FREE/BARGAIN - Mystery, Suspense, Thriller - 2014

[silverraven]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Free from the author via KDP Select @ Amazon (linkage for the lot):

4 assorted titles by self-publishing champion J.A. Konrath aka Jack Kilborn (SYKM), including a short story collection in his award-nominated Jack Daniels mystery series (a repeat) and 2 newly free horror & sci-fi thrillers

Thanks for this! I have read/listened to all but the last of his Jack Daniel series and love them! The latest one is on my ever growing TBR pile!! I really liked the audio books of these books, very well done.
I will definitely be grabbing these.
S

[ATDrake]

^

If you like the Jack Daniels series, be sure you've also picked up the sci-fi crime thriller which is one of Konrath's included freebies. Apparently it's a kind-of-sequel which stars a future relative of JD's.

[ATDrake]

Free from the start-up small press re-publisher Story Merchant via KDP Select @ Amazon:

Primal Fear by the late William Diehl (SYKM, Wikipedia), the 1st in his Martin Vail series of mystery/crime thrillers starring a Chicago defense attorney, originally out from Ballantine Books in 1994. This was turned into an eponymous film (IMDB, Wikipedia) starring Richard Gere.

Martin Vail, the brilliant "bad-boy" lawyer every prosecutor and politician loves to hate, is defending Aaron Stampler, a man found holding a bloody butcher's knife near a murdered archbishop. Vail is certain to lose, but Vail uses his unorthodox ways to good advantage when choosing his legal team--a tight group of men and women who must uncover the extraordinary truth behind the archbishop's slaughter. They do, in a heart-stopping climax unparalleled for the surprise it springs on the reader.

[kindlekitten]

Konrad has been around for awhile. Maybe a little due diligence is in order before a flag is thrown on the play

[ATDrake]

Bargain @ $1.99 for today only (Oct 20th), according to the newsletter, from Open Road Media in multiple stores (couponable @ Kobo) for the US only (HarperCollins still owns the rights elsewhere, IIRC):

The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins (Wikipedia) a WWII-set action thriller, originally out in 1975 and made into the eponymous film (IMDB, Wikipedia) starring Michael Caine & Donald Sutherland.

In Jack Higgins’s classic international bestseller, an audacious Nazi plan to kidnap Winston Churchill threatens to tip the scales of World War II

In November of 1943, an elite team of Nazi paratroopers descends on British soil with a diabolical goal: to abduct Winston Churchill and cripple the Allied war effort. The mission, ordered by Hitler himself and planned by Heinrich Himmler, is led by ace agent Kurt Steiner and aided on the ground by IRA gunman Liam Devlin.

As the deadly duo executes Hitler’s harrowing plot, only the quiet town of Studley Constable stands in their way. Its residents are the lone souls aware of the impending Nazi plan, and they must become the most unlikely of heroes as the fate of the war hangs in the balance.

[ATDrake]

Free from the author via KDP Select @ Amazon (linkage for the lot):

Czechmate by Larry Johns, an espionage thriller originally out from UK publisher Robert Hale in 1980.

A dangerous double agent must be rescued from a Czechoslovakian prison. Or, failing that, he must be disposed of. In the event neither option is available, because the Black King has already "castled".

The Dongola Script, a Middle Eastern archaeological uncovered secrets thriller originally out from Robert Hale in 1981.

A group of archaeologists, sifting through burial mounds in Saudi Arabia, make a discovery that threatens to tear the Middle East apart. As the ripples of greed, intrigue and murder extend outwards to engulf the rest of the world the polyglot team of diggers vanish behind a curtain of lies and double-cross. Jackie Ryderbeit is pitched into the maelstrom in an effort to quell the rising storm. The fate of the archaeologists slowly becomes apparent, which only serves to lead Ryderbeit further and further away from the truth. Friend becomes enemy, and enemy becomes friend, as the story unfolds beneath the white-hot sun. But truth is always stranger than fiction, as Ryderbeit discovers to his cost.

A Time to Die, a WWII Pacific-set espionage/military action thriller originally out from Robert Hale in 1981.

Burma has already fallen, and it seems certain that India must follow. The Allied armies, frantically attempting to regroup, must find a way to halt the westward advance of the Japanese, to gain a few precious hours’ respite. The target is Major General Tohutaro Sakurai, Commander of the Japanese Fourteenth Army, mastermind of the Japanese victories from Singapore to the Arakan. For Sakurai alone, if only for a short time, holds the key to the next advance. The method can only be the assassin’s bullet or blade.

But secrets are almost impossible to keep in a part of the world where fifth columnists and double agents are commonplace. For Captain Peter Lockhart the mission is doomed to failure almost before it has begun. Sakurai and Lockhart are drawn inexorably together on a tightening band of pride and circumstance, and the conclusion is one that neither man can [sic: the blurb really does cut off right there, and I suppose you'd have to read the book to find out what neither man can conclude]

Johns also offers another apparently newly-written espionage thriller if you care to try it.

Free from the author via KDP Select @ Amazon:

Anybody's Daughter by Pamela Samuels-Young (SYKM), 2nd in her Dre Thomas series of mystery/suspense thrillers. This is from an apparently small press imprint which may actually be a self-pub house "name", but Samuels-Young has had another legal thriller series out from Harlequin's Kimani Sepia imprint which showcases African-American authors and issues, and is herself a practicing attorney. This sports a favourable review from Kirkus quoted in the blurb (Kirkus does do reviews of self-pub books if someone pays them money, IIRC).

Thirteen-year-old Brianna Walker is ecstatic. She's about to sneak off to meet her first real boyfriend—a boyfriend she met on Facebook. But Brianna is in for a horrifying surprise because her boyfriend doesn't exist. Instead, Brianna unwittingly becomes the captive of a ring of drug dealers- turned-human traffickers who prey on lonely girls from dysfunctional homes. But they’ve made a big mistake in targeting Brianna because she doesn’t meet either of those criteria.

Brianna’s Uncle Dre, a man with his own criminal past, is determined to find the niece who is more like a daughter to him. Rather than sit back and rely on police to bring Brianna home, Dre scours the dark corners of Los Angeles looking for her. He is stunned to learn that the trafficking of children isn’t just happening in other countries. It’s occurring at epidemic levels right in his own backyard.

Dre is not alone in his desperate search. Loretha Johnson knows this world well. A social worker who previously lived “the life,” Loretha now dedicates her time to saving as many young girls as she can find. She turns out to be an invaluable resource for Dre, who ultimately gets a lead on The Shepherd, a mastermind in the trafficking world whose every move is fueled by ego and greed. Dre vows to bring his reign of terror to an end.

[carpetmojo]

My thanks to whoever tipped me off about this bargain buy, sorry I can't remember, I bought it and squirreled it away on the TBR list and only just got around to it.

Terrific read, well written, hard to put down - I suppose we should say "switch off" - and I heartily recommend it for a Ripping Good Yarn

[carpetmojo]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Free from the author via KDP Select @ .................................................. ............[/I]

Many thanks, ATD - got 'em all except Time To Die (Gosh, aint there a lot of books with that title !) on UK, and all still free.

[carpetmojo]

Originally Posted by Mort1997

Free today on Amazon UK - [B]The Case of the Drowned Man by G.W Colkitto.......................................... ...]

Just grabbed this , thanks again - been meaning to get around to these, now I'm off at a canter ....

[melmac]

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

My thanks to whoever tipped me off about this bargain buy, sorry I can't remember, I bought it and squirreled it away on the TBR list and only just got around to it.

Terrific read, well written, hard to put down - I suppose we should say "switch off" - and I heartily recommend it for a Ripping Good Yarn

I did the same thing but have yet got around to reading it thanks for the report back I will bump it up the TBR list. In case you're unaware there's also a 2nd book called Dead Lions

[Mort1997]

Free today on Amazon UK - Third Time Fatal by Roger Ormerod

'It was supposed to be a happy day.
But when Philipa Lowe arrives at the wedding of her childhood friend Heather she finds the wedding postponed, the bride in tears, the groom missing.
Philipa begins a desperate search to find the reluctant groom.
Arriving at his home, she draws back the covers of his bed to find a body. That of a naked, female corpse.
Meanwhile, the groom returns and the couple are wed in Philipa’s absence.
At the airport, Martin is arrested.
But the charge is not murder...
Where was Martin on the night before his wedding, and who was the woman found in his bed?
In order to protect her close friend’s marriage, Philipa must get close to the suspect to uncover his past, and prove his innocence.
But how close?
And could this be third time fatal? '


UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Third-Time-F...ndeavour+press

US
http://www.amazon.com/Third-Time-Fat...ndeavour+press

Au
http://www.amazon.com.au/Third-Time-...ndeavour+press

Can
http://www.amazon.ca/Third-Time-Fata...ndeavour+press

[Mort1997]

Free today on Amazon UK - Other People's Blood by Jan Needle


'To people like Jessica Roberts and Rory Collins, the bloody, unfolding story of their native Northern Ireland is no more than a sombre background to their day-to-day existence.
They are young, well-to-do, and attractive. When they fall in love the fact that Jessica is a Protestant and Rory is a Catholic is irrelevant - such things are simply not a problem in their world.
But they are wrong.
Jessica’s father is a powerful business figure in the Province, while Rory’s - now dead - had a reputation for involvement with the Republican cause.
Worse still, Jessica is already involved with a shadowy Englishman called Martin Parr.
With appalling speed their certainties begin to crumble in bigotry and violence, as they become caught up in Other People’s Blood… '

UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Other-People...ndeavour+press

US
http://www.amazon.com/Other-Peoples-...ndeavour+press

Au
http://www.amazon.com.au/Other-Peopl...ndeavour+press

Can
http://www.amazon.ca/Other-Peoples-B...ndeavour+press

[Mort1997]

Free today on Amazon UK - Hal Grant's War by Philip McCormac

'When Hal Grant’s father is killed in the street a full-blown war is set to explode.
The wealthy ranchers of Lundon County are determined to take the law into their own hands and rid the county of the sharecroppers, nesters and sodbusters eking out an existence on the marginal lands.
As the heir to the Big G, the richest ranch in the county, Hal should have sided with his fellow ranchers.
But his sympathies are with the underdogs, for he does not believe in mob law and vigilante justice.
Hal is caught in the middle.
But no one is allowed to sit on the fence in a conflagration that is consuming a county.
Hal is forced to fight for his life as well as the survival of his ranch… '

UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hal-Grants-W...ndeavour+press

US
http://www.amazon.com/Hal-Grants-War...ndeavour+press

Au
http://www.amazon.com.au/Hal-Grants-...ndeavour+press

Can
http://www.amazon.ca/Hal-Grants-War-...ndeavour+press

[Mort1997]

Free today on Amazon UK -Ice on the Grapevine (a Hunter Rayne highway mystery Book 2) by R E Donald

'On a warm July morning in L.A. County, a frozen corpse turns up at a highway brake check just south of the Grapevine Pass. Ex-homicide detective Hunter Rayne, who now drives an eighteen wheeler, is persuaded by his irascible dispatcher, Elspeth Watson, to help clear two fellow truck drivers who are arrested for the murder. His job is made more difficult by the fact that the suspects, a newlywed couple, won't speak up in their own defense.

The circumstantial evidence is strong, and a rookie detective from the L.A. County Sheriff's Department is eager to score a win. The investigation crosses the Canada-U.S. border when the victim is identified as a second rate musician from Vancouver, and it turns out there were more than a few desperate people happy to see him dead, including the accused couple. Hunter has to use all his investigative skills to uncover the truth.

Hunter’s ex-wife maintains that by taking to the highway Hunter is running away from his past, but he believes that the solitude of days on the road is helping him to heal from guilt over the failure of his marriage and the suicide of his best friend. Tangled relationships and multiple suspects emerge throughout the novel, as Hunter butts heads with more than one officer of the law to solve the crime.'

UK
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grapevine-Hu...65297&sr=1-486

US
http://www.amazon.com/Grapevine-Hunt...65297&sr=1-486
Looks free in UK

Au
Not Free yet

Can
http://www.amazon.ca/Grapevine-Hunte...65297&sr=1-486

I've read this one already and enjoyed it

[ATDrake]

Free from the authors via KDP Select @ Amazon (linkage for the lot):

Air Force One by Edwin Corley, a vintage attempted assassination suspense thriller, originally out from Doubleday in 1978.

Air Force One. It is the most important airplane in the world, used to transport the most important man in the world, the President of the United States.

Edwin Corley’s novel is an exclusive trip aboard the plane’s most fateful flight.

It’s a first-class voyage into excitement—written by the only author ever permitted by the White House to go backstage to find out what really happens in the operation of this unique plane.

Hijacked by Edwin Corley & David Harper, a vintage plane disaster thriller originally out from Dodd Mead in 1970.

The instructions were found written in bright orange lipstick on the mirror of one of the restrooms. The note was direct and unequivocal: THIS IS NO JOKE! I’VE HIDDEN A BOMB ABOARD THIS PLANE. I CAN SET IT OFF ANY TIME WITH A RADIO….

A few minutes earlier TransAmerica Flight 901 had been a routine flight from New York to San Francisco. But now the 707 under the command of Captain Michael O’Hara and his crew had joined the growing armada of hijacked aircraft – a list which had become so long that it almost seemed routine, except that the hijacking of Flight 901 was unique. Neither the passengers nor crew had any idea which of them was the hijacker, or what final destination the hijacker had planned for the flight.

The Hanged Men by Edwin Corley & David Harper, a vintage ex-CIA agent vs organized crime thriller originally out from Dodd Mead in 1976.

Warren, like Sam, had left the CIA under a cloud. Now, a modern vigilante, he cleaned up towns in trouble, an illegal, dangerous business that paid well. He had come to the Adirondacks for a vacation, to hunt deer not men, but the tie of violence sweeping over the countryside changed that. The three victims had been small-time mobsters; one of them had been caught at the Syndicate convention in the mountains three years before. These first murders could be the work of the Syndicate, but organized crime could not be blamed for everything that was happening. Then Warren was warned; a bullet crashed through the windshield narrowly missing his head.

Here is a gripping, strongly motivated story of people who are caught in the lethal traps they built themselves, and of Warren Stone, ruthless, compassionate, a rebel who knows how to survive.

Acapulco Gold by Edwin Corley, a vintage marijuana advertising* thriller originally out from Dodd Mead in 1972.

It had to happen sooner or later. Government reports progressively stated that marijuana was not only not addictive but possession should be downgraded from a felony to a misdemeanor and finally that it was little worse than liquor, if indeed it was worse at all.

But when the President-elect of the United States discreetly let it be known to a major campaign contributor (who just happened to own a huge tobacco company) that he planned to legalize marijuana after his inauguration, the race was on. Could Coronet Tobacco Company take advantage of its knowledge of impending legislation to be the first on the market?

ACAPULCO GOLD is the fast-paced story of the selling of the first marijuana cigarette. It is an inside look at the advertising agency and the creative director who handled the account, Michael Evans, who was to be torn between the exciting campaign that would make history and his fears that, reports to the contrary, he was actually selling a dangerous drug.

* Well, I know which one of this lot I'm most likely to actually try and read. This looks cracktastic (although that's a different quote-unquote "gateway drug").