FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

[SomeSteve]

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution: Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D. by Nicholas Meyer is $0.99 at Amazon US and Kobo US.

I'm not big on contemporary writers' continuing the series or inventing new adventures for the characters of those deceased, but I remember seeing the movie a thousand years ago (I don't remember if I read the book afterwards), so I'm mentioning it here.

https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Cent-So.../dp/B00ZHJEKVE

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the...ent-solution-3

[sufue]

Sealed with a Hiss is the thirty-third and most recent (2025) in Rita Mae Brown's Mary Minor Haristeen/Mrs Murphy series. It's on sale in both the US and UK right now.

Kindle US, $1.99: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9XWF7YZ
Kobo US, $1.99: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/sealed-with-a-hiss-3
Kindle UK, £0.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D9XWF7YZ
Kobo UK, £1.99, discountable: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/sealed-with-a-hiss-3

Spoiler:

When a decades-forgotten car bobs to the surface of a local creek, with a body still in the driver’s seat, it’s up to Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen and her beloved cats and dogs to save the day, in this latest mystery from Rita Mae Brown and her feline co-author, Sneaky Pie Brown.

Spring is in full bloom, and everything is blossoming just right for Harry in Crozet, Virginia. Restorations to the long-shuttered local segregated school are nearly complete, and the school will be renamed to commemorate an important community member. To honor the former students, Harry and her friends are hard at work planning a reunion. It’s a big affair, and the crew spends their days hanging plaques at the gym, arranging food, and writing speeches.

But the fifteen acres behind the school are enticing for more than just a school reunion. One realtor soon reveals plans to buy the land and build over it—unless the crew can find a way to stop the sale.

In their search to prevent the purchase, they come across something unexpected: a dead body, which might not be the first to show up this season. With a little aid from Tee Tucker the corgi and Irish Wolfhound Pirate, as well as feline sleuths Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, Harry just might have a chance at solving this mystery and preventing the land purchase once and for all.

[sufue]

Meyer has written six of these books in ~50 years, which, in my memory, is kind of a record for low series output. Even less than my favorite author, Sarah Caudwell, with four books in ~20 years. (Meyer does have a new one coming out in August, which will make it seven books...)

I remember reading and liking The Seven-Per-Cent Solution decades ago in high school (!!!), and also seeing and liking the movie, although IMO, almost all books are better than their movies. And FWIW, I had a review copy a few years ago of the fifth book, The Return of the Pharaoh, and enjoyed it too.

Totally agree that many continuation series aren't great, but I've liked the ones I've read of Meyer's.

Originally Posted by SomeSteve

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution: Being a Reprint from the Reminiscences of John H. Watson, M.D. by Nicholas Meyer is $0.99 at Amazon US and Kobo US.

I'm not big on contemporary writers' continuing the series or inventing new adventures for the characters of those deceased, but I remember seeing the movie a thousand years ago (I don't remember if I read the book afterwards), so I'm mentioning it here.

https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Cent-So.../dp/B00ZHJEKVE

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the...ent-solution-3

[sufue]

The Andromeda Strain goes on sale from time-to-time, but only rarely for $1.99, and usually for not very long. And it's $1.99 again today - grab it if you want it. The links are still good. Another book-to-movie...

Originally Posted by sufue

I read Michael Crichton's first book (writing as himself, at least), The Andromeda Strain, when I was a kid, shortly after it came out, and I remember it was pretty scary then. I re-read it not too long ago and it was still scary now, since a good part of what made it scary was not just the details of the "bug", or the way old computer systems used to fail (although new ones fail too), but the human nature involved - and, for better or for worse, that doesn't change much. I've read some of Crichton's other books since, and although some of them are good, I didn't like any of them as much as this one. Anyway, long intro to say that The Andromeda Strain is $1.99 at Kindle US today, as part of the Daily Deal, matched at Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Andromeda-Str...dp/B007UH4EPS/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-andromeda-strain

[salty-horse]

The Black Dahlia (L.A. Quartet #1) by James Ellroy is £1 in the UK (Amazon only, but Kobo should be price-matchable)

Los Angeles, 15th January 1947. A beautiful young woman walks into the night and meets a horrific destiny.

Five days later, her tortured body is found drained of blood and cut in half. The newspapers call her 'The Black Dahlia'. For two cops, what begins as an investigation becomes a hellish journey that takes them to the core of the dead girl's twisted life.

[salty-horse]

Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner is £1 in the UK (Kobo, Amazon)

This summer, meet Sadie Smith: seductive, cunning and going undercover – the Booker-shortlisted, wickedly entertaining New York Times bestseller

Sadie Smith – a 34-year-old American undercover agent of ruthless tactics and bold opinions – is sent by her mysterious but powerful employers to a remote corner of France.

Her mission: to infiltrate a commune of radical activists influenced by the beliefs of an enigmatic elder, Bruno Lacombe. But just as she is certain she’s the seductress and puppet master of those she surveils, Sadie becomes caught in the crossfire between the past and the future…

[sufue]

Bonded in Death is the sixtieth and most recent (2025) in JD Robb's Eve Dallas series, at least until a new one comes out in September. It's £0.99 in the UK for a few more hours.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D3LMP9ZN
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/bon...er-in-death-60

Spoiler:

Lt. Eve Dallas is back with a murder case with its roots in loyalty, treachery, espionage and the long shadow of war...

His passport reads Giovanni Rossi, retired businessman. But decades ago, during the Urban Wars, he was part of a small, secret organization called The Twelve. Responding to an urgent summons from an old compatriot, he returns to New York. To his death...

[sufue]

Two Joffe free mysteries this Friday/weekend:

Crime on the Fens is the first in the Nikki Galena series by Joy Ellis
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D737Q9VS
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D737Q9VS

The Thames Path Killer is a repeat freebie. It's the first in the Rob Miller series by Biba Pearce

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095KVM4GJ
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B095KVM4GJ

[sufue]

Now or Never: Thirty-one on the Run is the thirty-first and most recent (2024) Stephanie Plum book by Janet Evanovich. It's on sale in the UK, and also on not-quite-as-good a sale in the US.

Kindle US, $2.99: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CV1QC4QW
Kobo US (price-check, not on sale right now): https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/now-or-never-68
Kindle UK, £0.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CW189ZNW
Kobo UK, £0.99: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/now-or-never-70

Spoiler:

She said yes to Morelli. She said yes to Ranger. Now Stephanie Plum has two fiancés and no idea what to do about it. But the way things are going, she might not live long enough to marry anyone.

While Stephanie stalls for time, she buries herself in her work as a bounty hunter, tracking down an unusually varied assortment of fugitives from justice. There’s Eugene Fleck, a seemingly sweet online influencer who might also be YouTube star Robin Hoodie, masked hero to the homeless, who hijacks delivery trucks and distributes their contents to the needy. She’s also on the trail of Bruno Jug, a wealthy and connected man in the wholesale produce business who is rumored to traffic young girls alongside lettuce and tomatoes. Most terrifying of all is Zoran—a laundromat manager by day and self-proclaimed vampire by night with a taste for the blood of pretty girls. When he shows up on Stephanie’s doorstep, it’s not for the meatloaf dinner.

With timely assists from her stalwart supporters Lula, Connie, and Grandma Mazur, Stephanie uses every trick in the book to reel in these men. But only she can decide what to do about the two men she actually loves. She can’t hold Ranger and Morelli at bay for long, and she’s keeping a secret from them that is the biggest bombshell of all. Now or never, she’s got to make the decision of a lifetime.

[pdurrant]

Cross-posted from the SF/Fantasy thread:

Jo Walton's murder mystery/alternate history, Farthing, is on sale for £0.99 at Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GHK71NG/

It's also £0.99 at Kobo UK:
https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/farthing-3

A splendid murder mystery in an alternate post-war Britain.

[sufue]

The Gutter and the Grave is a stand-alone title by Ed McBain. Per SYKM, it is a "revised and restored version" of I’m Cannon—For Hire, originally written with pseudonym Curt Cannon. Whatever a "revised and restored version" is...

In any case, the Hard Case Crime edition is $1.99 in the US right now.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IHMBW0K
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the...-the-grave-ebk

Spoiler:

A former PI returns to the field in this noir gem full of murder, deceit, and femme fatales—from the crime fiction legend whose 87th Precinct series set the benchmark for police procedurals.

Detective Matt Cordell was happily married once, and gainfully employed—and sober. But that was before he caught his wife cheating on him with one of his operatives and took it out on the man with the butt end of a .45.

Now Matt makes his home on the streets of New York and his only companions are the city’s bartenders. But trouble still knows how to find him, and when Johnny Bridges shows up from the old neighborhood, begging for Matt’s help, Cordell finds himself drawn into a case full of beautiful women and bloody murder. It’s just like the old days—only this time, when the beatings come, he may wind up on the receiving end...

[sufue]

It looks as if someone may have gotten the rights to at least this first book in the Dan Rhodes series, although it can't be Crider himself, since he passed away some years ago. In any case, a new edition, published by Crossroads Press is free right now in the US and UK. I hate (truly hate) the new cover, but presumably the words are still the same , and they were worthy of an Anthony award back when first published...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CWUJUB6
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CWUJUB6

Originally Posted by sufue

Too Late to Die is the first in the Dan Rhodes Mystery series by Bill Crider. Per SYKM, it won the 1987 Anthony Award for Best First Novel. It has dropped to $0.99 at Kindle US.

link: https://www.amazon.com/Too-Late-Die-...dp/B00CWUJUB6/

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by sufue

It looks as if someone may have gotten the rights to at least this first book in the Dan Rhodes series, although it can't be Crider himself, since he passed away some years ago. In any case, a new edition, published by Crossroads Press is free right now in the US and UK. I hate (truly hate) the new cover, but presumably the words are still the same , and they were worthy of an Anthony award back when first published...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CWUJUB6
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CWUJUB6

Thanks! I wouldn't never have gone for it without your mention. The cover is ghastly.

Also free at Kobo.

Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/too-late-to-die
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/too-late-to-die

[sufue]

It makes Rhodes look like a zombie...

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Thanks! I wouldn't never have gone for it without your mention. The cover is ghastly.

Also free at Kobo.

Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/too-late-to-die
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/too-late-to-die

[sufue]

I've only read one book by Jane Adams, who has created several different series over the last thirty years. But I liked the one I read, which was a ARC from Adams' Rina Martin series. And right now, Joffe's free Friday/weekend book is another of Adams' books, Two Little Blonde Girls, which is the first in a different series - the Naomi Blake series. So I'll get to try another book/series for free, assuming my TBR pile ever gets tamed a bit.

It's also worth noting that this was originally titled Mourning the Little Dead - I do wish Joffe would quit changing the titles on the books they re-publish.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DYPKDS7H
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DYPKDS7H

Spoiler:

Meet Naomi Blake, an ex-policewoman who lost her sight in a tragic accident which maybe she shouldn’t have survived. But she never lost her thirst for justice. Discover a compelling series of British mysteries from a bestselling author.

They were two little blonde girls, but one of them never came home.

It’s been a long time since ex-copper Naomi Blake has heard Helen’s name. Naomi was twelve years old when her best friend went missing on the way to school in their small seaside town in Lincolnshire.

Now, finally, after twenty-three years, there’s a confession in a sealed envelope. And it’s shockingly close to home.

The note says Helen’s body is buried in the foundations of a house on Lansdowne Road.

Naomi may not be a detective anymore but she never lost her investigative instincts.

And with her guide dog, Napoleon, by her side, she wants answers to dark, long-buried questions.

Because perhaps other little girls were taken by the same evil man.

This utterly gripping crime mystery is perfect for fans of Ann Cleeves, Tana French and Val McDermid.

Please note this book was previously published as Mourning the Little Dead. It is a revised edition and errors have been corrected.