Eye of the Witch by Dana E. Donovan is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Eye of the Witch by Dana E. Donovan as today's second free mystery ebook (A Tony Marcella Mystery; Kindle, Kobo, and iTunes formats).

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.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

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Eye of the Witch
Dana E. Donovan
A Tony Marcella Mystery
Publisher: CreateSpace

Detective Tony Marcella is brought out of retirement to team with his old partner, Carlos Rodriquez, as the two race against time to solve a mystery involving a string of suspicious deaths originally deemed suicides.

It's not enough that the clues in the deaths of three women seem to indicate who the next victim might be, but because of the ties that bind their pasts, every potential victim is also a potential suspect.

      

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.

In the Blood by Robert J. Sullivan is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature In the Blood by Robert J. Sullivan as today's free mystery ebook (A Sam Dane, Sci-Fi Thriller; Kindle format only).

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.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

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In the Blood
Robert J. Sullivan
A Sam Dane, Sci-Fi Thriller
Publisher: CreateSpace

When Sam Dane arrived on Procrustes he found a city given over to drunken debauchery, with the police overwhelmed by the manic festival and a killer leaving new victims day after day. Not speaking the language and unable to read clues on alien faces, Dane looks for any thread to follow back to the predator, human or alien.

Amid the chaos, where every action is colored by species, culture, alcohol, sex, violence, greed, ambition and politics, Dane works against time and the odds to keep the murders from destroying the city. He discovers that it's easier to bury bodies than secrets, and that there are worse crimes than murder.

  

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.

The Pain Scale by Tyler Dilts is Today's Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Pain Scale by Tyler Dilts as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal.

The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Tuesday, February 05, 2013.

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The Pain Scale
Tyler Dilts
A Danny Beckett Mystery
Thomas & Mercer

Long Beach homicide detective Danny Beckett returns from a year-long medical leave badly scarred and in constant pain, yet determined to prove he still has what it takes to do the job. He gets his chance when a call comes in that shocks even the toughest guys in the squad room: A California congressman's daughter-in-law and grandchildren have been brutally murdered in their upscale home.

At first glance, it looks like a robbery gone wrong, but Danny's not so sure. Something doesn't quite add up.

With state and local law enforcement in an uproar and the media circling like vultures, the pressure's on for Danny and his partner, Jennifer Tanaka, to solve this one. Too much is at stake … and not just politically. Even if they manage to crack the case, there's no guarantee the stress won't derail Danny's recovery. Because while the doctors can treat his physical pain, no one can erase the agony of the past that haunts every step he takes — and threatens to destroy his career once and for all.

Important Note: This book was listed at the price mentioned above 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.

Cinemystery: Screenwriter to Adapt French Thriller Syndrome E

Paramount has tapped Mark Heyman (Black Swan) to adapt the bestselling French thriller Syndrome E for film, according to a report by Deadline.

The presumed first in a series, the novel introduces Lucie Hennebelle, a detective investigating the murder of a film restorer, who was working on a film that induced hysterical blindness in one of her friends. It was published in the US last August by Viking; read our review here.

No director or other production details were released by the studio.

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Syndrome E
Franck Thilliez

This is the story of beleaguered detective Lucie Hennebelle, whose old friend has developed a case of spontaneous blindness after watching an extremely rare — and violent — film from the 1950s. Embedded in the film are subliminal images so unspeakably heinous that Lucie realizes she must get to the bottom of it — especially when nearly everyone who comes into contact with the film starts turning up dead.

Enlisting the help of Inspector Franck Sharko — a brooding, broken analyst for the Paris police who is exploring the film's connection to five murdered men left in the woods, Lucie begins to strip away the layers of what is perhaps the most disturbing and powerful film ever made. Soon Sharko and Lucie find themselves mired in a darkness that spreads across politics, religion, science, and art while stretching from France to Canada, Egypt to Rwanda, and beyond.

      

Review: Reunion at Red Paint Bay by George Harrar

A Mysterious Review of …

Reunion at Red Paint Bay by George Harrar.

Review summary: This is a rather uniquely constructed mystery that explores the magnitude of one's lies, guilt, and denial. The plot gradually ramps up the suspense, shifting the focus from one character to another, all the while deftly keeping the truth hidden. A good story and well told. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

Reunion at Red Paint Bay
George Harrar
Other Press (January 2013)

Publisher synopsis: Red Paint calls itself "the friendliest town in Maine", a place where everyone knows one another and nothing too disturbing ever happens. Native son Simon Howe is a sturdy family man — a good father and husband — and owner-editor of the town's newspaper. Because there's rarely any real news, he runs stories about Virgin Mary sightings, high school reunions, and petty criminals.

One day Simon's predictable and peaceful life is disrupted by the arrival of an anonymous postcard, the first in a series of increasingly menacing messages. He tries to ignore them, but the implied danger becomes more real, threatening to engulf his wife and son as well. The Howe family becomes engaged in a full-scale psychological battle with their unidentified stalker — without even knowing it. Secrets from Simon's past are uncovered, escalating toward a tense and unexpected climax.

      

MystereBooks: Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, Now at a Special Price

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, HarperCollins.

The ebook format of this title was priced at $2.99 from the listed vendors (below) 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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Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
Publisher: HarperCollins

This title is included on this month's list of 100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less.

Summer, 1954. U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels has come to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Along with his partner, Chuck Aule, he sets out to find an escaped patient, a murderess named Rachel Solando, as a hurricane bears down upon them.

But nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is what it seems.

And neither is Teddy Daniels.

Is he there to find a missing patient? Or has he been sent to look into rumors of Ashecliffe's radical approach to psychiatry? An approach that may include drug experimentation, hideous surgical trials, and lethal countermoves in the shadow war against Soviet brainwashing …

Or is there another, more personal reason why he has come there?

As the investigation deepens, the questions only mount:

• How has a barefoot woman escaped the island from a locked room?
• Who is leaving clues in the form of cryptic codes?
• Why is there no record of a patient committed there just one year before?
• What really goes on in Ward C?
• Why is an empty lighthouse surrounded by an electrified fence and armed guards?

The closer Teddy and Chuck get to the truth, the more elusive it becomes, and the more they begin to believe that they may never leave Shutter Island. Because someone is trying to drive them insane.

      

Important Note: This book was listed at the above mentioned price 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.

Mystery and Suspense Films: Alex Cross and Deadfall, New This Week on DVD

Checking through our list of films currently scheduled for release this week on DVD and/or Blu-ray disc, we are pleased to feature two that fall into the mystery, suspense, thriller and/or adventure category …

Alex Cross starring Tyler Perry and Matthew Fox; and

Deadfall starring Eric Bana, Olivia Wilde, Sissy Spacek, and Kris Kristofferson.

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

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Alex Cross (2012)

Directed by Rob Cohen from a screenplay by Kerry Williamson and Marc Moss, based on characters created by James Patterson and adapted in part from the 12th mystery in the series, Cross. Watch a trailer for the film below.

Film Synopsis (from the studio): Tyler Perry stars as homicide detective/psychologist Alex Cross as he meets his match in a serial killer (Matthew Fox). The two face off in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, but when the mission gets personal, Cross is pushed to the edge of his moral and psychological limits in this taut and exciting action thriller.

Running time: 101 minutes. Rating: Rated PG-13 for violence including disturbing images, sexual content, language, drug references, and nudity.

Purchase/Rental Options

        

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Deadfall (2012)

Directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky from an original screenplay by Zach Dean. Watch a trailer for the film below.

Film Synopsis (from the studio): Siblings Addison (Eric Bana) and Liza (Olivia Wilde) are on the run from a casino heist gone wrong. When a car accident leaves their wheel man and a state trooper dead, they split up and make a run for the Canadian border in the worst of circumstances a near whiteout blizzard. While Addison heads cross-country, creating mayhem in his wake, Liza is picked up by ex-boxer Jay (Charlie Hunnam), en-route for a Thanksgiving homecoming with his parents, June (Sissy Spacek) and retired sheriff Chet (Kris Kristofferson). It's there the siblings are reunited in a terse and thrilling showdown that pushes the bonds of family to the limit.

Running time: 95 minutes. Rating: Rated R for strong violence, language and sexuality.

Purchase/Rental Options

          

Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (130204)

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; as an alternative, you can click on the image to the right or use this link to see the relevant page on Amazon.com, which includes a list of both the Top 100 Paid and Top 100 Free Kindle Mysteries and Thrillers.

Nominees for the 2013 Lefty Awards Announced

The nominees for the 2013 Lefty Awards have been anounced by the organizers of Left Coast Crime. Attendees to this year's conference in Colorado Springs (March 21st through 24th, 2013) will vote for the winners, which will be announced at a banquet on Saturday night.

The nominees are …

The Lefty (best humorous mystery):
• Cruising in Your Eighties Is Murder by Mike Befeler (Five Star)
• Swift Run by Laura DiSilverio (Minotaur Books)
• December Dread by Jess Lourey (Midnight Ink)
• Trail of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz (Simon & Schuster)
• The Girl Next Door by Brad Parks (Minotaur Books)
• Fit To Be Dead by Nancy Glass West (Southwest Publications)

The Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery Award:
• The Twelve Clues of Christmas by Rhys Bowen (Berkley Prime Crime)
• A City of Broken Glass by Rebecca Cantrell (Forge Books)
• Live by Night by Dennis Lehane (William Morrow)
• Dandy Gilver and an Unsuitable Day for a Murder by Catrona McPherson (Minotaur Books)
• Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear (HarperCollins)

The Rocky (best mystery set Left Coast Crime geographical region):
• Buffalo Bill's Dead Now by Margaret Coel (Berkley Prime Crime)
• Hush Money by Chuck Greaves (Minotaur Books)
• Wicked Eddies by Beth Groundwater (Midnight Ink)
• Sonora Crossing by Darrell James (Midnight Ink)
• As the Crow Flies by Craig Johnson (Viking)

The Watson (best sidekick in a mystery)
• In a Witch's Wardrobe by Juliet Blackwell (Obsidian)
• Taken by Robert Crais (Putnam)
• Fun House by Chris Grabenstein (Pegasus)
• When the Past Haunts You by L. C. Hayden (CreateSpace)
• Brouja Brouhaha by Rochelle Staab (Berkley Prime Crime)

(Hat tip to Mystery Fanfare for alerting us to this list.)

New Mystery/Suspense from Carina Press: Getting Skinny by Monique Domovitch

Carina Press is a digital-first imprint from Harlequin, publishing books in an interesting and diverse selection of genres including contemporary romance, steampunk, gay/lesbian fiction, science-fiction, fantasy, and — but of course — mystery and suspense.

Getting Skinny by Monique Domovitch is this week's new ebook (listed under Cozy Mystery) …

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Getting Skinny
Monique Domovitch
A Chef Nicky Landry Mystery

Owning a restaurant is as crazy for Nicky Landry as an alcoholic owning a bar. But despite having to cram herself into a body shaper to look decent in a dress, life is pretty good. She's throwing the party of the year for her graduating doctor boyfriend, Rob, who she's sure is going to propose — until his new girlfriend shows up at the party.

After ordering Rob to get his stuff out of her house and get lost, Nicky finds him faceup with her expensive Chroma knife sticking right out of his cheating heart.

As the prime suspect, Nicky is in hot water. And no matter how hard she tries to clear her name, her problems only mount. She's convinced she can solve the murder — if only she can figure out the identity of the skinny person seen walking away with Rob after the party.

Getting "Skinny" won't be easy for Nicky, but she never imagined it would be life or death …

      

Telemystery: Above Suspicion and Southland, 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 two series from our site being released this week.

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Above Suspicion
Set 2: Deadly Intent

Freshly promoted DI Anna Travis (Kelly Reilly) reunites with DCS James Langton (Ciarán Hinds) to investigate the murder of a former police officer. The dead man was Langton's friend, and the detectives soon learn the case is much bigger than they first believed. A drug found at the scene has the chillingly accurate street name "Drop Dead", and the notorious criminal behind the drug might be someone who no longer exists.

Based on the bestselling novels by Lynda La Plante, this British police drama blends taut storytelling with convincing chemistry between Travis and her hard-boiled, flawed, and charismatic boss.

The three-part (180 minute) episode on this set is adapted from the novel Deadly Intent.

    

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Southland
Seasons Two, Three, and Four

The Southland is Los Angeles: sandy beaches and Bel-Air mansions, gangbangers and drug deals gone wrong. It's where the rookies and veterans of a stand-up LAPD unit see all the violence and fear a big city can breed and struggle to make a difference.

This DVD set contains all 26 episodes from Season Two (previously released as a separate DVD set), Season Three, and Season Four of the gripping lightning-paced series about the men and women who live their lives on a jagged edge taking on criminals victims and a sprawling city tainted by vice and seething with danger.

Sometimes the cops triumph. Sometimes they fail. And sometimes the poison they live with on the job comes home with them. Police action hits hard in Southland.

These three seasons originally aired on TNT during the Springs of 2010, 2011, and 2012, respectively.

  

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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.