FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

[GA Russell]

Thrilling Detective Magazine
August, 1948

Seven stories, including

The 9th Doll

a novelet by
Robert Leslie Bellem

$1.99

https://www.radioarchives.com/Thrill...8_p/re1180.htm

[salty-horse]

Ripley Under Ground (Ripley #2) by Patricia Highsmith is £1 in the UK (Amazon only, but Kobo is price-matchable)

Tom Ripley is now the owner of a beautiful estate in France, a wealthy art collector and married to an heiress. The Buckmaster Gallery is staging an exhibition by the celebrated artist, Derwatt, but an American collector claims that the expensive masterpiece he bought three years ago is a fake. It is, of course, and he wants to talk to Derwatt - but Derwatt, inconveniently, is dead.

Ripley needs the perfect solution to keep his role in the fraud a secret and his reputation clean, but not everyone's nerves are as steady as his. Especially when it comes to murder.

Ripley Under Ground is an ingenious novel of masks and identity, illusion and reality, and is followed by Ripley's Game, The Boy Who Followed Ripley and Ripley Under Water.

[sufue]

The Incense Game is the sixteenth in the Sano (and Reiko) Ichiro series by Laura Joh Rowland. I've read and liked several of the early books in this series in DTB, but the e-books are usually quite expensive, and so I've kind of lost track of the later books. But I'd expect them to be good too. The Incense Game is on sale in the UK for £2.99 right now, and discountable at Kobo UK.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007XSN9IC
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-incense-game-3

Spoiler:

In The Incense Game, Laura Joh Rowland's powerful and evocative thriller, Sano Ichiro and his wife strive to solve the case in a world that is crumbling around them.

An RT Book Review Magazine Reviewers' Choice Award Winner

In the wake of a terrifying earthquake, Sano races to solve a crime that could bring down the shogun's regime

Japan, 1703. A devastating earthquake has left the city of Edo in shambles—even the shogun's carefully regulated court is teetering on the brink of chaos. This is no time for a murder investigation. But when Sano discovers the bodies of two young sisters buried beneath the rubble, he suspects that incense poisoning, not the earthquake, killed them. Worse yet, their father, a powerful nobleman, threatens to topple the vulnerable regime unless Sano agrees to track down his daughters' killer.

With the help of his wife, Reiko, and his chief retainer, Hirata, Sano begins a secret investigation that jeopardizes his whole family. And with Hirata mysteriously neglecting his duties and an old foe plotting to overthrow Sano and the shogun himself, the shockwaves from the earthquake are only the beginning.

[sufue]

Feast for the Ravens is the thirteenth and most recent (2025) in Sarah Hawkswood's Bradecote & Catchpoll historical series. I had a review copy of an earlier title in this series, which I quite liked, and have since read some others (ditto on liking them). Feast in on sale at Kindle UK right now for £0.99. Sadly it's not on sale at Kobo UK, but I'm providing the link for price checking/matching purposes.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DYK9CGMM
Kobo UK (price check/match): https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/feast-for-the-ravens

Spoiler:

Worcestershire, September 1145. A Templar knight is found dead in the Forest of Wyre, clutching a bloodstained document naming a traitor. Undersheriff Hugh Bradecote, Serjeant Catchpoll, and Underserjeant Walkelin must uncover whether the killing was personal, political, or the work of outlaws. They are surprised to find that the locals believe the killer to be the Raven Woman, a mythical shape-shifter said to haunt the woods. Then the knight is identified as Ivo de Mitton, who fled the shire many years ago, presumed guilty of the foul murder of his kin.

As the trio dig through legend and lies, they must determine the truth and bring a cunning killer to justice.

[cc_in_oh]

Humble has 18 Maigret epubs for $18

Link

[sufue]

Sharp Force is the twenty-ninth and most recent (Oct 2025) in Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta series. It's £0.99 in the UK right now.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DY4MP6CM
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/sharp-force

Spoiler:

NO ONE IS SAFE FROM THE SERIAL KILLER. NOT EVEN SCARPETTA...

During the early hours of Christmas morning, chief medical examiner Dr Kay Scarpetta receives a chilling call. The Phantom Slasher has struck again.

The serial killer has terrorized Northern Virginia for months. His pattern is to stalk with a sophisticated technology that enables him to invade his victims' homes and watch their every move. They wake up to a ghost-like hologram before being murdered in their beds.

Scarpetta is summoned to Mercy Island, the site of a notorious psychiatric hospital where two people have been brutalized, one of them from Scarpetta's past. It soon becomes apparent that she could be next . . .

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by cc_in_oh

Humble has 18 Maigret epubs for $18

Link

US Only. Not available in Canada or the UK.

[salty-horse]

I thought I posted this already. Maybe I misclicked. If it was deleted by an admin, I apologize, but I see no reason why it shouldn't belong here.

Karla's Choice by Nick Harkaway is $2 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)

The instant international bestseller set in the world of John le Carré's most iconic spy, George Smiley, written by acclaimed novelist Nick Harkaway

It is spring in 1963 and George Smiley has left the Circus. With the wreckage of the West’s spy war against the Soviets strewn across Europe, he has eyes only for a more peaceful life. And indeed, with his marriage more secure than ever, there is a rumor that George Smiley might almost be happy.

But Control has other plans. A Russian agent has defected in the most unusual of circumstances, and the man he was sent to kill in London is nowhere to be found. Smiley reluctantly agrees to one last simple task: interview Szusanna, a Hungarian émigré and employee of the missing man, and sniff out a lead.

But in his absence, the shadows of Moscow have lengthened. Smiley soon finds himself entangled in a perilous mystery that will define the battles to come and set him on a collision course with the greatest enemy he will ever make.

Set in the missing decade between two iconic instalments in John le Carré's George Smiley saga, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Karla’s Choice marks a momentous return to the world of spy fiction's greatest writer.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

I thought I posted this already. Maybe I misclicked. If it was deleted by an admin, I apologize, but I see no reason why it shouldn't belong here.

Not us.

[sufue]

And a few years later, again on sale. $1.99 in the US, £0.99 at Kindle UK, and £1.99 at Kobo UK, but discountable there. The US links below are still good, and here are UK links...

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003M5IUSY
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/not-quite-dead-enough

Originally Posted by sufue

Not Quite Dead Enough is another rare US price drop on a title in Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin series. It has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003M5IUSY
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/not-quite-dead-enough

[sufue]

Well, the title appears to have reverted to After the Funeral in the US now too, and it's on sale for $1.99 as part of today's Kindle Daily Deal, and price-matched at Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FC2RRW
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/after-the-funeral

And FWIW, SYKM says it was published at one point (1963) with the title Murder at the Gallop as well . Just to add to the confusion...

Originally Posted by jselby

After the Funeral: Hercule Poirot Investigates (Hercule Poirot series Book 29) by Agatha Christie is $1.99 at amazon.com

https://smile.amazon.com/After-Funer.../dp/B000FC2RRW

Originally Posted by BetterRead

Note: After the Funeral is Christie's original UK title. In the US, it was published as Funerals are Fatal. (I still own a paperback with that title.)

Also, it is the 25th novel featuring Hercule Poirot (if we exclude short story collections).

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by sufue

Well, the title appears to have reverted to After the Funeral in the US now too, and it's on sale for $1.99 as part of today's Kindle Daily Deal, and price-matched at Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FC2RRW
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/after-the-funeral

And FWIW, SYKM says it was published at one point (1963) with the title Murder at the Gallop as well . Just to add to the confusion...

It could be that this one was edited to be more PC. like was said the publisher was going to do with Agatha's books.

[sufue]

As usual for the weekend, Joffe has a free mystery available. What's not usual is that I'm getting around to posting it sometime before Sunday afternoon. Woo-hoo! This is ostensibly free just for today, Friday, but in practice is usually free through the weekend.

Death in Soho is the first in the Alexandra Raven series by Shiv Saywack

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FLKGGTNS
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FLKGGTNS

Spoiler:

A brand-new historical mystery set in London, rebuilding after the Second World War.

Alexandra Raven is smart, stylish and unflinchingly brave. She once risked her life behind enemy lines. Now, she hunts the truth in post-war London.

A war hero found dead in a locked room. Another victim found strangled in Soho. A private investigator with a past no one dares speak of.

London, 1950.

In a quiet Belgravia home, war hero Captain Fabian Sarre is found dead with a bullet wound to his head — no note, no explanation.

The police think Fabian took his own life. But Lady Bentham, Fabian’s godmother, thinks otherwise, and she’s determined to prove it.

She seeks the help of private investigator Alexandra Raven. All they have is a hunch and a police file. But as Alex digs deeper into the case, she uncovers hidden wounds the autopsy overlooked, gambling debts, and a past full of dark secrets.

Then a body is found tortured, gagged, and posed in a grim Soho flat. It becomes clear the victim has ties to Fabian.

Fabian’s death was no isolated tragedy — it’s part of a far-reaching conspiracy. As more bodies with connections to Fabian surface, Alex must outwit a ruthless killer determined to keep the past buried before the next body is hers . . .

[sufue]

If you've missed trying Martin Walker's Bruno, Chief of Police series, now's your chance - an omnibus of the first three books in the series is on sale in the US for $4.99, which is less than $2 a book, if you need all three. I've been reading this series from the beginning, and found the early books to be excellent, a few of the books in the middle to be merely pretty good, and the last couple to be back on their way to excellent again. Just to be honest, for calibration, I'm a huge Francophile, but what's not to like about the French countryside? and French food? and French wine? And some pretty timely mysteries too.

Mysteries of the French Countryside: Bruno, Chief of Police; The Dark Vineyard; Black Diamond
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BPLFNW2V
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/mys...-black-diamond

Spoiler:

From internationally acclaimed author Martin Walker comes the first three books in Mysteries of the French Countryside and an introduction to the world of Bruno, Chief of Police

Benoît Courrèges, aka Bruno, is a policeman in St. Denis, a small town in the Périgord region of France. When trouble arises, Bruno is on the case, settling local disputes, tracking down lawbreakers, and solving tantalizing mysteries. From a disturbance in the wine business and threats against the truffle trade to murders of national and even international scale, Bruno deals with it all. In story after story, Walker weaves in familiar characters from past novels, whether they are helping Bruno on a case or helping him prepare a delicious meal.

Mystery readers will delight in Bruno’s adventures, and hunger for more!

[sufue]

Now The Bea Abbot Agency Mysteries, Books 11-15 is on sale for $1.99/£1.99. I still haven't read any books in the first omnibus, but thought I'd post for those who have, and might want some more. Titles include: False Fire, False Pride, False Account, False Conclusion, and False Face.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DHXZVBRK
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DHXZVBRK

Originally Posted by sufue

A couple of Joffe onibuses that caught my eye are on sale. In each case I've read and liked at least a couple of books by the author, usually in DTB. And these are a nice way to pick up several more. Of course, YMMV...

The Bea Abbot Agency Mysteries, Books 1-5, by Veronica Heley, which contains: False Charity, False Picture, False Step, False Pretences, and False Money
Kindle US, $1.99: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D4VJ7G58
Kindle UK, £1.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D4VJ7G58

{edited other ominbus}