FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

[BetterRead]

Originally Posted by Tarana

The Crediton Killings By Michael Jecks $1.99 Amazon, Kobo and B&N
Historical mystery. Be sure to check to see if you own it first. Does not say at the top that I own it on Amazon, but it's there in my library.

There are two different editions of this title. The one that is on sale is published by HarperCollins and can be found at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000JMKT7I or https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-crediton-killings

[Tarana]

Playing for the Ashes By Elizabeth George $1.99 Amazon, Kobo and B&N
Inspector Lynley series

Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries: Books 1–3 By Jennifer S. Alderson FREE Amazon only
Cozy - Not sure if this is self published or small press. American author who lives in Amsterdam.

[sufue]

I've not read anything by Val McDermid, not quite sure why, but here is a two-book omnibus of the third and fourth titles in her Kate Brannigan series for $1.99 at Kindle US. The titles are: Crack Down (which was a finalist for a couple of awards) and Clean Break.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07611GLF3/
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07611GLF3/

Spoiler:

Two novels starring a tough PI in Manchester, England, from an author known for “crime writing of the very highest order” (The Times).

There was only one reason Manchester-based private eye Kate Brannigan was prepared to let her boyfriend help out with the investigation into a car sales fraud: Nothing bad could happen. In Crack Down, Kate learns once again that with Richard, you have to expect the unexpected. This time the unexpected is that he’s currently behind bars—so Kate will be looking after his eight-year-old while at the same time being dragged into a world of drug traffickers, gangland enforcers, and the worst the criminal element has to offer.

And in Clean Break, Kate is not amused when thieves have the audacity to steal a Monet from a stately home where she’s arranged security. She’s even less thrilled when the hunt for the thieves drags her on a treacherous foray across Europe as she goes head to head with organized crime. And as if that isn’t enough, a routine industrial case starts leaving a trail of bodies across the Northwest. Unfortunately, cleaning up this mess will mean confronting some truths about her own life…

[sufue]

Tropic of Stupid is the 24th and most recent (2021) in Tim Dorsey's Serge Storms series. It's $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US right now.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087QGSWDW/
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B087QGSWDW/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/tropic-of-stupid

Spoiler:

Serge A. Storms embarks on a tour to meet his long-lost relatives in this latest madcap entry in the bestselling series from Florida’s “compulsively irreverent and shockingly funny” (Boston Globe) Tim Dorsey.

Devoted Floridaphile Serge Storms is a lover of history, so he’s decided to investigate his own using one of those DNA services from late-night TV. Excited to construct a family tree, he and Coleman hit the road to meet his kin. Along the way, he plans to introduce Coleman to the Sunshine State’s beautiful parks where he can brush up on his flora, fauna, and wildlife, and more importantly, collect the missing stamps for his park passport book.

But as the old saying goes, the apple doesn’t fall far . . . Serge is thrilled to discover he may be related to a notorious serial killer who’s terrorized the state for twenty years and never been caught. Which one of his newfound relatives will be the one to help him hunt down this deranged maniac? Serge doesn’t know that a dogged investigator from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is also hot on the trail.

Then Serge meets a park ranger who’s also longing to make a family re-connection. But all is not as it appears on the surface, and Serge’s newfound friendship in the mysterious swamps of Florida may lead to deadly results.

Finding his own relatives has made Serge understand the importance of family. Of course he’ll do anything to help . . .

[sufue]

About at year later, again at $1.99. Links below are still good...

Originally Posted by sufue

Designated Daughters is the 19th and next-to-most-recent title in Margaret Maron's much nominated/awarded Deborah Knott series. I've read and enjoyed all of the titles in this series. Designated Daughters has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H25FJ66
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00H25FJ66
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/designated-daughters

[sufue]

Free again, almost two years later...

Originally Posted by sufue

The Big Crazy is the 11th and most recent (2019) in Julie Smith's Skip Langdon series, which started out traditionally pubbed, and now is pubbed by BookBNimble, which I consider a reliable publisher - but if you don't, you can skip the rest of this post. (And I've liked all the previous titles in this series, regardless of publisher...)

Crazy is free right now at Kindle US and UK.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y5XH9GZ/
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Big-Crazy-G...dp/B07Y5XH9GZ/

[sufue]

Ace Atkins has published a bunch of estate-approved continuation titles in Robert B Parker’s Spenser series. I’ve read and liked several of them. Wonderland is the third of the continuation books, although it has recently been re-issued with a new title, Spenser Confidential, apparently as part of a movie tie with Netflix. In any case, whatever the book is called, it’s on sale at Kindle UK today for £1.99.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00G8OBMCC
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00G8OBMCC

Spoiler:

Henry Cimoli and Spenser have been friends for years, yet the old boxing trainer has never asked the private eye for a favor. Until now. A heavy-handed developer is trying to buy up Henry's condo on Revere Beach and sends thugs to move the process along. Soon Spenser and his apprentice, Zebulon Sixkill, find a trail leading to a mysterious and beautiful woman, a megalomaniacal Las Vegas kingpin, and plans to turn a chunk of land north of Boston into a sprawling casino. Bitter rivals emerge, alliances turn, and the uglier pieces of the Boston political machine look to put an end to Spenser's investigation.

Aspiration, greed, and twisted dreams all focus on the old Wonderland dog track where the famous amusement park once fronted the ocean. For Spenser and Z, this simple favor to Henry will become the fight of their lives.

Spenser Confidential was previously published as Robert B Parker's Wonderland and was recently made into a Netflix Original film starring Mark Wahlberg, Winston Duke and Alan Arkin. If you enjoyed Spenser Confidential, look out for the next book in the series by Ace Atkins: Robert B. Parker's Cheap Shot.

'Atkins conjured all the energy of his predecessor's best work. What's more, Atkins has added a quirky new perspective of his own. Welcome back, Spenser!' - Crime Time

[sufue]

Deception by Gaslight popped up on my "but-you-can-read-this-instead" list when I was searching for a title that my local library didn't have. It's the first in the Gilded Gotham series by Kate Belli, which actually only has one book right now (!!!). But there's a second one coming in October, so I guess we can call it a series. This looked kind of fun, and who wouldn't like a young reporter tracking down a handsome society scion masquerading as Robin Hood in 1880s New York - while dealing with an extra dead body or two? And, when I went to check it out, it's on sale at Kindle and Kobo US ($1.99) and Kindle UK (£1.42). Bonus!

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B083RYQWZ8
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/deception-by-gaslight
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B083RYQWZ8

Spoiler:

Glittering Gilded-Age New York holds its lavish charms--and a litany of deadly sins--as intrepid reporter Genevieve Stewart uncovers a trail of corruption and murder.

As a chill sets in on New York City in the winter of 1888, a jewel thief dubbed the "Robin Hood of the Lower East Side" has been stealing from the city's wealthiest and giving to the poor. Genevieve Stewart--a young woman whose family is part of Mrs. Astor's famed 400 but who has forged a life of her own as a reporter--decides to chase the story, but gets more than she bargained for: a murder victim sprawled in a dark alley in the dangerous Five Points neighborhood.

A handsome neighborhood tough comes to her rescue--but when she encounters the same man at a glamorous ball a few nights later, she realizes he's society scion Daniel McCaffrey. Could this be her Robin Hood? When two more murders rock the Knickerbocker world, it becomes apparent that something much more sinister is afoot than a few stolen diamond necklaces. Genevieve is determined to prove that Daniel is Robin Hood--but she's loath to believe he is a killer as well. From the glittering lights of Fifth Avenue to the sordid back alleys of Five Points, the truth is just one murder away.

[sufue]

The second book in Philip Gooden's Geoffrey Chaucer series is free right now at Kindle US and UK, and the other three books are Kindle UK Countdown deals at £0.99 each for about six more days. Unfortunately the others aren't on sale in the US, but there is an omnibus of all four available for $5.99, which works out to $1.99 each - since the second is free, so you really only need three of them. Or, since these are fairly recent price drops, they may go on sale later in the US.

Chaucer and the Legend of Good Women, #2, free
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08DV9ZNJH
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08DV9ZNJH

Chaucer and the House of Fame, #1, £0.99
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08DDD3JDF

Chaucer and the Doctor of Physic, #1, £0.99
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08F7SN8G3

Chaucer and the Vintry Ward Death, #4, £0.99
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08F7VCCFM

[Tarana]

The Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Novels: Volume One by Anne Perry $2.99 Amazon, Kobo and B&N
Historical mysteries; Includes The Cater Street Hangman, Callander Square, and Paragon Walk

Depraved Heart By Patricia Cornwell $2.99 Amazon, Kobo and B&N
Crime Fiction/thriller

The Matarese Circle By Robert Ludlum $2.99 Amazon, Kobo and B&N
Thriller

Victim 2117 By Jussi Adler-Olsen $1.99 Amazon, Kobo and B&N
Thriller

A Dying Fall By Elly Griffiths $2.99 Amazon, Kobo and B&N
Crime Fiction - I don't know author but she previously won an Edgar.

[sufue]

Pirate King is the 12th in Laurie R. King's excellent IMO Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series. This edition also contains a fun bonus prequel short story, Beekeeping for Beginners, told from Holmes' point of view. Pirate is on sale in the US right now for $2.99.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004J4XGEU
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B004J4XGEU
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/pir...-for-beginners

Spoiler:

In England’s young silent-film industry, the megalomaniacal Randolph Fflytte is king. But rumors of criminal activities swirl around his popular movie studio. At the request of Scotland Yard, Mary Russell travels undercover to the set of Fflytte’s latest cinematic extravaganza, Pirate King. Based on Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, the project will either set the standard for moviemaking for a generation . . . or sink a boatload of careers.

As the company starts rehearsals in Lisbon, the thirteen blond-haired, blue-eyed actresses whom Mary is chaperoning meet the swarm of real buccaneers Fflytte has recruited to provide authenticity. But when the crew embarks for Morocco and the actual filming, Russell senses ominous currents of trouble: a derelict boat, a film crew with many secrets, decks awash with budding romance—and now the pirates are ignoring Fflytte and answering only to their outlaw leader. Where can Sherlock Holmes be? As movie make-believe becomes true terror, Russell and Holmes themselves may experience a final fadeout.

Features Laurie R. King’s short story, Beekeepers for Beginners, and an excerpt from Laurie R. King's Garment of Shadows.

[sufue]

Five Little Pigs (apa Murder in Retrospect) is a bit more than half-way through Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot series. It has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle US as part of today's Daily Deal, and is matched at Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FC2NGW/
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000FC2NGW/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/five-little-pigs

Spoiler:

In Agatha Christie’s classic, Five Little Pigs, beloved detective Hercule Poirot races to solve a case from out of the past.

Beautiful Caroline Crale was convicted of poisoning her husband, but just like the nursery rhyme, there were five other “little pigs” who could have done it: Philip Blake (the stockbroker), who went to market; Meredith Blake (the amateur herbalist), who stayed at home; Elsa Greer (the three-time divorcée), who had her roast beef; Cecilia Williams (the devoted governess), who had none; and Angela Warren (the disfigured sister), who cried all the way home.

Sixteen years later, Caroline’s daughter is determined to prove her mother’s innocence, and Poirot just can’t get that nursery rhyme out of his mind.

[sufue]

Spider Woman's Daughter is the first of Anne Hillerman's continuation of her father's Leaphorn/Chee/Manuelito series. I've liked the continuation books, which seem to focus a bit more on Bernie Manuelito, but still have all the old familiar characters too. Daughter has dropped to $2.99 at Kindle and Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BATNMLO/
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00BATNMLO/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/spi...man-s-daughter

Spoiler:

Anne Hillerman, the talented daughter of bestselling author Tony Hillerman, continues his popular Leaphorn and Chee series with a Navajo Country mystery filled with captivating lore, startling suspense, bold new characters, vivid color, and rich Southwestern atmosphere.

Navajo Nation Police Officer Bernadette Manuelito witnesses the cold-blooded shooting of someone very close to her. With the victim fighting for his life, the entire squad and the local FBI office are hell-bent on catching the gunman. Bernie, too, wants in on the investigation, despite regulations forbidding eyewitness involvement. But that doesn't mean she's going to sit idly by, especially when her husband, Sergeant Jim Chee, is in charge of finding the shooter.

Bernie and Chee discover that a cold case involving his former boss and partner, retired Inspector Joe Leaphorn, may hold the key. Digging into the old investigation, husband and wife find themselves inching closer to the truth—and closer to a killer determined to prevent justice from taking its course.

[sufue]

Whip Hand is the second of Dick Francis's Sid Halley titles. Per SYKM, it won both the 1979 Gold Dagger award and the 1981 Edgar award for Best Mystery. It's on sale right now for £0.99 at Kindle UK.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006VXNJX0
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006VXNJX0

Spoiler:

Ex-jockey Sid Halley works as a private detective, using his racing knowledge to solve crimes that baffle the police.

He's asked to investigate the possible doping of the horses of George Casper - a thoroughbred trainer whose once-successful mounts have been failing spectacularly on the race track.

At the same time, he learns that a conman has left his ex-wife Jenny facing a jail sentence over a fake charity, while the Jockey Club want him to look into certain powerful syndicates who may be acting in a ruthless and illegal manner.

Quickly, Sid discovers that each of his investigations is entirely unwelcome. But he isn't put off easily - not even when a threat is made that could change his life.

Three dangerous cases, three ways to die - Sid is back on home turf . . .

Packed with intrigue and hair-raising suspense, Whip Hand is just one of the many blockbuster thrillers from legendary crime writer Dick Francis.

[Tarana]

Blindsighted By Karin Slaughter $2.99 Amazon, Kobo and B&N
Thriller

Tropic of Stupid By Tim Dorsey $1.99 Amazon, Kobo and B&N
Thriller

October Fest By Jess Lourey FREE Amazon only
Cozy - Loved this series based in rural Minnesota. This is a series you really need to read in order.