FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

[sufue]

Seven titles in the Mr. & Mrs. North series by Richard and Frances Lockridge have dropped to $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US (coupon/VIPable). Probably just for the day, like most Open Road. I am quite fond of this series, although I do find that I tend to look at it sort of like a historical series, even though they weren't "historicals" when written.

Titles are:

• Hanged for a Sheep
• Murder Has Its Points
• Voyage into Violence
• The Judge is Reversed
• Payoff for the Banker
• Murder is Served
• Dead as a Dinosaur

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/search/?se...&price=199-199
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?Qu...cminprice=1.00

[sufue]

Six titles by Dick Francis have dropped to $4.99 at Kindle and Kobo US. I don't consider this a reasonable price for very old backlist, but YMMV.

Titles are:

• The Edge
• Banker
• Second Wind (somewhat apt for the US and Caribbean right now)
• Hot Money
• Proof
• Longshot

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/search/?se...&price=499-499
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?Qu...cmaxprice=4.99

In addition, Silks, which is a non-series title by Dick & Felix Francis is still $1.99 - see this previous post: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh....php?p=3587909

[ATDrake]

Kobo Canada's Author of the Month for October is Laura Lippman (SYKM, Wikipedia), with practically everything of hers from HarperCollins discounted to just $2.99 CAD ($0.99 for individual short stories).

Linkage for the promo including her popular Tess Monaghan series as well as standalone novels, good through October 31st.

If you want them, today is a good day to stock up, since there's a 3x the Super Points promo as part of Kobo Canada's Thanksgiving long weekend holiday sale, which expires tonight (Oct 9th), and also has a substantial selection of Mystery & Thrillers titles from large and small publishers, including names like Alan Bradley (Flavia de Luce), Louise Penny (Inspector Gamache), Arnaldur Indriðason (Erlendur Sveinsson), Peter May (Enzo McLeod), and more.

Also, until October 17th, Kobo Canada has a sale on selected Ann Cleeves (SYKM, Wikipedia) novels from Pan Macmillan at the $3.99-$4.99 CAD mark (couponable/VIP-discount eligible), including series and standalone titles (some award-nominated/winning): linkage for the promo page.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by sufue

Six titles by Dick Francis have dropped to $4.99 at Kindle and Kobo US. I don't consider this a reasonable price for very old backlist, but YMMV.

Titles are:

• The Edge
• Banker
• Second Wind (somewhat apt for the US and Caribbean right now)
• Hot Money
• Proof
• Longshot

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/search/?se...&price=499-499
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?Qu...cmaxprice=4.99

In addition, Silks, which is a non-series title by Dick & Felix Francis is still $1.99 - see this previous post: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh....php?p=3587909

I'd just add that all those are great books, which I'd thoroughly recommend.

[sufue]

Racing the Devil is the most recent (2017) in the Inspector Ian Rutledge series by Charles Todd. It has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Racing-Devil-...dp/B01G1FJVBQ/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/racing-the-devil-1

Spoiler:

Scotland Yard’s Ian Rutledge finds himself caught in a twisted web of vengeance, old grievances, and secrets that lead back to World War I in the nineteenth installment of the acclaimed bestselling series.
On the eve of the bloody Battle of the Somme, a group of English officers having a last drink before returning to the Front make a promise to each other: if they survive the battle ahead—and make it through the war—they will meet in Paris a year after the fighting ends. They will celebrate their good fortune by racing motorcars they beg, borrow, or own from Paris to Nice.

In November 1919, the officers all meet as planned, and though their motorcars are not designed for racing, they set out for Nice. But a serious mishap mars the reunion. In the mountains just north of their destination, two vehicles are nearly run off the road, and one man is badly injured. No one knows—or will admit to knowing—which driver was at the wheel of the rogue motorcar.

Back in England one year later, during a heavy rainstorm, a driver loses control on a twisting road and is killed in the crash. Was it an accident due to the hazardous conditions? Or premeditated murder? Is the crash connected in some way to the unfortunate events in the mountains above Nice the year before? The dead driver wasn’t in France—although the motorcar he drove was. If it was foul play, was it a case of mistaken identity? Or was the dead man the intended victim after all?

Investigating this perplexing case, Scotland Yard Inspector Ian Rutledge discovers that the truth is elusive—and that the villages on the South Downs, where the accident happened, are adept at keeping secrets, frustrating his search. Determined to remain in the shadows this faceless killer is willing to strike again to stop Rutledge from finding him. This time, the victim he chooses is a child, and it will take all of Rutledge’s skill to stop him before an innocent young life is sacrificed.

[sufue]

A Great Reckoning is the 12th and next-to-most-recent (2016) in the much nominated/awarded Armand Gamache series by Louise Penny. It is a UK Kindle Daily Deal today at £0.99. Really happy to see this one on sale, even though I'm usually not a big fan of the "protagonist as suspect" story line, but am a big fan of Penny's writing, so hopefully it will be well done...

link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01DM0JH30/

Spoiler:

Winner of the Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Crime Novel 2016
A Goodreads Best Mystery & Thriller of 2016 finalist

Former Chief Inspector Gamache has been hunting killers his entire career and as the new commander of the Sûreté Academy, he is given the chance to combat the corruption and brutality that has been rife throughout the force. But when a former colleague and professor of the Sûreté Academy is found murdered, with a mysterious map of Three Pines in his possession, Gamache has an even tougher task ahead of him.

When suspicion turns to Gamache himself, and his possible involvement in the crime, the frantic search for answers takes the investigation to the village of Three Pines, where a series of shattering secrets are poised to be revealed . . .

Ingenious, gripping, and powerful, A Great Reckoning is the new spellbinding novel from number one bestseller, Louise Penny. Evocative and atmospheric, this magnificent work of crime fiction will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

[soulfuldog]

I'm more a thriller lover or dark Scandinavian crimes, but there's something special about the Gamache series. The blurb for this book is spot on.

"Evocative and atmospheric, this magnificent work of crime fiction will stay with you long after you turn the final page."

First time I've ever seen one of this series at 99p, cheers sufue, that's made my day

[sufue]

A couple of fairly recent titles in the Mara/Burren series by Cora Harrison are pretty cheap at Kindle UK:

Condemned to Death, #12, £1.76
link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Condemned-D...dp/B00QSBNYM6/

Spoiler:

When Mara, Brehon of the Burren, is summoned to the sandy beach of Fanore, on the western fringe of the kingdom of the Burren, she sees a sight that she has never witnessed before during her thirty years as law-enforcer and investigating magistrate: a dead man lying in a boat with no oars. Immediately her scholars jump to the conclusion that the man has been found guilty of kin-murder. The Brehon sentence for this worst of all crimes is that the murderer be towed out to sea and left to the mercy of wind and waves and the ultimate judgement of Almighty God. But Mara notices something odd about the body, something which arouses her suspicions. And something familiar about the boat in which he lies. Soon she has embarked on a full-scale murder investigation. And gradually suspicion dawns that someone near and dear to her is involved in the murder.

Fatal Inheritance, #13, £1.83
link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fatal-Inher...dp/B01ATM8S9I/

Spoiler:

Mara, Brehon of the Burren, must battle superstitious beliefs and fears as she sets out to solve a brutal murder.

When a woman’s body is discovered, strangled and bound with rope to the stone torso of Fár Breige, the ancient stone god which stands sentinel above the haunted caves and ancient fortifications of the Atlantic cliffs, the locals believe it was the god who killed her.
In life, Clodagh O’Lochlainn had been a disgrace to her clan, tormenting her former priestly lover, jeering at her husband, robbing her relatives: but could she really have been slaughtered by a vengeful god, as the local population believes? Abandoning preparations for the celebration of her fiftieth birthday, Mara, Brehon of the Burren, with the assistance of Fachtnan and her scholars, takes up the task of solving the murder. Ignoring the ancient legends, she concentrates instead on bringing a mortal killer to justice. But it’s only when Fachtnan’s small daughter is lost in the labyrinth of passages among the caves that the horrifying truth begins to emerge.

[sufue]

The first three titles in the Inspector Konrad Sejer series by Karin Fossum are available in an omnibus titled, oddly enough , Inspector Sejer Series The First Three Novels. It has dropped to $3.99 at Kindle and Kobo US. It includes:

• Eva's Eye
• Don't Look Back
• He Who Fears the Wolf

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Inspector-Sej...dp/B018DWKNS0/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/inspector-sejer-series

Spoiler:

“No one can thoroughly chill the blood the way Karin Fossum can.” — Los Angeles Times

Critically acclaimed across Europe, Karin Fossum’s Inspector Sejer novels are masterfully constructed, psychologically convincing, and compulsively readable. They evoke a world that is at once profoundly disturbing and terrifyingly familiar. The inaugural Inspector Sejer novels have been conveniently packaged together for your very own chilling reading experience.

EVA’S EYE
When the body of a man floats to the surface of a river, Inspector Sejer is called in. Sejer and his team determine that the man, Egil, died in a violent attack. But Egil has been missing for months, and the trail to his killer has gone cold. It’s as puzzling as another unsolved case on Sejer’s desk: the murder of a prostitute who was found dead just three days before Egil went missing. Sejer sets to work piecing together the fragments of these two impossible cases; soon enough he realizes that they might not be as separate as they had seemed.

DON’T LOOK BACK
At the foot of the imposing Kollen Mountain lies a small, idyllic village where neighbors know neighbors and children play happily in the streets. But when the body of a teenage girl is found by the lake at the mountaintop, the town’s tranquility is shattered forever. Annie was strong, intelligent, and loved by everyone. What went so terribly wrong? Doggedly, yet subtly, Inspector Sejer uncovers layer upon layer of distrust and lies beneath the town’s seemingly perfect façade.

HE WHO FEARS THE WOLF
Inspector Sejer is hard at work again, investigating the murder of a woman who lived alone in the middle of the woods. The chief suspect is another loner, a schizophrenic recently escaped from a mental institution. The only witness is a twelve-year-old boy, overweight, obsessed with archery, and a resident at a home for delinquents. Shrewdly, patiently, as is his way, Sejer confronts a case where the strangeness of the crime is matched only by the strangeness of the criminals, and where small-town prejudices warp every piece of information he tries to collect.

“In spare, incisive prose, Fossum turns a conventional police procedural into a sensitive examination of troubled minds and a disturbing look at the way society views them . . . A superb writer of psychological suspense.” — New York Times

[GA Russell]

The Dark Tunnel - Ross Macdonald - $1.99
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AW54CNE

[sufue]

The Women of the Souk is the 19th and last to date (2016) in the awesome wonderful Mamur Zapt series by Michael Pearce. This is one of my top five mystery series, and sometimes I would say it is my top series, although that top spot varies a bit according to my mood...

Souk has dropped to $5.14 at Kindle US, which is not a super great price, but it is most-recent-in-series, and is also normally about twice this price.

link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HDIP7GS/

Spoiler:

“Pearce’s engrossing story successfully juxtaposes the volatile atmosphere of early twentieth-century Cairo against a tale full of culture, history, charm, humor, and romance. A fine addition to this excellent series” Booklist Starred Review

The kidnapping of an innocent schoolgirl throws a glaring light on the tensions and injustices of pre-War Egyptian society in this absorbing historical mystery.

Cairo, Egypt, 1913. When schoolgirl Marie Kewfik is kidnapped, snatched away as she strolled through the bustling bazaars of the Souk, the Khedive insists that the Mamur Zapt, Head of the Secret Police, takes charge of the negotiations for her safe return. The Kewfiks are one of the wealthiest and most powerful families in Egypt but, as the Mamur Zapt discovers, not everyone thinks it’s worth the trouble to secure the release of a mere girl. He also learns that there is more to Marie’s kidnapping than meets the eye – and the subsequent fallout will shine a glaring light on the dangerous tensions running through Egyptian society.

[sufue]

Today's Big Deal at Kindle UK is eight titles by Harlen Coben for £0.99, mostly stand-alone, with a couple of Myron Bolitar:

• The Stranger
• Live Wire, MB 10
• Six Years
• Promise Me, MB 8
• Missing You
• Caught
• The Innocent
• Hold Tight

link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/b/ref=s9_ac...d_i=3017941031

[sufue]

A Whispered Name is the third in the Father Anselm series by William Brodrick, and, per SYKM, was the Gold Dagger winner in 2009. It is the Nook Daily Deal today at $2.99, but sadly has not dropped at either Kobo US ($20.99, coupon/VIPable) or Kindle US ($14.16). But if, like me, you don't want to buy from non-easily-downloadable Nook anymore, you can price-match to Kobo. Just save screenshots!

Nook link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-w...781468315615#/

Spoiler:

Father Anselm investigates the atrocities of war in this gripping mystery, proving that no one can truly escape the darkness of their past.

The Golden Dagger Award-winning installment of the Father Anselm thrillers, praised by Jeffery Deaver as “reminiscent of the early works of John le Carré,” A Whispered Name reaches into the mysteries of one man's past and casts light on the long shadows war leaves behind.

In the Larkwood Priory, secrets are rare. So Father Anselm is deeply dismayed by an allegation against Herbert Moore, one of the founding fathers of the Priory and the man who shaped his own vocation. The claim is inconceivable, but Anselm soon learns that Herbert did indeed have secrets in his past that he kept hidden all his life.

While investigating the accusation, Father Anselm discovers the horrors of a long-buried secret of war involving the young Captain Moore. A novel of moral complexity, superb characterization and, above all, profound humanity, A Whispered Name is fit to stand with the finest thrillers inspired by the First World War.

[ReadingManiac]

Some potentially interesting freebies on Kindle in the Mysteries section:

Devil in the Countryside by Cory Barclay
https://www.amazon.com/Devil-Country.../dp/B01MSEI8EM

Cowabunga Christmas by Anna Celeste Burke
https://www.amazon.com/Cowabunga-Chr.../dp/B016P5VR8M

The Gray and Guilty Sea by Scott William Carter
https://www.amazon.com/Gray-Guilty-S.../dp/B0049H92G8

[sufue]

The Alpine Traitor is the T-th in the Emma Lord series by Mary Daheim. It has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Alpine-Traito...dp/B0010SEMXW/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-alpine-traitor

Spoiler:

In Alpine, Washington–Mary Daheim’s cozy hamlet in the Cascade Mountains–mystery fans can meet folks whose colorful quirks and welcoming manner make the town feel like home. Alpine’s bastion of bylines, Emma Lord’s weekly newspaper, The Alpine Advocate, is the current that drives the rumor mill of small-town life . . . and occasional death. But even the eagerly anticipated Advocate isn’t immune to the perils of the outside world.

THE ALPINE TRAITOR

Emma Lord is shocked to hear the outrageous news: The Advocate is embroiled in a takeover bid. Worse, the ruthless acquisitioners are the heirs of Emma’s longtime and tragically departed lover, Tom Cavanaugh. They have come to Alpine–to stay. Soon, battle lines are drawn and war is declared. Then the first casualty is discovered facedown at the Tall Timber Motel.

The victim is Dylan Platte, front man for the buy-out offer Emma turned down cold. Naturally, Emma is a prime suspect. Then it turns out that the dead man has a big surprise for the living–one that involves the glamorous Ginger Roth, a bodacious Alpine newbie who can perform the dumb blonde act in her sleep. Emma’s ever-inquisitiv a bullet, Emma and the rest of the e House & Home editor, Vida Runkel, plumbs her extensive grapevine, from the Burger Barn to the Venison Inn, determined to connect the dots. But when an Advocate insider is next to take Alpiners make it their mission to find a killer.

Mary Daheim’s Alpine thriller throws an intriguing wrench into Emma’s domain, delighting fans with a generous helping of just deserts–in a town where secrets are everybody’s business.