Mysteries
Saturday’s Mystery eBooks
A Spoonful of Murder
by J.M. Hall
Rating: 3.8 #ad
Every Thursday, three retired school teachers have their ‘coffee o’clock’ sessions at the Thirsk Garden Centre café.
But one fateful week, as they are catching up with a slice of cake, they bump into their ex-colleague, Topsy. By the next Thursday, Topsy’s dead. The last thing Liz, Thelma and Pat imagined was that they would become involved in a murder.
But they know there’s more to Topsy’s death than meets the eye – and it’s down to them to prove it…
It Began With a Lie
by Michele PW
Rating: 4.3 #ad
An award-winning, gripping psychological suspense mystery. All Becca wanted was a fresh start. That wasn’t what she got.
Becca was sure the move from New York to Redemption, Wisconsin was exactly what her troubled family needed. A way to get her crumbling marriage back on track, and to bond with her difficult 16-year-old stepdaughter.
But instead of a new beginning, Becca is thrust into a mysterious past she barely remembers. A past that includes the complications of interacting with her old teenage crush, Daniel, as well as living in her aunt’s old house. A house with a violent past. A house the locals swear is haunted.
Check out:
(Secrets of Redemption Mysteries)
Second Chance Protectors Collection
by Alexa Verde, Autumn Macarthur
Rating: 4.7 #ad
Book 1: Brett, Her Bodyguard: A brother missing, two children in jeopardy… The bodyguard will keep those he loves safe, but how safe is his heart?
Book 2: Colt, Her Reunion: When the serial killer who almost murdered Mirabella once before threatens her life, Colt will do whatever it takes to keep her safe. Even if it means falling in love with her all over again.
Book 3: David, Her Cowboy: As the danger surrounding them escalates, can David and Aster keep the baby safe – along with their hearts?
The Hanging Valley
by Peter Robinson
Rating: 4.3 #ad
When a faceless body is found in a tranquil valley just south of the village of Swainshead, Chief Inspector Alan Banks soon finds that no one in the village is willing to talk about it, except to say, “Not again.”
An unsolved murder from five years before and the unsolved disappearance of a prominent local man’s girlfriend appear to be connected. As Banks delves deeper into the mystery, someone begins to intentionally slow down the investigation. When events take a turn, Inspector Banks must track his killer across the Atlantic and find a way to make a break in the case before time runs out.
With No One As Witness
by Elizabeth George
Rating: 4.6 #ad
When an adolescent boy’s nude body is found draped over a tomb in a graveyard, the police recognize the work of a serial killer who’s been murdering boys in London. This is the killer’s fourth victim but the first to be white.
Hoping to avoid charges of institutionalized prejudice in their failure to pursue the earlier crimes to their conclusion, New Scotland Yard takes the case and hands it over to Lynley and his colleagues Detective Constable Barbara Havers and Detective Sergeant Winston Nkata.
Voices in the Wind
by Stephanie Parker McKean
Rating: 5.0 #ad
Two accusations of murder against her, a lack of belief in God and a loveless marriage cause Rhoda to label herself as “unlucky,” so when she hears voices in the wind, she follows them.
Rhoda finds herself in a land that exceeds all her dreams and expectations, as do the two men vying for her love – rain man Tal and sun man Victor. She could have it all, but Treasury is God’s secret holding place for rain and wind. Rhoda must prove herself worthy to the Protectors who guard Treasury.
To prove her worthiness, Rhoda must ascend dangerous Verboten Mountain to bring back a jar of dry dirt. Verboten is as forbidden as its name and to succeed in her quest, Rhoda faces warlike cave men, dinosaur birds, enormous serpents and an army of Great Dane-sized Bullet Train Ants.
Raised On Freedom
by Gail McGuire
Rating: 4.7 #ad
Through brave encounters, rollicking fun, and transformative heartbreak my friends and I rambled, romped, and explored in wide open spaces largely unencumbered by adult supervision.
These are stories of an exceptionally fulfilling and spectacular childhood growing up during the pinnacle of patriotism and belief in the good of society that was the Baby Boomer era.
We drank from garden hoses, rode in the back of pickups, rode horses bareback, sought adventures miles away from our homes, courageously faced frightening ordeals, and lived to tell these favored tales.
Titans of War
by Wilbur Smith
Rating: 4.4 #ad
A RUTHLESS ENEMY. A CIVILIZATION IN RUINS. A QUEST FOR SALVATION.
For over fifty years Egypt has known nothing but war and devastation at the hands of the Hyksos, a bloodthirsty barbarian people from the distant east who continue to advance, crushing armies in their wake. Times are desperate, but throughout the conflict, a brave resistance fights on under the great Taita, a slave who has risen far beyond his ranks.
Piay, entrusted into Taita’s care by his parents at the age of just five, has been trained to become a great spy, unmatched by any other…
An Excellent Mystery
by Ellis Peters
Rating: 4.6 #ad
In the year of our Lord 1141, August comes in golden as a lion, and two monks ride into the Benedictine Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul bringing with them disturbing news of war—and a mystery.
The strangers tell how the strife between the Empress Maud and King Stephen has destroyed the town of Winchester and their priory. Now Brother Humilis, who is handsome, gaunt, and very ill, and Brother Fidelis, youthful, comely—and totally mute—must seek refuge at Shrewsbury. From the moment he meets them, Brother Cadfael senses something deeper than common vows binds these two good brothers. What the link is he can only guess.
Friday’s Mystery eBooks
Gracie and the Trouble with Pinatas
by Carol Kilgore
Rating: 4.4 #ad
What you see is not always what you get. In fact, what you see may be nothing at all.
Finding a woman attacked and left for dead in her driveway hadn’t been anywhere near San Antonio law enforcement consultant Gracie Hofner’s cold January plans. She immediately jumps into action and soon discovers a link to what appears to be a benign local research institution. Of course, what seems to be often isn’t, and it takes a series of explosive illusions that rock a small slice of the city before Gracie and her coworkers understand the fuller picture: a rogue relationship between the research group and a corrupt faction inside the Pentagon.
Check out:
(Amazing Gracie Mysteries)
Secret Smile
by Nicci French
Rating: 4.3 #ad
You have an affair. You finish it. You think it’s over. You’re dead wrong …Miranda Cotton thinks she’s put boyfriend Brendan out of her life for good. But two weeks later, he’s intimately involved with her sister. Soon what began as an embarrassment becomes threatening – then even more terrifying than a girl’s worst nightmare. Because this time Brendan will stop at nothing to be part of Miranda’s life – even if it means taking it from her.
The War Machine Complete Series
by David Beers, Michael Anderle
Rating: 5.0 #ad
An alien race decides humanity’s fate: Eradication. They didn’t count on someone rising to challenge their decree. Grab this complete series boxed set and find out if Constantine can save humanity!
Constantine had forsaken his family name and birthright. At 28 years old, he’d escaped Earth to help terraform Mars.
An empire’s heir went missing just as the universe’s greatest threat announces itself. War Games will decide who represents humanity in this extinction-level struggle. Constantine is summoned. With little training but abundant talent, can Constantine win these games?
The Murder Pit
by Mick Finlay
Rating: 4.4 #ad
1896: Sherlock Holmes has once again hit the headlines, solving mysteries for the cream of aristocracy. But among the workhouses and pudding shops of South London, private detective William Arrowood is presented with far grittier, more violent, and considerably less well-paid cases. Arrowood has no doubt who is the better detective, and when Mr. and Mrs. Barclay engage him to find their daughter, Birdie—who married a pig farmer and hasn’t been seen since—he’s sure it won’t be long before he and his assistant, Barnett, have tracked her down.
The I-5 Killer
by Ann Rule
Rating: 4.6 #ad
Randall Woodfield had it all. He was an award-winning student and star athlete. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers to play in the NFL, and chosen by Playgirl as a centerfold candidate. Working in the swinging West Coast bar scene, he had his pick of willing sexual prospects.
But Randall Woodfield wanted more than just sex. An appetite for unspeakable violent acts led him to cruise the I-5 highway through California, Oregon, and Washington, leaving a trail of victims along the way…
Small Town Danger Collection
by Multiple Authors
Rating: 5.0 #ad
More than lives are in danger when small town tranquility meets heart pounding suspense in this collection of ten brand-new novels from some of the genre’s most explosive romantic suspense authors!
Join Mary Alford, Liz Bradford, June Foster, Therese Heckenkamp, Cynthia Hickey, Gina Holder, Edie James, Ann Malley, Carol Nemeth and Colleen Snyder as mystery, suspense, and faith combine to keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.
Drought
by Graham Masterton
Rating: 4.3 #ad
A chilling supernatural tale – with an environmental twist – from a master of modern horror.
What would happen if the water ran out? Ex-Marine Martin Makepeace only learned the truth of the maxim that you don’t know what you have until you lose it, the day his wife walked out on him with their two kids. Now, the social worker does his best to take care of those who need it most.
But good deeds mean nothing when the water just . . . disappears. It hasn’t rained for months, and now, in the height of summer, the taps run dry. And not, as they first suspect, because of a burst water main. In the deprived areas where Martin works, the water’s been intentionally cut off.
Thursday’s Mystery eBooks
Two Little Girls in Blue
by Mary Higgins Clark
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Hours after throwing a third birthday party for their twins Kathy and Kelly in their Connecticut home, Margaret and Steve Frawley return home from a dinner in New York to discover the police in the house, their daughters missing, and an eight million dollar ransom note. The Frawleys meet the kidnapper’s demands, but the abandoned car they’re led to contains only Kelly, the body of the driver, and a suicide note, saying he had inadvertently killed Kathy and dumped her body in the ocean.
At the private memorial Mass for Kathy, Kelly tugs Margaret’s arm and says that her sister Kathy “wants to come home right now.”
The Darkness That Comes Before
by R. Scott Bakker
Rating: 4.3 #ad
A mysterious traveler intervenes in an epic holy war in this “impressive, challenging debut” of the critically acclaimed fantasy epic (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
Bakker’s Eärwa is a world scarred by an apocalyptic past, evoking a time both two thousand years past and two thousand years into the future. As untold thousands gather for a crusade, two men and two women are ensnared by a mysterious traveler, Anasûrimbor Kellhus – part warrior, part philosopher, part sorcerous, charismatic presence – from lands long thought dead. The Darkness That Comes Before is a history of this great holy war, and like all histories, the survivors write its conclusion.
Cut Throat
by Sharon Sala
Rating: 4.6 #ad
He killed her once . . .
Throat slashed and left for dead next to her murdered father, a thirteen-year-old girl vows to hunt down the man who did this to them—Solomon Tutuola. Now grown, bounty hunter Cat Dupree lets nothing—or no one—stand in the way of that deadly promise. Not even her lover, Wilson McKay.
Their sexually charged encounters leave McKay wanting more, but Cat is determined to keep her distance. She doesn’t need a man making emotional demands, not now, when revenge is near.
Dead Cert
by Dick Francis
Rating: 4.6 #ad
Steeplechaser Alan York knows well the dangers of the sport. But when his best friend and rival jockey Bill Davidson takes a fall in the middle of a race and doesn’t get up again, Alan discovers it was no accident. Someone rigged a tripwire to take down the running horse.
The more Alan investigates, the more he suspects that there is more to the plot than just murderous horseplay. But even as he approaches the finish line to this mysterious race, those responsible for his friend’s death are already planning for Alan to have a mysterious accident of his own . . .
The Stories of Ray Bradbury
by Ray Bradbury
Rating: 4.7 #ad
An extensive collection of imaginative short stories by a National Medal of the Arts–winning author of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and suspense.
Fly to Mars and explore the mysteries of the red planet. Journey through time to futures ruled by cold computers and hear the deafening roar of dinosaurs in the past. Sing the body electric and look into the mechanical eyes of androids that want to replace human life as we know it. Visit idyllic landscapes and nostalgic towns that hide sinister secrets. Available in one massive collection for the first time digitally, experience the wondrous mind of Ray Bradbury through one hundred of his all-time greatest tales. These are the stories that ask “What if?,” the stories that make the mind turn, and those that are, in the true spirit of Ray Bradbury, best read under the safety of a blanket.
The Silent Sisters
by Robert Dugoni
Rating: 4.6 #ad
After a harrowing escape from Russian agents on his last mission, Charles Jenkins thinks he’s finally done with the spy game. But then the final two of the seven sisters – American assets who have been deep undercover in Russia for decades – cut off all communication with their handlers. Are they in hiding after detecting surveillance? Or have they turned and become double agents? It’s Jenkins’s duty to find out, but he’s been added to a Russian kill list. It will require all of Jenkins’s knowledge of spycraft – and an array of disguises – to return to the country undetected.
Breath of Malice
by Karen Fenech
Rating: 4.6 #ad
A gripping novel of romantic suspense from USA Today bestselling author Karen Fenech.
It’s a game of cat and mouse. And she is losing . . .
FBI Special Agent Paige Carson hoped she’d be able to start a new life in small-town South Carolina. But when a senator’s sister is murdered and a blank postcard is left next to the body, Paige realizes that a killer from her past has found her–and is sending her a very personal message.
From the moment he hired her, FBI Special Agent in Charge Sam McKade knew Paige was hiding something. Prompted by this recent threat, she finally opens up: one year ago, she caught the eye of suspected serial killer Todd Thames.
Wednesday’s Mystery eBooks
Finding Moon
by Tony Hillerman
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Tony Hillerman’s bestselling Navajo mysteries have thrilled millions of readers with their taut, intricate plotting, sensitive, subtle characterizations and lyrical evocations of landscapes and cultures. Now he departs his trademark terrain and applies his talents to a story he has wanted to tell for decades about an ordinary man thrust into total chaos.
Until the telephone call came for him on April 12, 1975, the world of Moon Mathias had settled into a predictable routine. He knew who he was. He was the disappointing son of Victoria Mathias, the brother of the brilliant, recently dead Ricky Mathias and a man who could be counted on to solve small problems.
Cocaine Blues
by Kerry Greenwood
Rating: 4.5 #ad
“Phryne can not get enough of adventure and the reader can not get enough of Phryne.” – Deadly Pleasures
The London season is in full fling at the end of the roaring 1920s, but the Honourable Phryne Fisher – she of the green-gray eyes, diamant garters, and outfits that should not be sprung suddenly on those of nervous dispositions – is rapidly tiring of the tedium of arranging flowers, making polite conversations with retired colonels, and dancing with weak-chinned men. Instead, Phryne decides it might be rather amusing to try her hand at being a lady detective in Melbourne, Australia.
The Long Sword
by Christian Cameron
Rating: 4.6 #ad
Pisa, May 1364. Sir William Gold is looking forward to a lucrative career as a hired sword in the endless warring between Italy’s city states. But when a message comes from the Grand Master of the Hospitaliers, William is forced to leave his dreams of fame and fortune behind him.
The Hospitaliers are gathering men for a crusade, and Sir William must join them. Yet before they set out for the holy land, the knights face deadly adversaries much closer to home . . .
Into the Forest
by Christina Henry, Lindy Ryan
Rating: 4.1 #ad
Deep in the dark forest, in a cottage that spins on birds’ legs behind a fence topped with human skulls, lives the Baba Yaga. A guardian of the water of life, she lives with her sisters and takes to the skies in a giant mortar and pestle, creating tempests as she goes. Those who come across the Baba Yaga may find help, or hindrance, or horror. She is wild, she is woman, she is witch— and these are her tales.
“Perfect for horror fans who can’t get enough of folklore and fairy-tale retellings that veer in unexpected directions.” — Booklist Starred Review
Ghost Night
by Heather Graham
Rating: 4.6 #ad
A slasher movie turns all too real when two young actors are brutally murdered on a remote island film set. Their severed heads and arms are posed in macabre homage to a nineteenth-century pirate massacre.
Two years later, survivor Vanessa Loren is drawn back to South Bimini by a documentary being made about the storied region. Filmmaker Sean O’Hara aches to see how the unsolved crime haunts her . . . and Sean knows more than a little about ghosts.
Touch and Go
by Patricia Wentworth
Rating: 4.3 #ad
But Sarah Trent is determined to try. She has just been engaged as governess to seventeen-year-old Lucilla Hildred, whose mother and stepfather were killed in a car accident. Lucilla’s father died in the war, and his younger brother, Maurice, has been missing since 1918.
Uncle Maurice’s disappearance isn’t the only mystery at the Red House. One night Sarah is awakened by a frightening noise. Something flings itself against her window and she hears the sounds of claws against glass. Then Holme Fallow, the estate where Lucilla was born—and where no one has lived since the war—is burgled. The only clue as to the culprit is a set of muddy footprints.