Mysteries
Friday’s Mystery eBooks
Toucan Keep a Secret
by Donna Andrews
Rating: 4.6 #ad
Toucan keep a secret, if one of them is dead.
Meg Langslow is at Trinity Episcopal Church locking up after an event and checking on the toucan her friend Rev. Robyn Smith is fostering in her office. When she investigates the sound of hammering in the columbarium (the underground crypt where cremated remains are buried), Meg finds the murdered body of an elderly parishioner. Several niches have been chiseled open; several urns knocked out; and amid the spilled ashes is a gold ring with a huge red stone.
The curmudgeonly victim had become disgruntled with the church and ranted all over town about taking back his wife’s ashes. Did someone who had it in for him follow him to the columbarium?
North of the Killing Hand
by Joni M Fisher
Rating: 4.8 #ad
Years after witnessing the murder of her parents, Nefi Jenkins pursues a career in law enforcement, but later must choose between the rule of law and the temptation of revenge.
North of the Killing Hand is the second book in the Compass Crimes collection and a prequel to South of Justice. A finalist in the 2016 Royal Palm Literary Awards Competition, and a finalist in the 2017 National Indie Excellence Awards in the suspense category, this story has overlapping characters from South of Justice.
After Nefi Jenkins witnesses her parents’ murder in Brazil, she bonds with her American rescuers. They bring her to the U.S. to live with her relatives where she must adapt to a radically different lifestyle. She dedicates her life to law enforcement, in large part to impress Vincent Gunnerson, one of her rescuers. As an adult, Nefi will be forced to choose between the rule of law and the temptation of revenge.
Wizard Storm
by Dee Maltby
Rating: 4.4 #ad
A fatherless wizard is no match for royalty. So Beneban, shaken by loss, leaves his noble lady, Laraynia, for a dangerous quest. With the Grand Lar and Trog as his traveling companions, he journeys to the remote Ogdol homeland on the far western shore of Larlion. Magic sword in hand, he battles many perils along the way. It seems that the black wizard Ztavin’s evil magic is gone, but who is threatening the Ogdol throne?
Laraynia is left behind as the new Lady of the Great Shrine. Uprooted from her beloved Forest and seemingly deserted by Beneban, she struggles to defend the Shrine from danger on every side. Her wizard father Nigeran, Queen Varakin, and Vari’s fierce ice dragons fight by her side, as does the handsome Mergol king, who offers his friendship… and more. Laraynia still longs for Beneban’s return, but how long will she wait?
Five Years in Yemen
by Luana Ehrlich
Rating: 4.8 #ad
A CIA contractor goes missing in Iraq. Five years later, he turns up in Yemen. Now, it’s up to Titus to find out if he’s a traitor or a patriot.
After Titus accepts an assignment to bring rogue CIA contractor Jacob Levin back to the States, he learns the operation has been put on hold pending Presidential approval. That’s fine with him. He’s looking forward to spending time in Oklahoma with his fiancée, Nikki Saxon.
But then, his boss needs a favor. After that, everything changes.
It begins in Springfield, Missouri . . . Where he interviews a former CIA employee about the missing Jacob Levin.
It continues in Detroit, Michigan . . . Where he and Nikki spend Thanksgiving with his relatives.
It leads to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia . . . Where he encounters a killer.
It ends in Somahi, Yemen . . .
The Hunting Wives
by May Cobb
Rating: 3.8 #ad
Sophie O’Neill left behind an envy-inspiring career and the stressful, competitive life of big-city Chicago to settle down with her husband and young son in a small Texas town. It seems like the perfect life with a beautiful home in an idyllic rural community. But Sophie soon realizes that life is now too quiet, and she’s feeling bored and restless.
Then she meets Margot Banks, an alluring socialite who is part of an elite clique secretly known as the Hunting Wives. Sophie finds herself completely drawn to Margot and swept into her mysterious world of late-night target practice and dangerous partying.
So Long
by Blake Pierce
Rating: 4.5 #ad
SO LONG is Book #1 in a long-anticipated new series by #1 bestseller and USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose bestseller Once Gone (a free download) has received over 7,000 five star ratings and reviews.
FBI Special Agent Faith Bold, hospitalized and haunted by her encounter with a serial killer, is ready to retire—when Turk, a K9 German Shepherd, himself traumatized, comes into her life. When a new serial killer strikes, leaving his victims at the bottom of isolated wells, Faith, this time with Turk at her side, will stop at nothing to hunt him down and save the next victim before it is too late.
Thursday’s Mystery eBooks
A Fatal Booking
by Victoria Gilbert
Rating: 4.4 #ad
Booklover Charlotte is delighted to welcome an eclectic group of guests to Chapters Bed and Breakfast for a book club retreat focused on fairy tales and classic children’s literature. But when one of the guests is poisoned at a Mad Hatter tea party, Charlotte realizes she’s fallen down a rather unpleasant rabbit hole
The victim – an opinionated busybody whose jewelry store sold original designs, along with some possibly “hot” merchandise – had plenty of enemies, spurring Charlotte and Ellen to offer their well-honed investigative skills to assist the local police.
The Teaching
by T. O. Paine
Rating: 3.8 #ad
Based on the author’s true-life experience living in a cult. Someone wanted her gone in the worst way.
Raine Harkins believes everything the Teaching tells her – forgiveness is freedom, there are no dead, and there is no dying. She has lived her entire life in the Haven, a small religious community buried in the hills of northern Nevada, and it’s been a good life.
But when she discovers a frightened teenage girl hiding in the forest, everything changes. Raine offers to help the girl, but gunshots ring out, and the girl runs away, never to be seen again.
Bridge to Desert Desire
by Stephanie Parker McKean
Rating: 5.0 #ad
Texas Miz Mike regrets the shattered romances scattered through her life like wind-thrashed flower petals. She resolves to end dystopian relationships by outdistancing the mysteries that seem to stalk her even when she is busy minding her own business. Little can she afford another mystery to sweep into her life and separate her from her new love, Scottish Reverend Alan Evan Kirkland, who is already separated from her by the ocean until she receives her United Kingdom Visa. She flees to the Nevada desert to visit an artsy friend, expecting the empty desert to shield her from murder, mystery, and mayhem.
The desert proves far from empty and the secrets it guards are deadly. Mike must not only save her own life, but also that of a rebellious teen who hates her, does not believe in God, and is determined to engineer the same level of dystopia that Mike fled to the desert to avoid.
River of Fallen Angels
by Laura Joh Rowland
Rating: 4.4 #ad
London, April 1891. When the severed torso of a woman washes up on the bank of the river Thames, London believes a serial killer from the past has struck again. Crime photographer and investigator Sarah Bain Barrett is on the scene with her friends Mick O’Reilly and Lord Hugh Staunton. This is their chance to solve a grisly cold case and deliver a monster to belated justice, with help from Sarah’s husband Detective Sergeant Thomas Barrett; her sister Sally Albert, an intrepid newspaper reporter; and Hugh’s psychologist, Dr. Joshua Lewes, who’s a pioneer in the new science of criminal profiling.
DIRT
by Wendy Potocki
Rating: 4.4 #ad
Dirt. A plot of ground in Prescott Park is messing with Cal Hart’s head. Ever since hearing the rumor of what happened on the land now covered by a toolshed, he’s become obsessed with the urban legend. Children don’t just disappear after being pushed into barren soil, not even when that soil is nicknamed ‘the place where nothing grows’. But one did, and so he turns to the local sheriff’s office for assistance.
The authorities are adamant that nothing supernatural was at work, and that it was a transient with a long record of arrests that got hold of the diminutive second-grader and lured her away from home. But a town historian disputes the sanitized version of the incident and hints that more sinister forces are to blame – sinister forces that are yet to be named. Because of the confusion and his own need to know, Cal launches his own investigation.
Below the Bones
by Kendra Elliot
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Former FBI special agent Cate Wilde is a new bakery and bookstore owner—and retirement is now complete with a doctor boyfriend. Although she struggles with PTSD, the sweet life she’s living is a far cry from the gruesome work she left behind six months ago.
But when skeletal remains turn up on Widow’s Island—and the MO of the killer is too familiar to Cate—the dream comes to an abrupt end. What if the case she solved eight years ago isn’t as closed as she thought? Her hometown needs her, and despite her mental health and her boyfriend’s protests, she has no choice but to return to her dangerous past life.
Stalkers
by Eileen Ormsby
Rating: 4.2 #ad
Deluded narcissists. Obsessed fans. Sinister internet trolls. Stalkers who turned deadly
A Hollywood starlet on a smash-hit sitcom enjoys rising fame, unaware that her greatest fan is hell-bent on meeting his crush. When she films a love scene, his adoration turns into a quest to see her punished
A gameshow winner turns to writing books. When one is given a scathing review, he tracks down the reviewer with bloody results
A teenage boy enjoys online chatrooms. When he meets a sexy Secret Service operative, she convinces him he has been chosen to be a spy with a licence to kill… and his first target is his own best friend.
Wednesday’s Mystery eBooks
Dead Giveaway
by Brenda Novak
Rating: 4.6 #ad
New York Times–Bestselling Author: A police detective comes home to Mississippi to make a new start—but soon finds herself pulled into an old mystery . . .
Every town has its secrets—and Stillwater, Mississippi, has more than most. Starting with the disappearance of the Reverend Lee Barker nineteen years ago. The locals are convinced he was murdered by his stepson, Clay Montgomery. But only Clay—and his mother and sisters—can say for sure. They were the only ones there that fateful night, the only ones who know what really happened. And they’re not talking…
The Hawkes
by Laurel O’Donnell
Rating: 4.6 #ad
A decoded set of directions. A book of maps. A key. What does it all mean?
Having found their true loves, the Hawke sisters, Sage, Raven, and Willow, reunite for the adventure of a lifetime. Fleeing from King Philip as he arrests and persecutes the Templar Knights in his unending pursuit of their treasure, the group struggle to unravel a secret puzzle.
Sage has broken the code and deciphered a book. But where do the directions start and where do they end? Willow was given a book of maps. What is she to do with the book? Where is she supposed to go? And why?
Blood Moon
by Linda Castillo
Rating: 4.4 #ad
On a foggy spring night, an Amish man crashes his buggy after a large, unidentified animal spooks his horse. Kate Burkholder arrives on scene to find the man shaken and bleeding, claiming he was attacked by a large beast. But his description of the creature sounds like something straight out of the Amish folklore from Kate’s childhood. Throughout the night, more incidents of an aggressive animal on the loose are reported, putting the citizens of Painters Mill on edge. There’s a monster menacing the countryside, and Kate must follow its tracks into the dark woods along Painters Creek before violence tips over into tragedy.
The Devil and the Dark Water
by Stuart Turton
Rating: 4.2 #ad
A murder on the high seas. A remarkable detective duo. A demon who may or may not exist.
It’s 1634, and Samuel Pipps, the world’s greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Traveling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent. Among the other guests is Sara Wessel, a noblewoman with a secret.
But no sooner is their ship out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. A strange symbol appears on the sail. A dead leper stalks the decks. Livestock dies in the night.
Double Jeopardy
by Stuart Woods
Rating: 4.4 #ad
Stone Barrington faces down danger on all sides in the latest thriller from perennial fan favorite Stuart Woods.
Stone Barrington is settling in for a stretch in New York when he receives news that demands immediate action. An old family matter has unexpectedly resurfaced, and Stone must decamp to the craggy shores of Maine to address the issue head-on.
There, Stone finds that a dual-pronged threat is hiding in plain sight among the stately houses and exclusive coastal clubs, and the incursion isn’t easily rebuffed.
The Shifting Current
by Dani Pettrey
Rating: 4.8 #ad
An elusive killer. A false identity. A deadly maze of lies.
When Coast Guard Investigative Service Special Agent LOGAN PERRY’s beloved grandfather is murdered, Logan races to his hometown of Cauldron Creek, New Mexico to investigate the murder. His teammate and friend, EMMY THORTON, insists on joining him. Not a good idea—not when he loves her, but carries a secret that he knows will tear them apart.
Emmy knows Logan will pursue the investigation no matter the cost, and she won’t let the man she loves plunge into a dangerous situation alone. She needs to be at his side, even if he believes friendship is her only reason for joining him.
The Boss’s Unexpected Surprise
by Ava Gray
Rating: 4.1 #ad
My new boss had no idea that I was the same girl that grew up in his house as the hired help’s daughter…
Well, surprise surprise. Our mothers hated each other. But that didn’t stop me from accepting the new job offer and working for his family. The big paycheck justified the same bad decision that my mother had made years ago.
Aaron, with his piercing blue eyes, would never recognize me. Or so I thought. Aaron is way older than me, but somehow, I forget that when I let him hold me. It’s impossible for him to stop staring at my curves. I also forget that I hate his mother, and she would stop at nothing to destroy me. One bad decision led to several disasters.
The Pain Tourist
by Paul Cleave
Rating: 4.2 #ad
James Garrett was critically injured when he was shot following his parents’ execution, and no one expected him to waken from a deep, traumatic coma. When he does, nine years later, Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent is tasked with closing the case that her now retired colleague, Theodore Tate, failed to solve all those years ago.
But between that, and hunting for Copy Joe – a murderer on a spree, who’ s imitating Christchurch’ s most notorious serial killer – she’ s going to need Tate’ s help … especially when they learn that James has lived out another life in his nine-year coma, and there are things he couldn’ t possibly know, including the fact that Copy Joe isn’ t the only serial killer in town…
Into the Broken Lands
by Tanya Huff
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Shattered by mage wars, the Broken Lands will test the bonds of family and friendship, strength and sanity. To save their people, the Heirs of Marsan have no choice but to enter, trusting their lives and the lives of everyone they Protect to someone who shouldn’t exist, who can’t be controlled, and who will challenge everything they believe about themselves.
Into the Broken Lands is an evocative fantasy adventure through a singular landscape, taking a new perspective on the consequences of magic through a character-driven narrative.
Tuesday’s Mystery eBooks
A Cornish Recipe for Murder
by Fiona Leitch
Rating: 4.4 #ad
When popular TV baking contest and national institution ‘The Best of British Baking Roadshow’ rolls into town and sets up camp in the grounds of Boskern House, a historic stately home near Penstowan, former police officer Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker finds herself competing to represent Cornwall in the grand final.
But with a fellow contestant who will stop at nothing to win and a drag queen host with secrets of their own, Jodie discovers that the roadshow doesn’t just have the ingredients for the perfect showstopper cake, but also for the perfect murder…
Ten Thousand Islands
by Randy Wayne White
Rating: 4.4 #ad
Government agent-turned-marine biologist Doc Ford sails an endless sea of questions when he agrees to investigate a death from the past. Years ago, off Florida’s Gulf Coast, a teenaged girl found an ancient gold medallion. Then, she began having nightmares. Then she was found hanging from a tree.
Now, years later, the girl’s mother is being terrorized with break-ins, phone calls with no one there—and her daughter’s grave has been dug up. Somebody wants that medallion.
The Tome of Syyx
by Stavros Saristavros
Rating: 4.6 #ad
Evils stir. Deals must be brokered. But who can be trusted?
Orcs and hobgoblins are far from the only threats to peace on the frontier. When Zom and Akke (members of the Fierce Force) defeat a foe that refuses to bleed, they find themselves drawn into a web of peril that goes far beyond anything they’ve experienced before.
Dragons are rumored to once again fly, and an imprisoned god returns to plague the world. To overcome the odds and defeat the forces of darkness, they must seek out unlikely allies and put aside rivalries. But not all friends are what they seem…
Spell of the Witch World
by Andre Norton
Rating: 4.4 #ad
It was in the year of the Fire Troll that the sea-raiders struck at High Hallack and, promise-bound, its sons rose to the defense of their Dale. But there stood among their number a youth whom the Dalesmen had merely fostered: Elyn, born of Estcarp, whose birthright was the wisdom of the Wise. But Elyn of Estcarp was still young and, though a warrior impatient for battle, his unscarred sword had learnt little of the dark treacheries of war. In his most desperate hour of danger, Elyn’s stoutest weapon would prove his brave witch-sister Elys.
Blink of an Eye
by Roy Johansen, Iris Johansen
Rating: 4.6 #ad
Delilah Winter is one of the hottest pop stars on the planet, so how in the world was she kidnapped right in the middle of a show at the famous Hollywood Bowl? If anyone can figure it out, it’s Dr. Kendra Michaels, who works with local and federal authorities on only the most impossible cases. Blind for the first twenty years of her life until a revolutionary surgical procedure allowed her to regain her sight, Kendra uses her powers of observation—honed during her years in the dark—to detect what other investigators don’t. She agrees to lead the race to rescue the young singer before time runs out.
To Dream Of Shadows
by Steve N Lee
Rating: 4.6 #ad
She’ll save hundreds of lives. But can she save her own? Inspired by a previously untold true story.
1943, Eastern Europe. 18-year-old Czech, Inge is torn from her family and imprisoned in some godforsaken hellhole. Half-starved and abused, she battles through month after month of torturous labor while praying for liberation by the Allies. But rescue never comes. And her dream of surviving the war dies.
Heinz, an SS Sergeant, has been force-fed the Third Reich’s poisonous philosophy since childhood. As a boy, he had no choice but to believe it, however, nowadays, he uses his position to covertly help prisoners.
Beastly Things
by Donna Leon
Rating: 4.4 #ad
When the body of man is found in a canal, damaged by the tides, carrying no wallet, and wearing only one shoe, Guido Brunetti has little to work with. No local has filed a missing-person report, and no hotel guests have disappeared.
The autopsy shows he had suffered from a rare, disfiguring disease. A shopkeeper tells Brunetti that the man had a kindly way with animals. Finally, the victim is identified as a much-loved veterinarian—and Brunetti’s quest to find the killer will take him on a harrowing journey . . .
The Madness of Grief
by Panayotis Cacoyannis
Rating: 4.4 #ad
July 1969. While men are walking on the moon, life in London for sixteen-year-old Jane takes unexpected turns. On the point of falling in love with her best friend Karl, she discovers that there’s more to her father’s spectacular girlfriend than at first meets the eye. In the sweltering heat of a fast-moving evening, other revelations quickly follow, reconciling Jane with her father but also reopening wounds from the past, laying bare raw emotions kept suppressed for too long. And as the evening draws to a close, the night’s drama has only just begun, unfolding in a sequence of violent events that threaten to have lasting repercussions for Jane and the people she loves…
First Survivor
by Mark Unger
Rating: 4.7 #ad
An inspirational real life cancer memoir of a family’s journey and the impossible miracle that led to their son’s becoming a childhood cancer survivor. This is a thriller about a family’s battle to save their toddler son from a “zero chance of survival” diagnosis. With the world’s best doctors and the advocacy of his parents, Louis Unger would fight a 5-year battle for his young life. His grit and incredible attitude led to a breakthrough that would change how cancer is treated today. This is not a medical journal or a how-to guide. It is a true page-turner that gives you a front row seat to a miraculous story of courage, inspiration and determination