FREE/BARGAIN - Mystery, Suspense, Thriller - 2016

[sufue]

His Majesty's Hope is the third in the Maggie Hope series by Susan Elia Macneal. Per SYKM, it was a finalist for a couple of awards when published. It has dropped to $1.99 at Amazon US.

link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AD6P4T8

Spoiler:

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

For fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Laurie R. King, and Anne Perry, whip-smart heroine Maggie Hope returns to embark on a clandestine mission behind enemy lines where no one can be trusted, and even the smallest indiscretion can be deadly.

World War II has finally come home to Britain, but it takes more than nightly air raids to rattle intrepid spy and expert code breaker Maggie Hope. After serving as a secret agent to protect Princess Elizabeth at Windsor Castle, Maggie is now an elite member of the Special Operations Executive—a black ops organization designed to aid the British effort abroad—and her first assignment sends her straight into Nazi-controlled Berlin, the very heart of the German war machine. Relying on her quick wit and keen instincts, Maggie infiltrates the highest level of Berlin society, gathering information to pass on to London headquarters. But the secrets she unveils will expose a darker, more dangerous side of the war—and of her own past.

[sufue]

The Fashion in Shrouds is the 11th title (more or less, depending on whether you count short story collections and things like that) in the Albert Campion series by Margery Allingham. It is a US Kindle Countdown deal at $0.99 for about 1 1/2 more days.

link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LJ1D6TG

Spoiler:

First, there is a skeleton in a dinner jacket. Then a corpse in a golden aeroplane. After another body, Albert Campion nearly makes a fourth…

Both the skeleton and the corpse have died with suspicious convenience for Georgia Wells, monstrous but charming actress and femme fatale with a raffish entourage. Georgia’s best friend just happens to be Valentine, a top couturiere and Campion’s sister. In order to protect Valentine, Campion must unravel a story of blackmail and ruthless murder in the world of high fashion.

This is a stand-alone title within Margery Allingham’s Albert Campion series. However, if you wish to read the books in the order that they were written please follow the link below to have a look at the order of publication:
http://www.margeryallingham.org.uk/b...aphy.htm#Books

P.S. Hate the cover, good thing it can be replaced in Calibre!

[sufue]

The James Deans is the third in the Moe Prager series by Reed Farrel Coleman. It has dropped to $0.99 at Kindle US, no idea why or for how long. Per SYKM, this title won (three) and was a finalist (two) for a bunch of awards back when it was first published.

link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006WCUU5A

Spoiler:

Still reeling from his wife's recent miscarriage, Moe Prager is bullied into taking the case of an up-and-coming politico whose career has stalled over the suspicious disappearance of a young woman. It's been almost two years since Moira Heaton, State Senator Steven Brightman's intern, vanished on Thanksgiving Eve 1981. In spite of Brightman's best efforts to clear his name, he has been tried and convicted in the press. As a reluctant Moe peels away the layers of the case, he discovers the tragic circumstances of Moira Heaton's disappearance are buried deep in the past and that there is another more heinous crime at the heart of it all. Will the ugly truth set Brightman free or will it bury all the players beneath the crumbling artiface of corruption, murder, and hate?

BTW, the second title in this series, Redemption Street, has been bouncing around between $0.70 and $0.80 for several months, so if you want to read it before this one, it's affordable. Link to previous post here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho....php?p=3288467

Sadly the same is not true of the first title, Walking the Perfect Square, which is currently $8.69, but does occasionally go on sale for somewhat less.

[Mort1997]

Free on Amazon UK - Cut Adrift (DI Spicer Book 6) by Chris Simms

Spoiler:

She is alone on the ocean.
Drifting without hope, she writes her harrowing story on scraps of paper, seals them in anything that will float and casts them from her makeshift raft.

In Manchester, DI Spicer is investigating the brutal slayings of several Russian asylum-seekers. MI5 warn him to back off, but he cannot let the case go – especially once he suspects a link to the series of heart-wrenching notes being washed-up on the British coast.

As he closes in on the truth, he realises – too late – he’s now the target of a trained killer who will do anything to protect his master’s secret.

UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cut-Adrift-..._74#nav-subnav

US
https://www.amazon.com/Cut-Adrift-fi..._74#nav-subnav

Au
https://www.amazon.com.au/Cut-Adrift..._74#nav-subnav

Can
https://www.amazon.ca/Cut-Adrift-fit..._74#nav-subnav

[sufue]

For Dead Men Only is the latest title in the Alexandra Gladstone series by Paula Paul. It has dropped to $0.99 at Kindle US.

link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01208WOJ4

Spoiler:

Hailed as “an intriguing mixture of mystery, romance, and history” by Lois Duncan, the Alexandra Gladstone series from award-winning author Paula Paul continues as an ominous horseman heralds the emergence of a secret society, hidden riches—and a string of chilling murders.

The Temple of the Ninth Daughter sits on a hill at the edge of Newton-upon-Sea, an aura of mystery lingering over its tall, gray silhouette. Villagers whisper about the treasure housed inside, protected by local Freemasons who are bound by clandestine oaths.

Dr. Alexandra Gladstone has no time for such nonsense. Between the patients in her surgery and the rounds she makes with her faithful dog, Zack, her days are busy enough. But Alexandra has no logical explanation when the Freemasons start dying, one by one, with no sign of foul play other than smears of blood on their Masonic aprons. And what to make of reports that a Knight Templar rides through the village before each passing?

After the constable disappears in the midst of the crisis, Alexandra reaches out to her dashing, diligent friend, Nicholas Forsythe, Lord Dunsford, for assistance. Is someone after the treasure, or might a more sinister game be afoot? In order to solve this puzzle, Alexandra must somehow catch a killer who shows no remorse—and leaves no witnesses.

[sufue]

Daybreak is a non-series title by Viktor Arnar Ingólfsson, translated by Amazon Crossing. It periodically drops to $1.99 at Amazon US, and has done so again just now as a US Kindle Daily Deal.

link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005OBXN90

Spoiler:

When the shotgun-blasted body of a goose hunter is discovered, the police believe they have a list of suspects who may have wanted the victim dead, from his young wife to the caretaker of his property. But then a second body, another hunter, is found with a similar fatal wound. And then a third. As the pattern emerges—all goose hunters, all shot at the break of dawn—Reykjavik policemen Gunnar and Birkir face the terrifying possibility that a serial killer is stalking the idyllic Icelandic countryside.

Gunnar and Birkir set a trap for the one they call “the Gander,” but it quickly becomes a wild goose chase as the murderer plays some tricks of his own. With the clock running out and the discovery of another body all but guaranteed, the cops must determine if there is a thread connecting the victims or if the killings are all part of a twisted game.

[ATDrake]

^

Daybreak is actually the 1st in a not-quite-series, featuring the Icelandic detective duo of Birkir Li Hinriksson (a naturalized Icelandic citizen who was formerly a Vietnamese-Chinese child refugee) and Gunnar Maríusson (a native Icelander with recent partial German ancestry), for which there was a second book written eventually. It was popular enough in Iceland to be turned into a TV miniseries.

I bought and read both of the books a while ago, and quite liked and would recommend them, although I think the 2nd is somewhat better than the 1st, and the respective cases and character bits can be read standalone.

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by sufue

I think that most of us know and understand the rules of this thread about self-pub, and usually a tiny bit of investigation on the part of the challenger could resolve the issue without the need for a challenge. It only takes a couple of clicks to click on the "paperback" or "hardcover" tabs on Amazon to show an original publisher, or to look at SYKM, which is pretty picky about what books they list.

And, as Dr. Drib mentions above, it is not uncommon for the rights to older backlist titles to have reverted, and then been republished by the author themselves, so the absence of a publisher in Amazon is FAR from definitive.

Although it may not matter, since I'm not a moderator, I'd much prefer to have this be a friendly thread where it is assumed that posters know and abide by the rules, so there is some responsibility to do at least some basic checking before challenging, rather than the opposite.

Unfortunately Amazon doesn't always link the new ebook to the existing paperback, Look Inside may not list the first publisher on the copyright page, the title or the pen-name may have changed and so forth.

[sufue]

Yes, all those things are true, and in that case, if the prior publisher info was really hard to find, I personally think a polite question about self-pub status would be warranted.

My point is just that often (most of the time, probably, given that most/all of us try to abide by the self-pub rules) a couple of easy clicks WILL provide info on a prior traditional publisher. I'm not asking for the "doubter" to do tons of research, but just to assume that the poster is abiding by the rules, rather than the reverse, and at least do the easy clicks themselves if they doubt the status. Then if no obvious prior traditional publisher turns up, by all means ask - we all make mistakes from time to time. JMTCW for something that would IMO make this a friendlier thread.

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

Unfortunately Amazon doesn't always link the new ebook to the existing paperback, Look Inside may not list the first publisher on the copyright page, the title or the pen-name may have changed and so forth.

[sufue]

Angel with Two Faces is the second title in the Josephine Tey series (yes, with Josephine Tey as the protagonist, not the author) by Nicola Upson. It has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle US. I've read and enjoyed a couple of the titles in this series, although not this one, for which the reviews aren't great. Still, since it's on sale at a reasonable price for backlist, I will probably give it a try.

link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003P2W3G4

Spoiler:

“As befits a tribute to the golden age of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers et. al., there are plot twists, plot turns and red herrings aplenty.”
—Time Out London

Real-life British mystery writer Josephine Tey returns as a fictional sleuth in Angel with Two Faces—the second atmospheric mystery in Nicola Upson’s wonderfully inventive series. In this riveting sequel to Expert in Murder, Tey, in league with intrepid policeman Detective Inspector Archie Penrose, is called upon to help unravel a dark and perplexing crime at a Cornwall country house and backstage at a local theater. Fans of P.D. James and of British noir in general will adore Angel with Two Faces—a traditional mystery with a twist—and this writer whom Ms. James herself calls, “A new and assured talent.”

[murg]

Originally Posted by sufue

I think that most of us know and understand the rules of this thread about self-pub, and usually a tiny bit of investigation on the part of the challenger could resolve the issue without the need for a challenge. It only takes a couple of clicks to click on the "paperback" or "hardcover" tabs on Amazon to show an original publisher, or to look at SYKM, which is pretty picky about what books they list.

And, as Dr. Drib mentions above, it is not uncommon for the rights to older backlist titles to have reverted, and then been republished by the author themselves, so the absence of a publisher in Amazon is FAR from definitive.

Although it may not matter, since I'm not a moderator, I'd much prefer to have this be a friendly thread where it is assumed that posters know and abide by the rules, so there is some responsibility to do at least some basic checking before challenging, rather than the opposite.

Agree.

[Little.Egret]

UK Deal of the Day, today, Tuesday.

6 Ed McBain's each at 99p

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/browse.h...ode=5400977031

Killer's Payoff (87th Precinct)
Lady Killer (87th Precinct)
Killer’s Wedge (87th Precinct)
The Heckler (87th Precinct)
Til Death (87th Precinct)
Give the Boys a Great Big Hand (87th Precinct)

[ATDrake]

Some more international mystery/crime bargains; a mix of stuff discounted in North America and/or the UK. Linkage goes to Kobo, but often matched at the other usual retailers.

@ $1.99 in North America / £0.99 in the UK where available:

On sale in North America only from HarperCollins (different publisher has the rights in the UK):

• Last Rituals by Icelandic author Yrsa Sigurðardóttir (SYKM, Wikipedia), 1st in her Þóra Gu∂mundsdóttir series starring a lawyer in Reykjavík.
  
  I bought this and the 3rd book during a long-ago sale and finally got around to mainlining the entire series recently, which I really enjoyed and highly recommend if they sound like they might be your kind of thing. This has previously been offered free in UK/EU (and in fact still seems to be free at Sainsbury). But this is a really good price for it if you're outside the UK.

On sale in North America (where available; some authors are out from different publishers in the US, and sometimes in Canada we can see and buy both editions) & the UK from Faber & Faber Crime (couponable @ Kobo):

• Lethal Investments by Norwegian author Kjell Ola Dahl (SYKM, Wikipedia), chronological 1st in his Gunnarstranda & Frolich series starring cops in Oslo, but 4th-in-translation.
  
  I bought this during a previous sale and read it a while ago and liked it well enough, but it is a bit retro, since it was originally written in the early 90s and part of the plot revolves around now-dated computer stuff. The next few books in the series are apparently now available in e-book form in the US-only from a different publisher (I don't remember who and I'm not looking it up again, but they were non-couponable and priced upwards of $7.99 USD each) as by K. O. Dahl, presumably for ease-of-marketing purposes.
• Dead Line by British author Chris Ewan (SYKM, Wikipedia), a standalone mystery/thriller set in Marseilles, France.
• #1-3 in the DI Staffe series by British author Adam Creed (SYKM), starring an inspector in London.
• #1-2 of the Jessica Blackwood series by US author Andrew Mayne (SYKM), starring an ex-illusionist turned FBI agent. There's a series-introductory freebie short story from his US publisher HarperCollins, if you think you might like to give it a try.
• An Expert in Murder, 1st in the Barry Award-finalist Josephine Tey author-as-detective series by Nicola Upson (SYKM) mentioned upthread by sufue, and what looks like the most-recently-released 6th novel, London Rain, is at the £1.99 mark. Rest of the series is £3.99 couponable.
• Three standalone titles (and a 4th at the £1.99 mark) by Scottish author Doug Johnstone (Wikipedia), set in Edinburgh. These appear to be literary psychological thrillers.
• Quiver & Trust Me by US author Peter Leonard (SYKM, Wikipedia), son of famous novelist Elmore Leonard. These are standalone thrillers which have a different and more expensive publisher in North America.
• #1-3 in the Henning Juul series by Norwegian author Thomas Enger (SYKM), starring a crime reporter for a 24-hour online news website in Oslo, are still on offer. Only #3 is available in Canada from Faber, so you'd have to travel for the rest.
  
  I mention this again because I recently finished reading and rather enjoyed them, even though I should warn that the plots sometimes seemed overcomplicated and they're written in present tense narration, which not everybody likes to read outside of experimental literary fiction, so YMMV. But there's a deadpan hilarious skewering of the news media industry in them, if you happen to like that sort of thing and think you might want to give them a try for this price (regularly $12-ish CAD from the different North American publisher).

On sale in the UK-only though their books are mostly also available in North America from Orenda Books (couponable @ Kobo; an imprint specializing in contemporary Eurocrime and literary fiction, spinning off from Arcadia Books):

• The Defenseless by Finnish author Kati Hiekkapelto (SYKM), 2nd in her Anna Fekete series starring a Yugoslav-Hungarian-descended detective in North Finland. Orenda has also published #3 in translation (not listed on SYKM yet) and #1 is still available from Arcadia, who for some reason have pulled their catalogue from every store except for Amazon.
• Nightblind by Icelandic author Ragnar Jónasson (SYKM), who Yrsa Sigurðardóttir called a promising upcoming talent in an interview, translated by British author Quentin Bates (SYKM), who has an interesting blog article about translating the series here.
  
  This is chronologically/original publication the 5th in his Dark Iceland series starring a detective in a small fishing village, which apparently takes place over the course of several decades in the mid/late 20th century, but the 2nd to appear in translation. The 3rd-in-translation is the real 2nd book. But it seems they're considered to be readable in this altered order by the author/translator/publisher. The 1st-in-series, which has been on £0.99 sale before, is already a Barry Award finalist for Best Paperback.
• The Evolution of Fear by British author Paul E. Hardisty (SYKM, a New Blood Dagger Award finalist), 2nd crime thriller starring Claymore Straker, a South African engineer in Yemen. This was previously offered for $3 CAD in one of Kobo Canada's Summer Reading Event weekend sales, in case you travel.
• In Her Wake by Amanda Jennings, a standalone psychological thriller set in Cornwall, with the horrible family mystery unraveled by the protagonist.
• How To Be Brave by Louise Beech, a literary novel with psychological thriller/horror elements, if the Kobo categories aren't a misfiling, with a family unraveling some secrets having to do with an ancestor during WWII. Another Kobo Canada sale repeat.

@ £1.99 in the UK from couponable publishers:

• The Hanging by Danish authors Lotte & Soren Hammer (SYKM), the 1st in their Konrad Simonsen series starring a detective inspector in Copenhagen, out from Bloomsbury in the UK. North American publisher Macmillan sometimes sporadically puts this on $2.99 sale, but their books are non-couponable and they don't seem to have released as many of the further books in the series.
• The Ice Beneath Her by Swedish author Camilla Grebe (SYKM), a standalone psychological thriller set in Stockholm, from Bonnier's Zaffre imprint. This appears to be a glitchy listing at Kobo, which shows £3.99 on search, but drops to £1.99 on the actual page, and checked out at that price (less discount couponage) in the cart when I tried it. Doesn't appear to be on sale at Amazon UK, which is still full price, and is a pre-order from a different publisher in North America.

[Mort1997]

Free on Amazon UK -An Evil Kindling by Robyn Sheffield

Spoiler:

Two murders. Ten years apart. But what’s the connection?

When the cause of a fire is investigated in vacated Victoria Crescent, not only are the charred remains of a vagrant discovered, but also the headless, mummified body of a young woman dubbed Vicky by the officers involved.

Vicky has been dead for nearly 10 years, and yet she was never discovered.

Could there have been a connection between these deaths?

Could Jacob Bisset, the last owner of the house, be involved with either crime?

To Detective Superintendent Mike Hallows and his team, it seems unlikely since Bisset has been severely disabled with osteoporosis for many years.

His inability to climb stairs left the upper floor of his house completely empty, or did it?

Something is not quite right about Bisset, but Hallows can’t quite put his fingers on it.

While Detective Chief Inspector Roy Kennet sets about searching for Vicky's identity and the means of her death, Detective Chief Inspector Liz 'Ferret' Ireton begins enquiries into Bisset's background.

Piece by piece the jigsaw of his life is slotted together, revealing a disturbing picture.

As Kennet and Ferret pursue parallel investigations, a blackmailer grasps at opportunity.

With another death, Hallows joins his team on the front line in the search for a fearless, ruthless killer.

The cases are linked, but how much so?

With the clock ticking, will they find the killer before it’s too late?

UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Evil-Kindli...ndeavour+press


US
https://www.amazon.com/Evil-Kindling...ndeavour+press


Au
https://www.amazon.com.au/Evil-Kindl...ndeavour+press


Can
https://www.amazon.ca/Evil-Kindling-...ndeavour+press

[Mort1997]

Free on Amazon UK -Helen Passes By: A Bobby Owen Mystery by E.R. Punshon

Spoiler:

“I don’t like it, Olive. No good, plain evidence, not so much as the smell of a fingerprint. Nothing but psychology and an atmosphere of doubt, menace, and suspicion.”

Bobby Owen’s latest case begins with him warily lending five shillings to an old reprobate. But this is driven from his mind when he hears of the murder of one Itter Bain, found shot in the woods. Bobby is called into the case, one already made controversial by the alleged shielding of an aristocratic suspect. The evidence certainly ought to make the aristocrat a figure of particular interest to the police. But Bobby needs to tread lightly to prevent a national scandal.

Other suspects include the irresistibly beautiful Helen, Wing Commander Winstanley (a rival for Helen’s affections), and a suspiciously well-informed reporter on a local newspaper. All the while the killer is biding time before striking again – unless Bobby can unmask the fiend first.

UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Helen-Passe...ywords=punshon


US

https://www.amazon.com/Helen-Passes-...ywords=punshon

Au

https://www.amazon.com.au/Helen-Pass...ywords=punshon

Can

https://www.amazon.ca/Helen-Passes-B...ywords=punshon