Mysteries
Tuesday’s Mystery eBooks
A Pocket Full of Pie
by Leena Clover
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Meet Meera Patel – college dropout and soon to be amateur sleuth
Fall term is almost over and Thanksgiving is around the corner. Meera has been ordered to stop her tomfoolery and think about her future.
All good intentions are foiled when Meera runs into a dead man in the park. The local diner owners are implicated in the young rancher’s death. Meera and her grandma face off against the Patel men and insist on sticking by their friends.
Shame on You
by Amy Heydenrych
Rating: 3.9 #ad
SURELY WE ALL LIE A LITTLE BIT ONLINE . . . DON’T WE?
The gripping psychological thriller that explores the darker side of social media, perfect for fans of THE GIRL BEFORE and FRIEND REQUEST.
Have you ever wanted to reinvent yourself? Have you ever lied about who you are to get more likes? Have you ever followed someone online who you think is perfect?
Atlanta Extreme
by Randy Wayne White
Rating: 4.0 #ad
From the jungles of Belize to the streets of Atlanta, Hawker’s war rages on.
The CIA wants James Hawker dead. For years, his one-man campaign against organized crime has struck fear into America’s most corrupt politicians, and now they’re striking back. Hawker escaped the United States by the skin of his teeth, and has spent the last months living the life of a glamorous expatriate in Latin America: fast cars, lovely women, and all the champagne his Swiss bank account can buy him. For some men, it would be paradise. For Hawker, a life without action is a living hell.
Strange Weather: Four Short Novels
by Joe Hill
Rating: 4.4 #ad
A collection of four chilling novels, ingeniously wrought gems of terror from the brilliantly imaginative, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fireman, Joe Hill.
Snapshot
Loaded
Aloft
Rain
Steeped to Death
by Gretchen Rue
Rating: 4.7 #ad
For fans of Laura Childs and Amanda Flowers, it’s teatime in Raven Creek – but a murder at the The Earl’s Study sets the stage for an intoxicating brew of small-town chicanery with a hint of the supernatural.
Phoebe Winchester’s beloved aunt Eudora has a taste for adventure – and a knack for making magical tea. It’s even rumored that she just might be a witch. So when Eudora passes away and leaves everything to her niece – her Victorian mansion, her bookshop/tea store, The Earl’s Study, and one very chubby orange cat named Bob – Phoebe gets more than she bargained for. And she knows she’s in deep when a dead man is found on the shop’s back step, apparently killed while trying to break in.
Smoke Bellew
by Jack London
Rating: 4.4 #ad
A sweeping adventure saga in the tradition of White Fang and The Call of the Wild, bringing to vivid life the cold, bleak, unforgiving Alaskan wilderness and the colorful, desperately uncertain lives of both natives and intruders. On a lark, the novel’s hero, Christopher Bellew, a San Francisco newspaperman and dandy, sets off on what he believes will be a brief trek into the Klondike to cover the latest gold rush. The lark turns into a rough, raw adventure that transforms the young chekako (tenderfoot) into a tough, hardened survivor.
Spells for Forgetting
by Adrienne Young
Rating: 4.3 #ad
Emery Blackwood’s life changed forever the night her best friend was found dead and the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her. Years later, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence on the misty, remote shores of Saoirse Island and running the family’s business, Blackwood’s Tea Shoppe Herbal Tonics & Tea Leaf Readings. But when the island, rooted in folklore and magic, begins to show signs of strange happenings, Emery knows that something is coming. The morning she wakes to find that every single tree on Saoirse has turned color in a single night, August returns for the first time in fourteen years and unearths the past that the town has tried desperately to forget.
EMBRACE THE WIND
by Susan Denning
Rating: 4.4 #ad
What is the cost of living life on your own terms? For a young woman on the American Frontier, the price can be high. Aislynn Maher trusted the wrong man. To conceal her disgrace, she abandons her job, her home, her family and friends. She turns to the raw, contentious US marshal of the Wyoming Territory, Orrin Sage, who is hiding a guilty secret of his own. Setting out alone, Aislynn brings her optimism and determination to Cheyenne. But in this rough town, with its prejudice, violence and lawlessness, it’s not just difficult to do what you believe is right─ it’s potentially deadly.
THE WAITING HOUSE
by Lisette Brodey
Rating: 4.9 #ad
Once an opulent hotel for lovers of the Hollywood lifestyle, today the imposing building survives, somewhere, as an apartment house for those who wait. Not all know what they’re waiting for, but the residents live in flawed concert with those of undetermined existence, among relics of the past, as they wait for answers, for lost loved ones, and for purpose.
While the stories feature different characters, many of whom are recurring, each tale couples with its own unique reality … and is narrated by Conrad, the “grand master.”
Monday’s Mystery eBooks
The Falcon Always Wings Twice
by Donna Andrews
Rating: 4.7 #ad
When Meg’s grandmother Cordelia hosts a Renaissance Faire at her craft center, the whole family is put to work: Meg handles the blacksmithing, Michael and the boys will be performing, and no one misses the opportunity to dress up in full regalia.
More exciting to Grandfather is the pair of rare falcons he discovers breeding at the fairgrounds. Concerned for their well-being amid all the activity, he appoints himself their protector.
Dark Silence
by Mary Stone
Rating: 4.6 #ad
Silence is the most terrifying scream…
When the beloved minister of a small inner-city church is killed in a drive-by shooting while delivering sandwiches to the homeless, Savannah Homicide Detective Charli Cross is on the case. Who would want to kill a man who does so much good? And why?
More importantly…was the pastor targeted or chosen at random?
While Charli and her partner, Detective Matthew Church, attempt to answer those questions, another shooting occurs…and then another. Soon, the town is terrified, and rightfully so. With each death, nothing will calm its citizens except catching the so-called “Savannah sniper” before he strikes again.
The Devil’s Ransom
by Brad Taylor
Rating: 4.6 #ad
In the latest explosive thriller from New York Times bestselling author and former special forces officer Brad Taylor, Pike Logan races to stop an insidious attack orchestrated by a man who knows America’s most treasured secrets.
Conducting a routine cover development trip to Tajikistan, Pike and Jennifer learn that Afghanistan has fallen, and there’s a man on the run. One that has done more for the United States in Afghanistan than anyone else. Pulled in to extract him, Pike collides headlong into a broader mystery: His covert company, along with every other entity in the Taskforce, has been hit with a ransomware attack, and there’s some connection between the Taliban and the hack.
Vengefully Yours
by J Rose Black
Rating: 4.2 #ad
Destined to protect her. Forbidden to love her.
Immerse yourself in this collection of short stories filled with dark secrets, tormented pasts and forbidden desires. Where love still conquers all.
Join six heroes (and the heroines they pine for) on these fast-paced adventures of mystery and romance, longing and loyalty, vengeance and redemption. And get just a taste of how far a man will go to protect the one woman he can’t have…
Distant Thunder
by Stuart Woods
Rating: 4.2 #ad
Stone Barrington finds himself in hot water in this exhilarating adventure from the #1 New York Times bestselling author.
During an intense storm in Dark Harbor, Maine, a perplexing murder lands a dead man on Stone Barrington’s doorstep. As secrets swirl around this mystery man’s identity, Stone quickly sets out to unravel a web of cunning misdirections and lies.
Soon enough, he is embroiled in an elaborate game of cat and mouse between the CIA and nefarious foreign forces, including a bewitching new companion who comes under his protection.
Her Last Goodbye
by Rick Mofina
Rating: 4.4 #ad
Family ties run deep. Family secrets run deeper.
Perfect wife. Doting mom. Jennifer Griffin was loved by everyone, including the women in her suburban-neighborhood book club. Their meetings sometimes went late, but Jenn always came home.
Until that night. When Greg Griffin wakes to find his wife is not in bed, his blood runs cold. Her book club friends say Jenn left for home hours ago.
Silent Angel
by Helen Phifer
Rating: 4.5 #ad
The girl’s head is bent as if in prayer, her hands bound tightly together at the wrist. Her bare feet are still against the cold sand, the last thing she ever felt before she breathed her last…
When the body of a teenage girl is found in Rydal Falls’ churchyard, Detective Morgan Brookes abandons her own birthday to attend the scene. In the dim evening light, Morgan can just make out the girl wrapped in a pristine white sheet and is certain she’s been left here for them to find.
Transient Desires
by Donna Leon
Rating: 4.5 #ad
In his many years as a commissario, Guido Brunetti has seen all manner of crime and known intuitively how to navigate the various pathways in his native city, Venice, to discover the person responsible. In this novel in Silver Dagger Award-winning series, he faces a heinous crime committed outside his jurisdiction. He is drawn in innocently enough: two young American women have been badly injured in a boating accident, joyriding in the Laguna with two young Italians. But Brunetti’s curiosity is aroused by the men’s behavior. Why did they run off after bringing the victims to the hospital if the injuries were accidental?
Orbs of Wisdom
by Lindsay Buroker
Rating: 4.8 #ad
With his mother’s life at stake and the entire world threatened by powerful dragons, the sand in the hour glass is running out for Jak Freedar. He and his allies must find the ancient Orbs of Wisdom and hope they hold the solutions to the problems plaguing humanity and the dragons before it’s too late.
This is the final installment in the Dragon Gate saga!
Sunday’s Mystery eBooks
The Cat Who Wasn’t a Dog
by Marian Babson
Rating: 4.3 #ad
A rescued cat is a clue to a killer’s identity in this cozy mystery by an “utterly entertaining” Agatha Award – winning author (Booklist).
Aging actress Dame Cecile Savoy is on the way to a Brighton taxidermist’s shop, accompanied by her friends Trixie and Evangeline – and her recently departed Pekingese. But when they arrive, they discover a dead body, a spreading fire, and a helpless Japanese bobtail cat in a cage.
After rescuing the endangered kitty, aka Cho-Cho-San, Trixie and Evangeline now have another heroic task to attempt: finding out who’s responsible, and what sort of person would bring a live cat to a place like that.
The Last Kingdom
by Steve Berry
Rating: 4.5 #ad
King Ludwig II of Bavaria was an enigmatic figure who was deposed in 1886, mysteriously drowning three days later. Eccentric to the point of madness, in the years before he died Ludwig engaged in a worldwide search for a new kingdom. One separate from Bavaria, a place he could retreat to and rule as he wished. But a question remains: Did he succeed?
Enter Cotton Malone. Luke Daniels, Malone’s Magellan Billet protégé, has managed to infiltrate a renegade group on the trail of a 19th century deed that proves Ludwig’s long-rumored search bore fruit.
Blood Feud
by Paul Heatley
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Tom Rollins never helps a bad guy. But this one is family.
Former black ops specialist Tom Rollins has saved his wayward brother Anthony more times than he can remember. So when his father calls to tell him Anthony is in deep trouble yet again, Tom decides that this time his brother can sort out his own mess.
But when his father decides to take on the rescue mission himself, Tom realises he has to step up. He travels to Chicago, where he finds Anthony is in way over his head.
The Uprising
by David K. MacDowell
Rating: 4.9 #ad
They said Stonecrusher casters lost their magic. They’re about to find out how wrong they are.
It’s been decades since bloodthirsty elves invaded the dwarven stronghold of Clan Stonecrusher and slaughtered all but twenty-eight females and two baby boys.
Waldorf, Mallick, and the other surviving Stonecrusher dwarves were rescued and offered refuge by their rivals, Clan Brackenbuell. But their salvation came at a heavy price.
After decades of indentured servitude, Waldorf and Mallick discover the truth.
Chief Oghark speaks of dwarven honor and tradition while demeaning the sacred teachings of Alghar the All-Father. A narcissist with a brutal temper, Oghark won’t abide anyone above him. Not even his god.
The Host
by Stephenie Meyer
Rating: 4.6 #ad
New Bonus Chapter and Reading Group Guide, including Stephenie Meyer’s Annotated Playlist for the book with linking to and back from text.
Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, didn’t expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.
As Melanie fills Wanderer’s thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she’s never met.
The Cabinet of Dr. Leng
by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Rating: 4.5 #ad
AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY Astoundingly, Constance has found a way back to the place of her origins: New York City in the late 1800s. She leaps at the chance to return…although it means leaving the present forever.
A DESPERATE OPPORTUNITY Constance sets off on a quest to prevent the events that lead to the deaths of her sister and brother. But along the road to redemption, Manhattan’s most infamous serial killer, Dr. Enoch Leng, lies in wait, ready to strike at the slightest provocation.
UNIMAGINABLE ODDS
The Forever Stone
by Gloria Repp
Rating: 4.6 #ad
The paperweight – a summons to courage . . . A new home, new love, new fears . . . and a mystery. How will she face the challenge? And what does God have in mind? ~ Madeleine, a young widow, is determined to break free from her paralyzing memories and controlling family. The paperweight, a gift from her father, spurs her to declare independence, and she joins her aunt’s house-restoration project in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. Two men enter her life, bringing joy, conflict, and danger. She’ll need courage to fight the treachery she discovers, and faith to step into a new life of promise. Can she do it?
Wake Up and Say Yes!
by Julie Hoyle
Rating: 5.0 #ad
Are you tired of feeling disconnected from your higher self? Do you want to live true to your life purpose? Are you ready to live with greater awareness and intention?
If so, Wake Up and Say Yes, A Practical Guide to Lucid Living and Lucid Dreaming provides a step-by-step approach to developing mindfulness, honing your intuition, listening to the wisdom of your body when you are sick, honoring your emotions, and living a conscious, fulfilling life.
Saturday’s Mystery eBooks
Coming in Hot
by Deany Ray
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Starting a new life in Florida means year-round sunshine, beautiful beaches, and balmy breezes. For most people, anyway.
But not for thirtysomething Piper and her grandmother, former members of a motorcycle gang in Oregon. For them, it means entering the witness protection program and moving to Bitter End in the Sunshine State. Yes, to Bitter End. It doesn’t get much more ironic than this.
The Locked Room
by Elly Griffiths
Rating: 4.6 #ad
Pandemic lockdowns have Ruth Galloway feeling isolated from everyone but a new neighbor – until Nelson comes calling, investigating a decades-long string of murder-suicides that’s looming ever closer, in USA Today Elly Griffiths’ penultimate novel in the beloved series.
Three years after her mother’s death, Ruth is finally sorting through her things when she finds a curious relic: a decades-old photograph of her own Norfolk cottage – before she lived there – with a peculiar inscription on the back. Ruth returns to the cottage to uncover its meaning as Norfolk’s first cases of Covid-19 make headlines, leaving her and Kate to shelter in place there. They struggle to stave off isolation by clapping for frontline workers each evening and befriending a kind neighbor, Zoe, from a distance.
The Ruinous Curse
by Mark K. McClain
Rating: 5.0 #ad
Barrett of Westmore may be a prince, but he’s just like any other teenager. He spends time with his friends exploring their city, a haven for fairies, cyclops, talking doors, and other magical beings. He hopes to get closer to the lovely Zanora, whose fighting spirit has captured his heart. Unfortunately, foretold war may put those ambitions on hold.
The coming battle is no ordinary fight. Even if Barrett’s countrymen defeat the forces of the ancient sorceress Alesta, her Ruinous Curse will condemn them to an endless cycle of violence, forcing humanity to wipe itself out. As invasion forces march on Westmore, the kingdom’s only hope is the Helserian, prophesied ages ago to defeat Alesta. As for the rumors the prince is the chosen one—Barrett thinks they’re impossible. He’s a fighter, not a magic user.
Grave Pursuits
by Elle E. Kay
Rating: 4.4 #ad
Tensions increase as the body count builds.
Join park ranger Emily Davis on a suspenseful and romantic journey in “Grave Pursuits,” a gripping Christian romantic suspense novel set in Hickory Run State Park. When a hiker goes missing and Emily discovers a skull, she finds herself targeted by a dangerous serial killer, putting her faith and love to the test. As the case gains national attention, Emily turns to her high school sweetheart and seasoned detective, Wade Brunner, for help in this Christian mystery thriller. Together, they embark on an exciting adventure, uncovering sinister secrets lurking in the park and solving a small-town mystery.
The Twist of a Knife
by Anthony Horowitz
Rating: 4.4 #ad
In New York Times bestselling author Anthony Horowitz’s ingenious fourth literary whodunit following The Word is Murder, The Sentence is Death, and A Line to Kill, Horowitz becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation – and only one man can prove his innocence: his newly estranged partner in solving crime, Detective Hawthorne.
The truth is that Anthony has other things on his mind. His new play, a thriller called Mindgame, is about to open at the Vaudeville Theater in London’s West End. Not surprisingly, Hawthorne declines a ticket to the opening night.
Slipping Through
by John Grover
Rating: 5.0 #ad
From the mind of John Grover comes a mystery adventure like no other.
Ever since he was a young boy, Cord Lockwood had been fascinated by sightings of Bigfoot. He hoped one day to see the big guy himself…until the night he did. Now, years later, Cord cannot get the encounter out of his head.
Cord and a young protégé with similar experiences embark on a journey packed with action and suspense, mystery and adventure, including an all-star cast of frightening cryptids like the Chupacabra and even the Loch Ness Monster!
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
by Becky Chambers
Rating: 4.6 #ad
A Prayer for the Crown-Shy is a story of kindness and love from one of the foremost practitioners of hopeful SF.
After touring the rural areas of Panga, Sibling Dex (a Tea Monk of some renown) and Mosscap (a robot sent on a quest to determine what humanity really needs) turn their attention to the villages and cities of the little moon they call home.
They hope to find the answers they seek, while making new friends, learning new concepts, and experiencing the entropic nature of the universe.
Fear Thy Neighbor
by Fern Michaels
Rating: 4.2 #ad
A thrilling new book from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of No Way Out, that fans of Nora Roberts and Rachel Caine won’t want to miss! One woman’s picture-perfect island sanctuary reveals itself to be filled with dangers in this exciting page-turner…
At twenty-nine, Alison Marshall is ready to find a place to call home. She’s drifted from one small Florida town to another since high school, working odd jobs, saving hard, and building a nest egg. Once she finds the right place to settle down, she’ll know. And when she reaches beautiful Palmetto Island, she thinks she may have found it.
OCELLICON
by A.G. Russo
Rating: 4.4 #ad
OCELLICON is a military science fiction story with elements of legal/detective/mystery/feminist/noir sci-fi. Earth barely survived nuclear battles until the militaries of the world took over from authoritarians. But rebellion was agitating from within. Prosecutor Major Annalisa Farrell, Military Academy honors graduate, war hero, wounded warrior, and child abuse survivor fought to champion justice. An unexpected adversary turned out to be Judge Bennett McCrae, the “Judge Prince.” In his courtroom, the Military, and the general population, he was as popular as Annalisa was hated. Before appearing before Judge McCrae, Annalisa Farrell fought in numerous conflicts, was special ops, and had missions in space where she worked side by side with aliens.