FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

[sufue]

So, I finally actually read my email, and figured out why Joffe had the non-Friday freebie yesterday. Apparently this is their tenth anniversary, and so for a week, they are having a daily freebie.

And in honor of my having mentioned not too long ago that Simon Brett's Mrs Pargeter series is my favorite of the ones they publish , today's freebie is A Nice Class of Corpse, which is the first Mrs Pargeter book. So, if $0.99/£0.99 is bit much for you for eight books , you can try the first one free if you grab it today.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09RSZKRQ6
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09RSZKRQ6

Spoiler:

Meet Mrs Melita Pargeter, a vivacious widow whose mystery-solving talents come in handy when a murderer stalks a hotel for well-to-do retirees.

She checks into the Devereux Hotel on England’s sunny south coast. Where secrets hide behind every door and the sea-views are to die for . . .

Her arrival, in a fancy car and a flurry of silk, causes much excitement among the elderly residents.

By next morning, they have something new to talk about — the discovery of a crumpled body at the foot of the stairs.

The victim is old Mrs Selsby, timid occupant of the hotel’s most coveted sea-front room. Everyone says her death was a tragic accident, but Melita’s not so sure.

Wealthy Mrs S. just happens to have left her fortune to her fellow Devereux residents. And then there’s the matter of her jewellery. A priceless collection that seems to be disappearing piece by piece . . .

Melita may be pushing seventy, but she still has a trick or two left up her sleeve.

Can she catch the killer before anyone else dies?

Meet your next favourite sleuth in this wonderfully witty whodunit.

[sufue]

The Beekeeper's Apprentice is free right now at Kindle UK, but not at Kobo UK or in the US. (Appears to be different publishers...)

Great book, great series...

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B006WB7JOG

Originally Posted by sufue

The Beekeeper's Apprentice is the first in the Laurie R. King's excellent (IMO) Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes series. It has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle US.

link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GQ6043A

[sufue]

Before She Dies is the fourth Posadas County title by Steven F Havill. It has dropped to $1.99/£1.99 in the US/UK, and discountable at Kobo...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VMH5P48
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/before-she-dies-10
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07VMH5P48

Spoiler:

Posadas Register reporter Linda Real barely survives her nighttime patrol with one of Undersheriff Bill Gastner's deputies. He is killed by a more accurate shotgun blast than the one that ruins her face. Teamed with his intuitive, observant detective Estelle Reyes-Guzman and her usual sharp eye for physical evidence, Bill implicates Tammy Woodruff, the thrill-seeking daughter of the local Republican County Chairman, in the brutal assault. Before he can interrogate her, though, Tammy hightails it. Soon she is found crushed to death after her truck goes off the road while she's loaded with booze - in fact, far too much alcohol, for anyone to have consumed....

[sufue]

If you don't have enough on your TBR list , here's Martin Edwards' view of 100 classic crime books you may want to read. He has been the editor? something? for the British Library's Crime Classics series of republished Golden Age books. And although I suppose it is technically non-fiction, I'm posting The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books here, because it just belongs here, with the mystery readers! Oh yeah, and it's on sale at Kindle US right now for $1.99.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VNH2DZ7

Spoiler:

2018 Macavity Award winner for Best Nonfiction

2018 Anthony Award nominee for Best Critical/Nonfiction Book

This book tells the story of crime fiction published during the first half of the twentieth century. The diversity of this much-loved genre is breathtaking, and so much greater than many critics have suggested. To illustrate this, the leading expert on classic crime discusses one hundred books ranging from The Hound of the Baskervilles to Strangers on a Train which highlight the entertaining plots, the literary achievements, and the social significance of vintage crime fiction. This book serves as a companion to the acclaimed British Library Crime Classics series but it tells a very diverse story. It presents the development of crime fiction—from Sherlock Holmes to the end of the golden age—in an accessible, informative and engaging style.

Readers who enjoy classic crime will make fascinating discoveries and learn about forgotten gems as well as bestselling authors. Even the most widely read connoisseurs will find books (and trivia) with which they are unfamiliar—as well as unexpected choices to debate. Classic crime is a richly varied and deeply pleasurable genre that is enjoying a world-wide renaissance as dozens of neglected novels and stories are resurrected for modern readers to enjoy. The overriding aim of this book is to provide a launch point that enables readers to embark on their own voyages of discovery.

[sufue]

Joffe's tenth anniversary freebie for today has been free before (at least I have it, and wouldn't if it hadn't been free), but apparently I missed posting it back then...

The Malvern Murders, Inspector Ravenscroft #1, by Kerry Tombs
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082J48ZKW
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B082J48ZKW

Spoiler:

Before Jack the Ripper terrorized London, Police Inspector Samuel Ravenscroft patrolled the grimy streets of Whitechapel – but he’s no Inspector Abberline.

Malvern, 1887. Clever and hard-working, Ravenscroft nonetheless has the worst record in the force. He lets a murderer escape during a chase and is banished to the spa town of Malvern for a water treatment to cure his asthma.

MURDER FOLLOWS THE INSPECTOR

Ravenscroft accepts a dinner invitation from a new acquaintance, Jabez Pitzer. Before the dinner gong can sound, the maid finds Pitzer slumped over his desk – dead. Ravenscroft sees two glasses on a small side table. One has a powdery residue at the bottom and the faint smell of bitter almonds.

A BODY IN THE LIBRARY

Ravenscroft immediately recognizes the signs – Pitzer has been poisoned. But the local authorities are reluctant to believe there is a murderer in Malvern.

He may be recovering his strength, but Ravenscroft has all his wits intact. He finds himself pulled into the investigation. Hungry to prove himself, Ravenscroft is determined to solve the case. But the bodies mount up. Someone is killing local luminaries.

WHO WILL BE NEXT?

A mysterious woman in black was witnessed speaking to each of the victims. Who is she and why does death seem to follow her? And does a local cartel of businessmen have anything to do with it?

RAVENSCROFT IS OUT OF THE SMOKE BUT MALVERN HAS ITS OWN DEADLY FIRES

THE MALVERN MURDERS is packed with delicious dialogue, sly humour and Victorian atmosphere. Perfect for fans of M.R.C. Kasasian, E.S. Thomson, Oscar De Muriel and Karen Charlton.

MEET THE DETECTIVE
Inspector Samuel Ravenscroft, unmarried and over forty, is a detective in the Whitechapel branch of the Metropolitan Police. Painfully asthmatic, he is often overlooked by his superiors in favour of his pushier colleagues. But Ravenscroft is keen to prove himself and strives to overcome his physical limitations. His tools are forthright questioning, close examination of the evidence and personal intuition. He often finds that the solution to many crimes is buried deep in the past.

With his trusty Bradshaw, Ravenscroft and his colleague Constable Tom Crabb, travel around the Three Counties, overlooked by the Malvern Hills, bringing criminals to justice.

[sufue]

A big bunch of titles (maybe a third of them?) in Steven F Havill's Posadas County series have dropped in the US to $2.99, and a few to $1.99. Too many to list individually, but here are series web page links...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084ZG1C62...kindle_edition
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/series/po...2?pageNumber=1

[sufue]

It's been several years (almost six!!!), but Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor is $1.99 again in the US. The links below are still good...

Originally Posted by sufue

Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor is the first in the Jane Austen series by Stephanie Barron. It has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Jane-Unpleasa...dp/B001QAP38W/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/jan...cargrave-manor

[sufue]

Blowback is the fifth in Peter May's Enzo Files series. It's on sale in the US for $0.82 and in the UK for £0.99. Usually it's the other way around, with the "0.82" in the UK, and the "0.99" in the US, but WTH...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q38OI6A
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/blowback-20
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00E4O3GNQ

Spoiler:

The penultimate chapter in the Enzo Files, sees Enzo enter the volatile and - now, it appears - violent world of haute cuisine.

PUY-DE-DÔME, FRANCE.

A Silenced Man.

Footprints in the snow lead to the murder scene of Marc Fraysse, France's most celebrated chef - brutally shot before he could make the revelation of his career.

A Determined Man.

Seven years on and the mystery still raw, Enzo Macleod, forensic investigator, forays into the heated world of haute cuisine to uncover bitter feuds and a burning secret.

A Hunted Man.

The Fraysse family history is as twisted as Enzo's own. And in his pursuit of truth, the depths of deceit threaten to consume Enzo - and that which he cherishes most.

[sufue]

The Body in the Cast is the fifth in the Faith Fairchild series by Katherine Hall Page. And it has just dropped to $2.99 in the US. And aside from a brief previous price drop back in May of this year, which I missed, it hasn't been this low (per eReaderIQ) in decades, literally, so grab it if you want it!

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006JQU126
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-body-in-the-cast-1

Spoiler:

The Body in the Cast, the fifth volume in Katherine Hall Page's cozy mystery series featuring amateur sleuth Faith Fairchild

Hollywood has come to town — and Faith Fairchild has to feed it! Hired to cater meals for the movie crew that is filming a modern-day version of The Scarlet Letter in the tiny New England village of Aleford, Faith is eager to treat the talented tantrum-throwers to the best of her culinary delights.

But an accusation that her famous Black Bean Soup is poison has left a bad taste in Faith's mouth. Her exploration into the source of the nasty slander leads the amateur investigator behind the scenes to a shocking off-camera murder. And suddenly more than Faith's reputation is at stake — her life itself could end up on the cutting room floor.

[sufue]

Death Without Tenure is the sixth in Joanne Dobson's Professor Karen Pelletier series. It's $1.99 right now in the US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VPKQD1S
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/death-without-tenure-6

Spoiler:

Karen Pelletier is about to realize her dream. After six years in the English Department at New England's exclusive Enfield College, she is up for a tenured position. But when her rival for the one available tenured spot is found dead from an overdose of Peyote buttons, Karen is first on the list of suspects. Now a homicide cop with a grudge against Lieutenant Charlie Piotrowski, the love of Karen's life, is breathing down her neck.

On campus, political passions rage, inflamed by the politically-correct English Department chair and by the Distinguished Visiting Professor of Whiteness Studies. Two of Karen's favorite students are caught up in the furor.

Will Karen be able to survive the investigation, protect her students, and find a permanent niche in the world of academe, all without her beloved Charlie, now serving with the National Guard in Iraq?

And, FWIW, the fifth in the series, The Maltese Manuscript, is at $1.99 again as well - links and info in this previous post.

Sadly, since I liked this academic mystery series when I read them in DTB, the first four don't seem to be available as e-books, but fingers crossed that perhaps they will become available in the future.

[sufue]

The Body in the Bouillon is the third in the Faith Fairchild series by Katherine Hall Page, and it's taking its turn on sale today - for $2.99 in the US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006JQ91OK
Kobo US (discountable): https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the...the-bouillon-3

Spoiler:

Minister's wife, sometime sleuth, and culinary artist Faith Sibley Fairchild is intrigued by rumors of mysterious doings at Hubbard House — an elegant, secluded retirement home for the well-heeled Yankees of Aleford, Massachusetts. Determined to do some surreptitious snooping, she joins the pricey retreat's flu-depleted kitchen staff, only to witness an aging resident collapse face-first into a bowl of Faith's hot and savory bouillon. But it isn't until a blackmailing drug dealer turns up dead in Faith's bedroom that the amateur investigator realizes that murder not only happens at Hubbard, it's the specialty of the house! And Faith's own demise might very well be the next item on the menu.

And while we're on this series, The Body in the Gallery, the seventeenth book, is on sale for $0.99, which is lower than it usually goes...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0010SGRF8
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the...-the-gallery-2

[sufue]

Julius Katz and Archie has dropped to $2.99 at Kindle US right now. Not free like before, but not too bad. And it's KU as well, which means if you have a current subscription, you can read it for free - or at least "for included". But also means it's not available at Kobo...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050VI5OM

Even better, though, when I checked out the rest of the series to see if any others were on sale, I discovered a new (2023) Zeltserman book, Detectives and Spies, which, per its blurb, contains a a new Julius Katz/Archie novella, Julius Katz and the Ruined Roast, and some other Julius/Archie short stories. Woo-hoo! As well as some other novellas and short stories from Zeltserman's other series.

I'd been hoping for more Julius/Archie stories, but not sure if I'm glad or sad that they're in a book with others. On balance I think I was wishing for a whole new book of just Julius/Archie, but don't mind being introduced to some of Zeltserman's other writing. We shall see!

Kindle US, also in KU: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CL3R5L12

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Julius Katz and Archie by Dave Zeltserman is currently FREE at Amazon UK. The second in the series of collected stories. I read the first collection back in 2014 and put the next one on my wishlist. Today it came up as free!

[nabsltd]

A lot of books from the Parker/Grofield series by Richard Stark are on sale for $1.99 or $2.99 at Amazon:

$1.99:
The Hunter
The Man With the Getaway Face
The Outfit
The Mourner
The Jugger
The Seventh
The Handle
The Rare Coin Score
The Green Eagle Score
The Black Ice Score
Deadly Edge
Lemons Never Lie (Grofield)
Butcher's Moon
Comeback
Firebreak

$2.99:
The Blackbird (Grofield)
Breakout
Nobody Runs Forever
Ask the Parrot
Dirty Money

[sufue]

After some individual freebies during the week, in honor of their tenth anniversary, Joffe Books are back to their usual three-books-free-on-Friday thing. And this week, there are two that fit in this thread:

Out of Sight Out of Mind, by Evonne Wareham - described as a psychological thriller - not usually my thing, but YMMV
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQ5JMJVG
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CQ5JMJVG

A Conspiracy of Aunts, a stand-alone by Sally Spencer (pen name for Alan Rustage), who has written several mystery series, including a nice historical series that I read most of in DTB and remember fondly although not very well. But this freebie is a stand-alone that sounds a bit thriller-ish too. But WTH, it's free...
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074PXR6PK
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B074PXR6PK

And there's also a historical novel, posted in the other fiction thread.

[sufue]

Rhys Bowen's Peril in Paris is the sixteenth and next-to-most-recent (until November, at least) in her Lady Georgie/Royal Spyness series. It's on sale in the US and UK for $1.99/£1.99, except at Kindle UK, where it's only £0.99.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09RPJSSM9
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/peril-in-paris-3
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09RPJSSM9
Kobo UK, discountable: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/peril-in-paris-3

Spoiler:

Lady Georgiana Rannoch and her dashing husband, Darcy, are awaiting a bundle of joy, but an unexpected trip to Paris will thrust them straight into a tangled web of international intrigue in this all-new mystery in the New York Times bestselling Royal Spyness series from Rhys Bowen.

What a delight it is to finally be able to enjoy a simple meal again! I have been in the throes of morning sickness for the last few months as Darcy and I prepare to welcome a brand-new addition to our little family. Now that I am feeling better, I have realized I am dreadfully bored! It seems that all my nearest and dearest are off leading their own busy lives while I sit at home and attempt to train our two adorably naughty puppies. Fun as it may be, it is hard not to long for a little adventure, a change of pace, before my true confinement begins when the baby comes.

Happily, it seems that Darcy has read my mind. When I receive a letter from my glamorous best friend, Belinda, Darcy suggests we take a trip to Paris to visit her. It seems he also has a spot of business of which to take care, so I will be staying in Belinda’s flat as she works feverishly on Coco Chanel’s fall collection. I happen to know Coco from a disastrous encounter in Nice years ago, and I am hoping this visit will go much more smoothly. But I soon learn that nothing about my time in Paris is going to be simple . . . or safe for that matter.

Darcy has asked me to take on a small chore as a part of his latest assignment. I am to covertly retrieve something from an attendee of Coco’s show. It seems easy enough, but I discover that this little errand could have terrifying consequences for a world on the brink of war. When things go horribly wrong, I am left to find a killer all while trying to fend off a French policeman who is certain that I am a criminal mastermind. But I have no plans to deliver my darling little one in a prison cell, and so I will muster every ounce of my courage to save the day . . . and, quite possibly, the world!