FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

[sufue]

Invitation to Die is the second in the short two-book (so far) Inspector Redfyre series by Barbara Cleverly, who is maybe better known for her Joe Sandilands series. I've enjoyed several titles in that series, and also in Cleverly's Leatitia Talbot series, but haven't yet read either Redfyre title. Now Invitation to Die has dropped to $1.99 in the US, and £1.47 in the UK.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KDX5RF7
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/invitation-to-die-4
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07KDX5RF7

Spoiler:

An invitation to dine turns deadly as DI John Redfyre returns for his second investigation.

Cambridge, 1924 in early summertime. May Balls, punting on the Cam, flirting and dancing the tango are the preoccupations of bright young people, but bright young Detective Inspector John Redfyre finds himself mired in multiple murders.

One morning, his dog discovers a corpse neatly laid on a tombstone in the graveyard adjoining St. Bede’s College. An army greatcoat and well-worn boots suggest the dead man may have been a former soldier, though the empty bottle of brandy and a card bearing the words “An Invitation to Dine” on the victim ring a discordant note. Even more unsettling is the autopsy, which reveals death by strangulation and unusual contents in the stomach from the man’s last meal. Redfyre learns that this murder is one of several unsolved cases linked to a secretive and sinister dining club at St. Bede’s.

Redfyre, himself an ex-rifleman, becomes caught in a dark tale of revenge, betrayal and injustice—a lingering mystery from a long-forgotten war. With the unlikely assistance of his lead suspect, he gradually unearths the dead man’s story and fights to right an ancient wrong.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by sufue

Invitation to Die is the second in the short two-book (so far) Inspector Redfyre series by Barbara Cleverly, who is maybe better known for her Joe Sandilands series. I've enjoyed several titles in that series, and also in Cleverly's Leatitia Talbot series, but haven't yet read either Redfyre title. Now Invitation to Die has dropped to $1.99 in the US, and £1.47 in the UK.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KDX5RF7
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/invitation-to-die-4
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07KDX5RF7

I've read some of the Sandilands books through the library but wasn't aware of the other series. Not buying right now but will add those series to my wishlist for future buys. Thanks!

[sufue]

Guardian of the Horizon is the 16th Amelia Peabody book by Elizabeth Peters. It's on sale for £2.99 right now at Kindle UK, where it hasn't been priced this low in a few years.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005E883U2
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005E883U2

Spoiler:

Readers have long wondered what befell the Emerson clan during the years before the Great War. Now, at last, the silence is broken and the truth revealed of a perilous journey to a secret and mysterious place hidden deep in the heart of the unforgiving desert. An adventure prompted by loyalty to an endangered friend -- and spurred on by lies and treachery -- it leads Amelia Peabody and her intrepid family into a nest of vipers lying in wait at a remote mountain fortress. And when a dark past and a shocking mystery are ultimately discovered, a loved one may be lost forever.

[sufue]

And now, less than a week later, here's Someone to Watch over Me on sale in the UK for £0.99. Not sure if this is part of the Kindle UK Monthly sale, which I haven't had time to look at yet, or if this is the usual one-day thing, so I'd grab it now if you want it.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08L8JPYWZ
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08L8JPYWZ

Spoiler:

In the latest Spenser thriller, the legendary Boston PI and his young protégé Mattie Sullivan take on billionaire money manager running a network of underaged girls for his rich and powerful clients

Ten years ago, Spenser helped a teenage girl named Mattie Sullivan find her mother's killer and take down an infamous Southie crime boss. Now Mattie-a college student with a side job working for the tough but tender private eye - dreams of being an investigator herself. Her first big case involves a fifteen-year-old girl assaulted by a much older man at one of Boston's most prestigious private clubs. The girl, Chloe Turner, only wants the safe return of her laptop and backpack. But like her mentor and boss, Mattie has a knack for asking the right questions of the wrong people.

Soon Spenser and Mattie find ties between the exploitation of dozens of other girls from working class families to an eccentric billionaire and his sadistic henchwoman with a mansion on Commonwealth Avenue. The mystery man's wealth, power and connections extend well beyond Massachusetts - maybe even beyond the United States. Spenser and trusted ally Hawk must again watch out for Mattie as she unravels a massive sex-trafficking ring that will take them from Boston to Boca Raton to the Bahamas, crossing paths with local toughs, a highly-trained security company, and an old enemy of Spenser - the Gray Man - for a final epic showdown.

Originally Posted by sufue

About a year later, again at $1.99 in the US. It's now the next-to-most-recent, since Someone to Watch over Me came out early this year.

Originally Posted by sufue

Angel Eyes is the most recent (2019) in the continuation of Robert B. Parker's Spenser series by Ace Atkins. It has dropped to £0.99 at Kindle UK. As with the continuation of the Jesse Stone series by Reed Farrell Coleman (somewhere not too far above), I've enjoyed these, even though continuations can sometimes be sort of "meh".

link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B081DFLYVT

[sufue]

The Case of the Terrified Typist is a little more than half-way through Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason series. (Don't believe the webpage at Amazon, which says it's #5 in the series - that's just #5 among the ones that Open Road/Mysterious Press have republished, which is a tiny subset of the more than 70 Mason titles that Gardner wrote.) In any case, though, Terrified Typist is on sale today at Kindle US for $1.99.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084TT9TPY/
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B084TT9TPY/

Spoiler:

The Edgar Award–winning author’s tale of a missing woman and a crime ring, featuring the lawyer and detective who inspired the HBO limited series.

Defense lawyer Perry Mason needs a temporary typist, but the one he hires turns out to be more temporary than expected. When she disappears, leaving a couple of diamonds behind in her haste, Mason winds up taking on a new client: a gem importer in his office building who’s been charged with smuggling and murder. But if Mason’s going to untangle this case, finding the typist is key . . .

This mystery is part of Edgar Award–winning author Erle Stanley Gardner’s classic, long-running Perry Mason series, which has sold three hundred million copies and serves as the inspiration for the HBO show starring Matthew Rhys and Tatiana Maslany.

“Millions of Americans never seem to tire of Gardner’s thrillers.” —The New York Times

[sufue]

Rooted in Evil is the fifth in Ann Granger's Campbell/Carter series. It has dropped to $0.99 at Kindle and Kobo US, and it's discountable at Kobo.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BZZGJB7
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07BZZGJB7
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/rooted-in-evil-4

Spoiler:

When the body of a man killed by a point blank shot to the head is found in Crooked Man Woods, it appears to be a suicide. But when Inspector Jess Campbell and Superintendent Ian Carter begin to investigate, it soon becomes clear that not all is as it seems.

The victim, Carl Finch, had been causing quite a stir in the small-town community. With rising debts and complicated relationships, the suspects are beginning to mount up...
Fans of the Midsomer Murders, T E Kinsey and M C Beaton will love Rooted in Evil.

[Critteranne]

The Best American Noir of the Century (edited by James Ellroy and Otto Penzler) is just $1.99 today!

[sufue]

Six months later Aunt Dimity Digs In is back down to $1.99 in the US, but that's soon enough that I normally wouldn't have re-posted. Except that when I decided to check and see if it was on sale in the UK as well, I noticed that ALL of the Aunt Dimity books, except for the latest, are between £1.99 and £3.99. Which is a heck of a lot better than the $8.99 and up that almost all of them are in the US. Aah, the joys of different publishers! So if you like this series, take a trip to the UK sometime : https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B078RYM1...dp_rwt_sb_tukn

Oh yeah, and the links below are still good for the one title that is on sale in the US....

Originally Posted by sufue

Aunt Dimity Digs In is the fourth in the Aunt Dimity series by Nancy Atherton. I read quite a few of the early titles in this series back in paperback days, and enjoyed them, although I've kind of lost track of the series in the last few years. Digs In has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US. Titles in this series don't go on sale very often, so grab it if you want it...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002VFPRXW
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B002VFPRXW
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/aunt-dimity-digs-in

[Tarana]

The Sherlock Holmes Book By DK Publishing $2.99 Amazon & Kobo
Guide to Sherlock Holmes

Bad Monkey By Carl Hiaasen $1.99 Amazon, Kobo and B&N
Crime fiction

Mystic River By Dennis Lehane $2.99 Amazon, Kobo and B&N

The Winter Girls By Roger Stelljes $.99 Amazon, Kobo and B&N
Crime fiction; Don't know author but plot takes place in Minnesota winter so had to include.

Mortal Fear By Greg Iles $1.99 Amazon, Kobo and B&N
Thriller

[ZodWallop]

A few Joseph Wambaugh books are priced at $2.99 each. Links to Amazon US:

The Blue Knight

Ex-cop turned #1 New York Times bestselling writer Joseph Wambaugh forged a new kind of literature with his great early police procedurals. Gritty, luminous, and ultimately stunning, this novel is Wambaugh at his best--a tale of a street cop on the hardest beat of his life.

Twenty and two. Those are the numbers turning in the mind of William "Bumper" Morgan: twenty years on the job, two days before he "pulls the pin" and walks away from it forever. But on the gritty streets of L.A., people look at Bumper like some kind of knight in armor--they've plied him with come-ons, hot tips, and the hard respect a man can't earn anywhere else. Now, with a new job and a good woman waiting for him, a kinky thief terrorizing L.A.'s choice hotels, and a tragedy looming, Bumper Morgan is about to face the only thing that can scare him: the demons that he's been hiding behind his bright and shiny badge...

Hollywood Station

For a cop, a night on the job means killing time and trying not to get killed. If you're a cop in Hollywood Division, it also means dealing with the most overwrought, desperate, and deluded criminals anywhere. When you're patrolling Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards, neither a good reputation nor the lessons of scandals past will help you keep your cool, your sanity, or your life when things heat up.The robbery of a Hollywood jewelry store, complete with masks and a hand grenade, quickly connects to a Russian nightclub, an undercover operation gone bloodily wrong, and a cluelessly ambitious pair of tweakers.

Putting the pieces together are the sergeant they call the Oracle and his squad of street cops. There's Budgie Polk, a twenty-something firecracker with a four-month-old at home, and Wesley Drubb, a rich boy who joined the force seeking thrills. Fausto Gamboa is the tetchy veteran, and Hollywood Nate is the one who never shuts up about movies. They spend their days in patrol cars and their nights in the underbelly of a city that never sleeps. From their headquarters at Hollywood Station, they see the glamour city for what it is: a field of land mines, where the mundane is dangerous and the dangerous is mundane.

Hollywood Moon

There's a saying at Hollywood station that the full moon brings out the beast -- rather than the best -- in the precinct's citizens. One moonlit night, LAPD veteran Dana Vaughn and "Hollywood" Nate Weiss, a struggling-actor-turned cop, get a call about a young man who's been attacking women. Meanwhile, two surfer cops known as Flotsam and Jetsam keep bumping into an odd, suspicious duo -- a smooth-talking player in dreads and a crazy-eyed, tattooed biker. No one suspects that all three dubious characters might be involved in something bigger, more high-tech, and much more illegal. After a dizzying series of twists, turns, and chases, the cops will find they've stumbled upon a complex web of crime where even the criminals can't be sure who's conning whom.

Wambaugh once again masterfully gets inside the hearts and minds of the cops whose jobs have them constantly on the brink of danger. By turns heart-wrenching, exhilarating, and laugh-out-loud funny, Hollywood Moon is his most thrilling and deeply affecting ride yet through the singular streets of LA.

[sufue]

Castle Shade is the 17th and most recent in Laurie R. King's Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes series. It has dropped to £2.59 at Kindle UK - not quite the £0.99 that new releases often briefly drop to in the UK, but still not bad for a book that just came out in June. I had a review copy of this book, and loved it - especially the character of Queen Marie of Roumania, who was in real life (and in the book!) a granddaughter of Queen Victoria’s on her father’s side, and a granddaughter of Emperor Alexander II of Russia through her mother, and who managed by her astute politicking at the end of WWI to keep Roumania independent, and even increase its size. (And there's a good mystery too....)

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08S6T8CZ6
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08S6T8CZ6

Spoiler:

Queen Marie of Roumania, granddaughter to both Victoria, Empress of the British Empire, and Alexander II, Tsar of Russia, is in need of Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes' services. The queen, a famous beauty who has single-handedly transformed Roumania from a backwater into a force to be reckoned with, invites the pair to Bran castle. The ancient fortress sits on the border with the newly-regained territory of Transylvania, and was a gift to Queen Marie from her people.

The threat the queen fears is somewhat dubious: shadowy figures, vague whispers, dangers that may only be accidents. But a young girl is involved. So, putting aside their doubts, Russell and Holmes set out to investigate the mystery in a land of long memory and hidden corners - a land that had known Vlad the Impaler.

A land from whose churchyards the shades creep.

And if you want to read my full review, the link to my blog is in my signature...

[sufue]

Ghost Ups Her Game is the ninth in Carolyn Hart's Bailey Ruth series. It’s $1.99 at Kindle US right now.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086V7YBZQ
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B086V7YBZQ

Spoiler:

New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Hart's warm-hearted sleuth returns in the ninth Bailey Ruth Ghost Novel, with a case that will test even her Heavenly powers

After a busy morning dispatching emissaries from Heaven's Department of Good Intentions to those in need, Bailey Ruth Raeburn is feeling flush with success. So when an urgent call for help comes through from her old hometown, she can't resist taking on the mission herself. After all, what could go wrong?

With the shouted warning of her boss, Wiggins - "Irregular! Problematic!" - ringing in her ears, she arrives to face a shocking scene: Professor Iris Gallagher leaning over the corpse of her colleague Matt Lambert, the murder weapon clutched in her hand.

Bailey Ruth is only sent to help the innocent, but things are looking very black for Iris. With Wiggins breathing down her neck, and her old friend Police Chief Sam Cobb casting doubt on her every theory, Bailey Ruth must uncover the truth - or this could be the last trip to earth she's ever allowed to make.

[Critteranne]

If you like domestic thrillers and psychological suspense, check out the Limited-time deal: Select top eBooks for $4.99 or less list of bargains (good until October 10) and then check the Mystery & Thrillers link.

Sale items include "The Lies He Told: A Gripping Psychological Suspense," "Sincerely, Yours: A Breath-Taking Psychological Suspense Thriller," "Spare Room," and more. Some of these are from Bloodhound Books, which is associated with Open Road.

Also, The Name of the Rose is $3.99.

[Critteranne]

If you visit the Bloodhound Books webpage and sign up for their newsletter, you can get a free eBook -- Murder at the Book Club: A Gripping Crime Mystery that Will Keep You Guessing by Betsy Reavley.

Use this link.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Critteranne

Also, The Name of the Rose is $3.99.

I tried The Name of the Rose years ago in paper and got lost in the Latin. Now that I am older and (in theory) wiser, I should give it another go.