Free (nook/Kindle) The Skull Cage Key [2040s Harlem Sci-Fi Drug Mystery Thriller]

[ATDrake]

The Skull Cage Key: A Novel by New York Times tech reporter Michel Marriott (ISFDB) is his debut novel, a near-future sfnal mystery/suspense thriller (apparently with an erotic edge for in-story reasons, according to the blurb and reviews; incidentally don't read the highest-ranked customer reviews unless you want to be spoiled for the entire plot), set in New York City's Harlem district in the 2040s involving a mysterious death and some sort of linkage to an illegal drug with an unpleasant provenance, which a murder suspect and a disgraced ex-cop (not the same person, mind you) must track down and expose, free courtesy of publisher Agate's Bolden imprint.

Currently free, probably just until the weekend @ B&N (may also drop in the UK) & Amazon (not available to Canadians, but also free in the UK), and might also drop @ iTunes where Agate freebies have sometimes been showing up in recent weeks. Unfortunately, Agate seems to have redesigned their website in such a way that it no longer seems likely that they'll be offering the direct-download PDF versions anymore.

Description
Chinese New Year, 2042. Armstrong, an upwardly mobile Harlem resident, is out celebrating with his boss (and lover) when they’re assaulted in her hotel room. She ends up in the Jacuzzi minus her head; the cops are convinced he’s to blame. Armstrong goes on the lam, dodging the cops while trying to figure out exactly what happened that night. Answers come in the form of Oona, a sultry sex worker with an unexpectedly deep reservoir of information.

As Armstrong digs for the whole story, a disgraced ex-cop is invited back to the force to combat a powerful designer drug that’s all the rage with the young, rich, and bored. As the two men’s paths draw inexorably together, the story behind the new drug becomes clearer — and far more sinister. This absorbing debut novel is a dark, erotic thriller with a powerful sci-fi kick.

[camiller]

Is free on Google play as well. https://play.google.com/store/books/...d=ocphsz046eMC