We've just published our Review of Astride a Pink Horse by Robert Greer. North Atlantic Hardcover, March 2012.
Available to purchase from …
Tuesday, April 03, 2012
Review: Astride a Pink Horse by Robert Greer
Six New Character Posters for Game of Thrones
Six new character posters have been released for HBO's Game of Thrones (below; click for larger versions). We're not sure if these are so-called "fan posters" or official promotional marketing by the network, but they are striking, each with its own character-inspired tagline.
Based on the series of "A Song of Ice and Fire" epic fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the second season of Game of Thrones is currently airing on Sundays on HBO.
April 2012 Selection of Amazon Kindle Books Priced $3.99 or less
Every month, Amazon selects 100 Kindle books and prices them at $3.99 or less. We've taken a first pass through the list and picked out the really important ones — crime fiction, mystery/suspense novels and thrillers — and listed them below. Click on the title for more information or to purchase.
Important Note: The prices listed are only available through the month of April 2012 and may change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of book before completing your purchase.
$1.99 titles …
• True Crime by Max Allan Collins. Nathan Heller (2nd).
• Once Bitten by Stephen Leather.
$2.99 titles …
• A Matter of Honor by Jeffrey Archer.
• The Prodigal Daughter by Jeffrey Archer. Kane and Abel (2nd).
• First Among Equals by Jeffrey Archer.
• Pay Me in Flesh by K. Bennett. Mallory Caine (1st).
• Scrapbook of Secrets by Mollie Cox Bryan. Cumberland Creek (1st).
• The Russian (Conspiracy in Kiev, Midnight in Madrid, Countdown in Cairo) by Noel Hynd. All three books in "The Russian Trilogy" … a terrific deal!
New Banner Poster for Dark Shadows
We've had lots of posters recently for Dark Shadows — here, here, and here — and now we have a new banner style (below; click for larger version). The banner's tagline: "Every family has its demons."
The film, an update of the Gothic television show from the late 1960s, stars Johnny Depp as the vampire Barnabas Collins. Directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith, Dark Shadows opens in theaters May 11th, 2012.
OMN Welcomes Back Crime Novelist Shirley Wells
Omnimystery News is pleased to welcome back crime novelist Shirley Wells, author of the Dylan Scott mysteries. The third in the series is Silent Witness (Carina Press, March 2012 ebook).
Today Shirley talks about research, an effort that produced the striking photographc you see below that was incorporated into the cover design of her new book
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If there's one word that makes my heart sink, it's research. I could happily read about serial killers, criminal profiling and exotic poisons all day long but when it comes to the nuts and bolts of research, I hate it. It's a distraction. It halts the flow of my writing.
When I'm working on the first draft of a novel, my desk will be covered with Post-It notes in all shapes, sizes and colours. On these will be scribbled such things as "How long does it take to get from Carlisle to Ipswich by car?", "How often do the trains run between Birmingham and Sheffield?", "How heavy is the average Rottweiler?".
Photo provided courtesy of
Shirley Wells
When that first draft is written and I can put it off no longer, I spend hours getting rid of those Post-It notes one by one. It's then I discover that the distance between Carlisle and Ipswich is much greater than I thought (309.7 miles if ever you need to know) and takes 6 hours and 4 minutes. Much cursing follows as I realise my killer can't possibly check into a hotel in Carlisle, enjoy afternoon tea, drive to Ipswich, slash my victim's artery, and be back in Carlisle in time for a drink before bed.
I'm a Brit (you Americans will have guessed that from the funny spelling) and I live amid the Pennine Hills in Lancashire in the north-west of England. As I'm so averse to research, I set my books in the same area. I know exactly what the weather's like (usually raining), what time the sun rises and sets, how bleak the hills are when covered in mist and when the first daffodil appears.
In my latest Dylan Scott mystery, Silent Witness, a scene takes place on a lonely, windswept hill where the only signs of life are a few sheep and a panopticon called the Singing, Ringing Tree. The "tree" is a 3-metre high structure constructed of steel pipes designed to "sing" when the wind blows. I needed to know what this musical sculpture sounded like when the wind was howling around it. Easy. I simply called the dogs and took them for a walk so we could listen to it.
Photo credit: Shirley Wells
When the novel was written and the edits done, it was time for my publisher's cover artist to get to work. When asked if there were any interesting visual aspects that might convey the mood of the book, I called the dogs again, picked up my camera and set off for the hills. We had a lovely walk and I was able to send the cover artist this photo (right).
The result is the cover below.
I love this cover. The hill, with the Singing, Ringing Tree, is one of my favourite spots so it's extra-special for me to see it on my book cover. What do you think? Do you find it suitably mysterious? I'd love to know.
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Multi-published author Shirley Wells was born in the Cotswolds and lived in Cyprus and Orkney before settling in Lancashire, the UK, where the spectacular Pennine Hills provide the inspiration for her popular mystery novels. She and her husband share their home with two dogs, two cats and any other strays who fancy a pampered life. Learn more about Shirley and her books by visiting her website, ShirleyWells.com.
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About Silent Witness:
After his ex-wife bled to death in a bathtub covered in his fingerprints, the case against Aleksander Kaminski seemed open and shut. Though sentenced to life in prison, he swears he's innocent, a claim supported by his current wife.
Private investigator Dylan Scott finds himself drawn back to dreary Lancashire in a search for justice. The evidence against Kaminski is damning, but having been unjustly jailed himself, Dylan is compelled to pursue the case; if there's even a small chance the man is innocent, he has to help. The other obvious suspect — the victim's second husband—has a watertight alibi. But Dylan has a strong hunch that as usual, there's more going on than meets the eye in Dawson's Clough.
The deeper Dylan digs, the more secrets he unearths. The question remains: If Kaminski didn't murder his childhood sweetheart, who did?
Murder on the Aisle by Ed Gorman is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Murder on the Aisle by Ed Gorman as today's third free mystery ebook.
This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
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Murder on the Aisle by Ed Gorman
A Tobin Mystery
Publisher: Crossroad Press
This is the first of only two mysteries by this author to feature the television and film critic.
About Murder on the Aisle (from the publisher): Peeps takes movie reviewing to new heights of viciousness. On this prime-time TV show, two caustic critics look at the hits and misses among the new movies, trading wits, insults — even punches.
But even a series with high ratings like Peeps can stare at cancellation — not by the networks, but by murder. Because Dunphy has just been found with a knife in his back in the dressing room of Tobin, his co-host and sparring partner. The cops' script says Tobin — who'd secretly shared the affections of Dunphy's wife and brawled on air with Dunphy the night before — has the motivation for the part of star suspect. But for Tobin, the accusation is hardly entertaining, and he sets out to find the real killer in the cast.
Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
Download Link(s):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
Witness to Death by Dave White is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Witness to Death by Dave White as today's second free mystery ebook.
This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
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Witness to Death by Dave White
Publisher: Dave White
This stand-alone thriller is by the Shamus Award-nominated author of the Jackson Donne mystery series.
About Witness to Death (from the publisher): John Brighton is an ordinary young schoolteacher still hung up on his ex, Michelle. Suspecting her new boyfriend is cheating on her, John decides to follow Frank's Lexus and find out the truth once and for all. Turns out John's in for a major surprise. Frank isn't heading for some sack time with another girl. Instead he drags John into the middle of a shootout on the banks of the Hudson River, and before John knows what's happening, he's knee-deep in bodies.
Before the corpses can even cool, Frank disappears and John finds himself wanted for five murders. With no way to prove his innocence, John goes on the run — not only from the police, but a vicious assassin as well. And when Michelle is kidnapped, John’s worst-case scenario comes true. Though his head tells him to stay in hiding, his heart says otherwise. He has to save the woman he loves or die trying.
As John begins to uncover the truth surrounding the events that have turned his life upside down, he learns it isn’t just Michelle he must rescue. Thousands of other innocent lives are in jeopardy too.
Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
Download Link(s):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
Top Suspense: Favorite Kills is Today's Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Top Suspense: Favorite Kills as today's free mystery ebook.
This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
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Top Suspense: Favorite Kills
A Short Story Collection
Publisher: Top Suspense Books
About Top Suspense: Favorite Kills (from the publisher): We hope you're sitting down, and that you've finally caught your breath from our first bestselling anthology. You're about to take another screaming thrill ride with twelve master storytellers. Each Top Suspense Group author is an award winning, highly acclaimed pro whose compelling and unforgettable tales have been published all over the world — and, in some cases, have even become blockbuster movies and TV shows.
In this collection, we've collected our very best short stories. All major prize-winning tales and personal favorites, each one a knock-out punch of suspense.
So hold on tight my friend, or better yet, tie yourself down. You're in for another breathtaking wild ride of seething sex and unexpected twists, dark humor, and certain death. And when it's all over, and you're sitting there spent and satisfied, soaked in a flop sweat of terror and exhilaration, we're gonna be right there to bring you even more.
Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
Download Link(s):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
Monday, April 02, 2012
El Gavilan by Craig McDonald is Today's Sixth Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature El Gavilan by Craig McDonald as today's sixth free mystery ebook.
This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.
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El Gavilan by Craig McDonald
Publisher: Tyrus Books
About El Gavilan (from the publisher): The news is full of it: escalating tensions from illegal immigration; headless bodies hanging off bridges and bounties placed on lawmen on both sides of the border. New Austin, Ohio, is a town grappling with waves of undocumented workers who exert tremendous pressure on schools, police and city services. In the midst of the turmoil, three very different kinds of cops scramble to maintain control and impose order.
But the rape-murder of a Mexican-American woman triggers a brutal chain of events that threatens to leave no survivors.
Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.
Download Link(s):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
Mr. E. Reviews Tower Heist
Purchase/Rental Option(s)
The premise of this crime comedy is fine here — if remarkably similar to Ocean's Eleven, a much, much better film — yet is very poorly paced and plays out in an exceptionally leaden manner. What's probably most disappointing, however, is that the actors act as if they're being directed, none of them really assuming the roles of the characters they are playing.
Read the full text of our review at Mr. E. Reviews Tower Heist.
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Mr. E. Reviews is your source for mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime drama reviews of television and film.
First Poster for Savages, Adapted from Don Winslow's Crime Thriller
The first poster for the crime thriller Savages, adapted from the novel by Don Winslow, has been released by the studio (right; click for larger version).
Directed by Oliver Stone from a screenplay co-written by Stone, Winslow, and Shane Salerno, the film features an all-star ensemble cast of Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Emile Hirsch and Demian Bichir.
Laguna Beach entrepreneurs Ben (Johnson), a peaceful and charitable Buddhist, and his closest friend Chon (Kitsch), a former Navy SEAL and ex-mercenary, run a lucrative, homegrown industry — raising some of the best marijuana ever developed. They also share a one-of-a-kind love with the extraordinary beauty Ophelia (Lively). Life is idyllic in their Southern California town … until the Mexican Baja Cartel decides to move in and demands that the trio partners with them.
When the merciless head of the cartel, Elena (Hayek), and her brutal enforcer, Lado (Del Toro), underestimate the unbreakable bond among these three friends, Ben and Chon — with the reluctant, slippery assistance of a dirty DEA agent (Travolta) — wage a seemingly unwinnable war against the cartel.
And so begins a series of increasingly vicious ploys and maneuvers in a high stakes, savage battle of wills.
Savages opens in theaters July 6th, 2012.
Review: Cops, Crooks & Other Stories in 100 Words by Mark S. Bacon
We've just published our Review of Cops, Crooks & Other Stories in 100 Words by Mark S. Bacon. A Collection of Flash Fiction. Archer & Clark Ebook, March 2012.
Available to purchase from …
Telemystery: The Commander, 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 one series being released this week.
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Amanda Burton stars as a female cop who crosses the line The Commander, a British crime drama created by crime novelist Lynda La Plante.
Clare Blake is New Scotland Yard's highest-ranking woman officer. Icy-cool, ambitious but reckless, she lets her personal life bleed into her career, defying convention and risking her reputation.
The Commander: Set Two is available on DVD and consists of four multi-part episodes that originally aired on ITV as the third and fourth "seasons" of the series during the Summer of 2007 and in the Fall of 2008.
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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.
Promotional Poster for Copper, a New Historical Crime Drama on BBC America
It's not an official poster from the studio, but the promotional image for the upcoming BBC America historical crime drama Copper conveys a sense of what it's about. The tagline: "Justice is brutal."
Copper is described as a gripping crime series set in 1860s New York City, and centers on Kevin Corcoran (Tom Weston-Jones), an intense, rugged Irish-immigrant cop working the city’s notorious Five Points neighborhood and struggling to maintain his moral compass in a turbulent world. He returns from the Civil War to discover his daughter is dead and his wife has disappeared, a storyline that will be explored during the series. His friendship with two war compatriots — the wayward son of a wealthy industrialist and a physician who secretly assists Corcoran with his work — takes him to the contrasting worlds of elegant Fifth Avenue and rural Harlem. The three men share a secret from their experience on the battlefield that inextricably links their lives forever.
"I love the part because of the moral conundrums he comes up with day to day," says Weston-Jones. "Through his eyes you get a real sense of how uncertain everything was back then. I love that nothing is predetermined, no one following a plot, everyone just coping and living in the moment, just trying to survive."
Ten one-hour episodes have been ordered for the series, which is expected to premiere on August 19th, 2012.
(Related article: The Hollywood Reporter.)
True Blood Season 5 Clip Trailer Released
HBO has released a clip trailer for the fifth season of True Blood (embedded below).
Based on characters created by crime novelist Charlaine Harris for her Southern Vampire series of mysteries, True Blood stars Anna Paquin as telepathic bar maid Sookie Stackhouse.
The fifth season of True Blood will premiere on Sunday, June 24th, 2012.
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