FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

[ATDrake]

Bargain @ $1.99 from Soho Press, who have rotated their usually monthly offerings (couponable/VIP-discountable in Canada but not the US, should be the same price at all the other retailers in North America):

• The Thief by Japanese author Fuminori Nakamura (SYKM, Wikipedia). A literary noir crime thriller which won him the 2010 Kenzaburō Ōe Prize in its original Japanese. SYKM says this is the first in a set with a particular recurring character. At Kobo UK, this is priced at £1.99 from Little, Brown & Co.'s Corsair imprint.
• Getaway by Lisa Brackmann (SYKM), a vacation thriller where everything seems to go wrong for a newly-widowed woman who finds herself mixing up with the wrong crowd while trying to get away from it all. SYKM says this was also published as Day of the Dead under the variant credit of Lisa Brackman with one-N, and has a recently-written sequel.
• Converging Parallels by British author Timothy Williams (SYKM, Wikipedia), 1st in his Piero Trotti series starring a police commissioner in Northern Italy. SYKM says this was a finalist for the 1982 New Blood Dagger Award. This is £1.82 at Kobo UK, which seems a decent price (the sequels are £5.39 each); rights to most of Soho's series are owned by other imprints there.

They don't seem to have any tie-in sales for further works by the same authors this time around, but maybe they'll add some later.

[GA Russell]

Seven Hildegarde Withers titles for $1.99 each today only.

Four Lost Ladies
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CHW64N6

The Green Ace
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CHW64Z4

Murder on the Blackboard
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CHW661G

The Puzzle of the Blue Banderilla
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CHW67RE

The Red Stallion
https://www.amazon.com/Puzzle-Stalli...dp/B00CHW6832/

The Silver Persian
https://www.amazon.com/Puzzle-Persia...dp/B00CHW6882/

Makes the Scene
https://www.amazon.com/Hildegarde-Wi...dp/B00CHW65Z8/

*****

The Promise - Robert Crais - $1.99
https://www.amazon.com/Promise-Elvis...dp/B00K0U6MRU/

[Mort1997]

Free on Amazon UK - Countdown to Terror by David Holman

Spoiler:

A cold breaking dawn by the River Thames and a tugboat operator sees a man on the bank being beaten by two other men.

After going to him, the victim’s last words to him before dying are ‘the eagle will fall.’

In the dead man’s pocket is the name of Alex Swan, former MI5 officer, and now with the Ministry of Defence Services Investigations Department.

It’s 1969, and there is a race to the Moon.

Simon and Garfunkel are on the radio and in the bookshops are bestsellers by Len Deighton and Graham Greene. World War Two is long over, and Hitler long dead, but not for a group of loyal ex-Nazis known as the Onyx Cross.

Swan and his ex-detective colleague, Arthur Gable, learn that the dead man was a German-born scientist working on the Black Arrow satellite launch vehicle program at Highdown on the Isle of Wight.

Although they have no idea as to what his dying words could mean. The nature of the case has also resurfaced a dark secret that Swan has kept hidden away since the end of the war.

At Highdown following a test firing, the Deputy Chief Engineer Kevin Powell is found dead, boiled inside his protective suit under the rocket and Swan suspects that their deaths could be connected.

Meanwhile, Gunther Fleischer, a former Nazi known as Merlin, has had his Onyx Cross operatives sabotaging space programs from the inside.

As the war in Europe came to an end, Operation Falling Star was implemented by the German High Command. Scientists were to be killed, rather than have their knowledge fall into the hands of the US and her allies.

UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Countdown-T...ess+free+books

US
https://www.amazon.com/Countdown-Ter...ess+free+books

Au
https://www.amazon.com.au/Countdown-...ess+free+books

Can
https://www.amazon.ca/Countdown-Terr...ess+free+books

[Mort1997]

Free on Amazon UK - The Purple Rock (The Reverend P J. MacFarlane Series Book 1) by Angus MacVicar

Spoiler:

Reaching out to a stranger…

When Ronald Cooper receives a letter from a man he has never met, the Reverend Macfarlane, he has no idea what to expect.

Upon meeting the clergyman, Ronald discovers that he himself is the only heir to the Macdonell treasure – a hidden treasure worth forty-thousand pounds.

Not only does this mean riches, but also adventure, and Ronald’s heart leaps at the chance.

But then, disaster strikes, as Macfarlane’s beautiful niece Myra is captured by the evil Desmond of Oronach, with only one instruction: Do nothing, or Myra will die.

With the aid of Ronald’s best friend Davie and journalist Andy Watson, the four hatch a plot to save Myra.

And to find the treasure…

But with the stakes so high and the greedy Desmond willing to stop at nothing to get his hands on the gold, will Ronald be able to find his family’s fortune, and save the girl who he is slowly falling for?

UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Purple-Rock...ess+free+books

US
https://www.amazon.com/Purple-Rock-R...ess+free+books

Au
https://www.amazon.com.au/Purple-Roc...ess+free+books

Can
https://www.amazon.ca/Purple-Rock-Re...ess+free+books

[Mort1997]

Free on Amazon UK - An Afternoon to Kill by Shelley Smith

Spoiler:

Stranded in the middle of the desert...

Lancelot Jones was on his way to his first job — as tutor to an Indian Rajah’s son.

But the Rajah’s ancient plane and incompetent pilot decanted him in the middle of a desert.

The wrong desert at that.

There, seeking shade, he finds the only dwelling of any size within miles and its curious owner, an old Englishwoman called Alva Hine.

Taking him into her home, Alva begins to tell Lancelot Jones an incredible tale.

She told him a strange story of a summer fifty years ago, of love and hate and murder in a respectable middle-class Victorian household…

And as the afternoon wears on, Alva’s story begins to take on an increasingly sinister note for the weary Mr Jones.

Soon, he has more than one reason to want to hear the end of the story...

UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Afternoon-K...ess+free+books

US
https://www.amazon.com/Afternoon-Kil...ess+free+books

Au
https://www.amazon.com.au/Afternoon-...ess+free+books

Can
https://www.amazon.ca/Afternoon-Kill...ess+free+books

[Mort1997]

Free on Amazon UK - The Last Appeal by Bill Blum

Spoiler:

It’s a thin line between being a workaholic and obsessed…

For double-murder defendant Harold Ashbourne, it's his last chance at an appeal to save him from the death penalty.

After spending years with a death sentence hanging over his head, Ashbourne knows that his time could nearly be up.

For Peter Harrigan, his attorney, in a way this case is the last shot at putting his own life back together.

Five years earlier, while preparing Ashbourne's first appeal, Harrigan lost his entire family in a sudden car accident.

For Harrigan, it really isn’t just a case.

For Harrigan, after putting what little left he had into his work, losing the case would mean losing the final, fragile link to his past.

Now when a surprise witness surfaces, Harrigan is not sure whether this new development is a blessing or a curse.

His new witness is a master of deception who, at the same time, may hold the proof of Ashbourne's innocence.

In Harrigan’s desperation to find the truth and free his client, he will have to plunge into the treacherous corners of California's radical environmental movement.

In a final desperate race to lay his ghosts to rest, he will have to team up with a beautiful female investigator.

Under the glare of the courtroom, the pressure is mounting as Harrigan has to face his old demons in order to try and finally lay the case to rest, once and for all.

UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Appeal...ess+free+books

US
https://www.amazon.com/Last-Appeal-B...ess+free+books

Au
https://www.amazon.com.au/Last-Appea...ess+free+books

Can
https://www.amazon.ca/Last-Appeal-Bi...ess+free+books

[Mort1997]

Free on Amazon UK - Captives of Time by Malcolm Bosse

Spoiler:

Late 14th century Europe.

The lives of sixteen-year old Anne and her mute younger brother Niklas are shattered when they witness the senseless murder of their parents by a band of marauding soldiers.

Now alone, Anne and Niklas begin the perilous journey north in the hopes of finding their uncle Albrecht, a clockmaker – and their only chance for survival.

But medieval Europe is a violent place, and as they forge onwards, Anne and Niklas must beware of the dangers that lurk ahead…

Upon finding refuge with their uncle, Anne soon learns the art of clockmaking – and of her uncle’s revolutionary plans to invent a clock. But these plans soon attract the attention of rival forces who also seek to control the power of time.

With dangerous foes lurking on every corner, as well as the ever-present threat of the Plague, will Anne and Niklas ever find safety?

UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06WWKVH...ess+free+books

US
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06WWKVHH4...ess+free+books

Au
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B06WWKV...ess+free+books

Can
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B06WWKVHH4/...ess+free+books

[Mort1997]

Free on Amazon UK - Pigboats by Edward Ellsberg

Spoiler:

It’s 1914 and war has gripped the world…

Lieutenant Thomas Knowlton awakes after a night of heavy drinking with Hans Erhardt, a German P.O.W who has been interned at the neutral port of Manila.

Much to Knowlton’s dismay, he soon realises he’s missed his Submarine. It had left without him!

Baker an inexperienced sailor and friend of Knowlton’s, covers for his absence. However, without Knowlton to do his duty, the submarine sinks to the ocean floor, with all those on board perishing inside.

What is Knowlton to do? He’s has been presumed dead, as well as being the presumed cause of the tragedy for not doing his duty. If he’s found to still be alive he would certainly be court martialled and executed.

To make things worse, he sees Erhardt has stolen his uniform and is boarding a Dutch liner to make his way back to the war.

This was all Erhardt’s fault!

He now goes by the name of Tom Knowles and has been making a living as a hard-working, hard-drinking riveter in shipyards around the world.

He has been doing well for himself.

Soon, however, he hears about a German U-boat, U-38 that has been targeting and wreaking havoc among neutral American merchant vessels. This particular U-boat appears to be captained by none other than Hans Erhardt…

It can only be a matter of time before the U.S.A enters the theatre of war and Tom Knowles can enact his vengeance…

After a series of brave feats of ingenuity and horrific experiences at sea, he once again finds himself captaining a submarine and going head to head with the figurehead of his anger.

UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pigboats-Ed...ess+free+books

US
https://www.amazon.com/Pigboats-Edwa...ess+free+books

Au
https://www.amazon.com.au/Pigboats-E...ess+free+books

Can
https://www.amazon.ca/Pigboats-Edwar...ess+free+books

[Mort1997]

Free on Amazon UK - Prisoner at the Bar by Roderic Jeffries

Spoiler:

Robert Bladen is a young lawyer with a bright career ahead of him…

Bladen is madly in love with Katherine Curson. The problem is, she is already married to someone else…

Out of loyalty to her husband, Katherine always refuses any physical relationship.

Unable to deny their feelings for each other, they meet up and park in a secluded area.

On one such night, movement in the bushes causes Bladen to investigate.

Returning to his car, he declares nothing was there and forgets the incident.

The next morning, a body is found nearby.

Police are appealing for witnesses, or anyone that was in the area to come forward.

Bladen is bound by a sense of justice to notify them of his whereabouts, against the pleas of Katherine.

Keeping his companion anonymous, he advises the police that he was in the area that night.

Little does he know, this admission will spiral into a web of circumstantial evidence that will end not only his career, but his freedom.

Can Bladen refute any of the evidence? His footprints? His tyre tracks?

After believing in the justice system for so long, Bladen must find a way to cheat it in order to prove his innocence.

But will Katherine stand by him whilst he fights a legal system he has served for years?

Only one thing is certain. Bladen will keep fighting for the truth…

UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prisoner-at...ess+free+books

US
https://www.amazon.com/Prisoner-at-B...ess+free+books

Au
https://www.amazon.com.au/Prisoner-a...ess+free+books

Can
https://www.amazon.ca/Prisoner-at-Ba...ess+free+books

[Mort1997]

Free on Amazon UK - Gossip to the Grave by John Burke

Spoiler:

Murder in swinging London…

Jenny Clark is a gossip column writer at Chris Creevey on Fleet street who leads an exciting life within the social elite of London.

Mingling with celebrities and the wealthy upper class is all part and parcel in Jenny’s life of cocktail parties and chic events.

However, she’s having trouble getting back on top as she laments the loss of her ex-boyfriend, who has recently left her for another woman.

In an act of catharsis, Jenny invents the character of Simon Sherborne. He seems to be the ideal man; attends all the coolest parties, has all the right ideals, knows all the right people.

He’s perfect in every way, except that he isn’t real…or is he?

Simon soon becomes the talk of the town and everyone who’s anyone is looking to meet him. How long can Jenny keep up this façade?

Luke Henshaw, an annoying, alcoholic colleague of Jenny’s seems to know that Simon is made up. However, when a mysterious man claiming to be Simon Sherborne turns up at a party, Jenny is speechless.

Who is man?

What does he want?

How can he possibly be Simon Sherborne? A man she knows to be made up.

She must find out who he really; what his agenda is and why he is so eager to get to know the rich and famous.

Things are made all the more confusing when Luke Henshaw, the only person who seemed aware of the fictitious nature of Simon, is found dead in his hotel room, with violent head trauma…

UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gossip-Grav...ess+free+books

US
https://www.amazon.com/Gossip-Grave-...ess+free+books

Au
https://www.amazon.com.au/Gossip-Gra...ess+free+books

Can
https://www.amazon.ca/Gossip-Grave-J...ess+free+books

[HarryT]

Thank you, Mort. Looks like some good books in that lot!

[sufue]

The Girl in the Window is, per the blurb, the 4th in the Inspector Samuel Tay series by Jake Needham. (SYKM lists it as the 4th in the Jack Shepherd series, but the cover references the Tay series, as does the beginning of the book in the sample preview, so I'm going with the blurb this time...)

It has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle US.

link: https://www.amazon.com/GIRL-WINDOW-I...dp/B01HIPVMJM/

Spoiler:

**BARRY AWARD NOMINEE -- BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL OF 2016**

“Jake Needham is a man who knows Asia like the back of his hand.” –The Malaysian Star

Singapore is a good house in a bad neighborhood. Three hundred million Muslims live in Indonesia and Malaysia completely surrounding the barely five million people living in the secular city-state. Islamic terrorism in Asia may not get much attention in America or Europe, but it gets plenty in Singapore.

They’ve been hit once already. Not long ago, coordinated truck bombs laid waste to three American hotels in Singapore. Thousands were killed and injured. And everyone knows it’s just a matter of time before Singapore gets hit again.

Abu Suparman is the messianic leader of a radical group of Indonesian Muslims fighting for ISIS in Southeast Asia. Most people think Suparman was personally responsible for the Singapore hotel bombings. When Singapore receives a tip that Suparman is slipping into the country to meet a sister having cancer surgery, Inspector Samuel Tay gets the job of finding him before something nasty happens.

It seems at first to be a straightforward assignment. Tay is given two officers to work with him: his own sergeant, Robbie Kang, and Sergeant Linda Lee, a capable officer with whom Tay once had a disastrous and blessedly brief personal relationship. All they have to do is keep the sister under surveillance until she leads them to Suparman, right?

But things go bad. Really bad.

The surveillance turns into a shambles, people die, and Suparman vanishes. Tay’s only clue to what really happened that rainy night on Serangoon Road where everything went down is a girl he briefly glimpsed watching it all from a building next door.

Tay’s quest for the girl in the window takes him on a terrifying journey into a no man’s land where there are secrets so big governments will kill to protect them. With the help of John August, a shadowy American with murky connections, Tay battles governments determined to bury the truth in order to unmask the politicians using their power and position to hide their own crimes.

Tay knows exactly how to do that.

If he can just stay alive long enough.

[sufue]

The Angel of Knowlton Park is the second in the Joe Burgess series by Kate Flora (better known, perhaps, for her Thea Kozak series). It has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle US.

link: https://www.amazon.com/Angel-Knowlto...dp/B00KLTLMIY/

Spoiler:

Portland, Maine, homicide detective Joe Burgess needs a vacation. But there's a dead child in Knowlton Park.

Rolling up on the scene with a canoe on the roof and fishing poles flapping, Burgess finds little Timmy Watts, viciously stabbed, and carefully wrapped in a new blue blanket.

Timmy's parents are life-long crooks, his brothers deal drugs and his sister turns tricks. The only one who seems to care is Timmy's hearing-impaired sister, Iris. But she's keeping her secrets.

Then Iris disappears, and Burgess is battling against time to keep more children from dying.

[Byrdie]

Thanks, nabbed a few good ones by the looks of it.

[badgoodDeb]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Thank you, Mort. Looks like some good books in that lot!

Wow -- you've been working hard for us! Agreed -- I picked up a handful of them.