Wednesday’s Mystery eBooks
Engaged in Death
by Stephanie Blackmoore
Rating: 4.5 #ad
All appears peaceful in sleepy Port Quincy, Pennsylvania–but in this small town, old grudges die hard. . .
After dumping her cheating fiancé and cancelling the wedding, Mallory Shepard can’t bear another disaster. So when the former bride-to-be unexpectedly inherits Thistle Park, a ramshackle mansion in her ex’s hometown of Port Quincy, it’s a problem she can’t afford–literally. Abound with stray cats, peeling wallpaper, and nosy neighbors, Mallory is dying to sell it off–once she finally fixes up both the place and her messy life. . .
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(A Wedding Planner Mysteries)
Ties That Bind
by Sarah A. Denzil
Rating: 5.0 #ad
A collection of addictive, emotional thrillers exploring the dark side of motherhood.
In My Perfect Daughter, Zoe didn’t meet her daughter the way most mothers do. She finds five-year-old Maddie alone and dirty on a countryside road. Frightened for Maddie’s safety, she picks her up and takes her back to her father, not knowing what she’s about to step into. Because Maddie wasn’t just lost, she was there to lure her serial killer dad’s new victim.
In Little One, Fran reunites a lost child with her family. But why does little Esther keep running away? Fran worries for the girl’s safety and not long later, the entire family disappears…
In Silent Child, Emma watched helplessly as her six-year-old son’s red coat was fished out of the River Ouse. But Aiden’s body was never recovered. Ten years later, he stumbles out of the woods alone… and silent…
Devolution
by Max Brooks
Rating: 4.4 #ad
As the ash and chaos from Mount Rainier’s eruption swirled and finally settled, the story of the Greenloop massacre has passed unnoticed, unexamined . . . until now. The journals of resident Kate Holland, recovered from the town’s bloody wreckage, capture a tale too harrowing – and too earth-shattering in its implications – to be forgotten. In these pages, Max Brooks brings Kate’s extraordinary account to light for the first time, faithfully reproducing her words alongside his own extensive investigations into the massacre and the legendary beasts behind it. Kate’s is a tale of unexpected strength and resilience, of humanity’s defiance in the face of a terrible predator’s gaze, and, inevitably, of savagery and death.
Metropolis
by Philip Kerr
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Summer, 1928. Berlin, a city where nothing is verboten.
In the night streets, political gangs wander, looking for fights. Daylight reveals a beleaguered populace barely recovering from the postwar inflation, often jobless, reeling from the reparations imposed by the victors. At central police HQ, the Murder Commission has its hands full. A killer is on the loose and though he scatters many clues, each is a dead end. It’s almost as if he is taunting the cops. Meanwhile, the press is having a field day.
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(A Bernie Gunther Mysteries)
Perish
by Lisa Black
Rating: 4.3 #ad
Forensic investigator Maggie Gardiner always follows the rules. Detective Jack Renner doesn’t believe in them . . .
In a mansion on the outskirts of Cleveland, a woman’s body lies in a pool of blood. The victim is Joanna Moorehouse, founder of Sterling Financial. To crack the case, Maggie and Jack will have to infiltrate the cutthroat world of high-stakes finance. But every employee at Sterling Financial is hellbent on making a killing.
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(A Gardiner and Renner Mysteries)
Korian: The Manian’s Spear
by Giorgio Garofalo
Rating: 4.3 #ad
A stunning blend of mysticism, myth, nature, and adventure.
We all have a dark side. His destroys worlds.
Endura is a wondrous world full of mystery and magic. Its citizens – humans and firstlings, a docile humanoid species – are just as wondrous, having no propensity in their nature for hatred, malice, and wrath. In the early new age, a human boy is drawn to a mysterious eight-foot, rectangular-shaped metal object in the desert.
Centuries later, an ancient evil emerges from Endura’s underbelly, unleashing a sea of animated corpses, slaves to a shadowy dark figure wielding power over darkness. Two events separated temporally and spatially, but linked, plunge Endura into a dark fate. The vulnerable races, with no capacity for conflict and violence, have no way to resist such wickedness.
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(Korian: Ark of the Fallen King Mysteries)
The Reef
by Nora Roberts
Rating: 4.3 #ad
Tate Beaumont has a passion for treasure-hunting. Over the years, she and her father have uncovered many fabulous riches, but one treasure has always eluded them: Angelique’s Curse – a jeweled amulet heavy with history, dark with legend, and tainted with blood. In order to find this precious artifact, the Beaumonts reluctantly form a partnership with salvagers Buck and Matthew Lassiter.
As the Beaumonts and Lassiters pool their resources to locate Angelique’s Curse, the Caribbean waters darken with shadowy deceptions and hidden threats. Their partnership is placed in jeopardy when Matthew refuses to share information – including the truth behind his father’s mysterious death.
Reprisal
by James Leonard
Rating: 5.0 #ad
Samuel stood and left the chapel, pushing the door open as another bleeding outlaw was dragged inside.
Samuel Lake isn’t much of a people person. A reformed outlaw, he’d rather leave his guns and his past behind him. Nowadays he’s happy just minding his saloon and keeping out of trouble. Until he meets Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Stanford was left for dead when rustler William Decker attacked her ranch. She survived … barely. Now, she wants justice and she’s finally found the man who can get it for her.
Tuesday’s Mystery eBooks
The Crystal Conundrum Mystery
by Miranda Rose Barker
Rating: 4.3 #ad
When Tansy, a young woman amateur sleuth, and her French bulldog named Hank stumbled upon a dead body, she knew it was Ryan, a local in her small Appalachian town. He had just purchased a couple of crystals from her herb & crystal shop to help calm down his dog Pepper, and then they had parted cordially enough.
But now he is dead, his dog is missing, and the crystals he bought are scattered on the ground near his body…
Standing in the moonlight, she’s already planning her next moves – against the very explicit orders of Nathan Kline, the town police detective, to stay away from the case.
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(The Tansy & Hank Pet Psychic Mysteries)
Shadow’s Edge
by Jami Gray
Rating: 4.4 #ad
Everyone fears the hunter in the shadows – even the monsters…
Raine McCord, forged in the brutal maelstrom of magic and science, is an elite hunter at home hunting monsters through the murky shadows of the supernatural world of the Kyn. Not an easy task when you’re trying to keep the humans ignorant of the existence of creatures typically confined to campfire tales. And gets worse when a series of disappearances and deaths in the Kyn community suggests someone wants to rip the thin veil of secrecy aside and expose the horror lurking behind the curtain.
To even the odds, Raine is forced to partner with another hunter, the sexy and tantalizing Witch-Fey, Gavin Durand. Their partnership proves to be as challenging and dangerous as the prey they hunt. Especially when the trail leads back to the foundation that warped Raine’s magic as a child and threatens to resurrect the nightmares of her past.
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(Kyn Kronicles)
The Surgeon’s Scalpel
by Daniel Scott
Rating: 4.2 #ad
The latest serial killer is the sickest in history. Can a 23-year old rookie with two PhDs stop him?
Christian Windsor is a certified genius. He’s also autistic. He’s just joined a special unit at the FBI whose current mission is to stop the murderer known as “The Surgeon.”
There’s just one problem… This killer doesn’t make mistakes. The most challenging case in years is taking its toll on the unit, and a second killer is lurking in the shadows. The bodies are piling up and the public is terrified they could be next, adding to the pressure. Will Christian’s unique way of looking at problems be the answer?
Hieronymus Bosch
by Michael Connelly
Rating: 4.2 #ad
In this short work, Michael Connelly delves into the origins of his famed police detective,—how he faced down the horrors of his childhood (a background story that was based on the life of another renowned crime writer); his past as a tunnel rat in Vietnam; and why jazz is his soundtrack. Connelly also shares the story of how his character Hieronymus Bosch came to be named after a fifteenth-century Flemish painter, and how his own youthful experiences of fear led to his literary creation. Those who have followed the cases of this tough cop more interested in justice than ambition will find much to enjoy and to ponder in this behind-the-scenes account.
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(Mysterious Profiles)
Exposed
by Laura Griffin
Rating: 4.6 #ad
Every picture tells a story. But not all of them have happy endings.
As a forensic photographer at the Delphi Center crime lab, Maddie Callahan is used to seeing violence up close, but she’s never before been the target of it. When a freelance photo shoot goes awry, she realizes she may have seen, and perhaps photographed, the kidnapping of a key witness in a federal probe. And although her camera was stolen, Maddie knows she has something that could be even more valuable to investigators.
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(Tracers Mysteries)
The Fragile Truth
by Jennifer Youngblood
Rating: 4.6 #ad
The closer one gets to the truth, the more pernicious and fragile it becomes …
The mystery and intrigue of Honeysuckle Island continues with Sheriff Ian Russell. As Ian struggles to come to terms with his heartache and anger over Lina’s betrayal and then disappearance, he meets newcomer Sadie Thomas, a feisty blonde who sweeps into town like a fresh breeze. Charming and fun to be around, Sadie has a way with the customers at the local seafood house where she works as a server.
However, Sadie seems awfully interested in the disappearance of Brent Allen, Ian’s former deputy. Ian begins to wonder what secrets Sadie is hiding beneath her keen wit and easy smile.
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(The Honeysuckle Island Mysteries)
Terror Town, USA
by John Ferak
Rating: 4.6 #ad
The veteran true crime author chronicles the terrifying murders, surprising arrest and dramatic trial of Illinois serial killer Milton Johnson.
In the summer of 1983, an elusive serial killer stalked the blue-collar industrial city of Joliet, Illinois. One overnight killing spree took five victims, including members of the Will County Sheriff’s Office. The following month brought a quadruple murder inside a shop known for its pottery classes.
The plague of violence sparked the controversial New York City-based Guardian Angels to descend on Joliet, generating more unwanted media attention for the community. The National Enquirer labeled Joliet “Terror Town, U.S.A.”
Natural Law and the Constitution: The Law of All Laws
by Joan Neumann
Rating: 5.0 #ad
The United States history is driven by many forces: fidelity and obedience to the United States Constitution and laws, belief in natural law, morality, religion, individual freedom, family, love for our children, friendships, culture, tradition, history, leadership, philosophy, politics, patriotism, business, jobs, creative ideas, innovations and inventions, technology, education, free-market economics, natural resources, respect and love for nature, access to food, water, land, and property ownership. All these forces influence the nature of our historical society; however, there is no force that is more universal, basic, and true than natural law, and a commitment to a worship, and belief in God. The United States is a natural rights Nation, and these natural rights have an origin in natural law.
Murder with Macaroni and Cheese
by A.L. Herbert
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Halia Watkins loves her life as proprietor of Mahalia’s Sweet Tea, serving the best soul food in Prince George’s County, Maryland. And what better way to celebrate than catering her own high school reunion? Soon she’s serving up her signature macaroni and cheese and famous chicken wings to a host of appreciative ex-classmates. Some folks have blossomed since graduation. But Halia’s high school nemesis Raynell Rollins—currently married to a former football star—hasn’t changed nearly enough.
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(A Mahalia Watkins Mysteries)
Monday’s Mystery eBooks
Dog Eat Dog
by Laurien Berenson
Rating: 4.6 #ad
As if raising her son Davey, training her rambunctious Poodle for the show ring, and grooming fellow handler Sam Driver for romance aren’t enough, Melanie Travis’s entrée into the exclusive Belle Haven Kennel Club has been met with a grisly murder. Unfortunately, the only witnesses to the crime were the victim’s startled pair of Beagles. And they aren’t talking…
Melanie hadn’t intended to do any serious snooping, what with coping with the unexpected arrival of an ex-husband out to get joint custody of the son he’s never known…
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(A Melanie Travis Mysteries)
Wicked Business
by Janet Evanovich
Rating: 4.5 #ad
When Harvard University English professor and dyed-in-the-wool romantic Gilbert Reedy is mysteriously murdered and thrown off his fourth-floor balcony, Lizzy and Diesel take up his twenty-year quest for the Luxuria Stone, an ancient relic believed by some to be infused with the power of lust. Following clues contained in a cryptic nineteenth-century book of sonnets, Lizzy and Diesel tear through Boston catacombs, government buildings, and multimillion-dollar residences, leaving a trail of robbed graves, public disturbances, and spontaneous seduction.
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(Lizzy & Diesel Mysteries)
Corp
by Ell Leigh Clarke
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Some truths set you free. Others show you just how trapped you really are.
Uncovering the brutal reality of the arena has been a game changer. But unlike most truths, it hasn’t set them free. Not yet. Armed only with their collective ability and desire for vengeance they hatch a plan to take down the corporation responsible for their untold weeks of hell.
This final showdown is going to challenge not just their metal and their identities, but their entire view of the world as they know it.
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(Space Station Astral Venture Mysteries)
Find Her
by Lisa Gardner
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Seven years ago, carefree college student Flora Dane was kidnapped while on spring break. For 472 days, Flora learned just how much one person can endure.
Miraculously alive after her ordeal, Flora has spent the past five years reacquainting herself with the rhythms of normal life, working with her FBI victim advocate, Samuel Keynes. She has a mother who’s never stopped loving her, a brother who is scared of the person she’s become, and a bedroom wall covered with photos of other girls who’ve never made it home.
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(D.D. Warren Mysteries)
Brutal Boss
by Willow Fox
Rating: 4.3 #ad
We’re known for our savagery. We run New York City. We control every inch of it and anyone that gets in our way is executed.
I protect the people from con artists and thugs like the cartel. But I’m not a good guy. I loathe thinking of myself as a vigilante. And did I mention that my little sister tried to put me behind bars?
When a young woman’s car breaks down in the rain, I’m feeling overly generous. I recognize her, she’s a nurse from Steele Concierge Medical, at least that’s what she wants me to believe…
I bring her into my compound to protect her during the storm. But she betrays me.
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(Bratva Brothers)
Frankenstein: Prodigal Son
by Dean Koontz, Kevin J. Anderson
Rating: 4.6 #ad
Every city has secrets. But none as terrible as this. His name is Deucalion, a tattooed man of mysterious origin, a sleight-of-reality artist who’s traveled the centuries with a secret worse than death. He arrives as a serial killer stalks the streets, a killer who carefully selects his victims for the humanity that is missing in himself. Detective Carson O’Connor is cool, cynical, and every bit as tough as she looks. Her partner Michael Maddison would back her up all the way to Hell itself–and that just may be where this case ends up. For the no-nonsense O’Connor is suddenly talking about an ages-old conspiracy, a near immortal race of beings, and killers that are more—and less—than human.
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(Frankenstein Mysteries)
Roadside Picnic
by Multiple Authors
Rating: 4.6 #ad
Red Schuhart is a stalker, one of those young rebels who are compelled, in spite of extreme danger, to venture illegally into the Zone to collect the mysterious artifacts that the alien visitors left scattered around. His life is dominated by the place and the thriving black market in the alien products. But when he and his friend Kirill go into the Zone together to pick up a “full empty,” something goes wrong. And the news he gets from his girlfriend upon his return makes it inevitable that he’ll keep going back to the Zone, again and again, until he finds the answer to all his problems.
Sunday’s Mystery eBooks
Murder at the Abbey
by Frances Evesham
Rating: 4.4 #ad
The Brand NEW instalment in the bestselling Exham-on-Sea series.
An unsolved murder echoes down the corridors of Cleeve Abbey for years.
The Exham-on-Sea’s History Society’s annual summer picnic comes to an abrupt end when human bones are discovered in Washford River, beside historic Cleeve Abbey.
Thrilled to find evidence of a possible centuries-old murder mystery, the members of the society organise a ghost-hunting night in the ruins of Cleeve Abbey, despite amateur sleuth Libby Forest’s reservations.
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(The Exham-on-Sea Murder Mysteries)
Mirror Mirror
by Allison Brennan
Rating: 4.3 #ad
Everyone has a breaking point …
Jackie Regan broke the cycle of violence as a young teen when she turned her abusive father over to the police. Now, a detective in the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, Jackie has dedicated her life to helping those who can’t help themselves.
The Becker family is just one in a long-line of cases Jackie is working. She fears that history will repeat itself, and sees herself in their young daughter who is witness to her parents constant fighting.
Cracked to Death
by Cheryl Hollon
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Slaying vampires… and looking good doing it.
A stiletto heel through a vampire’s heart… Who ever said you had to sacrifice fabulous for functional?
Eventually I’d find her, the one who stole my abilities. Now I was stuck like this… in a human body… a male body… I was scared shiftless.
Theo did it again! I’m impressed with the characters as always. I’ve read the entire series this card and can’t wait to continue reading. Though I’m a strong Christian, I enjoy reading fantasy. This subject was not my favorite, but after finishing the book & reading the Notes from Author, I took a different view, more thought provoking. Excellently done! (Amazon Reviewer, Scared Shiftless)
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(Gates of Eden Boxsets)
Death of a Snob
by M. C. Beaton
Rating: 4.5 #ad
A fun and quirky whodunit set in the Scottish Isles tests police officer Hamish MacBeth in this Christmastime murder mystery from New York Times bestselling and Agatha Raisin television series author M.C. Beaton.
Believing that someone is trying to murder her, gorgeous Jane Wetherby asks Hamish Macbeth to spend Christmas with her and an exclusive group of friends at her Scottish island health farm. With a cold in his head and no place to go for the holidays, Hamish accepts her invitation. He thinks the lady is a bit daft, but, arriving on the lonely isle of Eileencraig, he feels a prickle of foreboding. The locals are openly threatening; the other guests, especially a terrible snob named Heather Todd, are barely civil.
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(Hamish Macbeth Mysteries)
The Informant
by Thomas Perry
Rating: 4.6 #ad
In Thomas Perry’s Edgar Award–winning debut The Butcher’s Boy, a professional killer betrayed by the Mafia leaves countless mobsters dead and then disappears. Justice Department official Elizabeth Waring is the only one who believes he ever existed.
Many years later, the Butcher’s Boy finds his peaceful life threatened when a Mafia hit team finally catches up with him. He knows they won’t stop coming and decides to take the fight to their door. Soon Waring, now high up in the Organized Crime Division of the Justice Department, receives a surprise late-night visit from the Butcher’s Boy. Knowing she keeps track of the Mafia, he asks her whom his attackers worked for, offering information that will help her crack an unsolved murder in return.
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(Butcher’s Boy Mysteries)
The Pelican Trees
by Patrick Higgins
Rating: 4.6 #ad
Shocking…Left out o f her grandfather’s will for no apparent reason, Shelby McKinney mysteriously receives a post-dated letter a few days later, stating that he hadn’t forgotten about her after all. But if she wants her inheritance, she must find it buried six-feet beneath the sand somewhere in the state of Florida.
Exciting… The only available clues—limited as they are—were stored in a bank safe-deposit box somewhere in the Sunshine State. Shelby is given 90 days to locate the bank, decipher all clues and find her buried inheritance. If she doesn’t find it within the 90-day time frame, she’ll be forced to forfeit it altogether.
Riveting…
Cracked to Death
by Cheryl Hollon
Rating: 4.5 #ad
A journalist digs into the California cold case of a teenager murdered in his hometown in this disturbing true crime account.
In April 1984, fourteen-year-old Foothill High freshman Tina Faelz took a shortcut on her walk home. About an hour later, she was found in a ditch, brutally stabbed to death. The murder shook the quiet East Bay suburb of Pleasanton and left investigators baffled.
With no witnesses or leads, the case went cold and remained so for nearly thirty years. Then the investigation finally got a break in 2011. Improved forensics recovered DNA from a drop of blood found at the scene matching Tina’s classmate, Steven Carlson.