FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by sufue

That Day the Rabbi Left Town is the 11th and last in the Rabbi Small series by Harry Kemelman. It has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US (VIP/couponable).

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/That-Rabbi-Le...dp/B00ZJZGX5W/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/tha...abbi-left-town

An excellent book, which I recently read myself. It's actually the 12th book in the series, not the 11th. Highly recommended.

[ATDrake]

Bargain @ 99 cents/pence from Headline (non-couponable, looks like they're mostly available in Canada, US, & UK when I spot-checked):

• 14 novels (#14-28, but be advised that #14-16 are available in The Knights Templar Collection omnibus, which is also priced at 99 cents) in British author Michael Jecks' (ISFDB, Wikipedia) Knights Templar series of historical murder mysteries starring an ex-Crusader now returned back to England and his local bailiff buddy. I bought one of these on sale to try years ago which I read to see if I wanted to get the rest and thought it was fairly well done, enough that I did pick up the rest of then-discounted volumes and then acquired a good chunk of the others during another 99 cent sale a while back and now only have three left to eventully buy.
  
  Anyway, linkage for the lot of the author's works sorted by price @ Kobo & Amazon, and there's also a freebie sampler of the ones out from Simon & Schuster UK (Headline only has the rights for half the series; the rest are split between S&S and HarperCollins), which is really just chapter excerpts, but has some sort of exclusive foreword by the author: The Michael Jecks Compendium
• The Killings at Badger Drift by Caroline Graham (SYKM, Wikipedia), 1st in the Chief Inspector Barnaby aka Midsomer Murders series which inspired the wildly popular TV show (Wikipedia). This one was adapted into the pilot episode of the series and also won the 1989 Macavity Award for Best First Novel and was also a finalist for the Agatha and Anthony in those categories, according to SYKM. This new edition has a special foreword by the actor who played one of the lead detectives.
• The Dead Ground by Claire McGowan (SYKM), 2nd in her Paula Maguire series starring a forensic psychologist in Northern Ireland. This one doesn't seem to be on sale in the UK, but instead they have a discounted #1 for just £0.99: The Lost There's also a freebie introductory prequel short story for you to try out.

[ATDrake]

For lovers of vintage detective stories, selected volumes of the late seminal Belgian author Georges Simenon's (SYKM, Wikipedia) works about his highly popular and much-adapted Inspector Maigret (Wikipedia) are on sale in both French and English (not the same ones, though).

@ $2.99 from Penguin (non-couponable, available in Canada & US; different editions in the UK which are not on sale), who are committed to issuing new translations of the Maigret stories, two novels originally published in 1931 (these have had various different titles in previous translations, given in the full blurbs); regular pricing goes from $6 to $14 CAD:

• The Late Monsieur Gallet translated by Anthea Bell (Wikipedia, one half of the excellent Astérix translation team), which was originally M. Gallet décédé, 3rd in the original editing order given on French Wikipedia's bibliography
• The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien translated by Linda Coverdale (Wikipedia), originally Le Pendu du Saint-Pholien, 4th in the Wikipedia order. NB: it's actually not cost-effective to buy this one on sale at the moment if you intend to read more in the series, as the 4-book Inspector Maigret Omnibus: Volume 1 contains this and #1-2 & #9, the cost of which the first two alone is greater than the $15.99 CAD for the omnibus, unless there are further discount promotions

@ £1.99 from Penguin in the UK ($10.99 for the corresponding Canadian edition):

Pietr the Latvian translated by David Bellos (Wikipedia), originally Pietr Le-Letton and #1 in the series. Again, not very cost-effective to buy, since the UK edition of the omnibus is here and priced at £12.99, picking up the others individually will cost you at least £4.99 each unless they drop at a later date. The UK also has the second volume which North America lacks: Inspector Maigret Omnibus 2 at £9.99.

And @ $1.99 each from Place des Éditeurs' confusingly-named Omnibus imprint (non-couponable), 4 collections of Simenon's early short stories in the original French, for a very cheap price (French publishers rarely discount, and though we've gotten one Simenon freebie from them in the past, the rest have remained at $8 or above, though there are 3/4-novel actual omnibus editions priced at $26 each):

• Les 13 coupables, originally out in 1929
• Les 13 énigmes, originally out in 1929
• Les 13 mystères, originally out in 1930
• Maigret et l'inspecteur Malgracieux, 4 short stories originally out in 1947 under the title Maigret et l'inspecteur Malchanceux; the intro to the first one says it was written while the author was visiting Quebec, and adapted for British TV as Inspector Lognon's Triumph

[ATDrake]

Bargain @ 99 cents for today only (March 25th) as part of the Kindle Daily Deals in Canada & the US from Amazon's exclusive AmazonCrossing translation imprint:

Rage by award-winning Polish author Zygmunt Miłoszewski (SYKM, Wikipedia), which is apparently 3rd in his mystery/crime thriller series starring state prosecutor Teodor Szacki in Warsaw, according to SYKM. The first 2 are out from Bitter Lemon Press, and #1, Entanglement, appears to be going for just $1.99 at Amazon (not discounted at Kobo Canada, but you can price-match).

Bestselling Polish crime by award-winning author Zygmunt Miloszewski.

All eyes are on famous prosecutor Teodor Szacki when he investigates a skeleton discovered at a construction site in the idyllic Polish city of Olsztyn. Old bones come as no shock to anyone in this part of Poland, but it turns out these remains are fresh, the flesh chemically removed.

Szacki questions the dead man’s wife, only to be left with a suspicion she’s hiding something. Then another victim surfaces—a violent husband, alive but maimed—giving rise to a theory: someone’s targeting domestic abusers. And as new clues bring the murderer closer to those Szacki holds dear, he begins to understand the terrible rage that drives people to murder.

From acclaimed Polish crime writer Zygmunt Miloszewski comes a gritty, atmospheric page-turner that poses the question, what drives a sane man to kill?

[sufue]

Hmmm....

Per SYKM (and my tattered DTBs):

1. Friday the Rabbi Slept Late
2. Saturday the Rabbi Went Hungry
3. Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home
4. Monday the Rabbi Took Off
5. Tuesday the Rabbi Saw Red
6. Wednesday the Rabbi Got Wet
7. Thursday the Rabbi Walked Out
8. Someday the Rabbi Will Leave
9. One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross
10. The Day the Rabbi Resigned
11. That Day the Rabbi Left Town

Are you perhaps thinking of Conversations with Rabbi Small, which is not a mystery, although a very interesting book? Or Nine-Mile Walk, which features Nicky Welt, not Rabbi Small? If not, I'm very curious as to the 12th book - I'd love another unread Rabbi Small story to enjoy!

Originally Posted by HarryT

An excellent book, which I recently read myself. It's actually the 12th book in the series, not the 11th. Highly recommended.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by sufue

Hmmm....

Per SYKM (and my tattered DTBs):

1. Friday the Rabbi Slept Late
2. Saturday the Rabbi Went Hungry
3. Sunday the Rabbi Stayed Home
4. Monday the Rabbi Took Off
5. Tuesday the Rabbi Saw Red
6. Wednesday the Rabbi Got Wet
7. Thursday the Rabbi Walked Out
8. Someday the Rabbi Will Leave
9. One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross
10. The Day the Rabbi Resigned
11. That Day the Rabbi Left Town

Are you perhaps thinking of Conversations with Rabbi Small, which is not a mystery, although a very interesting book? Or Nine-Mile Walk, which features Nicky Welt, not Rabbi Small? If not, I'm very curious as to the 12th book - I'd love another unread Rabbi Small story to enjoy!

I was thinking of "Conversations with Rabbi Small", which is (IMHO) unquestionably a book in the Rabbi Small series (and is, as you say, an extremely interesting book). It refers to events and people in the other books in the series, so in all honesty I think it should be included.

[sufue]

I guess I prefer to keep mysteries to themselves as far as series, but TEHO. However, I REALLY was hoping there was another mystery I didn't know about... Darn!

Originally Posted by HarryT

I was thinking of "Conversations with Rabbi Small", which is (IMHO) unquestionably a book in the Rabbi Small series (and is, as you say, an extremely interesting book). It refers to events and people in the other books in the series, so in all honesty I think it should be included.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by sufue

Darn, I was hoping there was another mystery I didn't know about...

Sorry . I wish there were more, too. Wonderful series.

[HarryT]

"Even Dogs in the Wild", by Ian Rankin, the 20th book in the Rebus series, is part of today's Amazon UK Kindle Daily Deal for 99p.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ULQH1CS

EDIT: And I notice that the preceding book in the series, "Saints of the Shadow Bible" is also on sale for 99p:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BU1DH1M

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I was thinking of "Conversations with Rabbi Small", which is (IMHO) unquestionably a book in the Rabbi Small series (and is, as you say, an extremely interesting book). It refers to events and people in the other books in the series, so in all honesty I think it should be included.

Thanks. I recently bought the books when a majority of them were on sale a few weeks ago, but I didn't buy Conversations. Maybe I will go back and pick it up or at least watch for a sale.

I have read the first few books. The temple politics can get tiresome (I expect this is intentional on the part of the author, to convey how tiresome it is for the rabbi) but I overall am enjoying the series so far.

[HarryT]

Whether "Conversations" will interest you depends whether books about religion appeal to you. The premise of the book is that Rabbi Small is on vacation in a hotel, and a young Christian woman who is engaged to a (non-religious) Jewish man approaches him and asks him to teach her about Judeism. In the course of conversations spread over several evenings, Rabbi Small explains the tenets of the Jewish faith to both her and her fiancé, often using people and events from his own temple as examples to illustrate his points.

I found it a fascinating book, but this kind of thing interests me. It's certainly not a mystery .

[GA Russell]

The Blessing Way - Tony Hillerman - $1.99
https://www.amazon.com/The-Blessing-...dp/B000FC10VQ/

[sufue]

Death in Sicily is an omnibus of the first three novels in the wonderful (IMO) Inspector Montalbano series by Andrea Camilleri. It has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US.

Titles are:

• The Shape of Water
• The Terra-Cotta Dog
• The Snack Thief

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Death-Sicily-...dp/B00SI02CI2/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/death-in-sicily

Spoiler:

Collected in one volume—the first three books in the bestselling Inspector Montalbano mystery series.

American readers were first introduced to Sicily’s inimitable Inspector Salvo Montalbano more than ten years ago. Since then, the detective—and his characteristic mix of humor, cynicism, compassion, and love of good food—has won the affection of crime fiction aficionados and Italophiles alike. With Andrea Camilleri’s last two mysteries appearing on the New York Times bestseller list, it’s clear that interest in the series is at an all time high. Now, Death in Sicily features the Inspector’s first three adventures in one handy volume, offering new readers just the enticement they need to get started.

[sufue]

The John Lutz Bundle is an omnibus of the first five titles in Frank Quinn series. It has dropped to $4.99 at Kindle US and Kobo US.

Titles are:

• Mister X
• Urge to Kill
• Night Kills
• In for the Kill
• Darker than Night

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/John-Lutz-Bun...dp/B0046ZRUJE/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/joh...ill-mister-x-1

Spoiler:

Mister X

He mutilates his victims. Slices their throats. And carves an X into their flesh. Five years ago, he claimed the lives of six women. Then the killings abruptly stopped--no one knows why. Ex-homicide detective Frank Quinn remembers. Which is why he's shocked to see one of the dead women in his office. Actually, she's the identical twin of the last victim, and she wants Quinn to find her sister's murderer. But when the cold case heats up, it attracts the media spotlight--and suddenly the killings start again...

Urge to Kill

Homicide detective Frank Quinn can't stay retired when a new breed of murdering madman is on the prowl. In a city terrorized by bloody brutality, Quinn and his team hunt a psychopath who lures beautiful women into a night of unbridled passion, then wakes them to a vicious, drawn-out death. Stumbling over a trail of horribly defiled bodies, Quinn can't seem to catch up to the killer--because the killer is about to catch up to him...

Night Kills

Frank Quinn is sure he is hunting for a madman: someone who is shooting young women in the heart, defiling their bodies, leaving only the torsos to be found. Quinn, a former NYPD detective, is called into the case by an ambitious chief of police and mobilizes his team of brilliant law-enforcement misfits. But in the concrete canyons of New York, this shocking serial murder case is turning into something very different...

Jill Clark came to the city with too many hopes and too little cash. Now a seemingly deranged woman is telling her an extraordinary story. New to an exclusive dating service, Jill is warned that other women have died on their dates—and that she could be next. Struggling against a death trap closing in around her, Jill has a powerful ally in Frank Quinn. But no one knows the true motives behind a rampage of cold-blooded murderer--or how much more terrifying this is going to get...

In for the Kill

A madman is stalking women in the city. By the time his victims are found, they've been dismembered with careful precision, their limbs stacked into a gruesome pyramid and completely cleansed of every last drop of blood.

Accustomed to working on the most grisly homicides, detective Frank Quinn's nerves don't rattle easily. But when the last names of the killer's victims spell out "Q-u-i-n-n," the veteran cop feels a chill run down his spine. Then a fresh victim is linked to the one woman Quinn can't stop desiring. Hunting down killers is what Quinn does best. But this time, Quinn is up against a psychopath that will test him as never before...

Darker Than Night

A killer dubbed "The Night Prowler" has turned the city that doesn't sleep into a town kept awake by terror. Unseen, he enters couples' homes. Unsuspected, he lingers until the perfect moment arrives. He leaves "gifts" for his victims--before taking their lives.

Enter ex-homicide cop Frank Quinn, still reeling in the wake of an elaborate setup that ended his career. For Quinn, this isn't just any job--it's a last chance to salvage his reputation. As the investigation proceeds, the murderer loses no time stalking new prey: a loan officer and her high-earning husband; a couple who made a killing in the stock market; a pretty actress and her prosperous lover.

With the body count rising, it's up to Quinn to unlock the mystery of a madman's past and end his bloody reign. Quinn's got his work cut out--because in a city the size of New York, any one of 8 million faces could be that of a killer--or his next target...

EDIT: Also $3.89 and couponable/VIPable at Kobo Canada.

[sufue]

Several titles in the Malcolm & Suzanne Rannoch series by Teresa Grant (pen name for Tracy Grant) have dropped in price at Kindle US. Confusingly enough, this series is a continuation of the Charles and Mélanie Fraser series, written as Tracy Grant, just with the names of the main characters changed, apparently as a result of a change in publisher. And to make it even more confusing, the books have not been published in the same order as they would have occurred chronologically. Luckily, there is a chronological list that covers most of the books on the author's website: https://tracygrant.wordpress.com/faq/. In spite of all the confusion though, I've read and liked almost all of these.

Anyway, here are the books and prices:

The Berkeley Square Affair, $3.99
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Berkeley-Malc...dp/B00FH1IBUS/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the...quare-affair-1

The Paris Plot, $0.99
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Malcolm-Suzan...dp/B00F8J6O80/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-paris-plot-1

The Paris Affair, $3.99
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Suzanne-Ranno...dp/B00ADQHGE4/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/paris-affair-2

His Spanish Bride, $0.99
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Spanish-Malco...dp/B008R9VPUU/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/his-spanish-bride-1