Thursday’s Mystery eBooks
An Itch for Danger
by Christa Nardi
Kindle $0.99 Rating: 4.6 #ad
A young woman’s body washes ashore with no leads to her murder. Izzie Di Sante, a reluctant restaurateur with a passion for cold cases, loves a challenge but not so many on the menu at once. With sudden personnel changes, she’s juggling the staff schedule for the family-owned Italian restaurant at the same time she’s itching to chase down the new cold case.
She discovers behind the scenes shenanigans as she searches for clues to the young woman’s death but not all the secrets. The case takes unexpected turns and danger to Izzie and the victim’s sister increases with each new twist. Just when Izzie thinks she’s got everything under control, yet another surprise pops up! She needs to figure out the killer’s recipe for murder and soon before she becomes the next victim…
Prey
by Michael Crichton
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.3 #ad
A terrifying page–turner in classic Crichton tradition, masterfully combining the elements of a heart–pounding thriller with cutting–edge technology. The result is a tale so realistic, so scary, you won’t be able to put it down.
Deep in the Nevada desert, the Xymos Corporation has built a state-of-the-art fabrication plant, surrounded by miles and miles of nothing but cactus and coyotes. Eight people are trapped. A self-replicating swarm of predatory molecules is rapidly evolving outside the plant. Massed together, the molecules form an intelligent organism that is anything but benign. More powerful by the hour, it has targeted the eight scientists as prey. They must stop the swarm before it is too late…
The Drowned Girl
by Sara Blaedel
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.3 #ad
It’s clearly no ordinary drowning. When a young girl is pulled from the watery depths, a piece of concrete tied around her waist and two mysterious circular patches on the back of her neck, Detective Louise Rick is immediately called out to Holbaek Fjord.
Her name was Samra, and when the police learn that she was a member of Holbaek’s sizeable Muslim immigrant community, they immediately assume it was an honor killing. Yet her mother insists Samra had done nothing dishonorable. Louise must navigate the complex web of family and community ties in the small town’s tightly knit Muslim community as she hunts a killer . . . before he strikes again.
Lost Soul
by Theresa Van Spankeren
Kindle $0.99 Rating: 4.4 #ad
Winner of the 2024 Readers’ Favorite Honorable Mention Award in Paranormal Romance.
Julia is the daughter of a wealthy family living in 16th-century London. She falls in love with Adam, a servant’s son, and is heartbroken when her family forces her into an arranged marriage. Her husband is neither kind nor merciful, and Julia struggles to keep safe those she cares about. When tragedy strikes, a stranger arrives and offers her a deal that could forever alter her destiny. Agreement would give her what she has been denied and grant her fondest wishes: the freedom to do as she pleases and a reunion with her one true love. There’s only one catch. Accepting would also mean joining the Vampire Resistance to fight the King.
Web of Evil
by J.A. Jance
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.3 #ad
The highway from Los Angeles to the Palm Springs desert is parched, unforgiving, and deadly. In the suffocating stillness of a car trunk, a man — his mouth and hands bound with tape – waits to learn his fate. Fortunately for him, he’ll never know. What possible enemy could be bitter enough to commit such a heinous crime? And when will the monster make another move?
Ali Reynolds is traveling that same blistering, lonesome highway, looking forward to putting her past behind her. She’d left Los Angeles for the home comforts of Sedona, Arizona, and the satisfaction of a blog…
The Grim Steeper
by Gretchen Rue
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.6 #ad
Bookstore owner Phoebe Winchester is putting on her first major author event when a body is discovered and the plot goes off the rails in this cozy mystery, perfect for fans of Cleo Coyle and Jenn McKinlay.
Amateur witch Phoebe Winchester is excited to host her first big author event at the Earl’s Study, her book and tea store. The author, Sebastian Marlow, is a famous birder excited to put Raven Creek on the map for his rediscovery of a presumed-extinct bird. When Sebastian is found dead before his planned bird hike, where he expected to prove the existence of the bird to fellow birding enthusiasts, it’s obvious someone wanted him to be extinct, too.
Mystery Writers of America Presents The Blue Religion
by Inc. Mystery Writers of America, Michael Connelly
Kindle $2.99 Rating: 4.1 #ad
Taking us from smoggy Los Angeles to the woods of Idaho, from Hawaii at the turn of the twentieth century to the post-Civil War frontier, these riveting stories trace the perils and occasional triumphs of lawmen and -women who put themselves in harm’s way to face down the bad guys. Some of them even walk the edge of becoming bad guys themselves.
In T. Jefferson Parker’s “Skinhead Central,” an ex-cop and his wife find unexpected menace in the idyllic setting they have chosen for their retirement. In Alafair Burke’s “Winning,” a female officer who is attacked in the line of duty must protect her own husband from his worst impulses. In Michael Connelly’s “Father’s Day,” Harry Bosch faces one of his most emotionally trying cases, investigating a young boy’s death.
Paperbacks from Hell
by Grady Hendrix
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.6 #ad
Take a tour through the horror paperback novels of two iconic decades . . . if you dare. Page through dozens and dozens of amazing book covers featuring well-dressed skeletons, evil dolls, and knife-wielding killer crabs! Read shocking plot summaries that invoke devil worship, satanic children, and haunted real estate!
Horror author and vintage paperback book collector Grady Hendrix offers killer commentary and witty insight on these trashy thrillers that tried so hard to be the next Exorcist or Rosemary’s Baby. Complete with story summaries and artist and author profiles, this unforgettable volume dishes on familiar authors like V. C. Andrews and R. L. Stine, plus many more who’ve faded into obscurity.
The Wailing Wind
by Tony Hillerman
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.6 #ad
To Officer Bernie Manuelito the man curled on the truck seat was just another drunk—which got Bernie in trouble for mishandling a murder scene—which got Sgt. Jim Chee in trouble with the FBI—which drew ex-Lieutenent Joe Leaphorn out of retirement into an old crime he longed to forget. Legends of the area’s lost gold mines join the mountains and canyons of the Navajo Reservation as elements of Hillerman’s plot, but this tale turns on an obsessive love and memories of a missing woman’s voice wailing in the darkness.
Wednesday’s Mystery eBooks
Any Witch Way You Can
by Amanda M. Lee
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.4 #ad
Bay Winchester is having a tough week.
As the local editor of Hemlock Cove’s only newspaper, she just happens to be present when a body is found in an area corn maze. To make matters worse, the police believe the murder may have something to do with the occult.
This wouldn’t be a problem for a normal reporter, but since Bay is descended from a well-known line of actual witches, the town is understandably on edge.
Between the suspicious townspeople, the befuddled police presence and that random hot biker guy that may or may not have something to do with the murder – Bay has her hands full…
The Rogue Shapeshifter
by Martha Carr, Michael Anderle
Kindle $0.99 Rating: 4.6 #ad
Magic is real. So are monsters. And Izzie Berens is the one who hunts them down.
When a series of violent attacks shakes Austin’s magical district, Paranormal Defense Agent Izzie Berens and her partner, Rafe, are called in to investigate. The evidence points to a rogue shapeshifter—one with the terrifying ability to mimic anyone it touches. As the body count rises and the city teeters on the brink of chaos, Izzie and Rafe uncover a chilling conspiracy: someone is using dark magic to destabilize the fragile balance between humans and magical beings.
The chase takes them through Austin’s hidden supernatural underworld, where danger lurks behind every shadow and alliances are never what they seem…
The Burnt House
by Faye Kellerman
Kindle $0.99 Rating: 4.4 #ad
L.A.P.D. Detective Peter Decker and his wife, Rina, areprofoundly shaken by this terrible “accident” that has occurred frighteningly close to their daughter’s school. And an irate call from the unaccounted-for flight attendant’s stepfather further tangles an already twisted mystery. The man insists twenty-eight-year-old Roseanne Dresden was never on the doomed flight, but was probably murdered by her abusive, unfaithful husband – a revelation that propels Decker down a path of tragic history and deadly lies toward an unimaginable evil that will challenge his and Rina’s cherished beliefs about guilt and innocence and justice.
The Bone Collector
by Jeffery Deaver
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.5 #ad
“Lightning-paced…a breakneck thrill ride.” – The Wall Street Journal
Lincoln Rhyme was once a brilliant criminologist, a genius in the field of forensics – until an accident left him physically and emotionally shattered. But now a diabolical killer is challenging Rhyme to a terrifying and ingenious duel of wits. With police detective Amelia Sachs by his side, Rhyme must follow a labyrinth of clues that reaches back to a dark chapter in New York City’s past – and reach further into the darkness of the mind of a madman who won’t stop until he has stripped life down to the bone.
Silent Nights Are Murder
by Libby Klein
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.8 #ad
Ever since Thanksgiving, when an engagement ring in a velvet box—and no gift tag—was left behind, Poppy and her pals have been left with an unsolved mystery. But at least this mystery isn’t the kind that involves murder. That all changes when the body of a fish supplier is discovered in the kitchen of her ex’s restaurant—and he’s frozen, not fresh.
For once, it’s not Poppy who tripped over the corpse, yet she can’t escape being drawn in since the victim has a note taped to him reading Get Poppy. Figures—an engagement ring isn’t labeled, but the dead guy is addressed to her…
The Essex Serpent
by Sarah Perry
Kindle $2.99 Rating: 4.0 #ad
London, 1893. When Cora Seaborne’s brilliant, domineering husband dies, she steps into her new life as a widow with as much relief as sadness: her marriage was an unhappy one, and she never suited the role of society wife. Seeking refuge in fresh air and open space, she leaves the metropolis for coastal Essex, accompanied by her inquisitive and obsessive eleven-year-old son, Francis, and the boy’s nanny, Martha, her fiercely protective friend.
Once there, they hear rumors that after nearly three hundred years, the mythical Essex Serpent, a fearsome creature that once roamed the marshes, has returned…
The Alcoholics
by Jim Thompson
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 3.9 #ad
Dr. Peter S. Murphy needs fifteen thousand dollars by the end of the day, or the city of Los Angeles can say goodbye to the El Healtho clinic. A recovery center for the most severe cases of alcoholism in the state – even if no one ever does quite seem to get dry there – El Healtho has been the bane of Dr. Murphy’s existence ever since he started running it. But now that its doors are about to close forever, Dr. Murphy finds he’ll do anything to keep it open.
Up to and including admitting Humphrey Van Twyne III, a patient with an extremely violent past whose wealthy family has the means to keep El Healtho open for business. Sure, the man isn’t exactly an alcoholic…
Changing
by Judith Arnold
Kindle $0.99 Rating: 4.7 #ad
Antiques dealer Diana Simms is engaged to her longtime boyfriend when she finds herself inside the Faulk Street Tavern. The song “Changing” emerges from the jukebox and enchants her. It also captivates Nick Fiore, a local guy who’s arrived at adulthood the hard way, after a tour through the juvenile justice system. Now he’s dedicated his life to helping other troubled kids. He has no business even looking at a beautiful, well-bred woman wearing a diamond engagement ring. But once they’re bewitched by the jukebox, he and Diana must change their lives, their goals, their dreams…and their hearts.
Nature Girl
by Carl Hiaasen
Kindle $1.99 Rating: 4.3 #ad
Passionate and willful Honey Santana is taking rude, gullible telemarketer Boyd Shreave and his less than enthusiastic mistress, Eugenie Fonda, into the mangroves of Florida’s Ten Thousand Islands for a gentle lesson in humility. What Honey doesn’t know is that she’s being followed by her obsessed former employer, Piejack, and her still-smitten ex-husband, Perry, with their protective and wise-beyond-his-years twelve-year-old son, Fry. And when they all arrive on Dismal Key, they don’t know the island is occupied by Sammy Tigertail, a failed alligator wrestler trying like hell to be left alone despite the Florida State coed clinging to his side…
Joanne Fluke’s Lake Eden Cookbook
by Joanne Fluke
Kindle $2.99 Rating: 4.6 #ad
It’s a picture-postcard December in Minnesota. Pristine white snow is glistening in the winter sunlight, and Main Street is brimming with festive holiday decorations. Best of all, it’s the day Hannah’s mother, Delores Swensen, is holding her annual Holiday Cookie Exchange at the Community Center – catered by none other than The Cookie Jar!
The whole Swensen clan, their friends, and members of “The Lake Eden Gossip Hotline,” of which Delores is a founding member, have gathered for the delicious event…
Framed
by John Grisham, Jim McCloskey
Kindle $7.99 Rating: 4.4 #ad
John Grisham is known worldwide for his bestselling novels, but it’s his real-life passion for justice that led to his work with Jim McCloskey of Centurion Ministries, the first organization dedicated to exonerating innocent people who have been wrongly convicted. Together they offer an inside look at the many injustices in our criminal justice system.
A fundamental principle of our legal system is a presumption of innocence, but once someone has been found guilty, there is very little room to prove doubt…
Blood Ties
by Jo Nesbo, Robert Ferguson
Kindle $14.99 Rating: BRAND NEW RELEASE #ad
By all accounts, Carl and Roy Opgard are doing quite well for themselves. Or at least they’re doing as well as can be expected in a small town like Os. Carl manages the area’s swanky and successful spa and hotel, while Roy runs a nearby gas station and harbors grand plans to build it out into an entire amusement park, complete with a roller coaster. But when news breaks about a new highway to be built nearby, bypassing Os and leaving the town cutoff and isolated, it’s clear that something has to be done . . . even if the methods are bound to be dirty. Fortunately, Carl and Roy have experience with just that kind of work.