FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

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Last Ditch is the 29th Roderick Alleyn book by Ngaio Marsh. It's $1.99 right now at Kindle US, and $2.99 at Kobo US. But it's VIP-eligible and discountable at Kobo US, using coupon code Partners22 for 40% off, which works out to $1.61 if you stack both.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M351P30
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01M351P30
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/last-ditch-12

Spoiler:

Detection becomes a father-and-son activity in the Channel Islands: “A mystery novelist of world renown.” —The New York Times

Ricky Alleyn, son of the renowned police detective Roderick Alleyn, has taken himself to a secluded island to write a novel. Or think about writing a novel. Or look for distractions so he can avoid writing a novel. The distractions abound, mostly in the form of colorful local characters, so all is beer and skittles until Ricky stumbles across a murder and then gets himself kidnapped. Naturally his father rushes to the island to save the day . . .

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Even though it doesn't follow the typical Stephanie Plum naming convention, Fortune and Glory is, per SYKM, the 27th book in the series. And it's £0.99 right now at Kindle UK. Oh yeah, and (as if you didn't know ), it's by Janet Evanovich.

ADD: But it does have the subtitle, Tantalizing Twenty-Seven, so the counting thing is not totally gone...

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B086W3KMT1
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B086W3KMT1

Spoiler:

When Stephanie's beloved Grandma Mazur's new husband died on their wedding night, the only thing he left her was a beat-up old easy chair... and the keys to a life-changing fortune.

But as Stephanie and Grandma Mazur search for Jimmy Rosolli's treasure, they discover that they're not the only ones on the hunt. Two dangerous enemies from the past stand in their way-along with a new adversary who's even more formidable: Gabriela Rose, a dark-eyed beauty from Little Havana with a taste for designer clothes. She's also a soldier of fortune, a gourmet cook, an expert in firearms and mixed martial arts-and someone who's about to give Stephanie a real run for her money.

Stephanie may be in over her head, but she's got two things that Gabriela doesn't: an unbreakable bond with her family and a stubborn streak that will never let her quit.

She'll need both to survive because this search for "fortune and glory" will turn into a desperate race against time with more on the line than ever before. Because even as she searches for the treasure and fights to protect her Grandma Mazur, her own deepest feelings will be tested-as Stephanie could finally be forced to choose between Joe Morelli and Ranger.

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Dust is the 21st Kay Scarpetta title by Patricia Cornwell. It's £0.99 again at Kindle UK.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CQ5R18G
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CQ5R18G

Spoiler:

After working on one of the worst mass killings in US history, Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta returns home to recover, but an unsettling call drives her straight back to work.

The body of a young woman has been discovered inside the sheltered gates of MIT, draped in an unusual cloth and posed in a way that is too deliberate to be the killer's first strike. A preliminary examination reveals that the body is covered in a fine dust that under ultra-violet light fluoresces blood-red, emerald-green and sapphire-blue, and physical evidence links this to another series of disturbing homicides in Washington, DC.

As she pieces together the fragments of evidence, Scarpetta discovers that the cases connect, yet also seem to conflict, drawing herself and her team deeper into the dark world of designer drugs, drone technology, organised crime, and shocking corruption at the highest level.

Dust is a thrilling, addictive novel featuring one of the most iconic, original and compelling characters in crime fiction today.

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Icon is a non-series title by Frederick Forsyth. It's £0.99 at Kindle UK right now, but more importantly, although Forsyth is known for his thrillers, this is listed as the #1 best seller in "Call Centre Management". Gotta love Amazon's genres sometimes...

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0051UTRA8
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0051UTRA8

Spoiler:

From the world-renowned, bestselling author of The Day of the Jackal and The Fox

'A cunningly constructed action thriller . . . the story is terrifying and timely and grips you to the end' Daily Telegraph

It is 1999 and Russia is on the edge of total implosion.

Social and moral order has collapsed. The only rule is imposed by mafia-like criminal gangs. And a visionary patriot whose voice rises above it all: Igor Komarov.

It is in to this world that former CIA agent Jason Monk is plunged. Drawn out of retirement by the CIA's desperate bid to halt Komarov's meteoric rise, he must slip back in to Russia undetected and carry out a covert mission that the world depends on. With Komarov set to win the next election, Monk discovers a secret document that is smuggled in to the British Embassy in Moscow. Named The Black Manifesto, it reveals Komarov's horrifying and deadly secret agenda.

With many Western leaders persuaded that Komraov can lead his country into a new age, and the election looming, time is running out . . .

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by sufue

...this is listed as the #1 best seller in "Call Centre Management". Gotta love Amazon's genres sometimes...

#2 is Omerta by Mario Puzo. Who knew Call Center Management was such a hot genre?

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Who even knew it WAS a genre at all

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

#2 is Omerta by Mario Puzo. Who knew Call Center Management was such a hot genre?

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A couple of years later, this is again a UK Kindle Daily Deal, at £0.99.

Originally Posted by sufue

Agent Running in the Field is, per SYKM, the most recent book (non-series, 2019) by John le Carré. It is £0.99 today as part of the Kindle UK Daily Deal.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07L8GMY7V/
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07L8GMY7V/

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The Last Suppers is the fourth in Diane Mott Davidson's Goldy Bear Schultz series. It has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0030P1W7C
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0030P1W7C
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-last-suppers

Spoiler:

A lusciously lethal novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Sticks & Scones

“The main course on Davidson’s latest menu, served with lively pacing and characterization, is satisfying and tasty.”—Publishers Weekly

It should be the happiest day of Goldy’s life. The Colorado caterer is about to tie the knot with the man of her dreams, homicide detective Tom Schultz. But minutes before the ceremony is to begin, Tom phones with an urgent message: The wedding is off, and the reason is murder!

Tom was on his way to the church when he stopped to pick up Father Olson—and found the rector shot and dying. Yet by the time Tom’s fellow officers arrive at the crime scene, Tom has disappeared. Has the groom been abducted by the killer? Or has he gotten cold feet and walked out of Goldy’s life?

For better or worse, Goldy needs to know the truth. So she puts her exquisitely decorated wedding cake on ice and begins to search for clues. Her fiancé’s life—and her future happiness—will lead her to an unsavory killer whose unholy passion make Goldy a widow before she’s a wife.

Featuring original recipes for such heavenly delights as monster cinnamon rolls, savory shrimp on wheels, and sinful first wasp latkes!

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Now $1.99 in the US...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08B6F61C3
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08B6F61C3
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/blo...ajah-s-jewel-1

Originally Posted by sufue

Blotto, Twinks and the Maharajah's Jewel is the tenth and most recent (2021) in Simon Brett's Blotto & Twinks series. This is a fun series that feels to me like a mix (and slight tongue-in-cheek spoof) of PG Wodehouse and Kerry Greenwood. It has dropped to £2.99 at Kindle UK right now.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B089VVD6XY
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B089VVD6XY

[Tarana]

A Great Reckoning - Louise Penny $2.99 Amazon and Kobo
Chief Inspector Gamache Novel Book 12)

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I'm not a huge Patricia Highsmith fan, but lots of folks are, so...

Highsmith's classic Strangers on a Train, which was a finalist for the 1951 Edgar Award for Best First Novel, is on sale at Kindle UK for £0.99.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HVF6UR4
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HVF6UR4

Spoiler:

By the bestselling author of The Talented Mr Ripley and Carol

The psychologists would call it folie a deux . . .

'Bruno slammed his palms together. "Hey! Cheeses, what an idea! I kill your wife and you kill my father! We meet on a train, see, and nobody knows we know each other! Perfect alibis! Catch?'''

From this moment, almost against his conscious will, Guy Haines is trapped in a nightmare of shared guilt and an insidious merging of personalities.

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I guess the Britt Montero books, by Edna Buchanan, are really not police procedurals, since the protagonist is a Florida crime reporter on the police beat, and not a cop. But they read kind of like police procedurals, which is one of my favorite sub-genres. Now here's the second book in the series, Miami, It's Murder, which was a finalist for the 1995 Edgar Award for Best Mystery, on sale for £1.59 in the UK. These go on sale pretty often in the US, but less often in the UK, so here are links.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07NDR8JKV
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07NDR8JKV

Spoiler:

Edgar Award Finalist: A Florida crime reporter juggles multiple mysteries in a novel that “pulses with excitement, grit and vérité” (Faye Kellerman, New York Times–bestselling author).

On the police beat for her Miami newspaper, Cuban-born Britt Montero has a lot on her hands. She’s investigating a series of bizarre deaths involving sex, electrocution, and freshly poured concrete. As if that isn’t enough, there’s the long-unsolved murder of a young girl that may implicate the frontrunner in the governor’s race. And at the same time, she’s on the trail of a serial rapist—who targets her in retaliation for her stories . . .

In this novel, the author of The Corpse Had a Familiar Face offers “crime fiction that matches the high level of her Pulitzer prize–winning crime reporting” (Publishers Weekly).

“Buchanan is very good at capturing the flavor of South Florida and Miami, and her experience as a crime reporter makes her characters convincing.” —Library Journal

“First-rate mystery fiction.” —Booklist

Also note that there is an omnibus of the first five books in the series that has been on sale from time to time, so check carefully before you buy.

And, apropos of being on sale more often in the US, when I took a look, several titles are $1.99 in the US right now:

Miami, It's Murder, Britt Montero #2
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NDR8JKV
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07NDR8JKV
Kobo US (discountable): https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/miami-it-s-murder-3

Margin of Error, Britt Montero #5
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NDS4JCV
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07NDS4JCV

The Ice Maiden, Britt Montero #8
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0029PBV7K
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0029PBV7K
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-ice-maiden

Nobody Lives Forever, non-series, finalist 1991 Edgar Award for Best First Novel
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CRVDH8H
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07CRVDH8H

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Master Wycliffe's Summons is the fourteenth Hugh de Singleton title by Mel Starr . It is on sale in both the US and the UK right now, possibly due to the next book in the series, which is coming out next week.

Kindle US, $2.99: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZNQ2C5N
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08ZNQ2C5N

Kobo US, $3.99, but discountable, so if you stack a VIP discount and "Partners22", it works out to $2.15: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/mas...fe-s-summons-1

Kindle UK, £2.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08ZNQ2C5N
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08ZNQ2C5N

Spoiler:

One of Master John Wycliffe’s scholars is found dead after a thunderstorm. Was he stuck by lightning, or was there something more sinister to his death?

Scholar Richard Sabyn, a particularly obnoxious fellow, was believed to have been struck by lightning. However, Master Wycliffe believes otherwise and calls upon Sir Hugh de Singleton for help. Sir Hugh shares Wycliffe’s suspicions and launches a private investigation, learning that it might indeed be possible to make it look as though a man has died from a lightning strike. But who would go to all that effort, and why?

When fellow scholar Simon Duby dies, it raises even more questions and suspicions. What is the connection between the two men? Sir Hugh believes a bronze pot, a bucket of urine, and a small quantity of charcoal and brimstone may hold the key to understanding the deaths. During a bleak 1375, can he survive the insidious plague and several attempts on his life as he continues his quest for truth?

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The Case of the Careless Kitten is about 1/4 of the way through Erle Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason series. It's on sale for $2.99 in the US, and discountable at Kobo US, where stacking a Kobo VIP discount with "Partners22" will bring the price down to $1.61.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GT83Y6P
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07GT83Y6P
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the...areless-kitten

Spoiler:

Perry Mason seeks the link between a poisoned kitten, a murdered man, and a mysterious voice from the past

Helen Kendal's woes begin when she receives a phone call from her vanished uncle Franklin, long presumed dead, who urges her to make contact with criminal defense attorney Perry Mason; soon after, she finds herself the main suspect in the murder of an unfamiliar man. Her kitten has just survived a poisoning attempt, as has her aunt Matilda, the woman who always maintained that Franklin was alive in spite of his disappearance.

Lucky that Helen took her uncle's advice and contacted Perry Mason―he immediately takes her as a client. But while it’s clear that all the occurrences are connected, and that their connection will prove her innocence, the links in the case are too obscure to be recognized even by the attorney’s brilliantly deductive mind. Risking disbarment for his unorthodox methods, he endeavors to outwit the police and solve the puzzle himself, enlisting the help of his secretary Della Street, his private eye Paul Drake, and the unlikely but invaluable aid of a careless but very clever kitten in the process.

Reprinted for the first time in over twenty years, The Case of the Careless Kitten is one of the most highly praised cases in the iconic Perry Mason series, which need not be read in any particular order.

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Today's Big Deal at Kindle UK (with only a few hours left - apologies - today was crazy for me) is all 10 books in Nicola Upson's Josephine Tey series, featuring Tey as the protagonist. They're £0.99 each...

Here are links to the sale page:

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=s9_ac...031&pldnSite=1
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=s9_...031&pldnSite=1