The Garden of Betrayal by Lee Vance (Book Review)

The Garden of Betrayal by Lee Vance. Non-series. Knopf Hardcover, August 2010.

Seven years after their 12-year-old son Kyle vanishes, a new clue surfaces that Mark and Claire Wallace, together with their now teenage daughter Kate, follow in the hope of explaining what happened on that fateful night in The Garden of Betrayal, the second non-series thriller by Lee Vance.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: The Garden of Betrayal by Lee Vance.

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Mysterious Reviews is your source for the latest mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime novel reviews, edited by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

Through the Cracks by Barbara Fister (Book Review)

Through the Cracks by Barbara Fister. An Anni Koskinen Mystery. Minotaur Books Hardcover, May 2010.

Former Chicago police detective, now private investigator Anni Koskinen is hired by a woman who claims she wrongly identified the man who raped her 23 years ago, a man recently released from prison when his conviction was overturned, in Through the Cracks, the second mystery in this series by Barbara Fister.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Through the Cracks by Barbara Fister.

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Mysterious Reviews is your source for the latest mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime novel reviews, edited by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

English-Language Film Adaptation of Harlan Coben's Tell No One Slowly Moving Forward

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that an English-language remake of a foreign film based on a bestselling thriller may be moving forward. No, it's not The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but Harlan Coben's Tell No One.

A French-language adaptation of the book was released in 2006, and was both a critical and commercial success. (The film, Ne le dis a personne is available on DVD.) But getting a version made in English has taken a somewhat circuitous route. Focus Features and Miramax Films secured the film rights in 2009 -- Miramax has since been sold and is no longer involved -- and a screenplay is reportedly being drafted by Andrew Dominik. Still, progress is being made, if ever so slowly.

The Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill, a Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery (6th in series)

The Mystery Bookshelf, where you can discover a library of new mysteries, is pleased to feature a new mystery series title we recently received from the publisher.

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The Merry Misogynist by Colin Cotterill
A Dr. Siri Paiboun Mystery (6th in series)
Soho Crime (Trade Paperback)
Publication Date: August 2010
ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-654-3

About The Merry Misogynist (from the publisher): In poverty-stricken 1978 Laos, a man from the city with a truck was “somebody,” a catch for even the prettiest village virgin. The corpse of one of these bucolic beauties turns up in Dr. Siri’s morgue and his curiosity is piqued. The victim was tied to a tree and strangled, but she had not, as the doctor had expected, been raped. And though the victim had smooth, pale skin over most of her body, her hands and feet were gnarled, callused, and blistered.

On a trip to the hinterlands, Siri discovers that many women have been killed in this way. He sets out to investigate this unprecedented phenomenon—a serial killer in peaceful Buddhist Laos—only to discover when he has identified the murderer that not only pretty maidens are at risk: seventy-three-year-old coroners can be victims too.

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About Colin Cotterill: The winner of the 2009 CWA Dagger in the Library Award and the Dilys Award for the second book in the series, Thirty-Three Teeth, he lives in Chumphon on the Gulf of Siam with his wife, Jess and four deranged dogs. He listens to jazz, rides his bicycle to the post office, and isn't averse to the odd glass of red. Visit his website at ColinCotterill.com.

Mysteries by Colin Cotterill reviewed by Mysterious Reviews: Anarchy and Old Dogs (2007), Curse of the Pogo Stick (2008), and The Merry Misogynist (2009).

NPR Interviews Ridley Pearson

NPR talks to crime novelist Ridley Pearson this morning about his Sheriff Walt Fleming series of mysteries that are set in Sun Valley, Idaho. Pearson says he based his character on the real sheriff of Sun Valley, Walt Femling, who is occasionally mistaken for the fictional sheriff.

The setting is also an important element in Peason's novels, who says his job is "to bring out the danger of Sun Valley's beautiful landscape."

Pearson adds, "This is a series and when you envision a series, you're envisioning basically a several thousand page story and you need themes and threads that are going to carry through. So you could push each of these off a cliff every time and start the engine all over but I like it when the character is growing, the town is growing, the conflict is growing."

The fourth mystery in the series, In Harm's Way, was published last week. In our review of the third book in the series, we said, "Sometimes a mystery's plot, characters, inter-character relationships, setting, narrative, and dialogue all come together in perfect harmony to produce an exceptional novel; Killer Summer is one such novel." (Read our full review on Mysterious Reviews.)

You can listen to the interview on NPR's Morning Edition, where there's also an excerpt from In Harm's Way.

Mystery Author Charlie Huston's New Series to be Published by Mulholland Books

GalleyCat (via Publishers Lunch) is reporting that mystery author Charlie Huston has signed a three book deal with Mulholland Books, introducing a new series character, a man raised in a box who becomes the world's most skilled assassin. The first book, Skinner, will be published in 2011.

Mulholland Books is the new mystery and suspense imprint of Little, Brown. It has recently updated its website that includes a list of upcoming titles, the first of which will appear in the Spring of 2011. This is an imprint we're looking forward to reading!

NPR Interviews Janet Evanovich

NPR published an interview today with bestselling mystery writer Janet Evanovich, who talks primarily about the setting for her Stephanie Plum series, Trenton, New Jersey, saying it "reminded her of the tightknit, blue-collar community where she grew up, in nearby South River. It's the kind of place where people sit on their front porches and know their neighbors. Evanovich wanted that kind of setting in her books."

Stephanie Plum is a lingerie buyer turned bounty hunter in the series, the most recent "numbered" entry of which is Sizzling Sixteen. (There are also four "between-the-numbers" books.) In the books, she "portrays neighborhoods with strong ethnic identities, a lot of attitude — and plenty of food."

You can listen to the interview on NPR's Morning Edition, where there's also an excerpt from the 11th book in the series, Eleven on Top.

Adam-12 and Numb3rs, New This Week on DVD

Telemystery, your source for one of the most comprehensive selections of detective, amateur sleuth, private investigator, and suspense television mystery series, mini-series and made-for-television movies, now available or coming soon to DVD or Blu-ray disc, is profiling two series being released this week.

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Martin Milner and Kent McCord are LAPD officer Pete Malloy and Jim Reed in Adam-12, a spin-off of the popular series Dragnet created by Jack Webb that aired on NBC for seven seasons.

Endorsed by the actual Los Angeles Police Department, the series featured everything from authentic department badges and vehicles to the genuine police headquarters, patrol stations, and law enforcement procedures. Adam-12 was the first television series to more realistically display the joys and frustrations of being an officer in the late 1960s and early ‘70s and chronicled, with great detail and accuracy, events from real LAPD cases.

The Adam-12: Season Five DVD set of 4 discs contain the 23 episodes that aired on NBC from September 1972 through March 1973, including a cross-over episode from another Jack Webb series, Emergency!

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Numb3rs, a crime drama about an FBI agent who recruits his mathematical-genius brother to help the Bureau solve a wide range of challenging crimes in Los Angeles, ended its 6-year run earlier this year.

Numb3rs stars Rob Morrow and David Krumholtz as two brothers who take on the most confounding criminal cases from very distinctive perspectives. The series depicts how the confluence of police work and mathematics provides unexpected revelations and answers to the most perplexing criminal questions.

The Numb3rs: Season Six DVD set of 4 discs contain the 16 episodes that aired on CBS from September 2009 through March 2010.

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Visit the Telemystery website to discover more television mystery series currently available on DVD and Blu-ray disc.

Righteous Kill 2: Revenge of the Poet Killer is BFG's Catch of the Week

From Monday, August 9th, through Sunday, August 15th, the Big Fish Games Catch of the Week is Righteous Kill 2: Revenge of the Poet Killer. Use the coupon code CATCH299 at checkout to purchase the game for $2.99.

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

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

Find more (regularly priced) mystery games to download on our BFG Adventure Games and BFG Hidden Object Games pages.

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Games of Mystery is your source for mystery-themed video, electronic, and board games, parties for kids and adults, and murder mystery weekends and mystery getaway vacations!

Mystery Godoku Puzzle for August 09, 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 G H L K O S T W

This is the title of the 4th Rose McQuinn mystery by Alanna Knight (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!

Encore Presentations of Inspector Lewis Series II Begin Sunday, August 8th, on PBS

On August 29th, the first of seven new episodes comprising Series III of Inspector Lewis airs on PBS's Masterpiece Mystery! For the next three Sundays, you're invited to enjoy encore presentations of episodes from last year's Series II.

Tomorrow, Sunday August 8th (check your local listings), the episode titled "Allegory of Love" airs. Young and handsome Oxford writer Dorian Crane is following in the noted fantasy footsteps of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien with his newest book. The day after Crane's book launch party, reality shatters the celebratory mood when a young Czech barmaid is found dead by the river, savagely murdered with an antique Persian mirror. Some of the grisly circumstances seem to have been lifted from Crane's fiction. But the celebrated author claims no knowledge of the crime, instead fawning over his bride-to-be and muse Alice Wishart. At the murder scene, Lewis and Hathaway find a one-word note scrawled in blood that references a place in Iraq. As a result, DI Lewis (Kevin Whately) and DS Hathaway (Laurence Fox) [of the Thames Valley Police] get pulled into the world of Oxford's literary elite, only to find that it harbors resentment and jealousy and at its center, holds terrible secrets beyond all imagination.

Inspector Lewis is a spin-off of the long-running Inspector Morse mysteries, based on characters created by crime novelist Colin Dexter.

Inspector Lewis: Series Two is also available on DVD from Telemystery.

Four New Games of Mystery to Download from AVG

Games of Mystery is pleased to announce this week's new mystery and suspense casual and adventure games available for immediate download from Amazon Video Games.

A complete list of downloadable mystery games is available on our Games of Mystery: Amazon Video Games Download page.

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Agatha Christie: 4:50 from Paddington

Pack your bags ... for murder.

While traveling through the English countryside, Elspeth McGillicuddy witnesses a frightful event through the window of a passing train: murder! With little evidence, no one will believe her. No one, that is, except her good friend, and amateur detective, Miss Jane Marple.

Join the celebrated amateur sleuth on a hidden object hunt for the truth about what Mrs. Gillicuddy saw that fateful night. Meet a secretive and feuding family as you investigate their English country estate, uncover critical evidence in London, and solve perplexing puzzles in Paris. As the bodies start to pile up, the pressure mounts for Miss Marple -- and you -- to crack the case. Review your notes, revisit suspects, and reveal the culprit before they strike again.

ESRB Rating: Not Specified.

Windows Vista/XP (46 MB download).

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Agatha Christie: Dead Man's Folly

You are invited to a Murder Hunt!

As a guest at the beautiful Nasse House in the English countryside, you are invited to take part in a thrilling mock-murder game. While visitors follow clues to figure out "whodunit", those in charge find themselves with a rising sense of uncertainty. Could an insider be using this charade as the perfect disguise for some despicable scheme?

With famed detective Hercule Poirot in attendance, help uncover the possible motives leading to a buried secret. Find hidden clues, decode messages, solve complicated puzzles and link crucial facts to unravel a story of deception, dark secrets and a fatal end. Is this murder hunt innocent fun, or a dead man's folly?

ESRB Rating: Not Specified.

Windows Vista/XP (44 MB download).

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Mystery of the Crystal Portal: Beyond the Horizon

Join Nicole and her sidekick Igor as they trek across the globe in search of her missing father! Discover a secret so big that it could threaten the very course of human history. Solve puzzles from her home in New York City, then travel to distant lands on the other side of the world to find her beloved father and save human kind.

ESRB Rating: Not Specified.

Windows Vista/XP (169 MB download).

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Hidden Mysteries: The Fateful Voyage

Go on board the infamous cruise ship Titanic! Explore the beautiful ship as it begins its doomed descent. Discover helpful items as you make your escape from the ship. Carefully manage your inventory to have the tools you need at your disposal. Find hidden objects as you make your way through beautiful rooms that change as the water level rises. Use your wits to escape with your life!

ESRB Rating: Not Specified.

Windows Vista/XP (214 MB download).

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Games of Mystery is your source for mystery-themed video, electronic and board games, parties for kids and adults, murder mystery weekends and mystery getaway vacations, and more mysterious fun!

Reviews of Mystery and Suspense Books for Kids, New This Week on Book Trends (100807)

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.

Conspiracy 365: July by Gabrielle Lord. The seventh thriller in the Conspiracy 365 series, recommended for readers aged 10 to 12. Lexile measure: 790L. Reviewed by a 6th grade teacher, who writes, "Once again, Gabrielle Lord has written an excellent mystery. The Conspiracy 365 books are filled with suspense on every page. Readers find themselves holding their breaths as they forge through the pages! ... August can't come soon enough!"

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

Redrum: Time Lies, a New Psychological Murder Mystery Game from BFG

Games of Mystery is pleased to announce the availability of a new mystery casual game from Big Fish Games released today and available to BFG Club members. 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.

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The twisted and evil Dr. Sigmund Fraud has been released from the asylum, and is up to his old tricks. Help Detective Ravenwood track him down and end his terrible crimes in Redrum – Time Lies. Dive into this Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game and free the souls of Dr. Fraud’s victims from their nightmares. Explore eerie nightmares and put an end to Dr. Fraud’s cruel experiments once and for all.

Advisory: Redrum: Time Lies is an intense psychological murder mystery intended for mature audiences.

See also the previous game in this series, Redrum.

Also available for this game: Redrum: Time Lies Strategy Guide and Redrum: Time Lies Game Walkthrough.

Redrum: Time Lies may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (120.14 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! (Collector's Editions earn 3 punches each, half-way towards your free game!)

Read Ms. Terri's reviews of the adventure and casual mystery games featured on this site, including Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy, Nancy Drew Dossier: Lights, Camera, Curses!, Enlightenus, and many more!

Big Fish Games: Bestsellers

Big Fish Games: New releases

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Games of Mystery is your source for mystery-themed video, electronic, and board games, parties for kids and adults, and murder mystery weekends and mystery getaway vacations!

The Panic Zone by Rick Mofina (Book Review)

The Panic Zone by Rick Mofina. A Jack Gannon Mystery. Mira Books Mass Market Paperback, July 2010.

Following up on a lead from a terrorist attack in Brazil is just the first step for investigative reporter Jack Gannon that will take him on an international adventure across four continents in The Panic Zone, the second mystery in this series by Rick Mofina.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: The Panic Zone by Rick Mofina.

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Mysterious Reviews is your source for the latest mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime novel reviews, edited by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.