FREE / BARGAIN - Cozy Mystery - Nov 2014

[Terisa de morgan]

We point out free and bargain cozy mysteries to each other, and recommend certain books that are/were free (or the opposite!).

Because Kindle freebies are easiest to find, the majority of the books listed are from Amazon, but freebies and bargains from other retailers and in other formats are more than welcome!

In case no retailer is specifically mentioned in a post, it is safe to assume it's for Amazon US.

Be aware that many freebies are only free for a day, so grab them fast!

NOTE:

Cozy mysteries, also referred to simply as "cozies," are a subgenre of crime fiction in which sex and violence are downplayed or treated humorously, and the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate community.

Cozies virtually never dwell on sexuality or violence, or employ any but the mildest profanity.

Avoidance of explicit sex and violence, emphasis on puzzle-solving over suspense, a small-town setting, and a focus on a hobby or occupation are all frequent elements of cozy mysteries. The precise boundaries of the sub-genre remain vague, however, with the work of authors such as Aaron Elkins and Philip R. Craig considered borderline cases.

[Terisa de morgan]

The Christmas Carol Murders by Christopher Lord (Free at Amazon US)

It's the holiday season in Dickens Junction, Oregon. Local bookstore owner Simon Alastair is getting ready for the community's annual celebration of Charles Dickens's well-known story. But when a mysterious stranger shows up in the Junction and is murdered hours later, Simon begins to suspect that his little community has been targeted for destruction by a shadowy organization. With the support of Zach, a dashing young magazine reporter, Simon decides to investigate the crime himself. When a second murder follows, Simon must confront the worst questions of all: which of his friends and business associates is a ruthless murderer? And why is everyone suddenly reading Ayn Rand?

[Froide]

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

We point out free and bargain cozy mysteries to each other, and recommend certain books that are/were free (or the opposite!).

Because Kindle freebies are easiest to find, the majority of the books listed are from Amazon, but freebies and bargains from other retailers and in other formats are more than welcome!

In case no retailer is specifically mentioned in a post, it is safe to assume it's for Amazon US.

Be aware that many freebies are only free for a day, so grab them fast!

NOTE:

Source = Wikipedia: Cozy mystery

[ATDrake]

Some bargains from Kensington on cozy-looking mysteries from 99 cents and up (some may be series tie-in novella-length, prices should be good for the standard Canada & US stores at least, couponable @ Kobo so that's where the linkage goes, and they've been on sale for a while, so you could probably wait for the next contest, usual disclaimers apply):

99 cents:

• Scrappy Summer by Mollie Cox Bryan, 4th in her Cumberland Creek series involving crafting & crops (and presumably recipes)

$1.99:

• Scrappily Ever After by Mollie Cox Bryan, a pre-order slated for 2015, presumably in the same series as above
• Dial C for Chihuahua by Waverly Curtis, 1st in their Barking Detective series centred around an amateur sleuth who believes her new pet can speak to her (I think). This was a previous official publisher promo freebie, IIRC.
• A Chihuahua in Every Stocking by Waverley Curtis, 4th in the series as the obligatory festive installment
• Mistletoe Murder by Leslie Meier, doesn't list a series, but the amateur sleuth is named Lucy Stone and seems to be a homemaker who's taken a temp job at a mail order company.
• Antiques Fruitcake by Barbara Allan, 8th in her Trash 'n' Treasures series starring an antiques dealer. We've previously received several volumes of the series as official publisher promo freebies freebies over the years, and another Xmas tie-in novella is still currently free for those of you who haven't picked it up already: Antiques Slay Ride

Also @ $1.99 and of potential interest to cozy recipe fans:

• Joanne Fluke's Lake Eden Cookbook by Joanne Fluke, a collection of all the recipes from the author's popular Hannah Swenson bakery cozy series, as well as some brand-new ones.

$2.99 to $3.49, which I'm taking as the cut-off limit for bargains since cozies generally seem to be fairly low cost (and I started running into mostly romance and suspense thriller-looking covers at this point):

• Jingle Bell Bark by Laurien Berenson, 11th in her Melanie Travis series starring a woman who has does dog show competitions, as far as I can tell, @ $2.99
• The Big Chihuahua by Waverley Curtis, 4th in their Barking Detective series @ $3.49

Happy reading, if there's anything in there that looked interesting enough for you to get.

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

• A Chihuahua in Every Stocking by Waverley Curtis, 4th in the series as the obligatory festive installment
• Antiques Fruitcake by Barbara Allan, 8th in her Trash 'n' Treasures series starring an antiques dealer. We've previously received several volumes of the series as official publisher promo freebies freebies over the years, and another Xmas tie-in novella is still currently free for those of you who haven't picked it up already: Antiques Slay Ride

This two ones are novellas (FYI, as I have them )

[Terisa de morgan]

A Zen For Murder by Leighan Dobbs (Mooseamuck Island Cozy Mystery #1) 0,99$ at Amazon, B&N and Kobo

Tourist season is about to start, and murder is the last thing on the minds of the locals in Mooseamuck Island, Maine ... but that's about to change.

When local psychic Zoila Rivers is found dead at the zen garden, retired police consultants Dominic Benedetti and Claire Watkins are forced to team up to catch the killer. Too bad Claire and Dom don't always see eye to eye.

But with an island full of locals who all have secrets, Claire and Dom have to put aside their differences in order to solve the case before the police arrest the wrong person and a killer goes free.

Will Claire and Dom figure out whose secret was worth killing for in time to stop the killer from claiming another victim?

[Terisa de morgan]

The Thin Woman by Dorothy Cannell 0,99$ at Amazon US

Terrified by the prospect of a weekend with her snobby relatives, overweight Ellie Simons decides to distract attention from her personal and professional failings by arriving with an adoring boyfriend in tow. Unfortunately, no such person exists. Enter Bentley T. Haskell, a devilishly handsome escort who willingly agrees to play the part—for a fat fee. But Ellie and Bentley get far more than a miserable visit with relatives when a weekend with Ellie’s eccentric family suddenly turns very, very deadly.

[Kiya]

Prosecco Pink by Traci Andrighetti, second book in her Franki Amato Mysteries is 0.99$ at Kobo and Amazon

Spoiler:

For Franki Amato, life in New Orleans is anything but “The Big Easy.” When she met handsome bank executive Bradley Hartmann, she knew she’d finally found a man she could trust. But she can’t say the same for his sexy new secretary, who is about as trustworthy as Mata Hari and every bit as seductive. Meanwhile, Franki’s best friend and employer, Veronica Maggio, has named her the lead investigator in the murder of a gorgeous cosmetics CEO who was found lying dead in the master bedroom of a historic plantation home.

Now the pressure is on Franki to figure out what a bottle of pink lip gloss and the legend of a pink diamond have to do with the bizarre killing. The problem is that the plantation is notorious for being haunted, and Franki is less than enthusiastic about the prospect of meeting a ghost. Adding to her stress, her Sicilian grandma is up to her usual meddling antics—this time planning Franki’s engagement to Bradley before he’s even considered popping the question. As Bradley grows distant and plantation employees begin dropping like Southern belles during a sweltering summer, Franki turns to a psychic with a phobia of ghosts to solve the mysterious murders and her own relationship fears.

[Terisa de morgan]

Where's Audrey? by A.L. Jambor (Free at Amazon US)

From the author of A Christmas Mystery comes a cozy, holiday-themed mystery set in Florida.

This is Mel’s first vacation in 3 years. She is looking forward to lying on Clearwater Beach and spending Christmas with her friend, Lisa, but first she has to check on her Aunt Audrey. After landing in Tampa, Mel drives to Largo and knocks on Audrey’s door. A young man answers and his vague answers regarding Audrey’s whereabouts set Mel on a quest to find out just what happened to her absent aunt. She files a missing persons report and a handsome young deputy named Conner offers to help her. As they follow the clues - a curious canine, a nosy neighbor, and a couple of con artists – Mel finds herself falling for Conner. His feelings are mutual and he risks his job to help Mel solve the mystery surrounding Audrey’s disappearance.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

The Christmas Carol Murders by Christopher Lord (Free at Amazon US)

Still free at Amazon as of this morning. Don't know how long it will continue to stay that way.

[ATDrake]

Free from the author('s republishing consortium) via KDP Select @ Amazon:

Free Draw by Shelley Singer (SYKM), 2nd in her Jake Samson & Rosie Vicente series set in California, starring the eponymous Jewish ex-cop and lesbian carpenter (not the same person, mind you), which the author calls a cozy right in the blurb and this time around I didn't actually see a 1-star customer review proclaiming NOT A COZY MYSTERY! and complaining about bad language "sleaze and sewer" inside, though of course YMMV upon reading it, this installment originally out from St. Martin's Press in 1984. We've previously received the 1st-in-series free a couple of months ago, in case you wanted to start with the start of it.

The SECOND laid-back, cozy mystery in the Jake Samson and Rosie Vicente detective series.

A Nice Jewish Boy, His Lesbian BFF, and MURDER MOST MARIN...

Unafraid, unlicensed, and, in this case, unpaid, unofficial Bay Area P.I. Jake Samson and his carpenter sidekick Rosie set out to clear a friend of a murder charge. The victim is found stabbed to death in a damp redwood canyon in woodsy, wealthy Marin County, outside San Francisco. It's up to Jake and Rosie to find the real killer, and they've got a number of suspects: the victim's fellow executives at a questionable correspondence school, his divided and bitter family, and his quirky Marin County neighbors--a truly odd assortment of California woods dwellers.

But the real treats here are Singer's dry humor and her characters: Jake, a nice Jewish boy with a rebellious--and very witty--streak; and Rosie, an irresistible twist on the sassy gay friend. Readers will love their easy, breezy relationship, and wish they had a friend like either one of them.

[ATDrake]

Free from the author('s republishing consortium) via KDP Select @ Amazon:

Suicide King by Shelley Singer (SYKM), 5th in her Jake Samson & Rosie Vicente series which she calls a cozy right in the blurb, though of course YMMV, originally out from St. Martin's Press in 1988.

Suicide King is the FIFTH cozy mystery in the Jake Samson and Rosie Vicente detective series.

Laid-back P.I. Jake Samson's never been a big fan of politics: fun and profitable if you understand the game, futile and frustrating if you don't. But his longtime friend and (unlicensed) sidekick Rosie Vicente invites him to a posh California fundraiser for the energetic gubernatorial candidate of the liberal underdog Vivo party. Hearing that Joe Richmond’s charisma rivals JFK's, Jake can't resist. And what's worse, Jake's actually impressed by Richmond's rhetoric and charm. It's all fun and political games until Pam Sutherland, Richmond's aide, finds her boss in her backyard, hanging naked from an acacia tree.

The police rule the death a suicide; Jake and Pam suspect foul play. Pam quickly hires Jake to find the culprit, leading him through an intriguing web of campaign shenanigans, backroom wheeling and dealing, affairs, a possible German mafia connection, and a fair amount more danger than our hero could possibly have imagined.

[ATDrake]

Free from the author('s republishing consortium) via KDP Select @ Amazon:

Royal Flush by Shelley Singer (SYKM), 6th in her Jake Samson & Rosie Vicente series, which for once she doesn't call a cozy in the blurb, but it's still listed there in the Amazon categories. YMMV, of course. Originally out from Perseverance Press/John Daniel in 1998.

Laid-back, unlicensed PI Jake Samson is understandably nervous about infiltrating a local Marin County neo-Nazi group called the Aryan Command. After all, he is Jewish. But when the doe-eyed teenage goddaughter of his oldest friend begs him to help her boyfriend--harebrained, reformed skinhead Royal Subic--Jake finds he can't "just say no." Turns out Royal, who's too terrified to defect, is not only disenchanted with his recent brush with right-wing extremism (which includes a regrettable tattoo), he's afraid for his life--and he has the murder of a Command member-turned-defector to point to for proof. But as Jake investigates exactly what the kid's gotten himself into, a complex conspiracy begins to unfold, including a plan to assassinate an outspoken talk-show host, a complicated web of local police and governmental infiltrators (some of them dirty themselves), and a possible international connection.

Jake turns to longtime friend, former tenant, and current boss Rosie Vicente (much has changed since their last outing), and the two embark on an adventure full of loathsome racists, menacing wannabes, and dangerous megalomaniacs amidst the Bay area's brooding biker bar scene.

[Terisa de morgan]

Murder on the Candlelight Tour by Ellen Elizabeth Hunter (Magnolia Mystery Wilmington #2) Free at Amazon US

It's a dream come true for historic preservationist Ashley Wilkes: her restored Victorian house is on the Olde Wilmington by Candlelight tour. But her dream quickly turns nightmarish when a docent is murdered in the library, and her friend, history professor Binkie Higgins, is the likely suspect. As the bodies drop faster than dead needles off a dry Christmas tree, Ashley's as busy as Santa's elves: proving Binkie's innocence, rescuing sister Melanie and a historic property from a ruthless developer. And, la-di-da, solving the Atlantic Coast Line's 40 year old payroll robbery.

[kg3]

FREE @ Amazon:

Loose Ends (A Mary O'Reilly Paranormal Mystery Book 1) - Terri Reid

Amazon US----Amazon UK

--->I Also posted this in the Romance Thread, where it was originally mentioned.

Originally Posted by Atunah

I just finished a first book in a series which I thought was really good. Its not technically romance as the main characters don't have a HEA or anything like that, yet. I think though just based on how its written, that is how its going towards. Lots of chemistry already between them But mostly is a paranormal mystery with ghosts. It has just enough quirkiness and humor to tickle my catnips. .
So its an ongoing series with the same characters, but a resolved main case at the end.
Loose Ends -Terri Reid
99 cents
http://www.amazon.com/Loose-Ends-ORe.../dp/B003Y5H8IK

I came across it while looking for stuff in Kindle unlimited and found that there are 13 parts, but for some reason this first one is not in it, its 99 cents. The rest of the series though are in KU and I'll be reading the next one soon on my trial.