Cast Your Vote for the The People's Detective Dagger Award

The Crime Thriller Awards will be presented next Friday, October 8th, with the televised ceremony airing on ITV3 a few days later, on October 12th.

The winners of the CWA Gold Dagger, Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, and John Creasey New Blood Dagger will be announced during the ceremony. (We have the shortlists on our Mystery Awards: CWA page.)

The Rap Sheet has a run-down on the nominees in the film and television categories, but there's also a category in which readers can vote for their favorite: The People's Detective Dagger. Voting is open until 9 AM on October 8th, and twelve fictional detectives that have appeared in a television series are listed. Our personal choice: DCI Christopher Foyle.

More Books in the Harry Potter Series?

File this under "Hmm ... not so sure about this ..."

As reported by People, J. K. Rowling hints that there could be more Harry Potter books.

"I could definitely write an eighth, ninth, tenth," she tells Oprah Winfrey, in an interview scheduled to air today. "I'm not going to say I won't. I don't think I will … I feel I am done, but you never know."

She says she plans on writing more books, but also that she's entered a new phase in her life. Whether that phase includes Harry Potter remains to be seen.

BFG Game Promotions Ending October 6th, 2010

Earlier today, we posted information about Drawn: Dark Flight, a new adventure game of mystery and intrigue, available from Big Fish Games.

Drawn: Dark Flight is the sequel to Drawn: The Painted Tower ... and now we're thrilled to provide you with a coupon code that will allow you to purchase the first game, Drawn: The Painted Tower, for just $3.49! Simply use the code DRAWN49 during checkout. But hurry! This offer is only good through October 06, 2010.

(Psst! Here's another offer for you. Save 30% off the retail price of any standard game with coupon code BIGFISHGAMES30. This offer, too, is only good through October 06, 2010.)

Mystery Author Stephen J. Cannell Dies

Mystery author and television series creator and screenwriter Stephen J. Cannell has died. He was 69.

On the splash page of his website, this note appears: "With profound sadness, we have to announce that our dear friend and colleague, Stephen Cannell, has lost a brave fight against cancer. He passed away at his home last night. He will be missed beyond measure by the Cannell Team and all of us who had the privilege and the plain good luck to know and work with him. Through the legacy of his body of work, with which he was able to entertain and enrich the lives of millions of viewers and thousands of readers, he will always be with us, living on in our hearts and minds, with fond memories forever."

Though probably best known for his role in creating, writing, and producing popular television series (The Rockford Files, The A-Team, 21 Jump Street, Hunter, The Commish, and many more), he recently focused primarily on writing. The 10th mystery in his series featuring LAPD Detective Shane Scully, The Prostitute's Ball, is published this month.

Edited to add: The Hollywood Reporter has an extensive list of Stephen J. Cannell's accomplishments. We wanted to make sure our readers had an opportunity to see them.

The Taken by Inger Ash Wolfe (Book Review)

The Taken by Inger Ash Wolfe. A Hazel Micallef Mystery. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Hardcover, July 2010.

When a submerged mannequin -- initially mistaken as a dead body -- is discovered at a popular fishing location, Detective Inspector Hazel Micallef doesn't think a crime has been committed ... until she learns its existence is tied to a crime playing out in slow motion on the internet in The Taken, the second mystery in this series by Inger Ash Wolfe.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: The Taken by Inger Ash Wolfe.

— ◊ —

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

Harlequin Worldwide Mystery Titles for October 2010

eHarlequin.com has announced the October 2010 titles for their Worldwide imprint, your partner in crime. Amateur sleuths, traditional cozies, police procedurals and private-eye fiction, written by award-winning authors. For more information or to purchase any of the books below, click on the book title or book cover. (Previous months titles can be found on the backlist page.)

— ◊ —

Assumed Dead by Eleanor Sullivan
A Monika Everhardt Mystery (3rd in series)

Two gravely injured head trauma patients—and two mysteries—arrive in nurse Monika Everhardt's ICU on the same day. The first is a John Doe whose car crashed during a high-speed police chase. The second is a woman who was bludgeoned in a bank parking lot. Police suspect the victim's husband. But Monika knows genuine grief when she sees it and she's got her eye on someone else: the husband's ex-wife.

Things get interesting when Monika's friend believes the John Doe may be her long lost brother, presumed dead for several years. But if he is, what was he doing with a stolen car from Texas and the ID of a dead man from New York? As Monika uncovers pieces of the shocking truth about why these patients ended up in her care, the hectic daily routine of life and death … becomes murder.

— ◊ —

Death and Honesty by Cynthia Riggs
A Victoria Trumbull Mystery (8th in series)

April arrives in Martha's Vineyard, bringing two of life's inescapable certainties—death and taxes.

When the body of a local resident is found inside the home of one of the town's three tax assessors—along with some incriminating evidence of an embezzlement scheme—ninety-two-year-old sleuth Victoria Trumbull is on the case. Also falling under Victoria's eagle eye is the arrival of the glamorous, estranged wife of a popular televangelist. She's eager to buy some island property. But someone knows something about the woman's sordid past and isn't above blackmail to keep silent.

It's just the beginning of a trail of bodies, illicit doings and secrets that collide in the brisk ocean air on Victoria's doorstep. And when her search for a missing tax assessor leads to a dangerous truth, it takes the insight and experience of a thirteenth-generation islander to fit the puzzle pieces together—and outwit a ruthless foe.

— ◊ —

Yellow as Legal Pads by Fran Stewart
A Biscuit McKee Mystery (2nd in series)

The honeymoon is over far too soon for Martinsville, Georgia, librarian and newlywed Biscuit McKee—cut short by untimely murder. The victim had been out taking an evening jog. His killer had a deadly agenda and a vial full of poison. Biscuit's new husband, Bob, attempted to revive the stricken man, only to absorb a near fatal dose of the toxin, himself. Now, Biscuit's lonely vigil outside the ICU revolves around the big questions: how could this happen and why?

With her clever feline companion Marmalade offering unsolicited insights, Biscuit unwittingly finds herself unraveling a decades-old mystery of ruthlessness, betrayal and mistaken identity. While Bob lingers in a coma, dark deeds of the past resurface and Biscuit discovers life is getting complicated on many fronts … and infinitely more dangerous.

— ◊ —

At Risk of Being a Fool by Jeanette Cottrell
Non-series

With her husband confined to a nursing home, retired teacher Jeanie McCoy works part-time in an at-risk youth program, helping six troubled students prepare for the GED exam. Her students have police records and most are repeat offenders. So when a pipe bomb explodes at a Delancey Brothers construction site and injures a man, the police target one of Jeanie's students employed there.

Jeanie is very protective of her "kids"; she sees the vulnerable, softer side each one hides behind a tough veneer. But she knows they've got their secrets, and decides the only way to help is to tackle the mystery herself. As more pipe bombs go off and the stakes are raised to murder, suspicion on Jeanie's class mounts. Her grit and determination not to let these kids down lure her into a deadly game against an opponent with a dangerous mind.

— ◊ —

If you enjoy the books in this series, you can join Worldwide Mystery and get 2 free books plus 2 free gifts just for giving the automatic program a try. Accepting your two free Worldwide Mystery books and mystery gifts places you under no obligation to buy anything. You may keep the books and gifts and return the shipping statement marked cancel. If you do not cancel, about two months later, and then every other month, eHarlequin will send you three additional Worldwide Mystery books.

Keep up to date by subscribing to eHarlequin.com's free newsletter that contains the latest information about their series of books as well as informing you about subscriber-only special offers and new products. Click on the banner below to subscribe for free:

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

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books recently updated its list of October 2010 hardcover mysteries as well shelved new October paperbacks on The Mystery Bookshelf.

In this series of monthly posts, which we call Firsts on the 1st, we're introducing readers to new series characters who will make their mysterious debut during October.

— ◊ —

Title: Murder at the PTA
Author: Laura Alden
Series Character: Beth Kennedy
Format: Mass Market Paperback

What we know about the character: Beth Kennedy is a bookstore owner and the secretary for the local PTA in this series set in Wisconsin.

Her first case: After Tarver Elementary School's unpopular principal is murdered, Beth puts aside bake sales and class trip fund-raisers to catch a killer. And when members of the PTA become suspects, she realizes solving this murder will not be as easy as ABC ...

— ◊ —

Title: In Search of Mercy
Author: Michael Ayoob
Series Character: Dexter Bolzjak
Format: Hardcover

What we know about the character: Dexter Bolzjak is an ex–hockey goalie.

His first case: Dexter was abducted and tortured by perverted sports fans eight years ago. Now he’s muddling along in a Pittsburgh warehouse when he meets an old, terminally ill drunk named Lou Kashon. Lou wants to see his lost love, the actress Mercy Carnahan, and offers Dexter a fortune to find her. Dexter embarks on the search, retracing Mercy’s past online and on foot, following Mercy’s trail to New York, where he finds a voyeuristic film of the actress recorded shortly before her disappearance. Once Dexter connects that film to its source, he finds himself trapped in the ultimate nightmare.

— ◊ —

Title: Fundraising the Dead
Author: Sheila Connolly
Series Character: Eleanor "Nell" Pratt
Format: Mass Market Paperback

What we know about the character: Eleanor "Nell" Pratt is a fundraiser for the Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society.

Her first case: As the Society's fundraiser, Nell solicits donations -- and sometimes solves crimes. When a collection of George Washington's letters is lost on the same day that an archivist is found dead, it seems strange that the Society president isn't pushing for an investigation. Nell goes digging herself, and soon uncovers a long, rich history of crime.

— ◊ —

Title: The Pericles Commission
Author: Gary Corby
Series Character: Nicolaos
Format: Hardcover

What we know about the character: Nicolaos is an agent for the politician Pericles and older brother to a young Socrates.

His first case: Nicolaos walks the mean streets of Athens, on a mission to find the assassin of the statesman Ephialtes, the man who brought democracy to the city and whose murder has thrown it into uproar. It’s a job not made any easier by the depressingly increasing number of dead witnesses.

But murder and mayhem don’t bother Nico; what’s really on his mind is how to get closer (much closer) to Diotima, the intelligent and annoyingly virgin priestess of Artemis, and how to shake off his irritating twelve year-old brother Socrates.

— ◊ —

Title: Swift Justice
Author: Laura A. H. DiSilverio
Series Character: Charlotte "Charlie" Swift
Format: Hardcover

What we know about the character: Former US Air Force investigator Charlotte "Charlie" Swift is a private investigator in Colorado Springs (Colorado).

Her first case: Charlie's silent partner in Swift Investigations flees the country, leaving his wife, Gigi, with nothing but the house, the Hummer, and a half interest in the company. Charlie ends up with a heap of debt and Gigi, who has decided to be a not-so-silent partner. This change comes about while Charlie is trying to find the mother of a baby abandoned on a client’s doorstep. While following leads, she sends Gigi out on crazy assignments, hoping that the pampered socialite will be driven to quit. However, when the baby’s mother turns up dead, there’s a murderer on the loose, and Charlie will need all the help she can get.

— ◊ —

Title: Old World Murder
Author: Kathleen Ernst
Series Character: Chloe Ellefson
Format: Trade Paperback

What we know about the character: Chloe Ellefson is a collections curator at Old World Wisconsin.

Her first case: Chloe's first day on the job at the outdoor ethnic museum only brings misfortune when an elderly woman pleads with her to find the priceless eighteenth-century Norwegian ale bowl that she donated to the museum years ago. Minutes later, the disappointed woman dies in a mysterious car crash.

Throwing herself into a dangerous investigation, Chloe discovers that someone is desperately trying to erase all traces of the bowl's existence by any means necessary ... including murder. With the unnervingly attractive part-time cop Roelke McKenna at her side, Chloe must solve a decades-old puzzle, catch a covetous killer, and stay alive in this deadly heirloom hunt.

— ◊ —

Title: Three Bedrooms, Two Baths, One Very Dead Corpse
Author: David James
Series Character: Amanda Thorne
Format: Hardcover

What we know about the character: Amanda Thorne is a realtor in Palm Springs (California).

Her first case: Amanda knows the golden rule of selling homes. Unless, of course, the prime property includes one very dead corpse ...

Amanda is pretty resilient, but she's taken a few hard knocks since she moved to plush Palm Springs. After a divorce from her husband and business partner, Alex, she's determined to make it on her own in real estate -- despite scorpions, 100-degree heat, and an encounter with a cactus en route to her first big listing. And when she finally arrives at the Mid-century modern manse, a lifeless body in the living room really ruins the ambiance. Starting her own investigation to clear her name, what's clear is that someone wants Amanda's inquiring mind off the market -- permanently. But she's tracking down this killer ... even if it leads her to death's handcrafted, Mission style door.

— ◊ —

Title: Yü
Author: Joy Shayne Laughter
Series Character: Ross Lamos
Format: Trade Paperback

What we know about the character: Ross Lamos is a dealer in fine art.

His first case: Lamos has built his career dealing in Asian art and antiquities by hiding his very useful psychic touch. When he holds the yü -- jade, the Stone of Heaven -- it reveals an extraordinary history, and his role in a love story that changed the course of a Dynasty ... the love between an extraordinary Concubine and a Prince, the son of her Emperor, and the Poet caught between them all ... a story hidden for two thousand years in three pieces of yü.

— ◊ —

Title: You Are Next
Author: Katia Lief
Series Character: Karin Schaeffer
Format: Mass Market Paperback

What we know about the character: Karin Schaeffer is a former police detective, now studying forensic psychology.

Her first case: Karin has nothing left to live for after serial killer Martin Price destroys all she holds dear. Known as "The Domino Killer" because he leaves dominoes as a clue to his next victim, Price doesn't stop until an entire family is destroyed. Even when he's locked away in prison, the shadow he casts over Karin's life keeps her in constant darkness.

Then a policeman brings news to her door: Price has escaped. Karin knows where he's headed because of the message he left behind last time, scrawled in blood, on her bathroom mirror—

You are next.

— ◊ —

Title: Roman Games
Author: Bruce Macbain
Series Character: Plinius Secundus
Format: Hardcover

What we know about the character: Plinius Secundus is a lawyer in late 1st century Rome.

His first case: When the body of Sextus Verpa, a notorious senatorial informer and libertine, is found stabbed to death in his bedroom, his slaves are suspected. Pliny is ordered by the emperor Domitian to investigate. However, the Ludi Romani, the Roman Games, have just begun and for the next fifteen days the law courts are in recess. If Pliny can't identify the murderer in that time, Verpa's entire slave household will be burned alive in the arena.

Teaming up with Martial, a starving author of bawdy verses and denizen of the Roman demimonde, they pool their respective talents, and unravel a plot that involves Jewish and Christian "atheists," exotic Egyptian cultists, and a missing horoscope that forecasts the emperor's death.

— ◊ —

Title: Collusion
Author: Stuart Neville
Series Character: Jack Lennon
Format: Hardcover

What we know about the character: Jack Lennon is a Detective Inspector in Belfast (Northern Ireland).

His first case: When Lennon tries to track down his former lover Marie McKenna and their daughter, his superiors tell him to back off. But now an assassin stalks Belfast, tying up loose ends for a vengeance-driven old man. As Lennon unravels a conspiracy that links his daughter to a killer named Fegan, the line between friend and enemy blurs.

(Note: Though we're characterizing this novel as the first in a series, many of the characters were introduced in Neville's previous book, The Ghosts of Belfast.)

— ◊ —

Title: A Brisket, a Casket
Author: Delia Rosen
Series Character: Gwen Silver (Deadly Deli)
Format: Mass Market Paperback

What we know about the character: Native New Yorker Gwen Silver runs a deli in Nashville (Tennessee).

Her first case: When Gwen inherits her uncle's deli, Murray the Pastrami Swami, the venture seems doomed from the start. Murray has taken his recipes and secret list of food suppliers to the grave with him, and ruthless real estate developer Royce Sinclair will stop at nothing to try and sandwich Murray’s into his already overstuffed portfolio. Then, on Kosher Karaoke Night, longtime customer Buster Sergeant bites into his brisket … and bites the dust. With the help of hunky police detective Beau McClintock, “Nashville Katz”—as Gwen is quickly nicknamed—finds herself adding “private investigator” to her resume—and a new love to her life.

— ◊ —

Title: To the Manor Dead
Author: Sebastian Stuart
Series Character: Janet Petrocelli (Janet's Planet)
Format: Trade Paperback

What we know about the character: Janet Petrocelli is a former therapist from New York City who relocates to the Catskills and opens a used-stuff shop.

Her first case: Janet has made a new, low-stress life for herself as a collectibles shop owner in the quiet Hudson Valley river town of Sawyersville. Unfortunately, Janet is a magnet for nut jobs. In this case, it's the Livingstons, an aristocratic family that has gone to seed in a disturbingly seedy way. When the elderly estate co-owner, Daphne Livingston, offers her prized heirlooms to Janet for a hasty sale, the seemingly simple deal morphs into a tangled web of insanity, greed, and murder. Despite her resolve to steer clear of the murky depths of degeneracy and deceit, Janet becomes obsessed with finding justice for the dead ... if the killer doesn't find her first.

— ◊ —

For a list of more mysteries scheduled for publication during October, 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 October 2010 releases.

Please also 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.