Free/Bargain Suspense/Mystery/Thriller February 2013

[HarryT]

Thanks - free at Amazon UK, too.

[NightBird]

One of the Kindle Daily Deals is Justice Denied by J.A. Jance from HarperCollins. Part of her J.P. Beaumont series.

The murder of an ex-drug dealer ex-con—gunned down on his mother's doorstep—seems just another turf war fatality. Why then has Seattle homicide investigator J.P. Beaumont been instructed to keep this assignment hush-hush? Meanwhile, Beau's lover and fellow cop, Mel Soames, is involved in her own confidential investigation. Registered sex offenders from all over Washington State are dying at an alarming rate—and not all due to natural causes.

A metropolis the size of Seattle holds its fair share of brutal crime, corruption, and dirty little secrets. But when the separate trails they're following begin to shockingly intertwine, Beau and Mel realize that they have stumbled onto something bigger and more frightening than they anticipated—a deadly conspiracy that's leading them to lofty places they should not enter . . . and may not be allowed to leave alive.

Another of J.A. Jance's books, Exit Wounds from her Joanna Brady series, is also $1.99. B&N Kobo Sony

The intense desert heat has brought horror to a small corner of the Southwest. A body lies lifeless in an airless trailer, surrounded by seventeen others. It is a crime unspeakable in its conception and execution—a nightmare strangely connected to a grisly slaughter in a neighboring state, where the corpses of two women are found tied up, naked, and gruesomely posed on a rancher's land. A day that started out hot has already turned blistering for Joanna Brady, the sheriff of Cochise County, Arizona, for terror has moved into her small town to stay. And the nightmare will not end until she uncovers the roots of a monstrous obsession buried somewhere in the most frightening dark shadows of the past.

[NightBird]

Erin Hart's three books from Simon & Schuster are $3.79 each at Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Erin-Hart/e/B0...002&sr=1-2-ent

$3.99 at Sony, Kobo, and B&N.

Haunted Ground

When farmers cutting turf in a peat bog make a grisly discovery -- the perfectly preserved severed head of a young woman with long red hair -- Irish archaeologist Cormac Maguire and American pathologist Nora Gavin team up in a case that will open old wounds.

Peat bogs prevent decay, so the decapitated young woman could have been buried for two decades, two centuries, or even much longer. Who is she? When was she killed? The extraordinary find leads to even more disturbing puzzles. The red-haired girl is clearly a case for the archaeologists, not the police. Still, her tale may have shocking ties to the present, and Cormac and Nora must use cutting-edge techniques to preserve ancient evidence.

And the red-haired girl is not the only enigma in this remote corner of Galway. Two years earlier, Mina Osborne, the local landowner's Indian-born wife, went for a walk with her young son and never returned. Did Mina simply decide to disappear, or did mother and child become lost in the treacherous bog? Could they, too, be hidden in its depths, only to be discovered centuries from now? Or did the landowner, Hugh Osborne, murder his family, as some villagers suspect?

Bracklyn House, Osborne's stately home, holds many secrets for Nora and Cormac and policeman Garrett Devaney. But time is running out. Devaney's superiors want him off the Osborne case. Now. He wants to stay and find a killer.

Meticulously crafted and resonating with traditional music and folklore, Haunted Ground celebrates Ireland's turbulent history, revealing the eternal, subliminal connections between past and present in a riveting novel that heralds the arrival of a bright new crime-writing star.

Lake of Sorrows

American pathologist Nora Gavin has come to the Irish midlands to examine a body unearthed at a desolate spot known as the Lake of Sorrows. As with all the artifacts culled from its prehistoric depths, the bog has effectively preserved the dead man's remains -- his multiple wounds suggest he was the victim of an ancient pagan sacrifice known as "triple death." But signs of a more recent slaying emerge when a second body, bearing a similar wound pattern, is found -- this one sporting a wristwatch.
Someone has come to this quagmire to sink their dreadful handiwork -- and Nora soon realizes that she is being pulled deeper into the land and all it holds: the secrets to a cache of missing gold, a tumultuous love affair with archaeologist Cormac Maguire, and the dark mysteries and desires of the workers at the site. As they draw closer to the truth, Nora and Cormac must exercise the utmost caution to avoid becoming the next victims of a ruthless killer fixated on the gruesome notion of triple death.

False Mermaid

AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR ERIN HART DELIVERS A SEARING NEW NOVEL OF SUSPENSE, BRILLIANTLY MELDING MODERN FORENSICS AND IRISH MYTH AND MYSTERY IN THIS CHARGED THRILLER.
American pathologist Nora Gavin fled to Ireland three years ago, hoping that distance from home would bring her peace. Though she threw herself into the study of bog bodies and the mysteries of their circumstances, she was ultimately led back to the one mystery she was unable to solve: the murder of her sister, Tríona. Nora can’t move forward until she goes back—back to her home, to the scene of the crime, to the source of her nightmares and her deepest regrets.

Determined to put her sister’s case to rest and anxious about her eleven-year-old niece, Elizabeth, Nora returns to Saint Paul, Minnesota, to find that her brother-in-law, Peter Hallett, is about to remarry and has plans to leave the country with his new bride. Nora has long suspected Hallett in Tríona’s murder, though there has never been any proof of his involvement, and now she believes that his new wife and Elizabeth may both be in danger. Time is short, and as Nora begins reinvestigating her sister’s death, missed clues and ever-more disturbing details come to light. What is the significance of the "false mermaid" seeds found on Tríona’s body? Why was her behavior so erratic in the days before her murder?

Is there a link between Tríona’s death and that of another young woman?

Nora’s search for answers takes her from the banks of the Mississippi to the cliffs of Ireland, where the eerie story of a fisherman’s wife who vanished more than a century ago offers up uncanny parallels. As painful secrets come to light, Nora is drawn deeper into a past that still threatens to engulf her and must determine how much she is prepared to sacrifice to put one tragedy to rest . . . and to make sure that history doesn’t repeat itself.

[NightBird]

The first three books in Scott Pratt's legal thriller series are $.99 each. (The first one was free in November.) Previously published by Penguin. (Fourth book in the series is also $.99 but is self-pubbed.)

An Innocent Client (Joe Dillard Series No. 1)

A preacher is found brutally murdered in a Tennessee motel room.

A beautiful, mysterious young girl is accused.

In this Mystery Readers International finalist for "Best Debut Mystery," criminal defense lawyer Joe Dillard has become jaded over the years as he's tried to balance his career against his conscience. Savvy but cynical, Dillard wants to quit doing criminal defense, but he can't resist the chance to represent someone who might actually be innocent. His drug-addicted sister has just been released from prison and his mother is succumbing to Alzheimer's, but Dillard's commitment to the case never wavers despite the personal troubles and professional demands that threaten to destroy him.

In Good Faith (Joe Dillard Series No. 2)

A family of four is slaughtered in rural Tennessee.

Two weeks later, a retired high school principal and his wife are brutally slain.

Two Satan-worshipping teens stand accused.

It’s up to prosecutor Joe Dillard to convict them. A former defense attorney who spent way too much time defending people he knew were guilty, Joe is determined to win this case to atone for his past. But an evil young woman named Natasha is responsible for the slayings and Joe knows it. Natasha is walking around free because the two boys who have been arrested are too terrified to implicate her. Now Joe must risk everything -- including his family's safety and his own life -- to bring an evil murderer to justice.

Injustice For All (Joe Dillard Series No. 3)

A criminal court judge is found hanging from a tree.

A young employee of the district attorney's office goes missing.

In this third book of the acclaimed Joe Dillard series, Dillard finds himself in the middle of two volatile mysteries. The primary suspect in the judge's murder is Dillard's son's best friend, and Dillard's wife may have destroyed evidence. Meanwhile, the missing girl turns out to be a mystery far deeper than anyone imagined...

[NightBird]

Penguin has a couple of price reductions to $1.99 each:

All Sales Fatal by Laura DiSilverio. Second in her Mall Cop series. Kobo

For mall cop E.J. Ferris, catching customers who “forgot to pay” is quite a change of pace from her former life in the military. But when a real crisis heats up her climate-controlled domain, her old instincts come back quicker than last year’s skinny jeans.
On good days, Fernglen Galleria is a tranquil haven of capitalist splendor—but today is not one of those days. Arriving for her morning shift, E.J. spots a sleeping homeless person outside the east entrance. But the teenage boy turns out to be neither homeless nor asleep. He is, however, dead.

With half the security cameras sabotaged, no one can be sure what happened. E.J. is determined to help solve the case—whether Homicide Detective Helland likes it or not. Uncovering a deadly conspiracy right in her own mall, E.J is about to catch a killer, or get put on lay-away for good…

Sketch a Falling Star by Sharon Pape. Third in her paranormal mystery series, A Portrait of Crime. Kobo

While investigating the "accidental" death of a con artist with numerous enemier, Rory McCain finds herself on the verge of solving a cold case--the murder of her ghost partner, Zeke...

[NightBird]

Nelson DeMille's The Lion's Game, second in his John Corey series, is $1.99 from Hachette. B&N Sony

Detective John Corey, last seen in Plum Island, now faces his toughest assignment yet: the pursuit and capture of the world's most dangerous terrorist -- a young Arab known as "The Lion" who has baffled a federal task force and shows no sign of stopping in his quest for revenge against the American pilots who bombed Libya and killed his family. Filled with unrelenting suspense and surprising plot twists at every terrifying turn, THE LION'S GAME is a heartstopping race against time and one of Nelson DeMille's most riveting thrillers.

[RareBird]

Originally Posted by NightBird

Nelson DeMille's The Lion's Game, second in his John Corey series, is $1.99 from Hachette. B&N Sony

Also at Kobo.

[NightBird]

The Damage Done by Hilary Davidson is $2.99 from Macmillan. B&N Kobo

Winner of the Anthony Award for Best First Novel

Lily Moore, a successful travel writer, fled to Spain to get away from her troubled, drug-addicted younger sister, Claudia. But when Claudia is found dead in a bathtub on the anniversary of their mother’s suicide, Lily must return to New York to deal with the aftermath.

The situation shifts from tragic to baffling when the body at the morgue turns out to be a stranger’s. The dead woman had been using Claudia’s identity for months. The real Claudia had vanished, reappearing briefly on the day her impostor died. As Claudia transforms from victim to suspect in the eyes of the police, Lily becomes determined to find her before they do.

Is Claudia actually missing, or is she playing an elaborate con game? And who’s responsible for the body that was found in the bathtub? An obsessive ex-lover? An emotionally disturbed young man with a rich and powerful father? Or Lily’s own former fiancé, who turns out to be more deeply involved with Claudia than he admits?

As Lily searches for answers, a shadowy figure stalks her and the danger to her grows. Determined to learn the truth at any cost, she is unprepared for the terrible toll it will take on her and those she loves.

[sufue]

Ashley Gardner (along with Allyson James, a pen name for Jennifer Ashley) put out her backlist via Smashwords a couple of years back. See these MR threads:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=165886

and

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=139955

Now there is a bundle of the first three novels in the series, all previously published in DTB by Berkeley, and two magazine-published short stories, available on Amazon and BN for $4.99. The price for all would be $6.96 if purchased separately. I didn't find it on Kobo, BoB, or Smashwords, where it might have been couponable or discountable. Still, if you don't have any of these, you get a bit of a discount via the bundle.

I read some of these many years ago in DTB and the rest more recently in ebook, and have enjoyed the series. I like historical mysteries and that is what these are - Regency period. They are a bit darker than many historical mysteries, not cozies, but not blood & gore-ish either - just a bit dark.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Captain-Lacey-...dp/B006YZ0OOM/

BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/capt...ner/1108485755

Oh yeah, and this is called "Volume 1" which sort of implies there might be a "Volume 2" someday, but not so far...

[mitford13]

Price drop from my wishlist - John McFetridge's Toronto Series bundle is down to $9.99 from $11.something (on Amazon)...


The Toronto Series Bundle: Includes the novels Dirty Sweet, Everybody Knows this is Nowhere, and Swap

Includes the novels Dirty Sweet, Everybody Knows this is Nowhere, and Swap. Road rage or a premeditated killing? Dirty Sweet is a fast-paced crime story that follows each character to a surprising end. In Everybody Knows this is Nowhere, detective Gord Bergeron has problems. Maybe it's his new partner, Ojibwa native Detective Armstrong. Or maybe it's the missing ten-year-old girl, or the unidentified torso dumped in an alley behind a motel, or what looks like corruption deep within the police force. In Swap, Toronto's shadow city sprawls outwards, a grasping and vicious economy of drugs, guns, sex, and gold bullion. And that shadow city feels just like home for Get — a Detroit boy, project-raised, ex-army, Iraq and Afghanistan, only signed up for the business opportunities, plenty of them over there. Now he's back, and he's been sent up here by his family to sell guns to Toronto's fast-rising biker gangs.

[mitford13]

Richard Stark movie tie-in marked down to $1.99 on Amazon:

Parker: Movie Tie-in Edition, Originally Published as "Flashfire"

There have been many film adaptations of Richard Stark’s novels over the years, but none of them actually featured a protagonist named Parker—and none of them fully captured Parker’s chilling tenacity and laconic anticharm. Here for the first time is the real Parker, played by Jason Statham. Adapted by Black Swan screenwriter John J. McLaughlin, and directed by Taylor Hackford, Parker is sure to both satisfy Stark fans and action-movie lovers. And there couldn’t be a better Parker novel to bring to the silver screen than the fast-paced and stylish Flashfire.

When Flashfire opens, Parker isn’t happy. Three associates have borrowed his money for a job without permission, and he isn’t satisfied to wait and see if they make good. Instead, he vows to kill them all. Tearing across America to take their job out from under them, Parker finds himself in West Palm Beach. There things go sour. While attempting to trick the denizens of Palm Beach into accepting him for one of their own, Parker is gut-shot and forced to rely on a beautiful civilian, played in the film by Jennifer Lopez, for help. But even injured and exhausted, Parker still has his killer instinct, and he shows how unwise—and deadly—it is to cross him. Part heist movie, part unexpected romance, and mostly explosions, Parker brings to life Stark’s hero with verve and violence, while taking viewers on an action-packed adventure they won’t soon forget.

[KentE]

Dead In The Water, by Stuart Woods is currently $1.99
Harper-Collins
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Water-Nov.../dp/B000FC11D8

This is from Woods' Stone Barrington series.

"Stone Barrington only wants a winter getaway from the chill of New York in the beautiful, tropical Caribbean paradise of St. Mark's. But what the lawyer and ex-cop gets instead is the chance to defend Allison Manning. The beautiful young woman stands accused of killing her rich husband on board their luxurious yacht and then burying him at sea.
Stone isn't exactly conversant with the island country's law, but this much is clear to him: Allison is being railroaded by the perverse sense of justice of a prosecutor who will do anything to stay in office."

[KentE]

All at Amazon, US at least
Two military thrillers by Dale Brown and Jim DeFelice (co-writers)
Typical Brown plots involving espionage, covert action, and heroic pilots.
Dreamland: Razor's Edge $0.99
http://www.amazon.com/Dale-Browns-Dr.../dp/B000FC11BA

and Dreamland: Strike Zone $1.99
http://www.amazon.com/Dale-Browns-Dr.../dp/B000FC11IS


Author Paul Levine is back with another offering from his Jake Lassiter series:
Fool Me Twice. $0.99
http://www.amazon.com/FOOL-TWICE-Las.../dp/B004IZLHAK
This series features a down-on-his-luck PI who keeps discovering he has more of a conscience than he wants to admit. Great reading during a blizzard, if you don't have a beach handy.
"A witness is dead and linebacker-turned-lawyer Jake Lassiter is the prime suspect. If he doesn't find the killer, he'll face a murder charge. A bloody trail of evidence leads to an abandoned silver mine under the Colorado ski slopes and an explosive finale."

[Mort1997]

S.J Rozan No Colder place - free on Amazon UK

[melmac]

Originally Posted by Mort1997

S.J Rozan No Colder place - free on Amazon UK

Thanks Also on Amazon Au