FREE/BARGAIN - Mystery, Suspense, Thriller - 2016

[sufue]

Cross-post to skinmaan's Smashwords summer sale thread. I went through and looked for mysteries. I'm not done looking, but have other things to do, so I posted what I found so far in that thread. Mostly the usual titles that go on sale via Smashwords, but there may be a few in there of interest.

link: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho....php?p=3345447

[sufue]

The second book in this series, Left Turn at Paradise, by Thomas Shawver, has dropped to $0.99 at Kindle US. No idea why or for how long...

link: https://www.amazon.com/Left-Turn-Par.../dp/B00IQROTNS

Spoiler:

The author of The Dirty Book Murder returns to the surprisingly lethal world of rare books with a second enthralling novel featuring a most unlikely hero—antiquarian bookseller Michael Bevan.

Michael Bevan is barely scraping by with his used bookstore and rare book collection when he discovers a timeworn journal that may change everything. Dating back to 1768, the tattered diary appears to be a chronicle kept during the first of legendary seafarer Captain James Cook’s three epic voyages through the Pacific islands. If it’s as valuable as Mike thinks it is, its sale may just bring enough to keep his faltering used bookstore afloat for another year.

Then he meets a pair of London dealers with startling news: Adrian Hart and Penelope Wilkes claim to possess the journal of Cook’s second voyage. Is it possible a third diary exists? One which might detail Cook’s explosive final voyage—and his death at the hands of native Hawaiians? Together, all three would be the holy grail of Pacific exploration. But before Mike can act, the two journals are stolen.

Chasing them down will sweep Michael, Adrian, and Penelope across the globe—past a dead body or two—and into a very sinister slice of paradise. High in the Southern Alps of New Zealand, in a remote and secretive Maori compound, a secret rests in the hands in of a man daring enough to rewrite history . . . and desperate enough to kill.

Praise for Left Turn at Paradise

“[Left Turn at Paradise is] an entertaining and action-packed adventure reminiscent of Indiana Jones, delicately seasoned with the allure of rare old books. Bibliophiles and mystery/adventure lovers will be mesmerized by this epic tale.”—Library Journal

Originally Posted by sufue

The Dirty Book Murder by Thomas Shawver has dropped to $0.99 at Kindle US.

link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GL3RLZM

[sufue]

A Perfect Grave is the 3rd title in the Jason Wade series by Rick Mofina. It is free right now at Kindle US.

link: https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Grave.../dp/B00V5HHA50

Spoiler:

Rookie crime reporter Jason Wade, a troubled loner from the wrong side of the tracks, pursues the story of a murdered Seattle nun.

The case leads him to a hermit nun who founded a mysterious religious order; and ultimately to the dark secret that has tormented his ex-cop father for decades. It culminates in a life and death struggle against the clock. With time running out, Jason and his father battle the odds to confront a terrible truth.

Rick Mofina is a former journalist who has interviewed murderers on death row, flown over L.A. with the LAPD and patrolled with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police near the Arctic. He's also reported from the Caribbean, Africa and Kuwait's border with Iraq. His books have been published in nearly 30 countries, including an illegal translation produced in Iran.

His work has been praised by James Patterson, Dean Koontz, Michael Connelly, Lee Child, Tess Gerritsen, Jeffery Deaver, Sandra Brown, James Rollins, Brad Thor, Nick Stone, David Morrell, Allison Brennan, Heather Graham, Linwood Barclay, Peter Robinson, Håkan Nesser and Kay Hooper.

The Crime Writers of Canada, The International Thriller Writers and The Private Eye Writers of America have listed his titles among the best in crime fiction. As a two-time winner of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award, a three-time Thriller Award finalist and a two-time Shamus Award finalist, the Library Journal calls him, “One of the best thriller writers in the business."

[sufue]

A few other random price drops:

Lowcountry Boneyard is the third in the Liz Talbot series by Susan M. Boyer. It has dropped to $0.99. Per SYKM, the first title in this series won/was a finalist for a couple of awards.
link: https://www.amazon.com/Lowcountry-Bo.../dp/B00SHNYOWW

Spoiler:

Where is Kent Heyward?
The twenty-three-year-old heiress from one of Charleston’s oldest families vanished a month ago. When her father hires private investigator Liz Talbot, Liz suspects the most difficult part of her job will be convincing the patriarch his daughter tired of his overbearing nature and left town. That’s what the Charleston Police Department believes.

But behind the garden walls South of Broad, family secrets pop up like weeds in the azaleas. The neighbors recollect violent arguments between Kent and her parents. Eccentric twin uncles and a gaggle of cousins covet the family fortune. And the lingering spirit of a Civil-War-era debutante may know something if Colleen, Liz’s dead best friend, can get her to talk.

Liz juggles her case, the partner she’s in love with, and the family she adores. But the closer she gets to what has become of Kent, the closer Liz dances to her own grave.

Related subjects include: women sleuths, private investigator mystery series, cozy mysteries, murder mysteries, whodunit mysteries (whodunnit), book club recommendations, Southern fiction, Southern humor, Southern living.

Books in the Liz Talbot Mystery Series:
LOWCOUNTRY BOIL (#1)
LOWCOUNTRY BOMBSHELL (#2)
LOWCOUNTRY BONEYARD (#3)
LOWCOUNTRY BORDELLO (#4)
LOWCOUNTRY BOOK CLUB (#5)
Part of the Henery Press Mystery Series Collection, if you like one, you'll probably like them all…

The Skeleton Garden is a recent (latest?) title in the Potting Shed series by Marty Wingate. It has dropped to $0.99.
link: https://www.amazon.com/Skeleton-Gard.../dp/B00ZNE45FO

Spoiler:

USA Today bestselling author Marty Wingate’s Potting Shed series continues as expert gardener Pru Parke digs up a Nazi warplane—and a fresh murder.

Texas transplant Pru Parke has put down roots in England, but she never dreamed she’d live in a grand place such as Greenoak. When her former employers offer Pru and her new husband, former Detective Chief Inspector Christopher Pearse, the use of their nineteenth-century estate while they’re away for a year, she jumps at the chance. Sweetening the deal is the prospect of further bonding with her long-lost brother, Simon, who happens to be Greenoak’s head gardener. But the majestic manor has at least one skeleton in its closet—or, rather, its garden.

Working on renovations to the extensive grounds, siblings Pru and Simon squabble about everything from boxwood to bay hedges. But when the removal of a half-dead tree turns up the wreckage of a World War II–era German fighter plane and a pile of bones, the arguments stop. That is, until a rival from Simon’s past pays a surprise visit and creates even more upheaval. It’s suddenly clear someone is unhappy their secrets have been unearthed. Still, Pru’s not about to sit back and let Simon take the fall for the dirty deed without a fight.

The Christie Curse is the first in the Book Collector series by Victoria Abbott. It has dropped to $1.99.
link: https://www.amazon.com/Christie-Curs.../dp/B0099CGY2S

Spoiler:

In 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared—making headlines across the world—only to show up eleven days later at a spa under an assumed name. During those eleven days, did she have time to write a play?

Jordan Kelly needs a new job and a new place to live. She’s back in Harrison Falls, New York, living with her not so law-abiding uncles, in debt thanks to a credit card–stealing ex and pending grad school loans.

Enter the perfect job, a research position that includes room and board, which will allow her to spend her days hunting down rare mysteries for an avid book collector. There’s just one problem: her employer, Vera Van Alst—the most hated citizen of Harrison Falls.

Jordan’s first assignment is to track down a rumored Agatha Christie play. It seems easy enough, but Jordan soon finds out that her predecessor was killed while looking for it, and there is still someone out there willing to murder to keep the play out of Vera’s hands. Jordan’s new job is good…but is it worth her life?

[Froide]

Wildside Press freebie, today:
Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, Issue #1
(aka Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine #1)
Edited by Marvin Kaye.
Features fiction by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Carole Bugge, Ron Goulart, Marc Bilgrey, Edward D. Hoch, Hal Blythe, Jean Paiva, Kim Newman, Lenny Picker, Mrs Hudson, and Marvin Kaye.

[sufue]

Also the latest edition of SHMM (#20, a special super-sized Sherlock Holmes Fiction Issue) at half price for the next 24 hours. Link:

http://wildsidepress.com/sherlock-ho...ub-kindle-pdf/

You can also save 25% on anything ($10 minimum purchase) else at Wildside Press using coupon code 25FOR4TH at checkout. This coupon expires July 6th.

Originally Posted by Froide

Wildside Press freebie, today:
Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, Issue #1
(aka Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine #1)
Edited by Marvin Kaye.
Features fiction by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Carole Bugge, Ron Goulart, Marc Bilgrey, Edward D. Hoch, Hal Blythe, Jean Paiva, Kim Newman, Lenny Picker, Mrs Hudson, and Marvin Kaye.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Froide

Wildside Press freebie, today:
Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, Issue #1
(aka Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine #1)
Edited by Marvin Kaye.
Features fiction by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Carole Bugge, Ron Goulart, Marc Bilgrey, Edward D. Hoch, Hal Blythe, Jean Paiva, Kim Newman, Lenny Picker, Mrs Hudson, and Marvin Kaye.

Got it.

Thank you!

[ATDrake]

Some recently-discounted non-couponable mystery bargains to consider while Kobo US' 4x bonus super points promo for the holiday lasts (also available in Canada, where unfortunately we only get 5x points on a selected list, none of which these are on; but in cases where the prices are the same, the exchange rate means we "save" some 25%); price-matched in the usual other stores.

• @ $0.99-$2.99, books #2-5 + 1 short story of Rory Clement's (SYKM) John Shakespeare mystery series set in Tudor England starring a fictional older brother of the playwright, from HarperCollins' Witness imprint: linkage for the lot.
  
  #2 is a Historical Dagger Award winner, and #3 and #5 were also finalists. I picked some of these up during a previous sale and liked what I read of #1, and sufue has read further into the series and recommended them as well. Back then, there were gaps in the discounting for all the volumes in the series, so if you happened to miss a few, now is a good time to fill.
• @ $2.99 each, Lucifer's Tears & Helsinki White by the late James Thompson (SYKM), #2-3 in his Inspector Vaara series set in northern Finland and moving to Helsinki (Thompson was an expat who lived in Helsinki), starring an increasingly morally compromised cop, out from HarperCollins. We've previously received the double Edgar/Anthony Best First Novel award-finalist 1st-in-series of this free, and I really enjoyed it when I read it, enough to buy and read the 2nd on sale and get the 3rd & 4th out of the library to mainline right after and put it on my wishlist to buy the rest of when they went on sale (which has now happened for one more volume, and hopefully the last will drop, too ), and recommend it if it seems like it might be your sort of thing.
  
  I'll warn that the series is a bit on the gory/violent side for Nordic Noir, but IMHO it's a rather interesting character study depiction of well-meaning but not particularly do-gooding people trying to dig themselves out of a moral hole as well as modern Finnish societal & crime issues (I find it an interesting contrast with Leena Lehtolainen's (SYKM, Wikipedia) Maria Kallio mystery series, which are originally 1990s works out in translation from AmazonCrossing and incidentally also on sale for #1-5 at $1.99 per @ Amazon, and which I also recommend).
  
  Although the author meant to continue the series before he died and was clearly setting up the potential for future storylines, the four books that did get written wrap up the main character development and overarching multi-book plot storyarc, so there are no cliffhangers or other major points left dangling, in case you were wondering.
• @ $2.99 US/$3.99 CAD, Mark of the Lion by Suzanne Arruda (SYKM, Wikipedia), 1st in her Jade del Cameron mystery series set in 1920s British East Africa before it became the Kenya Colony, out from the the Random Penguin House's New American Library imprint. This is one of my favourite series and I was disappointed when they discontinued it after 6 books (though it turns out the author has been self-publishing sequels). I own these in paperback, and have been tracking the ebook prices for years, but never really expected any to drop below $10 CAD. This is the cheapest I've ever seen any volume of them offered, and accordingly, I'm snapping this up.
  
  This first novel is a little on the shaky finding its footing side, but it's a reasonably decent mystery adventure and the rest of the novels in the series are solid tales, which I highly recommend if you happen to like Beryl Markham (of West with the Night fame) and Out of Africa, and wish to read the murder-solving adventures of a feisty independent aviatrix during the post-WWI era with plots mostly centred around proto-Kenyan society and culture (both colonist and native). The author also has a rather nice blog where she did write-ups on some of the historical details she researched and incorporated into the books.

Also, x-link to the General/Historical Fiction megathread, where some historical novels by popular historical mystery authors Michael Jecks (Knight Templar and Medieval Murderers mysteries) & Barbara Hambly (Benjamin January mysteries and James Asher Vampire spy thrillers), are on sale for just $1.99 each if you wanted to give their non-mystery works a try.

[GA Russell]

Carolina Skeletons - $1.99
https://www.amazon.com/Carolina-Skel.../dp/B005YZGRIK

(Edgar winner, but I suspect for political reasons.)

[sufue]

An omnibus of the three titles in the Annie Szabo series by Meredith Blevins is a US Kindle Countdown deal, at $0.99 for about 1/2 more day.

The titles are:

• The Hummingbird Wizard
• The Vanished Priestess
• The Red Hot Empress

I'm missing only one, but the single title is $2.99, so it made sense to buy the omnibus to pick up that one title.

link: https://www.amazon.com/Annie-Szabo-M.../dp/B01FEUQSBA

Spoiler:

One of the most original detective duos in fiction: A freelance journalist and her Gypsy mother-in-law! Publisher’s Weekly said: “Fascinating gypsy lore, unforgettable characters and a wicked sense of humor...” A dash of the paranormal too.

Now you can get Meredith Blevins’s entire 3-book Annie Szabo Mystery series— two of which were Library Journal’s TOP FIVE picks in two successive years-- at the irresistible price of $6.99! Freelance journalist Annie Szabo has a way of attracting… unusual experiences. Together with her pushy mother-in-law Madame Mina, the combination is as combustible as a Gypsy funeral. These two are as funny as they are clever, and their hilariously querulous relationship is the real fun of the supernatural cozy series.

Once you marry into a Gypsy clan, just try to get out! Annie Szabo loved her husband, but after his death, she was only too happy to leave his outrageous clan behind, especially Madame Mina, tarot reader, psychic advisor, and philosopher – with her signature accessories: a man (or two) and her red pumps.

Some might call them madcap, zany, eccentric; but really one word says it all: Gypsy. Well, that, and juicy: pulsing with the rhythms – and juices – of life, birth, and death, with the California wine country wind in your hair.

"Fascinating gypsy lore, unforgettable characters and a wicked sense of humor distinguish Blevins's highly unusual mystery debut... This stellar first, with its assured prose, will delight any mystery fan.” – Publishers Weekly in a STARRED REVIEW.

THE HUMMINGBIRD WIZARD

When her oldest friend and former brother-in-law, Jerry, turns up dead, Annie’s plunged back into the family she tried to leave behind. Annie knows Jerry’s murder was not the random street robbery the police believe it to be, but how is she supposed to prove it?

As Annie turns amateur detective, THE HUMMINGBIRD WIZARD turns sexy. Truth to tell, it’s probably one of the sexiest mysteries you're ever going to read, but not because it's explicit--there’s just something about that…wizard. Lawyers, criminals, kink, aerial artistry, magic, and more murder mysteries, coupled with Blevins’s trademark humor, make for a delicious—and very funny-- supernatural cozy, with a healthy dose of romance.

THE VANISHED PRIESTESS

Annie is heartbroken when her neighbor and good friend, Margo Spanger, the owner-operator of a New Age circus that helps support a home for abused women, is murdered. She’s also frightened—her own daughter is an abused wife who’s a resident of Margo’s project. Along with Annie’s grandson.

The plot thickens as quickly as a roux-- Margo's partner, Lili, goes missing the day of Margo's death, causing the shelter to fall into disarray, thus threatening its residents, and the detective team of Annie and Madame Mina swings into action!

A fast, funny, and very original paranormal murder mystery.

THE RED HOT EMPRESS

Nudged by her Gypsy mother-in-law, Madame Mina, freelance journalist Annie Szabo writes an article about Jimmy Qi, an Asian boy with the power to heal through music, which is right down the Szabos’ paranormal alley. But their good intentions soon put the youngster in danger. Everyone, it seems, wants a piece of the rising star of San Francisco's Chinatown—including a shady evangelist, the FBI, the tongs, and a man who talks to dolphins. After two suspicious deaths, Annie and Jimmy go on the lam, not knowing whom to trust or why.

THE RED HOT EMPRESS is a meditation on staying alive in the most electric sense of the word, taking us deep into the tender hearts of two loving families.

“We are tribal, all of us. We’re not floating in this soup called life alone.” –Madame Mina

COMING SOON - The 4th Annie Szabo Mystery THE KING OF HEARTS!
The Hummingbird Wizard returns. The Szabo women in Texas. There’s only one thing left to say: WHEN?

[BelleZora]

The Dead American, the 3rd title of Jake Needham's Inspector Tay series, is free from Amazon July 5-7.

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/DEAD-AMERIC.../dp/B00NREOKMA

US: https://www.amazon.com/DEAD-AMERICAN.../dp/B00NREOKMA

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by BelleZora

The Dead American, the 3rd title of Jake Needham's Inspector Tay series, is free from Amazon July 5-7.

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/DEAD-AMERIC.../dp/B00NREOKMA

US: https://www.amazon.com/DEAD-AMERICAN.../dp/B00NREOKMA

Thanks!

[ATDrake]

As part of Kobo Canada's lingering Canada Day Summer Reading sale (ending today, July 6th), the following are on special sale with 5x Super Bonus Points (mostly not matched at Amazon, as far as I can tell):

• @ $2.99 CAD each (regularly $8.99, eligible for extra VIP 10% off), #2-9 of former Mountie Don Easton's (SYKM) Jack Taggart series set in Vancouver, starring an undercover Mountie, from Dundurn. We've previously received #1 in this series free, if you happened to have read and liked it.
• @ $4.99 CAD each (regularly $10-$11, eligible for extra VIP 10% off), almost all of Anne Emery's (SYKM) Collins-Burke series set in Halifax starring a criminal defense lawyer and a Catholic priest who together, they fight crime! from ECW Press. We've previously received the Arthur Ellis Award-winning 1st-in-series free, and this is generally the lowest the prices for these things get without resorting to significant couponage.
• @ $4.99 CAD each (non-couponable, regularly $12 CAD), #6 & #7 in Alan Bradley's (SYKM, Wikipedia) multiple award-winning Flavia de Luce series, which were released in 2014 & 2015 respectively.

There are also more featured titles by Canadian crime and mystery authors, often at significant discounts, if you want to browse.

[sufue]

Cup of Blood is the 7th published (but in reading order, it's a prequel) in Jeri Westerson's Crispin Guest Medieval Noir series. I've read and enjoyed all of the titles in this series except for the most recent, which at $14.99 is too pricey for me. Per SYKM, the first few titles in this series all were finalists for various awards, and Cup itself was a finalist for the 2015 Left Coast Crime Bruce Alexander Award. It has dropped to $0.99 at Kindle US.

link: https://www.amazon.com/Cup-Blood-Cri.../dp/B00KI1R0RW

Spoiler:

ACTION-PACKED MEDIEVAL DETECTIVE: When a corpse turns up at his favorite tavern, Crispin Guest—disgraced knight turned detective--begins an inquiry, but the dead man turns out to be a Templar knight, an order thought to be extinct for 75 years, charged with protecting a certain religious relic which is now missing. Before he can begin to investigate, Crispin is abducted by shadowy men who are said to be minions of the French anti-pope. Further complicating matters are two women: one from court with an enticing proposition, and another from Crispin’s past, dredging up long-forgotten emotions he would rather have left behind. And as if all that weren’t enough, a cunning young cutpurse by the name of Jack Tucker has insinuated himself into Crispin’s already difficult life. The deeper Crispin probes into the murder, the more it looks like the handiwork of an old friend turned adversary. With enemies from all sides, Crispin has his hands full in more than murder in this intriguing prequel to the acclaimed series.

[sufue]

The Margery Allingham Box Set 1 contains the third, fourth, and fifth titles in Allingham's Albert Campion series.

The titles are:

Look to the Lady, apa The Gyrth Chalice Mystery
Police at the Funeral
Sweet Danger, apa Kingdom of Death, apa The Fear Sign

It's a US Kindle Countdown deal at $0.99 for about 1/2 more day.

link: https://www.amazon.com/Margery-Allin.../dp/B01CT65Q1K

Spoiler:

“Margery Allingham stands out like a shining light.” Agatha Christie


Look to the Lady

Finding himself the victim of a botched kidnapping attempt, Val Gyrth suspects that he might be in a spot of trouble. Unexpected news to him – but not to the mysterious Mr Campion, who reveals that the ancient Chalice entrusted to Val’s family is being targeted by a ruthless ring of thieves.

Fleeing London for the supposed safety of Suffolk, Val and Campion come face to face with events of a perilous and puzzling nature – Campion might be accustomed to outwitting criminal minds, but can he foil supernatural forces?

Police at the Funeral

The tranquility of Cambridge is punctured when Cousin Andrew of the illustrious Faraday family disappears without a trace. No time is wasted in summoning Albert Campion and his sleuthing skills away from the bustle of Piccadilly to investigate – but little does he expect to be greeted by a band of eccentric relatives all at daggers with each other.

Soon there are as many dead bodies as there are red herrings, and Campion must uncover the secrets of the Faraday dynasty before another victim falls…

Sweet Danger

Nestled along the Adriatic coastline, the kingdom of Averna has suddenly – and suspiciously – become the hottest property in Europe, and Albert Campion is given the task of recovering the long-missing proofs of ownership.

His mission takes him from the French Riviera to the sleepy village of Pontisbright, where he meets the flame-haired Amanda Fitton. Her family claim to be the rightful heirs to the principality, and insist on joining Campion’s quest. Unfortunately for them, a criminal financier and his heavies are also on the trail – the clock is ticking for Campion and his cohorts to outwit the thugs and solve the mystery of Averna.

“Don’t start reading these books unless you are confident that you can handle addiction.” The Independent