MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - FREE/BARGAIN - Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

ATDrake · 09-20-2016, 01:46 AM

Some more international mystery/crime bargains; a mix of stuff discounted in North America and/or the UK. Linkage goes to Kobo, but often matched at the other usual retailers.

@ $1.99 in North America / £0.99 in the UK where available:

On sale in North America only from HarperCollins (different publisher has the rights in the UK):

Last Rituals by Icelandic author Yrsa Sigurðardóttir (SYKM, Wikipedia), 1st in her Þóra Gu∂mundsdóttir series starring a lawyer in Reykjavík.

I bought this and the 3rd book during a long-ago sale and finally got around to mainlining the entire series recently, which I really enjoyed and highly recommend if they sound like they might be your kind of thing. This has previously been offered free in UK/EU (and in fact still seems to be free at Sainsbury). But this is a really good price for it if you're outside the UK.

On sale in North America (where available; some authors are out from different publishers in the US, and sometimes in Canada we can see and buy both editions) & the UK from Faber & Faber Crime (couponable @ Kobo):

Lethal Investments by Norwegian author Kjell Ola Dahl (SYKM, Wikipedia), chronological 1st in his Gunnarstranda & Frolich series starring cops in Oslo, but 4th-in-translation.

I bought this during a previous sale and read it a while ago and liked it well enough, but it is a bit retro, since it was originally written in the early 90s and part of the plot revolves around now-dated computer stuff. The next few books in the series are apparently now available in e-book form in the US-only from a different publisher (I don't remember who and I'm not looking it up again, but they were non-couponable and priced upwards of $7.99 USD each) as by K. O. Dahl, presumably for ease-of-marketing purposes.
Dead Line by British author Chris Ewan (SYKM, Wikipedia), a standalone mystery/thriller set in Marseilles, France.
#1-3 in the DI Staffe series by British author Adam Creed (SYKM), starring an inspector in London.
#1-2 of the Jessica Blackwood series by US author Andrew Mayne (SYKM), starring an ex-illusionist turned FBI agent. There's a series-introductory freebie short story from his US publisher HarperCollins, if you think you might like to give it a try.
An Expert in Murder, 1st in the Barry Award-finalist Josephine Tey author-as-detective series by Nicola Upson (SYKM) mentioned upthread by sufue, and what looks like the most-recently-released 6th novel, London Rain, is at the £1.99 mark. Rest of the series is £3.99 couponable.
Three standalone titles (and a 4th at the £1.99 mark) by Scottish author Doug Johnstone (Wikipedia), set in Edinburgh. These appear to be literary psychological thrillers.
Quiver & Trust Me by US author Peter Leonard (SYKM, Wikipedia), son of famous novelist Elmore Leonard. These are standalone thrillers which have a different and more expensive publisher in North America.
#1-3 in the Henning Juul series by Norwegian author Thomas Enger (SYKM), starring a crime reporter for a 24-hour online news website in Oslo, are still on offer. Only #3 is available in Canada from Faber, so you'd have to travel for the rest.

I mention this again because I recently finished reading and rather enjoyed them, even though I should warn that the plots sometimes seemed overcomplicated and they're written in present tense narration, which not everybody likes to read outside of experimental literary fiction, so YMMV. But there's a deadpan hilarious skewering of the news media industry in them, if you happen to like that sort of thing and think you might want to give them a try for this price (regularly $12-ish CAD from the different North American publisher).

On sale in the UK-only though their books are mostly also available in North America from Orenda Books (couponable @ Kobo; an imprint specializing in contemporary Eurocrime and literary fiction, spinning off from Arcadia Books):

The Defenseless by Finnish author Kati Hiekkapelto (SYKM), 2nd in her Anna Fekete series starring a Yugoslav-Hungarian-descended detective in North Finland. Orenda has also published #3 in translation (not listed on SYKM yet) and #1 is still available from Arcadia, who for some reason have pulled their catalogue from every store except for Amazon.
Nightblind by Icelandic author Ragnar Jónasson (SYKM), who Yrsa Sigurðardóttir called a promising upcoming talent in an interview, translated by British author Quentin Bates (SYKM), who has an interesting blog article about translating the series here.

This is chronologically/original publication the 5th in his Dark Iceland series starring a detective in a small fishing village, which apparently takes place over the course of several decades in the mid/late 20th century, but the 2nd to appear in translation. The 3rd-in-translation is the real 2nd book. But it seems they're considered to be readable in this altered order by the author/translator/publisher. The 1st-in-series, which has been on £0.99 sale before, is already a Barry Award finalist for Best Paperback.
The Evolution of Fear by British author Paul E. Hardisty (SYKM, a New Blood Dagger Award finalist), 2nd crime thriller starring Claymore Straker, a South African engineer in Yemen. This was previously offered for $3 CAD in one of Kobo Canada's Summer Reading Event weekend sales, in case you travel.
In Her Wake by Amanda Jennings, a standalone psychological thriller set in Cornwall, with the horrible family mystery unraveled by the protagonist.
How To Be Brave by Louise Beech, a literary novel with psychological thriller/horror elements, if the Kobo categories aren't a misfiling, with a family unraveling some secrets having to do with an ancestor during WWII. Another Kobo Canada sale repeat.

@ £1.99 in the UK from couponable publishers:

The Hanging by Danish authors Lotte & Soren Hammer (SYKM), the 1st in their Konrad Simonsen series starring a detective inspector in Copenhagen, out from Bloomsbury in the UK. North American publisher Macmillan sometimes sporadically puts this on $2.99 sale, but their books are non-couponable and they don't seem to have released as many of the further books in the series.
The Ice Beneath Her by Swedish author Camilla Grebe (SYKM), a standalone psychological thriller set in Stockholm, from Bonnier's Zaffre imprint. This appears to be a glitchy listing at Kobo, which shows £3.99 on search, but drops to £1.99 on the actual page, and checked out at that price (less discount couponage) in the cart when I tried it. Doesn't appear to be on sale at Amazon UK, which is still full price, and is a pre-order from a different publisher in North America.

09-20-2016, 01:46 AM	#1198
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	Some more international mystery/crime bargains; a mix of stuff discounted in North America and/or the UK. Linkage goes to Kobo, but often matched at the other usual retailers. @ $1.99 in North America / £0.99 in the UK where available: On sale in North America only from HarperCollins (different publisher has the rights in the UK): Last Rituals by Icelandic author Yrsa Sigurðardóttir (SYKM, Wikipedia), 1st in her Þóra Gu∂mundsdóttir series starring a lawyer in Reykjavík. I bought this and the 3rd book during a long-ago sale and finally got around to mainlining the entire series recently, which I really enjoyed and highly recommend if they sound like they might be your kind of thing. This has previously been offered free in UK/EU (and in fact still seems to be free at Sainsbury). But this is a really good price for it if you're outside the UK. On sale in North America (where available; some authors are out from different publishers in the US, and sometimes in Canada we can see and buy both editions) & the UK from Faber & Faber Crime (couponable @ Kobo): Lethal Investments by Norwegian author Kjell Ola Dahl (SYKM, Wikipedia), chronological 1st in his Gunnarstranda & Frolich series starring cops in Oslo, but 4th-in-translation. I bought this during a previous sale and read it a while ago and liked it well enough, but it is a bit retro, since it was originally written in the early 90s and part of the plot revolves around now-dated computer stuff. The next few books in the series are apparently now available in e-book form in the US-only from a different publisher (I don't remember who and I'm not looking it up again, but they were non-couponable and priced upwards of $7.99 USD each) as by K. O. Dahl, presumably for ease-of-marketing purposes. Dead Line by British author Chris Ewan (SYKM, Wikipedia), a standalone mystery/thriller set in Marseilles, France. #1-3 in the DI Staffe series by British author Adam Creed (SYKM), starring an inspector in London. #1-2 of the Jessica Blackwood series by US author Andrew Mayne (SYKM), starring an ex-illusionist turned FBI agent. There's a series-introductory freebie short story from his US publisher HarperCollins, if you think you might like to give it a try. An Expert in Murder, 1st in the Barry Award-finalist Josephine Tey author-as-detective series by Nicola Upson (SYKM) mentioned upthread by sufue, and what looks like the most-recently-released 6th novel, London Rain, is at the £1.99 mark. Rest of the series is £3.99 couponable. Three standalone titles (and a 4th at the £1.99 mark) by Scottish author Doug Johnstone (Wikipedia), set in Edinburgh. These appear to be literary psychological thrillers. Quiver & Trust Me by US author Peter Leonard (SYKM, Wikipedia), son of famous novelist Elmore Leonard. These are standalone thrillers which have a different and more expensive publisher in North America. #1-3 in the Henning Juul series by Norwegian author Thomas Enger (SYKM), starring a crime reporter for a 24-hour online news website in Oslo, are still on offer. Only #3 is available in Canada from Faber, so you'd have to travel for the rest. I mention this again because I recently finished reading and rather enjoyed them, even though I should warn that the plots sometimes seemed overcomplicated and they're written in present tense narration, which not everybody likes to read outside of experimental literary fiction, so YMMV. But there's a deadpan hilarious skewering of the news media industry in them, if you happen to like that sort of thing and think you might want to give them a try for this price (regularly $12-ish CAD from the different North American publisher). On sale in the UK-only though their books are mostly also available in North America from Orenda Books (couponable @ Kobo; an imprint specializing in contemporary Eurocrime and literary fiction, spinning off from Arcadia Books): The Defenseless by Finnish author Kati Hiekkapelto (SYKM), 2nd in her Anna Fekete series starring a Yugoslav-Hungarian-descended detective in North Finland. Orenda has also published #3 in translation (not listed on SYKM yet) and #1 is still available from Arcadia, who for some reason have pulled their catalogue from every store except for Amazon. Nightblind by Icelandic author Ragnar Jónasson (SYKM), who Yrsa Sigurðardóttir called a promising upcoming talent in an interview, translated by British author Quentin Bates (SYKM), who has an interesting blog article about translating the series here. This is chronologically/original publication the 5th in his Dark Iceland series starring a detective in a small fishing village, which apparently takes place over the course of several decades in the mid/late 20th century, but the 2nd to appear in translation. The 3rd-in-translation is the real 2nd book. But it seems they're considered to be readable in this altered order by the author/translator/publisher. The 1st-in-series, which has been on £0.99 sale before, is already a Barry Award finalist for Best Paperback. The Evolution of Fear by British author Paul E. Hardisty (SYKM, a New Blood Dagger Award finalist), 2nd crime thriller starring Claymore Straker, a South African engineer in Yemen. This was previously offered for $3 CAD in one of Kobo Canada's Summer Reading Event weekend sales, in case you travel. In Her Wake by Amanda Jennings, a standalone psychological thriller set in Cornwall, with the horrible family mystery unraveled by the protagonist. How To Be Brave by Louise Beech, a literary novel with psychological thriller/horror elements, if the Kobo categories aren't a misfiling, with a family unraveling some secrets having to do with an ancestor during WWII. Another Kobo Canada sale repeat. @ £1.99 in the UK from couponable publishers: The Hanging by Danish authors Lotte & Soren Hammer (SYKM), the 1st in their Konrad Simonsen series starring a detective inspector in Copenhagen, out from Bloomsbury in the UK. North American publisher Macmillan sometimes sporadically puts this on $2.99 sale, but their books are non-couponable and they don't seem to have released as many of the further books in the series. The Ice Beneath Her by Swedish author Camilla Grebe (SYKM), a standalone psychological thriller set in Stockholm, from Bonnier's Zaffre imprint. This appears to be a glitchy listing at Kobo, which shows £3.99 on search, but drops to £1.99 on the actual page, and checked out at that price (less discount couponage) in the cart when I tried it. Doesn't appear to be on sale at Amazon UK, which is still full price, and is a pre-order from a different publisher in North America.