Fox to Develop Crime Thriller Project created by Nick Santora

Crime novelist and television screenwriter Nick Santora (Prison Break) has sold a project to Fox titled The Raiding Party. The premise is three brothers and their mother carrying on the family business established by their grandfather: robbing banks. Santora is writing the pilot script and will co-executive produce.

Despite his success in television, Santora has said that being a published author "is the most exciting thing that’s happened in my professional career." His second novel, Fifteen Digits, is being published by Mulholland Books next year, which will also reissue his debut thriller Slip and Fall. He's also branching into graphic novels, with an original comic series Sandstorm to be published by DC Comics in 2012.

(Source: Variety.)

Mystery Bestsellers for the Week Ending September 23rd, 2011

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending September 23rd, 2011 has been posted by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

Reassuming the top spot after several weeks is The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, the third and final thriller in the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson. Three new titles debut on the lists.

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New at number 8 is Heat Rises, the third mystery featuring NYPD homicide detective Nikki Heat by Richard Castle of the ABC crime drama Castle.

The bizarre murder of a parish priest at a New York bondage club opens Nikki Heat's most thrilling and dangerous case so far, pitting her against New York's most vicious drug lord, an arrogant CIA contractor, and a shadowy death squad out to gun her down. And that is just the tip of an iceberg that leads to a dark conspiracy reaching all the way to the highest level of the NYPD.

But when she gets too close to the truth, Nikki finds herself disgraced, stripped of her badge, and out on her own as a target for killers with nobody she can trust. Except maybe the one man in her life who's not a cop. Reporter Jameson Rook.

In the midst of New York's coldest winter in a hundred years, there's one thing Nikki is determined to prove: heat rises.

Purchase Options:

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At number 13 is the 16th Stone Barrington thriller, Son of Stone by Stuart Woods.

After an eventful trip to Bel-Air and a reunion with his sophisticated (and very wealthy) former love, Arrington Calder, confirmed bachelor Stone Barrington is looking to stay in New York and cash in on his partnership at Woodman & Weld. Not only is he a rain-maker of one of the richest white-shoe law firms, in town, he’s back in his element. Manhattan, after all, is his home, and no one is better than Stone at navigating both its shadowy underworlds and its chic high society.

But Arrington has other plans for Stone, and his life is about to take a turn he never imagined …

Purchase Options:

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Finally, at number 14 is the stand-alone thriller Lethal by Sandra Brown.

When her four year old daughter informs her a sick man is in their yard, Honor Gillette rushes out to help him. But that "sick" man turns out to be Lee Coburn, the man accused of murdering seven people the night before. Dangerous, desperate, and armed, he promises Honor that she and her daughter won't be hurt as long as she does everything he asks. She has no choice but to accept him at his word.

But Honor soon discovers that even those close to her can't be trusted. Coburn claims that her beloved late husband possessed something extremely valuable that places Honor and her daughter in grave danger. Coburn is there to retrieve it — at any cost.

From FBI offices in Washington, D.C., to a rundown shrimp boat in coastal Louisiana, Coburn and Honor run for their lives from the very people sworn to protect them, and unravel a web of corruption and depravity that threatens not only them, but the fabric of our society.

Purchase Options:

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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.

Killer Elite, Adapted from a Novel by Ranulph Fiennes, Opens in Theaters Friday, September 23rd

The action thriller Killer Elite — an adaptation of the 1991 novel by Ranulph Fiennes, The Feather Men — opens in theaters this Friday, September 23rd.

Based on a shocking true story, Killer Elite pits two of the world’s most elite operatives — Danny, an ex-special ops agent (Jason Statham) and Hunter, his longtime mentor (Robert De Niro) — against the cunning leader of a secret military society (Clive Owen). Covering the globe from Australia to Paris, London and the Middle East, Danny and Hunter are plunged into a highly dangerous game of cat and mouse — where the predators become the prey.

Rated R, the film runs 105 minutes. Watch a trailer for the film below.

The Action Thriller Abduction Opens in Theaters Friday, September 23rd

Taylor Lautner stars as a young man unwittingly thrust into a deadly world of covert espionage in the action-thriller Abduction, opening in theaters this Friday, September 23rd.

For as long as he can remember, Nathan Harper (Taylor Lautner) has had the uneasy feeling that he's living someone else's life. When he stumbles upon an image of himself as a little boy on a missing persons website, all of Nathan's darkest fears come true: he realizes his parents are not his own and his life is a lie, carefully fabricated to hide something more mysterious and dangerous than he could have ever imagined.

Just as he begins to piece together his true identity, Nathan is targeted by a team of trained killers, forcing him on the run with the only person he can trust, his neighbor, Karen (Lily Collins). Every second counts as Nathan and Karen race to evade an army of assassins and federal operatives. But as his opponents close in, Nathan realizes that the only way he'll survive — and solve the mystery of his elusive biological father — is to stop running and take matters into his own hands.

Rated PG-13, the film runs 106 minutes. Watch a trailer for the film below.

New International Trailer for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

A new international trailer for the English-language adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has been posted online by the studio. We've embedded it below.

The film stars Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist, a reporter who has been asked to discover the truth behind the disappearance of an industrialist's daughter decades ago. He gets some unexpected assistance in his assignment from the titular character, Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), an expert computer hacker.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the first of the so-called "Millennium Trilogy" of thrillers by Stieg Larsson. All three books were adapted into Swedish-language films, which were released in 2009.

This English-language version — the studio is careful to say it is not a remake, but an original adaptation — opens in US theaters December 21st, 2011. (The date indicated on the trailer is the opening date in France … and apparently Belgium, given the source.)

OMN Welcomes Mystery Author Janet Kole

Omnimystery News is pleased to welcome Janet Kole, whose debut murder mystery is Suggestion of Death (CreateSpace, August 2011 Trade Paperback and ebook editions).

Today Janet tells us why practicing law is … murder!

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I always loved being a lawyer. Until I didn’t anymore. And that’s when I decided to start writing fiction about the experience of working as a lawyer. So much that really happened to me seemed fictional. It was great background material for a novel.

Photo provided courtesy of
Janet Kole

When I started in the profession, thirty years ago in a large national firm, the practice of law was a genteel affair, with afternoon breaks for tea served in china cups and brought around by a uniformed lady wheeling a tea cart, and evening drinks in a senior partner’s office replete with a well-stocked bar. I loved the clients, and I loved the cases, all interesting and intellectually challenging. I even liked many of my colleagues.

But gradually, over the years, lawyering became less a service industry and much more of a business. Add to that the economic collapse of 2008, and what was merely more of a business evolved into a cutthroat environment that rendered practicing law, at least for me, no longer fun. I left the firm where I had been a partner for years, and retired.

Although being a lawyer had stopped being fun, writing about my experience has been. I started by writing reality books for young lawyers that, with humor, gave advice about learning how to practice law. As these kinds of books go, they were best-sellers. Then I thought—why not let everyone get a sense of what a lawyer’s life is like?

So I wrote Suggestion of Death, published this year. It’s a murder mystery with a lawyer narrator. I added a bit of wish fulfillment to my experiences, having one law partner murder another. The humor is there, because as one of my colleagues said to me years ago, “if you didn’t laugh, you’d cry.”

As I look at my notes over the years, I realize I have material for many novels. And because I enjoy reading mysteries, I intend to include murders in all of my future novels. For some of the more outrageous situations I describe in my writings, be assured: truth is stranger than fiction. These things have happened, although not all to me. While my tenure in law firms has included coping with suicide and murder, no law partners of mine ever murdered other lawyers. They might have wanted to, but really, lawyers kill with words, not weapons.

I hope you’ll check out the fun and read Suggestion of Death. (See purchase options below.) And then please go to my website — KoleSlaw.com — and let me know what you think. And since my narrator is never named and I never let on the narrator’s gender, I’d be very interested to know what you think about the narrator’s sex.

Enjoy!

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Janet Kole practiced law for 30 years with both BigLaw law firms and, for five years, her own environmental law boutique. She started writing stories for her family at age 5. As a teenager, she wrote press releases for the local 4H club. She started publishing her work in The Bergen Record in the 1960s, as a feature reporter for the newspaper. She wrote for Ms. magazine, New Times, Penthouse and Harper’s Bazaar before becoming a lawyer. For years she had a column on women and the law in Harper’s Bazaar. Her guides for young lawyers, Chasing Paper and Pleading Your Case, were published by ABA publishing.

She retired as a lawyer in 2010. Her new career as a writer is keeping her busy, which means that she doesn’t get out to play golf as much as she thought she would. She loves her family and boats. She tries to stay warm by spending the winters in Florida. She lives part time in Philadelphia and Maryland.

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About Suggestion of Death:

"Ripped from the headlines," this murder mystery involves pedophile priests, AIDS and "Big Law" lawyers with a unique narrator.

The horrors begin when the narrator sees a peculiar message on the law firm's monitors: "Prepare to die." It is a suggestion that someone will die. And someone does: a much beloved retired partner, David St. Clair, beaten to death in his home. Then the firm's managing partner, Michael Bolden, disappears.

The unnamed narrator, whose gender is also never revealed, is a former prosecutor who has in the past helped the police solve crimes, who starts by investigating former partners, and young lawyers, who have been dismissed from the firm under a cloud.

David St. Clair had been the managing partner when they were fired. One suspect is an abusive lawyer who stole money from the firm. Another is a young lawyer dismissed for raiding client funds to underwrite a gambling habit. The narrator talks to a young man, Matt Moran, who was framed by Michael for sexual harrassment, and then dismissed. The narrator brings into the investigation another partner at the firm, in order to bounce ideas around. Melanie is a chain-smoking, outspoken iconoclast, a good foil for the staid narrator. Both the narrator and Mel think Michael is somehow involved.

Then another firm partner is murdered, this time in the firm's main conference room. Jud Levy's heart has been ripped from his chest, although the cause of death is a single gunshot to the head. Are the murders related? Jud helped Michael ruin the reputation of Matt Moran. Did Matt kill Jud? Anatole, known as Ant, Michael's best friend and a public service lawyer, is brutally beaten outside the firm's offices.

The narrator discovers that there is a connection among David, Michael and Ant. Each in some way has been involved with the Blessed Brothers of Mercy, a teaching order of monks. David has been a big contributor to the BBM, and Michael and Ant had each been part of the order for a period of time. The narrator meets with the head of the order, who reveals that the order has been the site of rampant sexual abuse for many years. Ant was investigating the abuse and the abusers for the diocese. Michael had been abused. He had recently discovered that he had acquired AIDS from his abuser.

Winner of the 2010 Hammett Prize Announced

The winner of the Hammett Prize has been posted on the International Association of Crime Writers website for the best crime novel published during 2010.

The winner, announced this week during the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Conference in Atlantic City, is …

• The Nearest Exit by Olen Steinhauer (Minotaur Books)

Review: Port City Black and White by Gerry Boyle

Port City Black and White by Gerry Boyle. A Brandon Blake Mystery. Down East Books Hardcover, September 2011.

This is a riveting character study, one that follows a cop who can't seem to distinguish between the gray area in which he operates and the right and wrong, black and white view he takes of his job. A strongly written mystery, it is also one that is hard to predict how it will all turn out … and at what cost to everyone involved.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Port City Black and White by Gerry Boyle.

True Detective by Max Allan Collins is Today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature True Detective by Max Allan Collins as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal. The deal price of $0.99 is valid only for today, Wednesday, September 21, 2011.

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True Detective by Max Allan Collins
A Nate Heller Mystery (1st in series)
AmazonEncore

Originally published in hardcover by St. Martin's Press in 1983, True Detective introduces the 1930s-era ex-Chicago cop turned private investigator. The book won the 1984 Shamus Award for Best PI Hardcover.

About True Detective (from the publisher): When Mayor Cermak’s “Hoodlum Squad” brings Heller along on a raid with no instructions but to keep his mouth shut and his gun handy, he becomes an unwitting, unwilling part of a hit on Al Capone’s successor, Frank Nitti. As a result, Heller quits the force to become a private eye; his first job — head off a nation-shaking political assassination in Miami Beach. With the Chicago World’s Fair as a backdrop, Heller encounters a Ragtime array of crooks and clients, including Al Capone, George Raft, “Dutch” Reagan, and FDR himself.

Important Note: Prices can and do change without prior notice, so please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.

Download Link(s):

Amazon Kindle Daily Deal Download Link.

Review: Liquid Smoke by Jeff Shelby

Liquid Smoke by Jeff Shelby. A Noah Braddock Mystery. Tyrus Books Hardcover, September 2011.

This superior crime novel, relatively short and perfectly paced, has a storyline that is simple in its scope, yet there is nothing simple in how it unfolds. One cannot help but wonder, though, given how everything plays out, will there be a fourth mystery in the series?

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: Liquid Smoke by Jeff Shelby.

Jeffrey Archer's The Eleventh Commandment to be Developed for Television

It was just last week that we were reporting that one of Jeffrey Archer's thrillers was being developed into the first of an expected film franchise.

Now we're learning that another of his novels, the 1999 political thriller The Eleventh Commandment, is heading for the small screen. Gale Anne Hurd (The Walking Dead) will steer the project.

The book centers on one Connor Fitzgerald. Devoted family man. Servant of his country. CIA assassin. Days before his retirement from the Company, Fitzgerald comes face to face with an enemy who, for the first time, even he cannot handle — his own boss, Helen Dexter, Director of the CIA.

But Dexter's stranglehold on the agency is threatened by a power greater than her own, and her only hope is to destroy Fitzgerald. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, a new threat to national security is emerging: a ruthless hardline Russian president who is determined to force a military confrontation between the two superpowers. It's up to the intrepid Fitzgerald to pull off his most daring mission yet — save the world … and his own life.

(Source: Variety.)

Review: A Mortal Terror by James R. Benn

A Mortal Terror by James R. Benn. A Billy Boyle, World War II Mystery. Soho Crime Hardcover, September 2011.

The mysteries in this series have been uniformly outstanding, and the present one continues this fine trend. Benn has a unique and sensitive way of incorporating the horror of war into a credible fictional narrative. This book, and the ones that precede it, is highly and enthusiastically recommended.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: A Mortal Terror by James R. Benn.

Mystery and Suspense Films, New This Week on DVD (110920)

Checking through our list of films currently scheduled for release this week on DVD and/or Blu-ray disc, shown below are those that fall into the mystery, suspense, thriller and adventure categories.

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Purchase/Rental Options

The River Murders (2011)

Film Synopsis (from the studio): The sins of the past are not forgotten in this chilling suspense thriller starring Ray Liotta, Christian Slater and Ving Rhames.

When the first body was discovered, it seemed a coincidence. But now homicide detective Jack Verdon (Liotta) has cause to worry: the victims of a series of brutal sex murders are all his former girlfriends. Suspected by the FBI agent who’s taken over the case (Slater) and suspended by his captain (Rhames), Jack must work outside the law if he’s to find the killer, save his future and protect what’s left of his past.

Though it appears this film may have had an international theatrical release this past summer, it is a direct-to-DVD release here in the US.

(Rated R; 92 minutes)

Watch a trailer for the film below:

Review: The Quest for Anna Klein by Thomas H. Cook

The Quest for Anna Klein by Thomas H. Cook. Non-series. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Hardcover, June 2011.

This novel of espionage spans decades and continents, yet is at its core a tale of personal intrigue. The effective interplay of characters and setting and of past and present makes this book a pleasure to read.

Read the full text of our review at Mysterious Reviews: The Quest for Anna Klein by Thomas H. Cook.

Telemystery: Nine Crime Drama Series New This Week on DVD

Telemystery, your source for one of the most comprehensive listings of crime drama, amateur sleuth, private investigator, mystery and suspense television series, mini-series and made-for-television movies, now available on or coming soon to DVD or Blu-ray disc, is profiling nine series being released this week.

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Dana Delany stars as medical examiner Dr. Megan Hunt in Body of Proof.

After an automobile accident damages her reflexes, effectively ending her career as a neurosurgeon, Megan continues to use her considerable skills in determining how victims of murder were killed, thus pointing the finger at who killed them.

The series debuted mid-season earlier this year. Its second season premieres tomorrow, Tuesday September 20th, at 10 PM (ET/PT).

Body of Proof: Season One is available on DVD, Amazon Instant Video, and iTunes (click on the icons above, left for more details), and consists of 9 episodes that originally aired on ABC from January through March, 2011.

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Mystery novelist Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) and NYPD homicide detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) return to solve another season of crimes in Castle.

Between his mixed-up partnership with Beckett and his relationships with his diva mother and his clever daughter, Alexis, Castle is always on his toes. He's always ready with a quip, though, imagining the crimes they're investigating as if it were a plot from his latest bestseller.

The fourth season of Castle premieres tonight, Monday September 19th, at 10 PM (ET/PT). The third murder mystery by Richard Castle to feature NYPD homicide detective Nikki Heat — a thinly disguised Kate Beckett — Heat Rises, hits bookstores tomorrow, Tuesday September 20th.

Castle: Season Three is available on DVD, Amazon Instant, and iTunes (click on the icons above, left for more details), and consists of 24 episodes that originally aired on ABC from September 2010 through May 2011.

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Warren Clarke stars as Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel and Colin Buchanan as his partner Detective Inspector Peter Pascoe in Dalziel and Pascoe, based on characters created by crime novelist Reginald Hill.

This season finds the team investigating the killing of a child that revives memories of a similar crime 15 years ago, the death of a young man at a rave club and the wrongful conviction of a woman for murder back in 1963. In the final episode, Dalziel is part of a group held hostage in a pub, with Pascoe unaware that his boss is in danger.

The season also sees the first appearance of the newest member of the team, Detective Constable Shirley Novello (Jo-Anne Stockham).

Dalziel and Pascoe: Season Four is available on DVD (click on the icon above, left for more details), and consists of the 4 references episodes that originally aired on BBC during the summer of 1999.

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Jack Lord stars as Steve McGarrett, the head of an elite state police unit, in Hawaii Five-O.

Organized crime, murder, assassination attempts, foreign agents, felonies of every type are the domain of the Five-O team.

This penultimate season also marks the last appearance of James MacArthur, who plays McGarrett's second in command Danny "Danno" Williams. He departed after the end of the season, having appeared in all but a handful of episodes through the series run to date.

Hawaii Five-O: Season Eleven is available on DVD (click on the icon above, left for more details), and consists of 21 episodes that originally aired on CBS from September 1978 through April 1979.

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A contemporary update to the above series premiered last year as Hawaii Five-0 and stars Alex O'Loughlin as Steve McGarrett, the son of the original series character, and the head of an elite federalized task force, whose mission is to wipe out the crime that washes up on the Islands' sun-drenched beaches. The ensemble cast also features Scott Caan as Detective Danny "Danno" Williams.

The second season of the series premieres tonight, Monday September 19th, at 10 PM.

Hawaii Five-0 2010: Season One is available on DVD, Amazon Instant, and iTunes (click on the icons above, left for more details), and consists of 24 episodes that originally aired on CBS from September 2010 through May 2011.

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Martin Shaw stars as Judge John Deed in this crime drama from the UK.

Menace and intimidation fill Deed's court when three young men are charged with shooting a gang member and a main witness in the case is killed in a hit and run. When Deed has an affair with a plaintiff, his fellow judges turn against him and exile him to Warwick. Jo Mills (Jenny Seagrove) is threatened in a high stakes trial over government bribes and Deed returns determined to protect her and continue the trial. Further risking his position, Deed pursues a case that contends a Home Secretary accepted a bribe on a defense contract. Putting his own position in jeopardy, the Judge continues to fight for justice.

Judge John Deed: Season Four is available on 3 (click on the icon above, left for more details), and consists of 6 episodes that originally aired on BBC during January and February, 2005.

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This extension to the "Law & Order" brand, Law & Order: Los Angeles, uses the southern California city as a backdrop to its classic ripped-from-the-headlines stories.

On the Law side is Deputy District Attorney Morales (Alfred Molina), a killer in the courtroom who lives to see justice served. On the Order side are Detectives Rex Winters (played by Skeet Ulrich) and Tomas "TJ" Jarusalski (Corey Stoll) as members of the LAPD's elite Robbery Homicide Division.

Despite the general — though fading — popularity of the brand, this series failed to resonate with viewers and was canceled after just one season.

Law & Order: Los Angeles: The Complete Series is available on DVD, Amazon Instant, and iTunes (click on the icons above, left for more details), and consists of 22 episodes that originally aired on NBC in a split schedule, September 2010 through December 2010 and April 2011 through May 2011.

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Rock Hudson stars as San Francisco Police Commissioner Stewart McMillan in the final season of this series, renamed McMillan after his on-screen wife Sally (Susan Saint James) departed. (Her character dies in a plane crash between the 5th and 6th seasons.)

Also not returning is Nancy Walker as Mildred, though John Schuck does return as Sergeant Charles Enright.

McMillan: Season Six is available on DVD (click on the icon above, left for more details), and consists of 6 episodes that originally aired on NBC as part of its Mystery Movie series, from December 1976 through April 1977. Rating for this season were less than stellar, and it was canceled by the network.

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Simon Baker stars as crime solving "psychic" Patrick Jane in The Mentalist.

Ever since the elusive serial killer Red John murdered Patrick Jane's family, the California Bureau of Investigation consultant has become obsessed with finding the man who destroyed his life. But after a homicide suspect is set ablaze in his jail cell and a CBI agent is later framed as an informant for Red John, Patrick realizes his longtime adversary is much closer than he imagined.

In settings from gold country to the racetrack to a martial-arts cage brawl, the unconventional Patrick Jane uses his unique skills of observation and psychological manipulation to bypass the system and solve the toughest cases.

The fourth season of the series premieres this Thursday, September 22nd at 10 PM (ET/PT).

The Mentalist: Season Three is available on DVD (click on the icon above, left for more details), and consists of 24 episodes that originally aired on CBS from September 2010 through May 2011.

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Visit the Telemystery website to discover more television mystery series currently available on and coming soon to DVD, Blu-ray disc, or video on demand.