Today's Featured Free Kindle Mystery: Hour of the Hunter by J. A. Jance

Kindle Mysteries is pleased to feature a mystery title that is currently available in Kindle eBook format for free from Amazon.com. (Note: the official publication date is tomorrow, August 24th, but it may be pre-ordered now.) We don't know how long it will be offered at this special price (typically only until a certain number of downloads have been completed), so download it today!

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Hour of the Hunter by J. A. Jance
A Brandon Walker Mystery (1st in series)
HarperCollins (Kindle eBook)
Download Link

About Hour of the Hunter (from the publisher): A predator is free to kill again–and hour by hour, he draws closer: After only six years in prison, Andrew Carlisle has been released. A brilliant psychopath convicted of the brutal torture-murder of a Papago Indian girl, he is free once more to prowl the Arizona desert to feed his insatiable hunger for blood and fear ... and revenge.

A teacher on the Tohono O’Odham reservation, Diana Ladd’s testimony once helped put Andrew Carlisle behind bars. And now the terrified young widow can’t ignore the dire peril foretold in dark, mystical omens and ancient Papago lore: a hunter is stalking Diana Ladd and her son ... and his hour is at hand.

Lost, NCIS, and The Sweeney, New This Week on DVD and Blu-ray Disc

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 three series being released this week.

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It all comes down to this. One of television’s most innovative and compelling series, Lost, comes to a stunning conclusion. In the aftermath of a monumental explosion, reality shifts for everyone associated with the mystical island.

The critically acclaimed epic drama will finally reveal the fate of the Oceanic 815 survivors and all who have joined their journey, and will uncover even more secrets with never-before-seen content available only on Blu-ray and DVD!

The Lost: Season Six DVD set of 5 discs contain the 16 episodes that aired on ABC from February through March 2010. Also available: Lost: Season Six Blu-ray.

Lost: The Complete Collection (DVD and Blu-ray) is also being released this week. All episodes of the series plus over 30 hours of bonus material on presented on 38 discs. Special features include a collectible edition of the Senet game as seen in Season 6, customer Lost island replica, an exclusive episode guide, collectible ankh, and more.

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NCIS (Naval Criminal Investigative Service) is more than just an action drama. With liberal doses of humor, it's a show that focuses on the sometimes complex and always amusing dynamics of a team of special agents forced to work together in high-stress situations.

From murder and espionage to terrorism and stolen submarines, these special agents travel the globe to investigate all crimes with Navy or Marine Corps ties.

The ensemble cast is led by Mark Harmon, who plays Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

The NCIS: Season Seven DVD set of 6 discs contain the 24 episodes that aired on CBS from September 2009 through May 2010.

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Two seasons of The Sweeney are being released this week.

The series is based on an elite team of Metropolitan Polices officers specializing in violent crime called the Flying Squad, and stars John Thaw as Detective Inspector Jack Regan and Dennis Waterman as Detective Sergeant George Carter, who lead a unit of skilled detectives who infiltrate and bust up London's criminal underworld.

The The Sweeney: Series Three DVD set of 4 discs contain the 13 episodes that aired on ITV from September through December 1976. The The Sweeney: Series Four DVD set of 4 discs contain the 14 episodes that aired on ITV from September through December 1978.

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

Nancy Drew in Secrets Can Kill!, Newly Remastered for PC and Mac

In 1998, Her Interactive released the first in the popular series of mystery adventure games featuring the teenage amateur sleuth Nancy Drew. Titled Secrets Can Kill, and based on the first book in The Nancy Drew Files, it puts the player in the role of Nancy Drew as she solves a whodunit-style mystery.

Tomorrow, Her Interactive releases a freshened and remastered version of the game. In addition to updated graphics, characters, puzzles, Secrets Can Kill! features a brand new ending.

In the game, you (as Nancy Drew) step in when a student at the high school where your aunt works is murdered, the killer escaping. You must uncover the secret that was supposed to die with him by following the clues, solving puzzles, questioning the suspects -- including a new one -- and ultimately exposing the culprit when all others have failed.

Secrets Can Kill! is available in both PC and Mac versions.

Watch the official trailer for the game below.

Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy is BFG's Catch of the Week

From Monday, August 23rd, through Sunday, August 29th, the Big Fish Games Catch of the Week is Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy. Use the coupon code CATCH299 at checkout to purchase the game for $2.99.

Use your famous mystery-writing skills to help solve an ancient homicide and capture Edgar Allan Poe's murderer! Follow your ghostly guides through Poe's classic tales as you meet the different suspects in this dark and haunting hidden object game. Find inspiration for your next book as you collect clues, interview witnesses, and crack the centuries-old crime in Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy.

Read our Review of Midnight Mysteries: The Edgar Allan Poe Conspiracy.

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 23, 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 B D E G N O T U

Death was this in the 6th Emerson Ward mystery by Michael W. Sherer (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!

Ms. Terri Reviews Enlightenus II: The Timeless Tower

Review of Enlightenus II: The Timeless Tower by Ms. Terri, game reviewer for the Omnimystery Family of Mystery Websites.

Enlightenus II: The Timeless Tower, a sequel to last year's Enlightenus, is a combination of point-and-click adventure, cutscreen puzzles, and object association within scenes set in various time periods. As a variation on the standard hidden object game, it is quite enjoyable, though its storyline isn't as compelling as the original.

Read her complete review on Games of Mystery.

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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!

A Brush with Death by Elizabeth J. Duncan (Book Review)

A Brush with Death by Elizabeth J. Duncan. A Penny Brannigan Mystery. Minotaur Books Hardcover, July 2010.

Watercolor artist Penny Brannigan is surprised to learn she has inherited a quaint -- but badly in need of renovation -- cottage from an old friend ... only to discover that its contents may hold the secret to the solution of a decades-old mystery in A Brush with Death, the second entry in this series by Elizabeth J. Duncan.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: A Brush with Death by Elizabeth J. Duncan.

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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.

Inspector Lewis in The Point of Vanishing, Sunday August 22nd on PBS

Tomorrow, Sunday August 22nd, the last of three encore episodes from Series II of Inspector Lewis airs on PBS's Masterpiece Mystery! Next week, the premiere episode of five new episodes of the third series airs.

In an episode titled "The Point of Vanishing" (check your local listings for times) a man, Steven Mullan, is found dead in his bathtub, the scalding water indicative of the white-hot rage that motivated the murder. Lewis recognizes Mullan as having been recently released from prison after having tried to kill celebrity atheist Tom Rattenbury while driving drunk. Mullan's sentence may be over, but have the scars healed for the Rattenburys, especially daughter Jessica who remains in a wheelchair from the incident? Lewis and Hathaway find a postcard at the crime scene of a Renaissance painting inscribed with the words, "It was no dream." But the case is about to take a surreal, dream-like twist, leaving Lewis and Hathaway drowning in questions about crimes of the past and the present.

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.

The Whisperers by John Connolly (Book Review)

The Whisperers by John Connolly. A Charlie Parker Mystery. Atria Hardcover, July 2010.

An improbable series of suicides in a remote area of Maine -- all of former soldiers that served in Iraq -- is related to former NYPD homicide detective, now private investigator Charlie Parker's current case, in The Whisperers, the tenth mystery that combines hard-boiled detective fiction with supernatural overtones in this series by John Connolly.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: The Whisperers by John Connolly.

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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.

Tom Selleck Talks about the Future of Jesse Stone

Here's a news item from a month ago we missed reporting on, though it's still relevant today!

Tom Selleck talked to TV Squad in late July about his new crime drama Blue Bloods, which premieres next month on CBS. During the conversation, the subject of his Jesse Stone films came up, and if there will be more. Selleck's definitive answer was "Yes", adding, "[I]t's important to tell people that, because the one thing I said to CBS was, 'I'm not going to do this series at the expense of Jesse Stone.'"

We already knew there would be at least one more, since it was filmed last year. Titled Innocents Lost, and the seventh in the series, it is an original screenplay based on the characters created by Robert B. Parker. If history is any guide here, CBS won't schedule this to air until next February or May.

But the good -- nay, great -- news is that Selleck mentions there's more to come. "[W]e're writing number eight, which we don't have a title for yet. So yes, there's going to be more Jesse Stones."

The first six made-for-television films in the Jesse Stone series, which we highly recommend, are available on DVD from Telemystery: Jesse Stone.

Reviews of Mystery and Suspense Books for Kids, New This Week on Book Trends (100821)

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.

Lunch Lady and the Summer Camp Shakedown by Jarrett J. Krosoczka. The fourth graphic novel in the Lunch Lady series, recommended for readers aged 10 to 12. Lexile measure: N/A. Reviewed by a 6th grade student, who calls the book "Hilarious, epic, and mysterious", adding, "[T]he Lunch Lady is a fun character. She has clever ideas for capturing crooks, and always finds a way to save the day!"

The Gecko and Sticky: The Power Potion by Wendelin Van Draanen. The fourth book in The Gecko and Sticky series, recommended for readers aged 10 to 12. Lexile measure: ~800L (estimated from values assigned to other books in the series). Reviewed by a 7th grade student, who calls the book "Adventurous, witty, and eye-gluing", and goes on to say, "This is a hilarious book! I couldn’t stop laughing when Sticky told Dave that he had to look ‘Gangsta’ and that he needed ‘Bling’ to deliver the package."

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

Redemption Cemetery: Curse of the Raven, an Eerie New Game of Mystery 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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After getting into a car accident, you wander into a mysterious graveyard while searching for help. The doors slam shut behind you and you realize that you are trapped! Escape from the eerie Redemption Cemetery by helping trapped spirits save their loved ones, and free their souls! Use your hidden object skills to help these ghosts and escape!

For a more in-depth game experience, check out the Redemption Cemetery: Curse of the Raven Collector's Edition that includes bonus gameplay, an integrated strategy guide, original soundtrack, concept art, and more.

Also available: Redemption Cemetery: Curse of the Raven Strategy Guide and a Redemption Cemetery: Curse of the Raven Game Walkthrough.

Redemption Cemetery: Curse of the Raven may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (165.15 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 Drowning River by Christobel Kent (Book Review)

The Drowning River by Christobel Kent. A Sandro Cellini Mystery. Minotaur Books Hardcover, July 2010.

After 30 years as a policeman in Florence, Sandro Cellini leaves the force to become a private detective -- "it was too late for him to become anything else" -- whose initial case involves the presumed suicide of a Holocaust survivor in The Drowning River, the first mystery in this series by Christobel Kent.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: The Drowning River by Christobel Kent.

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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.

Paul Levine's Solomon & Lord Short Story Drop Anchor Available as Free eBook

The good news is that mystery author Paul Levine has created an ebook that includes a short story featuring his series characters Steve Solomon and Victoria Lord, law partners in south Florida, titled Drop Anchor.

The better news is that it's free!

The story originally appeared in the anthology Miami Noir and involves a mysterious boat trip with a nefarious passenger.

Also included in the book are excerpts of the first two novels in his other mystery series featuring attorney Jake Lassiter, To Speak for the Dead and Night Vision, and the author's stand-alone Supreme Court thriller, Reversal (originally published as 9 Scorpions). All three are available as e-books for $2.99, with the proceeds from To Speak for the Dead going to the Four Diamonds Fund for cancer treatment at the Hershey (PA) Children’s Hospital.

Enlightenus II: The Timeless Tower, a New Mysterious Adventure 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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Clarence Flatt, an expert clockmaker, is working in the legendary Timeless Tower on the perpetual Ageless Clock when something goes wrong and the clock collapses, scattering pieces throughout the tower. These pieces begin to unravel the very fabric of time, and only you can set things right. Enter different eras from the past, solve its mysteries, and collect the pieces to restore the clock to its original condition.

For a more in-depth game experience, check out the Enlightenus II: The Timeless Tower Collector's Edition that includes bonus gameplay, a built-in strategy guide, a sneak peek at Enlightenus III, and more.

Also available: Enlightenus II: The Timeless Tower Strategy Guide and a Enlightenus II: The Timeless Tower Game Walkthrough.

See also the first game in the series, Enlightenus and Ms. Terri's Review of Enlightenus.

Enlightenus II: The Timeless Tower may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (208.64 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!