tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-180062412008-07-22T18:19:43.784-07:00Mystery Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120574738684378464noreply@blogger.comBlogger1189125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18006241.post-83783534638538552692008-07-22T18:18:00.000-07:002008-07-22T18:19:43.811-07:00<div style="margin: 12px;" align="center"><a rel="tag" href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 0px auto 20px; display: block; text-align: center; width: 375px; height: 80px;" alt="Mysterious Reviews" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-news.jpg"></a></div> <p><a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/">Mysterious Reviews</a>, mysteries reviewed by the <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/">Hidden Staircase Mystery Books</a>, is publishing a new review of <span style="font-style: italic;">Vita Nuova</span> by Magdalen Nabb. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.</p> <div style="margin: 0pt 0pt 6pt 12pt; float: right; width: 120px;"><a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-detail.html?asinx=1569474931"><img alt="Vita Nuova by Magdalen Nabb" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mystery-reviews-graphics/1569474931.jpg" style="border: 0px solid ; padding: 0px 10px; width: 100px; vertical-align: bottom;"></a><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1569474931/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img style="border: 0pt solid ; padding: 0px; width: 120px; vertical-align: top;" alt="Buy from Amazon.com" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mystery-reviews-graphics/buy-from-amazon.gif"></a></div> <p><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-detail.html?asinx=1569474931">Vita Nuova</a> by <a href="http://authors.omnimystery.com/nabb-magdalen.html" rel="tag">Magdalen Nabb</a><br> <span style="font-style: italic;">A Marshal Salvatore Guarnaccia Mystery</span></p> <p class="std10">Soho Crime (Hardcover)<br> ISBN-10: 1-56947-493-1 (1569474931)<br> ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-493-8 (9781569474938)<br> Publication Date: June 2008<br> List Price: $24.00</p> <p class="std10"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Synopsis</span>&nbsp;(from the publisher): Daniela is a quiet single mother studying for a doctorate in chemistry. She rarely goes out, so her murder in her bedroom at the family's new villa seems inexplicable. It is true that her mother, who appears to be an alcoholic; her younger sister, who has had mental problems; and her father, who has made his money running nightclubs and is probably involved in the international sex trade, are not your average home-loving Italian nuclear family, but what can she have done to be singled out for slaughter? And why has the prosecutor asked specifically for Marshal Guarnaccia to head the investigation?</p> <p class="std10"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Review</span>: Marshal Guarnaccia has been called in by old adversary, Prosecutor Fulvio DeVita, to investigate the murder of a young single mother, the eldest daughter of wealthy business man, in <span style="font-style: italic;">Vita Nuova</span>, the fourteenth mystery in this series by the late Magdalen Nabb.<br> <br> The young woman is Daniela who is found by her younger sister in her bedroom, shot six times in the stomach and once in the back of her head. As is his custom, the Marshal visits the scene, exploring the actual place of death as well as the house and grounds. He then carefully reflects on everything he has observed over and over again. What appear to be conclusive answers at first are eventually reversed in his mind, and his keen observations provide him with a clear (or at least clearer) concept of the murder. Because all the windows had bars like a prison, an outsider could not possibly have been able to enter into the villa. So, naturally, it appears to the Marshal that it was someone in the villa who had killed Daniela. Then he wonders if the bars were to keep someone out, or more ominously, to keep someone in. When the marshal investigates the dead woman's father&rsquo;s business ventures, he becomes aware of illegal immigrants from Poland and elsewhere being hired by Paolette, some being placed in legitimate jobs as maids, nannies, or other unskilled laborers, but some as &ldquo;special&rdquo; girls to work in his nightclub. The Marshal must not only solve the murder in Paolette&rsquo;s home, but also save the young girls from a miserable life that faced them in Florence.<br> <br> Nabb's mysteries have an amazing effect on the reader. It's as if they are standing with the Marshal, participating in his thought process and reasoning with him throughout the case. The reading experience with <span style="font-style: italic;">Vita Nuova</span>, the author's last novel, is no different. At times anxious, at times tranquil, always riveting and forever touching. The mystery world has lost a great crime writer with the passing of Magdalen Nabb last year, but it is with pleasure that Soho Press is reissuing some of her mysteries for a generation of new fans to enjoy.</p> <p class="std10">Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of <a target="_blank" style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.betzreview.com/" rel="tag">The Betz Review</a> for contributing her review of&nbsp;<span style="font-style: italic;">Vita Nuova</span> and to <a href="http://www.sohopress.com/" target="_blank">Soho Press</a> for providing a copy of the book for this review.</p> <p>Review Copyright &copy; 2008 &mdash; Hidden Staircase Mystery Books &mdash; All Rights Reserved.</p> <p>For more <a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/" rel="tag">mystery book reviews</a> visit Mysterious Reviews, a partner with the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books which is committed to providing readers and collectors of <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/" rel="tag">mystery books</a> with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.</p> <p>Return to <a href="http://www.mystery-books.com/" rel="tag">Mystery Books News</a> ...</p>Mystery Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120574738684378464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18006241.post-67809712932633838232008-07-21T07:49:00.001-07:002008-07-21T07:51:07.352-07:00<div style="margin: 12px;" align="center"><a rel="tag" href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 0px auto 20px; display: block; text-align: center; width: 375px; height: 80px;" alt="Mysterious Reviews" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-news.jpg"></a></div> <p><a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/">Mysterious Reviews</a>, mysteries reviewed by the <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/">Hidden Staircase Mystery Books</a>, is publishing a new review of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Secret Hangman</span> by Peter Lovesey. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.</p> <div style="margin: 0pt 0pt 6pt 12pt; float: right; width: 120px;"><a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-detail.html?asinx=1569474885"><img alt="The Secret Hangman by Peter Lovesey" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mystery-reviews-graphics/1569474885.jpg" style="border: 0px solid ; padding: 0px 10px; width: 100px; vertical-align: bottom;"></a><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1569474885/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img style="border: 0pt solid ; padding: 0px; width: 120px; vertical-align: top;" alt="Buy from Amazon.com" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mystery-reviews-graphics/buy-from-amazon.gif"></a></div> <p><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-detail.html?asinx=1569474885">The Secret Hangman</a> by <a href="http://authors.omnimystery.com/lovesey-peter.html" rel="tag">Peter Lovesey</a><br> <span style="font-style: italic;">A Peter Diamond Mystery</span></p> <p class="std10">Soho Press (Trade Paperback)<br> ISBN-10: 1-56947-488-5 (1569474885)<br> ISBN-13: 978-1-56947-488-4 (9781569474884)<br> Publication Date: April 2008<br> List Price:&nbsp;$13.00</p> <p class="std10"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Synopsis</span>&nbsp;(from the publisher): Peter Diamond, the Bath detective, is having woman trouble. His boss wants him to find a missing person, the daughter of one of her friends in the choir. He is not enthusiastic. Another woman, who calls herself his Secret Admirer, wants to set up a meeting in a local pub. He tries ignoring her. Then there is sexy Ingeborg Smith, the ex-journo detective constable, distracting the murder squad from their duties. No one ignores Ingeborg.<br> <br> Murder becomes a possibility when a woman&rsquo;s body is found hanging from a playground swing in Sydney Gardens. Soon Diamond is certain that a secret hangman is at work in the city. The hunt for the killer, through abandoned mine workings and the deserted city by night, galvanizes the entire squad and forces Diamond to face his own demons as well as the killer.&nbsp;</p> <p class="std10"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Review</span>: Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond and his team investigate a series of hangings in and around Bath (England) in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Secret Hangman</span>, the ninth whodunit in this series by Peter Lovesey.<br> <br> It&rsquo;s been three years since the death of Diamond's wife Steph and now, seemingly out of no where, he is being pursued by a wealthy lady. Not only is he not interested in getting to know this woman, he and his team are totally absorbed in a series of murders that may have begun two years ago. At the time they were ruled as suicides but Diamond does not believe in the coincidence of the murders. There were two couples, and now one woman. Will the woman&rsquo;s partner or husband be next? Diamond believes there is a serial killer involved. During all this time, his "secret admirer" Paloma remains persistent in her desire to meet Diamond. Diamond becomes taken with her tenacity and begins to spend time with her. Diamond and his team, however, continue move forward in their investigation, hunting for and finding clues. They still have no connection between the people who have been killed and the motive escapes them. They are sure though, without a doubt there will be another male victim shortly. Is it be possible that this is not a single serial killer? Could there be a cult involved? How did the killer (or killers) choose their victims? How do the &ldquo;ram-raiders&rdquo;, a gang that drives stolen vehicles into the fronts of jewelry stores and other small businesses to loot them, fit into the scheme of things? Their biggest problem, of course, is, could they get the answers before the third man is hanged? And just why is Paloma so eager to meet Diamond, almost to the point of stalking him?<br> <br> <span style="font-style: italic;">The Secret Hangman</span>, with its cleverly ironic title, is a very likeable novel. The plot is suspenseful with an unexpected twist or two and the characters bring a touch of humor to their deadly profession. As a police procedural, it is very well done with a behind-the-scenes look at a police station, how it operates, and the relationships between those in charge and the rank-and-file.</p> <p class="std10">Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of <a target="_blank" style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.betzreview.com/" rel="tag">The Betz Review</a> for contributing her review of&nbsp;<span style="font-style: italic;">The Secret Hangman</span> and to <a href="http://www.sohopress.com/" target="_blank">Soho Press</a> for providing a copy of the book for this review.</p> <p>Review Copyright &copy; 2008 &mdash; Hidden Staircase Mystery Books &mdash; All Rights Reserved.</p> <p>For more <a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/" rel="tag">mystery book reviews</a> visit Mysterious Reviews, a partner with the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books which is committed to providing readers and collectors of <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/" rel="tag">mystery books</a> with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.</p> <p>Return to <a href="http://www.mystery-books.com/" rel="tag">Mystery Books News</a> ...</p>Mystery Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120574738684378464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18006241.post-20377621670036390012008-07-21T06:13:00.000-07:002008-07-21T06:16:33.064-07:00<div style="margin: 6pt auto 12pt;" align="center"><a href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" alt="Mysteries on TV" src="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/mysteries-on-tv-news.jpg" /></a></div> <p><a href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/" rel="tag">Mysteries on TV</a>, your source for the most complete selection of detective, amateur sleuth, private investigator, and suspense television mystery series now available or coming soon to DVD, has no new series DVDs being released this week but is pleased to announce that the Jesse Stone mystery movies on DVD are now available as a complete collection.</p> <div style="margin: 6pt auto 0pt;" align="center"><a rel="tag" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/jesse-stone.html"><img alt="Jesse Stone Mystery Movies" style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 6px 3px 3px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 280px; height: 119px;" src="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/covers/jesse-stone-all-150x210.jpg" /></a></div> <p>The <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/jesse-stone.html" rel="tag">Jesse Stone Mystery Movies</a> star Tom Selleck as Jesse Stone, the sheriff of the small Massachusetts coastal town of Paradise. The made-for-television movies (aired to date) have been based on novels by <a href="http://authors.omnimystery.com/parker-robert-b.html" rel="tag">Robert B. Parker</a>.<br /><br />The first movie in the series, <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/mysteries-on-tv-detail.html?xdvdx=B0009FU0ZQ">Stone Cold</a>, and based on the 4th book in the mystery series, aired on CBS in February 2005 and was a ratings winner. This was followed in 2006 by two movies, <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/mysteries-on-tv-detail.html?xdvdx=B000OVLBFS">Night Passage</a>, advertised as a prequel since it was based on the 1st book in the series, and <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/mysteries-on-tv-detail.html?xdvdx=B000OVLBG2">Death in Paradise</a>, based on the 3rd book. The fourth movie, <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/mysteries-on-tv-detail.html?xdvdx=B00116GEK2">Sea Change</a>, based on the 5th book, aired in mid-2007.<br /><br />A fifth movie is in post-production. Titled <span style="font-style: italic;">Thin Ice</span>, it was filmed from a screenplay written specifically for the Jesse Stone character and not based on any of the Parker books. No air date has yet been scheduled by CBS.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BJH69C/?tag=mystery-books-20" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Jesse Stone Complete Collection of mystery movies</a> will be available from Amazon.com starting tomorrow. For more information about the Jesse Stone novels and movies, visit <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/jesse-stone" target="_blank">Squidoo: Jesse Stone</a>. </p> <p>Visit the <a href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/">Mysteries on TV</a> website to discover more <a href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/" rel="tag">television mystery series</a> currently available on DVD.</p> <p>Return to <a href="http://www.mystery-books.com/" rel="tag">Mystery Books News</a> ...</p>Mystery Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120574738684378464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18006241.post-18100545146924486312008-07-21T04:18:00.000-07:002008-07-21T04:19:42.192-07:00<div style="margin: 12px;" align="center"><a rel="tag" href="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 0px auto 20px; display: block; width: 375px; text-align: center;" alt="Mystery Godoku" src="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/graphics/mystery-godoku-news.jpg"></a></div> <p><a href="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 12px; width: 170px; height: 181px; float: right;" alt="Mystery Godoku Puzzle for July 21, 2008" src="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/puzzles/godoku-080721-p.jpg"></a>A new <a href="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/" rel="tag">Mystery Godoku Puzzle</a> has been created by the editors of the <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/">Hidden Staircase Mystery Books</a> and is now available on our website.</p> <p>Godoku is similar to Sudoku, but uses letters instead of numbers. To give you a headstart, we provide you a mystery clue to fill in a complete row or column (if you choose to use it!).</p> <p>This week's letters and mystery clue: <span style="font-weight: bold;">G H I K N O R T W</span>. This is the title of the 7th mystery in the Dave Brandstetter series by Joseph Hansen (9 letters).</p> <p>New! We now have our puzzles in PDF format for easier printing. Print this week's puzzle <a href="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/print-080721.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p>Previous puzzles are stored in the <a href="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/mystery-godoku-archives.html">Mystery Godoku Archives</a>.</p> <p>Enjoy the weekly Mystery Godoku Puzzle from the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, and Thanks for visiting our website!</p> <table style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; width: 100%;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="padding: 0px 0px 6px; width: 25%;" align="center"> <p class="pres"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.gamesofmystery.com/"><img class="ires" alt="Games of Mystery: Mystery Games, Parties, and Vacations" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 88px; height: 31px;" src="http://www.gamesofmystery.com/mystery-games-graphics/games-of-mystery-microbar.jpg"></a><br> Mystery-themed games, parties, and more</p> </td> <td style="padding: 0px 0px 6px; width: 25%;" align="center"> <p class="pres"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-2819860-55455" target="_blank"> <img class="ires" style="border: 0px solid ;" src="http://www.ftjcfx.com/image-2819860-55455" alt="AreYouGame games and puzzles" border="0" height="31" width="88"></a><br> Games for Kids and Adults at AreYouGame.com</p> </td> <td style="padding: 0px 0px 6px; width: 25%;" align="center"> <p class="pres"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-2819860-10362768" target="_top"> <img class="ires" style="border: 0px solid ;" src="http://www.awltovhc.com/image-2819860-10362768" alt="Video Game Rentals Delivered" border="0" height="31" width="88"></a><br> GameFly delivers the best video games</p> </td> <td style="padding: 0px 0px 6px; width: 25%;" align="center"> <p class="pres"><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=wPXTuDU7eP0&amp;offerid=120801.10000001&amp;subid=0&amp;type=4"><img class="ires" style="border: 0px solid ;" alt="GameStop, Inc." src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=wPXTuDU7eP0&amp;bids=120801.10000001&amp;subid=0&amp;type=4&amp;gridnum=7" border="0"></a><br> Mystery games for all platforms at GameStop</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Return to <a href="http://www.mystery-books.com/" rel="tag">Mystery Books News</a> ...</p>Mystery Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120574738684378464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18006241.post-34678645219577522892008-07-20T15:31:00.000-07:002008-07-20T15:32:33.238-07:00<div style="margin: 12px;" align="center"><a rel="tag" href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 0px auto 20px; display: block; text-align: center; width: 375px; height: 80px;" alt="Mysterious Reviews" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-news.jpg"></a></div> <p><a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/">Mysterious Reviews</a>, mysteries reviewed by the <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/">Hidden Staircase Mystery Books</a>, is publishing a new review of <span style="font-style: italic;">Deadly Errors</span> by Allen Wyler. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.</p> <div style="margin: 0pt 0pt 6pt 12pt; float: right; width: 120px;"><a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-detail.html?asinx=0765351676"><img alt="Deadly Errors by Allen Wyler" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mystery-reviews-graphics/0765351676.jpg" style="border: 0px solid ; padding: 0px 10px; width: 100px; vertical-align: bottom;"></a><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0765351676/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img style="border: 0pt solid ; padding: 0px; width: 120px; vertical-align: top;" alt="Buy from Amazon.com" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mystery-reviews-graphics/buy-from-amazon.gif"></a></div> <p><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-detail.html?asinx=0765351676">Deadly Errors</a> by <a href="http://authors.omnimystery.com/wyler-allen.html" rel="tag">Allen Wyler</a><br> <span style="font-style: italic;">Non-series</span></p> <p class="std10">Forge (Mass Market Paperback)<br> ISBN-10: 0-7653-5167-6 (0765351676)<br> ISBN-13: 978-0-7653-5167-8 (9780765351678)<br> Publication Date: April 2008<br> List Price: $7.99</p> <p class="std10"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Synopsis</span>&nbsp;(from the publisher): When the doctors and nurses at Seattle's prestigious Maynard Medical Center start making preventable drug and treatment errors that kill their patients, neurosurgeon Dr. Tyler Mathews suspects that something is murderously wrong with the hospital's highly touted new "Med-InDx" electronic medical record. But when he airs his concerns to the hospital's upper management, he's met with stonewalling, skepticism---and threats.<br> <br> Millions of dollars, and the future of Med-InDx, are at stake. And powerful corporate forces aren't about to let their potential profits evaporate. Tyler soon finds that his career, his marriage, and his very life are in jeopardy---along with the lives of countless innocent patients.</p> <p class="std10"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Review</span>: Allen Wyler's debut novel, <span style="font-style: italic;">Deadly Errors</span>, is an electrifying medical mystery that essentially poses the question, How much of one's life can be entrusted to technology?<br> <br> In the renowned Maynard Medical Center in Seattle, a state of the art new computer system has been installed on a trial basis. Med-InDX, a &ldquo;new millennium technology&rdquo;, is supposed to revolutionize medical records by virtually eliminating human errors that kill an estimated one thousand lives each year. When a patient of dedicated neurosurgeon Dr. Tyler Matthews dies while in operating room, he looks for a reason. His prescribed dosage is correct, but the system has administered a lethal dosage instead. He suspects an error in the system. or worse, a hacker that has possibly invaded the system. With a tattered reputation following him from a previous hospital, he is subsequently accused of malpractice and for blaming the computer for his incompetence. He decides to probe the accuracy of the program and discovers others have died not only during surgeries, but also in the ER, or while recovering from an illness. When he brings these cases to the attention of his superiors, his suspicions are ignored. Moreover, he is told to stop his investigation. When he does not stop it leads to more people dying. In addition, some of this associates who agreed to help him have mysteriously disappeared or are found dead of unknown causes. His continued tenacity takes him from the pristine offices of the Maynard Medical Center to the bowels of Seattle&rsquo;s underground city where he risks not only his reputation but his life to prove there is a big error in the system &ndash; and it is more likely to be caused by human intervention than by the technology.<br> <br> <span style="font-style: italic;">Deadly Errors</span> is a spellbinding thriller with characters that come to life. Dr. Matthews shows fear and other human frailties yet brings heroic tenacity in his effort to save lives. The plot is frighteningly realistic yet cleverly plotted. This book is definitely not recommended reading for anyone about to enter the hospital for surgery or any other procedure, but for everyone else, it is pulse-pounding entertainment.</p> <p class="std10">Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of <a target="_blank" style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.betzreview.com/" rel="tag">The Betz Review</a> for contributing her review of&nbsp;<span style="font-style: italic;">Deadly Errors</span> and to <a href="http://www.susanschwartzmanpublicity.com/" target="_blank">Susan Schwartzman Public Relations</a> for providing a copy of the book for this review.</p> <p>Review Copyright &copy; 2008 &mdash; Hidden Staircase Mystery Books &mdash; All Rights Reserved.</p> <p>For more <a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/" rel="tag">mystery book reviews</a> visit Mysterious Reviews, a partner with the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books which is committed to providing readers and collectors of <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/" rel="tag">mystery books</a> with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.</p> <p>Return to <a href="http://www.mystery-books.com/" rel="tag">Mystery Books News</a> ...</p>Mystery Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120574738684378464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18006241.post-14215145058667601362008-07-19T17:49:00.000-07:002008-07-19T17:51:15.382-07:00<div style="margin: 6pt auto 12pt;" align="center"><a href="http://www.gamesofmystery.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 375px; height: 80px;" alt="Games of Mystery" src="http://www.gamesofmystery.com/mystery-games-graphics/banner-games-of-mystery-news.jpg"></a></div> <p><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.gamesofmystery.com/" rel="tag">Games of Mystery</a>, your online source for mystery-themed games, parties, and vacations, has updated its website with the latest installment in the award-winning Nancy Drew series of PC games.</p> <div style="margin: 6pt 6pt 0pt 0pt; float: left;"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018XU9SQ/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img alt="Nancy Drew Games for the PC" style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 6px 3px 3px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 114px; height: 160px;" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B0018XU9SQ.01._SX150_.jpg"></a></div> <p>We were travelling earlier this month when <a style="font-style: italic;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018XU9SQ/?tag=mystery-books-20">Nancy Drew 18: The Phantom of Venice</a> was released and missed the opportunity to introduce the game to our readers at that time. In possibly her most exciting adventure yet, players will work to uncover the mastermind behind a series of unsolved thefts that have taken place in <a href="http://venice.omnimystery.com/" target="_blank" rel="tag">Venice</a> -- one of the world's most unique cities known for its interlocking canals and sleek gondolas. The Italian police have asked Nancy Drew for help in unraveling a crime ring that is threatening to steal all of Venice's priceless artifacts. Assuming the role of Nancy, players arrive in Venice during Carnival and begin taking on a series of challenges, including an undercover spy mission for the Italian police. Along the way, players must take advantage of the unique Venetian culture such as learning the language and navigating the transportation system (gondola or walking) to accomplish the mission at hand. As the game progresses, the masked thief becomes bolder and players will need to correctly identify the phantom before he or she goes too far.</p> <p>Developed by Her Interactive,&nbsp;<a style="font-style: italic;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018XU9SQ/?tag=mystery-books-20">Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice</a> is based on the 78th book in the original series of <a href="http://www.firstclues.com/nancy-drew.html" rel="tag">Nancy Drew mysteries</a> and is rated E for Everyone. Three trailers are available on the Her Interactive website (<a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.herinteractive.com/prod/ven/trailer.shtml" target="_blank">trailer 1</a>, <a href="http://www.herinteractive.com/prod/ven/trailer2.shtml" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">trailer 2</a>, <a href="http://www.herinteractive.com/prod/ven/trailer3.shtml" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">trailer 3</a>). You may also <a style="font-style: italic;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.bigfishgames.com/download-games/3591/nancy-drew-the-phantom-of-venice-game/index.html?afcode=af67f592a313">download Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice</a> from the Big Fish games website. The Games of Mystery website has a complete selection of all <a href="http://www.gamesofmystery.com/games-nancy-drew.html" rel="tag">Nancy Drew games</a> as well as <a href="http://www.gamesofmystery.com/games-nancy-drew-strategy-guides.html" rel="tag">Nancy Drew game strategy guides</a>.</p> <p>Visit&nbsp;<a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.gamesofmystery.com/" rel="tag">Games of Mystery</a> for all types of mysterious fun!</p> <p>Return to <a rel="tag" href="http://www.mystery-books.com/">Mystery Books News</a> ...</p>Mystery Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120574738684378464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18006241.post-2568268850995150202008-07-19T08:55:00.000-07:002008-07-19T08:56:54.736-07:00<div style="margin: 12px;" align="center"><a rel="tag" href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 0px auto 20px; display: block; text-align: center; width: 375px; height: 80px;" alt="Mysterious Reviews" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-news.jpg"></a></div> <p><a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/">Mysterious Reviews</a>, mysteries reviewed by the <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/">Hidden Staircase Mystery Books</a>, is publishing a new review of <span style="font-style: italic;">Eyes of the World</span> by Rob Palmer. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.</p> <div style="margin: 0pt 0pt 6pt 12pt; float: right; width: 120px;"><a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-detail.html?asinx=0843956763"><img alt="Eyes of the World by Rob Palmer" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mystery-reviews-graphics/0843956763.jpg" style="border: 0px solid ; padding: 0px 10px; width: 100px; vertical-align: bottom;"></a><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0843956763/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img style="border: 0pt solid ; padding: 0px; width: 120px; vertical-align: top;" alt="Buy from Amazon.com" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mystery-reviews-graphics/buy-from-amazon.gif"></a></div> <p><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-detail.html?asinx=0843956763">Eyes of the World</a> by <a href="http://authors.omnimystery.com/palmer-rob.html" rel="tag">Rob Palmer</a><br> <span style="font-style: italic;">Non-series</span></p> <p class="std10">Dorchester (Mass Market Paperback)<br> ISBN-10: 0-8439-5676-3 (0843956763)<br> ISBN-13: 978-0-8439-5676-4 (9780843956764)<br> Publication Date: April 2008<br> List Price: $7.99</p> <p class="std10"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Synopsis</span>&nbsp;(from the publisher): Mike Stanbridge, a Florida lawyer, has been friends with Lynnie Connor since childhood. Lynnie, always driven, always a risk taker, has risen to be president of the United States. Their friendship is common knowledge; their long-standing love affair is the most carefully guarded secret of their lives.<br> <br> It is the campaign season, and Lynnie is running hard for reelection. Any scandal could bring her career crashing down.<br> <br> Trouble starts when a woman is murdered in upstate New York, in the town where Mike and Lynnie grew up. The dead woman knew more about Lynnie than anyone&mdash;except, perhaps, Mike. Evidence indicates someone close to Lynnie may have been the killer. The police look deeper and tie Mike to the scene. He's suddenly the number-one suspect.<br> <br> With the clock ticking on the election, Mike must find the real murderer. That means digging into Lynnie's political connections and, ultimately, into her past. The clues lead him on a high-speed run across the country.<br> <br> Mike isn't the only one in the hunt. The police, the FBI, a tight-knit squad of assassins&mdash;they all are after him. The circle slips tighter with every step closer to the truth. And always Mike is pursued by questions: How well does he really know Lynnie? How much can he trust her?</p> <p class="std10"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Review</span>: A murder investigation complicates the re-election campaign of America's first woman President in <span style="font-style: italic;">Eyes of the World</span>, a thoroughly entertaining and absorbing political thriller by Rob Palmer.<br> <br> A "This is Your Life" birthday party is being planned in Blaine, New York, the hometown of President Carolyn "Lynnie" Connor. In charge of the festivities, 73-year-old Reverend Eve Tessmer had scheduled forty-three speakers, one for each year of Lynnie's life. Although Lynnie had lived in Blaine since she was a toddler, she was actually born on a ranch in Arizona near the border with Mexico. Eve wanted a speaker to attend and tell the story of Lynnie's birth. But she could not locate any one who was willing to talk to her about it. Whenever she talked to anyone, she was always referred to someone else. Eve decided to do a search into Lynnie's ancestry, but before she could get very far, she was murdered, her death made to look like suicide. Her neighbor and close friend, Archie Pascoe found her on her bed, shot in her head with the gun in her hand. In her other hand he found a wadded up slip of paper with the name and phone number of Mike Stanbridge, Attorney-at-Law, written on it, together with some unreadable words. Because he knew suicide was not an option for Eve, he took the gun and the paper. Before leaving her room he looked around her desk noting that a folder for Arizona was missing from among the information folders she had for the party. At a memorial service for Eve, Archie meets up with Mike and together they decide to continue the search that Eve had begun.<br> <br> Their involvement, however, gets the attention of someone as false clues are planted, framing Mike for Eve's murder. Now the two men are not only searching for the reasons someone might have wanted to kill Eve, but are trying to stay ahead of the police and FBI, and, it turns out, the very criminals who actually murdered Eve. Mike feels sure that someone in the government must be involved in this conspiracy but who would want the information so badly that they would condone these men to kill, injure and torture to find the secrets that lay in Arizona? Would Lynnie's political opposition be so bold? If so, why? If it wasn't the opposition, was it someone in Lynnie's own camp? Mike and Archie are in uncivilized country in Arizona, and the men after them seemed just as uncivilized. The election was only a few weeks away; Archie and Mike wondered if they could stay alive long enough to cast their votes.<br> <br> <span style="font-style: italic;">Eyes of the World</span> is an exceptionally well written and plotted novel. The characters are richly developed, from Mike and Archie and Lynnie to the leader of the clan of criminals chasing Mike and even to the one person who knows the secret everyone is looking for. In the midst of the madness and mayhem, the author adds to great effect a humorous camaraderie between Mike and Archie. This is a terrific novel, and is highly recommended. </p> <p class="std10">Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of <a target="_blank" style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.betzreview.com/" rel="tag">The Betz Review</a> for contributing her review of&nbsp;<span style="font-style: italic;">Eyes of the World</span> and to <a href="http://www.book-trends.com/" target="_blank">Book Trends</a> for providing a copy of the book for this review.</p> <p>Review Copyright &copy; 2008 &mdash; Hidden Staircase Mystery Books &mdash; All Rights Reserved.</p> <p>For more <a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/" rel="tag">mystery book reviews</a> visit Mysterious Reviews, a partner with the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books which is committed to providing readers and collectors of <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/" rel="tag">mystery books</a> with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.</p> <p>Return to <a href="http://www.mystery-books.com/" rel="tag">Mystery Books News</a> ...</p>Mystery Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120574738684378464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18006241.post-24302985667979363202008-07-18T09:19:00.000-07:002008-07-18T09:20:42.779-07:00<div style="margin: 6pt auto 12pt;" align="center"><a href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" alt="Mysteries on TV" src="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/mysteries-on-tv-news.jpg"></a></div> <p><a href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/" rel="tag">Mysteries on TV</a>, your source for the most complete selection of detective, amateur sleuth, private investigator, and suspense television mystery series now available or coming soon to DVD, is reminding our readers that the season premieres of USA Network's original series&nbsp;<a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/monk.html" rel="tag">Monk</a> and <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/psych.html" rel="tag">Psych</a> air tonight.</p> <div style="margin: 6pt 6pt 0pt 0pt; float: left;"><a rel="tag" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/monk.html"><img alt="Monk: TV Series" style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 6px 3px 3px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 142px; height: 60px;" src="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/graphics/logo-monk.jpg"></a></div> <p><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/monk.html" rel="tag">Monk</a>&nbsp;returns for a seventh season tonight in an episode titled <span style="font-style: italic;">Mr. Monk Buys a House</span>. When his new neighbor plays his music too loud, Monk decides it's time to move. He takes a huge step and buys a house that turns into a money pit, particularly when he hires the handyman from hell who is determined to rip up the entire house.<br> <br> The first six seasons of <span style="font-style: italic;">Monk</span> are available on DVD by visiting&nbsp;<a href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/" rel="tag">Mysteries on TV</a>. Individual episodes are also available for purchase via <a href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/download.html" rel="tag">Amazon.com Unbox</a>.<br> </p> <div style="margin: 6pt 6pt 0pt 0pt; float: left;"><a rel="tag" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/psych.html"><img alt="Psych: TV Series" style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 6px 3px 3px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 144px; height: 72px;" src="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/graphics/logo-psych.jpg"></a></div> <p><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/psych.html" rel="tag">Psych</a>&nbsp;returns for a third season tonight in an episode titled <span style="font-style: italic;">Ghosts</span>. After Gus' boss demands he quit moonlighting at the Psych agency, Shawn must find a way to keep his partner while solving a haunting case and playing referee to Henry and his recently returned mother (guest star Cybill Shepherd).<br> <br> The first two seasons of <span style="font-style: italic;">Psych</span> are available on DVD by visiting&nbsp;<a href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/" rel="tag">Mysteries on TV</a>. Individual episodes are also available for purchase via <a href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/download.html" rel="tag">Amazon.com Unbox</a>.<br> </p> <p>Visit the <a href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/">Mysteries on TV</a> website to discover more <a href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/" rel="tag">television mystery series</a> currently available on DVD.</p> <p>Return to <a href="http://www.mystery-books.com/" rel="tag">Mystery Books News</a> ...</p>Mystery Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120574738684378464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18006241.post-54663206211527276492008-07-18T05:58:00.000-07:002008-07-18T06:04:54.654-07:00<div style="margin: 6pt auto 12pt;" align="center"><a href="http://bestsellers.omnimystery.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 375px; height: 80px;" alt="Mystery Bestsellers" src="http://bestsellers.omnimystery.com/graphics/bestsellers-news.jpg" border="0"></a></div> <p>A list of the top 15 <a href="http://bestsellers.omnimystery.com/" rel="tag">mystery hardcover bestsellers</a> for the week ending July 11, 2008 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.</p> <p>The latest mystery by <a href="http://authors.omnimystery.com/burke-james-lee.html" rel="tag">James Lee Burke</a> to feature Louisiana lawman Dave Robicheaux,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1416548521/?tag=mystery-books-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="font-style: italic;">Swan Peak</a>,&nbsp;moves into the top rank of bestsellers this week, but&nbsp;<a href="http://authors.omnimystery.com/evanovich-janet.html" rel="tag">Janet Evanovich</a>'s 14th mystery featuring <a href="http://new-jersey.omnimystery.com/" target="_blank" rel="tag">New Jersey</a> bounty hunter Stephanie Plum, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0312349513/?tag=mystery-books-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="font-style: italic;">Fearless Fourteen</a> retains the number 1 spot.</p> <div style="margin: 0pt 0pt 6pt 6pt; float: right;"><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0553804332/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img style="border: 0px solid ; width: 115px; height: 170px;" alt="Say Goodbye by Lisa Gardner" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0553804332.01._SX110_PC_.jpg"></a></div> <p>Two new titles enter the list this week. Debuting at number 13 is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0553804332/?tag=mystery-books-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="font-style: italic;">Say Goodbye</a>, the 2nd mystery by <a href="http://authors.omnimystery.com/gardner-lisa.html" rel="tag">Lisa Gardner</a> featuring rookie FBI agent Kimberly Quincy whose latest case&nbsp;all starts with a pregnant hooker. The story Delilah Rose tells Kimberly about her johns is too horrifying to be true&mdash;but prostitutes are disappearing, one by one, with no explanation, and no one but Kimberly seems to care. As a member of the Evidence Response Team, dead hookers aren&rsquo;t exactly Kimberly&rsquo;s specialty. The young agent is five months pregnant&mdash;she has other things to worry about than an alleged lunatic who uses spiders to do his dirty work. But Kimberly&rsquo;s own mother and sister were victims of a serial killer. And now, without any bodies and with precious few clues, it&rsquo;s all too clear that a serial killer has found the key to the perfect murder . . . or Kimberly is chasing a crime that never happened. Kimberly&rsquo;s caught in a web more lethal than any spider&rsquo;s, and the more she fights for answers, the more tightly she&rsquo;s trapped. What she doesn&rsquo;t know is that she&rsquo;s close&mdash;too close&mdash;to a psychopath who makes women&rsquo;s nightmares come alive, and if he has his twisted way, it won&rsquo;t be long before it&rsquo;s time for Kimberly. Publishers Weekly calls <span style="font-style: italic;">Say Goodbye</span> "engaging if highly disturbing" and adds, "Gardner delivers a satisfying resolution in line with what her fans have come to expect: a suspenseful freak show wrapped up with a neatly tied bow."</p> <div style="margin: 0pt 0pt 6pt 6pt; float: right;"><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0399155058/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img style="border: 0px solid ; width: 116px; height: 170px;" alt="Killer View by Ridley Pearson" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0399155058.01._SX110_PC_.jpg"></a></div> <p>Just below at number 14 is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0399155058/?tag=mystery-books-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="font-style: italic;">Killer View</a>, the second thriller by Ridley Pearson featuring Idaho lawman Walt Fleming. When a skier goes missing at Sun Valley's Galena Summit, Walt quickly assembles his crack search-and-rescue team and heads out into the snowy night. Despite the treacherous conditions, Walt and his group, including deputy Tommy Brandon and Walt's best friend, Mark Aker, set off on skis, accompanied by highly trained search dogs. Within minutes, something goes horribly wrong: a shot rings out, and one of their team is dead. By morning, Mark Aker has disappeared. Torn between professional responsibility and the desperate urge to find his friend, Walt is further challenged by an unexplained illness at a local water-bottling plant that sends workers to the hospital and sets off biohazard warnings. Following threads of questionable evidence through the glitter of Sun Valley leads Walt to an unlikely&mdash;and darker&mdash;source, and reveals a crime played out on a much larger scale than he originally envisioned. Waist-deep in snow and knee-deep in lies, the life of his friend in the balance, Walt begins to suspect that the whole operation is controlled by people of great wealth and power, which leaves him where he started: out in the cold. Publishers Weekly calls <span style="font-style: italic;">Killer View</span> a "tension-filled sequel" and adds "Pearson's relentless sense of pacing and serpentine plot will have readers furiously turning pages until the end."</p> <p>On our bestseller page, we've added an icon <img src="http://bestsellers.omnimystery.com/graphics/icon-kindle.jpg" style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"> next to every title that is available for immediate download onto the Amazon Kindle. To learn about this wireless reading device, visit the <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FI73MA/?tag=mystery-books-20">Amazon Kindle</a> page for more information. And don't forget to check our <a href="http://pre-order.omnimystery.com/" rel="tag">Pre-Order Mysteries</a> page where you can save an additional 5% when you purchase your mystery books prior to their publication date.</p> <p>The top four mystery bestsellers this week are shown below:</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0312349513/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img alt="Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 90px; height: 132px;" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0312349513.01._SX80_PC_.jpg"></a><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1416548521/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img alt="Swan Peak by James Lee Burke" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 90px; height: 132px;" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1416548521.01._SX80_PC_.jpg"></a><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0743281640/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img alt="Chasing Darkness by Robert Crais" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 90px; height: 132px;" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0743281640.01._SX80_PC_.jpg"></a><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0385340567/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img alt="Nothing to Lose by Lee Child" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 90px; height: 131px;" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0385340567.01._SX80_PC_.jpg"></a></div> <p>Please visit the <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/">Hidden Staircase Mystery Books</a> where we are committed to providing readers and collectors of <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/" rel="tag">mystery books</a> with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.</p> <p>Return to <a rel="tag" href="http://www.mystery-books.com/">Mystery Books News</a> ...</p>Mystery Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120574738684378464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18006241.post-41507959779865762492008-07-17T18:17:00.000-07:002008-07-17T18:19:14.958-07:00<div style="margin: 12px;" align="center"><a rel="tag" href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 0px auto 20px; display: block; text-align: center; width: 375px; height: 80px;" alt="Mysterious Reviews" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-news.jpg" /></a></div> <p><a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/">Mysterious Reviews</a>, mysteries reviewed by the <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/">Hidden Staircase Mystery Books</a>, is publishing a new review of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Outlander</span> by Gil Adamson. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.</p> <div style="margin: 0pt 0pt 6pt 12pt; float: right; width: 120px;"><a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-detail.html?asinx=006149125X"><img alt="The Outlander by Gil Adamson" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mystery-reviews-graphics/006149125X.jpg" style="border: 0px solid ; padding: 0px 10px; width: 100px; vertical-align: bottom;" /></a><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/006149125X/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img style="border: 0pt solid ; padding: 0px; width: 120px; vertical-align: top;" alt="Buy from Amazon.com" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mystery-reviews-graphics/buy-from-amazon.gif" /></a></div> <p><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-detail.html?asinx=006149125X">The Outlander</a> by <a href="http://authors.omnimystery.com/xomnimysteryx.html" rel="tag">Gil Adamson</a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Non-series</span></p> <p class="std10">Ecco Press (Hardcover)<br />ISBN-10: 0-06-149125-X (006149125X)<br />ISBN-13: 978-0-06-149125-2 (006149125X)<br />Publication Date: April 2008<br />List Price: $25.95</p> <p class="std10"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Synopsis</span> (from the publisher): In 1903, a mysterious young woman flees alone across the west, one heart-pounding step ahead of the law. At nineteen, Mary Boulton has just become a widow – and her husband’s killer. As bloodhounds track her frantic race toward the mountains, she is tormented by mad visions and by the knowledge that her two ruthless brothers-in-law are in pursuit, determined to avenge their younger brother’s death. Responding to little more than the primitive fight for life, the widow retreats ever deeper into the wilderness – and into the wilds of her own mind – encountering an unforgettable cast of eccentrics along the way.<br /><br />With the stunning prose and captivating mood of great works like Charles Frazier’s <span style="font-style: italic;">Cold Mountain</span> or early Cormac McCarthy, Gil Adamson’s intoxicating debut novel weds a brilliant literary style to the gripping tale of one woman’s desperate escape.</p> <p class="std10"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Review</span>: The International Association of Crime-Writers 2008 winner of The <a href="http://awards.omnimystery.com/mystery-awards-hammett.html" rel="tag">Hammett Prize</a> for Crime-Writing by a U.S. or Canadian author, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Outlander</span> is Toronto writer Gil Adamson’s powerful debut novel of a twenty-year old widow’s incredible struggle to survive against overwhelming odds - the pursuit of twin vengeance-mad redheaded brothers-in-law, the unforgiving wilderness of the 1900s northwest mountains and forests, and the all-consuming ravages of the Frank slide, one of North America’s worst ever natural disasters. From the opening line of, “It was night, and dogs came through the trees, unleashed and howling,” to the final words, “Find me,” on the last page of the story, and with all of the exactly right words in between, the novel grabs and holds from first to last.<br /><br />Maddened from her 34-year-old husband’s neglect, the death of her infant son and the cabin fever of her homesteading existence, 20-year-old Mary Boulton kills her unfaithful spouse with a rifle shot to the leg, watching his blood and his life drain into the dirt floor of their single room cabin before taking off on a spectacular run for her life. Through her intuition and wits the young woman, “Widowed by her own hand,” manages to elude her pursuing brothers-in-law as determined to catch her as she is to escape, as Adamson shows in storyline cross cuts between the hunted and the hunters. After an interlude with an eccentric dowager and her retinue, Mary and the “dark shapes” of her memories and the sack of items she has stolen, press onward to anywhere away from the twins. For a while she finds solace and even the warmth of real love with a mountain man, William Moreland, known to the Forest Service Rangers as “the Ridgerunner” for his ability to raid their cabins and evade their capture. Regrettably for the lovers, Moreland’s own demons motivate him to desert the widow, leaving her once more desolate and destitute and with the twins and a tracker they’ve hired still in hot pursuit. With the help of a not-too-friendly Indian and his gracious white wife, Mary gets to the ramshackle tent and mining town of Frank. Here, a kindly Reverend Mr. Angus Lorne Bonnycastle - “Bonny” to his friends and his flock- becomes her guardian angel, and she encounters some of the Lord’s strangest castoffs – McEchern the dwarf, for one example, who runs the town’s trading post and, for another, Giovanni the Italian talking, “colossal, hump-shouldered creature with a heavy head” who supplies the town’s booze from his hidden still. Between building a ramshackle church and converting the miners to his faith with a baptism of fisticuffs, Bonny deals in stolen horses brought to town by the eight Cregan brothers, the black sheep of the 15-brother Cregan clan. And all the while Mary’s own dark avengers, the redheaded brothers are circling relentlessly closer. But before they can swoop, nature takes its own revenge for the underground gouges of the local mines and hurls down the top of the mountain to obliterate the town. While Mary escapes the devastation that Adamson describes in meticulous detail, the photograph of the widow that appears in newspapers nation-wide comes back to haunt her and leads to her eventual capture. But her intuition and ingenuity rise again, resulting in an incredible escape, a reunion with William Moreland and her final note, “Find me.”<br /><br />For readers who want a cracking good story with unforgettable characters engaged in tension-filled activities, and told with a superlative richness of language and a lushness of imagery, Gil Adamson’s novel, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Outlander</span>, is it. Her widow, Mary Boulton, and “Bonny”, her Reverend, are the ideal stuff and stuffings of legends.</p> <p class="std10">Special thanks to M. Wayne Cunningham (<a href="mailto:mw_cunningham@telus.net">mw_cunningham@telus.net</a>) for contributing his review of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Outlander</span>.</p> <p class="std10" style="text-align: center;">Review Copyright © 2008 — M. Wayne Cunningham — All Rights Reserved — Reprinted with Permission</p> <p>For more <a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/" rel="tag">mystery book reviews</a> visit Mysterious Reviews, a partner with the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books which is committed to providing readers and collectors of <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/" rel="tag">mystery books</a> with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.</p> <p>Return to <a href="http://www.mystery-books.com/" rel="tag">Mystery Books News</a> ...</p>Mystery Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120574738684378464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18006241.post-67846467511025873962008-07-16T16:05:00.001-07:002008-07-16T16:07:53.811-07:00<div style="margin: 6pt auto 12pt;" align="center"><a href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" alt="Mysteries on TV" src="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/mysteries-on-tv-news.jpg" /></a></div> <p><a href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/" rel="tag">Mysteries on TV</a>, your source for the most complete selection of detective, amateur sleuth, private investigator, and suspense television mystery series now available or coming soon to DVD, is taking advantage of a fairly quiet period by adding 4 new series that have season DVD releases later this year.<br /></p> <div style="margin: 6pt 6pt 0pt 0pt; float: left;"><a rel="tag" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/dirty-sexy-money.html"><img alt="Dirty Sexy Money: TV Series" style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 6px 3px 3px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 90px; height: 126px;" src="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/covers/dirty-sexy-money-s01-90x126.jpg" /></a></div> <p>Clearly a guilty pleasure by almost any definition, <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/dirty-sexy-money.html" rel="tag">Dirty Sexy Money</a> combined the lives of the rich and famous with a mystery. To be sure, the mystery was more of a subplot than anything else, but still, it qualifies it for inclusion on this website. The series debuted on ABC in September of last year.<br /><br />Peter Krause stars as Nick George, an attorney working for one of New York City's wealthiest families, who is determined to know the true reason behind the mysterious death of his father. The series also stars Donald Sutherland and Jill Clayburgh as Tripp and Lelitia Darling, the billionaires for whom Nick works. Many of the other subplots revolve around the Darling's adult children who find themselves in all sorts of interesting situations.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0018CWF0C/?tag=mystery-books-20" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Dirty Sexy Money Season One</a> DVD set is scheduled to be released September 16th. It is an abbreviated season, shortened by the writer's strike. The series has been renewed by ABC for a second season.</p> <div style="margin: 6pt 6pt 0pt 0pt; float: left;"><a rel="tag" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/honey-west.html"><img alt="Honey West: TV Series" style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 6px 3px 3px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 90px; height: 126px;" src="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/covers/honey-west-all-90x126.jpg" /></a></div> <p>Anne Francis starred as <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/honey-west.html" rel="tag">Honey West</a>, the first female private investigator to be featured on a weekly television series. The series was based on the series of Honey West novels by G. G. Fickling (the husband and wife writing team of Forrest E. "Skip" and Gloria Fickling) who envisioned the character as a cross between Marilyn Monroe and Mike Hammer. Originally appearing on an episode of <a href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/burkes-law.html" rel="tag">Burke's Law</a>, executive producer Aaron Spelling spun off the character as a series that lasted but one season on ABC (from September 1965 to April 1966).<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001B0H7DG/?tag=mystery-books-20" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Honey West</a> DVD set comtaining all episodes from the series is scheduled to be released September 2nd.</p> <div style="margin: 6pt 6pt 0pt 0pt; float: left;"><a rel="tag" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/inspector-lewis.html"><img alt="Inspector Lewis: TV Series" style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 6px 3px 3px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 90px; height: 126px;" src="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/covers/inspector-lewis-s01-90x126.jpg" /></a></div> <p>Following the success of the long-running Inspector Morse series, it was probably considered something of a risk to create a series based on Morse's second-in-command. However, the made-for-television movie featuring Kevin Whately as <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/inspector-lewis.html" rel="tag">Inspector Lewis</a> in 2006 was so popular that an additional three episodes were filmed and broadcast a year later. DCI Robbie Lewis, also of the Thames Valley Police, is joined by Detective Sergeant James Hathaway (played by Laurence Fox) investigating crimes in and around Oxford.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0019QOKRI/?tag=mystery-books-20" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Inspector Lewis Set One</a> DVD set comprising the pilot as well as the first three episodes that aired during 2007 is scheduled to be released on September 2nd. A second series of four episodes has already aired earlier this year and is expected to be available on DVD next year.</p> <div style="margin: 6pt 6pt 0pt 0pt; float: left;"><a rel="tag" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/nash-bridges.html"><img alt="Nash Bridges: TV Series" style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 6px 3px 3px 0px; padding: 0px; width: 90px; height: 126px;" src="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/covers/nash-bridges-s01-90x126.jpg" /></a></div> <p>Don Johnson returned to network television following his phenomenal success in <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/miami-vice.html" rel="tag">Miami Vice</a> as investigator <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/nash-bridges.html" rel="tag">Nash Bridges</a>, a series he both created and produced. Nash Bridges was a member of the elite <a href="http://san-francisco.omnimystery.com/" target="_blank" rel="tag">San Francisco</a> Special Investigations Unit who partnered with Joe Dominguez (played by Cheech Marin). Nash Bridges also had a complicated personal life having been divorced twice with a 16-year-old daughter and a father with Alzheimers' Disease. Originally a mid-season replacement, <span style="font-style: italic;">Nash Bridges</span> aired for six seasons on CBS from 1996 through 2001.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001BN4WK4/?tag=mystery-books-20" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Nash Bridges Season One</a> DVD set is scheduled for release on October 14th.</p> <p>Visit the <a href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/">Mysteries on TV</a> website to discover more <a href="http://www.mysteriesontv.com/" rel="tag">television mystery series</a> currently available on DVD.</p> <p>Return to <a href="http://www.mystery-books.com/" rel="tag">Mystery Books News</a> ...</p>Mystery Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120574738684378464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18006241.post-9187086999063610862008-07-15T15:52:00.001-07:002008-07-15T15:53:15.150-07:00<p style="text-align: left;">New York, NY, July 14, 2008 -- The winners of the 2007 <span style="font-style: italic;">Strand Magazine</span> Critics Award are <a href="http://authors.omnimystery.com/lippman-laura.html" rel="tag">Laura Lippman</a> for best novel (<span style="font-style: italic;">What the Dead Know</span>) and Marcus Sakey for best first mystery novel (<span style="font-style: italic;">The Blade Itself</span>). The winners were announced at an invitation only cocktail party in Manhattan, by bestselling author <a href="http://authors.omnimystery.com/santlofer-jonathan.html" rel="tag">Jonathan Santlofer</a>.<br /><br />Both of the winners and several of the nominees were in attendance at the Midtown Executive Club. Lippman and Sakey were gracious winners thanking the panel of book reviewers, congratulating their fellow nominees and acknowledging they were up against stiff competition.<br /><br />Best Novel Nominees (winner in bold)<br />• Down River by John Hart (Thomas Dunne Books/Minotaur)<br />• The Shotgun Rule by Charlie Huston (Ballantine Books)<br />• The Strangler by William Landay (Delacorte Press)<br />• The Watchman by Robert Crais (Simon and Schuster)<br />• <span style="font-weight: bold;">What the Dead Know</span> by Laura Lippman (William Morrow)<br /><br />Best First Novel Nominees (winner in bold)<br />• <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Blade Itself</span> by Marcus Sakey (St. Martin's Minotaur)<br />• In the Woods by Tana French (Viking)<br />• The Mark by Jason Pinter (Mira Books)<br />• Missing Witness by Gordon Campbell (William Morrow)<br />• When One Man Dies by Dave White (Crown Publishing)<br /><br />Lippman, a former journalist for <span style="font-style: italic;">The Baltimore Sun</span>, is no stranger to winning many of the top crime fiction prizes: she has won the Edgar, The Anthony, The Shamus, and The Barry Awards. Her latest novel <span style="font-style: italic;">Another Thing to Fall</span> was released this March by William Morrow.<br /><br />In just two years, Marcus Sakey has blazed a trail as a new and talented mystery author with his two well written crime novels <span style="font-style: italic;">The Blade Itself</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">At The City’s Edge</span>. A former St. Martin’s author, he has recently signed a deal with Dutton who will publish his next book <span style="font-style: italic;">Good People</span> in August.<br /><br />"This was such a great group of nominees, it must have been difficult to choose the winner," said Frank Simon, Associate Publisher of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Strand</span>. "Laura and Marcus were worthy winners, in the past few years Laura has produced a fantastic body of work and Marcus is a new talent who I have no doubt in the future will be nominated for the best mystery novel award."<br /><br />Next year, the panel of judges will led by Otto Penzler and will feature critics from <span style="font-style: italic;">The Washington Post</span>, the <span style="font-style: italic;">LA Times</span>, the Associated Press, NPR, Time Magazine, Publishers Weekly and The New York Sun. For more information, please contact Christine Jones at (248) 569-3702 or <a href="mailto:cjones@strandmag.com">cjones@strandmag.com</a>.</p> <p>Return to <a rel="tag" href="http://www.mystery-books.com/">Mystery Books News</a> ...</p>Mystery Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120574738684378464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18006241.post-87963827997837981722008-07-14T03:50:00.001-07:002008-07-14T03:51:08.721-07:00<div style="margin: 12px;" align="center"><a rel="tag" href="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 0px auto 20px; display: block; width: 375px; text-align: center;" alt="Mystery Godoku" src="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/graphics/mystery-godoku-news.jpg"></a></div> <p><a href="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 12px; width: 170px; height: 181px; float: right;" alt="Mystery Godoku Puzzle for July 14, 2008" src="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/puzzles/godoku-080714-p.jpg"></a>A new <a href="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/" rel="tag">Mystery Godoku Puzzle</a> has been created by the editors of the <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/">Hidden Staircase Mystery Books</a> and is now available on our website.</p> <p>Godoku is similar to Sudoku, but uses letters instead of numbers. To give you a headstart, we provide you a mystery clue to fill in a complete row or column (if you choose to use it!).</p> <p>This week's letters and mystery clue: <span style="font-weight: bold;">A E F L M N O R W</span>. This romantic suspense thriller by Donna Anders was published in 1995 (with &ldquo;The&rdquo;, 9 letters).</p> <p>New! We now have our puzzles in PDF format for easier printing. Print this week's puzzle <a href="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/print-080721.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p>Previous puzzles are stored in the <a href="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/mystery-godoku-archives.html">Mystery Godoku Archives</a>.</p> <p>Enjoy the weekly Mystery Godoku Puzzle from the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, and Thanks for visiting our website!</p> <table style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; width: 100%;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="padding: 0px 0px 6px; width: 25%;" align="center"> <p class="pres"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-2819860-10362768" target="_top"> <img class="ires" style="border: 0px solid ;" src="http://www.awltovhc.com/image-2819860-10362768" alt="Video Game Rentals Delivered" border="0" height="31" width="88"></a><br> GameFly delivers the best video games</p> </td> <td style="padding: 0px 0px 6px; width: 25%;" align="center"> <p class="pres"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-2819860-55455" target="_blank"> <img class="ires" style="border: 0px solid ;" src="http://www.ftjcfx.com/image-2819860-55455" alt="AreYouGame games and puzzles" border="0" height="31" width="88"></a><br> Games for Kids and Adults at AreYouGame.com</p> </td> <td style="padding: 0px 0px 6px; width: 25%;" align="center"> <p class="pres"><iframe class="ires" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mystery-books-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=41&amp;l=ur1&amp;category=games&amp;banner=17EJ2031DGNTJG5E0W82&amp;f=ifr" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border: medium none ;" frameborder="0" height="31" scrolling="no" width="88"></iframe><br> Computer and video games at Amazon.com</p> </td> <td style="padding: 0px 0px 6px; width: 25%;" align="center"> <p class="pres"><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=wPXTuDU7eP0&amp;offerid=120801.10000001&amp;subid=0&amp;type=4"><img class="ires" style="border: 0px solid ;" alt="GameStop, Inc." src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=wPXTuDU7eP0&amp;bids=120801.10000001&amp;subid=0&amp;type=4&amp;gridnum=7" border="0"></a><br> Mystery games for all platforms at GameStop</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Return to <a href="http://www.mystery-books.com/" rel="tag">Mystery Books News</a> ...</p>Mystery Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120574738684378464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18006241.post-86184166854775878102008-07-12T13:48:00.000-07:002008-07-12T13:50:57.263-07:00<div style="margin: 12px;" align="center"><a rel="tag" href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 0px auto 20px; display: block; text-align: center; width: 375px; height: 80px;" alt="Mysterious Reviews" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-news.jpg" /></a></div> <p><a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/">Mysterious Reviews</a>, mysteries reviewed by the <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/">Hidden Staircase Mystery Books</a>, is publishing a new review of <span style="font-style: italic;">Trumpets Sound No More</span> by Jon Redfern. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.</p> <div style="margin: 0pt 0pt 6pt 12pt; float: right; width: 120px;"><a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-detail.html?asinx=1894917405"><img alt="Trumpets Sound No More by Jon Redfern" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mystery-reviews-graphics/1894917405.jpg" style="border: 0px solid ; padding: 0px 10px; width: 100px; vertical-align: bottom;" /></a><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1894917405/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img style="border: 0pt solid ; padding: 0px; width: 120px; vertical-align: top;" alt="Buy from Amazon.com" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mystery-reviews-graphics/buy-from-amazon.gif" /></a></div> <p><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-detail.html?asinx=1894917405">Trumpets Sound No More</a> by <a href="http://authors.omnimystery.com/redfern-jon.html" rel="tag">Jon Redfern</a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Non-series</span></p> <p class="std10">Rendezvous Crime (Trade Paperback)<br />ISBN-10: 1-894917-40-5 (1894917405)<br />ISBN-13: 978-1-894917-40-7 (9781894917407)<br />Publication Date: October 2007<br />List Price: $19.95</p> <p class="std10"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Synopsis</span> (from the publisher): In 1840, the theatre world in London is shocked by the brutal killing of one of its youngest and most successful entrepreneurs, Mr. Samuel Cake, found bludgeoned in his bachelor house with few leads. Inspector Owen Endersby is called upon to apprehend the culprit before Christmas Eve, just six days away. The case soon involves street vendors, downstairs servants, moneylenders and the greatest performers of the London stage. Without the help of fingerprinting, blood analysis, or any other technique of the modern-day detective, Inspector Endersby must root out the villain any way he can—by disguise, break-and-enter, bribery, mail tampering and physical force. London in 1840 is a brutal city. As the investigation moves into the darker realms of human behavior, Endersby faces instances of child abuse, child labor, madness and sexual deviancy.</p> <p class="std10"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Review</span>: In 2002, Toronto author and college instructor, Jon Redfern, won the prestigious Crime Writer’s of Canada Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel for his debut effort, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Boy Must Die</span>. As an encore he has won the CWC Arthur Ellis award for Best Novel for 2008 for his meticulously-researched Victorian age murder mystery, <span style="font-style: italic;">Trumpets Sound No More</span>, starring Detective Inspector Owen Endersby, a member of the newly-formed London Metropolitan Detective Police Force. Endersby, as Redfern's readers will soon discover, has all of the charisma, skills and sleuthing smarts to become a long time center stage performer should Redfern decide to keep him around.<br /><br />Besides his intuitions and intelligence, Endersby has other characteristics for a successful police force career. In the Victorian England of the shabby streets, dingy taverns and dark alleyways he frequents, he knows how to ferret out the characters most likely to have bashed theatre manager Samuel Cakes head to a pulp with his own cane. He knows how to find them by using guile and disguises, by tricking them into giving up information and, if necessary, to use an occasional cuff to the ear to jog a recalcitrant recollection. He knows his way around London too, including the theatre district and particularly backstage and downstairs at the Old Drury, the grande dame of London’s theatres in the 1840s. Despite being given a case of arson to resolve as well as a one week deadline, December 18 to 25, for solving Cake’s murder, and having to deal with his overbearing Superintendent, fifty-year-old Endersby knows how to get the job done without any of today’s forensic assists – just patience, critical analysis, a liking “to ponder the scene,” his “passions for truth and justice,” a willingness to walk miles to find a clue or harangue a suspect, and all the while suffering “the grime of his livelihood on his clothes.” And as he searches the theatre district and beyond for a murderer and an arsonist, he finds killers can travel in packs, lunatics can fan more than just fires, actors can play multiple parts, on and off stage, and with or without alcohol and drugs, theatre managers can be as motivated by power and sex as by money, and a stage-struck fourteen-year-old homeless waif and her dreams can both go up in flames while Queen Victoria and her Christmas pageant entourage watch in horror.<br /><br />Tough on the crimes and criminals of his time and constantly tussling with his Superintendent, Endersby has a softer side too. He’s obviously devoted to his forty-year-old wife Harriet, fancies the candied chestnuts she prepares for him, pieces together elaborate wooden puzzles of French design, and he suffers from gout in his left foot, the intensity of which measures the success or failure of his fact-finding – all attributes for the memorable detective Redfern has created. The settings for the Old Drury and the contemporary theatre offerings are memorable too, and the dialogue and language of the compelling story are ideally suited to the age. And while the trumpets in this novel may sound no more, it would be a shame if they also signalled a swan song for Detective Inspector Owen Endersby. </p> <p class="std10">Special thanks to M. Wayne Cunningham (<a href="mailto:mw_cunningham@telus.net">mw_cunningham@telus.net</a>) for contributing his review of <span style="font-style: italic;">Trumpets Sound No More</span>.</p> <p class="std10" style="text-align: center;">Review Copyright © 2008 — M. Wayne Cunningham — All Rights Reserved — Reprinted with Permission</p> <p>For more <a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/" rel="tag">mystery book reviews</a> visit Mysterious Reviews, a partner with the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books which is committed to providing readers and collectors of <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/" rel="tag">mystery books</a> with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.</p> <p>Return to <a href="http://www.mystery-books.com/" rel="tag">Mystery Books News</a> ...</p>Mystery Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120574738684378464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18006241.post-49614341590038778012008-07-11T14:09:00.000-07:002008-07-11T14:10:28.369-07:00<div style="margin: 6pt auto 12pt;" align="center"><a href="http://bestsellers.omnimystery.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 375px; height: 80px;" alt="Mystery Bestsellers" src="http://bestsellers.omnimystery.com/graphics/bestsellers-news.jpg" border="0"></a></div> <p>A list of the top 15 <a href="http://bestsellers.omnimystery.com/" rel="tag">mystery hardcover bestsellers</a> for the week ending July 11, 2008 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.</p> <p>For the second week in a row there is no change in the top 3 with&nbsp;<a href="http://authors.omnimystery.com/evanovich-janet.html" rel="tag">Janet Evanovich</a>'s 14th mystery featuring <a href="http://new-jersey.omnimystery.com/" target="_blank" rel="tag">New Jersey</a> bounty hunter Stephanie Plum, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0312349513/?tag=mystery-books-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="font-style: italic;">Fearless Fourteen</a> retaining the top spot on this week's mystery bestseller list.</p> <div style="margin: 0pt 0pt 6pt 6pt; float: right;"><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1416548521/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img style="border: 0px solid ; width: 115px; height: 170px;" alt="Swan Peak by James Lee Burke" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1416548521.01._SX110_PC_.jpg"></a></div> <p>Debuting at number 10 this week is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1416548521/?tag=mystery-books-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="font-style: italic;">Swan Peak</a>, the 17th mystery by <a href="http://authors.omnimystery.com/burke-james-lee.html" rel="tag">James Lee Burke</a> featuring Louisiana lawman Dave Robicheaux who is far from his New Iberia roots, attempting to relax in the untouched wilderness of rural Montana. He, his wife, and his buddy Clete Purcell have retreated to stay at an old friend's ranch, hoping to spend their days fishing and enjoying their distance from the harsh, gritty landscape of Louisiana post-Katrina. But the serenity is soon shattered when two college students are found brutally murdered in the hills behind where the Robicheauxs and Purcell are staying. They quickly find themselves involved in a twisted and dangerous mystery involving a wealthy, vicious oil tycoon, his deformed brother and beautiful wife, a sexually deviant minister, an escaped con and former country music star, and a vigilante Texas gunbull out for blood. At the center of the storm is Clete, who cannot shake the feeling that he is being haunted by the ghosts from his past -- namely Sally Dio, the mob boss he'd sabotaged and killed years before.&nbsp;</p> <p>On our bestseller page, we've added an icon <img src="http://bestsellers.omnimystery.com/graphics/icon-kindle.jpg" style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: middle;"> next to every title that is available for immediate download onto the Amazon Kindle. To learn about this wireless reading device, visit the <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FI73MA/?tag=mystery-books-20">Amazon Kindle</a> page for more information. And don't forget to check our <a href="http://pre-order.omnimystery.com/" rel="tag">Pre-Order Mysteries</a> page where you can save an additional 5% when you purchase your mystery books prior to their publication date.</p> <p>The top four mystery bestsellers this week are shown below:</p> <div style="text-align: center;"><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0312349513/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img alt="Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 90px; height: 132px;" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0312349513.01._SX80_PC_.jpg"></a><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0385340567/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img alt="Nothing to Lose by Lee Child" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 90px; height: 131px;" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0385340567.01._SX80_PC_.jpg"></a><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/1416549978/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img alt="The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 90px; height: 132px;" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1416549978.01._SX80_PC_.jpg"></a><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0743281640/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img alt="Chasing Darkness by Robert Crais" style="border: 0px solid ; width: 90px; height: 132px;" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0743281640.01._SX80_PC_.jpg"></a></div> <p>Please visit the <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/">Hidden Staircase Mystery Books</a> where we are committed to providing readers and collectors of <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/" rel="tag">mystery books</a> with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.</p> <p>Return to <a rel="tag" href="http://www.mystery-books.com/">Mystery Books News</a> ...</p>Mystery Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120574738684378464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18006241.post-56317931289377035952008-07-09T13:06:00.000-07:002008-07-09T13:15:26.348-07:00<p style="text-align: left;">Sarah Reidy, Director of Publicity for Soho Press, has informed us that Janwillem van de Wetering, one of Holland's most acclaimed crime writers and author of the Amsterdam Cops series, died on July 4, 2008, following a struggle with cancer. He was 77.<br /><br />Van de Wetering was born in Rotterdam in 1931. After living in Amsterdam, Cornwall, Capetown, Bogota, Lima, and Brisbane, he finally settled on the coast of Maine with his wife in 1975. He is the author of numerous works in Dutch and English, including the Amsterdam Cops mystery series, a children series featuring the porcupine Hugh Pine, non-fiction books, and dozens of short stories. His work often incorporated his experiences as a one-time Zen Buddhist monk and the time he served with the Amsterdam Reserve Constabulary. van de Wetering was awarded the French Grand Prix de Littérature Policière in 1984.<br /><br />Soho Press published fourteen books by van de Wetering, featuring adjutant Henrik Grijpstra and Sergeant Rinus de Gier. Critical acclaim was unanimously enthusiastic in publications such as the New York Times, Time, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, L.A. Times, Boston Globe, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.sohopress.com/" target="_blank"> Soho Press</a> will be reissuing all of van de Wetering's Soho Crime novels in paperback, beginning in the fall of 2008.</p> <p>Return to <a rel="tag" href="http://www.mystery-books.com/">Mystery Books News</a> ...</p>Mystery Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120574738684378464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18006241.post-52853318831264078102008-07-08T17:59:00.000-07:002008-07-08T18:01:03.840-07:00<div style="margin: 12px;" align="center"><a rel="tag" href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 0px auto 20px; display: block; text-align: center; width: 375px; height: 80px;" alt="Mysterious Reviews" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-news.jpg"></a></div> <p><a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/">Mysterious Reviews</a>, mysteries reviewed by the <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/">Hidden Staircase Mystery Books</a>, is publishing a new review of <span style="font-style: italic;">Garcia's Heart</span> by Liam Durcan. For our blog readers, we are printing it first here in advance of its publication on our website.</p> <div style="margin: 0pt 0pt 6pt 12pt; float: right; width: 120px;"><a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-detail.html?asinx=0312367082"><img alt="Garcia's Heart by Liam Durcan" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mystery-reviews-graphics/0312367082.jpg" style="border: 0px solid ; padding: 0px 10px; width: 100px; vertical-align: bottom;"></a><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0312367082/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img style="border: 0pt solid ; padding: 0px; width: 120px; vertical-align: top;" alt="Buy from Amazon.com" src="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mystery-reviews-graphics/buy-from-amazon.gif"></a></div> <p><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/mysterious-reviews-detail.html?asinx=0312367082">Garcia's Heart</a> by <a href="http://www.liamdurcan.com/" rel="tag">Liam Durcan</a><br> <span style="font-style: italic;">Non-series</span></p> <p class="std10">St. Martin's Press (Hardcover)<br> ISBN-10: 0-312-36708-2 (0312367082)<br> ISBN-13: 978-0-312-36708-4 (9780312367084)<br> Publication Date: November 2007<br> List Price: $23.95</p> <p class="std10"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Synopsis</span>&nbsp;(from the publisher): Neurologist Patrick Lazerenko travels to The Hague to witness the war crimes trial of his beloved mentor, Hernan Garc&iacute;a, a Honduran doctor accused of involvement in torture. Driven by his own youthful memories of the man and his family, Lazerenko is determined to get to the truth behind the shocking accusations, even as the prosecution and a relentless journalist suspect Patrick of hiding information. The defense has its own ideas for Patrick, hoping to use his latest research to help vindicate Garc&iacute;a. As Patrick struggles with his conscience, and the pressures from the neuroeconomics company he abandoned in <a href="http://boston.omnimystery.com/" target="_blank" rel="tag">Boston</a>, he must also contend with seeing Garc&iacute;a&rsquo;s daughter, his former lover, and the surprising influence a shady advocacy group seems to have over her, and with the fact Garc&iacute;a himself is refusing to speak, to anyone.</p> <p class="std10"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Review</span>: In his day job Montreal resident Liam Durcan is an Assistant Professor at McGill University and a neurologist at the Montreal Neurological Hospital. In his debut novel <span style="font-style: italic;">Garcia&rsquo;s Heart</span> he has transformed his knowledge of his world of medicine and his observations of humanity at large into a compelling story that has won him the Arthur Ellis 2008 Best First Novel award.<br> <br> Durcan&rsquo;s novel is set against an extremely large canvas, a trial for crimes against humanity for the so-called Angel of Lepaterique at the War Crimes Tribunal building in Churchillplein in Den Haag, Netherlands. The Angel - a sobriquet from a book title about him - is a former Honduran cardiologist, Hernan Garcia de la Cruz, the mentor of Dr. Patrick Lazerenko, formerly of Montreal and now a Bostonian, and he stands accused of medical torture, murder and crimes against humanity. Doubly motivated by curiosity and loyalty to the Garcia family, the members of which he has not seen for several years, Lazerenko has come to the trial at the defence attorney&rsquo;s request as a potential witness. Lazerenko could testify as the Garcia siblings Maria, his ex-lover, Nina, her younger sister, and Roberto, his continuing antagonist, hope, and the father&rsquo;s lawyer cajoles, as an expert witness in the application of neuroscientific principles to explain the elder Garcia&rsquo;s apparently out-of-character behaviour. It is a daunting task and one for which Lazerenko who has turned from medicine to marketing, has little stomach for, and even less assurance of success, especially since a suspiciously deteriorating Garcia has steadfastly refused to speak to anyone or to testify on his own behalf. And while the crimes against Garcia are unveiled in almost slow motion revelations through shocking eye-witness testimonies and detailed references to passages of a best-selling journalist&rsquo;s book about the alleged perpetrator, Lazerenko must confront his own demons, real, imaginary, long forgotten or recently remembered.<br> <br> Durcan&rsquo;s book is saturated with the drizzle of the Den Haag November weather, the bleakness of the trial and its crush of evidence against the accused, and the futility of Lazerenko&rsquo;s attempts to re-establish his recollected relationships between himself and the Garcias for &ldquo;he did need the Garcias now, as much as he had needed them then.&rdquo; Former lover Celia and he are &ldquo;little more than strangers now,&rdquo; and she has a two-year-old son in tow but no husband in sight. Nina the youngest of the three siblings now oversees the family&rsquo;s expanded food store after the death of her mother, incarceration of her father, disinterest of her sister and ineptitude of her brother. And Roberto, ever the one to use his fists instead of his brain has sucker-punched Lazerenko, leaving him bruised, unconscious and briefly hospitalized in the infirmary of the Tribunal building where he is cared for by a doctor &ldquo;under his white coat of industriousness.&rdquo; Between healing and recalling the way they all once were when the licenceless Garcia clandestinely offered medical services in the rear of the Montreal corner grocery store, Le Depanneur Mondial, that he ran after fleeing the Honduras, Lazerenko weighs his emotional turmoil against his need to manage via increasingly annoying emails the problems of his Neuronaut biotech company with its &ldquo;cognitive approach to marketing.&rdquo; With surgical precision and intense psychological insight Durcan expertly probes and bares the hearts, minds and intents of his characters as Lazerenko tries to make sense of his life and Garcia struggles to deal with his. It is a fascinating operation with heart-rending conclusions for all concerned.</p> <p class="std10">Special thanks to M. Wayne Cunningham (<a href="mailto:mw_cunningham@telus.net">mw_cunningham@telus.net</a>) for contributing his review of&nbsp;<span style="font-style: italic;">Garcia's Heart</span>.</p> <p class="std10" style="text-align: center;">Review Copyright &copy; 2008&nbsp;&mdash; M. Wayne Cunningham &mdash;&nbsp;All Rights Reserved &mdash;&nbsp;Reprinted with Permission</p> <p>For more <a href="http://www.mysteriousreviews.com/" rel="tag">mystery book reviews</a> visit Mysterious Reviews, a partner with the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books which is committed to providing readers and collectors of <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/" rel="tag">mystery books</a> with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.</p> <p>Return to <a href="http://www.mystery-books.com/" rel="tag">Mystery Books News</a> ...</p>Mystery Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120574738684378464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18006241.post-51481160889221174232008-07-07T04:23:00.001-07:002008-07-07T04:26:39.274-07:00<div style="margin: 12px;" align="center"><a rel="tag" href="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 0px auto 20px; display: block; width: 375px; text-align: center;" alt="Mystery Godoku" src="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/graphics/mystery-godoku-news.jpg"></a></div> <p><a href="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 12px; width: 170px; height: 181px; float: right;" alt="Mystery Godoku Puzzle for July 07, 2008" src="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/puzzles/godoku-080707-p.jpg"></a>A new <a href="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/" rel="tag">Mystery Godoku Puzzle</a> has been created by the editors of the <a href="http://www.hsmb.com/">Hidden Staircase Mystery Books</a> and is now available on our website.</p> <p>Godoku is similar to Sudoku, but uses letters instead of numbers. To give you a headstart, we provide you a mystery clue to fill in a complete row or column (if you choose to use it!).</p> <p>This week's letters and mystery clue: <span style="font-weight: bold;">G H I K N O R T W</span>. This was the title of Nelson George&rsquo;s 2003 noir thriller of a male gigolo accused of murder (9 letters).</p> <p>New! We now have our puzzles in PDF format for easier printing. Print this week's puzzle <a href="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/print-080707.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> <p>Previous puzzles are stored in the <a href="http://godoku.omnimystery.com/mystery-godoku-archives.html">Mystery Godoku Archives</a>.</p> <p>Enjoy the weekly Mystery Godoku Puzzle from the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, and Thanks for visiting our website!</p> <table style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: center; width: 100%;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="padding: 0px 0px 6px; width: 25%;" align="center"> <p class="pres"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-2819860-10362768" target="_top"> <img class="ires" style="border: 0px solid ;" src="http://www.awltovhc.com/image-2819860-10362768" alt="Video Game Rentals Delivered" border="0" height="31" width="88"></a><br> GameFly delivers the best video games</p> </td> <td style="padding: 0px 0px 6px; width: 25%;" align="center"> <p class="pres"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-2819860-55455" target="_blank"> <img class="ires" style="border: 0px solid ;" src="http://www.ftjcfx.com/image-2819860-55455" alt="AreYouGame games and puzzles" border="0" height="31" width="88"></a><br> Games for Kids and Adults at AreYouGame.com</p> </td> <td style="padding: 0px 0px 6px; width: 25%;" align="center"> <p class="pres"><iframe class="ires" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=mystery-books-20&amp;o=1&amp;p=41&amp;l=ur1&amp;category=games&amp;banner=17EJ2031DGNTJG5E0W82&amp;f=ifr" border="0" marginwidth="0" style="border: medium none ;" frameborder="0" height="31" scrolling="no" width="88"></iframe><br> Computer and video games at Amazon.com</p> </td> <td style="padding: 0px 0px 6px; width: 25%;" align="center"> <p class="pres"><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=wPXTuDU7eP0&amp;offerid=120801.10000001&amp;subid=0&amp;type=4"><img class="ires" style="border: 0px solid ;" alt="GameStop, Inc." src="http://ad.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/show?id=wPXTuDU7eP0&amp;bids=120801.10000001&amp;subid=0&amp;type=4&amp;gridnum=7" border="0"></a><br> Mystery games for all platforms at GameStop</p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>Return to <a href="http://www.mystery-books.com/" rel="tag">Mystery Books News</a> ...</p>Mystery Bookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09120574738684378464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18006241.post-73211627211880426882008-07-04T04:25:00.000-07:002008-07-04T04:27:04.337-07:00<div style="margin: 6pt auto 12pt;" align="center"><a href="http://bestsellers.omnimystery.com/"><img style="border: 0px solid ; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 375px; height: 80px;" alt="Mystery Bestsellers" src="http://bestsellers.omnimystery.com/graphics/bestsellers-news.jpg" border="0"></a></div> <p>A list of the top 15 <a href="http://bestsellers.omnimystery.com/" rel="tag">mystery hardcover bestsellers</a> for the week ending July 04, 2008 has been posted on the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books website.</p> <p>No change in the top 3 with&nbsp;<a href="http://authors.omnimystery.com/evanovich-janet.html" rel="tag">Janet Evanovich</a>'s 14th mystery featuring <a href="http://new-jersey.omnimystery.com/" target="_blank" rel="tag">New Jersey</a> bounty hunter Stephanie Plum, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0312349513/?tag=mystery-books-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="font-style: italic;">Fearless Fourteen</a> retaining the top spot on this week's mystery bestseller list.</p> <div style="margin: 0pt 0pt 6pt 6pt; float: right;"><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0743281640/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img style="border: 0px solid ; width: 115px; height: 170px;" alt="Chasing Darkness by Robert Crais" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0743281640.01._SX110_PC_.jpg"></a></div> <p>Three new titles enter the top 15. Debuting at number 10 this week is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0743281640/?tag=mystery-books-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="font-style: italic;">Chasing Darkness</a>, the 12th mystery by <a href="http://authors.omnimystery.com/crais-robert.html" rel="tag">Robert Crais</a> featuring Los Angeles private investigator Elvis Cole. It's fire season, and the hills of Los Angeles are burning. When police and fire department personnel rush door to door in a frenzied evacuation effort, they discover the week-old corpse of an apparent suicide. But the gunshot victim is less gruesome than what they find in his lap: a photo album of seven brutally murdered young women -- one per year, for seven years. And when the suicide victim is identified as a former suspect in one of the murders, the news turns Elvis Cole's world upside down. Three years earlier Lionel Byrd was brought to trial for the murder of a female prostitute named Yvonne Bennett. A taped confession coerced by the police inspired a prominent defense attorney to take Byrd's case, and Elvis Cole was hired to investigate. It was Cole's eleventh-hour discovery of an exculpatory videotape that allowed Lionel Byrd to walk free. Elvis was hailed as a hero. But the discovery of the death album in Byrd's lap now brands Elvis as an unwitting accomplice to murder. Captured in photographs that could only have been taken by the murderer, Yvonne Bennett was the fifth of the seven victims -- two more young women were murdered after Lionel Byrd walked free. So Elvis can't help but wonder -- did he, Elvis Cole, cost two more young women their lives? Shut out of the investigation by a special LAPD task force determined to close the case, Elvis Cole and Joe Pike desperately fight to uncover the truth about Lionel Byrd and his nightmare album of death -- a truth hidden by lies, politics, and corruption in a world where nothing is what it seems to be. Publisher's Weekly says of <span style="font-style: italic;">Chasing Darkness</span>, "This one is all about plot; the story opens with a bang and never slows."</p> <div style="margin: 0pt 0pt 6pt 6pt; float: right;"><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0345486544/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img style="border: 0px solid ; width: 114px; height: 170px;" alt="Death Angel by Linda Howard" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0345486544.01._SX110_PC_.jpg"></a></div> <p>Linda Howard's latest romantic suspense thriller, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0345486544/?tag=mystery-books-20" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" style="font-style: italic;">Death Angel</a>, enters the list at number 11. A striking beauty with a taste for diamonds and dangerous men, Drea Rousseau is more than content to be arm candy for Rafael Salinas, a notorious crime lord who deals with betrayal through quick and treacherous means: a bullet to the back of the head, a blade across the neck, an incendiary device beneath a car. Eager to break with Rafael, Drea makes a fateful decision and a desperate move, stealing a mountain of cash from the malicious killer. After all, an escape needs to be financed. Though Drea runs, Salinas knows she can&rsquo;t hide&ndash;and he dispatches a cold-blooded assassin in hot pursuit, resulting in a tragic turn of events. Or does it? Left for dead, Drea miraculously returns to the realm of the living a changed woman. She&rsquo;s no longer shallow and selfish, no longer steals or cheats or sells herself short. Both humbled and thrilled with this unexpected second chance, Drea embraces her new life. But in order to feel safe and sound&ndash;and stop nervously looking over her shoulder&ndash;she will need to take down those who marked her for death. Joining forces with the FBI, supplying vital inside information that only she can provide, Drea finds herself working with the most dangerous man she&rsquo;s ever known. Yet the closer they get to danger, the more intense their feelings for each other become, and the more Drea realizes that the cost of her new life may be her life itself&ndash;as well as her heart.</p> <div style="margin: 0pt 0pt 6pt 6pt; float: right;"><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0061287512/?tag=mystery-books-20"><img style="border: 0px solid ; width: 116px; height: 170px;" alt="Where Memories Lie by Deborah Crombie" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0061287512.01._SX110_PC_.jpg"></a></div> <p>Moving up the list to numbe