Mysteries
Thursday’s Mystery eBooks
Overdue or Die
by Allison Brook
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.6 #ad
Carrie Singleton has a wedding to plan, a killer to catch, and a conspiracy to uncover in this charming seventh novel of Agatha Award-nominee Allison Brook’s Haunted Library mysteries.
Carrie Singleton has more than her fair share on her plate: her job at the Clover Ridge Library, preparing for her wedding to Dylan Avery, and hoping that the local art gallery doesn’t steal away one of her part-time employees. Her fiancé Dylan accompanies her to the beautiful home of Victor Zalinka—art collector and successful businessman—to select paintings for an art show at the library. While Carrie muses that Victor’s home would be the perfect wedding venue, Dylan spots a forgery among the paintings in Victor’s collection.
Hawthorn Academy Complete Series
by D.R. Perry
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.6 #ad
We all start as strangers. Why does that make me so nervous?
I can’t imagine life without Mom, Dad, Bubbe or my friends in Salem. And that’s what I’ll be living at Hawthorn Academy, the campus between worlds. But Hawthorn Academy’s the place to be if I want to join the family business as a veterinarian for magic critters.
It’s magi only at my new school, so I’m going without my besties. The only person I’ll know there is my snarky big brother. At least I’ve already bonded with a familiar. But my dragonet means I’m destined for above-average power levels.
The last thing I want to do is scare people off. You only get one chance at first impressions, after all.
Cold, Cold Bones
by Kathy Reichs
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.5 #ad
#1 New York Times bestselling thriller writer Kathy Reichs’s twenty-first novel of suspense featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan who uncovers a series of gruesome killings eerily reenacting the most shocking of her prior cases.
Winter has come to North Carolina and, with it, a drop in crime. Freed from a heavy work schedule, Tempe Brennan is content to dote on her daughter Katy, finally returned to civilian life from the army. But when mother and daughter meet at Tempe’s place one night, they find a box on the back porch. Inside: a very fresh human eyeball.
Six Seconds
by Rick Mofina
Kindle $3.99 Rating: 4.4 #ad
An aid worker who lost her husband and child in a brutal attack saves the life of an American contractor in Iraq. Believing he can help her avenge her family’s deaths, she follows him back home to the United States . . .
Meanwhile, a California soccer mom arrives to pick up her son from school, only to discover that her husband has taken their child and vanished without a trace . . .
An off-duty cop in the Rocky Mountains rescues a little girl from a raging river moments before she utters her final words in his arms…
Countdown to Midnight
by Dale Brown
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.5 #ad
Nick Flynn is back in action, and he has a new employer—a shadowy intelligence outfit whose roots go back to the very beginning of the Cold War. But his first mission for them almost becomes his last. While meeting with a high-ranking Iranian dissident in the Austrian Alps, Flynn is ambushed and nearly killed… just after learning that Iran and Russia are working together on a mysterious project—one they have codenamed MIDNIGHT.
Flynn is determined to uncover MIDNIGHT’s lethal secrets. Why are Moscow and Tehran covertly retrofitting a massive oil tanker in an Iranian port? What purpose lies behind their closely guarded effort, the brainchild of Pavel Voronin—a ruthless billionaire allied with Russia’s autocratic president?
Suspect
by Scott Turow
Kindle $2.99 Rating: 4.1 #ad
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Presumed Innocent and The Last Trial returns with a riveting legal thriller in which a reckless private detective is embroiled in a fraught police scandal.
For as long as Lucia Gomez has been the police chief in the city of Highland Isle, near Kindle County, she has known that any woman in law enforcement must walk a precarious line between authority and camaraderie to gain respect. She has maintained a spotless reputation -until now. Three male police officers have accused her of soliciting sex in exchange for promotions to higher ranks. With few people left who she can trust, Chief Gomez turns to an old friend, Rik Dudek…
Sleeping Giants
by Rene Denfeld
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.3 #ad
From the bestselling author of The Child Finder and The Enchanted, a compelling and poignant story of sibling bonds, monsters masquerading as caretakers, terrifying secrets, and the power of love to right even the most egregious wrongs.
Twenty years ago, a nine-year-old boy was swept away by powerful waves on a remote Oregon beach, his body lost to the sea. Only a stone memorial remains to mark his tragic death…
A Body at Boot Camp
by Ellie Alexander
Kindle $6.99 Rating: Brand New Release #ad
When Meg Reed signs up for a brutal fitness boot camp, she expects pain—she doesn’t expect to stumble across a murder.
Outdoor magazine reporter Meg Reed is determined to prove herself by tackling Mind Over Mudder, an intense military-style training program preparing contestants for Portland’s first mud marathon. But between the sadistic drill sergeant instructor and her fellow teammates’ questionable supplement habits, Meg quickly realizes she’s in over her head.
When the tyrannical trainer is found dead in the steam room, someone has turned the historic Vancouver Barracks into a crime scene.
Wednesday’s Mystery eBooks
Pretty Dead Things
by Lilian West
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.0 #ad
2024. Recently-engaged city girl Cora is new to the small town of Hickory Falls. Still adjusting to the change in pace, she’s delighted when she stumbles upon a quaint estate sale. Drawn in by the knickknacks, she buys a jar of colorful baubles and is surprised to find two rings at the bottom of the jar…
1953. Clarity Grey should’ve known better than to get involved with a married man, but their connection went too deep to ignore. When he divorces his wife for her, they marry, and she gets the family life she’s always dreamed of, with a new stepdaughter and a child of her own…
The Heart of Justice
by William J. Coughlin
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.1 #ad
Hope Scott… She’s a beautiful New York heiress who will do anything for love, including pulling strings with a ruthless power broker to advance her husband’s judicial career. But she doesn’t know the hidden price; a blackmail, the rape of her trust fund, and perhaps the ruin of her marriage.
Judge Paul Murray… He fought his way up from his working-class Irish roots to the Federal bench. Tough and honest, dedicated to the law, he relishes sitting on the case before to rival some of America’s biggest corporate takeovers.
Her Name Was Annie
by Beth Rinyu
Kindle $0.99 Rating: 4.5 #ad
When Stephanie McGuire witnesses a mysterious stranger plunge into the unforgiving ocean on a stormy afternoon, never to emerge again, her life will change forever. That stranger in the water may have been more acquainted with her than she could’ve ever imagined. As she tries to put together the pieces of the mystery that surrounds him, she also begins to put back together the pieces of her broken heart. While learning of a past she never knew existed, she manages to face the one she was fully aware of and had been avoiding for far too long.
One man she never knew will lead her down an unknown road to her past and onto a path of new beginnings.
Martians Abroad
by Carrie Vaughn
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.2 #ad
A Martian teen encounters danger and mystery at a privileged Earth academy in this science fiction adventure by the author of the Kitty Norville series.
Polly Newton has one single-minded dream: to be a starship pilot and travel the galaxy. Her mother, the Director of the Mars Colony, derails Polly’s plans when she sends Polly and her genius twin brother, Charles, to Galileo Academy on Earth.
Homesick and cut off from her plans for her future, Polly cannot seem to fit into life on Earth. Strange, unexplained, dangerous coincidences centered on their high-profile classmates begin piling up…
First Cause
by R.A. Williams
Kindle $0.99 Rating: 4.4 #ad
In 1990, while carefully reviewing data received from NASA’s newly launched Hubble Telescope, Dr. Benjamin Zeller, Science Advisor to President Bush, makes a shocking discovery that will bridge the gap between science and religion.
Just as Dr. Zeller is about to reveal his findings to the world, he goes missing, narrowly avoiding an assassin’s bullet. Evidence leads authorities to believe he has drowned in the Potomac River. In reality, he is in hiding, fearing a government conspiracy to keep his discovery a secret. Rather than contact the FBI, he reaches out to a trusted friend in Tucson, Arizona.
Dr. Kevin Brenner is a brilliant experimental physicist who is about to marry Amari Johnston, a feisty private investigator known for thinking outside the box.
Fade to Blue
by Hank Scheer
Kindle $0.99 Rating: 4.2 #ad
Biotech researcher Sarah Brenalen is frustrated by her boss’ s dismissal of her controversial theory, so she secretly injects lab mice with experimental Alzheimer’s drugs of her own design. Sarah is stunned when one of her experiments goes horribly wrong. But Marcel and his international cabal are intrigued. Sarah’s brain-destroying T-3 formulation could be just what they need.
Fade to Blue is a high-tech, fast-paced, cat-and-mouse game played for keeps. What Marcel didn’t count on is that two can play this game.
Going Rogue in Red Rye County
by Katie Mettner
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.5 #ad
She’s on a mission. And dangerously off the grid…
After an undercover mission gone wrong, agent Mina August is on the run from the FBI and The Madame, a ruthless brothel owner. Her mantra: trust no one. But alone and permanently disabled, the cunning beauty must trust her ex-partner Roman Jacobs to take her side in a deadly cat-and-mouse game. Can she fight her true feelings for Roman to stay professional…and alive?
I Know Where You Live
by Gregg Olsen
Kindle $2.49 Rating: 4.0 #ad
Violet knows that time is a futile healer. When she thinks of her happily married grandfather—a predator lovingly referred to as Papa—the feelings of rage and betrayal still swell. Her younger sister, Lily, just discovered the numbing truth about him. Their mother, Rose? She can’t believe it. Not Papa. Leave it alone, Violet. Focus on the now.
When Papa suffers a sudden, and suspicious, fatal heart attack at Violet’s wedding, she can barely conceal her joy. Maybe the fellow survivor at her support group is right: moving on is possible only when monsters are removed from society permanently. Violet is focusing on the now. Even if doing so calls for extremes.
Tuesday’s Mystery eBooks
The Couch Carnival Caper
by G.G. Morris
Kindle $0.99 Rating: 4.7 #ad
The Two Fellows Carnival has rolled into town! Residents of Portland’s charming Alphabet District are flocking to Couch Park to enjoy the funfair’s electrifying performances. But on opening night spectators get more bang for their buck when a carnie performer bites the big one in a spectacular way. Was it an unfortunate accident? Or is something more sinister afoot?
Soon, more performers are taking their final curtain calls. Something must be done before the gig is permanently up. Enter amateur sleuth, Wanda Whipple! Navigating a cast of whacky suspects with more motives than you can shake a cinnamon churro at, Wanda must get to the bottom of the Couch Carnival Capers before she ends up with her ticket permanently punched.
A Second Helping of Crazy
by John D. Ottini
Kindle $0.99 Rating: 4.2 #ad
In A Second Helping of Crazy, author John D. Ottini has collected thirteen of his most memorable stories in one volume. Three stories were previously chosen as Finalists in the annual Florida Writers Association Royal Palm Literary Awards competition, and the rest are a selection of the author’s personal favorites.
“This is a new author to me, as I ran across his stories when searching for short story collections. All 13 of these shorts are written well and quite entertaining and creative. I’ll read more of his work.” by Amazon Customer
The Canal Murders
by J. R. Ellis
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.3 #ad
Life moves at a slower pace on the canals. But death always comes when you least expect it.
The last thing DS Stephanie Johnson and DS Andy Carter expected during their much-needed canal holiday was a murder. When retired folk musician Annie Shipton is found stabbed through the neck at the helm of her barge, the couple can’t help investigating the seemingly impossible crime. Nobody else boarded Annie’s boat—so how was she killed from behind?
With the method a perplexing mystery, DCI Oldroyd is summoned from Harrogate, and it’s not long before the detectives have a long list of potential suspects with a motive to want Annie dead…
Depths of Deception
by Stacy Angell Curtis
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.7 #ad
Her parents are dead. And Bryn Marsh doesn’t want to believe allegations from the FBI–and known criminals–about her deceased mother.
Then her uncle reveals an old secret. And her world turns upside down.
Jack McKerrick would do anything to protect Bryn—as her billionaire uncle’s head of security—and as a man who wants to spend the rest of his life with her. But when a nineteenth-century corpse and new deadly threats collide with a Cat 4 hurricane, Jack will need a miracle to keep Bryn alive.
City of Destruction
by Vaseem Khan
Kindle $0.99 Rating: 4.5 #ad
Bombay, 1951. A political rally ends in tragedy when India’s first female police detective, Persis Wadia, kills a lone gunman as he attempts to assassinate the divisive new defence minister, a man calling for war with India’s new post-Independence neighbours.
With the Malabar House team tasked to hunt down the assassin’s co-conspirators – aided by agents from Britain’s MI6 security service – Persis is quickly relegated to the sidelines. But then she is given a second case, the burned body of an unidentified white man found on a Bombay beach.
Annie Bot
by Sierra Greer
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.1 #ad
For fans of Never Let Me Go and My Dark Vanessa, a powerful, provocative novel about the relationship between a female robot and her human owner, exploring questions of intimacy, power, autonomy, and control.
Annie Bot was created to be the perfect girlfriend for her human owner Doug. Designed to satisfy his emotional and physical needs, she has dinner ready for him every night, wears the pert outfits he orders for her, and adjusts her libido to suit his moods. True, she’s not the greatest at keeping Doug’s place spotless, but she’s trying to please him. She’s trying hard.
She’s learning, too.
The Burning Stones
by Antti Tuomainen, David Hackston
Kindle $0.99 Rating: 4.1 #ad
Love, murder, middle age, and a sauna to die for…
A cold-blooded killer strikes at the hottest moment: the new head of a sauna-stove company is murdered … in the sauna. Who has turned up the temperature and burned him to death? The evidence points in the direction of Anni Korpinen – top salesperson and the victim’s successor at Steam Devil.
And as if hitting middle-age, being in a marriage that has lost its purpose, and struggling with work weren’t enough, Anni realizes that she must be quicker than both the police and the murderer to uncover who is behind it all – before it’s too late…
Butcher’s Moon
by Richard Stark, Lawrence Block
Kindle $2.99 Rating: 4.7 #ad
The professional thief is out to settle old scores—and make a killing in this hard-boiled heist novel.
Butcher’s Moon is more than twice as long as most of the master heister’s adventures, and absolutely jammed with the action, violence, and nerve-jangling tension readers have come to expect.
Back in the corrupt town where he lost his money, and nearly his life, in Slayground, Parker assembles a stunning cast of characters from throughout his career for one gigantic, blowout job: starting—and finishing—a gang war. It feels like the Parker novel to end all Parker novels.
Monday’s Mystery eBooks
Quick Study
by Maggie Barbieri
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.3 #ad
College English professor Alison Bergeron thought that dating a cute NYPD detective like Bobby Crawford would be exciting and involve a lot of riding around in cruisers and putting away sleazy crooks, but he has yet to invite her on any stakeouts. . . .
Then when a friend asks her to help him find his nephew, she goes to Bobby for advice only to find out that he already knows about the case. He pulled the boy out of the Hudson River a few days earlier. The boy’s employer calls it an accident, but Alison and Bobby aren’t convinced.
My Canvas Bag
by Lucas Kinkaid
Kindle $2.99 Rating: 4.2 #ad
Mark is a young man born into a bad situation. His parents drink too much, and his family often forgets him. He works hard to hide the harsh reality of his home life from those around him. Mark does this to avoid feeling shame. He escapes the chaos of his family by spending time in nearby woods…
He constantly struggles with the judgments of others when it comes to his family. It hurts Mark when people share their negative opinions about he and his family. He is often avoided by other kids and usually not included in things.
The anger and resentment Mark feels increase as he gets older. He makes some bad decisions and gets into trouble. There comes a time when he must choose a path for his life. Mark decides to try and separate himself from the dysfunction of his family and past mistakes. He refuses to give up.
Mark realizes he has a talent for writing and then discovers himself.
The Final Sunshine
by Joseph Galloway
Kindle $2.99 Rating: Brand New Release #ad
The Final Sunshine is an apocalyptic thriller set in a future where the sky has fallen and the sun no longer shines. A time of darkness will come upon the Earth. Nothing on Earth will grow. There will be famine on the Earth. Extreme violence will exist. Lawlessness will become the norm as governing bodies cease to exist. Everyone will be fighting for their own survival. Many will die from the violence, famine and sickness. Wild beasts will roam the Earth and seek out humans for food. Technology will no longer exist. Transportation will no longer exist as fuel will not be available. Money will have no value as food becomes the most essential commodity. The limited available resources will only last a short period. Producing more food will be impossible without sunlight.
This catastrophe forces people to become monsters as they fight over food and resources to survive.
Episode 1 is where the sky begins to fall, and half the Earth’s population perishes during this event. The population is confused and horrified about what is happening.
Digging in the Dark
by Tom Fowler
Kindle $2.99 Rating: 4.8 #ad
When a true crime podcaster asks PI C.T. Ferguson to help review an old murder case, he accepts.
It turns out his cousin Rich was the investigating officer . . . And C.T. thinks Rich got it wrong.
Now a homicide lieutenant, Rich remembers the case. He says he got it right. But when C.T. shows him the results of a new investigation, Rich comes around to the idea that the wrong person could be in jail.
It means a very guilty man is walking free. Now, Rich and C.T. have to figure out who killed a man eight years ago. As they dig deeper, the murderer sets his sights on them.
A Life Stolen
by Vanessa Luther
Kindle $0.99 Rating: 4.4 #ad
My Father’s Journey Through Alzheimer’s
Through the initial days at home to hospital stays, living in a memory care unit, rehab stints and eventually hospice care, this book reveals many of the struggles encountered while facing Alzheimer’s in a world not quite ready for it. It is based on actual events depicted exactly as they happened while travelling the heartbreaking and harrowing road through this horrific illness. Its purpose is to give guidance and insight to others caring for loved ones with this terrible affliction, whether it is in providing helpful information, feelings of support or simply words of encouragement. Most importantly, the hope is that it will make the road for others an easier one to travel. May the many tears in this journey be the fortitude that helps others deal with the adversity from this overwhelming disease.
The Secret Room
by Jane Casey
Kindle $0.99 Rating: 4.5 #ad
A closed door. An impossible murder. 2:32 p.m. Wealthy, privileged Ilaria Cavendish checks into a luxury London hotel and orders a bottle of champagne. Within the hour, her lover discovers her submerged in a bath of scalding water, dead.
At first glance it looks like an accident. No one went in with her. No one came out. But all the signs point to murder.
For DS Maeve Kerrigan, the case is a welcome distraction. But when shock news hits close to home, affecting her partner, DI Josh Derwent, she faces the toughest challenge of her career. And if she fails her world will never be the same again…
Bloodsucker County
by Jeff Strand
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.4 #ad
Bloodsuckers—fanged and feral creatures who don’t play by the vampire rules—now far outnumber humans. All the major cities have fallen. Life is an ongoing struggle to simply survive.
However, nineteen-year-old Lance Black has spent the past several years living with his mother in Out of Harm’s Way County. The few residents there have stayed alive by not drawing attention to themselves. It’s a lonely existence, but it keeps them from falling prey to the monsters…
…until Lance, walking through the forest, finds a stranger named Bill Tremaine covered in blood. He’s so badly injured that he’ll be lucky to make it through the night.
Black Widow
by Janice Kay Johnson
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.4 #ad
A kiss good-night… Could be deadly
Jordan Hendrick has had her guard up for as long as she can remember. It was hard enough surviving an abusive past with the “hometown hero,” let alone the accusations and rumors that followed his death at her hands in self-defense. But someone wants revenge and Jordan is the number one suspect in a string of murders. Victims all connected to her—men whose only crime was going out with Jordan. So trusting her new next-door neighbor, Tom Moore, is no easy endeavor. He’s handsome, a fierce defender and stand-in bodyguard when threats zero in on Jordan. The perfect catch…or the next casualty?