FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

[salty-horse]

Claire DeWitt and the City of the Dead by Sara Gran is $3 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)

This knock-out start to a bracingly original new series features Claire DeWitt, the world’s greatest PI—at least, that’s what she calls herself. A follower of the esoteric French detective Jacques Silette, whose mysterious handbook Détection inspired Claire’s unusual investigation practices, Claire has deep roots in New Orleans, where she was mentored by Silette’s student the brilliant Constance Darling—until Darling was murdered. When a respected DA goes missing in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, she returns to the hurricane-ravaged city to find out why—and find herself prowling deep in the city’s criminal underbelly.

[sufue]

It looks as if Steve Hockensmith has gotten the electronic rights to his Holmes on the Range books, the first several of which were conventionally published, and is self-publishing them through Rough Edges Press. And right now the first book in the series, aptly named, Holmes on the Range, is on sale for $0.99/£0.99 at Kindle US and UK. It was a finalist for several awards back when it was first published. I liked the first couple of books and short stories in this series, but haven't had time to read the others. (Retirement is hopefully coming fairly soon - woo-hoo...)

And the rest are not too badly priced at $2.99/£2.99, so if you like the first one, you won’t go broke reading the rest. (Sadly the omnibus which was on sale a while back doesn't seem to exist anymore - at least I can't find it...) And they are also KU, so if you have that, then you can read for free – or at least for the cost of your subscription 😁.

NOTE that there are new links for Holmes on the Range:
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C575CZKJ
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C575CZKJ

[DuskyRose]

Originally Posted by sufue

It looks as if Steve Hockensmith has gotten the electronic rights to his Holmes on the Range books, the first several of which were conventionally published, and is self-publishing them through Rough Edges Press.

I just finished the series, and the short story collections. LOVE those books. Sad I got to the end. Hoping for more.

So much fun.

[pdurrant]

Seven of the first 8 Dr Ruth Galloway novels by Elly Griffiths are on sale at Amazon UK for £0.99 today only:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/b/?_encodin...ode=4725112031

The books are 1, 2, 3 and 5, 6, 7, 8.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Seven of the first 8 Dr Ruth Galloway novels by Elly Griffiths are on sale at Amazon UK for £0.99 today only:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/b/?_encodin...ode=4725112031

The books are 1, 2, 3 and 5, 6, 7, 8.

There are 15 novels and 2 novels in the series. 4.5 Ruth's First Christmas Tree is free at Amazon US and UK.

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AFDUN72
UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00AFDUN72

[salty-horse]

Book 4, A Room Full of Bones, isn't available as an ebook int he UK on either Amazon or Kobo. But it is on sale in the US for $2 (Kobo, Amazon)

[sufue]

A Ruse of Shadows is the eighth and most recent (2024) in the Lady Sherlock series by Sherry Thomas. It's $1.99 right now as part of the US Kindle Daily Deal, and matched at Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJTG3ZK9
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-ruse-of-shadows

Spoiler:

Charlotte Holmes is accustomed to solving crimes, not being accused of them, but she finds herself in a dreadfully precarious position as the bestselling Lady Sherlock series continues.

Charlotte’s success on the RMS Provence has afforded her a certain measure of time and assurance. Taking advantage of that, she has been busy, plotting to prise the man her sister loves from Moriarty’s iron grip.

Disruption, however, comes from an unexpected quarter. Lord Bancroft Ashburton, disgraced and imprisoned as a result of Charlotte’s prior investigations, nevertheless manages to press Charlotte into service: Underwood, his most loyal henchman, is missing and Lord Bancroft wants Charlotte to find Underwood, dead or alive.

But then Lord Bancroft himself turns up dead and Charlotte, more than anyone else, meets the trifecta criteria of motive, means, and opportunity. Never mind rescuing anyone else, with the law breathing down her neck, can Charlotte save herself from prosecution for murder?

[CaffeineAbuser]

Today's Big Deal at Amazon UK is the first seven Bruno Chief of Police books (aka Dordogne Mysteries) by Martin Walker for £0.99 each.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/b/?_encodin...d_i=4725112031

According to uk.ereaderiq.com they have been this price before, but not often.
Book 9 is also £0.99, possibly for more than one day.

Kobo UK has the same eight books at the same price.

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/series/th...s?pageNumber=1

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by CaffeineAbuser

Today's Big Deal at Amazon UK is the first seven Bruno Chief of Police books (aka Dordogne Mysteries) by Martin Walker for £0.99 each.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/b/?_encodin...d_i=4725112031

According to uk.ereaderiq.com they have been this price before, but not often.
Book 9 is also £0.99, possibly for more than one day.

Kobo UK has the same eight books at the same price.

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/series/th...s?pageNumber=1

Book 8 at Kobo, Amazon, and eBooks.com (all in the UK) is not on sale.

At eBooks.com (UK) the same sale is on.

https://www.ebooks.com/en-gb/series/...r=SeriesNumber

[sufue]

The Moving Finger is the third or fourth in Agatha Christie's Miss Marple series, depending on whether you count a book of short stories or not. Either way, it's £0.99 right now at Kindle UK as part of today's Daily Deal, and matched at Kobo UK.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0046H95SG
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the...arple-book-3-2

Spoiler:

A malicious letter
A tragic death
A village filled with suspects
Nothing ever happens in the sleepy village of Lymstock.

Until letters accusing the villagers of unspeakable acts start to appear.

They try to dismiss them as a cruel hoax, but then one of the recipients is found dead. The letter next to her body reads simply, ‘I can’t go on’.

As fear spreads among the villagers, Jane Marple must uncover who is writing these letters – before anyone else is hurt.

Never underestimate Miss Marple

[sufue]

The Ink Black Heart is the sixth and next-to-most-recent (2022) in the Cormoran Strike series by Robert Galbraith (pen name for JK Rowling). It's £0.99 today at Kindle UK, as part of today's Daily Deal, and matched at Kobo UK. For some reason this title sounds to me as if it belongs in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, but no...

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09QKMT5W6
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-ink-black-heart

Spoiler:

When frantic, dishevelled Edie Ledwell appears in the office begging to speak to her, private detective Robin Ellacott doesn't know quite what to make of the situation. The co-creator of a popular cartoon, The Ink Black Heart, Edie is being persecuted by a mysterious online figure who goes by the pseudonym of Anomie. Edie is desperate to uncover Anomie's true identity.

Robin decides that the agency can't help with this - and thinks nothing more of it until a few days later, when she reads the shocking news that Edie has been tasered and then murdered in Highgate Cemetery, the location of The Ink Black Heart.

Robin and her business partner Cormoran Strike become drawn into the quest to uncover Anomie's true identity. But with a complex web of online aliases, business interests and family conflicts to navigate, Strike and Robin find themselves embroiled in a case that stretches their powers of deduction to the limits - and which threatens them in new and horrifying ways . . .

A gripping, fiendishly clever mystery, The Ink Black Heart is a true tour-de-force.

[salty-horse]

City Of Brick And Shadow by Tim Wirkus is $2 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)
Was on my wishlist.

Already struggling to keep their tiny congregation afloat, two Mormon missionaries stationed in the dangerous Latin American neighborhood of Vila Barbosa suspect the worst when Marco Aurelio, a man they recently baptized, disappears from a crowded street market. When the neighborhood's corrupt police force shows no interest, Elder Toronto and Elder Schwartz decide to investigate Marco Aurelio's disappearance themselves.

Breaking mission rule after mission rule, the elders doggedly pursue any clues that might lead them to their friend. As they interview the people who knew him--his short-tempered, bodybuilding brother; his gun-toting ex-wife; his mercurial former business partner--a tangled portrait emerges of an enigmatic con artist in over his head. At the edges of the investigation lurks a shadowy, mythical figure known only as the Argentine, a man who poses an increasingly dire threat to the two young missionaries as they plunge recklessly forward.

Tim Wirkus' City of Brick and Shadow is a fantastically fun ride, recasting the classic buddy-cop dynamic in a pair of hapless young missionaries; a gripping and unconventional mystery along the lines of The Yiddish Policemen's Union or Motherless Brooklyn.

[salty-horse]

Small Game by Blair Braverman is $2 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)
Review by Abigail Nussbaum

A gripping debut novel about a survival reality show gone wrong that leaves a group of strangers stranded in the northern wilds

Four strangers and six weeks: this is all that separates Mara from one life-changing payday. She was surprised when reality TV producers came knocking at Primal Instinct—the survival school where she teaches rich clients not to die during a night outdoors—and even more shocked to be cast in their new show, Civilization. Now she just has to live off the land with her fellow survivors for long enough to get the prize money.

Whisked by helicopter to an undisclosed location, Mara meets her teammates: The grizzled outdoorsman. The Eagle Scout. The white-collar professional. And Ashley, the beautiful but inexperienced one who just wants to be famous. Mara’s unusual, rugged childhood has prepared her for the discomforts and hard work ahead. But trusting her fellow survivors? Not part of Mara’s skill set.

When the cast wakes one morning to find something has gone horribly wrong, fear ripples through the group. Are the producers giving them an extra challenge? Or are they wrapped up in something more dangerous? Soon Mara and the others face terrifying decisions as “survival” becomes more than a game.

A provocative exploration of the comforts, rituals, and connections we depend upon, Small Game is a gripping page-turner and a poignant story about finding the courage to build a new life from the ground up.

[DrNefario]

Hotel Lucky Seven by Kotaro Isaka is a daily deal at Amazon UK for £0.99

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hotel-Lucky.../dp/B0CVKT5W2G

Another of Isaka's bonkers hitman stories. I won't quote the description since it's kind of a spoiler for Bullet Train. (At least, I think this is set after Bullet Train.)

[JSWolf]

Sweatpea by C.J. Skuse, (the first book in the Sweatpea series) is on sale for £0.99.

If you live in the US, use the Kobo travel service to travel to the UK to get this.

The last person who called me ‘Sweetpea’ ended up dead…

Rhiannon is your average girl next door, settled with her boyfriend and little dog…but she’s got a killer secret.

By day her job as an editorial assistant is demeaning and unsatisfying. By evening she dutifully listens to her friend’s plans for marriage and babies whilst secretly making a list.

A kill list.

From the man on the checkout who always mishandles her apples, to the driver who cuts her off on her way to work, to the people who have got it coming, Rhiannon’s ready to get her revenge.

Because the girl everyone overlooks might be able to get away with murder…

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/swe...eries-book-1-1