FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

[sufue]

Like the JA Jance box set/omnibus above, P. D. James’s Cordelia Gray Mysteries: An Unsuitable Job for a Woman and The Skull Beneath the Skin is pretty much what it says it it - an omnibus of both titles in the rather short series. Also like the Jance set, it has stair-stepped its way down to $6.99 at Kindle and Kobo US, which is a bit pricey IMO at $3.50 each for really old backlist, but tolerable if you need both titles. And the titles are $11.99 and $9.99 individually right now, so this is quite a savings over those truly outrageous prices for backlist.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Jamess-Cordel...dp/B00SDPK9SC/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/p-d...gray-mysteries

Spoiler:

Private investigator Cordelia Gray inherits the Pryde Detective Agency in London and solves mysteries after her boss’s suicide in this compelling ebook collection that includes An Unsuitable Job for a Woman and The Skull Beneath the Skin.

[sufue]

Well, the gods somewhere were listening, because the sixth title, Fields Where They Lay, has now also dropped to $1.99.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Fields-Where-...dp/B01BAZQNLI/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/fields-where-they-lay

Spoiler:

It’s three days until Christmas and Junior Bender, Hollywood’s fasttalking fixer for the felonious, is up to his ears in shopping mall Santas, Russian mobsters, desperate holiday shoppers, and (’tis the season) murder.

The halls are decked, the deck is stacked, and here comes that jolly old elf. Junior Bender, divorced father of one and burglar extraordinaire, finds himself stuck inside the Edgerton Mall, and not just as a last-minute shopper (though he is that too). Edgerton isn’t exactly the epicenter of holiday cheer, despite its two Santas, canned Christmas music, chintzy bows, and festive lights. The mall is a fossil of an industry in decline; many of its stores are closed, and to make matters worse, there is a rampant shoplifting problem.

The murderous Russian mobster who owns the place has decided it takes a thief to catch a thief and hires Junior—under threat—to solve the shoplifting problem for him. But Junior’s surveillance operation doesn’t go well: as Christmas Eve approaches, two people are dead and it’s obvious that shoplifting is the least of the mall’s problems. To prevent further deaths, possibly including his own, Junior must confront his dread of Christmas—both present and past.

Originally Posted by sufue

The first five titles in Timothy Hallinan's Junior Bender series have dropped to $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US. (Unfortunately, the sixth and most recent title is still sitting at an absurd $14.99...)

Titles are:

• Crashed
• Little Elvises
• The Fame Thief
• Herbie’s Game
• King Maybe

Links for all five:

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/search/?se...price-asc-rank
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?Qu...cmaxprice=2.00

[sufue]

Unseemly End is the sixth in the Inspector Alvarez by Roderic Jeffries. It is a US Kindle Countdown deal at $0.99 for about 6 more days. I'm glad to see that Endeavour Press seems to have picked up the early Inspector Alvarez titles - I've been wanting to try that series for a while, and Endeavour usually rotates titles through Countdown, and also they're usually available through KU.

Unfortunately (if I like the series) rights to later titles seem to be with Macmillan and/or Severn House and priced at $8.99 and up - absurd for backlist.

link: https://www.amazon.com/Unseemly-Insp...dp/B06Y1L3F7C/

Spoiler:

Dolly Lund – widow of a scrap metal merchant and thrower of flauntingly vulgar parties – may be one of the wealthiest women on Mallorca. But she certainly isn’t the most popular…

When Dolly unexpectedly dies after a night of overindulgence at one of her extravaganzas, few on the island shed a tear.

Her young lover Mark Erington inherits virtually everything and that’s the end of that.

Or it would it have been, if the doctor hadn’t suggested that Señora Lund may not have died naturally, suddenly piling a murder case on Inspector Alvarez’s desk.

The principal beneficiary becomes the number one suspect.

Only he happened to have been in England on the night of her party, and has an alibi to prove it.

As the summer heat begins to sap all remaining dregs of energy from the island, Alvarez’s efforts to trace Erington’s movements seem nothing but a waste of time.

Like speculating why Dolly had a left a battered cigarette case to a young man she hardly knew.

And why her Spanish gardener had it in for her.

Or why her daughter’s pleas for financial help had been ignored.

Weaving between locals and holidaymakers alike, the inspector finds plenty to interest him in the questionable lives and habits of the English colony on Mallorca.

But with another body thrown into the mix, unearthing island gossip is not enough. Will he unearth the island murderer?

Unseemly End is an engrossing thriller filled with mystery and suspense.

[sufue]

Constable Under the Gooseberry Bush is the 22nd in the Constable Nick series by Nicholas Rhea. It is a US Kindle Countdown deal at $0.99 for about six more days.

link: https://www.amazon.com/Constable-Und...dp/B06Y1FPNSZ/

Spoiler:

Constable Nick Rhea is the local policeman of the idyllic village of Aidensfield…

Dealing with small disputes between neighbours is his daily life.

But during the run up to the village Gooseberry growing contest, how far will his neighbours go to ensure they win?

Can he keep their tempers in check whilst thwarting any vandalism attempts?

The president of the Old Gooseberry Society retires, which is soon followed by some dramatic weight loss.

Leaving speculation as to his reasons for his retirement from the position.

Putting aside their competitive nature, the village groups together to raise fund to send him on a pilgrimage to Lourdes for a miracle cure.

However, everyone still has their sights set on winning the Supreme Championship.

Throughout all of this drama, someone is stealing some very expensive bikes.

Specially made and built for racing. These are not your average bicycles…

The thefts are seemingly random, and appear to spread throughout the entire northeast regions.

Can Rhea decipher the pattern to these crimes?

Are they all random, or is it the work of a very meticulous thief?

When the bike belonging to the new sergeant is stolen, Rhea is determined to put an end to it.

Calling in reinforcement from nearby constabularies, his plan is put into place.

But will this unseen criminal take the bait?

Constable Under the Gooseberry Bush is a captivating novel, written by a true master of this genre.

[Mort1997]

Free on Amazon UK - Broken Arrow (A Danny Sanchez Thriller Book 3) by Matthew Pritchard

Spoiler:

The discovery of a disinterred corpse at one of Andalusia’s Spaghetti Western theme parks catapults investigative reporter
Danny Sanchez into a story with potentially earth-shattering consequences…

Initially set on the trail of a brutal killer who burns his first victim alive, Danny soon begins to realise that much more lies behind the killer’s actions than the work of a madman.

He soon starts to question whether the man he is chasing is, after all, the true villain.

As Danny pokes and prods in his quest to get the documents and interviews he needs to prove his story, he unsettles a number of powerful people who would much rather see him dead than let the public know the devastating truth of what’s happening in the urbanisation of Bellavista.

This places not only his own life at risk, but that of his photographer friend and colleague, Paco Pino, and even his girlfriend, Marsha.

Yet even this fails to deter him from his quest to reveal the truth about a corporate cover-up that endangers the lives of thousands…

UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Broken-Arro...ess+free+books

US
https://www.amazon.com/Broken-Arrow-...ess+free+books


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


Can
https://www.amazon.ca/Broken-Arrow-M...ess+free+books

[Mort1997]

Free on Amazon UK - Deadly Intent (A DCI Marlin Thriller Book 2) by David McGlone

Spoiler:

Mark Rennie is a serial killer. After taking the lives of four women during his college years, he’s now a free man…

While in prison, he wrote a book attempting to clear his name, as he wants to change his image. He also wants revenge on the people who put him away.

Dr Aldous ‘Al’ Andrews wrote the profile that led to Rennie being caught. He also wrote a book about the case, becoming a little bit famous in the process.

When he sees Rennie walking free, he knows his old nemesis is in no way a changed man.

DCI Peter Marlin helped bring Rennie to justice. While working on another case with Al, the case of a serial killer named the Phantom who targeted prostitutes, fellow DCI Sue Scott was killed.

Scott believed that Al was a likely suspect in the killings, and when she died, with Al nearby, Marlin started to wonder about his friend and colleague, Dr. Al.

It’s not too long before Rennie is on the talk show circuit, peddling his book. When he appears on the Linda Dear Show, Dr Al is also a guest.

Al hopes to show the world that Rennie is still an evil, twisted man, but Rennie gets the upper hand, making a fool of Al. It’s now a battle between the two, a battle that will only end in death.

Jeff Stanley is a reporter for the Herald. Tired of hack journalism, he decides to write a series of articles about the people connected to the Phantom case, and reveal the kinky secrets he discovers. And no one is safe, including Lara, Al’s young, gorgeous girlfriend, Al, Rennie and DCI Marlin.

When a body appears, a body bearing the same MO as the now dead Phantom, DCI Marlin is not sure what to think. Marlin is not sure if they have a copycat, or if maybe the Phantom was the wrong man to begin with.

And when he learns one of the dead prostitutes had been booked by a man named Al Andrews, Marlin and the police take notice.

Marlin has his work set out for him, as more bodies show up, and all with a tale to tell. But when Rennie sets his sights on Lara, he goes too far, and Al takes the law into his own hands.

In the end, it comes down to a battle between Al and Rennie, but it turns out some people just aren’t that easy to kill…

UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Deadly-Inte...ess+free+books

US
https://www.amazon.com/Deadly-Intent...ess+free+books


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


Can
https://www.amazon.ca/Deadly-Intent-...ess+free+books

[Mort1997]

Free on Amazon UK - The Fall by Martin Lee

Spoiler:

It’s 1998, and Michael O’Neill arrives in Singapore, on his latest mission.

His taxi driver recognises him as a famous actor, but long before that, he was a young soldier with the Manchester Regiment, stationed in Singapore.

Manchester, 1938.

There’s no jobs to be had, and Reg Dwyer has children to clothe and feed, so he enlists in the army, certain he’ll never see action.

He’s sent to Singapore, where he must overcome the stifling heat and the constant longing he feels for his wife Marjorie and his three children by writing endless letters home.

The Manchester Regiment is a good bunch of lads, and they all get on, mostly.

There’s the Longhurst brothers, Richard and Eddie, who have nothing in common. They left an abusive stepfather and an uncaring mother in Manchester.

Eddie, the oldest, takes to army life, while Richard thinks of his training days in York, and how much he loved Minster. He always has his head in a book. And then there’s Reg, happy to get by and just wanting to go home.

Then there’s Michael O’Neill, an Irish lad. Being a soldier is not for him, and the others think he is doolally. But when it comes time to fight, he takes orders better than any of them.

And then there’s Sergeant Percy B Shelley who works tirelessly to keep the men in line and ready to fight.

And then war breaks out and Manchester is bombed. And on a hazy February Day in 1942, everything changes for the Manchester Regiment, when Lieutenant Whitehead gives an order no soldier should have to follow.

Now, fifty years later, Michael O’Neill, in the biggest role of his life, returns to say goodbye to the men he knew as lads, who never got to see Manchester again.

UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XKLJR...ess+free+books

US
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XKLJRKN...ess+free+books


Au
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B06XKLJ...ess+free+books


Can
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B06XKLJRKN/...ess+free+books

[Mort1997]

Free on Amazon UK - Dangerous Shadows by Stella Whitelaw

Spoiler:

Everyone's got a dark side…

When nineteen year old Holly Gray becomes an assistant to Luke Kenyon – a devilishly handsome American producer working in London – she has no idea how head over heels in love with him she will fall.

After a wonderful summer together, he asks her to meet him at Heathrow with his favourite ginger biscuits before he flies home.

But when Holly arrives at Heathrow, Luke has left, leaving nothing but a goodbye note at the check-in desk.

Holly is devastated. But things are about to get worse for the red haired beauty, when she meets Jake Fellows, a man down on his luck.

Holly and her roommate Sadie let him crash on their sofa while he looks for a place to live.

But when Holly asks him to pick up a lottery ticket for her, with the numbers she played every week, he discovers she’s won. He cashes in her winnings and disappears.

Holly has sworn off men, when her cousin Danielle asks her to be her bridesmaid at her wedding in Barbados.

Thinking it will take her mind off things she agrees and flies to the beautiful island for a three week vacation.

But Holly is devastated to learn that the groom is none other than Luke Kenyon – the man who left her heartbroken at the airport only a few months before.

But just when she thought things couldn’t get any stranger, another man from Holly’s past shows up and this time, he has revenge on his mind.

UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XNVCJ...ess+free+books

US
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XNVCJ3M...ess+free+books


Au
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B06XNVC...ess+free+books


Can
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B06XNVCJ3M/...ess+free+books

[Mort1997]

Free on Amazon UK - Hung in the Balance (Simpson & Lowe Detective series Book 1) by Roger Ormerod

Spoiler:

Philipa Lowe, returning to England for her husband’s funeral after a four-year separation, anticipates a short, uncomplicated visit.

Graham’s estate should be insignificant, the legal hassle minimal — a quick signature, then back to her life in New York. But her optimism proves to be short-lived.

The first shock is to discover that the coroner’s inquest determined that Graham committed suicide…by driving himself off the edge of a slippery slope and into a quarry.

This she finds unacceptable; never mind that she’s sure Graham was constitutionally unlikely to kill himself — he can’t possibly have done so by getting in a car. It’s impossible.

In fact, the whole situation seems so highly improbable that she soon manages to persuade herself that he might even still be alive.

Doubt is cast on this hope by Detective Inspector Oliver Simpson, who seems determined to convince Philipa that Graham’s suicide is nothing more or less than it seems.

Yet as the unlikely pair work together, she begins to discover extraordinary details of Graham’s background that she never dreamed existed…and slowly finds herself beginning to recapture her former love for him.

But in the midst of her somewhat unorthodox investigation, Philipa accidentally stumbles upon another body — one that dramatically complicates the conclusions that had been drawn about Graham’s death.

Faced by a murder that cannot be murder and a suicide that cannot be suicide, she starts to question everything about both cases.

As the extent of Graham’s estate becomes known and more details come to light, the danger to Philipa grows…

UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XKVXD...ess+free+books

US
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XKVXD5B...ess+free+books


Au
https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B06XKVX...ess+free+books


Can
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B06XKVXD5B/...ess+free+books

[piperclassique]

Thank you Mort
As always, an interesting selection.

[sufue]

Four of Stuart M. Kaminsky's titles have dropped to $0.99 at Kindle US. These are Mysterious Press/Open Road titles, which also often drop at Kobo US, where they are couponable/VIPable, but as of right now, they have not.

Titles are:

• A Few Minutes Past Midnight, Toby Peters #21
• Tarnished Icons, Inspector Porfiry Rostnikov, #11
• Lieberman's Folly, Abe Lieberman #1
• Lieberman's Choice, Abe Lieberman #2

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/search/?se...ky&price=99-99
Kobo US (for price-check): https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?Qu...&sort=PriceAsc

[sufue]

Ten titles by Patricia Wentworth are $0.99 at Kindle US, more than half in Wentworth's Miss Silver series. Currently not at Kobo US, but link is provided for price-check purposes.

Titles are:

• Miss Silver Deals with Death, Miss Silver #6
• The Catherine Wheel, Miss Silver #15
• Nothing Venture
• Latter End, Miss Silver #11
• Out of the Past, Miss Silver #23
• Fear by Night
• The Fingerprint, Miss Silver #30
• The Amazing Chance
• Dark Threat, Miss Silver #10
• Kingdom Lost

(Links also include some non-mystery Wentworth titles at $0.99.)

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/search/?ta...th&price=99-99
Kobo US (for price-check): https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?Qu...&sort=PriceAsc

NOTE: If you travel, a number of the non-series titles have been free before at Amaz UK (see little.egret's and Mort1997's wonderful posts), so check carefully before you buy!

[sufue]

Two titles in the excellent (IMO) continuation by Robert Goldsborough of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin series have dropped to $0.99 at Kindle US. Although these are Open Road/Mysterious Press, which sometimes drop at Kobo US as well, where they are couponable/VIPable, these have not dropped, at least as of now.

Silver Spire, continuation #6
link: https://www.amazon.com/Silver-Spire-...dp/B009VR4T46/

Spoiler:

When a fellow shamus gets charged with murder, Wolfe comes to his rescue

Staten Island would be forgettable were it not for the gleaming Tabernacle of the Silver Spire, where thousands of congregants come every Sunday to hear the sermons of Barnabas Bay. Millions more tune in on television, giving the good Reverend international fame, and a chance to spread the gospel from New York City’s harbor all the way to South Korea. But threatening notes have been appearing in the collection bag, suggesting that one of the faithful has decided it’s time this good shepherd get the hook.

Believing organized religion is nothing more than a scam, rotund sleuth Nero Wolfe refuses to investigate the threats, instead recommending veteran investigator Fred Durkin for the case. But when Durkin is accused of murdering the Reverend’s assistant, Wolfe fights to clear his name. He may not be a Christian, but he will always help a brother in need.

Murder in the Ball Park, continuation #9
link: https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Ball-P...dp/B00H9WZSPY/

Spoiler:

Wolfe earns a big league call-up after a senator gets taken out at the ball game

Archie Goodwin and Saul Panzer have ventured into the wilds of northern Manhattan to watch the Giants take on the Dodgers at the Polo Grounds. The national anthem is just winding down when Panzer spies a notable in the box seats: state senator Orson Milbank, a silver-haired scoundrel with enemies in every corner of upstate New York. In the fourth inning, a monstrous line drive brings every fan in the grandstand to his feet—every fan save for one silver-haired senator, who has been shot dead by a sniper in the upper deck.

Archie’s employer—the rotund genius Nero Wolfe—has no interest in investigating the stadium slaying, but Archie is swayed by the senator’s suspiciously lovely widow. Her husband was mired hip-deep in corruption, and sorting out who killed him will be a task far less pleasant than an afternoon at the ball park.

[sufue]

Dolly Departed is the third in the Gretchen Birch/Dolls To Die For series by Deb Baker. It is free right now at Kindle US.

link: https://www.amazon.com/Dolly-Departe...dp/B003Y5HCW2/

Spoiler:

When Gretchen Birch finds Charlie Maize, owner of a dollhouse shop, on the floor – dead and covered with toppled miniature room boxes – she fears that Charlie’s death wasn’t an accident. One of the room boxes (displays that depict real-life scenes with furniture and miniature dolls) is the set for a murder, complete with a tiny bloody axe and red splatters on its tiny walls.

[sufue]

Breakfast at Madeline's is the first in the Jacob Burns series by Matt Witten. It is a repeat freebie, but from a while ago, and only for a very brief time, so I thought I'd list it again.

link: https://www.amazon.com/Breakfast-Mad...dp/B00AFLQK1M/

Spoiler:

Greetings, potential readers! Breakfast at Madeline's was previously published by Signet and received the Malice Domestic Award. The Library Journal called Breakfast at Madeline's "the perfect antidote for a rainy day."

Synopsis

Jacob Burns - husband, father, and frustrated writer - has finally sold a screenplay. To a major Hollywood studio, no less. But success isn't all it's cracked up to be. Now he has writer's block and spends his days drinking coffee at his favorite cafe, Madeline's. That is, until one warm autumn morning when Donald Penn, an eccentric Madeline's regular, hands Jacob a key and drops dead at his feet. Soon Jacob's home is burglarized and his family threatened, and he becomes involved in a puzzling mystery that exposes him to some of the finest families in Saratoga Springs, New York - and some of the worst in human behavior.