Thursday’s Mystery eBooks
An Itch for Danger
by Christa Nardi
Kindle $0.99 Rating: 4.6 #ad
A young woman’s body washes ashore with no leads to her murder. Izzie Di Sante, a reluctant restaurateur with a passion for cold cases, loves a challenge but not so many on the menu at once. With sudden personnel changes, she’s juggling the staff schedule for the family-owned Italian restaurant at the same time she’s itching to chase down the new cold case.
She discovers behind the scenes shenanigans as she searches for clues to the young woman’s death but not all the secrets. The case takes unexpected turns and danger to Izzie and the victim’s sister increases with each new twist. Just when Izzie thinks she’s got everything under control, yet another surprise pops up! She needs to figure out the killer’s recipe for murder and soon before she becomes the next victim…
Prey
by Michael Crichton
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.3 #ad
A terrifying page–turner in classic Crichton tradition, masterfully combining the elements of a heart–pounding thriller with cutting–edge technology. The result is a tale so realistic, so scary, you won’t be able to put it down.
Deep in the Nevada desert, the Xymos Corporation has built a state-of-the-art fabrication plant, surrounded by miles and miles of nothing but cactus and coyotes. Eight people are trapped. A self-replicating swarm of predatory molecules is rapidly evolving outside the plant. Massed together, the molecules form an intelligent organism that is anything but benign. More powerful by the hour, it has targeted the eight scientists as prey. They must stop the swarm before it is too late…
The Drowned Girl
by Sara Blaedel
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.3 #ad
It’s clearly no ordinary drowning. When a young girl is pulled from the watery depths, a piece of concrete tied around her waist and two mysterious circular patches on the back of her neck, Detective Louise Rick is immediately called out to Holbaek Fjord.
Her name was Samra, and when the police learn that she was a member of Holbaek’s sizeable Muslim immigrant community, they immediately assume it was an honor killing. Yet her mother insists Samra had done nothing dishonorable. Louise must navigate the complex web of family and community ties in the small town’s tightly knit Muslim community as she hunts a killer . . . before he strikes again.
Lost Soul
by Theresa Van Spankeren
Kindle $0.99 Rating: 4.4 #ad
Winner of the 2024 Readers’ Favorite Honorable Mention Award in Paranormal Romance.
Julia is the daughter of a wealthy family living in 16th-century London. She falls in love with Adam, a servant’s son, and is heartbroken when her family forces her into an arranged marriage. Her husband is neither kind nor merciful, and Julia struggles to keep safe those she cares about. When tragedy strikes, a stranger arrives and offers her a deal that could forever alter her destiny. Agreement would give her what she has been denied and grant her fondest wishes: the freedom to do as she pleases and a reunion with her one true love. There’s only one catch. Accepting would also mean joining the Vampire Resistance to fight the King.
Web of Evil
by J.A. Jance
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.3 #ad
The highway from Los Angeles to the Palm Springs desert is parched, unforgiving, and deadly. In the suffocating stillness of a car trunk, a man — his mouth and hands bound with tape – waits to learn his fate. Fortunately for him, he’ll never know. What possible enemy could be bitter enough to commit such a heinous crime? And when will the monster make another move?
Ali Reynolds is traveling that same blistering, lonesome highway, looking forward to putting her past behind her. She’d left Los Angeles for the home comforts of Sedona, Arizona, and the satisfaction of a blog…
The Grim Steeper
by Gretchen Rue
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.6 #ad
Bookstore owner Phoebe Winchester is putting on her first major author event when a body is discovered and the plot goes off the rails in this cozy mystery, perfect for fans of Cleo Coyle and Jenn McKinlay.
Amateur witch Phoebe Winchester is excited to host her first big author event at the Earl’s Study, her book and tea store. The author, Sebastian Marlow, is a famous birder excited to put Raven Creek on the map for his rediscovery of a presumed-extinct bird. When Sebastian is found dead before his planned bird hike, where he expected to prove the existence of the bird to fellow birding enthusiasts, it’s obvious someone wanted him to be extinct, too.
Mystery Writers of America Presents The Blue Religion
by Inc. Mystery Writers of America, Michael Connelly
Kindle $2.99 Rating: 4.1 #ad
Taking us from smoggy Los Angeles to the woods of Idaho, from Hawaii at the turn of the twentieth century to the post-Civil War frontier, these riveting stories trace the perils and occasional triumphs of lawmen and -women who put themselves in harm’s way to face down the bad guys. Some of them even walk the edge of becoming bad guys themselves.
In T. Jefferson Parker’s “Skinhead Central,” an ex-cop and his wife find unexpected menace in the idyllic setting they have chosen for their retirement. In Alafair Burke’s “Winning,” a female officer who is attacked in the line of duty must protect her own husband from his worst impulses. In Michael Connelly’s “Father’s Day,” Harry Bosch faces one of his most emotionally trying cases, investigating a young boy’s death.
Paperbacks from Hell
by Grady Hendrix
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.6 #ad
Take a tour through the horror paperback novels of two iconic decades . . . if you dare. Page through dozens and dozens of amazing book covers featuring well-dressed skeletons, evil dolls, and knife-wielding killer crabs! Read shocking plot summaries that invoke devil worship, satanic children, and haunted real estate!
Horror author and vintage paperback book collector Grady Hendrix offers killer commentary and witty insight on these trashy thrillers that tried so hard to be the next Exorcist or Rosemary’s Baby. Complete with story summaries and artist and author profiles, this unforgettable volume dishes on familiar authors like V. C. Andrews and R. L. Stine, plus many more who’ve faded into obscurity.
The Wailing Wind
by Tony Hillerman
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.6 #ad
To Officer Bernie Manuelito the man curled on the truck seat was just another drunk—which got Bernie in trouble for mishandling a murder scene—which got Sgt. Jim Chee in trouble with the FBI—which drew ex-Lieutenent Joe Leaphorn out of retirement into an old crime he longed to forget. Legends of the area’s lost gold mines join the mountains and canyons of the Navajo Reservation as elements of Hillerman’s plot, but this tale turns on an obsessive love and memories of a missing woman’s voice wailing in the darkness.