FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

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Although I really like Elizabeth Peters' well-known Amelia Peabody series, I like her lesser-known Vicky Bliss and Jacqueline Kirby series just a smidge more. Here are two titles on sale for $3.99 each, one in each series.

Night Train to Memphis is the fifth in the Vicky Bliss series.
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CH3DBVI
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/nig...n-to-memphis-1

Spoiler:

An assistant curator of Munich's National Museum, Vicky Bliss is no expert on Egypt, but she does have a Ph.D. in solving crimes. So when an intelligence agency offers her a luxury Nile cruise if she'll help solve a murder and stop a heist of Egyptian antiquities, all 5'11" of her takes the plunge. Vicky suspects the authorities really want her to lead them to her missing lover, the art thief and master of disguises she knows only as "Sir John Smythe." And right in the shadow of the Sphinx she spots him. . . with his new flame. Vicky is so furious at this romantic stab-in-the-back, not to mention the sudden arrival of her meddling boss, Herr Dr. Schmidt, that she may overlook a danger as old as the pharaohs and as unchanging. . . a criminal who hides behind a mask of charm while moving in for the kill.

Naked Once More is the fourth in the Jacqueline Kirby series.
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CH3DBRM
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/naked-once-more

Spoiler:

She may be a bestselling author, but ex-librarian Jacqueline Kirby's views on the publishing biz aren't fit to print. In fact, she's thinking of trading celebrity for serenity and a house far away from fiendish editors and demented fans when her agent whispers the only words that could ever make her stay: Naked in the Ice.

Seven years ago, this blockbuster skyrocketed Kathleen Darcy to instant fame. Now the author's heirs are looking for a writer to pen the sequel. It's an opportunity no novelist in her right mind would pass up, and there's no doubting Jacqueline's sanity...until she starts digging through the missing woman's papers--and her past. Until she gets mixed up with Kathleen's enigmatic lover. Until a series of nasty accidents convince her much too late that someone wants to bring Jacqueline's story--and her life--to a premature end.

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The Sniper's Wife is the 13th in Archer Mayor's Joe Gunther series, a police procedural series that I quite enjoy. It has dropped to $2.99 at Kindle and Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001N2ZWYI
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-sniper-s-wife

Spoiler:

Follow a man driven to the edge by the loss of his wife in this fast-paced mystery by legendary police-procedural writer Archer Mayor.

The harrowing call comes from the NYPD. Willy's ex-wife, Mary, has been found dead in her Lower East Side apartment and Willy is asked to identify the body. Torn from his beloved Vermont, Willy returns to the city of his hard-drinking youth with misgivings that deepen when he sees Mary's sad corpse on a gurney.

Because of a fresh puncture mark in her arm, the police think she overdosed.

Yet Willy has doubts. Driven by loss and guilt, he searches deeper and deeper into his past, to a long-ago Vietnam where he was a merciless loner known as The Sniper.

Soon Willy will answer for his old sins . . . and live up to his chilling nickname.

ADD: And also Chat, #18 in the series, for $2.99
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WQ10W4
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/chat-1

Spoiler:

Follow legendary investigator Joe Gunther into the shady realm of Internet chat rooms, where relationships are formed and broken -- and nothing is as it seems.

News travels fast in the small state of Vermont. In this tight-knit society, police officers and investigators proudly maintain a kinship that transcends the boundaries of their jurisdictions. When an unidentified body is found in the peaceful town of Brattleboro, local police and the Vermont Bureau of Investigation both appear at the scene.

But before investigator Joe Gunther can begin to gather evidence of murder, a family emergency sends him to his hometown, where the lives of his mother and brother have suddenly been threatened. Gunther reaches out to a network of police officers who know him only by name and reputation as he attempts to discover the source of this imminent danger.

Meanwhile, his investigative team chases an elusive murderer who has no apparent ties to the victim. In a state that is more like a neighborhood community, secrets are difficult to keep, and it's sometimes impossible to know who can be trusted.
Gunther soon finds himself opposing criminals more menacing than any he has ever encountered in order to save those he holds closest to his heart.

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Midnight Man is the seventh and last (at least as of now) in Paul Doherty's Nicholas Chirke/Canterbury series. It has dropped to $2.99 at Kindle and Kobo US (coupon/VIPable).

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008S12WFE
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-midnight-man

Spoiler:

A ‘Canterbury Tales’ medieval mystery - As Chaucer’s pilgrims shelter for the night, it’s the physician’s turn to enthral his fellow travellers with a terrifying tale. When Brother Anselm and his novice Stephen are summoned to the Church of St Michael’s, Candlewick, to perform an exorcism, the demons that plague the church appear to have been summoned by an infamous sorcerer known as the Midnight Man. But what has he unwittingly unleashed – and why? Is there any link to the disappearance of young women in the area? Before Anselm can get to the truth, he must first uncover the identity of the mysterious Midnight Man.

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The Killing in the Café is the 17th in the Fethering series by Simon Brett. It has dropped to $2.99 at Kindle and Kobo US. Titles in this series don't go on sale very often in the US (or the UK AFAIK), so grab it if you want it...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ATM8SAW
Kobo US (coupon/VIPable): https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/kil...n-the-cafe-the

The wickedly entertaining new Fethering mystery featuring chalk-and-cheese detective duo Carole and Jude

Spoiler:

Polly’s Cake Shop has been a feature of the shopping parade for many years, but when its owner announces her retirement, the Fethering residents start to worry about the loss of this popular amenity. Alarmed by rumours that the café might become a Starbucks, a group clubs together to form the Save Polly’s Cake Shop Action Committee.

The plan is that Polly’s should become a community venture, managed and run by volunteers from the village. Roped in to help, Jude finds the committee meetings fraught with petty power struggles, clashing personalities and monstrous egos. Matters take a turn for the worse when she and Carole come across a badly-decomposed body on Fethering beach – and uncover a link to Polly’s. Not only do the two neighbours have to find out whodunit, they are also faced with the thorny question: is it possible to run a business on that most volatile of commodities - goodwill?

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Several very random freebies this morning - all Kindle US and UK, haven't checked Kobo US...

Despite the Evidence, C.I.D. Room #5, by Roderic Jeffries: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C387KKJ
also free at Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Despite-Evi...dp/B07C387KKJ/

Zombie!, by Peter Tremayne, looks to be quite a change of pace for the author of the Sister Fidelma series: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VVJPZ22
also free at Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07VVJPZ22

The Alvarez Family Murder Mysteries: Vol 1-6, by Heather Haven, I'm not totally sure about Wives of Bath press, but SYKM lists them all, and the fifth title was a finalist for a Lefty, and the collection is free, so here you go: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083XGYDG4
also free at Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alvarez-Fam...dp/B083XGYDG4/

Death Turns A Trick, Rebecca Schwartz #1, by Julie Smith (free so often that I'm sure you've got it if you want it, but WTH, this is a list of freebies; BTW this is a fun series IMO): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008S695AO
also free at Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Turns...dp/B008S695AO/

Dead Game, Keith Calder, #1, by Gerald Hammond: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BHP6STT
also free at Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Game-K...dp/B07BHP6STT/

The Silent Murder, apa The Silent Woman, Tom Musgrave #4, by Peter Tonkin, ditto on Sharpe Press, but again, SYKM lists it (my default go-to), and it's free: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BRDGQP7
also free at Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silent-Murd...dp/B07BRDGQP7/

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A rare price drop to something reasonable on an Open Road/Mysterious Press title in the UK...

Red Chameleon, third in the Inspector Porfiry series by Stuart M. Kaminsky, £0.99

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KFDX27A

Spoiler:

To salvage his career, Rostnikov takes on a baffling bathroom murder.

After a lifetime in service to the Soviet Union, police inspector Porfiry Rostnikov may have found a way out. A high-profile homicide leads him to a cache of documents packed full of incriminating Kremlin gossip, which he uses as a bargaining chip to secure exit visas for himself and his wife. But just before the deal closes, Brezhnev's death sends the nation into turmoil, and dooms Rostnikov's escape. His career derailed, the veteran cop is reduced to investigating penny-ante murders -- the latest of which may lead somewhere very big indeed.

An elderly Jewish man has been shot to death in his bathtub, an incomprehensible killing committed in sight of his two children. And as a brutal Moscow summer wears on, the police themselves become outright targets for car thieves and snipers. With the help of his two faithful lieutenants, Karpo and Tkach, the limping detective will need to find a way to solve these cases and salvage his good name -- if it doesn't cost him his life.

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Now a bunch of price drops on Marcia Muller/Sharon McCone titles in the UK too. (If you want the US info, it's in this post.) Not quite as many, but better prices (£0.99) on some.

Here's a price-sorted link that seems to be working pretty well in the UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/kindle-dbs/...SelectorHeader

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A couple more freebies this morning...

Murder Unleashed, fifth in the Dead-End Job series by Elaine Viets (several titles in this series have been on sale recently, but this one is free right now)
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079TFX7SS
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079TFX7SS

Where The Truth Lies, first in the DI Ridpath series by M J Lee
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HYQ99YV
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07HYQ99YV

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Now £2.99 at Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002RI9YLY

Note: I think this is PD in 50-year countries, but if you're not in one of those, this is a decent price.

Originally Posted by Fbone

The Lady in the Lake (Philip Marlowe series Book 4) by Raymond Chandler is $2.99

https://smile.amazon.com/Lady-Lake-N...t%2C180&sr=1-2

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Catherine Aird's CD Sloan (and Constable Crosby) series is one of my five top favorite series, and now the first title in the series, The Religious Body, is on sale for $1.99/£1.98 at Kindle US and UK. I love the dry British humor. I do think you may need to have a bit of understanding of some British culture (e.g. Guy Fawkes night, life in county England in the post-WWII era) to enjoy some of these, though.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00USNENO8/
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00USNENO8/

Spoiler:

Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan prays he will find a nun’s murderer in this British crime novel by a Diamond Dagger winner: “A most ingenious writer” (The New York Times).

The day begins like any other for Sister Mary St. Gertrude. When her alarm sounds at 5 a.m., Sister Mary begins rousting her convent sisters from their beds, starting with the Reverend Mother. Down the Order she goes with a knock and a warm blessing. But when the young nun reaches Sister Anne’s door, there is no answer. She assumes that Sister Anne got up early, and continues on her way.

But later, when a fellow nun leaves a bloody thumbprint on the sheet music for a hymn, and Sister Anne is nowhere to be found, it becomes apparent that something is very wrong. Then Sister Anne’s body is found at the bottom of a steep set of stairs, her veil askew and her head crushed.

Religious Body introduces the sophisticated Detective Inspector C. D. Sloan along with his eager and trustworthy sidekick, Detective Constable Crosby, and the acerbic Superintendent Leeyes in a mystery of holy proportions that will have readers guessing until the last page.

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Now the next two have dropped in price at Kindle US and UK ($1.99 and £1.93). And also, I just noticed, at Kobo US, where they are coupon/VIPable, although the first three are not on sale at Kobo.

Unhallowed Ground, #4
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EUBOYG6
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/unhallowed-ground-11
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00EUBOYG6

The Tainted Coin, #5
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EUBOYDE
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-tainted-coin-2
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00EUBOYDE

Also, all of the first three titles below are still on sale, except for the third one in the UK, which is back up over £7. So if you try and like the series, you can get a good chunk of it for a good price. I hope they keep putting these on sale further into the series - I need several of the later titles .

Originally Posted by sufue

The first three titles in Mel Starr's excellent IMO Hugh de Singleton series are on sale at both Kindle US and UK.

The Unquiet Bones, $0.99/£0.95
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HPUM58S/
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00HPUM58S/

A Corpse at St Andrew’s Chapel, $1.99/£1.92
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D86OWWU/
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00D86OWWU/

A Trail of Ink, $2.99/£2.88
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EUBOYBQ/
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00EUBOYBQ/

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Five of the titles in Peter King's Gourment Detective series, and an omnibus of the first four titles are on sale at Kindle US, and at Kobo US (coupon/VIPable) as well, except for the omnibus.

The Gourmet Detective Books 1–4: The Gourmet Detective, Spiced to Death, Dying on the Vine, and Death al Dente, $3.99: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07CXGK4D6

The Gourmet Detective, #1
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0096M15NE
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-gourmet-detective

Spiced to Death, #2:
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Spiced-Death-...dp/B0096LJOMY/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/spiced-to-death

Dying on the Vine, #3:
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0096LJSU2
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dying-on-the-vine

Eat, Drink and Be Buried, #6:
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0096M147Q
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/eat...-and-be-buried

Dine and Die on the Danube Express, #8:
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0096M14OY
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/din...danube-express

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The Merrily Watkins Collection 3: Prayer of the Night Shepherd and Smile of a Ghost by Phil Rickman is on sale for £0.98 at Kindle UK.

link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CW0JLZQ

Spoiler:

The Prayer of the Night Shepherd
A crumbling hotel on the border of England and Wales. A suggestion of inherited evil, a strange love affair... and the long-disputed origins of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles. Young Jane Watkins is fascinated, but her mother, Merrily, Diocesan Exorcist, can soon see the sinister side. Especi[I]ally when blood appears in the fresh snow.

The Smile of a Ghost
In the affluent, historic town of Ludlow, a teenage boy dies in a fall from the castle ruins. Accident or suicide? And why does the boy's uncle turn to exoricist Merrily Watkins? Merrily must work fast as the death toll rises, but there is a dangerous obsession lurking in these shadowed medieval streets.

[Fbone]

DEAD OF WINTER (Louis Kincaid Book 2) by P.J. Parrish is free once more.

https://smile.amazon.com/DEAD-WINTER...s=books&sr=1-8

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Death's Dark Valley is the twentieth and most recent (2019) in Paul Doherty's Hugh Corbett series, at least until the next one comes out in July. It has dropped to $0.99 at Kindle US as part of the Daily Deal, matched at Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Deaths-Dark-V...dp/B07G12W3P9/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dea...h-corbett-20-1

Spoiler:

1311. Murder and mayhem prowl the highways and coffin paths of Medieval England . . .

Hugh Corbett returns in the twentieth gripping mystery in Paul Doherty's ever-popular series. If you love the historical mysteries of C. J. Sansom, E. M. Powell and Bernard Cornwell you will love this.

It is four years since the death of King Edward I, but his reign of terror has cast long shadows over the kingdom.

At Holyrood Abbey, sheltered in the depths of the Welsh march, the old king's former bodyguards protect his secret relics and watch over a mysterious prisoner who is kept in the abbey's dungeon. But their peaceful existence is shattered when Abbot Henry is poisoned.

Summoned to Holyrood, Sir Hugh Corbett, Keeper of the Secret Seal, finds the fortress in chaos. Brothers Anselm and Richard have been brutally slain by nails driven deep into their skulls. No one knows who could be behind the gruesome killings and the news attracts the attention of two unwanted guests: the sinister Marcher Lord Mortimer and King Philip of France's devious envoy De Craon.

As more mysterious deaths occur, and a violent snow storm sweeps through the valley, Corbett must act quickly to identify the malevolent demon who has risen from hell to turn the abbey into a house of murder