Saturday, June 04, 2011

Winners of the 2011 Arthur Ellis Awards Announced

Mystery Book Awards

The winners of the 2011 Arthur Ellis Awards were announced on Thursday evening by the Crime Writers of Canada for excellence in works in the crime/mystery/thriller genre published for the first time in the previous year by permanent residents of Canada, or by Canadian citizens living abroad.

◊ Best Crime Novel: Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny (Little, Brown)

◊ Best First Crime Novel: The Debba by Avner Mandleman (Random House)

◊ Best Crime Novel in French: Dans le quartier des agités by Jacques Côté (Éditions Alire)

◊ Best Crime Non-Fiction: On the Farm by Stevie Cameron (Alfred A. Knopf)

◊ Best Juvenile/Young Adult Crime Book: Lost For Words (The Worst Thing She Ever Did) by Alice Kuipers (HarperCollins)

◊ Best Crime Short Story: "So Much in Common" by Mary Jane Maffini (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)

◊ Best First Unpublished Crime Novel: Better Off Dead by John Jeneroux

(Hat tip to The Rap Sheet.)

Friday, June 03, 2011

True Blood Season 4 Preview

True Blood (HBO)

The fourth season of HBO's True Blood premieres later this month (on June 26th), and the cable network has released a new 30-second preview to promote it.

True Blood is based on characters created by Charlaine Harris, which are featured in her Southern Vampire series of mystery books. It stars Anna Paquin as telepathic barmaid Sookie Stackhouse, who has the ability to listen in on people's thoughts and particularly attracted to Bill Compton (played by Stephen Moyer), a handsome 173-year-old vampire living up the road.

Videogame Based on TV Series Psych to be Released This Fall

Psych (USA Network)

Legacy Interactive announced yesterday a licensing agreement to develop a videogame based on the USA Network comedy/drama mystery series Psych.

Expected to launch later this years, players take on the role of Shawn Spencer, who consults with the local police department to solve crimes as a would-be psychic while actually using his heightened observational skills. The game consists of two all-new episodic cases to solve with a cast of quirky witnesses and suspects and no shortage of witty banter between Shawn and best friend Gus. While exploring the beautiful Santa Barbara locales, players must collect inventory items, play mini-games to find previously undetected evidence, solve clever puzzles, and help Shawn and Gus talk their way into and out of trouble. Players must stay alert and watch for clues only an expertly trained investigator, or perhaps even a real psychic, would be able to see in order to uncover the truth.

"Humor, mystery, and co-operation are fantastic elements to work into a casual game design, and Psych is chock full of these attributes," said Bill Kispert, Vice President & General Manager, Digital Platforms, Universal Partnerships & Licensing. "We are excited to bring clever, new cases to Psych fans online, and to partner again with Legacy Interactive with a leading TV brand."

USA Network will offer a free 30-minute trial of the game on Character Arcade, the cable network's casual/social gaming destination that offers fans an interactive experience beyond game-play.

(Source: Legacy Games.)

Shop Amazon.com Sunshine Deals for Kindle Books Priced $2.99 or less

MysterEbooks: Mystery, Suspense and Thriller eBooks

Now through June 15th, 2011 Amazon.com is promoting its Sunshine Deals with over 600 Kindle books priced $2.99 or less.

In the Mystery and Thrillers category there are currently 23 books listed, several of which have received enthusiastic reviews from Mysterious Reviews including Death of a Cozy Writer by G. M. Malliet, Paper, Scissors, Death by Joanna Campbell Slan, and Protector by Laurel Dewey.

If you're looking for summer reading material, this would be a great place to start! Click on this link to shop now!

The Glades Season 2 Premieres This Sunday on A&E

Telemystery: Mystery and Suspense on Television

This Sunday, June 5th, at 10 PM (ET/PT), The Glades returns for a second season on A&E.

This crime drama stars Matt Passmore as Jim Longworth, a former Chicago homicide detective who relocates to Palm Glade, Florida expecting a more relaxed lifestyle, only to discover that solving murders continues to be his stock in trade.

In the second season premiere, the daughter of a notorious Cuban mobster turns up dead in a Little Havana alley, and Longworth and the rest of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement must solve her murder to prevent an all-out war between two rival mob families. Meanwhile, Callie (Kiele Sanchez) prepares for her husband’s release from prison.

The first season of the series is available on DVD from Telemystery: The Glades. Full episodes from last season are also available to view online (as of the date of this post) on AETV.com/The-Glades.

Review: The Burning Lake by Brent Ghelfi

The Burning Lake by Brent Ghelfi
More information about the book

The Burning Lake by Brent Ghelfi. An Alexei Volkovoy Mystery. Poisoned Pen Press Hardcover, May 2011.

This fine novel of suspense alternates between two perspectives, men who are seeking answers to puzzling murders, but who are nonetheless an integral part of the dangerous situations in which they find themselves. The topical plot is more than a little alarming in how potentially true it could be.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: The Burning Lake by Brent Ghelfi.

Purchase Options: Amazon.com Print Edition

Mystery Bestsellers for the Week Ending June 3rd, 2011

Bestselling Hardcover Mystery Books

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending June 3rd, 2011 has been posted by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

No change in the top five this week, just a bit of shuffling in order, with Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris, still atop the list this week. There are no new titles entering the list ... which may just be the calm before the summer storm!

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A Drop of the Hard Stuff by Lawrence Block
More information about the book

Lurking just off the list for several weeks, but moving up this week to 15th position is A Drop of the Hard Stuff the 17th Matthew Scudder mystery by Lawrence Block.

Scudder is finally on the straight and narrow when he runs into "High-Low" Jack Ellery, a childhood friend from the Bronx. In Scudder, Jack sees the moral man he might have become. In Jack, Scudder sees the hard-won sobriety he hopes to achieve.

Then Ellery, following to the letter the dictates of Alcoholics Anonymous' infamous twelve steps, is shot down while attempting to atone for past sins, and Scudder is drawn into a murder investigation that threatens to upset his path toward recovery — and get him killed in the process.

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For more mystery books news, 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, June 02, 2011

Harry Potter Producer/Director Options Thriller The Cypress House by Michael Koryta

The Cypress House by Michael Koryta

Producer Chris Columbus (Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, several "Harry Potter" movies) has acquired the film rights to the 2011 thriller The Cypress House by crime novelist Michael Koryta.

In the book, Arlen Wagner has seen it in men before — a trace of smoke in their eyes that promises imminent death. He is never wrong.

When Arlen awakens on a train one hot Florida night and sees death's telltale sign in the eyes of his fellow passengers, he tries to warn them. Only 19-year-old Paul Brickhill believes him, and the two abandon the train, hoping to escape certain death. They continue south, but soon are stranded at the Cypress House — an isolated Gulf Coast boarding house run by the beautiful Rebecca Cady — directly in the path of an approaching hurricane.

The storm isn't the only approaching danger, though. A much deadlier force controls the county and everyone living in it, and Arlen wants out — fast. But Paul refuses to abandon Rebecca to face the threats alone, even though Arlen's eerie gift warns that if they stay too long they may never leave.

Koryta, author of the Lincoln Perry mystery series, has a new stand-alone coming out this month, The Ridge.

(Source: Deadline|New York.)

Australian Television Adapting Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher Mysteries

Phryne Fisher Mysteries by Kerry Greenwood

News from Australia: ABC (not our ABC) is adapting the mysteries by Kerry Greenwood featuring her 1920s-era private detective Phryne Fisher.

The title of the series, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, will begin production in Melbourne next month with Essie Davis in the title role.

The are currently 18 mysteries in the series, which began back in 1989 with Cocaine Blues (published in the US as Death by Misadventure). The most recent, Dead Man's Chest, was published last September.

Phryne Fisher is an unforgettable character -- we've reviewed 8 of the books ourselves -- and should make for a delightful television sleuth. What with DVD and VOD, there's every chance we here in the US (and elsewhere) will be able to enjoy this adaptation sometime in the future.

(Source: ABC News.)

Mr. E. Reviews Flicken Som Lekte Med Elden (The Girl Who Played with Fire)

Flicken Som Lekte Med Elden (The Girl Who Played with Fire) (DVD Cover)
Available on
Available on DVDAvailable on Blu-ray DiscAvailable on Amazon Instant VideoAvailable on iTunesAvailable on Netflix

In contrast to the first of this bestselling thriller trilogy's adaptations, there's not much of a plot to this film. It also lacks the crispness and edginess of its predecessor, giving it an overall muddled feel. Still, the actors' portrayals of the two lead characters are again outstanding, probably the film's best selling point.

Read the full text of our review at Mr. E. Reviews Flicken Som Lekte Med Elden (The Girl Who Played with Fire).

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

OMN Welcomes Les Roberts, Author of the Milan Jacovich Mysteries

Omnimystery News: Authors on Tour

Omnimystery News is pleased to welcome Les Roberts, whose 15th mystery in the Milan Jacovich series is The Cleveland Creep (Gray and Co., May 2011 Hardcover, 978-1-59851-071-3).

Today Les writes about "one of those questions". And he's also providing two of our readers with an opportunity to win a copy of his book. Visit Mystery Book Contests, click on the "Les Roberts: The Cleveland Creep" contest link, enter your name, e-mail address, and this code (6769) for a chance to win! (One entry per person; contest ends 06/16/2011.)

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The Cleveland Creep by Les Roberts
Photo provided courtesy of Les Roberts;
Photo credit © Eric C. Mull

As I travel about, doing book signings, lecturing and speaking, and giving radio and TV interviews promoting my latest Milan Jacovich mystery novel, The Cleveland Creep, I'm often asked the same questions over and over again. I don't mind answering them, of course, but one question really gets to me.

"What audience do you aim for when you write?"

I don't know about all other authors, but nearly all those toiling in the mystery fiction field usually have the same answer to that one: "I write for me."

I hope, each time I sit down at the computer and limber up my aging fingers, that I'm writing the kind of book I would enjoy reading. Not that I don't love other novels like The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath and Oliver Twist, but their authors had a different set of skills than I, and I wouldn't dream of trying to write the way they did. I have to put words down on paper the way I feel them -- and any fiction author worth his or her salt will put themselves on the paper, even if their protagonists don't resemble them at all. (Unlike Milan Jacovich, I'm not Slovenian, I'm not 6'3", I don't weigh anywhere near 230 lbs., I never played football or wore a law enforcement badge, my US Army service was in peacetime, I don't smoke cigarettes or drink Stroh's beer, I don't own a handgun and the last time I struck anyone else in anger, I was eleven years old!)

I get dozens of ideas every day -- that's why I always carry a notebook -- but the ones that really inspire me to create an entire novel are things that mostly get me furious. In The Cleveland Creep you'll easily spot the real happenings in life that drive me crazy and make me want to hurt someone else. Since I've been around a little too long to lay someone out with one good swing, I take it out on them with words that I hope everyone will read. And that makes the books I write the ones I'd like to read even if someone else wrote them.

Check out my latest book -- or any of my earlier ones -- and see if they don't hit you where you live, too.

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Les Roberts is the author of 15 mystery novels featuring Cleveland detective Milan Jacovich, as well as 9 other books of fiction. The past president of both the Private Eye Writers of America and the American Crime Writer’s League, he came to mystery writing after a 24-year career in Hollywood. He has been a professional actor, a singer, a jazz musician, and a teacher. In 2003 he received the Sherwood Anderson Literary Award. A native of Chicago, he now lives in Northeast Ohio and is a film and literary critic. He can be reached via his blog at LesRoberts.com.

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The Cleveland Creep by Les Roberts

About The Cleveland Creep: A simple missing-person case gets complicated when Milan Jacovich (it's pronounced MY-lan YOCK-ovich) discovers that 28-year-old Earl Dacey left behind a strange collection of voyeuristic videos in his mother's West Side Cleveland house. Was Earl just a pervert shadowing Catholic schoolgirls in Northeast Ohio shopping malls with his hidden camera ... or had he become entangled with unsavory characters in the local adult film business?

When Milan uncovers a possible link to organized crime, the FBI gets interested -- and Milan's "well connected" friend Victor Gaimari gets angry. After a dead body turns up, the Cleveland Police take over, and Milan figures he's off the case. So why does crusty Lieutenant McHargue ask him to lend a hand?

Still feeling the effects of a recent concussion and well aware of his aging body, Milan takes the advice of a colleague and hires an assistant. Kevin O'Bannion is young and eager to learn the P.I. business. An Army veteran with combat experience and a juvenile-crime record, he definitely won't shy away from a fight. But will he be able to control his volatile temper and help get the job done? Milan finds out soon enough -- with his own life on the line.

The Cleveland Creep is published in hardcover by Gray & Company, where you can read an excerpt from the book.

For a chance to win one of two copies of The Cleveland Creep, courtesy of the publisher, visit Mystery Book Contests, click on the "Les Roberts: The Cleveland Creep" contest link, enter your name, e-mail address, and this code (6769) for a chance to win! (One entry per person; contest ends 06/16/2011.)

Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Review: Night on Fire by Douglas Corleone

Night on Fire by Douglas Corleone
More information about the book

Night on Fire by Douglas Corleone. A Kevin Corvelli Mystery. Minotaur Books Hardcover, April 2011.

This second in a series is a first-rate, carefully plotted and developed mystery, complete with riveting courtroom scenes ... though the Honolulu attorney's character often comes across as somewhat unappealing, not unlikeable but not admirable either.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Night on Fire by Douglas Corleone.

Purchase Options: Amazon.com Print Edition | Amazon.com Kindle Edition | Barnes&Noble NookBook | Kobo eBook

Read the first chapter(s) of Night on Fire below. Use the Aa settings button to adjust text size, line spacing, and word density.

Harlequin Worldwide Mystery Titles for June 2011

eHarlequin.com: Save 20% On Your Order

eHarlequin.com has released the list of June 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 about the book from eHarlequin.com, click on the title or cover.

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Silent Auction by Jane K. Cleland

Silent Auction by Jane K. Cleland
A Josie Prescott Mystery (5th in series)

When Rocky Point, New Hampshire, antiques dealer Josie Prescott arrives at an old lighthouse estate for an appraisal of a valuable maritime artifacts collection, she makes a grim discovery. On the floor of the kitchen lies the caretaker, Frankie, bludgeoned to death with a rolling pin. Josie knew the once-troubled young man had finally turned his life around—was it his past catching up with him … or something else?

In order to help the investigation, Josie agrees to sort through the vast collection, and soon discovers a link to the murder. A rare scrimshaw tooth is missing. Further searching leads her to the shocking realization that the tooth came from a gallery in town with an unsavory reputation. Convinced she's grasped just one thread in a web of deception and corruption, Josie searches for the truth … and tangles with a killer.

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Dead on Arrival by Jackie Griffey

Dead on Arrival by Jackie Griffey
A Maggie Murphy Mystery (1st in series)

When her husband dies in a motorcycle accident, Maggie Murphy not only has to deal with his sudden loss, she's got to find a job. The latter proves easier when her cousin gets her a stint at the local newspaper, covering for a missing advice columnist. The job becomes permanent when Maggie finds the longtime reporter dead in a trash heap, a Star of David etched on his forehead.

As if life wasn't weird enough, she knows in her gut that her husband's death wasn't accidental. Proving it is another matter entirely. Luckily, a patrolman arrives on the scene, offering comfort in ways that both ease a lonely widow and combat the menace stalking her life. Yet strange phone calls and a bomb explosion put Maggie in growing danger … with only a ghost of a chance to get out alive.

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Full Circle by Karen Young

Full Circle by Karen Young
Non-Series

What goes around, comes around … even murder

Thirty-three years ago just outside New Orleans, two young families went cruising on a small yacht. The night was beautiful, the sea calm. And yet the boat, prophetically named Mayday, sank. Six-year-old Kate Madison lost her father, and her best friend, Amber Castille, lost her mother. Neither of the girls remembered anything about that night.

Now Kate, a trauma specialist, is experiencing disorienting episodes that threaten her ability to perform her job. Is it burnout? Or something more sinister?

Kate needs answers, and when Dr. Castille, Amber's father, offers Kate a partnership in his medical practice, it's her best chance to finally put the past to rest—even though the truth about that fateful night could destroy her future.

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Death on the Aegean Queen by Maria Hudgins

Death on the Aegean Queen by Maria Hudgins
A Dotsy Lamb Mystery (3rd in series)

A cruise to sunny Greece hits dangerous waters, and vacationing history professor Dotsy Lamb is along for the ride. But when a car salesman from Indiana disappears overboard, leaving a blood trail on the deck, Dotsy can't help but feel personally involved. She's traveling with her best friend, whose husband lost the couple's travel money playing poker with the victim before he died. Now he's the prime suspect.

Panic grows when the ship's photographer is murdered during a day of sightseeing in beautiful Mykonos. Dotsy, who's convinced there's more to both victims' lives—and tragic deaths—than meets the eye, uncovers some very unsavory elements in the salesman's past. Is there a connection to a stolen cache of priceless antiquities on board the Aegean Queen? And can she solve these crimes before the pleasure cruise—and Dotsy—are completely sunk?

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Dirty Laundry by Liz Osborne

Dirty Laundry by Liz Osborne
A Robyn Kelly Mystery (2nd in series)

Patient relations manager Robyn Kelly is called to intervene when a patient's bad behavior is disrupting the nursing staff. But when she finds the patient strangled in his bed by his own IV tubing, murder takes her job to a new level of crazy. Meanwhile, her cop boyfriend is hospitalized due to a back injury, a hospital laundry fiasco erupts and a dazed and confused homeless man adds chaos to her caseload.

Since the investigating detective appears bent on botching the case, Robyn takes matters into her own capable hands. But anonymous letters warn of more trouble as Robyn begins to uncover something sinister at Madrona Bay Hospital. And while exposing a conspiracy of drugs, corruption and murder isn't likely to get her fired, it might just get her killed.

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Director David Fincher Options Crime Thriller Panic Attack by Jason Starr

Panic Attack by Jason Starr

David Fincher, who is directing the film adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo -- we posted the new "official" trailer this morning -- has optioned the 2009 crime thriller Panic Attack by Jason Starr, which will be produced by his own, newly formed company.

In the book, Dr. Adam Bloom has the perfect life. He’s financially secure and lives in a luxurious house with his wife, Dana, and their twenty-two-year-old daughter, Marissa, a recent college graduate. Late one night, his daughter wakes him up and says, “Somebody’s downstairs.” Adam uses his gun to kill one of the unarmed intruders, but the other escapes. From that moment on, everyone’s life in the Bloom household will never be the same.

Adam doesn’t feel safe, not with the other intruder out there somewhere, knowing where he lives. Dana suggests moving, but Adam has lived in the house all his life and he doesn’t want to run away. As the family recovers from the break-in and the Blooms’ already rocky relationship rapidly falls apart, Marissa meets a young, talented artist named Xan. Adam feels that something’s not quite right with Xan, but his daughter ignores his warnings and falls deeply in love with him. When suspicious things start happening to the Blooms all over again, Adam realizes that his first instinct about Xan was probably dead on.

Several of Starr's previous novels are in some stage of development by Hollywood, including the 2007 thriller The Follower, which is in production at Starz.

(Source: New York Magazine.)

More Masterpiece Mystery! This Fall with New Episodes of Inspector Lewis

PBS Masterpiece Mystery!

A few weeks ago we posted the 2011 summer schedule for PBS's Masterpiece Mystery!

Now PBS has announced more mystery for this fall, with four new 90-minute episodes of Inspector Lewis, the first airing on Sunday, September 4th. The other three will air on, respectively, September 18th and 25th, and October 9th.

We're still waiting (hoping?) for PBS to announce the second season of Sherlock for this fall. It will premiere sometime later this year on BBC (though we don't believe the schedule has been set as of the date of this post).

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