FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

[Tarana]

The Bill Slider detective series by Cynthia Harrod Eagles is on sale at Amazon US. Most books are $2.99 with a couple at .99. Kobo is only matching the .99 priced books so far.

[sufue]

John Creasey wrote what is, IMO, one of the best long-lived police procedural series, featuring George Gideon of Scotland Yard and his crew. These books were originally written starting in the 1950s, using one of Creasey's pen names, JJ Marric. Per SYKM, the seventh book, Gideon's Fire, won the 1962 Edgar Award for Best Mystery (and the last few books were written by another author), but right now, an omnibus of the first three books in the series is on sale at Kindle US and UK for $0.99/£0.99. And if you like the first three, a good chunk of the rest of the series is $2.99 in the US, and £1.99 in the UK, with more on the way.

It appears a new publisher, Silvertail Books, whose website looks pretty legit to me, has gotten rights to this series and is publishing them at Kindle US/UK. At Kobo, meanwhile, the old publisher's versions (House of Stratus) are still up, with prices mostly at a crazy $8.99 in the US, and a somewhat more reasonable £3.99 in the UK.

(I haven't read any of these since the 1980s or so, so I do have a bit of concern that some of them might be a bit dated, but I really enjoyed the investigative aspects, which shouldn't get dated too much. Other than not having modern technology, of course. As opposed to societal norms, though, which might be dated in more objectionable ways. But I don't remember anything that made me wince at the time.)

Gideon: The First Three Books contains Gideon's Day, Gideon's Week (apa Seven Days to Death), and Gideon's Night
Kindle US, $0.99: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H63845B7
Kindle UK: £0.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0H63845B7

Series webpages (Kindle/Silvertail versions)
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FVJC5WTR
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FVJC5WTR

Series webpages (Kobo/House of Stratus)
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/series/gi...-scotland-yard
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/series/gi...-scotland-yard

And of course, as always, when there are multiple publishers' versions floating around, check carefully before you buy...

[GA Russell]

Thanks sufue!

[DrNefario]

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman is a Daily Deal on the UK Kindle store for £1.99.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/We-Solve-Mu.../dp/B0CQ256S11

Despite the URL, this is the first book in a new series, not a Thursday Murder Club book. The second book is due out later this year.

Solving murders. It's a family business.

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He still does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers the pub quiz and afternoons at home with his cat Trouble. His days of adventure are over – that’s his daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul, which makes being a private security officer to billionaires the perfect job. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Then a dead body, a bag of money and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending Steve an SOS...

As a breakneck race around the world begins, can they stay one step ahead of a deadly enemy?

[sufue]

Where There’s a Will (apa Sisters in Trouble, which title I've never heard of, outside of SYKM, and which doesn't seem very Rex Stout-ish to me), is the eighth in the Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin series. It has dropped to $1.99/£1.57/£0.99 in the US/UK.

Kindle US, $1.99: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003M68TIE
Kobo US, $1.99: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/whe...re-s-a-will-24
Kindle UK, £0.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003M68TIE
Kobo US, £1.57, discountable: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/whe...re-s-a-will-24

Spoiler:

Why did the late multimillionaire Noel Hawthorne leave his sisters, April, May, and June, a peach, a pear, and an apple? Why did he will the bulk of his considerable estate to a woman who was most definitely not his wife? Now Nero Wolfe, able, astute, and unscrupulous detective that he is, must get to the bottom of a will that’s left a whirlpool of menace . . . and a legacy of murder that’s about to be fulfilled.

Also, I'm pretty sure I'm not fond of the characterization of Wolfe as "unscrupulous" in the blurb. I think he had plenty of scruples - his priorities might have seemed odd to some folks, but his scruples were just fine IMO.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by sufue

[I]

Also, I'm pretty sure I'm not fond of the characterization of Wolfe as "unscrupulous" in the blurb. I think he had plenty of scruples - his priorities might have seemed odd to some folks, but his scruples were just fine IMO.

That description looks to be copied from the blurb on Fantastic Fiction. They also describe Archie as arrogant.
Apache

[sufue]

Sometimes one wonders who writes this stuff. Maybe they watched the (a) movie

Originally Posted by Apache

That description looks to be copied from the blurb on Fantastic Fiction. They also describe Archie as arrogant.
Apache

[salty-horse]

East Jerusalem Noir (Akashic Noir) by Rawya Jarjoura Burbara is $3 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)

In East Jerusalem Noir —published simultaneously with West Jerusalem Noir —the Akashic Noir Series turns its gaze to one of the world's most fascinating locales, in this volume from the perspective of Palestinian writers; translated from Arabic

"East Jerusalem's thorny politics run through each of the thirteen stories comprising this sturdy entry in Akashic's long-running regional noir series, which is being published simultaneously with West Jerusalem Noir . . . Written with passion and empathy, the volume's strength lies in giving voice to the varied experiences of Palestinians who live, work, and write in one of the world's most complicated cities. It's a fascinating glimpse of life under occupation." — Publishers Weekly

FROM THE EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION: "When you move through the streets of Jerusalem today, you will notice that history surrounds you from all sides. You hear Adhan, the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin from the Dome of the Rock; you hear the bells of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the Christians pray, accompanied by the voices of the Jewish worshippers at the Wailing Wall. You are filled with awe and stand helpless to do anything except feel both joy and sadness at the same time. Your feelings mingle, your thoughts get confused, and you peer at the sky waiting for God's mercy and relief . . . The stories here are varied, and I did not interfere with the writers' content. I asked them to portray the city of Jerusalem as they live it, as they feel it, as they appreciate it, as they fear it, as they want it to be, and as they imagine it in the past, the present, and the future . . . And now we put the black box in your hands! Kindly open it to reveal the secrets of Jerusalem and its people, who wake up to the sound of a forgotten rooster from a previous era to declare the beginning of a new dawn, so that life will not stop recording its new diary entries."

Featuring brand-new stories by: Nuzha Abu Ghosh, Ibrahim Jouhar, Osama Alaysa, Rahaf al-Sa'ad, Ziad Khadash, Mahmoud Shukair, Iyad Shamasnah, Rafiqa Othman, Dima al-Samman, Majid Abu Ghosh, Muhammad Shuraim, Jameel al-Salhout, and Nuzha al-Ramlawi.

Translated from Arabic by: Roger Allen, Marilyn Booth, Catherine Cobham, Raphael Cormack, Sawad Hussain, Dr. Nazih Kassis, Nancy Roberts, and Max Weiss.

East Jerusalem Noir is being published simultaneously with West Jerusalem Noir, edited by Maayan Eitan. The companion volume explores the city with brand-new stories by Israeli authors.

[sufue]

This blurb ^^^ reminds me of Matt Beynon Rees' too short four-book mystery series set in a refugee camp in Bethlehem, and also some in Gaza. Rees isn't Israeli, but per his bio, lived in Jerusalem, working as a journalist, including as Time's bureau chief, for about 20 years.

The series really made an impression on me, of how tough and unfair life was in the Palestinian territories, but also some of the ordinariness, and even occasional bits of hopefulness. Or maybe hopefulness is overdoing it, but at least moments of much less badness? The books were written in the late 2000s and it's awful to think that things must be just orders of magnitude worse now. The first book, The Collaborator of Bethlehem, apa The Bethlehem Murders, won the 2008 New Blood Dagger Award, and was a finalist for a couple of other awards. They are not cheap and almost never go on sale, but maybe if you want to read, you can find at a local library?

Thanks for posting the East Jerusalem Noir - I have a couple of long airplane flights coming up, and I think this will rise to the top of my TBR pile for those.

[salty-horse]

The Square of Sevens by Laura Shepherd-Robinson is £1 in the UK (Kobo, Amazon)
I began tracking it yesterday

An epic and sweeping mystery set in Georgian high society, Laura Shepherd-Robinson's The Square of Sevens is a dazzling story of intrigue, heartbreak, and audacious twists.

This is your story, Red. You must tell it well . . .

A girl known only as Red, the daughter of a Cornish fortune-teller, travels with her father making a living predicting fortunes using the ancient method: the Square of Sevens. When her father suddenly dies, Red becomes the ward of a gentleman scholar.

Now raised as a lady amidst the Georgian splendour of Bath, her fortune-telling is a delight to high society. But she cannot ignore the questions that gnaw at her soul.

Who was her mother? How did she die?

And who are the mysterious enemies her father was always terrified would find him?

These mysteries take her from Cornwall and Bath to London and Devon, from the rough ribaldry of the Bartholomew Fair to the grand houses of two of the most powerful families in England. And while Red's quest brings her the possibility of great reward, it also leads her into grave danger . . .

[sufue]

I've read and liked all, or almost all ???, of Catriona McPherson's Dandy Gilver series, but have only read one of her Last Ditch series, even though the protagonist is a Scot who has relocated to California, where I live. And which I love. And which location usually gets me to move books further up my TBR list.

I also liked that one book, though, and apparently so did other folks, since SYKM indicates that several books in the series have won/been finalists for various awards, mostly humor-related. Now I'll get a chance to read some more, because Joffe/Severn House has come out with a omnibus of the first six (of eight) books in the series. It's currently $2.99, and probably will go on sale at some point in the not-too-distant future.

But in the meantime, I have some long airplane flights coming up, and $2.99/£1.99 isn't too bad to pay for five books - or six, if, unlike me, you don't already have one of them. Granted it's the "give Amazon my money, and hope they don't lock my account" thing, but that already got discussed to death a while back. And I'm looking forward to some giggles on my flights...

Oh, and Joffe, as is their wont, has renamed the series to be the "Scot Free" series, but for once, didn't mess with the titles. Woo-hoo!

The Scot Free Cozy Mysteries omnibus contains: Scot Free, Scot & Soda, Scot on the Rocks, Scot Mist, Scot in a Trap, and Hop Scot.
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HB5YBFYS
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HB5YBFYS

Spoiler:

SIX FUNNY TWIST-PACKED COZY MYSTERIES IN ONE IRRESISTIBLE BOX SET

A SCOTTISH SLEUTH. CALIFORNIA SUNSHINE. SOME DEAD BODIES.

Lexy Campbell crossed an ocean for love. Love promptly fell apart.

Now divorced, broke and one missed flight away from escaping California, the Scottish marriage therapist has one last professional obligation: help an elderly couple sign their divorce papers.

Instead, the husband — a local fireworks king — is blown sky-high, his wife is arrested for murder and Lexy becomes inconveniently involved.

With nowhere else to go, she checks into the Last Ditch Motel in sunny Cuento. There she acquires an eccentric new family: formidable owners Noleen and Kathi, gloriously boundary-free Todd, and Roger, his long-suffering husband.

She also acquires rather a lot of mysteries.

Across these six complete cozy mysteries, Lexy hauls a body from the creek on Halloween, hunts for a stolen statue and a missing woman, faces lockdown with a killer, investigates the death of her first love, and finds a skeleton behind a wall at Christmas.

So much for California being relaxing.

Six clever, twist-packed cozy mysteries in one box set. Scottish wit meets California sunshine. Perfect for fans of Richard Osman, M.C. Beaton and Jana DeLeon.

Books 1–6 of Catriona McPherson's hilarious Scot Free Mysteries — all together and ready to binge.