FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

[KyBunnies]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

You mean those old Butcher series from the 60s-70s?

I didn't know he ghost wrote those!

According to Fantastic Fiction he wrote them
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/j/stuart-jason/

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by KyBunnies

According to Fantastic Fiction he wrote them
https://www.fantasticfiction.com/j/stuart-jason/

Thank you for the link.

Too bad they aren't available as ebooks.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Gronk

There appears to be 35 of them. https://www.fictfact.com/search/?search=Ed+Noon

I don't think I have those remaining five on Amazon, or anywhere else for that matter.

-- Thank you for the additional information.

[maddz]

Patricia Cornwell, Scarpetta series books 7-11 are £1.99 each on Amazom.co.uk today:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/b/ref=s9_ac...d_i=5400977031

Cause of Death #7
Unnatural Exposure #8
Point of Origin #9
Black Notice #10
The Last Precinct #11

[Avice]

Memento Mori by Ruth Downie is the forthcoming eighth novel (due March 2018) in the Medicus series of historical mysteries set in imperial Roman Britain. It's down to $9.99 as a preorder on Kindle US.

Spoiler:

Memento Mori: A Crime Novel of the Roman Empire

The eighth gripping novel in the bestselling Medicus series, in which Ruso and Tilla investigate the death of the wife of Ruso's friend in the sacred hot spring of Aquae Sulis.


A scandal is threatening to engulf the popular spa town of Aquae Sulis (modern-day Bath). The wife of Ruso's best friend, Valens, has been found dead in the sacred hot spring, stabbed through the heart. Fearing the wrath of the goddess and the ruin of the tourist trade, the temple officials are keen to cover up what's happened. But the dead woman's father is demanding justice, and he's accusing Valens of murder.

If Valens turns up to face trial, he will risk execution. If he doesn't, he'll lose his children.

Ruso and Tilla do their best to help but it's difficult to get anyone--even Valens himself--to reveal what really happened. Could Ruso's friend really be guilty as charged?

[ATDrake]

If you're interested in Poisoned Pen Press' mystery lines, Kobo US' weekend sale, still good through today, December 18th is for 3 for 2 on select mystery/suspense titles, which appears to consist of PPP's mysteries, which seem to rarely go on sale these days and are VIP discount eligible, so 33% off seems a decent deal, provided you can find enough titles you want with matching amounts. Prices start from $0.99 up, and generally tend to go to around $6 or $7 pre-discount, but there are enough lower-priced early-in-series titles at the $3 mark that you can try to see if you'd be interested in the rest later on.

Authors include Australia's Kerry Greenwood (Phryne Fisher historical mysteries, basis of the TV series), Canada's Vicki Delany, vintage British mysteries from George Bellairs, and many more from around the world. I've personally enjoyed and would recommend Priscilla Royal's medieval mysteries, Mary Anna Evans archaeological artifact mysteries, Beverle Grave Meyers' 18th C Venetian opera mysteries starring a castrato, among others.

ETA: There's also some genre-related non-fiction, and Bound by Mystery: Celebrating 20 Years of Poisoned Pen Press is a nice-looking anthology which features a goodly number of newly-written short stories from their stable of authors, some in their popular series, and others introducting new characters.

Main promo page, with categories: Mystery & Thrillers, Police Procedural and Hard-Boiled Mysteries, Amateur Sleuths and Private Investigators, Traditional Detective Fiction, Women Sleuths, Historical Mysteries, Kids & Young Adult Mysteries

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Thank you to both rbruce1314 and Loosheesh for pointing out that the Ed Noon PI novel I was missing is now FREE! (And thank you Loosheesh for the PM.)

I now have (to the best of my knowledge) a COMPLETE COLLECTION!

Sorry, but no you don't have a complete collection.

These are all short stories.
"Open Season on Cops" (September 1962, MSMM)
"The Arabella Nude" (July 1963, MSMM)
"The Thing in Evening Dress" (May 1965, MSMM)
"Violin Solo for a Corpse" (May 1974, MSMM)
"Minute Mystery" (August 1980, MSMM)
"Conversation While Prying" (July 1984, MSMM)
"A Letter from Ed Noon" (#1, May 1988, Detective Story Magazine)
"The Ten Percent Kill" (#10, December 1990, Hardboiled Detective)

"5-Minute Mysteries" <--- collection of most short stories except those listed above

"High Noon at Midnight" <-- novel

[Loosheesh]

The Nature of the Beast, #11 in Louise Penny's Armand Gamache series, is now $2.99. I was missing that one, so I grabbed it. Now I'm only missing Glass Houses, which was on sale recently but I passed on.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Sorry, but no you don't have a complete collection.

These are all short stories.
"Open Season on Cops" (September 1962, MSMM)
"The Arabella Nude" (July 1963, MSMM)
"The Thing in Evening Dress" (May 1965, MSMM)
"Violin Solo for a Corpse" (May 1974, MSMM)
"Minute Mystery" (August 1980, MSMM)
"Conversation While Prying" (July 1984, MSMM)
"A Letter from Ed Noon" (#1, May 1988, Detective Story Magazine)
"The Ten Percent Kill" (#10, December 1990, Hardboiled Detective)

"5-Minute Mysteries" <--- collection of most short stories except those listed above

"High Noon at Midnight" <-- novel

Arggg!

Well, I'm getting close!

-- Thank you for the info.

[sufue]

The Language of Secrets is the second in the Rachel Getty/Esa Khattak series by Ausma Zehanat Khan. The first title in this series, The Unquiet Dead, won a couple of "Best First" awards, and I keep meaning to read it, because it really looks like my sort of thing, but haven't managed so far. Now, here is the second one on sale for $2.99 - to buy, or not to buy?

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Language-Secr...dp/B011I42VDU/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the...e-of-secrets-2

Spoiler:

The Unquiet Dead author Ausma Zehanat Khan once again dazzles in The Language of Secrets, a brilliant mystery woven into a profound and intimate story of humanity.

Detective Esa Khattak heads up Canada's Community Policing Section, which handles minority-sensitive cases across all levels of law enforcement. Khattak is still under scrutiny for his last case, so he's surprised when INSET, Canada's national security team, calls him in on another politically sensitive issue. For months, INSET has been investigating a local terrorist cell which is planning an attack on New Year's Day. INSET had an informant, Mohsin Dar, undercover inside the cell. But now, just weeks before the attack, Mohsin has been murdered at the group's training camp deep in the woods.

INSET wants Khattak to give the appearance of investigating Mohsin's death, and then to bury the lead. They can't risk exposing their operation, or Mohsin's role in it. But Khattak used to know Mohsin, and he knows he can't just let this murder slide. So Khattak sends his partner, Detective Rachel Getty, undercover into the unsuspecting mosque which houses the terrorist cell. As Rachel tentatively reaches out into the unfamiliar world of Islam, and begins developing relationships with the people of the mosque and the terrorist cell within it, the potential reasons for Mohsin's murder only seem to multiply, from the political and ideological to the intensely personal.

[sufue]

Cold Blood is the most recent (2017) title in the John Jordan series by Michael Lister. It has dropped to $0.99 at Kindle and Kobo US (coupon/VIPable). Books in this series tend to go on sale a lot, sometimes free, and also omnibuses exist and also go on sale pretty often, so up to you if you want to pull the trigger on an individual title at $0.99.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Cold-Blood-Jo...dp/B01N0Y4QE4/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cold-blood-20

Spoiler:

A mysterious disappearance, another baffling case for John Jordan.

On Thursday, January 20, 2005, the day of George W. Bush’s second inauguration, Randa Raffield, a twenty-one year old student at the University of West Florida, crashed her car on a secluded stretch of Highway 98 near the Gulf of Mexico.

The location of the wreck was hundreds of miles from where she was thought to be.

A witness who came upon the scene moments after the accident, testified that Randa was fine and not in need of assistance. But when the first Gulf County Sheriff’s Deputy arrived at the car seven minutes later Randa was gone, vanished without a trace. And has never been seen again.

[sufue]

Death Come Quickly is the 23rd (SYKM) or 22nd (blurb) in the China Bayles series by Susan Wittig Albert. The difference is probably a book of short stories, also available pretty cheap (see below). Quickly has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Death-Come-Qu...dp/B00DMCV8H2/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/death-come-quickly

Spoiler:

In this thrilling mystery in the New York Times bestselling series, herbalist and ex-lawyer China Bayles finds herself on the trail of a nearly fifteen-year-old cold case…

When China and Ruby’s friend Karen Prior is mugged in a mall parking lot and dies a few days later, China begins to suspect that her friend’s death was not a random assault. Karen was a filmmaker supervising a student documentary about the almost fifteen-year-old murder of a woman named Christine Morris and the acquittal of the man accused of the crime. Is it possible that the same person who killed Christine Morris targeted Karen?

Delving into the cold case, China learns the motive for the first murder may be related to a valuable collection of Mexican art. Enlisting the help of her San Antonio lawyer friend Justine Wyzinski—aka the Whiz—China is determined to track down the murderer. But is she painting herself into a corner from which there’s no escape?

An Unthymely Death is a book of short stories in the same series, also at $1.99.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Unthymely-Dea...dp/B001NGN2IC/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/an-unthymely-death-1

Spoiler:

Now readers can join China Bayles in ten puzzling cases—and get a taste of her world. This delightful collection features loads of wonderful herbal tidbits on everything from rosemary to feverfew to catnip; recipes for such to-die-for dishes as a Deadly Chocolate Valentine, Ruby's Applesauce Mint Bread, China's Five-Spice Chicken and Veggie Stir-Fry, and McQuaid's Tex Mex-and a host of creative ideas for garden and home. It's a one-of-a-kind collection featuring a one-of-a-kind sleuth—who's worth spending some "quality thyme" with!

[sufue]

I'm so used to posting about titles in Robert Goldsborough's continuation of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin series, which are published by Open Road, so they go on sale a lot, that it feels odd to post a book in the actual original series. They almost never go on sale. But, here one is: Before Midnight is about halfway through the series, and has dropped to $2.99 at Kindle and Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Before-Midnig...dp/B003L1ZWQW/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/before-midnight

Spoiler:

The scent of murder is in the air at the great Pour Amour perfume contest, and the incomparable Nero Wolfe is intent on sniffing out the killer. The foul deed is committed during the contest’s final round. Only five riddles separate the contestants from the million-dollar cash prize when someone finds the sweet smell of success too intoxicating to leave to chance. Now the contest creator is dead and the answers stolen from his wallet, and it’s up to Wolfe to follow the trail of clues to a source disturbingly close to home.

[sufue]

John D MacDonald's Travis McGee titles also rarely go on sale, in the US, at least. Nightmare in Pink is the 2nd in the series, and has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Nightmare-Pin...dp/B008WONZGC/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/nightmare-in-pink

Spoiler:

From a beloved master of crime fiction, Nightmare in Pink is one of many classic novels featuring Travis McGee, the hard-boiled detective who lives on a houseboat.

Travis McGee’s permanent address is the Busted Flush, Slip F-18, Bahia Mar, Lauderdale, and there isn’t a hell of a lot that compels him to leave it. Except maybe a call from an old army buddy who needs a favor. If it wasn’t for him, McGee might not be alive. For that kind of friend, Travis McGee will travel almost anywhere, even New York City. Especially when there’s a damsel in distress.

“As a young writer, all I ever wanted was to touch readers as powerfully as John D. MacDonald touched me.”—Dean Koontz

The damsel in question is his old friend’s kid sister, whose fiancé has just been murdered in what the authorities claim was a standard Manhattan mugging. But Nina knows better. Her soon-to-be husband had been digging around, finding scum and scandal at his real estate investment firm. And this scum will go to any lengths to make sure their secrets don’t get out.

Travis is determined to get to the bottom of things, but just as he’s closing in on the truth, he finds himself drugged and taken captive. If he’s being locked up in a mental institution with a steady stream of drugs siphoned into his body, how can Travis keep his promise to his old friend? More important, how can he get himself out alive?

[sufue]

Mrs. Jeffries Reveals Her Art is the 12th in the Mrs.Jeffries series by Emily Brightwell. It has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Jeffries-...dp/B00AFZTN5I/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/mrs...eveals-her-art

Spoiler:

A missing muse is the catalyst for a baffling case for Inspector Witherspoon and Mrs. Jeffries in the twelfth novel in the long-running Victorian mystery series.

An artist’s model never shows up at Neville Grant's house—or so he claims. But when one of Mr. Grant’s house guests suddenly dies, the Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries have to work double time to find both the missing model and the killer!

“One historical mystery series that never gets boring or dull.”—Midwest Book Review