FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

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Tell Me, Pretty Maiden is the seventh in Rhys Bowen's Molly Murphy series. It's $2.99 right now at Kindle US, but not matched at Kobo US, at least as of now.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000XPNUQI
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000XPNUQI

Spoiler:

It’s wintertime in New York, and for the first time since Irish immigrant Molly Murphy started her early-twentieth-century detective agency, she is completely snowed in with work. While she’s proving to be quite the entrepreneur and is very much in demand by some of Broadway’s brightest stars and Fifth Avenue’s richest families, she has to grudgingly admit that if she’s going to work more than one case at a time, then she’s going to need some help. Molly’s beau, the recently and wrongly suspended police captain Daniel Sullivan, would make an ideal associate, but before they can agree on the terms of his employment, they stumble upon a young woman lying unconscious in the middle of a snow-covered Central Park. When the woman wakes up she is disorientated and has and lost her ability to speak, the authorities are about to pack her off to an insane asylum when Molly can’t help but step in and take on yet another case.

Lively and colorful, full of absorbing historical detail and delightful characters, Tell Me, Pretty Maiden is another gem in Rhys Bowen’s multiple award--winning series.

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Bats Fly at Dusk is the seventh in Erle Stanley Gardner's Bertha Cool/Donald Lam series. I actually like this somewhat lesser known series more than Gardner's Perry Mason books - the interplay between Bertha and Donald is really funny. Bats is on sale right now for $0.99 in the US, and it's discountable at Kobo, where coupon code Partners22 is still working as of this morning, and brings the price down to $0.60 - or even less if you have a Kobo VIP membership as well.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VRR528V
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B09VRR528V
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/bats-fly-at-dusk-1

Spoiler:

A hot-headed PI’s missing person case leads to murder in this mystery by the creator of Perry Mason and author of Owls Don’t Blink.

Bertha Cool and Donald Lam make for an unlikely pair of private detectives. She’s a fifty-something-year-old widow built like a longshoreman with a mouth to match. Donald is a wiry ex-lawyer in his thirties with a face that’s a magnet for fists. Fortunately, he’s whip-smart. His brains have gotten him and his partner through the toughest of cases. However, with World War II on, he’s recently enlisted in the navy, leaving Bertha flying solo with her next client . . .

A blind beggar is searching for a young lady who disappeared after being hit by a car. Bertha’s certain she can handle a missing person case on her own, especially after her client asks her to break a hundred-dollar bill. But when her search yields murder, Bertha is suddenly flying blind. Now she must quickly locate a killer before everything comes crashing down.

[BetterRead]

And Four to Go, a collection of 4 Nero Wolfe novellas by Rex Stout, is currently on sale for $1.99 at Amazon US and Kobo.

3 of the 4 novellas are holiday-themed and one is particularly well-suited for this weekend: "Fourth of July Picnic". The others are "Christmas Party", "Easter Parade", and "Murder is No Joke".

Embark on a year of murder and mystery. It begins at Christmas with a party and a poisoning, then blossoms into spring with sudden death at the Easter Parade. With a killer in the crowd, the Fourth of July is no picnic, and the calendar is overbooked with corpses when death is in season.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B003V4BPOC/
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/and-four-to-go

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Dorothy L. Sayers's Peter Wimsey books are now e-pubbed by Open Road, and go on sale so often that I don't post any more. (And some - all? - are PD in some countries as well, if you happen to live there - see Faded Page or PG Canada.) But this is still a pretty good deal - an omnibus with four Wimsey (and Harriet Vane!) books for $1.99, which usually goes on sale for $2.99 or $3.99, or even $4.99. And it's on sale and discountable at Kobo US too, where "Partners22", for 40% off, was still working as of last night. Which would bring the four down to $1.19, or about $0.30 each. And even a bit less if you have a Kobo VIP membership, which stacks with the coupon code. Woo-hoo!

So I'm posting, in case anyone reading a "mystery" thread doesn't already have them !

Lord Peter Wimsey Mysteries Volume Two contains: The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club, Strong Poison, The Five Red Herrings, and Have His Carcase
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DFY238Y
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07DFY238Y
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the...ies-volume-two

Spoiler:

The British aristocrat and sleuth takes on four more puzzling whodunits in this beloved series from “one of the greatest mystery story writers” (Los Angeles Times).

A gentleman needs hobbies. For Lord Peter Wimsey—a Great War veteran with a touch of shell shock—collecting rare books, sampling fine wines, and catching criminals are all most pleasant diversions. In these Golden Age whodunits, “Lord Peter can hardly be spared from the ranks of the great detectives of the printed page” (The New York Times).

The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club: On Armistice Day, a wealthy general dies in his club, surrounded by fellow veterans—while across town his sister also dies suspiciously, throwing a half-million-pound inheritance into turmoil. Now club member Lord Peter Wimsey must fight an uphill battle to solve the case.

Strong Poison: Lord Peter Wimsey comes to the trial of Harriet Vane for a glimpse at one of the most engaging murder cases London has seen in years. There is little doubt the woman will face the hangman. A mildly popular mystery novelist, she stands accused of poisoning her fiancé, a literary author and well-known advocate of free love. But as Lord Peter watches Harriet in the dock, he begins to doubt her guilt—and to fall in love.

The Five Red Herrings: In the idyllic village of Kirkcudbright on the Scottish coast, every resident and visitor has two things in common: They either fish or paint (or both), and they all hate Sandy Campbell. So when the painter’s body is found at the bottom of a steep hill, Wimsey suspects someone’s taken a creative approach to the art of murder.

Have His Carcase: Harriet Vane has gone on vacation to forget her recent murder trial and, more importantly, to forget the man who cleared her name—the dapper, handsome, and maddening Lord Peter Wimsey. But when she finds a dead body on the beach, only the gentleman sleuth can help her solve a murder after all the evidence has washed out to sea.

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The Lion in the Valley is the fourth in the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters. It's $1.99 right now at Kindle and Kobo US. Info and links in this five-year-old (!!!) post: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh....php?p=3543780

[ZodWallop]

Savages by Don Winslow is $1.99 at Amazon US.

Ben, Chon, and O are twentysomething best friends living the dream in Southern California. Together they have made a small fortune producing premium grade marijuana, a product so potent that the Mexican Baja Cartel demands a cut. When Ben and Chon refuse to back down, the cartel kidnaps O, igniting a dizzying array of high-octane negotiations and stunning plot twists as they risk everything to free her. The result is a provocative, sexy, and darkly engrossing thrill ride, an ultracontemporary love story that will leave you breathless.

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More than two years later, The Widening Gyre (tenth in Robert B Parker's Spenser series) is $2.99 again at Kindle and Kobo US. Info and links in this previous post: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh....php?p=3967592

[sufue]

Cross-post to the Sci-fi/Fantasy thread for Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells, which is a quite nice murder mystery set in a futuristic space station, and with a rogue security droid, who reminded me of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin all-in-one, as the protagonist. It's on sale right now for $2.99.

link: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh....php?p=4235596

(I had an ARC of this for review, so if you want to read my review, the link to my blog is in my signature...)

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In what may or may not be the start of a new series (but probably is, since the tagline on the title is "A New Adventure Begins" ), The Recovery Agent, by Janet Evanovich is £0.99 at Kindle UK today.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B098PGSK4T
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B098PGSK4T

Spoiler:

Lost something? Gabriela Rose knows how to get it back. As a recovery agent, she’s hired by individuals and companies seeking lost treasures, stolen heirlooms, or missing assets of any kind. She’s reliable, cool under pressure, and well trained in weapons of all types. But Gabriela’s latest job isn’t for some bamboozled billionaire, it’s for her own family, whose home is going to be wiped off the map if they can’t come up with a lot of money fast.

Inspired by an old family legend, Gabriela sets off for the jungles of Peru in pursuit of the Ring of Solomon and the lost treasure of Cortez. But this particular job comes with a huge problem attached to it - Gabriela’s ex-husband, Rafer. It’s Rafer who has the map that possibly points the way to the treasure, and he’s not about to let Gabriela find it without him.

Rafer is as relaxed as Gabriela is driven, and he has a lifetime’s experience getting under his ex-wife’s skin. But when they aren’t bickering about old times the two make a formidable team, and it’s going to take a team to defeat the vicious drug lord who has also been searching for the fabled ring. A drug lord who doesn’t mind leaving a large body count behind him to get it.

The Recovery Agent marks the start of an irresistible new series that will have you clamoring for more and cheering for the unstoppable Gabriela Rose on every page.

Oh, and the blurb confirms it's the start of a new series. And the first two sentences of the blurb: "Lost something? Gabriela Rose knows how to get it back." sound an awful lot like Travis McGee...just saying...

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Three books towards the end of David Wishart's Marcus Corvinus series have dropped to £2.84 each. (I wonder how they came up with the price, especially since the publisher, Severn House, is a UK publisher, and presumably would price "natively" in UK currency...) This is one of my top five favorite series, not least, as I've mentioned before, for the historical notes at the end of most, but not all, of them. But it does seem to be a bit of a love-it-or-hate-it series...

Solid Citizens, #15
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00FFYW7SY
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00FFYW7SY

Trade Secrets, #17
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01AAGLV0Q
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01AAGLV0Q

Foreign Bodies, #18
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N5CV26P
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01N5CV26P

Oh, and if you like it, most of the rest of the series is pretty reasonably priced (in the UK) at £0.99 to £2.99...

[ZodWallop]

The Crook Factory by Dan Simmons is $1.99 at Amazon US.

It's the summer of 1942, and FBI agent Joe Lucas has come to Cuba at the behest of the Director to keep an eye on Ernest Hemingway in the Caribbean. Lucas thinks of it as a demotion-a babysitting job for a famous writer who has decided to play spy, assembling a team of misfits including an American millionaire, a twelve-year-old Cuban orphan, a Spanish jai alai champion and more in a would-be espionage ring Hemingway dubs the "Crook Factory."

But when Hemingway uncovers a critical piece of intelligence that both threatens his life and endangers the political landscape, the fate of the free world and the life of one of its most preeminent writers lies in the hands of the FBI's most ruthless agent.

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If you missed A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (7th in the Chief Inspector Gamache series) when it was $2.99 back in 2017, it's now on sale for $3.99 in the US. Which is a buck more, but it rarely goes on sale, and it's expensive when not on sale (recently $11.99), and it's a great series...

Links and info are in this previous post: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh....php?p=3573828

[sufue]

Death at the Crystal Palace is the fifth in Jennifer Ashley's Below Stairs historical mystery series. I haven't read any of this series, but have read and liked most of her Captain Lacey series, published under the pen name, Ashley Gardner. Crystal Palace has dropped to £1.99 at Kindle UK right now...

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08KST53G5
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08KST53G5

Spoiler:

Intrepid cook Kat Holloway puts aside her apron to delve into Victorian London’s high society and catch a killer in this thrilling new mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Murder in the East End.

While attending an exhibition at the Crystal Palace, young cook Kat Holloway is approached by a woman in distress. Lady Covington is a wealthy widow convinced that her entire family is trying to kill her. Kat feels compelled to help. So, she escorts the lady home to discover whether she is delusional or in true danger.

When it quickly becomes apparent that the threat is all too real, Kat promises aid. Her charming confidant Daniel McAdam is busy infiltrating a plot against the Crown, and she worries he will not have time to lend his sleuthing expertise. This might be for the best, as Kat fears her growing emotional entanglement with Daniel can only lead to disaster. But soon, Kat faces a more serious threat when her involvement in both investigations plunges her into peril.

[sufue]

Time to Depart is the seventh Marcus Didius Falco book by Lindsey Davis. It's £0.99 at Kindle UK right now, probably as part of the UK Monthly deal. But still, I'd grab it now if you want it - it doesn't go on sale often.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004NBZFW0
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004NBZFW0

Spoiler:

EVIL SENT INTO EXILE - BUT CRIME NEVER GOES AWAY

Petronius Longus, captain of the Aventine watch and Falco's oldest friend, has finally nailed one of Rome's top criminals. Under Roman law citizens are not imprisoned but are allowed 'time to depart' into exile outside the Empire. One dark and gloomy dawn Petro and Falco put the evil Balbinus aboard ship.

But soon after, an outbreak of robbery and murder suggest a new criminal ring has moved into Balbinus' territory. Petro and Falco must descend into the underworld of Vespasian's Rome to investigate...

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Four Helen MacInnes books are recent price drops to $1.99 each in the US:

Pray for a Brave Heart
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007WKZS4O
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/pray-for-a-brave-heart

Prelude to Terror, Robert Renwick, #1
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F1W07XM
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/prelude-to-terror-1

The Hidden Target, Robert Renwick, #2
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F1W07ZA
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-hidden-target-1

Home is the Hunter: A Comedy in Two Acts (kind of a different thing for MacInnes)
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F1W07XC
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/hom...-in-two-acts-1