Explore a Mysterious Island in Columbus: Ghost of the Mystery Stone, a New 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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After crashing his ship, and being tossed overboard, Columbus sees a beautiful apparition reaching out to him. Waking up on a mysterious island, Columbus begins to explore his surroundings and stumbles upon ancient treasures and perplexing puzzles. Find important items that will help you move on this fun hidden object puzzle adventure game.

Also available: Columbus: Ghost of the Mystery Stone Strategy Guide and Columbus: Ghost of the Mystery Stone Game Walkthrough.

Columbus: Ghost of the Mystery Stone may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (193.07 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!

Naked Heat, the Second Nikki Heat Thriller by Richard Castle

On tonight's episode of Castle, Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) casually mentions that the second book in the Nikki Heat series, Naked Heat, publishes tomorrow.

And indeed it does!

NYPD homicide detective Nikki Heat and handsome, wise-cracking Pulitzer Prize-winning Jameson Rook, are together again searching among celebrities and mobsters, singers and hookers, pro-athletes and shamed politicians for the killer of the city's most vicious gossip columnist.

ABC.com has a preview of the first 10 chapters of the book.

Watch a short video from the publisher -- including cameos by Stephen J. Cannell and Michael Connelly -- below.

New Trailer Released for Dark Prophecy, the Second Level 26 Thriller by Anthony E. Zuiker

Anthony E. Zuiker's second Level 26 thriller featuring Steve Dark, Dark Prophecy, publishes next month and a new trailer for the book has been released by the author. (Watch it below.)

The books in this series are part of a multi-platform experience that moves the reader from passages in the books to videos and interactive content on the Level 26 website.

In this second thriller, Steve Dark is now a man on a mission. A mission that no longer requires law enforcement support. A mission unbound by authorities, moral or otherwise, and supported by a mysterious benefactor with unknown goals of her own. A mission that, at long last, allows him to embrace his destiny. Dark is finally ready -- ready to take justice to the next level.

Anthony E. Zuiker is the creator and executive producer of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He produces all three editions of the CSI franchise, and lives in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

In a post on the Level 26 website (which also includes the book trailer), he talks about a surprise visit by the character Sqweegel on the October 14th episode of CSI, and promises you'll be scared to death!

The Leaf Peeper Murders by Loni Emmert and P. I. Barrington (Book Review)

The Leaf Peeper Murders by Loni Emmert and P. I. Barrington. A Jeff Ramsey Mystery. Mainly Murder Press Trade Paperback, August 2010.

Two recent suspicious deaths -- suicide? murder? -- in the small town of Button Hollow, New Hampshire, have Sheriff Jeff Ramsey puzzled and on the defensive in The Leaf Peeper Murders, the first mystery in this series by sisters Loni Emmert and P. I. Barrington.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: The Leaf Peeper Murders by Loni Emmert and P. I. Barrington.

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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.

CSI, Ellery Queen, Lord Peter Wimsey, and Midsomer Murders, 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 four series being released this week.

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CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is a fast-paced drama about an elite team of Las Vegas police forensic investigators trained to solve crimes the old-fashioned way -– by examining the evidence.

The ensemble cast is headed by Laurence Fishburne, who plays Dr. Raymond Langston, whose team is on the case 24/7, scouring the scene, collecting irrefutable evidence and finding the missing pieces that will solve the mystery.

The CSI: Season Ten DVD set of 7 discs contain the 23 episodes that aired on CBS from September 2009 through May 2010. The series is currently airing new episodes of its 11th season on Thursdays.

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Here's a series that took way too long to arrive on DVD!

For a single season on NBC, Jim Hutton starred as Ellery Queen, mystery writer who solved real life crimes. David Wayne starred as his father, police inspector Richard Queen.

A feature of every episode was Ellery Queen, speaking to the viewing audience just before the denouement, saying, "Okay, you've got all the clues. Do you know who did it? I think I do. Can you guess?"

The Ellery Queen: The Complete Series DVD set of 6 discs contain the pilot episode (which aired in April, 1975) plus the 22 episodes that aired from September 1975 through April 1976.

Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and the pen name used by Daniel Nathan (Frederic Dannay) and Manford Lepofsky (Manfred Bennington Lee), who wrote a series of novels from 1929 through 1971 featuring the character. A mystery magazine, still being published, bears the authors'/character's name.

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Ian Carmichael stars as Lord Peter Wimsey in three period adaptations of the Dorothy L. Sayers novels.

In Murder Must Advertise (original publication date 1933), Lord Peter goes deep undercover at Pym’s Publicity to investigate the suspicious death of a young copywriter following his affair with a wealthy and indolent socialite.

In Five Red Herrings (1931), when the body of an unpopular artist is found in a stream, it’s up to Lord Peter to determine which of six suspects could have committed the crime.

In The Nine Tailors (1934), stranded in a sleepy village after a car accident, Lord Peter quickly stumbles upon a decades-old case of stolen emeralds, unidentifiable corpses, and coded messages.

The Lord Peter Wimsey: Set Two DVD set of 3 discs contain the above referenced episodes, which originally aired between 1973 and 1975.

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The exceptionally popular -- and deservedly so -- village mystery series, Midsomer Murders, is currently airing episodes of its 13th season in the UK.

This Midsomer Murders: Set Sixteen DVD set of 4 discs contain episodes from the 11th season: "Midsomer Life", "The Magician's Nephew", "Talking to the Dead", and "Days of Misrule".

The series stars John Nettles as Detective Chief Inspector Tom Barnaby of the Causton CID, set in (fictional) Midsomer County. These episodes also star Jason Hughes as his partner, Detective Sergeant Ben Jones.

Midsomer Murders is based on characters created by crime novelist Caroline Graham. Several of the early episodes were adapted from her novels.

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

The Way of the Guilty by Jennifer Stanley (Book Review)

The Way of the Guilty by Jennifer Stanley. A Hope Street Church Mystery. Minotaur Books Mass Market Paperback, August 2010.

Cooper Lee calls upon her Bible Study group for help in clearing her sister's name when a dead man is found in the trunk of her rental car in The Way of the Guilty, the third mystery in the Hope Street Church series by Jennifer Stanley.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: The Way of the Guilty by Jennifer Stanley.

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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.

Mystery Godoku Puzzle for September 27, 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 C H I L K P S

The 18th mystery featuring Daisy Dalrymple by Carola Dunn has this title (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!

Inspector Lewis in Falling Darkness, Sunday September 26th on PBS

Tomorrow, Sunday September 26th, the last of five new episodes of Series III of Inspector Lewis airs on PBS (check your local listings for air times).

In "Falling Darkness", it's Halloween in Oxford, and mischief is in the air — and, as it happens, murder. A woman is found dead, a stake through her heart, a bulb of garlic in her mouth. It's a surreal crime, and an intensely personal one for Dr. Laura Hobson. The victim is Ligeia Willard, one of Hobson's old college housemates. It seems to be a terrible coincidence, one that has left Hobson disoriented with grief. When another murder takes place in a house where Hobson once lived, Detective Inspector Lewis (Kevin Whately) and Detective Sergeant Hathaway (Laurence Fox) must confront horrifying possibilities — Is Hobson connected to the crime? Could she be a killer? It's a case that will conjure ghosts from the past and may well deliver the fatal blow to the team of Lewis, Hathaway and Hobson.

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

The first two series of Inspector Lewis are available on DVD from Telemystery: Inspector Lewis. This third series will be released on DVD on October 12th, and may be pre-ordered.

Stephen Fry to Play Mycroft Holmes in Sherlock Holmes II

This morning on the Danny Baker Show on BBC5 (podcast, about 52½ minutes in), guest Stephen Fry talked briefly about his upcoming role in the sequel to the film 2009 Sherlock Holmes.

I’m playing Mycroft in the sequel to the Sherlock Holmes film Guy Ritchie directed with Robert Downey Jr., and that sort of part is fun, but just once in a while to play a genuine all round sort of lead figure with complexity and tragedy and wit and all the sort of things that Oscar had was a once in a lifetime thrill.

Mycroft is the older brother of Sherlock Holmes, and is often referred to in the canon as the smarter, if less physically inclined, of the two. "Again and again I have taken a problem to him," says Holmes in "The Adventure of the Green Interpreter", "and have received an explanation which has afterwards proved to be the correct one. And yet he was absolutely incapable of working out the practical points."

The "Oscar" Fry refers to in his statement is Oscar Wilde, the character he played in the 1997 film Wilde opposite Jude Law, who plays Dr. John Watson in Sherlock and its sequel. Robert Downey Jr. stars as Sherlock Holmes.

Fry most recently appeared as the voice of the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland and as Dr. Gordon Wyatt, a semi-recurring role on the television series Bones.

Filming for Sherlock Holmes II begins later this year, with a scheduled release date of December 16, 2011.

Telemystery: New Prime Time Crime for Sunday, September 26th

It's been a busy week so far with many new and returning prime time crime shows airing their season or series premieres. This Sunday, September 26th, two more series return on premium cable networks.

Showtime: The fifth season of Dexter opens with an episode titled "My Bad" at 9 PM (ET/PT). In the aftermath of last season's chilling finale, Rita Bennett's death has left Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) feeling responsible, possibly even ... guilty. Unable to deal with the trauma, Dexter makes a drastic decision that will impact everyone around him. Joey Quinn (Desmond Harrington) stirs up trouble at the station when he notes that Rita's murder, which is being pinned on the Trinity Killer, doesn't fit his normal murder profile. Things get even more heated when Quinn suggests to Maria LaGuerta (Lauren Velez) that they look at the husband: Dexter. Meanwhile, Quinn offers Debra Morgan (Jennifer Carpenter) much needed support, causing her to see Quinn in a new light.

HBO: The second season of Bored To Death airs at 10 PM (ET/PT) with an episode titled "Escape from the Dungeon". Taking time out from his new gig as a night-school fiction-writing teacher, Jonathan Ames (Jason Schwartzman) is hired by a mounted policeman whose name is on the client list of an S&M dungeon thatʼs about to be busted. Meanwhile, George Christopher (Ted Danson) is flummoxed to learn that his new publisher plans to cut costs on every front, and Ray Hueston (Zach Galifianakis) fails a yoga test with Leah (Heather Burns), putting their relationship in final jeopardy.

Though not airing this week, CSI: Miami moves to Sundays on CBS starting next week, October 3rd, with its ninth season premiere, "Fallen".

New Hardcover Mysteries for October 2010

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books has updated its list of new hardcover mysteries with books scheduled for publication in October 2010. Please note that some titles may publish early (and may already be available) and some may be delayed, published at a later date.

Below we're listing those authors with returning series characters, new series characters, and non-series or stand-alone mysteries in separate sections. All titles are available on our October new mystery books page (which will become the default home page for the site on October 1st).

• Authors with mysteries featuring returning series characters (in parentheses) this month:

Tasha Alexander (Lady Emily Ashton, 5th), Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain (Jessica Fletcher, Murder, She Wrote, 34th), Sandra Balzo (Maggy Thorsen, 6th), M. C. Beaton (Agatha Raisin, 21st), Alison Bruce (Gary Goodhew, 2nd), Stephen J. Cannell (Shane Scully, 10th), JoAnna Carl (Lee McKinney. 10th), Kathryn Casey (Sarah Armstrong, 3rd), Joanna Challis (Daphne Du Maurier, 2nd), Lee Child (Jack Reacher, 15th), Laura Childs (Carmela Bertrand, 8th), Reed Farrel Coleman (Moe Prager, 6th), Michael Connelly (Harry Bosch, 16th), Darwyn Cooke (Parker Graphic, 2nd), Elizabeth Darrell (Max Rydal, 6th), Mark de Castrique (Barry Clayton, 5th), Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan (Strain Trilogy, 2nd), Margaret Duffy (Patrick Gillard and Ingrid Langley, 14th), Mary Anna Evans (Faye Longchamp, 6th), Joanne Fluke, Leslie Meier, and Laura Levine (Christmas Novellas, 2nd), Vince Flynn (Mitch Rapp, 11th), Jeanne Glidewell (Lexie Starr, 2nd), J. G. Goodhind (Honey Driver, 6th), Robert Greer (C. J. Floyd, 8th), Elizabeth Gunn (Sarah Burke, 3rd), David Handler (Berger and Mitry, 7th), Carolyn Hart (Bailey Ruth Raeburn, 3rd), Judith K. Ivie (Kate Lawrence, 4th), Alan Jacobson (Karen Vail, 3rd), Iris Johansen (Eve Duncan and Joe Quinn, 11th), John Lawton (Frederick Troy, 7th), Marcia Muller (Sharon McCone (28th), Reggie Nadelson (Artie Cohen, 9th), Robert B. Parker (Spenser, 38th), Anne Perry (Christmas Novella, 8th), Greg Rucka (Queen & Country, 3rd), Fay Sampson (Suzie Fewings, 3rd), Alexander McCall Smith (Isabel Dalhousie, 7th), Sally Spencer (Sam Blackstone, 8th), Marcia Talley (Hannah Ives, 9th), Peter Tremayne (Sister Fidelma, 20th), Peggy Webb (Southern Cousins, 3rd), Jeri Westerson (Crispin Guest, Medieval Noir, 3rd), Leslie Wheeler (Miranda Lewis, 3rd), F. Paul Wilson (Repairman Jack, 13th), Anthony E. Zuiker and Duane Swierczynski (Steve Dark, 2nd).

• Authors with mysteries introducing new series characters (in parentheses) this month:

Michael Ayoob (Dexter Bolzjak), Gary Corby (Nicolaos), Laura A. H. DiSilverio (Charlotte "Charlie" Swift), David James (Amanda Thorne), Bruce MacBain (Plinius Secundus), Stuart Neville (Jack Lennon).

• Authors with non-series or stand-alone mysteries this month:

Marianne Ackerman, Steve Alten and John Toledo, D. C. Brod, Liza Campbell, John Le Carre, Alan M. Dershowitz, Bruce DeSilva, Myla Goldberg, Ed Gorman, John Grisham, Paul Grossman, Patricia Gussin, Russ Hall, Kenneth Harmon, Payne Harrison, Seth Harwood, William Heffernan, Jay Scully et al., Weyman Jones, Raymond Khoury, Elmore Leonard, Allison Leotta, Michael McMenamin and Patrick McMenamin, D. E. Meredith, Pamela Oldfield, Theodore W. Pietsch, Todd Ritter, Joel C. Rosenberg, Jon Stock, Caspar Walsh.

For more information on any of these titles, please visit the October new mysteries page on our website. If you're interested in new paperbacks, visit The Mystery Bookshelf where you can discover a library of new mysteries, also updated with October 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.

Mr. E. Reviews Edge of Darkness

A few weeks ago I watched and reviewed the 1985 BBC miniseries Edge of Darkness, which served as the basis for this 2010 film starring Mel Gibson. One of my comments was, "There's an interesting story here, but it is buried beneath nearly six hours of a meandering, nearly incomprehensible screenplay." I was hoping that cutting the story down to two hours would improve it. It really doesn't, but I fault the screenwriters of this updated version for, somewhat ironically, taking too many shortcuts and losing much of the suspense of the original.

Read the full text of our review at Mr. E. Reviews: Edge of Darkness.

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Mr. E. Reviews is your source for mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime drama reviews of television and film.

Reviews of Mystery and Suspense Books for Kids, New This Week on Book Trends (100925)

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/thriller category.

Closed for the Season by Mary Downing Hahn. A stand-alone thriller recommended for readers aged 10 to 12. Lexile measure: 670L. Reviewed by a 6th grade student, who writes, "Things happen so fast in this book that you won’t want to ever stop reading. The ending of the book is fantastic but you will have to read the book to find out what it is ... only read in the daylight so you don’t get too scared."

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

Solve a Cold Case Murder in James Patterson's Women's Murder Club: Little Black Lies, a 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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As the fumes thicken, best-selling true crimes author Regina Blacklock fades in and out of consciousness. Falling inches short from discovering the truth behind a 35-year-old case she has been researching, police are left with one clue leading to the Women’s Murder Club.

Become part of the investigation as Lindsay, Claire and Cindy follow Regina’s trail in hopes of piecing together the missing links in this exciting hidden object game, the fourth in the series that also includes A Darker Shade of Grey, Death in Scarlet, and Twice in a Blue Moon.

See also the Women's Murder Club game website for more information about the series.

James Patterson's Women's Murder Club: Little Black Lies may be downloaded and purchased for $6.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (184.18 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!

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens (Book Review)

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens. Non-series. St. Martin's Press Hardcover, July 2010.

Annie O'Sullivan relates her year-long ordeal of being held captive, and the aftermath with the police and press, friends and family, in a series of sessions with her therapist in Still Missing, Chevy Stevens' debut novel.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Still Missing by Chevy Stevens.

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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.