Free (Kindle DRM-free) October Five by Mobashar Qureshi [Canadian Mystery] +KDP

[ATDrake]

No significant backlist sf/fantasy has yet shown up in the KDP Select exclusive-or-else slushpile trawl.

But there is something nice for Canadiana mystery aficionados. (And a few romance thriller etc. for non-Canadiana/non-mystery aficionados.)

The Mercury Press is a long-established (okay, they're older than I am, which I count as ancient in publishing terms) Canadian small-press imprint which has produced stuff which has gone on to win the Governor General's Award.

Mobashar Qureshi, a Nigerian-born Canadian writer, was once named a top 10 rising mystery talent in our semi-prestigious Quill & Quire book industry/home-grown literature magazine, roughly equivalent to Publisher's Weekly.

The October Five by Mobashar Qureshi is an apparently police procedural murder mystery, originally published by Mercury Press in 2009.

He also offers some other novels and short fiction at prices ranging from 99 cents to $2.99, it looks like.

Free without DRM for who knows how long @ Amazon main UK DE ES FR IT.

Description
Veteran Detective Karl Whaler is thrown into an investigation that may be the strangest and most dangerous of his career, involving five men who meet secretly in a room. They consist of a Plumber, an Electrician, a Caretaker, a Locksmith, and a Butcher.

Whaler’s search leads him to a mystery that is decades old.

The October Five is a mystery that examines friendship, loyalty, and justice.

Award-winning sf writer Eric James Stone's free story of the day is: Tabloid Reporter to the Stars

Don Pendleton, writer of those Mack Bolan: Executioner action/adventure novels which my library has in paperback, offers the self-explanatory: Time to Time: Ashton Ford, Psychic Detective. Other books in this and another series by him are $2.99.

Kensington & Harlequin-published Doreen Owens Malek offers two more romances; contemporary with lawyer & soap opera star: Another Life, historical which looks like it's set in the US Civil War, though there could be some other context for "rebel" such as Highland Scot: Torchlight

Kensington-published cozy mystery writer Peggy Webb offers two romances free to all via Smashwords; time-travel romance novella: Christmas in Time, humorous contemporary romance: Donovan's Angel

Formerly featured small-press erotic romance writer Jenna Byrnes offers two shorter tales; paranormal f/m ghost romance: Dreams of Dani

In conjunction with also-Phaze Press-published Jude Mason, Byrnes offers an m/m romantic suspense: Willing and Able

Mason also offers a solo m/m historical romance short with a paranormal element: Of Death and Desire

Writers who have been omnibused with formerly Dorchester-published Gemma Halliday's works have some of their own works free if you want to try them (mainly horror & thriller as far as I can tell + some mystery and maybe a fantasy): Scott Nicholson, J.R. Rain, Aiden James.

Previously-featured Robert Swartwood, who had a few stories published in respectable horror/literary outlets, offers a collection of such (may not be the same as the published ones): Phantom Energy: [Very Short] Stories

(ETA: Short zombie story by Swartwood which he says won some kind of contest: In the Land of the Blind)

J.R. McLemore, who similarly has one or two stories published in traditional small-press horror/thriller magazines, offers a mystery/thriller novel: Majoring in Murder

Previously-featured Robert W. Walker's 5th Jessica Coran Forensic Pathologist thrillers is now KDP-freebied and seems to have comparatively better reviews than the 7th posted earlier: Darkest Instinct.

Fellow MR member author and writer of TV show tie-in novels Lee Goldberg offers a PI mystery/thriller: Watch Me Die.

Dave Zeltserman's Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Reader's Choice award-winning short stories are now KDP-freebied (previously free for a long time on Smashwords, but now Amazon-exclusive): Julius Katz Mysteries

Berkley-published Julie Hyzy offers a mystery in her Alex St. James series: Deadly Shorts

If you missed UK writer John Matthew's previously Penguin-published legal thriller earlier, it's free again: Ascension Day.

That pretty much seems to be it. Happy reading, if you see anything you think you might like.

ETA: This is as far as I can tell not a genuine backlist author/book (only work, published as only book by "publisher" who's never printed anything else), but the Product Description section is certainly what I can only hope is a work of performance art and I encourage you to view it for the lulz: Noble Vision: A Novel

That is possibly the most brilliantly elaborate product-page-trolling I have yet to see on Amazon, short of those comedic fake reviews on the 3 Moon Wolf Shirt and the Tuscan Milk.

Huh. Looks like the author may actually be seriously for serious about that. But the hyperbole of the quoted "reviews" are still sporfle-tastic, even if subject to Poe's Law.

I also like how the moment there's a 1-star review, several other 5-star reviews pop up in the next couple of weeks, some by people who've never bothered to review anything else thus far. But that may simply be coincidence. Very enthusiastic sudden coincidence.

[koland]

Jenna Byrnes link goes to Robert Walker

Here are her links:
http://www.amazon.com/Willing-and-Ab.../dp/B00507FOS6
http://www.amazon.com/Dreams-of-Dani.../dp/B006V56YHG
http://www.amazon.com/Never-Goodbye-.../dp/B005DHNY1W

[koland]

correct link for Lee Goldberg's Watch Me Die.

http://www.amazon.com/Watch-Me-Die-ebook/dp/B003BLPGZO/

[koland]

J.R. McLemore's Majoring in Murder - http://www.amazon.com/Majoring-Murde...dp/B0067838EO/

[koland]

Just for those interested - the free books from Aiden James, Scott Nicholson, J. R. Rain, and H.T. Night are part of a promotional contest that is giving away at least four and perhaps as many as 6 Kindle Fires (paid for by the authors). There are details on an early blog post on my website, if you want to enter (social media required, probably somewhat limited in where they can ship - full details on the contest site, as well).

[ATDrake]

Fixed, thanks. I have no idea whether the Windows clipboard simply hates cooperating with Chrome, or it just malfunctions for reasons of its own, or maybe the netbook has keys that intermittently stick on C and V, but I hope that Apple comes up with some nice models when they refresh their laptop lines with the rumoured redesign this year.

OS X may have its problems, but at least they're problems I'm familiar with and know to expect.

Thanks also for the info on the contest for interested forum-goers. That sounds like a nice bonus for fans of those authors and new readers looking to get acquainted.

[Dr. Drib]

Thanks for the list.

I think I picked up 27 titles.




Don

[ATDrake]

Two non-KDP additions, likely to last about as long:

Aris Whittier's Five Star-published mystery/romantic suspense is apparently playing pricing catchup with Smashwords: Fatal Embrace is now free for Kindle, but back to $2.99 @ SW.

But now free @ SW is her contemporary romance novel, which was 99 cents+ last time I looked: Across Eternity

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Thanks for the list.

I think I picked up 27 titles. Don

Thanks for these books being available only to Kindlers -- saved me from buying 27 more books. The more I think about the Kindle exclusivity, the more I appreciate that Bezos is helping my personal economy. There are a whole lot of ebooks that I'll never buy or hear of again.

[HarryT]

I really don't see the problem here, Rich . I buy both Kindle and ePub books, and convert the ePub books to Mobi; is there anything to stop you from converting Mobi books to ePub?

[Blue Tyson]

Given a chunk of these are free and DRM free and you can buy on the web and download from the website, exclusivity doesn't matter in a lot of cases?

Also, nice list - never thought I would serendipitously come across one of the Pendleton Ford books!

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I really don't see the problem here, Rich . I buy both Kindle and ePub books, and convert the ePub books to Mobi; is there anything to stop you from converting Mobi books to ePub?

Harry, if I could tell which books are mobi and DRM free then no, Calibre would do them justice. Of course, I'd have to break my #1 book-buying rule (buy from anyone but Amazon) and my #2 rule (don't buy books from authors who have given Amazon exclusives), but these days rules are made to be broken.

The other problem is that Amazon hasn't let me download ebooks unless I install Amazon software on my computer, something I'm not going to do.

[koland]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Harry, if I could tell which books are mobi and DRM free then no, Calibre would do them justice. Of course, I'd have to break my #1 book-buying rule (buy from anyone but Amazon) and my #2 rule (don't buy books from authors who have given Amazon exclusives), but these days rules are made to be broken.

The other problem is that Amazon hasn't let me download ebooks unless I install Amazon software on my computer, something I'm not going to do.

"Buy" the book - it's free, so buy isn't really the right word.
Using a broken Kindle (which you only need to get a serial #), register it to your account (cheap on ebay).
Use the transfer via USB option to download the books to your computer. No software required.

[HarryT]

Heck of a lot easier to use "Kindle for PC/Mac". Why the vehement objection to it, Rich?