Listen to a 30-Second Clip of Skyfall by Adele (via BBC Radio)

Yesterday we had news that the premiere of the theme song for Skyfall, recorded by Adele, would take place on Thursday, October 4th at 7:07 PM ET.

Today, BBC Radio is reporting the song has — no surprise — been leaked early. Though they don't have the full track available — and we haven't gone looking for it either — the article does have a 30-second clip.

The track — simply titled Skyfall — is available to pre-order today from iTunes.

Discounted Seasonal Intrigue from Poisoned Pen Press

Poisoned Pen Press is offering a "seasonal intrigue" special on two of its titles all this month, discounting the ebook editions of Mark de Castrique's Fatal Undertaking and Kerry Greenwood's Trick or Treat to just 99 cents through the month of October 2012. More information on both books is below.

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Fatal Undertaking
Mark de Castrique
A Barry Clayton Mystery (5th in series)

Funeral director and part-time sheriff Barry Clayton finds United States Junior Chamber (Jaycee) member Archie Donovan's request absurd until he learns the casket will be the centerpiece of the Jaycees' haunted house, a charity event with all proceeds going to the children's hospital.

But when the president of the Jaycees is murdered in the casket on Halloween, the national press descends upon Gainesboro to cover the bizarre crime. Sheriff Tommy Lee Wadkins assigns Barry to be the lead investigator of a case that presents no motive and no suspects. Then someone fires a shot at Archie Donovan, and Barry wonders whether the victim in the casket had even been the intended target.

Barry finds his police work and personal life on a collision course as his ex-wife Rachel comes to town with high hopes of using the story to launch her TV network career. She begins prying into the lives of Gainesboro's most distinguished citizens and creates a backlash that leaves another body in its wake. Old wounds are ripped open, family rifts exposed, and a criminal enterprise revealed that cuts to the heart of the community.

Barry Clayton must follow a trail of clues as winding as a forest path. The unexpected destination: a mountainside of Christmas trees. Somewhere behind these symbols of peace and goodwill lurks a killer. Unmasking him will be a fatal undertaking.

      

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Trick or Treat
Kerry Greenwood
A Corinna Chapman Mystery (4th in series)

When a cut-price franchise bakery opens its doors just down the street from Earthly Delights and crowds flock to purchase the bread, Corinna Chapman is understandably nervous. Meanwhile, the gorgeous Daniel's old friend Georgiana Hope has temporarily set up residence in his house, and it doesn't take Corinna long to work out that she's tall, blonde, gorgeous and up to something. Daniel is making excuses and Corinna is worried about his absences and also the strange outbreak of madness which seems to be centred on Lonsdale Street.

      

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Important Note: Any prices mentioned above were correct 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.

Copp for Hire by Don Pendleton is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Copp for Hire by Don Pendleton 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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Copp for Hire
Don Pendleton
A Joe Copp Thriller
Publisher: Pendleton Artists

This is the first of six mysteries in this series, first published by Donald I. Fine in 1987.

Tough, cagey, ex-cop turned private eye, Joe Copp descends into the labyrinth of forbidden sex, corrupt politics, and multiple murders. It is a powerful story of gray and light and shifting shadows that conceal as much as they reveal about human nature. The fast moving story takes Joe Copp to the rough and tumble, down and dirty, anything-goes underbelly of Los Angeles and on to the deadly vice pits of Honolulu's Chinatown.

  

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.

For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.

Innocent Little Crime by C. S. Lakin is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Innocent Little Crime by C. S. Lakin 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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Innocent Little Crime
C. S. Lakin
Publisher: Imajin Books

Six naïve guests plus revenge served cold equals a recipe for disaster …

Lila Carmichael may be a rich and famous comedienne, but she’s hidden her greatest talent from her adoring fans—her ability to simmer, spice and serve a carefully constructed tour de force at a cozy reunion on her private island in the Pacific Northwest.

Six unsuspecting guests have forgotten the innocent little crimes they committed against poor, gullible Lila fifteen years ago in college. All are teetering on the brink of ruin, hoping the famous Lila will come to their rescue. But their desperation plays them right into her hand.

One by one, Lila's guests are figuratively killed off in a vicious parlor game called Wolves. And revenge turns bittersweet when the weekend is over … and one guest is dead for real.

  

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.

For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.

First Poster for Parker

The first (we believe) poster for Parker has been released by the studio (right; click for slightly larger image). The tagline: "To get away clean, you have to play dirty."

Based on a character created by Richard Stark — a pseudonym of Donald E. Westlake — Jason Statham stars as the professional thief, who adheres to a strict code of honor that involves never stealing from or harming the innocent and needy.

Though Westlake/Stark wrote some 24 or so crime novels featuring the character, we don't think this film is based on any of the books. John J. McLaughlin is credited with the screenplay.

Parker opens in theaters January 25th, 2013.

Three New, Very Different Posters for Killing Them Softly

Three new — three very different — posters for the crime thriller Killing Them Softly have been released by the studio. To the right is one from arthouse Mondo (click for larger image); below are two credited simply to the studio (click for larger images). All were first posted by Moviefone.

Adapted from the crime novel Cogan's Trade by George V. Higgins, the film follows Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt) as an enforcer hired to track down three guys, who robbed a mob-protected card game.

Written and directed by Andrew Dominik, Killing Them Softly was originally scheduled to open in theaters this month, but has now been moved to November 30th, 2012. You can watch the trailer below.

Review: The Hanging by Wendy Hornsby

A Mysterious Review of …

The Hanging by Wendy Hornsby. A Maggie MacGowen Mystery.

Review summary: This is a multi-layered mystery set at a small college, where politics play a significant role — and contribute a body of motives and suspects. But it is the relationships Maggie has with her friends, family, and most especially a student she considers a surrogate son, that make this credibly plotted novel a most enjoyable mystery. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

The Hanging
Wendy Hornsby
A Maggie MacGowen Mystery
Perseverance Press (September 2012)

Publisher synopsis: When her television series is abruptly canceled, investigative filmmaker Maggie MacGowen accepts a short-term contract to teach film production at a local community college — an interesting diversion, she thinks, until the next TV gig comes along. But if Maggie expects her sojourn in the ivory tower to be peaceful, she is dead wrong. Instead, she finds herself in the middle of an explosive power struggle.

In the current era of budget cuts and fee increases, community college president Park Holloway arouses faculty and student animosity with his expensive building program, especially an admin building derisively nicknamed the Taj Ma'Holloway. When Maggie finds the college president hanging in the building's stairwell, suspicion falls not on her, but on her young friend Sly Miller. A world-class artist, his sculpture was supposed to be hanging in place of the body.

That's only the beginning of a twisty plot dealing with the aesthetics and business of art, a billion-dollar art-for-arms deal; political corruption and cronyism; and issues of art forgery and journalistic ethics, all capped off by a stunning denouement.

    

Mark Harmon in John Sandford's Certain Prey, Now on DVD

Mark Harmon received a star — the 2,482nd — on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today … and while everyone is talking about his long-running role as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the CBS drama NCIS, we were reminded of his portrayal of Minneapolis Deputy Police Chief Lucas Davenport in last year's made-for-television adaptation of John Sandford's Certain Prey. (We missed announcing the movie on DVD, when it was released last month.)

Based on the tenth book in the series to feature the character, when a cop is shot after witnessing the murder of the wife of a local real estate lawyer, Davenport is called to the scene. The cops quickly zero in on the husband as the prime suspect until a team of FBI agents descends on Minneapolis with evidence linking the crime to elusive hit woman Clara Rinker (Tatiana Maslany). Taking charge of the investigation, Davenport suspects that Clara is not working alone and sets his sights on Carmel Loan (Lola Glaudini), a high-powered attorney with an intense obsession for the real estate lawyer. As Carmel and Clara try to cover up their crimes, the body count grows and Davenport does what he does best — breaking all the rules in order to nab this deadly duo.

We saw the movie when it aired on USA Network last October, and found Harmon to be an engaging Davenport, maybe not exactly how we had envisioned him from the books in the series, but quite acceptable in the role. We haven't heard anything about a sequel, but if/when we do we'll pass the information along.

Mystery and Suspense Films, New This Week on DVD (121002)

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.

See also a list of current mystery and suspense DVD, Blu-ray, or VOD deals on Amazon.com.

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Dark Shadows (2012)

Directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith, and based on the ABC television series Dark Shadows.

Film Synopsis (from the studio): In the year 1752, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from Liverpool, England to start a new life in America. But even an ocean was not enough to escape the mysterious curse that has plagued their family. Two decades pass and Barnabas (Johnny Depp) has the world at his feet-or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy … until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green). A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive.

Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better …

Running time: 113 minutes. Rating: PG-13 for comic horror violence, sexual content, some drug use, language and smoking.

Purchase/Rental Options

          

Watch a trailer for the film below

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Red Lights (2012)

Written and directed by Rodrigo Cortés.

Film Synopsis (from the studio): Veteran paranormal researchers Dr. Margaret Matheson (Sigourney Weaver) and Tom Buckley (Cillian Murphy) debunk fraudulent claims of ghost whispering, faith healing and other psychic phenomena by detecting what Matheson calls "red lights", the subtle tricks behind every staged supernatural occurrence. But when the legendary blind psychic Simon Silver (Robert De Niro) comes out of retirement after 30 years, his once-fearless adversary Matheson warns Buckley to back off, fearing reprisal from the powerful Silver.

Running time: 113 minutes. Rating: R for language and some violence.

Purchase/Rental Options

          

Watch a trailer for the film below

Cybergeddon by Anthony E. Zuiker

Last Friday, Cybergeddon, a new crime thriller by Anthony E. Zuiker, premiered its final chapters on Yahoo! (See the poster, right; click for larger image. Tagline: "There is no ESC.")

The Cybergeddon Experience — which includes exclusive on-set photos, behind-the-scenes clips, interviews with the cast and crew, and a social game where fans can join the characters on a mission to fight cybercrime — follows the story of agent Chloe Jocelyn (played by Missy Peregrym) as she investigates a slew of seemingly unrelated cyberattacks with fellow agent Frank Parker (Manny Montana) and incarcerated master hacker Chase "Rabbit" Rosen (Kick Gurry). Chloe and her team must crack the worldwide cybercrime ring led by Gustov Dobreff (Olivier Martinez) before it is too late. In a world where everyone is connected, everyone is at risk.

The cyberthriller consists of nine video chapters of 10 minutes each. A free associated mobile game is available from Google Play for Android devices and from iTunes for iPhone/iPad.

Telemystery: CBS Developing Cop Drama, Murder Bitches

CBS is developing a crime drama project centered on two female cops titled Murder Bitches. (An editorial aside: Hard to see that name surviving very long …)

According to Deadline, the two women are complete opposites, their relationship complicated by the fact that one, aged 27, suffered a stroke two years ago. Their co-workers admire their success on the job while also giving them the titular nickname.

Ashley Gable and Tom Szentgyorgyi will pen the script and co-executive produce with Bruno Heller (The Mentalist).

Female partners in crime (solving), who have little in common outside the job, have been successful in the past — Cagney & Lacey and Rizzoli & Isles come immediately to mind — so there's no reason to believe this concept won't work. A new title is in order, however.

Artwork for Skyfall Theme Song by Adele

The artwork for Adele's title theme song to the new James Bond film Skyfall was uploaded to the film's Facebook page a couple of hours ago (right).

Adele will premiere the song on Thursday, October 4th at 7:07 PM ET. (That will be 0:07 on October 5th in the UK.) The track — simply titled Skyfall — is available to pre-order today from iTunes.

"I was a little hesitant at first to be involved with the theme song for Skyfall," says Adele. "There's a lot of instant spotlight and pressure when it comes to a Bond song. But I fell in love with the script and [co-songwriter] Paul [Epworth] had some great ideas for the track and it ended up being a bit of a no-brainer to do it in the end. It was also a lot of fun writing to a brief, something I've never done which made it exciting. When we recorded the strings, it was one of the proudest moments of my life. I'll be back combing my hair when I'm 60 telling people I was a Bond girl back in the day, I'm sure!"

Books to Die For, an Anthology of Crime Fiction edited by John Connolly and Declan Burke

Subtitled "The world's greatest mystery writers on the world's greatest mystery novels", Books to Die For, edited by John Connolly and Declan Burke, is published tomorrow, October 2nd, by Atria Books.

With so many crime, suspense and mystery novels to choose among, and so many new titles appearing each year, where should a reader start? What are the classics of the genre? Which are the hidden gems?

In the most ambitious anthology of its kind yet attempted, the world's leading mystery writers have come together to champion the greatest mystery novels ever written. In a series of personal essays that often reveal as much about the authors and their own work as they do about the books that they love, 119 authors from 20 countries have created a guide that will be indispensable for generations of readers and writers.

From the book's introduction: Why does the mystery novel enjoy such enduring appeal? There is no simple answer. It has a distinctive capacity for subtle social commentary, a concern with the disparity between law and justice, and a passion for order, however compromised. Even in the vision of the darkest of mystery writers, it provides us with a glimpse of the world as it might be, a world in which good men and women do not stand idly by and allow the worst aspects of human nature to triumph without opposition. It can touch upon all these facets while still entertaining the reader.

From Agatha Christie to Lee Child, from Edgar Allan Poe to P. D. James, from Sherlock Holmes to Hannibal Lecter and Philip Marlowe to Lord Peter Wimsey, Books to Die For brings together the cream of the mystery world for a feast of reading pleasure, a treasure trove for those new to the genre and for those who believe that there is nothing new left to discover. This is the one essential book for every reader who has ever finished a mystery novel and thought … I want more!

Books to Die For is available in hardcover (Amazon | B&N) and ebook (Kindle | iTunes) formats.

Preview The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Graphic Novel on EW.com

It's been quite a while since we last had an update on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo graphic novel, but today Entertainment Weekly has an exclusive preview.

Written by crime novelist Denise Mina and illustrated by Leonardo Manco and Andrea Mutti, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Volume 1 is the first of six books planned, with each novel in the "Millennium Trilogy" by Stieg Larsson spanning two volumes.

In the opener, Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will be published by Vertigo on November 13th, 2012 in hardcover (Amazon | B&N) and ebook (Kindle — Fire and Android versions only) formats, and may be pre-ordered today.

Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (121001)

Here is today's list of the Bestselling Free Kindle Crime Fiction: the top nine mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers.

We're using a script to embed an RSS feed from Amazon.com, which is updated hourly, but if you cannot see the box below — or have scripts blocked — you can click on the image to the right or use this link to see the relevant page on Amazon.com.