Miss Dido Kent, who has a penchant for solving mysteries. Catherine pleads with her to find her fiance and to discover the truth behind his disappearance. It's going to take a lot of logical thinking to untangle the complex threads of this multi-layered mystery, and Miss Dido Kent is just the woman to do it.

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Title: Final Target
Author: Steven Gore
Series Character: Graham Gage
Format: Mass Market Paperback

What we know about the character: Graham Gage is an international private investigator.

His first case: A man lies unconscious in a hospital bed, the victim of a violent assault the police are calling "road rage." If he recovers, prosecutors are waiting to indict him for conspiracy, eager to send him to prison for the rest of his life. And he's the lucky one ... Gage believes the injured man—his closest friend Jack Burch—had no part in the ever-widening criminal conspiracy surrounding the collapse of defense contractor SatTek Industries. But Gage's search for the truth is rocketing him to hot spots around the globe—and dragging him into a deadly morass of lies, greed, and terror alongside traitors, killers, and international gangsters. As the plot slowly unravels the body count soars, and Gage finds himself in an impossible race to prevent the unimaginable. Because the first target was his friend ... but the final target is his country.

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Title: No Man's Land
Author: Eric L. Haney
Series Character: Kennesaw Tanner
Format: Mass Market Paperback

What we know about the character: Kennesaw Tanner is a soldier of fortune.

His first case: Tanner is approached by government operatives with an offer: rescue the kidnapped heir of a powerful Persian Gulf sheik whose alliance with the U.S. has made him a target for terrorists. But what Tanner doesn't know is that there are elements within the government who want him to fail, that the sands of politics are shifting against him-and that the job he's being paid to do may cost him more than he bargained for.

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Title: Town in a Blueberry Jam
Author: B. B. Haywood
Series Character: Candy Holliday
Format: Mass Market Paperback

What we know about the character: Candy Holliday runs a farm with her father in a seaside village in Maine.

Her first case: In the seaside village of Cape Willington, Maine, Candy has an idyllic life tending to the Blueberry Acres farm she runs with her father. But, when an aging playboy and the newly crowned Blueberry Queen are killed, Candy investigates to clear the name of a local handyman. And as she sorts through the town's juicy secrets, things start to get sticky indeed ...

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Title: Deadly Dues
Author: Linda Kupecek
Series Character: Lulu Malone
Format: Mass Market Paperback

What we know about the character: Lulu Malone is a former TV star and amateur sleuth in Hollywood who presents meditations on the life of the artist in between muggings, murders and mayhem.

Her first case: When Lulu finds her evil union representative stabbed to death, her first instinct is to run. Unfortunately, the exit is crowded, as she has four actor friends with her. Without much choice, Lulu becomes enmeshed in the real-life detective hunt, one that she has only experienced as an actor on TV. With her life in danger, and her beloved dog Horatio kidnapped, Lulus days are filled with threats, thrift store finds, and hindrances by unknown, overweight assailants.

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Title: Slow Fire
Author: Ken Mercer
Series Character: Will Magowan
Format: Hardcover

What we know about the character: Will Magowan is a former LAPD narcotics detective, now police chief of a small town in Northern California.

His first case: One morning, Will Magowan opens his mail and finds a mysterious job offer to become the police chief of Haydenville, a tiny town in rural Northern California. Once a highly decorated LAPD narcotics detective, Will was terminated after a devastating personal tragedy drove him to become addicted to the heroin he was charged with keeping off the streets. Fresh out of rehab but jobless and estranged from his wife, Will now lives alone in an old Airstream trailer on the fringes of L.A. Out of options, Will accepts the job. After moving to Haydenville, he discovers that the once postcard-perfect town is being corrupted by a criminal influence that threatens to destroy it. Haydenville’s normally law-abiding citizens begin to erupt in acts of unspeakable violence. Pets are going missing at an alarming rate. Stately Victorian homes are falling into disrepair. With only a rookie officer at his disposal, Will risks everything in his quest to save Haydenville—entering a labyrinth of dark secrets that have remained buried for almost 40 years.

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Title: Miles To Go
Author: Amy Dawson Robertson
Series Character: Rennie Vogel
Format: Trade Paperback

What we know about the character: Rennie Vogel is an FBI counter-terrorism operative.

Her first case: Rennie has devoted her life and body to training as an FBI counterterrorism operative. The brutal pace has slowly stripped away her private life until only the most fleeting contacts with other women are possible. When her ambition of being the first woman ever considered to join CT3 is finally realized, she pushes herself to the limit to earn the position. When one disaster after another befalls her, Rennie finds herself abandoned. Only then does she begin to unravel the misdirection and deceit that surrounds their first assignment, and to wonder if her failure, not her success, was part of the plan. Ultimately, with miles of an inhospitable landscape and an ambiguous enemy between her and safety, Rennie must decide if she can trust the one thing she never has before: another woman.

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Title: City of Dragons
Author: Kelli Stanley
Series Character: Miranda Corbie
Format: Hardcover

What we know about the character: Miranda Corbie is a 33-year-old private investigator in 1940s San Francisco.

Her first case: February, 1940. In San Francisco's Chinatown, fireworks explode as the city celebrates Chinese New Year with a Rice Bowl Party, a three day-and-night carnival designed to raise money and support for China war relief. Miranda stumbles upon the fatally shot body of Eddie Takahashi. The Chamber of Commerce wants it covered up. The cops acquiesce. All Miranda wants is justice—whatever it costs. From Chinatown tenements, to a tattered tailor's shop in Little Osaka, to a high-class bordello draped in Southern Gothic, she shakes down the city—her city—seeking the truth.

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Title: How To Host a Killer Party
Author: Penny Warner
Series Character: Presley Parker, Party Planner
Format: Mass Market Paperback

What we know about the character: Presley Parker is a party planner in San Francisco.

Her first case: Presley was just happy to get her party planning business off the ground. Now she's gotten the gig of the year, planning Mayor Davin Green's sumptuous "surprise" wedding for his socialite fiancée, to be held on Alcatraz. But when the bride is found floating in the bay and the original party planner is found murdered, Presley becomes the prime suspect. If the attractive crime scene cleaner, Brad Matthews, doesn't help her tidy her reputation, she'll be exchanging her formal wear for prison stripes ...

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Title: Truly, Madly
Author: Heather Webber
Series Character: Lucy Valentine
Format: Mass Market Paperback

What we know about the character: Lucy Valentine runs a matchmaking service.

Her first case: Lucy is as smart as can be, as single as you can get, and so not qualified to run a matchmaking service. But when her parents temporarily step down from the family business, Valentine, Inc., it’s Lucy’s turn to step up and help out—in the name of love. Plus, her rent is due. Here’s the problem: Lucy doesn’t have the knack for matchmaking. According to family legend, every Valentine has been blessed by Cupid with the ability to read “auras” and pair up perfect couples. But not Lucy. Her skills were zapped away years ago in an electrical surge, and now all she can do is find lost objects. What good is that in the matchmaking world? You’d be surprised. In a city like Boston, everyone’s looking for something. So when Lucy locates a missing wedding ring—on a dead body—she asks the sexy private eye who lives upstairs to help her solve the perfect crime. And who knows? Maybe she’ll find the perfect love while she’s at it …

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For a list of more mysteries scheduled for publication during February, please visit our New Mysteries home page. If you're interested in new paperbacks, visit The Mystery Bookshelf where you can discover a library of new mysteries, also updated with February 2010 releases.

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

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Mysteries on TV: A Mind To Kill and Murder, She Wrote, 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 two series that have season DVDs being released this week.

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Welsh Detective Chief Inspector Noel Bain (played by Philip Madoc) solves crimes his own way in the UK series A Mind to Kill. The series was filmed in both English and Welsh.

He relies not on science or technology, but unerring instinct, keen intelligence, and a passion for defending the innocent. A workaholic widower, he also struggles to protect his teenage daughter, Hannah, from the world he knows too well--one filled with horrific murders, brutal sex crimes, and unrepentant villains.

Set in a Wales more bleak than picturesque, the series has been lauded for its gritty authenticity and strongly drawn characters.

(MBN note: We're currently watching episodes of this intriguing series and will have our review soon!)

The A Mind to Kill: Series One DVD set of 3 discs contain the 6 episodes that originally aired on S4C during late 1994 and early 1995. (Note: the 1991 pilot is not included in this set.)

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Read between the lines of Jessica Fletcher’s famous novels and you’ll discover what her legions of fans already know—mystery has a way of following this witty writer wherever she goes. Angela Lansbury returns to her iconic role in the 11th season of Murder, She Wrote.

Join guest stars Jeffrey Nordling, Doris Roberts, Ann Cusack, Jeri Ryan, and more as they become part of Jessica’s acclaimed investigations that span the globe from hometown Cabot Cove to tropical Martinique.

No crime lover’s collection is complete without these entertaining adventures from the literary sleuth whose life is a real page-turner.

The Murder, She Wrote: Season Eleven DVD set of 5 discs contain the 21 episodes that originally aired on CBS from September 1994 through May 1995. The set also includes two bonus episodes from Season 12 (the final season).

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

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Ralph McInerny, Author of the Father Dowling Mysteries, Dies

The South Bend Tribune is reporting that Ralph M. McInerny died last Friday. He was 80.

McInerny was the Michael P. Grace Professor of Medieval Studies and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame but is probably best known for his series of mystery books featuring Chicago parish priest Father Dowling. A television series starring Tom Bosley based on the character aired on ABC from 1989 through 1991.

McInerny was a prolific writer, not only fiction (of which he wrote over 80 novels) but also scholarly books.

We reviewed his most recent Father Dowling mystery, Stained Glass, saying "Father Dowling is in top form here, at his deductive best, in solving this intricately plotted mystery, the resolution of which will likely come as a surprise to many readers. Even after 28 novels, there is a freshness to this series that is quite delightful, and most welcome."

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Mystery Godoku Puzzle for February 01, 2010

A new Mystery Godoku Puzzle has been created by the editors of the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and is now available on our website.

Godoku is similar to Sudoku, but uses letters instead of numbers. To give you a headstart, we provide you a mystery clue to fill in a complete row or column (if you choose to use it!).

This week's letters and mystery clue:

A E H N O P R T U

This 2008 thriller by R. Scott Bakker features a killer who will get inside your head … literally. (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: Village of the Ghost Bears by Stan Jones

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

Village of the Ghost Bears by Stan Jones
A Nathan Active Mystery

Soho Crime (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-56947-606-3 (1569476063)
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-606-2 (9781569476062)
Publication Date: December 2009
List Price: $24.00

Review: Inupiaq Alaskan State Trooper Nathan Active investigates a mysterious fire while separately seeking to identify a dead body found washed ashore on a nearby lake in Village of the Ghost Bears, the fourth mystery in this series by Stan Jones.

Active and his longtime love Grace are just beginning a camping trip along the shores of One-Way Lake when they stumble upon the body of a man whose face has been eaten away by local pike. But before they can arrange to have the body recovered, Active is called to the small town of Chukchi, a coastal village in northwest Alaska, where a recreation center has burned down, killing eight people who were trapped inside when the exit doors were wired shut. The motive for arson isn't obvious, nor is one for murder ... if one of the dead was the intended target. Then there's still that unknown man at One-Way Lake. Almost certainly an accidental death from a fall, but until the body can be recovered and identified it remains another mystery for Active to solve.

Though Active pursues his arson investigation with appropriate aplomb, the real appeal in Village of the Ghost Bears comes from the depiction of life in a small town and region in a remote part of the country. The fairly straight-forward plot moves along briskly, no doubt helped by a considerable amount of dialog, though a few more paragraphs of simple, descriptive narrative would have helped develop a more atmospheric setting for the characters. Still, there's no denying the excitement generated by some of the more thrilling aspects of the story, especially when Active and bush pilot Cowboy are flying off somewhere.

Active watched as the pass crawled closer on Cowboy's side of the plane. Through the mist and snow, he thought he glimpsed a rock-walled valley on the south side, with a thread of water in its center diving toward the Isignaq River far below. Cowboy yelled "Here we go!" over the intercom, and the world rotated ninety degrees as he snapped the plane into a punishing left turn. He leveled the wings just in time to skim across the saddle so low that Active thought for a moment he had decided to land and taxi to the far edge. Then the terrain fell away, Cowboy dropped the nose, and they were under the clouds and in relatively clear air, hurrying down the rocky valley Active had glimpsed moments earlier.

There aren't many mystery series set in Alaska, so it's always a pleasure to read one such as Village of the Ghost Bears that not only crafts an interesting story but also pays tribute to both the land and its people.

Special thanks to Soho Press for providing an ARC of Village of the Ghost Bears for this review.

Review Copyright © 2010 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved

If you are interested in purchasing Village of the Ghost Bears from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

Synopsis (from the publisher): Alaska State Trooper Nathan Active must figure out what connects a dead hunter on a remote Arctic lake with a year-old fatal plane crash in the Brooks Range and a fire at the Chukchi Recreation Center that killed eight people, including the town’s basketball star. The case turns out to involve a lucrative polar bear poaching operation and the intense bond between a brother and sister from the village of Cape Goodwin, famous in the Arctic for twins, polar bears, and schizophrenia. The heart of the matter, he discovers, is a dead woman whose killer remembers her as having a mouth so sweet “it was like kissing a Hershey bar.”

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Mystery Book Review: Code 15 by Gary Birken

Mysterious Reviews, mysteries reviewed by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, is publishing a new review of Code 15 by Gary Birken. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.

Code 15 by Gary Birken
Non-series

Jove (Mass Market Paperback)
ISBN-10: 0-515-14720-6 (0515147206)
ISBN-13: 978-0-515-14720-9 (9780515147209)
Publication Date: November 2009
List Price: $7.99

Review: Dr. Gary Birken crafts an absorbing medical thriller set in a large hospital in Miami in Code 15, the title taken from a (fictional?) code used to indicate deaths caused by preventable errors.

Dr. Morgan Connolly is the Chief of Emergency Medicine at Dade Presbyterian Hospital. While under her care, two brothers with advanced cases of meningitis die. Their father threatens action against both Connolly and the hospital. Several months later, a patient attacks her own father, also a physician at the hospital, by injecting him with compressed air, killing him. Devastated by the loss of her father, and with a threat of legal action against her, she is urged to seek counseling. But her situation soon gets worse. Another patient is given the wrong medication during emergency surgery and dies, then two young women, in separate instances, die after being treated in the emergency room. These latter deaths are all classified as Code 15s: preventable medical errors. Connolly isn't convinced these were all accidents, but were intentionally caused by someone -- possibly the same person who killed her father. But who will believe her?

Code 15 is a brilliantly constructed and electrifying murder mystery that offers an insider look at how hospitals operate, the laws that govern what physicians and hospitals may or may not do, and the technology used to monitor and safeguard patient treatment and care. The character of Dr. Morgan Connolly may be a little too dramatically drawn -- not only is she grieving for her dead father and fending off charges of incompetence, but she's estranged from her gambling addictive husband and in her first trimester of pregnancy -- but that's a minor criticism in what is otherwise a first-rate thriller.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Code 15 and to Goldberg McDuffie Communications for providing a copy of the book for this review.

Review Copyright © 2010 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved

If you are interested in purchasing Code 15 from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right. Code 15 (Kindle edition) is also available. Learn more about the Kindle, Amazon's Wireless Reading Device.

Synopsis (from the publisher): As the Chief of Emergency Medicine at Dade Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Morgan Connolly faces death and suffering on a daily basis. So when two brothers in her care suddenly die from far advanced meningitis, she is devastated but understands as a doctor, she has to let it go. Not long after, Morgan's own father is killed in what seems to be a random attack. At the same time, the number of patients dying due to devastating but seemingly preventable medical mistakes -- also known as a Code 15 -- begins rising dramatically throughout the hospital.

Morgan become suspicious that her father's death and that of the other patients were not random events. Her relentless pursuit of the truth leads her superiors to think she's losing her edge. As she begins to unwind a ruthless conspiracy, Morgan becomes convinced someone or some group is cutting a deadly path of vengeance through Dade Presbyterian -- a path that may end with her facing her own demise at the hands of a merciless madman.

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Winter's Bone, based on the novel by Daniel Woodrell, Wins Sundance Grand Jury Prize

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Roadside Attractions has acquired the North American rights to the film adaptation of Daniel Woodrell's 2006 novel Winter's Bone. The film took the Grand Jury Prize for US Dramatic Film at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

"With Winter's Bone, [director] Debra Granik has crafted a classic detective story, a nail-biting thriller and an unbelievably touching family drama, all in one film," said Roadside's Dustin Smith. "It's everything Sundance is about. It's everything independent film is about. And it's everything I go to the movies for."

About Winter's Bone (from the studio): Deep in the Ozark Mountains, clans live by a code of conduct that no one dares defy—until an intrepid teenage girl has no other choice. When Ree Dolly's crystal-meth-making father skips bail and goes missing, her family home is on the line. Unless she finds him, she and her young siblings and disabled mother face destitution. In a heroic quest, Ree traverses the county to confront her kin, break their silent collusion, and bring her father home.

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Mystery Book Review: In Too Deep by Jude Watson

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

In Too Deep by Jude Watson
The 39 Clues

Scholastic (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 0-545-06046-X (054506046X)
ISBN-13: 978-0-545-06046-2 (9780545060462)
Publication Date: November 2009
List Price: $12.99

Review: Amy and Dan Cahill continue their quest for the 39 Clues to Australia, following the trail their parents took 10 years earlier, in In Too Deep, the sixth book in this series, this one written by Jude Watson.

Amy and Dan arrive in Sydney from Moscow, intent on locating an old family friend who may know more about why their parents visited Australia a decade earlier. The siblings had accompanied their parents, but were too young to remember much. Yet just seeing their "uncle" and visiting his home starts to bring back memories for Amy ... and not necessarily ones she wants to remember. Relentlessly pursued by other members of the family, the two increasingly find that danger seems to lurk around every corner -- and security is provided by an unexpected source.

It isn't strictly necessary to have read the previous books in this series to enjoy In Too Deep, but it would undoubtedly help. The first few pages provide sufficient background to allow first-time readers to get acquainted with Amy and Dan and why they're on a race around the world in search of clues that will make them the most powerful people in the world. It takes a little more effort to learn in which other family members are also in pursuit of this goal, and which of the four branches they belong (and why this is important).

A key phrase from this entry in the series is "trust no one". Amy is told this, and "for the first time, she truly understood what [it] meant. The stakes were so much higher than she'd thought. The lies cut so much deeper. Right to her heart." In Too Deep is a thrilling story, to be sure, but it is also a study in self-reflection and the choices one makes. Adult readers may appreciate this aspect of the story a bit more than younger readers, who will likely revel in the chase through Australia and on to Jakarta.

There are also references to famous historical figures who Amy and Dan discover are also Cahills, though admittedly distant relations. It's probably not giving away too much (given the book's cover) to reveal that Amelia Earhart -- also revealed to be a Cahill -- plays a key role in their search here, and it's a thrilling possibility that her time in Australia prior to setting off across the Pacific may have involved the Cahill family.

In Too Deep furthers Amy and Dan's adventure in a grand way. According to an endpaper, the next book in the series, The Viper's Nest, promises to reveal what family branch Amy and Dan are in.

Special thanks to Scholastic for providing a copy of In Too Deep for this review.

Review Copyright © 2010 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved

If you are interested in purchasing In Too Deep from Amazon.com, please click the button to the right.

Synopsis (from the publisher): Fourteen-year-old Amy Cahill and her younger brother, Dan, head to the Land Down Under to discover what their own mother and father knew about the hunt for the 39 Clues. But following in their parents' footsteps brings up lost memories for Amy so awful that she can't share them ... even with Dan. Haunted by the ghosts of their past, chased by deadly competitors, Dan and Amy can't see who is an enemy and who is a friend. Their blindness leads to a terrible mistake ... and the death of a hidden ally.

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Games of Mystery: Lost Secrets, Ancient Mysteries, New at Big Fish Games

Games of Mystery, your source for mystery-themed board, electronic and video games, parties for kids and adults, and murder mystery weekends and mystery getaway vacations, is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery casual 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.

Rumors and mysteries surround the death of the young Egyptian pharaoh, King Tutankhamen. Famed archeologist John Carter thinks he may have discovered a possible solution to the mystery of the young king's reign. Tricks and traps have been set by an ancient brotherhood to protect the memory of the pharaoh and throw John off his path of research. John is determined to dig up the truth and put speculation about King Tut to rest.

Play the role of famed archeologist, moving through 10 acts with more than 50 levels while seeking the truth behind the Valley of Kings. Discover hundreds of items in each location and pick up clues throughout the game to decipher ancient codes. Gather your clues through each mysterious level and see if you can discover the mystery in the ancient hieroglyph-crusted walls and hidden chambers.

See also the other games in the "Lost Secrets" series, Lost Secrets: Bermuda Triangle and Lost Secrets: Caribbean Explorer.

Lost Secrets: Ancient Mysteries may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (39.80 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour.

Watch a preview video below:

Get any standard game for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. Other benefits include the $2.99 Daily Deal, Tomorrow's Game Today, and special member rewards. And if you purchase any 6 games within a single month, you earn a free game with the Big Fish Game Club Monthly Punch Card!

Read our new game reviews by Ms. Terri: Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy (Review), 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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David Suchet is "Pragmatic" Over the Future of Hercule Poirot on ITV

In a recent Telegraph article, David Suchet, the actor who has so memorably portrayed Agatha Christie's Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot for 20 years, says he's "pragmatic" over the future of the series. A year ago, Suchet expressed his desire to complete filming all of Christie's Poirot novels and short stories. But that goal is now in doubt, as ITV has not yet revealed any plans to start work on the few remaining stories to be filmed.

"I'm pragmatic and accept that things get cancelled," Suchet said. "Of course there are cutbacks in TV drama and if it is not to be, it is not to be. I will have to be a big boy and accept it."

Several films have already been filmed but have not yet been scheduled. ITV previously cancelled Poirot in 1995, only to bring it back four years later.

Visit Mysteries on TV: Agatha Christie's Poirot for more information about Agatha Christie's Poirot series available on DVD.

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IFC Acquires US Distribution Rights to Adaptation of Jim Thompson's Noir Thriller The Killer Inside Me

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that IFC Films has acquired the US rights to the film adaptation of pulp novelist Jim Thompson's 1952 thriller The Killer Inside Me. According to THR, the violent, provocative film screened last week to a noisy audience, some of whom were offended by the cold-blooded beatings of characters. A release is planned this summer.

Thompson's work has previously been adapted for the screen, including the 1972 film The Getaway and the 1990 film The Grifters, and even The Killer Inside Me, a 1976 film starring Stacy Keach.

About the film (from the studio press release): The Killer Inside Me tells the story of handsome, charming, unassuming small town sheriff’s deputy named Lou Ford (played by Casey Affleck). The film takes place in an idyllic West Texas town in the early 1950’s. As a lifelong resident, Ford has difficulty juggling his long-term girlfriend Amy (Kate Hudson), the prostitute named Joyce (Jessica Alba) that he mistakenly falls for, and the sociopathic tendencies inside him. In Thompson’s savage, bleak, blacker than noir universe, nothing is ever what it seems.

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Amazon.com Pulls All Macmillan Titles from its Virtual Shelves

If our mystery book buyers are having trouble finding certain titles to purchase through Amazon.com this morning, there's a simple reason for that: Amazon.com has pulled from its virtual shelves all books published by Macmillan and its imprints. The reason for doing so: Amazon.com and Macmillan are disputing how the online retailer prices the publisher's e-books. The New York Times printed a good summary on the dispute earlier today.

(Full disclosure: Most of the books mentioned on this site are linked to Amazon.com for purchase. We get a commission on every sale, which helps support not only this site but our entire family of mystery websites. But we do not get a commission on the sale of any e-books from Amazon.com, that being one of the categories explicitly excluded by its affilitate operating agreement.)

Amazon.com pulling all of Macmillan's titles seems extreme, to say the least. And it could, presumably, get worse. Macmillan is but one of five major publishers which have recently spoken to Apple about offering electronic versions of their books for sale on the new iPad ... at substantially higher retail prices. The others (all with major imprints that regularly publish mystery books) are Penguin Group, HarperCollins, Hachette Books, and Simon & Schuster.

Let's hope this is a temporary situation, and that the book publishers and online booksellers can resolve their differences without dragging their customers any further into the mix.

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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.

Ghost in the Machine by Patrick Carman. The 2nd title in this multi-media mystery series. Recommended for readers aged 10 to 12. Lexile measure: N/A. Reviewed by a 6th grade student who wrote, "Carman has written a delightfully terrifying story, and everybody I've spoken to about it seems to have loved it."

Malice by Chris Wooding. The 1st book in the Malice series. Recommended for readers aged 12 and older. Lexile measure: 650L. Reviewed by a 6th grade student who wrote, "I’m not really into horror books like Malice, but I could NOT put Malice down for a moment!"

Hunter Brown and the Consuming Fire by The Miller Brothers. The 2nd book in The Codebearers series. Recommended for readers aged 10 to 12. Lexile measure: N/A. Reviewed by a 6th grade student who wrote, "Action-packed and fun to read," adding, "I loved all the action and how you never knew what would happen next."

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

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UK Trailer Released for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, based on the novel by Stieg Larsson

Momentum Pictures recently released the first English-language trailer for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, based on the bestselling novel by Stieg Larsson. The film, in Swedish with English subtitles, is scheduled to be in US theaters this March.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Swedish title: Män som hatar kvinnor, literally "Men Who Hate Women") is the first in a trilogy of thrillers by the late author. The second novel, The Girl Who Played with Fire (Swedist title: Flickan som lekte med elden) was published in the US last summer while the third and final novel in the trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Swedish title: Luftslottet som sprängdes), is scheduled for US publication this May.

All three books have been adapted for film in Sweden. Original English-language adaptations of the trilogy are in development.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo film synopsis (from the studio): Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her uncle is convinced it was murder and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist (played by Michael Nyqvist) and the tattooed, ruthless computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) to investigate. When the pair link Harriet's disappearance to a number of grotesque murders from almost forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. But the Vanger's are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves.

Watch the UK trailer for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo below:

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