Thursday’s Mystery eBooks
Murder in a Cape Cottage
by Maddie Day
Rating: 4.5 #ad
From Agatha-awarding winning author Maddie Day comes the latest novel in her Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery series set in a picturesque Cape Cod town, where resourceful bike-shop owner Mackenzie “Mac” Almeida” tackles a cold case with the help of her fellow book club sleuths – a treat for fans of fresh, clever, cozy mysteries and those who love Lorna Barrett’s Booktown series.
ʼTis the day after Christmas, following a wicked-busy time of year for Mac’s bike shop. It’s just as well her Cozy Capers Book Group’s new pick is a nerve-soothing coloring book mystery, especially when she has last-minute wedding planning to do. But all pre-wedding jitters fade into the background when Mac and her fiancé, Tim, begin a cottage renovation project and open up a wall to find a skeleton—sitting on a stool, dressed in an old-fashioned bridal gown . . .
Andromeda
by Rachel Newhouse
Rating: 4.7 #ad
The year is 2076. Earth is ruled by a one-world government. In order to maintain unity, all citizens must deny their national, racial, and religious identities—or suffer the consequences.
After destroying the government’s superweapon, seventeen-year-old Philadelphia Smyrna leaps off a train in a desperate attempt to escape from prison. She survives, only to be kidnapped and held hostage by a politician from her past. He offers to set her free in exchange for a favor, but his terms seem too good to be true. Philadelphia soon realizes that her patronizing captor also has a deadly secret that puts them all at risk. With her former enemy Nic as her only ally, Philadelphia races to find out who’s really in charge—before her captor uses her to start a war.
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(Red Rain)
Forget Me
by Lisa Sherman
Rating: 4.1 #ad
How can you know who you really are if you can’t remember your past?
Wanda Dellas is living someone else’s life: that’s the sense she’s had since a mysterious accident robbed her of her long-term memory. Lost and barely scraping by, Wanda cleans offices at night in order to support her young daughter.
Then Wanda sees a news report about a presumed dead businesswoman, Claire Stanbrick. Bad enough that Claire bears an uncanny resemblance to Wanda. But it turns out Claire went missing around the same time as Wanda’s accident, too.
The Case of William Smith
by Patricia Wentworth
Rating: 4.4 #ad
Governess-turned-sleuth Miss Silver looks into the case of a Holocaust survivor who may have enemies to elude.
William Smith isn’t sure what his name is, but he knows it isn’t William Smith. That was the name the Nazis gave him in 1942, when he was herded, along with so many others, into one of their nightmarish camps. They did their best to kill him, but he survived.
Now the war is over and he’s back in England, ready to start over. But even a man with no past can’t escape history. William may yet learn his real name—but it could cost him his life in this suspenseful mystery starring an investigator who “has her place in detective fiction as surely as Lord Peter Wimsey or Hercule Poirot”
The House on the Hill
by Irina Shapiro
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Still grieving the death of her husband, Lauren leaves the hubbub of Boston for the peaceful shores of Cape Cod, where she hopes to come to terms with her loss and devote herself to her writing. Historic Holland House, isolated on a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, seems like the perfect refuge, until Lauren discovers that she’s not alone, and her ghostly roommate might be none other than Sophie Holland, the mysterious first mistress of the house. With the help of a handsome doctor with an interest in local history, Lauren is soon drawn out of her self-imposed exile as she sets out to learn what happened to Sophie and stumbles onto a story worth writing about.
Variation on a Theme
by Thomas Watson
Rating: 4.3 #ad
On a bitterly cold night under the stars, an old man willingly embraces the end of his life. Illness and a revelation of betrayal have convinced him that the time has come. But in dying, Gregory Williamson discovers that time is not what he believes it to be, and neither are life and death. Granted a new awareness of the true complexity of existence, he is offered the chance to live another life. A life that will show him the powerful truth of love. A life that could make the world a better place.
Niergel Chronicles – Last Hope
by D. I. Hennessey
Rating: 4.7 #ad
An ancient mystery… A skeptical genius… Powerful evil ancestors… A dangerous underworld Crime Syndicate… A horde of disembodied offspring of fallen angels who threaten the entire world!
A renowned scientist was orphaned at age eight and has grown to adulthood with no knowledge of his own ancestry. When he is awakened by an unusual visitor with an extremely urgent message, it leads to events that topple everything he has believed about reality.
Niergel Chronicles – Last Hope tells of a journey of discovery, danger, and extraordinary mysteries. It follows the fantastic adventure of a young man with a surprising heritage as he uncovers the astonishing truth about his family history and the earth’s past. He finds himself facing dangerous perils and shocking supernatural threats.
Pocketful of Rainbows
by Adam Ramos
Rating: 5.0 #ad
Did this really happen?
Travel back in time to the psychedelic sixties and experience a world of innocence completely shaken by a subterranean reality too shocking to believe.
Being a young hippie in late 1960s Southern California, life itself was nothing less than a nonstop party of exotic exploration, lurid nightclubs, carefree romance and sunshine. And for Avery Brisbane, he was the unofficial ringleader of the whole scene. His life was so bound up and entrenched within the loose setting that it would have been unimaginable to not have him around. But very soon, a drastic turn of events leads him and his wild bohemian friends into a perilous web that unveils secrets and situations so mind-boggling that one would have to doubt if it were all even possible.
True Justice
by Robert K. Tanenbaum
Rating: 4.3 #ad
For Butch Karp, chief assistant district attorney for New York County, the nightmare begins when a shocking act of negligence results in homicide. Goaded by the media’s sensational publicity, the public is screaming for blood, and Karp’s boss, D.A. Jack Keegan, is listening. He has ordered the prosecution of a fifteen-year-old for murder, intent on making a very public example of the girl. A Hispanic from a poor neighborhood, she’s an easy mark for big-city bureaucracy and bigotry. It is Butch Karp’s unpleasant job to see that the prosecution gives the public what it wants: a quick and thorough administration of hard-line justice.
Wednesday’s Mystery eBooks
A Dark and Stormy Tea
by Laura Childs
Rating: 4.5 #ad
A possible serial killer on the loose sends tea maven Theodosia Browning into a whirlwind of investigation in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series.
It was a dark and stormy night, but that was the least of Theodosia Browning’s troubles. As she approaches St. Philips Graveyard, Theodosia sees two figures locked in a strange embrace. Wiping rain from her eyes, Theodosia realizes she has just witnessed a brutal murder and sees a dark-hooded figure slip away into the fog…
Terminal Velocity
by Lisa Phillips
Rating: 4.7 #ad
A last resort. One final chance for the future they want.
Joseph is the name they’ve given him. Before that, he was Casper – a trained killer. Now he’s been sidelined to a summer camp retreat center, and if he doesn’t make this work he’ll get kicked out of the Accountant’s Office program for good. The only problem is this retreat center is a hotbed of decades old mystery and murder – and missing treasure.
Medical Examiner Sarah Carlton wants to make chief. When the boss orders her to take a “vacation” volunteering at the retreat center she’s not exactly jazzed. But she’ll use the down time to work on the drug overdose deaths she’s been puzzled by lately…
Give unto Others
by Donna Leon
Rating: 4.4 #ad
Brunetti is forced to confront the price of loyalty, to his past and in his work, as a seemingly innocent request leads him into troubling waters.
Brunetti is approached for a favor by Elisabetta Foscarini, a woman he knows casually, but her mother was good to Brunetti’s mother, so he feels obliged to at least look into the matter privately, and not as official police business. Foscarini’s son-in-law, Enrico Fenzo, has alarmed his wife (her daughter) by confessing their family might be in danger because of something he’s involved with. Since Fenzo is an accountant, Brunetti logically suspects the cause of danger is related to the finances of a client. Yet his clients seem benign: an optician, a restaurateur, a charity established by his father-in-law.
Crook Q
by Rachel Newhouse
Rating: 4.3 #ad
Believing the chaos of her adventure on Mars is behind her, seventeen-year-old Philadelphia Smyrna, an unassimilated Christian, faces a restricted but uneventful future. That is until she and her friend Cea are taken hostage to blackmail Cea’s wickedly genius brother into completing the infamous superweapon Red Rain. If he succeeds, the government will have the power to dissolve entire cities with acid. Desperate, the girls make a break for it. Thrust into the streets with a gun she’s afraid to shoot, Philadelphia realizes her battle with Red Rain is far from over—and this time, turning it over to the authorities is not an option.
The Fallen
by C.N. Crawford
Rating: 4.4 #ad
The angel of death wants me to be his wife.
Most days, I steal from ships to earn a living. Not glamorous, admittedly, but it’s honest work. Okay, fine. It isn’t honest either, but it means I get to eat.
Until one night, a sinfully angel strides into my favorite dance hall and compels me to work for him. It isn’t just work, though. He wants me to be his wife in Castle Hades. Apparently, his prophetic dreams say I’ll help him become king…
The Roommate
by Ann-Marie Richards
Rating: 5.0 #ad
Keep calm and always watch your back…
Desperate to make ends meet after her husband vanishes, single-mom Lizzy rents out the spare room in her spacious house to a quiet college student, Brenda. That’s when strange things begin to happen. Items start to go missing and people begin to disappear in the close-knit upscale neighborhood. Is Brenda behind all of this? Could Lizzy prove it?
Lizzy soon realizes her new tenant isn’t who she appears to be…
Time After Tyme
by Kay DiBianca
Rating: 4.4 #ad
WITH TIME ALL THINGS ARE REVEALED
Nancy Drew meets Tom Sawyer in this delightful and thought-provoking romp through the third book in The Watch Series of clean mysteries. Secret codes and university intrigue combine to give Kathryn Frasier and Cece Goldman a new and puzzling mystery to solve. But things get dicey when two misguided young girls wander into the middle of the investigation and decide to solve it themselves.
Can Kathryn and Cece decipher the codes and protect the youngsters before the killer strikes again?
The Widow
by D.C. Brockwell
Rating: 4.1 #ad
Entomologist at the Royal Entomological Society, Aaron Pike is tasked with locating Professor Philip Jackson, a renowned arachnologist, who has gone missing.
Jackson is needed to help investigate a spate of black widow attacks in London. Reluctantly, Aaron takes young assistant Adele with him to Jackson’s home, which has been left derelict for some time. After visiting Jackson’s lab, Aaron finds out that Jackson hasn’t been seen in months. With the help of Jackson’s former assistant, Celia, Aaron and Adele unearth a shocking secret, experiments that Jackson and disgraced geneticist, Jonas Eckstein, have been conducting in secret on exotic spiders.
One U.G.L.Y. Marine Complete Series
by Michael Anderle
Rating: 5.0 #ad
Sometimes, situations are so ugly that only an ugly solution will suffice.
The settlers of Vale were determined to create a perfect civilization. However, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
They may have to unleash the secret weapon they have in their cyro hold. Is the galaxy ready for that?
Grab the complete series boxed set to dive into the adventures with One U.G.L.Y. Marine!
Tuesday’s Mystery eBooks
Wine and Dead, Another Murder
by Christa Nardi
Rating: 4.7 #ad
A murder and a toxic substance in a vineyard would spell doom for the manager of any winery. And when that manager is a woman, a rarity in the wine industry, people are quick to place the blame on her shoulders. Even though Sheridan’s husband, Brett, and his partner are already on the case, the amateur sleuth, is quick to jump in. In her search for clues, Sheridan and her friends explore the offerings at several nearby vineyards, where they discover more than great wine.
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(A Sheridan Hendley Mysteries)
The Excursion
by T.O. Paine
Rating: 3.9 #ad
“The end blew my mind. I did not see that coming. . .” ★★★★★ – Readers’ Favorite
Randall the Hunter goes to the window. Opens the curtains. The blizzard rages outside. He says no one is leaving. He says nothing will stop the hunt. Nothing will stop the excursion.
Charly Highsmith is a survivor. Abandoned by her parents, she spent her teens looking after her autistic brother on the bitter streets of Denver, Colorado, with nothing but a jacket and a backpack.
The Last Party
by Clare Mackintosh
Rating: 4.2 #ad
On New Year’s Eve, Rhys Lloyd has a house full of guests. His vacation homes on Mirror Lake are a success, and he’s generously invited the village to drink champagne with their wealthy new neighbors.
But by midnight, Rhys will be floating dead in the freezing waters of the lake.
On New Year’s Day, Ffion Morgan has a village full of suspects. The tiny community is her home, so the suspects are her neighbors, friends and family—and Ffion has her own secrets to protect.
Special Agent Maximilian
by Mimi Barbour
Rating: 4.6 #ad
In this electrifying romantic suspense set in the steamy streets of New Orleans, Lieutenant Commander Nik Baudin accidentally meets up with an identical twin he never knew existed. When his brother Max goes missing, Nik assumes his identity as Special Agent Maximilian. This gives him access to FBI files making it easier to arrest the gangsters who attacked his brother and to stop their trafficking of underage girls. Being that Nik has specialized commando training, he’s the perfect man for the job – that’s if his PTSD doesn’t kick in and leave him cowering in a corner…
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(Undercover FBI Mysteries)
The Sword of Reckoning
by Lea Schizas
Rating: 4.4 #ad
A fatal judgment call from the past comes back to haunt the now prestigious Detective Savannah Flowers, unmasking long-forgotten memories, and quickly realizing her deadliest enemy may be someone closest to her.
An event from fifteen years ago pushed Savannah to pursue a career as a homicide detective. A current case now stirs that horrific night to the surface, with all mounting evidence pointing it has something to do with her past. Teetering solely on intuition, she pushes to discover answers to the multitude of questions that will not only help solve the crimes but perhaps unravel intuitions stirring lately.
I’m Not Scared
by Niccolò Ammaniti
Rating: 4.0 #ad
Southern Italy, 1978. In the midst of a relentlessly hot summer, as the adults stay inside tending to their own business, six children explore the scorched wheat fields that enclose their tiny Italian village. When the gang find a dilapidated farmhouse, nine-year-old Michele Amitrano makes a discovery so momentous that he doesn’t dare tell a soul. It is a secret that Michele doesn’t fully understand, yet it will force him to question everything and everyone around him, and will bring his innocent world toppling down.
EMP Shelter In Place
by James Hunt
Rating: 4.3 #ad
Ben will encounter an enemy with no moral compass, and an unrelenting fire that threatens to burn his home, and his family, to ash.
When an EMP sends the small mountain town of Bear Ridge into darkness, Firefighter Lieutenant Ben Riker must hike to the city of Asheville to rescue his two young sons. But on his journey, Ben discovers that the EMP was only the beginning of a far deadlier plot.
Monday’s Mystery eBooks
Partners in Lime
by Bree Baker
Rating: 4.6 #ad
It all seems to be smooth sailing for Everly Swan. The island of Charm, North Carolina is hosting tons of fun summer events, her iced tea shop is a hit, and best of all, she’s finally dating the handsome Detective Grady Hays. But their romantic bubble bursts when tragedy strikes: a surf-pro is found murdered on the beach, killed with a theater prop.
Grady follows the evidence, all of which points to Matt, Everly’s friend and one-time fling. As Grady does his job, so does Everly—her unofficial chef-turned-sleuth-job, that is…
Secrets
by Fern Michaels
Rating: 4.4 #ad
Every antique tells a story. Cullen and Luna Bodman learned that through their parents’ furniture business. Now, with their restoration shop and café, they often find themselves at the center of those stories, unraveling mysteries for their clients. The old steamer chest that Cullen receives from an anonymous source is fascinating in its own right. But inside, Cullen discovers more—a locked diary accompanied by a letter, asking for the diary to be restored to its rightful owner. Also in the trunk is a wooden box containing ticket stubs and an undated carnival flyer.
The Fifth Doctrine
by Karen Robards
Rating: 4.7 #ad
With her back against the wall, everything’s on the line for Bianca St. Ives. She’s either going to save the world—or die trying.
It took one hell of an effort for the authorities to finally get the jump on master manipulator Bianca St. Ives, but now that they have, it’s far from the capture she expected. Instead of taking her in, there’s an offer on the table, a one-shot deal that would allow Bianca to walk away scot-free as if they’d never found her. And all she has to do is run one last mission—the kind she might never return from. But if Bianca wants to go back to her normal life in Savannah, it’s not like she has a choice.
The Evening and the Morning
by Ken Follett
Rating: 4.6 #ad
It is 997 CE, the end of the Dark Ages. England is facing attacks from the Welsh in the west and the Vikings in the east. Those in power bend justice according to their will, regardless of ordinary people and often in conflict with the king. Without a clear rule of law, chaos reigns.
In these turbulent times, three characters find their lives intertwined. A young boatbuilder’s life is turned upside down when his home is raided by Vikings, forcing him and his family to move and start their lives anew in a small hamlet where he does not fit in. . . .
Double Agent
by Tom Bradby
Rating: 4.3 #ad
Kidnapped in Venice by a Russian defector, Kate knows she’s in trouble. But when he offers her conclusive video evidence that the British Prime Minister is a live agent working for Moscow, Kate’s holiday quickly becomes the start of her next mission.
Riddled with doubt that the evidence she is presented with may not in fact be as bulletproof as it seems, Kate reopens the investigation into the PM. As she works through the case, Kate runs up against key people at the heart of the British Establishment who refuse to acknowledge the reality in front of them. And, more worryingly, clear signs that there’s still a mole in her department.
The Girls of Atomic City
by Denise Kiernan
Rating: 4.3 #ad
The incredible story of the young women of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, who unwittingly played a crucial role in one of the most significant moments in U.S. history.
The Tennessee town of Oak Ridge was created from scratch in 1942. One of the Manhattan Project’s secret cities, it didn’t appear on any maps until 1949, and yet at the height of World War II it was using more electricity than New York City and was home to more than 75,000 people, many of them young women recruited from small towns across the South. Their jobs were shrouded in mystery, but they were buoyed by a sense of shared purpose, close friendships–and a surplus of handsome scientists and Army men!
The Pain Tourist
by Paul Cleave
Rating: 4.3 #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…
First Survivor
by Mark Unger
Rating: 4.8 #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. All proceeds from this book will go to the Carrot Seed Foundation where they will be used to fund Neuroblastoma clinical trials and support the children and families who are stricken by this disease.