FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

[sufue]

Three of the first four titles in AD Scott's Highland Gazette series have dropped to $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US. Titles are:

• A Small Death in the Great Glen, #1
• Beneath the Abbey Wall, #3
• North Sea Requiem, #4

Kindle US - link for all three: https://www.amazon.com/gp/search/?se...eyword=gazette
Kobo US - link for all three: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?qu...cmaxprice=1.99

[ATDrake]

Bargain @ $1.99 each from Amazon's exclusive AmazonCrossing imprint, apparently as part of the Kindle Monthly Deal markdowns in Canada & the US:

#1-7 of Finnish author Leena Lehtolainen's (SYKM, Wikipedia) Maria Kallio series starring a cop mostly in the areas around Helsinki (with a few excursions to other parts of Finland), which I've quite enjoyed, which is getting #8 out this month, and I'm pleased that the translation of #9 is slated for release early next year.

And also #1-3 in her The Bodyguard series starring a female bodyguard, which is more on the action/suspense thriller side with a few international destinations. Linkage for the lot.

[sufue]

I'm never quite totally sure about CreateSpace as a publisher, but SYKM lists this series so I'm going with that. (And it's free...)

Deadmistress is the first in the Susan Lombardi series by Carole B. Shmurak. It is free right now at Kindle US and Kindle UK.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Deadmistress-...dp/B004PLMI32/
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Deadmistres...dp/B004PLMI32/

Spoiler:

The headmistress of an exclusive private school for girls has been found murdered in her office. When professor Susan Lombardi learns that her friend John is the prime suspect, she sets out to clear his name, but her research uncovers some troubling secrets about the school's faculty and students. And soon it becomes clear that John is not the only one with a motive for murder. “This is a story about puzzles and people, and that’s where it shines.” - Kim Malo, Mystery Morgue “There is a continual twinkle in the author’s prose.” - Steve Lewis, Mystery File

[sufue]

The Outcast Dead is the 6th in the Dr Ruth Galloway series by Elly Griffiths. It has dropped to £0.99 at Kindle UK.

link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ELIF0UC/

Spoiler:

WINNER OF THE 2016 CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY. Historical crimes involving a Victorian child killer may hold the key to several contemporary deaths in this macabre outing for Dr Ruth Galloway, forensic archaeologist. Perfect for fans of Val McDermid and Ann Cleeves.

'Told with a deepening sense of the unease, seasoned with a touch of the occult' Daily Mail

Ruth has excavated a body from the grounds of Norwich Castle, which was once a prison. The body may be that of Victorian murderess Jemima Green. Called Mother Hook for her claw-like hand, Jemima was hanged for the murder of five children.

DCI Harry Nelson has no time for long-ago killers. Investigating the case of three infants found dead, one after the other, in their King's Lynn home, he's convinced that their mother is responsible.

Then a child goes missing. Could the abduction be linked to the long-dead Mother Hook? Ruth is pulled into the case, and back towards Nelson.

Oh yeah, and Dying Fall, the fifth in the series is still £0.99.

link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dying-Fall-...dp/B009P1WDT6/

Spoiler:

When murder strikes close to home, Dr Ruth Galloway is determined to find justice - without ending up in the firing line herself.

'One of the most cinematic finales in recent crime fiction' Daily Telegraph

Dr Ruth Galloway, forensic archaeologist, spends a lot of time looking at death. But now death has found her, with the news that her long-time friend and ex-colleague Dan Golding has been killed in a house fire.

Ruth's grief soon turns to suspicion of arson when she receives a desperate letter from Dan, sent the day before he died. He had made a ground-breaking discovery that he was sure would change archaeology forever - and was petrified of the consequences.

Ruth feels compelled to travel north to investigate further, alongside DCI Harry Nelson who is also drawn into the case. But where Ruth goes, so does her young daughter, Kate. This time, the risks are even higher.

[sufue]

Six titles in the Railway Detective series by Edward Marston have dropped to £2.09 at Kindle UK. Some have been on sale for less in the recent past, so check carefully before you buy - also if you're patient, the others may go on sale for less in the future. This might be useful though, to fill in a gap or something like that...

Titles are:

• Peril on the Royal Train, #10
• Blood on the Line, #8
• The Silver Locomotive Mystery, #6
• The Railway Viaduct, #3
• Murder on the Brighton Express, #5
• The Iron Horse, #4

link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search/?...&price=209-209

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by sufue

Six titles in the Railway Detective series by Edward Marston have dropped to £2.09 at Kindle UK. Some have been on sale for less in the recent past, so check carefully before you buy - also if you're patient, the others may go on sale for less in the future. This might be useful though, to fill in a gap or something like that...

Titles are:

• Peril on the Royal Train, #10
• Blood on the Line, #8
• The Silver Locomotive Mystery, #6
• The Railway Viaduct, #3
• Murder on the Brighton Express, #5
• The Iron Horse, #4

link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search/?...&price=209-209

If anyone has read one of these in the series, can you comment on how it is?

Thanks!

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

If anyone has read one of these in the series, can you comment on how it is?

Thanks!

I've read several, and have enjoyed them. They appear not infrequently in the Kindle Daily Deal for 99p. They're all (as the series name suggests) set in the world of the Victorian railways.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I've read several, and have enjoyed them. They appear not infrequently in the Kindle Daily Deal for 99p. They're all (as the series name suggests) set in the world of the Victorian railways.

I enjoy Victorian-styled mysteries.

I'll give one a try.

Thanks.

[sufue]

By its Cover is fourth from the end (2014) in Donna Leon's Guido Brunetti series. It has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US (couponable/VIPable).

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/its-Cover-Com...dp/B00HWGM04E/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/by-its-cover-2

Spoiler:

Donna Leon’s critically acclaimed, internationally bestselling Commissario Guido Brunetti series has attracted readers the world over with the beauty of its setting, the humanity of its characters, and its fearlessness in exploring politics, morality, and contemporary Italian culture. In the pages of Leon’s novels, the beloved conversations of the Brunetti family have drawn on topics of art and literature, but books are at the heart of this novel in a way they never have been before.

One afternoon, Commissario Guido Brunetti gets a frantic call from the director of a prestigious Venetian library. Someone has stolen pages out of several rare books. After a round of questioning, the case seems clear: the culprit must be the man who requested the volumes, an American professor from a Kansas university. The only problem—the man fled the library earlier that day, and after checking his credentials, the American professor doesn’t exist.

As the investigation proceeds, the suspects multiply. And when a seemingly harmless theologian, who had spent years reading at the library turns up brutally murdered, Brunetti must question his expectations about what makes a man innocent, or guilty.

[sufue]

I too have read a few (the ones that have been on sale ) and enjoyed them.
Hope you like the one you try!

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I enjoy Victorian-styled mysteries.

I'll give one a try.

Thanks.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by sufue

I too have read a few (the ones that have been on sale ) and enjoyed them.
Hope you like the one you try!

I made it simple for me and bought the first one. (It'll be a while before I can read it, however.)

- Thanks, everyone, for the recommendations.

[sufue]

Today the Early Bird/Open Road freebie of the day, which is usually one of their PD titles, is a mystery: Cliffhanger, the first in the Belinda & Bennett series by Amy Saunders. This actually looks a little self-pubby to me, but it came as part of Open Road's daily Early Bird sale email, so they seem to have given it their imprimatur. YMMV...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AB3F2RM
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cli...eries-book-one

Spoiler:

Making her grand re-entry into Portside, Rhode Island, Belinda Kittridge expected fun, sun, and sugar cookies.

Instead, she gets one jilted lover braced for round two, an old rival on the hunt, and the murder of a former classmate and friend. Even worse, Belinda must return to the events surrounding a tragic sailing accident to set things right.

But new possibilities emerge in the form of security expert Bennett Tate. Between her connections and his know-how, they're bound to catch the killer - and kick the skeletons out of the closet for good.

[cromag]

Originally Posted by sufue

Today the Early Bird/Open Road freebie of the day, which is usually one of their PD titles, is a mystery: Cliffhanger, the first in the Belinda & Bennett series by Amy Saunders. This actually looks a little self-pubby to me, but it came as part of Open Road's daily Early Bird sale email, so they seem to have given it their imprimatur. YMMV...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AB3F2RM
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cli...eries-book-one

That surprised me, too. Cliffhanger is available free over at Smashwords. It looks like it's a permanent freebie.

[sufue]

I finally got a chance to look through the new Kindle US new monthly mystery sale and spotted a few titles of interest to me. Keep in mind this is catering (mostly) to my own preferences, with an occasional mention of other titles that I recognize for various reasons...definitely YMMV. Prices generally range from $0.99 to $2.99.

Too many titles for individual links, but here's the link for the whole sale (horrible as it is, I don't see an affiliate tag) - two pages worth, so not too bad to go through for yourself: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=s9_acsd...d_i=3441883011

Authors/titles I spotted:

• The Ashes of London by Andrew Taylor, a couple of whose other titles I've read and enjoyed
• The Lewis Man, second in the The Lewis Trilogy by Peter May, a couple of whose Enzo MacLeod titles I've read and enjoyed
• Crocodile on the Sandbank, which I probably don't even need to say is the first in the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters - what can I say - just buy it if you haven't read it
• Clownfish Blues is the most recent in the Serge Storms series by Tim Dorsey, at least until a new title comes out in early 2018
• a whole bunch of titles by Paul Levine
• several titles by Heather Graham, if romantic suspense is your thing
• The Manchurian Candidate by Richard Condon - classic thriller (I don't read many thrillers, but I liked this one many years ago)
• In the Balance, Miss Silver #4, by Patricia Wentworth
• Finnegan's Week, by Joseph Wambaugh
• The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra, first in the Baby Ganesh Agency series by Vaseem Khan
• The Tiger in the Smoke, a bit more than halfway through the Albert Campion series by Margery Allingham
• The Ghosts of Belfast, first in the Belfast series by Stuart Neville
• The Pig Trilogy, including The Pig Did It, The Pig Comes to Dinner, and The Pig Goes to Hog Heaven by Joseph Caldwell - I bought this a while back, it looks totally cute, and it never seems to push its way to the top of my TBR list...
• The Breaking Point, ninth in the Body Farm series by Jefferson Bass, pen name (per SYKM) for Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson
• Detective Inspector Huss, first in the (take a guess) Detective Inspector Huss series by Helene Tursten
• The Scientology Murders, second in the Dead Detective series by William Heffernan
• Death of a Witch, 24th, per the blurb - I'm not counting, in the Hamish Macbeth series by M. C. Beaton
• The Devil's Star, fifth in the Harry Hole series by Jo Nesbo
• Murder at the House of Rooster Happiness, first in the fairly new Ethical Chiang Mai Detective series, which looks sort of fun, by David Casarett

As above, keep in mind that this is my take on the sale titles - you probably will want to take a look for yourself if you read widely across mystery/thriller sub-genres...

[BetterRead]

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson is currently $1.99 at Amazon US.

https://www.amazon.com/Kind-Worth-Ki...dp/B00JOFW596/

On a night flight from London to Boston, Ted Severson meets the stunning and mysterious Lily Kintner. Sharing one too many martinis, the strangers begin to play a game of truth, revealing very intimate details about themselves. Ted talks about his marriage that’s going stale and his wife Miranda, who he’s sure is cheating on him. Ted and his wife were a mismatch from the start—he the rich businessman, she the artistic free spirit—a contrast that once inflamed their passion, but has now become a cliché.

But their game turns a little darker when Ted jokes that he could kill Miranda for what she’s done. Lily, without missing a beat, says calmly, “I’d like to help.” After all, some people are the kind worth killing. . . .

I thoroughly enjoyed this one when I read it a few years ago. Though it seems at the start to be little more than a variation on Strangers on a Train, it soon twists off in increasingly wild directions.