We haven't heard too much recently about the reboot of the Jack Ryan series, based on a character created by Tom Clancy and previously played by three actors (Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck) in four films (The Hunt for Red October 1990, Patriot Games 1992, Clear and Present Danger 1994, The Sum of All Fears 2002).
We know that Chris Pine will assume the role if and when a movie is made, but Paramount, which owns the film rights to the character, seems to be having a tough time coming up with a suitable script. Deadline|New York has the latest news (together with a brief summary of previous attempts to get the project going): Steve Zaillian has been brought in to rewrite (maybe even write from scratch) a screenplay that will feature a pre-CIA Jack Ryan. Unlike the previous films, which were all adapted from Clancy novels, this will be an original story.
Zaillian is familiar with the character (he wrote the screenplay for Clear and Present Danger), and most recently completed the script for The Girl with Dragon Tattoo, the English-language adaptation of the popular Stieg Larsson thriller.
The studio hopes to begin production sooner than later as Chris Pine is also committed to the sequel to 2009's Star Trek, which has a tentative 2012 release date.
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Paramount Tries Again with New Screenwriter for Jack Ryan Film
The Nearest Exit by Olen Steinhauer, A Milo Weaver Thriller
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 Nearest Exit by Olen Steinhauer
A Milo Weaver Thriller (2nd in series)
Minotaur Books (Trade Paperback)
Publication Date: February 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-62288-6
About The Nearest Exit (from the publisher): Now faced with the end of his quiet, settled life, reluctant spy Milo Weaver has no choice but to turn back to his old job as a “tourist.” Before he can get back to the CIA’s dirty work, he has to prove his loyalty to his new bosses, who know little of Milo’s background and less about who is really pulling the strings in the government above the Department of Tourism — or in the outside world, which is beginning to believe the legend of its existence. Milo is suddenly in a dangerous position, between right and wrong, between powerful self-interested men, between patriots and traitors — especially as a man who has nothing left to lose.
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About Olen Steinhauer: Raised in Virginia, the two-time Edgar Award finalist has since lived in Georgia, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Texas, California, Massachusetts, and New York. Outside the US, he's lived in Croatia (when it was called Yugoslavia), the Czech Republic and Italy. He also spent a year in Romania on a Fulbright grant, an experience that helped inspire his first five books. He now lives in Hungary with his wife and daughter. Visit his website at OlenSteinhauer.com.
Read the first chapters of The Nearest Exit below. Use the Aa settings button to adjust text size, line spacing, and word density.
Bantam Acquires Comic Book / Graphic Novel Rights to A Song of Fire and Ice Novels by George R. R. Martin
HBO is doing a made-for-television series adaptation of A Game of Thrones, the first in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" fantasy thrillers by George R. R. Martin. Now Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Bantam has acquired the graphic novel/comic book rights to the books. Dynamite Entertainment will issue the comic books, to be collected later in a volume to be published by Bantam.
Adapted by Daniel Abraham (who has also written graphic novel adaptations of Martin's "Wild Cards" anthology series) and illustrated by Tommy Paterson, the first issue is due out later this spring.
Set in a land where summers span decades and winters can last a lifetime, the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun. It will stretch from the south, where heat breeds plots, lusts and intrigues; to the vast and savage eastern lands; all the way to the frozen north, where an 800-foot wall of ice protects the kingdom from the dark forces that lie beyond. Kings and Queens, knights and renegades, liars, lords and honest men ... all will play the Game of Thrones.
We've previously posted a trailer for the HBO series, which begins April 17th. You can read the first chapter(s) of A Game of Thrones below. Use the Aa settings button to adjust text size, line spacing, and word density.
Warner Bros. Options Series of Fletch Novels by Gregory Mcdonald
The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Warner Bros. has picked up the film rights to the Fletch series of mysteries by Gregory Mcdonald. The first book in the series, Fletch, originally published in 1974, served as the basis for the 1985 Chevy Chase film Fletch and its 1989 sequel.
The studio is looking to "reimagine" the series, not remake the movies.
In the first book, Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher is an investigative reporter, whose methods are a little unorthodox. Currently he's living on the beach with the strung-out trying to find to the source of the drugs they live for. He's taking more than a little flack from his editor. She doesn't appreciate his style. Or the expense account items he's racking up. Or his definition of the word deadline. So when multimillionaire Alan Stanwyk offers Fletch the job of a lifetime, which could be worth a fortune, he's intrigued and decides to do a little investigation. What he discovers is that the proposition is anything but what it seems.
In 1975, Fletch won the Edgar Award for Best First Novel. Two years later, its sequel, Confess, Fletch, won for Best Paperback Original.
You can read the first chapter(s) of Fletch below. Use the Aa settings button to adjust text size, line spacing, and word density.
NBC Cuts The Cape to 10 Episodes
NBC has cut its order of its struggling crime drama The Cape from 13 episodes to 10, clearly signalling the end of the series. The last episode is now scheduled to air on Monday, February 28th.
David Lyons stars as Vince Faraday, an honest cop on a corrupt police force, who becomes "The Cape" -- his son's favorite comic book superhero -- and takes the law into his own hands when he finds himself framed for a series of murders and presumed dead.
The conspiracy thriller The Event will return from its long hiatus -- the most recent first-run episode aired last November -- the following week in its timeslot.
The CW Orders Crime Drama Pilot Featuring Two Best Friends Forever
The CW cable network announced yesterday it had ordered four series pilots, one of which (given our interest in crime dramas) is Cooper and Stone, described as featuring two young women, best friends, adept at discussing fashion, music, and pop culture, and -- oh by the way -- are homicide cops on Chicago's north side.
The other pilots are for Awakening (two sisters face off during a zombie uprising), Hart of Dixie (young doctor inherits a medical practice in a small Southern town), and Heavenly (attorney works with an angel in a legal aid clinic).
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Summit Acquires Film Rights to Soon-to-be-Published Thriller This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel
Deadline|New York is reporting that Summit Entertainment has picked up the film rights to This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel. Subtitled "The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein", the thriller is scheduled to be published this August.
In a nod to Mary Shelley's classic book Frankenstein, This Dark Endeavor acts as prequel. Victor and Konrad are the twin brothers Frankenstein. They are nearly inseparable. Growing up, their lives are filled with imaginary adventures ... until the day their adventures turn all too real. They stumble upon The Dark Library, and secret books of alchemy and ancient remedies are discovered. Their father forbids that they ever enter the room again, but this only piques Victor's curiosity more. When Konrad falls gravely ill, Victor is not be satisfied with the various doctors his parents have called in to help. He is drawn back to The Dark Library where he uncovers an ancient formula for the Elixir of Life. Determination and the unthinkable outcome of losing his brother spur Victor on in the quest for the three ingredients that will save Konrad's life.
Harlequin Worldwide Mystery Titles for February 2011
eHarlequin.com has announced the February 2011 titles for their Worldwide Mystery 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.)
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A Deadly Hand
A Dana Sloan Mystery (1st in series)
When a retired Chicago reporter dies under mysterious circumstances in a nursing home, investigative journalist Dana Sloan takes it personally. Dana's editor—who'd considered the ex-newswoman both a mentor and friend—believes the woman had stumbled upon a big story just before her death. So Dana decides to go undercover as a desk clerk at Peaceful Pines to find out what the elderly lady knew that got her killed.
What she discovers is big—and shocking. Not only does the posh seniors' facility have a connection to a powerful politician with a dirty little secret, but Dana also finds clues that seem to be related to a wave of serial murders. Could the deadly figure known as the Royal Flush Killer be roaming the halls of Peaceful Pines?
Dana might just have the scoop of a lifetime—if it doesn't get her killed first.
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The Montauk Steps
Non-series
Photojournalist Lilli Masters is hired to do a photo shoot for the Labor Day festivities in the Long Island resort town of Grayrocks. When checking into the Baywatch Inn, she learns two female guests have gone missing. Immediately intrigued, and using her eye for detail, Lilli begins to follow their trail—into danger.
The historic area is home to an old Indian ceremonial site called the Montauk Steps, where ancient ways and new perils are about to merge. Lilli starts piecing together clues using her photos of this hauntingly beautiful locale, even as acts of violence and sabotage follow her. Though she finds an unexpected ally in a vacationing police detective, not even he can keep her safe from a dangerous mind with an eye for murder. Lilli must make a choice—run, hide or move in for a close-up with the killer.
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Double Deception
A Liz Rooney Mystery (1st in series)
A medical examiner's assistant with a passion for crime solving, Liz Rooney is fascinated by the sensational murder of a rich playboy. Someone poisoned the handsome aristocrat in his lavish penthouse apartment. The police swiftly arrest the man's longtime butler, suspecting he hastened his employer's demise—and his own sizeable inheritance—with a deadly cup of coffee.
Liz, though, wonders about a gorgeous woman who was seen leaving the victim's apartment. It seems the mystery lady was not the billionaire's current girlfriend, but a model he'd dallied with while away on business. Did the scorned beauty refuse to accept "it's over" by killing her lover? Liz suspects so. Until she makes a bizarre discovery on a gurney in her morgue that changes everything. Liz must piece together a crime of lust and betrayal—where passion can be lethal.
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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:
The Baker Street Letters by Michael Robertson, A Reggie Heath Mystery
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 Baker Street Letters by Michael Robertson
A Reggie Heath Mystery (1st in series)
Minotaur Books (Trade Paperback)
Publication Date: February 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0-312-65064-3
About The Baker Street Letters (from the publisher): In Los Angeles, a geological surveyor maps out a proposed subway route — and then goes missing. His eight-year-old daughter, in her desperation, turns to the one person she thinks might help — he writes a letter to Sherlock Holmes.
That letter creates an uproar at 221b Baker Street, which now houses the law offices of attorney and man about town Reggie Heath and his hapless brother, Nigel. Instead of filing the letter like he’s supposed to, Nigel decides to investigate. Soon he’s flying off to Los Angeles, inconsiderately leaving a very dead body on the floor in his office. Big brother Reggie follows Nigel to California, as does Reggie’s sometime lover, Laura — a quick-witted stage actress who’s captured the hearts of both brothers.
When Nigel is arrested, Reggie must use all his wits to solve a case that Sherlock Holmes would have savored.
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About Michael Robertson: The author works for a large company with branches in the United States and England. He lives in Southern California, where he attended law school and worked in educational publishing. The television rights to The Baker Street Letters, his first novel, have been sold to Warner Bros.
Read the first chapters of The Baker Street Letters below. Use the Aa settings button to adjust text size, line spacing, and word density.
Harlequin Mira Mystery and Suspense Titles for February 2011
eHarlequin.com has announced the February 2011 titles for their Mira imprint, the brightest stars in women's fiction. From all titles available, we've only listed those that are mystery, thriller, or suspense on this page. 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.)
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Kiss the Moon
Non-Series
Lost in the frozen woods of New Hampshire, Penelope Chestnut discovers the wreckage of a small plane. An aviator herself, she sees clues to a conspiracy in the rusted-out remains.
Rumors of her discovery bring Wyatt Sinclair to Cold Spring, determined to put to rest a family scandal and learn what really happened to his legendary uncle, who had disappeared with his adventuress lover years earlier.
As Wyatt and Penelope investigate, old motives are uncovered and new ones created, including a growing attraction between the pair. But when an unknown enemy emerges with a violence rooted in desperation, uncovering the truth will be far less problematic than surviving it.
Also available: 
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Midnight Caller
Chasing Evil Trilogy (1st in series)
Late-night radio-show psychologist Rain Sommers is used to the crazies who call in to rage from the back alleys of the French Quarter and the shadows of the bayou. But one caller's chilling obsession with her and her long-ago murdered mother—an iconic singer beloved among the city's Goth community—has even the jaded Rain running scared as a sadistic serial killer known as the Vampire prowls New Orleans.
FBI agent Trevor Rivette is convinced her midnight caller and the killer are one and the same. As it becomes disturbingly clear that the Vampire has a sick bloodlust only Rain can satisfy, she allows Trevor to get closer and closer. But he soon discovers that his secretive past and troubled present are intertwined—and that he may die trying to keep Rain's fate out of a madman's control.
Also available:
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Blood Stains
Searchers Trilogy (1st in series)
At the reading of her father's will, Maria Slade receives shocking news—as a four-year-old, she'd witnessed her prostitute mother's murder and been taken into hiding by the well-meaning preacher who'd raised her as his own.
Maria remembers none of that. But now she's determined to flush her mother's killer out of hiding and discover the identity of her birth father. She heads to Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she meets Detective Bodie Scott.
Empathizing with this beautiful woman looking to find out who she really is, he opens the decades-old case file. Their investigation leads them down a dangerous path, where no one is what they seem. Where a father does not want to be found. And a murderer has "like mother, like daughter" in mind for Maria.
Also available:
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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:
