Harlequin Mira Mystery and Suspense Titles for July 2011

eHarlequin.com has released the list of July 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 about the book from eHarlequin.com, click on the title or cover; other purchase options are also provided.

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Guilty as Sin by Joseph Teller
A Jaywalker Mystery (5th in series)

Did career criminal Alonzo Barnett, in and out of prison since age fifteen, commit the latest drug deal he's accused of? Yup, he's guilty as charged. But is he guilty as sin? That's the question criminal defense attorney Harrison J. Walker, the maverick known as Jaywalker, has to answer as he takes the court-appointed case. As Jaywalker is well aware, one wrong move, even for the right reason, can derail your life—and land an otherwise redeemed ex-con back in the slammer for years.

Up against a team of prosecutors—one a talented, ethical newcomer, the other a sleazy, tightfisted veteran—Jaywalker has almost nothing on his side. Except his unshakable belief in his client … and the very real possibility of redemption for them both.

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The Dark Enquiry by Deanna Raybourn
A Lady Julia Grey Mystery (5th in series)

Partners now in marriage and in trade, Lady Julia and Nicholas Brisbane have finally returned from abroad to set up housekeeping in London. But merging their respective collections of gadgets, pets and servants leaves little room for the harried newlyweds themselves, let alone Brisbane's private enquiry business.

Among the more unlikely clients: Julia's very proper brother, Lord Bellmont, who swears Brisbane to secrecy about his case. Not about to be left out of anything concerning her beloved—if eccentric—family, spirited Julia soon picks up the trail of the investigation.

It leads to the exclusive Ghost Club, where the alluring Madame Séraphine holds evening séances … and not a few powerful gentlemen in thrall. From this eerie enclave unfolds a lurid tangle of dark deeds, whose tendrils crush reputations and throttle trust.

Shocked to find their investigation spun into salacious newspaper headlines, bristling at the tension it causes between them, the Brisbanes find they must unite or fall. For Bellmont's sake and more they'll face myriad dangers born of dark secrets, the kind men kill to keep …

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The Whisper by Carla Neggers
An FBI Series Thriller (4th in series)

Archaeologist Sophie Malone is still haunted a year after she was left for dead inside a remote Irish cave. Now she's convinced that her night of terror is linked to recent violence in Boston. Did the killer under arrest steal the ancient Celtic treasure from the cave that night? Or is another killer out there, ready to strike again?

Boston detective "Scoop" Wisdom has recovered from his injuries and is after the bomber who nearly killed him. Tough and stubborn, he's the best at detecting lies … except maybe those of Sophie Malone. When an ex-cop becomes the victim of ritual sacrifice, it's clear nobody's safe, and everyone's a suspect.

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Inside by Brenda Novak
The Bulletproof Trilogy (1st in series)

Virgil Skinner served fourteen years for a murder he didn't commit. He's finally been exonerated, but he can't escape the gang he joined in order to survive. They'll do anything to keep him from telling what he knows. And if they can't get to Virgil they'll go after his sister and her kids.

The California Department of Corrections needs someone to infiltrate another gang, one that's taking control of the state's most notorious supermax. Virgil agrees to do it under an alias—in exchange for his sister's protection.

Chief Deputy Warden Peyton Adams is opposed to having Virgil in her prison. How will she protect him if things go bad? Besides, she's far too attracted to him; she might even be falling in love with him. That makes her all the more desperate to keep him safe—and it gives him someone else to lose.

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Mystery Bestsellers for the Week Ending July 1st, 2011

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending July 1st, 2011 has been posted by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

By a slim margin, Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris moved back into the top spot this week with last week's number one, The Snowman by Jo Nesbo, slipping one spot. One new title enters the top 15 this week.

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Now You See Her, the latest stand-alone thriller by James Patterson (and co-written by Michael Ledwidge), enters the list in 10th position.

A successful lawyer and loving mother, Nina Bloom would do anything to protect the life she's built in New York -- including lying to everyone, even her daughter, about her past. But when an innocent man is framed for murder, she knows that she can't let him pay for the real killer's crimes.

Nina's secret life began 18 years ago. She had looks to die for, a handsome police-officer husband, and a carefree life in Key West. When she learned she was pregnant with their first child, her happiness was almost overwhelming. But Nina's world is shattered when she unearths a terrible secret that causes her to run for her life and change her identity.

Now, years later, Nina risks everything she's earned to return to Florida and confront the murderous evil she fled.

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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.

Heist Society by Ally Carter to be Adapted for Film

Drew Barrymore will direct and produce a film adaptation of Ally Carter's young-adult thriller Heist Society for Warner Bros. Shauna Cross will write the screenplay.

In the book, when Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her to the Louvre ... to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria ... to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own — scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving "the life" for a normal life proves harder than she'd expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring her back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has good reason: a powerful mobster's art collection has been stolen, and he wants it returned. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat's dad needs her help.

For Kat there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's (very crooked) history — and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

The studio is expected to age the characters from their teens into their early 20s.

The second book in the series, Uncommon Criminals, was published earlier this month by Hyperion.

(Source: The Hollywood Reporter)

Bantam to Publish Graphic Novel Adaptation of A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

Bantam Books, an imprint of Random House, announced yesterday that it will publish a graphic novel (comic series) adaptation of George R. R. Martin's fantasy thriller A Game of Thrones.

The series will be adapted and scripted by Daniel Abraham and illustrated by Tommy Patterson. The first issue of the monthly comic — which will be published by Dynamite Entertainment — is planned publication in September 2011, with compilations of the comics in graphic novel form to follow under the Bantam imprint.

"It's a real privilege and a treat to be involved with reinterpreting A Game of Thrones," says writer Daniel Abraham. "It's a brilliant piece of work, and watching the strength of that story come into a visual medium is fantastic."

The novel also served as the basis for HBO's Game of Thrones that just concluded its first season and has been renewed for a second — which is likely to be based on the second book in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, A Clash of Kings.

About the series: Long ago, in a time long forgotten, a mysterious event threw the seasons of the world out of balance. Now the kingdom is blessed by golden summers that go on for years, and cursed by cruel winters that can last a generation. In the cool north of this kingdom is a royal family ruled by Eddard Stark. The symbol of the royal house of the Starks is a direwolf; their motto is "Winter is coming." As indeed, it is. For the Iron Throne of Westeros is once more under contention. With Eddard's help, Robert Baratheon won it away from the corrupt Targaryens, who had ruled Westeros for generations. But when Eddard is summoned south to help an aging king hold the throne they both won, he finds himself enmeshed in a web of treachery and lies, as faction after faction plays that most dangerous game of all: the game of thrones.

Review: Death Toll by Jim Kelly

Death Toll by Jim Kelly. A Peter Shaw Mystery. Minotaur Books Hardcover, June 2011.

The cold case investigations in this multi-layered mystery are nicely plotted, intricately devised without being overly complicated. This is a fine example of the books in this series, one that should have a long run ahead of it.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Death Toll by Jim Kelly.

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

International Trailer for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

An international trailer for the film adaptation of John le Carré's 1974 thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy has been released; we've embedded it below.

Set in the 1970s, recently retired MI6 agent George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is doing his best to adjust to a life outside the secret service. However, when a disgraced agent reappears with information concerning a mole at the heart of the Circus, Smiley is drawn back into the murky field of espionage.

Tasked with investigating which of his trusted former colleagues has chosen to betray him and their country, Smiley narrows his search to four suspects—all experienced, urbane, successful agents—but past histories, rivalries and friendships make it far from easy to pinpoint the man who is eating away at the heart of the British establishment.

The film also stars Colin Firth (Bill Haydon, "Tailor"), Mark Strong (Jim Prideaux), Benedict Cumberbatch (Peter Guillam), Ciarán Hinds (Roy Bland, "Soldier"), Toby Jones (Percy Alleline, "Tinker"), and Kathy Burke (Connie Sachs). It will open in US theaters November 18th, 2011.

Nickelodeon Renews The House of Anubis for Second Season

Nickelodeon has renewed its teen mystery series The House of Anubis for a second season. The first season aired earlier this year with 60 "episodes", 11-minute segments that aired two per half hour of show time.

The series, based on the Belgian/Dutch television show Het Huis Anubis, features eight students who stumble upon a hidden mystery at an English boarding school. With a cranky caretaker, a creepy stuffed crow, and an attic that's probably haunted, someone needs to keep an eye on the students ...

Production on the second season is expected to begin this summer in Liverpool (England).

Watch a trailer for the first season below.

(Source: EW.com)