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.
Scared to Death by Norah McClintock. The third mystery in the Chloe & Levesque series, recommended for readers aged 13 and older. Lexile measure: 780L. Reviewed by a 6th grade student, who writes, "[This] is a great book. It is suspenseful and has amazing descriptions. It is a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I especially enjoy the main character, Chloe. Chloe is an excellent detective who I admire for her intelligence." (Read the entire review.)
For more reviews of children and young adult books of all genres, visit Book Trends; their reviews will amaze you! You can also follow Book Trends on Twitter.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Reviews of Mystery and Suspense Books for Kids, New This Week on Book Trends (110319)
Friday, March 18, 2011
Character Posters for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Disney has now released four "character" posters for the fourth film in "Pirates of the Caribbean" series, On Stranger Tides. (Above: Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, Penélope Cruz as Angelica, Geoffrey Rush as Pirate Lord Hector Barbossa, and Ian McShane as Blackbeard. Click on any image to see a larger version.)
Adapted from the novel On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers, the film opens in theaters May 20th.
New Carina eBook Mysteries for March 2011
Each month, Omnimystery News is pleased to present new mystery and suspense titles from Carina Press, an ebook only publisher. Links are provided to purchase the ebook from, where available, Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble, or Kobo Books; click on the banner to the right to be taken to the CarinaPress.com website to browse for other titles.
New ebooks of mystery and suspense for March 2011 from Carina Press include:
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Memories of You by Bobbie Cole
A Charlie Vargas Mystery
Cold case detective Charlie Vargas is searching for a killer—but what she really needs to know is what happened to her lover, who vanished several months ago. When the phone rings and she hears Seth's voice, she's skeptical. He tells her his name is Mason Alridge, and the only thing he remembers after his accident is the number he called ... hers.
Mason looks nothing like her former lover, but there's something about his mannerisms, if not his face, that draws Charlie in. As they begin to piece together what few clues and skimpy details they have, Charlie and the man she believes is Seth slowly discover a mutual passion. With the Feds following at a distance and someone trying to kill them, will they live long enough to find out his true identity?
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Fight or Flight by Natalie J. Damschroder
Non-series
Eighteen years ago, a group of men killed Regan Miller's boyfriend and tried to kidnap her daughter, Kelsey. Since then they have lived in hiding, always vigilant and never getting close to anyone.
When Kelsey goes away to college, Regan finally begins to relax. She even starts to think she can have a real relationship, perhaps with her flirtatious neighbor, Tyler Sloane. Then Regan is attacked again.
Desperate to get to her daughter, Regan accepts Tyler's help—despite her suspicions about him. She knows nothing about Tyler but he knows a shocking amount about her past. Tyler can't tell her what he knows or who he works for, but he insists she can't face her enemies without him. Tired of living in fear, Regan is ready to take the offensive, with Tyler by her side. But is she relying too much on a man she can't trust—and falling for him, too?
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Carina Press, a division of Harlequin, is a digital-first publisher offering ebooks in a variety of genres, including mystery. eBooks from Carina can be read on the Apple iPad, Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, B&N Nook, Kobo eReader
For more mystery, suspense and thriller ebooks, visit MystereBooks.com.
California Schemin' by Kate George (Mystery Book Review)
California Schemin' by Kate George. A Bella Bree MacGowan Mystery. Mainly Murder Press Trade Paperback, March 2011.
The underlying murder mystery plot is entertaining, if not terribly credible, though the near constant activity on the part of series character Bella Bree MacGowan tends to mask its progress. And despite all the danger around her, she doesn't seem all that interested in her predicament ... and readers may not either.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: California Schemin' by Kate George.
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Read the first chapter(s) of California Schemin' below. Use the Aa settings button to adjust text size, line spacing, and word density.
Mystery Bestsellers for March 18, 2011
A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending March 18th, 2011 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.
It wasn't a fluke: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness retains the top spot on the list for a second week ... by a sizeable margin. Four other titles move from just off the list last week into the top 15 this week.
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Moving up to number 9 is Silent Mercy, the 13th legal thriller featuring New York Assistant District Attorney Alex Cooper by Linda Fairstein.
It's the middle when Alex is called to Harlem's Mount Neboh Baptist Church, a beautiful house of worship originally built as a synagogue. But the crowd gathered there isn't interested in architecture, or even prayer. They've come for the same reason Alex has: to find out why the body of a young woman has been decapitated, set on fire, and left burning on the church steps.
The only identifiable artifact on the charred remains is the imprint of a Star of David necklace seared into the victim's flesh. Alex wonders if the fire was meant to destroy this woman's body, or to draw attention to it. Her fears are confirmed days later, when a second corpse is found at a cathedral in Little Italy. The killings look like serial hate crimes, but the apparent differences in the victims' beliefs seem to eliminate a religious motive. Convinced that another young woman is bound to die, Alex mines the depths of Manhattan's many houses of worship to find a connection between the victims-and in the process uncovers a terrible and perilous truth that takes her far beyond the scope of her investigation, and directly into the path of terrible danger.
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One place lower at number 10 is One of Our Thursdays is Missing, the 6th Bookworld mystery by Jasper Fforde.
All-out Genre war is rumbling, and the BookWorld desperately needs a heroine like Thursday Next. But with the real Thursday apparently retired to the Realworld, the Council of Genres turns to the written Thursday.
The Council wants her to pretend to be the real Thursday and travel as a peacekeeping emissary to the warring factions. A trip up the mighty Metaphoric River beckons -- a trip that will reveal a fiendish plot that threatens the very fabric of the BookWorld itself.
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In 13th position this week is The Informationist by Taylor Stevens.
Vanessa "Michael" Munroe deals in information—expensive information—working for corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise. Born to missionary parents in lawless central Africa, Munroe took up with an infamous gunrunner and his mercenary crew when she was just fourteen. As his protégé, she earned the respect of the jungle's most dangerous men, cultivating her own reputation for years until something sent her running. After almost a decade building a new life and lucrative career from her home base in Dallas, she's never looked back.
Until now.
A Texas oil billionaire has hired her to find his daughter who vanished in Africa four years ago. It’s not her usual line of work, but she can’t resist the challenge. Pulled deep into the mystery of the missing girl, Munroe finds herself back in the lands of her childhood, betrayed, cut off from civilization, and left for dead. If she has any hope of escaping the jungle and the demons that drive her, she must come face-to-face with the past that she’s tried for so long to forget.
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Finally, in 14th position is the 5th D. D. Warren mystery, Love You More by Lisa Gardner.
One question, a split-second decision, and Brian Darby lies dead on the kitchen floor. His wife, state police trooper Tessa Leoni, claims to have shot him in self-defense, and bears the bruises to back up her tale. For veteran detective D. D. Warren it should be an open-and-shut case. But where is their six-year-old daughter?
As the homicide investigation ratchets into a frantic statewide search for a missing child, D. D. Warren must partner with former lover Bobby Dodge to break through the blue wall of police brotherhood, seeking to understand the inner workings of a trooper’s mind while also unearthing family secrets. Would a trained police officer truly shoot her own husband? And would a mother harm her own child?
For Tessa Leoni, the worst has not yet happened. She is walking a tightrope, with nowhere to turn, no one to trust, as the clock ticks down to a terrifying deadline. She has one goal in sight, and she will use every ounce of her training, every trick at her disposal, to do what must be done. No sacrifice is too great, no action unthinkable. A mother knows who she loves. And all others will be made to pay.
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The top four mystery bestsellers this week are shown below:
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.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Kate Mosse's Labryinth to be Adapted for Television Mini-Series
Ridley Scott and his brother Tony Scott are developing a made-for-television mini-series adapted from the historical thriller Labryinth by Kate Mosse.
Ridley Scott said the "story affords us the opportunity to create exciting drama that will thrill and delight the book's readers worldwide and the viewers who'll be discovering it for the first time."
The book features two women: Alice, who, in 2005, on an archeological dig in the Pyrenees mountains near Carcassonne, stumbles into a cave and makes a startling discovery, two crumbling skeletons, strange writings on the walls, and the pattern of a labyrinth; and Alais, 800 years earlier, on the eve of a brutal crusade that will rip apart southern France, who is given a ring and a mysterious book for safekeeping by her father. The book, he says, contains the secret of the true Grail, and the ring, inscribed with a labyrinth, will identify a guardian of the Grail. Now, as crusading armies gather outside the city walls of Carcassonne, it will take a tremendous sacrifice to keep the secret of the labyrinth safe.
Production is expected to begin this fall in France with an air date next spring.
(Source: Variety)
You can read the first chapter(s) of Labryinth below. Use the Aa settings button to adjust text size, line spacing, and word density.
Matthew Fox Cast in Role of Villain in Film Adaptation of I, Alex Cross by James Patterson
Matthew Fox has reportedly been cast as the villain in the film adaptation of James Patterson's I, Alex Cross, which will star Tyler Perry as the titular character.
The news from Deadline, however, is a bit confusing. Fox will play the role of Michael Sullivan, the Butcher of Sligo, who appeared not in I, Alex Cross, but in Cross, four books earlier in the series. The plotline referenced in the article also refers to Cross, not I, Alex Cross. (What's even more confusing is that last August, Idris Elba was previously cast in the role of Alex Cross in a film adaptation of the book Cross. We haven't heard anything about this project since then.)
It's possible the screenwriters are merging in some manner the storylines from the two novels -- they're very different -- but that doesn't make much sense why they'd do that.
Morgan Freeman played the forensic psychologist in two previous adaptations of Patterson's novels, Kiss the Girls (1997) and Along Came a Spider (2001).
(via Deadline|New York)
The Tudor Secret by C. W. Gortner (Mystery Book Review)
The Tudor Secret by C. W. Gortner. The Elizabeth I Spymaster Chronicles. St. Martin's Griffin Hardcover, February 2011.
This creative and well-crafted blend of factual history and fictional mystery introduces new series character Brendan Prescott, who is caught up in a web of political intrigue when he is pressed into the role of a spy during the summer of 1553, when young King Edward VI was dying and royal succession was being manipulated by conflicting forces.
Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: The Tudor Secret by C. W. Gortner.
Purchase Options: 
Read the first chapter(s) of The Tudor Secret below. Use the Aa settings button to adjust text size, line spacing, and word density.
Jennifer Lawrence Lands Lead Role in The Hunger Games
As expected (and as we reported on last weekend), Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone) has landed the coveted role of Katniss Everdeen in the film adaptation of Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games, the first in a trilogy of young adult thrillers.
Next up for the producers will be to cast the male lead in the film, which is expected to begin production soon. The film's target release date is March 23rd, 2012.
Gary Ross (Pleasantville, Seabiscuit) will direct a screenplay adapted by Collins and Billy Ray (Hart's War, State of Play).
(via The Wrap)
Explore a Mysterious Cave in PuppetShow: Lost Town (Collector's Edition), New 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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An entire town is excited to explore a huge, newly discovered, magnificent cave. Bat sleep among the stalactites hanging from the ceiling. A woman with her little daughter Suzy enters the cave on an excursion. They both have torches in their hands and backpacks behind them. The girl's eyes are widely opened with surprise while she looks around. The crystals sparkle reflecting the fire. Suddenly carefully moving shadows on one of the walls in the cave can be seen ...
... and then Suzy is kidnapped by a mechanical beast! Emerging from the darkness and startling the townfolk, the creature causes a cave-in behind him, leaving no trail to follow. You must track the creature down by explore the mysterious caves in an effort to find Suzy.
This is a special Collector's Edition full of exclusive extras not found in the standard version, including an integrated strategy guide, bonus gameplay, wallpapers and screensaver, concept art, soundtrack, and early access.
See also the previous games in this series, PuppetShow: Mystery of Joyville and PuppetShow: Souls of the Innocent.
PuppetShow: Lost Town (Collector's Edition) may be downloaded and purchased for $13.99 with a Big Fish Game Club membership. A demonstration version (265.92 MB) may be downloaded and played for free for one hour; the full version is 509.61 MB.
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!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Shia LaBeouf to Star in Film Adaptation of Horns by Joe Hill
Shia LaBeouf is reportedly set to star in a film adaptation of the supernatural thriller Horns by Joe Hill.
LaBeouf will play Ignatius Perrish, a suspect — the only one — in the murder of his girlfriend Merrin Williams. On the first anniversary of her death, Ig spends the night drunk and doing awful things. When he wakes the next morning he has a thunderous hangover ... and horns growing from his temples. Ig possesses a terrible new power to go with his terrible new look — a macabre gift he intends to use to find the monster who killed his lover. Being good and praying for the best got him nowhere. Now it's time for revenge ...
Hill, the son of Stephen King, will executive produce.
(Source: Variety)
You can read the first chapter(s) of Horns below. Use the Aa settings button to adjust text size, line spacing, and word density.
Mr. E. Reviews Prison Break Season 3
Available on
This third season of what was once a highly entertaining series is a throwaway, doomed by writers, who were clearly more interested in their contract negotiations -- they ultimately went on strike, mercifully cutting this season short -- than they were in crafting interesting, credible scripts.
Read the full text of our review at Mr. E. Reviews Prison Break Season 3.
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Mr. E. Reviews is your source for mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime drama reviews of television and film.
