FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

[sufue]

More than five years later, Death in Holy Orders is $1.99 again in the US. The link below is still good for Kindle US, and here's the link for Kobo US. Given the time between sale prices - at least as picked up by eReaderIQ - if you want this one, you should grab it now !

Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/death-in-holy-orders-1

Originally Posted by sufue

Death in Holy Orders is the 11th in the much-awarded Adam Dalgliesh series by PD James. It has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle US.

link: https://www.amazon.com/Death-Holy-Or...dp/B000FC1HM8/

[sufue]

A Suitable Vengeance is the fourth in Elizabeth George's Inspector Lynley series. It's part of the US Kindle Daily Deal today at $1.99, and price-matched at Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000W969IG
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000W969IG
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-suitable-vengeance-1

Spoiler:

Award-winning author Elizabeth George gives us an early glimpse into the lives of Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, forensic scientist Simon Allcourt-St. James, and Lady Helen Clyde in a superlative mystery that is also a fascinating inquiry into the crimes of the heart. Lynley, the eighth earl of Asherton, has brought to Howenstow, his family home, the young woman he has asked to be his bride. But the savage murder of a local journalist is the catalyst for a lethal series of events that shatters the calm of a picturesque Cornwall village and embroils Lynley and St. James in a case far outside their jurisdiction—and a little too close to home. When a second death follows closely on the heels of the first, Lynley finds he can't help taking the investigation personally—because the evidence points to a killer within his own family.

[sufue]

The Plague Court Murders is the first Sir Henry Merrivale title by John Dickson Carr (originally written using the pen name, Carter Dickson). It's $2.99 right now in the US, and it's also discountable at Kobo US, where Partners22 is still working for 40% off. (Be careful though - there is an earlier edition that was on sale in the past that doesn't show up as a previous purchase.)

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0898X38XR
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0898X38XR
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the...ourt-murders-1

Spoiler:

When a spiritual medium is murdered in a locked hut on a haunted estate, Sir Henry Merrivale seeks a logical solution to a ghostly crime

Plague Court is old and crumbling, long neglected after its lord, hangman’s assistant Louis Playge, fell victim to the black death hundreds of years before. Famously haunted by Playge’s ghost, the property finally has a new owner and banishing the spirit is the first order of business. And when the medium employed with this task is found stabbed to death in a locked stone hut on the grounds, surrounded by an untouched circle of mud, the other guests at Plague Court have every reason to fear an act of supernatural violence—for who among them would be diabolical and calculating enough to orchestrate such an impossible execution?

Enter Sir Henry Merrivale, an amateur sleuth of many talents with deductive powers strong enough to unspool even the most baffling crimes. But in the creepy, atmospheric setting of Plague Court, where every indication suggests intervention from the afterlife, he encounters a seemingly-illogical murder scene unlike anything he’s ever encountered before...

Reissued for the first time in years, The Plague Court Murders is the first novel in the Sir Henry Merrivale series. Originally published under the name Carter Dickson, it is a masterful example of the “impossible crime” novel for which John Dickson Carr is known.

[Tarana]

The Devil and the Dark Water - Stuart Turton $1.99 Amazon, Kobo
Locked room historical mystery

Author of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

[sufue]

Bones Are Forever is the fifteenth Temperance Brennan book by Kathy Reichs. I've only recently started reading this series, with a couple of recent review copies, and although I like (really like, in some cases) the forensics, Reichs' habit of annoying "cliff-hanger" chapter endings bugs me - a lot. And she's a better writer IMO than to have to play games with the chapter endings, so it's especially frustrating. Does anyone else read her books - am I over-reacting? Does she do this in the early titles too? Sigh!

Anyway, Bones are Forever is £0.99 right now at Kindle UK...

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007NG93CK
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007NG93CK

Spoiler:

A newborn baby is found wedged in a vanity cabinet in a rundown apartment near Montreal.

Dr Temperance Brennan, forensic anthropologist to the province of Quebec, is brought in to investigate. While there, she discovers the mummified remains of two more babies within the same room.

Shocked and distressed, Tempe must use all her skills and inner strength to focus on the facts. But when the autopsies reveal that the children died of unnatural causes, the hunt for the mother - a young woman with a seedy past and at least three aliases - is on.

The trail leads Tempe to Yellowknife, a cold, desolate diamond-mining town on the edge of the Arctic Circle, where her quest for the truth only throws up more questions, more secrets, and more dead bodies.

Taking risks and working alone, Tempe refuses to give up until she has discovered how the babies died.

But in such a hostile environment, can she avoid being the next victim?

[sufue]

Three-years-and-change later, Tey's The Franchise Affair is £0.99 again at Kindle UK. I found my way to Tey's writing via her Ricardian mystery, The Daughter of Time, which I loved. But I then really enjoyed working my way through her other books, including this non-series title, which is kind of a classic. I just wish she had published more books!

Keep in mind that this is also available for free from Faded Page, Project Gutenberg Canada, and probably some other PD websites too, if you are lucky enough to be in one of the countries where copyright laws put it already in the public domain.

@Little.Egret's link below is still good...

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

Amazon UK 99p May offer I think

The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey

Marion Sharpe and her mother seem an unlikely duo to be found on the wrong side of the law. Quiet and ordinary, they have led a peaceful and unremarkable life at their country home, The Franchise. Unremarkable that is, until the police turn up with a demure young woman on their doorstep. Not only does Betty Kane accuse them of kidnap and abuse, she can back up her claim with a detailed description of the attic room in which she was kept, right down to the crack in its round window.

But there's something about Betty Kane's story that doesn't quite add up. Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard is stumped. And it takes Robert Blair, local solicitor turned amateur detective, to solve the mystery that lies at the heart of The Franchise Affair...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Franchise-A...dp/B0050OMIU6/

[sufue]

Three Hands in the Fountain is the ninth in Lindsey Davis' excellent IMO Falco series. It has dropped to £0.99 at Kindle UK.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004OEIDLQ
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004OEIDLQ

Spoiler:

A SERIAL KILLER STALKS THE GAMES

'The fountain was not working. Nothing unusual in that...'

Marcus Didius Falco and his laddish friend Petronius find their local fountain has been blocked - by a gruesomely severed human hand.

Soon other body parts are being found in the aqueducts and sewers.

Public panic overcomes official indifference, and the Aventine partners are commissioned to investigate. Women are being abducted during festivals, with the next Games only days away.

As the heat rises in the Circus Maximus, they face a race against time and a strong test of their friendship. They know the sadistic killer lurks somewhere on the festive streets of Rome - preparing to strike again...

[sufue]

The Cry of the Owl is a non-series title by Patricia Highsmith. It's £0.99 right now at Kindle UK.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00I9GXOBE
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00I9GXOBE

Spoiler:

Robert Forester, depressed after a painful divorce, begins to spy on Jenny, his pretty young neighbour. Watching her, bright and seemingly carefree, alleviates his loneliness and helps him escape the discontent of his life. Caught in the act, he is surprised when Jenny invites him in, but all is not what it seems. With striking clarity and horrible inevitability, Forester becomes caught up in a series of deaths in which he, although the innocent bystander, is presumed guilty.

[sufue]

I haven't read either of Annis Bell's Lady Jane books, but they are published by Amazon Crossing, which does translations of mysteries from around the world for sale on Kindle. And I've really liked several other Amazon Crossing authors, including Martin Jensen (King's Hounds series, !!!), Oliver Pötzsch (a couple of series), Zygmunt Miloszewski, and others. So I'm inclined to give Bell's books a try while they are both £0.99 at Kindle UK. However, there is a nasty downside to Amazon Crossing, as exemplified by Jensen's King's Hounds books - you can fall in love with a series, but if Amazon decides for some reason (probably poor sales) not to keep translating/publishing, you are going to be stuck without any way to get/read the later titles in a series. Short, of course, of learning whichever language it was translated from. Sigh! Double sigh!

Anyway, if you are willing to take that risk, here's info on the two Annis Bell books...

The Girl at Rosewood Hall, #1
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00TJ4XMEO
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00TJ4XMEO

Spoiler:

On his death bed, Lord Pembroke took great care to try to ensure the future of his beautiful, unconventional niece, Lady Jane. Her debutante ball would feature the most eligible bachelors of London society. But when the night of the dance arrives, things do not go as planned.

To escape the superficial drama of the party, Jane seeks refuge in the garden of Rosewood Hall, where she discovers a gravely injured girl. With her last breath, the child beseeches Jane to find another girl, Mary, and to save her from the same fate she has suffered. Lady Jane vows to fulfill this final wish, a promise that will entangle her in a dangerous intrigue and take her from the safety of home to the hard streets of London. With the faded inscription in a tattered novel as her only physical clue, Jane sets out to investigate the region’s orphanages and infiltrate London’s most elegant homes. Can she save young Mary from a swiftly approaching doom?

The Black Orchid, #2
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0131DKKA2
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0131DKKA2

Spoiler:

A desperate letter from her best friend sends Lady Jane rushing from her cozy Cornwall home to the remote reaches of Northumberland. Alison’s frantic plea for help hints that something sinister is going on in the gloomy halls of Winton Park, so Jane braves the misty moors in the dead of winter to get to her pregnant and bedridden friend.

A menacing sense of doom grips Jane the moment she arrives at the isolated Victorian estate. Charlotte, the lady of the manor, suffers mysterious fits and fainting spells, while her husband ignores his family to obsess over his orchid collection and the pursuit of the elusive and priceless black orchid. When Lady Charlotte’s maid is found dead on the moors, Jane realizes that sickness and greed are not Winton Park’s worst afflictions. Now they have a murder on their hands.

Only someone as inquisitive and determined as Lady Jane can uncover the dark secrets that link these events. Can she do it before another life is lost?

[ZodWallop]

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three by John Godey is $1.99 at Amazon US. I missed this last time it was on sale.

The 1970's film version is excellent if you haven't seen it. It's also where Quentin Tarantino 'borrowed' the idea of using colors as code names for Reservoir Dogs.

A New York subway train is taken hostage in this “high-voltage thriller with the kick of a third rail” (The Washington Post).

After a New York City train leaves the Pelham station at 1:23 p.m., four armed men take control of it—along with seventeen passengers. Their demands are simple: deliver one million dollars, or the hostages will be killed one by one. Fast-paced and intensely psychological, this novel tells the story from the point of view of each of the hijackers—revealing each man’s motivations, desperations, and fatal flaws.

[sufue]

Joffe Books just sent out an email that The Cardiff Killings, apa Revenge, by Gaynor Torrance, is free for today only. (Not sure whose time zone "today" is in...) It's the first in the DI Jemima Huxley series.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09W33D4BJ
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09W33D4BJ

Spoiler:

MEET DETECTIVE INSPECTOR JEMIMA HUXLEY IN THIS BRILLIANT NEW CRIME SERIES FULL OF STUNNING TWISTS.

Please note this book was previously published as Revenge.

An isolated manor house. Shallow woodland graves. A troubled female detective facing the biggest case of her career.

The call comes early in the morning. David and Helen Tremaine have discovered a body buried in the grounds of their large Victorian manor house, Llys Faen Hall, just north of Cardiff.

DI Jemima Huxley and her partner, DS Dan Broadbent, race to the scene to discover that a second body has been unearthed in a shallow woodland grave. And the forensic team working the site believe this is just the start.

Jemima knows this is the biggest case of her career. But it couldn’t have come at a worse time. Struggling to get pregnant, she is a woman on the edge, a woman who self-harms just to make it through the day. And with no one reported missing, no apparent motive and no obvious suspect, the investigation is anything but straightforward.

Eight graves. Eight dead women. All with pomegranate seeds placed inside their mouths.

When Jemima makes an unexpected breakthrough, she enters a desperate race against time to prevent more women dying.

[sufue]

Gold Comes in Bricks is the third in the Bertha Cool/Donald Lam series by Erle Stanley Gardner - originally published using the pen name AA Fair. It's $1.99 right now in the US, and it's discountable at Kobo US, woo-hoo! As I've mentioned before, I like this series a bit more than Gardner's more famous Perry Mason books, mostly due to the badinage between Bertha and Donald...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09VS3BCDV
Kindle US/Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B09VS3BCDV
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/gold-comes-in-bricks-1

Spoiler:

Following a money trail leads a PI into danger in this hard-boiled mystery by the creator of Perry Mason and author of Turn on the Heat.

Brainy private detective Donald Lam is always one step ahead of the bad guys—but he’s also smaller than them and typically gets beat up. That’s why his boss, the ever-irascible Bertha Cool, has hired a martial arts master to teach him self-defense. The first class isn’t easy for Donald, but he is rewarded with a new client . . .

Henry Ashbury is concerned about his daughter’s recent spending habits. He wants Donald to find out where her money is going, without letting on that he’s a detective. So, going undercover as Ashbury’s trainer, Donald soon learns the story behind the daughter’s finances. But when his investigation also turns up a dead body, the diminutive detective must teach the killer a lesson in justice . . .

[sufue]

Barbara Nadel's Arabesk (the third in the Inspector Ikmen series) is now $0.99 in the US. And it's semi-long term (couple of years) at £1.99 in the UK. The links below are still good in the US, and here's the UK info...

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005DXP79I
Kindle UK/Smile: https://smile.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005DXP79I

Originally Posted by sufue

And now $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US.

Arabesk
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GW4P0US
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/ara...en-mystery-3-1

(edited other book}

[MarcoDiWA]

Is this a dead thread? Nothing in last 5 years?

[DuskyRose]

Originally Posted by MarcoDiWA

Is this a dead thread? Nothing in last 5 years?

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