Seven Free Mysteries, Amazon, Kobo

[SensualPoet]

A handful of $0 Mysteries at Amazon.ca, kobobooks.com
The Peter Robinson is esp. recommended; I enjoyed Dana Stabenow as well.
Some thrillers, some cozies, some first timers, some seasoned writers.

Aftermath, by Peter Robinson (2009); 464 pages
http://www.amazon.ca/Aftermath-ebook/dp/B0031TZBC4/
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/aftermath-34
Dark, darker, darkest endless shades of ebony seem to envelop Acting Det. Superintendent Alan Banks in this grim, compelling, character-driven mystery (after 2000's Cold Is the Grave). As the head of the North Yorkshire half of a two-county joint task force, Banks is helping look into the disappearances of five young girls. As the title implies, the answer comes early on in an explosive scene where the girls' grisly fate is discovered. But Banks is left with the aftermath: a cop facing possible charges for excessive force, a woman who may be a victim or may be guilty of monstrous crimes, an "extra" body and one that isn't where it ought to be.

A Cold Day for Murder, by Dana Stabenow (2004); 189 pages
http://www.amazon.ca/Cold-Murder-Kat...dp/B004S87M92/
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebo...y-for-murder-1
This whodunit rides the crest of today's styles: a female detective, a remote locale and the conflict between the traditional way of life (in this case Aleut) and modern America. Detective Kate Shugak became the top investigator for the Anchorage District Attorney's Office. But after getting her throat cut while apprehending a child abuser, she has retired to the Park, 20 million acres of Alaskan wilderness, snow and eccentrics--yet the children's cries keep reverberating in her head. When a park ranger--a congressman's son--disappears, as does the investigator sent after him, the FBI and Shugak's old boss ask for her help.

Murder on the Mind, by LL Bartlett (2008); 284 pages
http://www.amazon.ca/Murder-Mind-Res...dp/B001JJBLSQ/
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebo...er-on-the-mind
Jeff Resnick hardly knew his well-heeled half-brother. But after suffering a fractured skull in a vicious mugging, he reluctantly accepts the fact that he has a long and brutal recovery to face—and his closest of kin can provide him with the time and place to do it. Now, Jeff is haunted by unexplained visions of a heinous crime—a banker, stalked, killed, and eviscerated like a ten-point buck. When Matt Sumner’s murder is discovered, a still-recovering Jeff realizes this was what he had seen. Jeff must not only convince himself of his new-found psychic ability, but also his skeptical brother Richard Alpert. Since Sumner was Richard’s banker, both brothers have a stake in finding out what happened. With Richard’s reluctant help, Jeff’s investigation leads him to Sumner’s belligerent family and hard-nosed business associates, none of whom want him snooping around.

A Witness Above, by Andy Straka (2001); 276 pages
http://www.amazon.ca/Witness-Pavlice...dp/B0045JK2XM/
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebo...licek-series-1
First book in the Shamus Award-winning Frank Pavlicek series.
One shot. One fatal error. Thirteen years ago, Frank Pavlicek left the NYPD under less than ideal circumstances.
Now, the divorced father of a teenage daughter, he works as a private investigator in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he indulges his passion for falconry - and tries to live outside the shadow of his past.
Frank is hunting with his red-tailed hawk, Armistead, when he finds it. A teenage boy's body - barely concealed behind a pile of brush in a part of the forest Frank recently visited with his daughter, Nicole. It's a truly gruesome crime scene - one of the many things Frank doesn't miss about working homicide in the big city. But what Frank finds in the dead boy's wallet is even more disturbing: Nicole's phone number, scribbled in ink on the edge of a bill. He pockets the evidence and flees. Days later, his daughter is in jail. His past is coming back to haunt him. And his reputation - and life - are on the line...

Deadly Stillwater, by Roger Stelljes (2010); 378 pages
http://www.amazon.ca/Deadly-Stillwat...dp/B005WUVLAG/
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebo...s-free-mystery
An abduction is just the beginning in a case of betrayal and revenge that will ultimately strike at the soul of the St. Paul Police Department.The ruggedly handsome Mac McRyan, a fourth-generation cop, is faced with a complicated brazen daytime kidnapping, a media storm surrounding the case, and political scrutiny. It is a case of betrayal and revenge that will ultimately strike at the soul of the St. Paul Police Department. From the searing streets of St. Paul to the murky waters of the St. Croix River, DEADLY STILLWATER is a book you won't be able to put down until its last gripping minute. "Deadly Stillwater" was named the Midwest Book Awards Winner - Genre Fiction for the Midwest Independent Publishers (MIPA) Book Awards.

Progressive Dinner Deadly, by Elizabeth Spann Craig (2012); 226 pages
http://www.amazon.ca/Progressive-Din...dp/B005HAWAZG/
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebo...-dinner-deadly
Retired octogenarian schoolteacher Myrtle Clover is fit to be tied when her book club votes to change to a supper club. Who wants chips and dip when they can have Dickens and Twain? The first supper club is a progressive dinner...where Myrtle loses interest during the hors d'oeuvres. But when a body is discovered during the main course, the evening quickly gets interesting. Myrtle pits her sleuthing skills against her police chief son's to find the killer....if the killer doesn't find her first.

Margin Play, by Eric Plume (2013); 311 pages
http://www.amazon.ca/Margin-Play-Eck...dp/B00DVR32OK/
Amber Eckart is a Seattle investigator with a nose for truth and red ink in her books; bills are piling up, and the creditors are starting to get nasty. So when a downtown lawyer drops a big check on the table and asks her to poke at a dodgy foreclosure, it looks like the easy money she needs. But in the world of twenty-first century finance, little is simple...and less is sacred.

[cromag]

If you're interested in epub formats, or want to make sure they're DRM-free from the start, five of these books are available, free, from other sources.


A Cold Day for Murder, by Dana Stabenow, is also available free, and DRM-free, at her website:

http://www.stabenow.com/novels/kate-...day-for-murder


Murder on the Mind, by LL Bartlett, is available free in a variety of formats at Smashwords. (One of the reviews is mine. I liked it!)

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/14335


A Witness Above, by Andy Straka, is free at Smashwords, too:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/94154


Deadly Stillwater, by Roger Stelljes, is at Smashwords, too:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/97243


Progressive Dinner Deadly, by Elizabeth Spann Craig, is at Smashwords, too:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/113042


I have a few of these, and I knew I'd gotten them free somewhere other than Amazon. I don't believe you have to register at Smashwords to download "Free" ebooks, so that shouldn't be a problem.

[SensualPoet]

Thanks for the Smashwords links. The Kobo editions are, of course, epub as well.

Anyone who has not tried Peter Robinson, this is a terrific introduction.

[gabby98]

nice ty

ETA: all but the Peter Robinson also free on Amazon US

[crich70]

Thanks for the Smashwork links cromag.