FREE/BARGAIN - Mystery, Suspense, Thriller - 2016

[sufue]

Originally Posted by maddz

I did, but the paper copies are going to get stashed in the attic... Some are signed.

I've never heard of Priscilla Royale, but the last book I purchased on a Kindle deal written by an unknown author was dire enough for me to not want to repeat the experience. If I'm reading historical fiction, I don't want modern character types in costume which is what it read like.

I had a few of the Lindsey Davis from previous sales/deals, but this lets me fill in a bunch of titles, and none of my DTB are signed, so off to the friends-of-the-library sale they will go....woo-hoo!

I have read a few of the Priscilla Royal, and I thought they were okay, but not better, and I pretty much quit reading this series, since my TBR list is already plenty long. However, IMS, some other folks in MR have been more enthusiastic about her books - hopefully some of them can weigh in.

[Terisa de morgan]

Originally Posted by maddz

If I'm reading historical fiction, I don't want modern character types in costume which is what it read like.

You can go to the romance thread, you'll read the same complain about mistoricals

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by sufue

I have read a few of the Priscilla Royale, and I thought they were okay, but not better, and I pretty much quit reading this series

Thanks! It sounds like I can safely ignore them. It's not as if I'm short of historical mysteries to read.

[sufue]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Thanks! It sounds like I can safely ignore them. It's not as if I'm short of historical mysteries to read.

In all fairness, I should however also note that, per SYKM, both the second (Tyrant of the Mind) and the tenth book (Covenant with Hell) in Royal's series were finalists for the Left Coast Crime Bruce Alexander Award. And further, Sharon Kay Penman, whose too-short four-book Justin de Quincy series I adore, and whose history-filled Facebook page I check out from time to time, seems to have some esteem for Royal's books.

So the series may have changed - my reaction is based on just the first couple of books...

(And drifting a bit from this immediate discussion, but I have to do it anyway, Sharon has recently hinted on Facebook that another JdQ book might be coming in the future. Double or triple )

[sufue]

Also wanted to mention that Amazon UK is having a "32 Authors You Need to Know About" sale:

Discover a new favourite author from our list of debut and best-selling writers who you're sure to love. Get started with one of their titles from 99p until 31 March, 2016.

My first quick glance was that the "Crime, Thriller, and Mystery" part of this sale leans more thriller-ish than mystery-ish, which runs counter to my typical taste, but still some interesting authors/titles.

There are way too many books to list them all, but the authors are:

• Alexandra Sokoloff
• Andy McNab
• Ann Cleeves
• Blake Crouch
• Henning Mankell
• James Sallis
• Kathy Reichs
• Kerry Wilkinson
• Mary Kubica
• Robert Thorogood
• Louise Voss
• Simon Wood
• Tim Lebbon
• A.J. Quinnell
• Sharon Bolton

And a link to the sale page is: http://www.amazon.co.uk/b/ref=kc-30-hen?node=8517542031

As you might expect, prices for the better known authors (e.g. Reichs) are more than 99p, and fewer titles at low prices, but still mostly a pretty good and extensive selection.

[KyBunnies]

FREE - Marriage Can Be Murder by Susan Santangelo

Mass-market paperback but I cannot find the original publisher.

Spoiler:

Chosen as one of 2012's Best Mysteries by Suspense magazine, Marriage Can Be Murder -- Every Wife Has A Story -- is a Baby Boomer Mystery by the author of Retirement Can Be Murder and Moving Can Be Murder. Empty-nester Carol Andrews is thrilled when daughter Jenny announces her engagement. She's dreamed of planning her daughter's wedding since the day Jenny was born. But with only two months to pull together a destination wedding on Nantucket, Jenny insists on hiring Cinderella Weddings to organize the event. Father-of-the-bride Jim objects to the cost, and Carol objects to having her opinion ignored. When Carol finds the wedding planner dead at the bottom of a creepy staircase at a Nantucket inn, and the cheating husband of Carol's BFF Nancy is accused of her death, Carol has more to worry about than getting to the church on time!

[maddz]

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

You can go to the romance thread, you'll read the same complain about mistoricals

I can well believe it. I've read some historical romances written by an author I otherwise like and couldn't believe the fantasy and science fiction were written by the same person. Mind you, I suspect the editorial process for historical romances has something to do with it; I've noticed the same tendency with some of her crime fiction although they're much more readable.

[Lynx-lynx]

Originally Posted by maddz

The first 10 of Linsey Davis' Falco series are available in today's Kindle Daily Deal at 99p each...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/b/ref=sv_kinc_4?ie=UTF8&node=5400977031

Thanks for alerting us maddz.

Also .99 GBP at Kobo UK. (Not further discountable as far as I can tell)

I've not read Lindsey before, so I've bought some.

[sufue]

Holy Vengeance is the eighth in Maureen Ash's Bascot de Marins historical mystery series. I've quite enjoyed earlier titles in this series. De Marins is a Templar, but this is not a thrlller-conspiracy-theory type series, it's a more traditional historical mystery series.

It dropped to $0.99 at Kindle US about a month ago, no idea why or for how long. The rest of the titles in the series are $4.99 and up.

link: http://www.amazon.com/Holy-Vengeance...dp/B00O9A4BMU/

Spoiler:

In the newest Templar Knight Mystery, Bascot de Marins is called to investigate when a young woman is killed and villagers suspect evil forces are to blame.

When a young woman is found murdered at a local shrine with a black adder near her corpse, the superstitious villagers begin to panic. Is this the work of the devil? Is Satan stalking Lincoln’s religious sanctuaries? As parishioners start to avoid the churches in droves, Templar Bascot de Marins is summoned to Lincoln Castle to quell the hysteria and find the very human killer..

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by HarryT

That's what my email said too, but when I clicked the link to the deal page on the website it showed those three AND the 18 Michael Connelly books. The email isn't always complete; it's worth looking at the actual site every day (via the link in the email) and seeing if there are any additional books.

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

The formula tends to be "including"

Thanks, I quite often click the link just to see the books, but I must have either not bothered that day, or just simply not noticed there were more books available.

The "including" bit is always there, so its no indication of there being more than the books listed in the email available.

For example, today's says "Browse today's Kindle Daily Deals from 99p including Blood Reckoning by Danielle Ramsay, My Secret Garden by Nancy Friday and Wicked Game by Matt Johnson". Its only those three books that are in the sale today.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by soulfuldog

For example, today's says "Browse today's Kindle Daily Deals from 99p including Blood Reckoning by Danielle Ramsay, My Secret Garden by Nancy Friday and Wicked Game by Matt Johnson". Its only those three books that are in the sale today.

Yesterday, though, there were 20+ books, so you never can tell unless you look.

[sufue]

The Body in the Birches is the 22nd in the Faith Fairchild series by Katherine Hall Page. It has recently dropped to $1.99 at Amazon US, not quite sure why or for how long.

Strangely enough, this is the most recent title - unusual for the recent ones to go on sale. A new one in the series is due out soon though, so maybe that's the reason. In any case, I'm hoping this means HarperCollins will cycle through putting these on sale - although I hope I didn't miss the 21st, since the 20th (last month, sadly now back up to $6.99) was the last one I saw on sale.

Anyway, here is info:

link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MTS3MEW

Spoiler:

At home on Sanpere Island, Maine, caterer and amateur sleuth Faith Fairchild discovers that real estate can be murder, especially when it’s all in the family, in this twenty-third book in the popular mystery series.

The Fourth of July is one of the hottest on record and even the breeze off Penobscot Bay can’t seem to cool things down for Faith Fairchild and the rest of the folks on Sanpere Island. But the fireworks are just beginning. After the celebrations are over, Faith discovers a body in the woods near The Birches, an early twentieth-century “cottage.”

The body is identified as The Birches’ housekeeper, who seems to have succumbed to a heart attack. The death is only one of the dramatic events upending the historic house. A family gathering has been called to decide who will inherit the much loved, and very valuable, estate that has been in the Proctor family for generations. With this much money involved, it’s just a matter of time before trouble arises.

Faith is juggling her own family problems. Her teenage son, Ben, has started a new job as a dishwasher at The Laughing Gull Lodge—learning things that could land him in very hot water. And her daughter Amy is worried about her new friend, Daisy Proctor. Daisy is terrified—convinced that someone is trying to eliminate her mother from getting a share of The Birches. To protect her children, Faith has to find a possible murderer—before he strikes too close to her own home.

Originally Posted by sufue

The Body in the Boudoir is the 20th in the Faith Fairchild series (although it's a prequel) by Katherine Hall Page. It has recently dropped to $1.99 at Amazon US, again, not quite sure why or for how long.

link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006FOHNK0

[Little.Egret]

Endeavour Books

Sherlock Holmes and the Boulevard Assassin by John Hall

What starts as a series of polite and ordinary questions quickly transforms into a nightmare when the doorman of Banque de France, Auguste Vauban, discloses too much information concerning the security measures of the building to an average customer.

The bank is robbed by this mysterious stranger and his team led by the formidable James Moriarty.

Holmes and Watson are summoned at once to catch the criminal but a more serious event changes their course - the president of France has been assassinated!

John Hall is also the author of `Sherlock Holmes at the Raffles Hotel' and `Sherlock Holmes and the Hammerford Will'.


A Little Learning by J M Gregson

One weekend in November, two students at the University of East Lancashire are at a loose end.
After having one drink too many, the idea of committing the Perfect Crime comes up in casual conversation.
But the idea is already fully-formed in the mind of one of them, Paul Barnes.
`Claptrap' Carter, the director of the university, is a pompous fool.
Who better to be the victim of a crime that can never be unravelled?
But as Paul and his friend Gary stage a break-in into Claptrap's mansion, they don't realise that his dead body is already waiting for them.
Detective Inspector Percy Peach takes the lead on the investigation but with an endless list of suspects, can he find the murderer amongst them?

James Michael Gregson's other crime novels include `Making a Killing', `Stranglehold' and `Body Politic'.

See all

http://www.amazon.com/s/?url=search-...sher=endeavour

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?url=searc...sher=endeavour
http://www.amazon.ca/s/?url=search-a...sher=endeavour

[sufue]

There are a few previously traditionally published mystery authors who sell their backlist through Smashwords. Per this post, Smashwords is having its "Read an Ebook Week" sale, with discounts from 25% to 100%.

One nice thing is that Smashwords is DRM-free and you can download multiple formats with a single purchase. And one other nice thing is that they list the coupon code you need to get the discount right in the webpage for each book - although not in the author webpage, so you have to click through to each book to see how much (if any) discount is offered.

Most of these authors/titles cycle through various sales pretty often, but if you are following one or more of these, you may be able to fill in some missing titles.

Gillian Roberts has many titles, including most or all of her Amanda Pepper series, on sale for 25% - 50% off. There are some bundles that offer pretty good prices if you need all the titles in the bundle.
link: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/gillianroberts

Sarah Shankman has several books, including a few titles in her Samantha Adams series, available mostly at 50% off.
link: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/sarahshankman

Stephen Humphrey Bogart has both titles in his R.J. Brooks series at 50% off, and also a reasonably well reviewed (4 stars on Amazon) biography of his father (Humprey Bogart, of course ) at 50% off.
link: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/v...humphreybogart

MK Wren has most or all of the titles in her Conan Flagg series at 25%, including some bundles.
link: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/mkwren

Marilyn Todd has all (AFAIK) of the titles in her Claudia Seferius and High Priestess Iliona series on sale at 25% off, except for the first in each series, which are already priced lower than the rest.
link: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/marilyntodd

Dorien Grey has several of the titles in the Dick Hardesty series on sale at 25% off.
link: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/doriengrey3

Kaye George does not have the Imogene Duckworthy series on sale, but does have a non-series title (possibly the first in a new series), Death in the Time of Ice, on sale at 50% off. Per the blurb, Death in the Time of Ice was nominated for Best Historical Mystery in the 2014 Agatha Awards.
link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/549952

[skinmaan]

Originally Posted by sufue

There are a few previously traditionally published mystery authors who sell their backlist through Smashwords. Per this post, Smashwords is having its "Read an Ebook Week" sale, with discounts from 25% to 100%.

You did an impressive bit of sleuthing in your own right to come up with that kind of list. Well done!