Interactive Mystery allows the reader to follow along with Gil Grissom (William Petersen) and the rest of the CSI team as they investigate a crime scene and solve the riddle of how the latest victim was killed:

In the tradition of The Crimes of Dr Watson and Dracula’s Heir, this book features an original mystery novella along with eight removable clues for the reader to study. As our story opens, famed real estate developer Mel Bledsoe is found murdered in his ultra-tacky Las Vegas McMansion. A state-of-the-art home security system offers images of the murder and its aftermath—but not nearly enough to identify whodunit.

Readers will have to study all the evidence recovered at the crime scene (including a blood-spattered booklet, a shredded document, architectural blueprints, and more) to discover the killer.

Can you read the story, study the clues, and solve the crime?

CSI: An Interactive Mystery is now available and can be purchased from Amazon and other online retailers.

• csi: “The CSI producers are holding a contest for fans to come up with the next Big Bad Villain of the 11th season. Develop your ideas for this character, which CSI s/he targets and why. Then describe his signature kill. Who would play this character?”

• c_s_i: “If you had to pick one episode as your favourite, which one would it be and why?”
• csi_ny: “How do you feel about Sara [Sidle, Jorja Fox]’s return to the show?”

Be sure to get your responses in by 11:59pm PST on November 22.

Week 2 of the contest is now underway and will also last until November 15 at 11:59pm PST. The prize this week is a copy of the seventh season of CSI on DVD (retail value: $37.99). To be in the running, fans can visit one of the following communities participating in the contest and answer the question posed. (Questions and links after the jump.)

• c_s_i: “Throughout the years of CSI, several characters have taken their leave from the team. Of all of them, who were you saddest to see leave and why?”

• csi: “Your friend/relative saw a recent episode of CSI and loved the show. But she has 9 other seasons to catch up on! What are your Top 3 CSI ‘must-see’ episodes? Why?”
• csi_ny: “Do you prefer Grissom [William Petersen] or Langston [Laurence Fishburne] as the leading man? Why?”

Be sure to get your submissions in for Week 1 and Week 2 by November 15. Winners will be notified by private message within 72 hours of being selected.

The first weekly contest runs through tomorrow, November 8 at 11:59 pm PST. For this round, the prize is a copy of Deadly Intent. To be in the running, fans have to leave a comment on a participating community with a question they would like to ask a CSI writer. The winner will not only get a copy of the game, but he/she will also have his/her question answered by a writer.

The communities c_s_i, csi and csi_ny are running the contest. Fans who are eligible (please make sure you read the rules!) must leave a response on one of these posts to be in the running for the contest.

(Thanks to happyharper13 on TalkCSI for the heads up.)

BD-Live enables Blu-ray owners to download content over a broadband internet connection. (You can find more information here.) CSI fans with BD-Live capable players now have the option of following camera crews inside two forensic conventions.

The videos that are available for CSI include the CSI: Regis University Conference in Denver, Colorado and the annual conference of the American College of Forensic Examiners in Las Vegas, Nevada. Teams onsite filmed crime scene reenactments, demonstrations of CSI gear, interviews with investigators and more. By downloading this exclusive content, CSI fans can visit these conferences without leaving their own living room.

(For more about the CSI season 9 Blu-ray release, check out the second bullet in this previous CSI Files article.)

All entries are due by Monday, November 2.