Wednesday’s Mystery eBooks
No Cats Allowed
by Miranda James
Rating: 4.7 #ad
Mississippi librarian Charlie Harris and his Maine Coon cat Diesel are on their guard. Oscar Reilly, the new director at the Athena College library, is on a mission to cut costs and has set his sights on the archive and rare book collection. Reilly’s also out to replace Charlie’s fiery friend Melba with someone younger, but his biggest offense is declaring all four-legged creatures banned from the stacks.
With enemies aplenty, the suspect list is long when Reilly’s body is discovered in the library, but incriminating evidence throws suspicion on Melba…
Check out:
(Cat in the Stacks Mysteries)
Body from the Sky Murder
by Stephanie Parker McKean
Rating: 4.7 #ad
This mystery is funny, lighthearted, and intense, as sixty-something Rik Patience – who has no patience – is pressed into solving the mystery of why a body fell out of an ultra light plane and crashed into her friend’s house awning.
When she discovers the accident victim was the father of the man who helped her and her friends solve their last mystery, she is even more resolute in her quest for truth. Comedy tags along behind tragedy as she visits a hot air balloon business to plan her wedding to her fiancée – and returns home engaged to someone else.
Something like that could only happen to Rik, who keeps wild animals as roommates and who never wants anyone to get hurt—which means taking the blows herself. But this time, some of the injuries she sustains through her kindness could be fatal.
Hidden Company
by Sarah England
Rating: 4.3 #ad
An eerie, supernatural thriller set in a Victorian asylum in the heart of Wales. Warning – contains highly disturbing material!
‘1893, and nineteen year old Flora George is admitted to a remote asylum with no idea why she is there, what happened to her child, or how her wealthy family could have abandoned her to such a fate. However, within a short space of time it becomes apparent she must save herself from something far worse than that of a harsh regime. 2018, and forty-one year old Isobel Lee moves into the gatehouse of what was once the old asylum.
Fragments of Fear
by Carrie Stuart Parks
Rating: 4.6 #ad
Evelyn McTavish’s world came crashing down with the suicide of her fiancé. As she struggles to put her life back together and make a living from her art, she receives a call that her dog is about to be destroyed at the pound. Except she doesn’t own a dog. The shelter is adamant that the microchip embedded in the canine with her name and address makes it hers.
Evelyn recognizes the dog as one owned by archaeologist John Coyote because she was commissioned to draw the two of them. The simple solution is to return the dog to his owner—but she arrives only to discover John’s murdered body.
Osprey Chronicles Complete Boxed Set
by Ramy Vance, Michael Anderle
Rating: 5.0 #ad
From the twisted minds of Michael Anderle and Ramy Vance comes a new epic science fiction adventure unlike anything seen before.
What do you do if you wake up hundreds of light-years from home in a strange ship and someone is trying to eat you?
Jaeger can’t remember who she is or anything about her life, but she knows that’s just wrong. Join Jaeger as she tries to remember her dangerous mission as she fights to save humanity. Pick up this 5-book boxed set today!
Land of Wolves
by Craig Johnson
Rating: 4.7 #ad
Recovering from his harrowing experiences in Mexico, Sheriff Walt Longmire returns to Absaroka County, Wyoming, to lick his wounds and try once again to maintain justice in a place with grudges that go back generations. When a shepherd is found dead, Longmire suspects it could be suicide. But the shepherd’s connection to the Extepares, a powerful family of Basque ranchers with a history of violence, leads the sheriff into an intricate investigation of a possible murder.
As Walt searches for information about the shepherd, he comes across strange carvings on trees, as well as play money coupons from inside Mallo Cup candies, which he interprets as messages from his spiritual guide, Virgil White Buffalo.
The Rose Rent
by Ellis Peters
Rating: 4.6 #ad
A late spring in 1142 brings dismay to the Abbey of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, for there may be no roses by June 22. On that day the young widow Perle must receive one white rose as rent for the house she has given to benefit the abbey, or the contract is void. When nature finally complies, a pious monk is sent to pay the rent—and is found murdered beside the hacked rosebush.
The abbey’s wise herbalist, Brother Cadfael, follows the trail of bloodied petals. He knows the lovely widow’s dowry is far greater with her house included, and she will likely wed again…
Check out:
(The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael)
Billionaire Undercover ~ Hudson
by J. S. Scott
Rating: 4.6 #ad
Just when I thought I was destined to die in a foreign country after being kidnapped while doing a geological exploration, a mysterious rescuer shows up just in time to save my life. Unfortunately, my liberator also happens to be the co-CEO of Montgomery Mining, my employer, and a billionaire with an attitude. At first glance, Hudson Montgomery seems like the quintessential gorgeous billionaire with plenty of money to burn, and no concern for anyone but himself. The arrogant billionaire I could handle, but I wasn’t quite so sure how to deal with the amazing guy I discovered once I looked past the superficial exterior. The one who stayed by my side as I recovered mentally and physically from the trauma of being a hostage.
Tuesday’s Mystery eBooks
Entitled To Kill
by ACF Bookens
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Mother-daughter bonding time shouldn’t involve running from a big tractor.
When Harvey Beckett stumbles upon the body of the community’s most reviled dairy farmer, she, her friends, and her parents are launched into an investigation that reveals a family secret that wasn’t really that secret after all. Soon, Harvey’s curiosity lands her and her mother in a heap of danger that may mark the end of her sleuthing
Check out:
(St. Marin’s Cozy Mysteries)
Vortex
by Catherine Coulter
Rating: 4.7 #ad
Catherine Coulter returns with a brilliant new novel in her FBI thriller series, in which agents Sherlock and Savich find themselves dealing with very powerful figures from the past who could wreak havoc in the present.
Seven years ago, Mia Briscoe was at a college frat rave with her best friend, Serena, when a fire broke out. Everyone was accounted for except Serena, who was never seen nor heard from again. Now an investigative journalist covering the political scene in New York City, Mia discovers old photos taken the night of Serena’s disappearance and begins to uncover a sinister string of events going all the way back to that disastrous party. Working with Sherlock, the secrets begin to unravel. But some very powerful—and very dangerous—people will do anything to keep them from learning the truth.
Check out:
(An FBI Thriller)
Vigilante
by Rob Sinclair
Rating: 4.2 #ad
James Ryker thought he’d gotten the gangsters out of the Norwegian town of Blodstein, so when he hears of a wave of murders, it gets his attention. Then he discovers that an unidentified teenager has been found dead in Crete, and the description of the victim raises an alarm – could the boy be Henrik Svenson, who Ryker had once rescued in Blodstein?
To get some answers, Ryker heads for Athens – and meets the seductive but duplicitous Eleni. Soon the search begins for a known associate of the elusive Eastern European drug kingpin known only as Jesper. But just as it looks like he’s about to get a break in the case, Ryker finds himself in jail for murder.
Check out:
(The Ryker Returns Mysteries)
The Village
by Caroline Mitchell
Rating: 4.2 #ad
From the bestselling author of the DI Amy Winter series comes a thriller about a shocking disappearance—and the village that has conspired to keep the truth buried.
Ten years ago, the Harper family disappeared. Their deserted cottage was left with the water running, the television playing cartoons, the oven ready for baking. The doors were locked from the inside.
Overnight, the sleepy village of Nighbrook became notorious as the scene of the unsolved mystery of the decade, an epicentre for ghoulish media speculation.
Deadly Diagnosis
by Mairi Chong
Rating: 4.1 #ad
A dying patient’s mysterious warning sends a doctor to follow a trail of murder in a new novel by the author of Death by Appointment.
As Betty Scott is dying, she warns Dr. Cathy Moreland that danger lurks at the charity shop where she volunteers. But the only clue she provides is a reference to the now-derelict psychiatric hospital called Fernibanks. Then Betty is found dead—but not from natural causes—and Cathy is compelled to investigate.
At the charity shop, Cathy encounters several workers, some of whom raise her suspicions.
Check out:
(The Dr. Cathy Moreland Mysteries)
The Great Witch of Brittany
by Louisa Morgan
Rating: 4.7 #ad
There hasn’t been a witch born in the Orchière clan for generations. According to the elders, that line is dead, leaving the clan vulnerable to the whims of superstitious villagers and the prejudices of fearmongering bishops.
Ursule Orchière has been raised on stories of the great witches of the past. But the only magic she knows is the false spells her mother weaves over the gullible women who visit their fortune-telling caravan. Everything changes when Ursule comes of age and a spark of power flares to life. Thrilled to be chosen, she has no idea how magic will twist and shape her future.
Oh, Fudge!
by Nancy Coco
Rating: 4.6
After Allie inherited her family’s McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop, cousin Tori moved off to California in a bitter huff, and the two haven’t spoken since. So to have her cousin reappear on Mackinac Island without warning is a big surprise – but not as surprising as finding her standing over a dead woman impaled with a garden spade in the Mackinac Butterfly House. Butterflies may be free, but Tori won’t be for much longer—unless the cousins can bury the hatchet and work together to catch a killer who’s taken flight. Because when it comes to family, blood is thicker than fudge . . .
Check out:
(A Candy-coated Mysteries)
Monday’s Mystery eBooks
Blackberry Pie Murder
by Joanne Fluke
Rating: 4.3 #ad
It’s been a sleepy summer for the folks of Lake Eden, Minnesota. In fact, it’s been a whole four months since anyone in the Swensen family has come across a dead body—a detail that just made the front page of the local paper. And that means Hannah Swensen can finally focus on her bakery…or can she?
Life is never really quiet for Hannah. After all, her mother’s wedding is about a month away and guess who’s in charge of the planning? Just when Hannah believes her biggest challenge will be choosing buttercream or fondant for the cake, she accidentally hits a stranger with her cookie truck while driving down a winding country road in a raging thunderstorm.
Check out:
(Hannah Swensen Mysteries)
House of Windows
by John Langan
Rating: 3.9 #ad
For the last few years, Veronica Croydon has been at the center of scandal, first as the younger woman for whom her famous professor left his wife, and then as his apparent widow. When a writer staying at the same vacation home as Veronica has the chance to hear her story, he jumps at it. What follows takes him to the dark heart of a father’s troubled relationship with his only son, in a story that stretches from the Hudson Valley to Afghanistan; and from post-9/11 America to Victorian England.
House of Windows is a haunting exploration of a marriage under strain from forces both psychological and paranormal. With its combination of literary complexity and chilling supernatural violence, it is widely considered a masterpiece of contemporary horror fiction.
One By One
by Freida McFadden
Rating: 4.3 #ad
A night spent sleeping on dirt and leaves is not how Claire Matchett expected to spend her vacation.
She thought this would be a break from the stresses of work and raising her young children. A chance to repair her damaged marriage. A week of hiking and hot tubs with two other couple friends. It sounded like heaven.
Then Claire’s minivan breaks down on a lonely dirt road. With no cell reception, the group has no choice but to hike the rest of the way to their hotel. But it turns out the woods aren’t as easy to navigate as they thought.
Hours later, they are lost. Hopelessly lost.
Girl in Bed Three
by Sarah Sheridan
Rating: 3.9 #ad
When Sophie Macreavey wakes up in the hospital, suffering from stab wounds, detectives are quick to question her—hoping to make sense of the horrific scene where she was found. Sophie’s adoptive parents and sister are dead. Her brothers are missing. Sophie can’t remember anything—but reveals the abusive nightmare she’s been through as part of the family.
The social worker assigned to her case eventually brings Sophie home, but soon notices discrepancies in Sophie’s story. She claims she hadn’t been allowed to use technology, yet there’s a social media account, extensive messages between herself and a boy, and videos of Sophie online. The more that comes out, the worse it looks for Sophie. She has told some lies. But will the full truth be uncovered?
Lost in the Land of the Midnight Sun
by Christina Cattane
Rating: 3.9 #ad
The last Bible torn in two. A people bound by law. A girl in need of grace.
Angelica longs for redemption. Her mother has vanished and Angelica believes it’s her fault. But no matter how many sacrifices she brings to the altar, it seems God refuses to forgive her. Just when Angelica despairs of ever getting it right; God chooses her to go and find the lost New Testament. Is this finally the penance she seeks?
Angelica must journey across the Alaskan wilderness, battle the forces of evil, and venture into the dark city to find absolution. Or she, and her people will be lost forever.
The Hanging Judge
by Michael Ponsor
Rating: 4.2 #ad
When a drive-by shooting in Holyoke, Massachusetts, claims the lives of a drug dealer and a hockey mom volunteering at an inner-city clinic, the police arrest a rival gang member. With no death penalty in Massachusetts, the US attorney shifts the double homicide out of state jurisdiction into federal court so he can seek a death sentence.
The Honorable David S. Norcross, a federal judge with only two years on the bench, now presides over the first death penalty case in the state in decades. He must referee the clash between an ambitious female prosecutor and a brilliant veteran defense attorney in a high-stress environment of community outrage, media pressure, vengeful gang members, and a romantic entanglement that threatens to capsize his trial—not to mention the most dangerous force of all: the unexpected.
The Bullet
by Iris Johansen
Rating: 4.6 #ad
Diane Connors is a dedicated doctor with the world’s biggest secret, a discovery that could have shocking global ramifications. But while conducting private research trials, word has gotten out. The wrong people have heard the news and now want to hide Diane’s achievement for their own ends.
With nowhere else to turn, Diane finds herself on the doorstep of the last man she wants to ask for help: her ex-husband, Joe Quinn. Joe has remarried, and he and his wife, Eve Duncan, seem blissfully happy in their quiet, rural life until they are faced with the challenge of risking it all—even their marriage itself—for the greater good …
Check out:
(Eve Duncan Mysteries)
The Old Scrapbook
by Dennis Higgins
Rating: 4.5 #ad
The Old Scrapbook is real. The characters within its pages were real as well. This story is an attempt to fill in the blanks of their actual relationship. Bet and Ray met, fell in love, and got engaged until a war separated them, World War II.
Seventy years later, the old scrapbook was found, and the mysteries involved rediscovered.
I became obsessed with the scrapbook and what could have become of the young woman, Bet, who created it. I felt that woman was somehow guiding me as I wrote the story. That’s how I felt from the beginning, like I was led to that war-time scrapbook by an unseeing hand that I could feel something from its pages.
Sunday’s Mystery eBooks
Forgotten in Death
by J. D. Robb
Rating: 4.8 #ad
The body was left in a dumpster like so much trash, the victim a woman of no fixed address, known for offering paper flowers in return for spare change—and for keeping the cops informed of any infractions she witnessed on the street. But the notebook where she scribbled her intel on litterers and other such offenders is nowhere to be found.
Then Eve is summoned away to a nearby building site to view more remains—in this case decades old, adorned with gold jewelry and fine clothing—unearthed by recent construction work…
Check out:
(In Death Mysteries)
Rejectors
by Kyle Watson
Rating: 4.8 #ad
What would you do as last of the Rejectors? They are coming. Run.
Rejecting the system has a price, and the last rejectors are on the run and must outpace the evil forces that are hunting them. Vowing to never bend to the will of evil leader, will the rejectors be able to escape capture and avoid the delusion that overtakes those who are forced to accept the system?
Wrestling with the reality that the battle is taking place in both the seen and unseen realms, the rejectors will stop at nothing to fight for their souls and lives.
Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead
by Elle Cosimano
Rating: 4.3 #ad
Finlay Donovan is—once again—struggling to finish her next novel and keep her head above water as a single mother of two. On the bright side, she has her live-in nanny and confidant Vero to rely on, and the only dead body she’s dealt with lately is that of her daughter’s pet goldfish.
On the not-so-bright side, someone out there wants her ex-husband, Steven, out of the picture. Permanently. Whatever else Steven may be, he’s a good father, but saving him will send her down a rabbit hole of hit-women disguised as soccer moms, and a little bit more involvement with the Russian mob than she’d like.
Check out:
(Finlay Donovan Is Killing It)
The Washington Prophecy
by Robert Rapoza
Rating: 5.0 #ad
When a docent at Mt. Vernon is brutally executed by hired mercenaries searching for a mysterious book written by George Washington, a secretive government agency asks archeologist Nick Randall to investigate. Randall and his son John not only discover the book, but a relic tied to a conspiracy involving President Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Their discoveries lead to a startling revelation of how the United States won its independence.
But Randall and John aren’t the only ones searching. Former Spetsnaz agent turned mercenary, Vasily Aminov, wants the relic and is bent on using its power to destroy the governments of Western Civilization, killing millions of innocent people in the process.
Check out:
(Nick Randall Mysteries)
Reckless Girls
by Rachel Hawkins
Rating: 4.0 #ad
ONE ISLAND. Beautiful, wild, and strange—Meroe Island is a desolate spot in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a mysterious history of shipwrecks, cannibalism, and even rumors of murder. It’s the perfect destination for the most adventurous traveler to escape everything… except the truth.
SIX VISITORS. Six stunning twentysomethings are about to embark on a blissful, free-spirited journey—one filled with sun-drenched days and intoxicating nights. But as it becomes clear that the group is even more cut off from civilization than they initially thought, it starts to feel like the island itself is closing in, sending them on a dangerous spiral of discovery. COUNTLESS SECRETS
The Body in the Casket
by Katherine Hall Page
Rating: 4.2 #ad
For most of her adult life, resourceful caterer Faith Fairchild has called the sleepy Massachusetts village of Aleford home. While the native New Yorker has come to know the region well, she isn’t familiar with Havencrest, a privileged enclave, until the owner of Rowan House, a secluded sprawling Arts and Crafts mansion, calls her about catering a weekend house party.
Producer/director of a string of hit musicals, Max Dane—a Broadway legend—is throwing a lavish party to celebrate his seventieth birthday. At the house as they discuss the event, Faith’s client makes a startling confession. “I didn’t hire you for your cooking skills, fine as they may be, but for your sleuthing ability. You see, one of the guests wants to kill me.”
Check out:
(Faith Fairchild Mysteries)
Illegal
by K. J. Gillenwater
Rating: 4.3 #ad
Alone, desperate, and beautiful. When bullets fly, she must rely on a handsome stranger or face death. Together, they will risk it all for love.
Her whole life was a lie… After discovering she was brought to the United States illegally as a young child, Selena Hernandez decides to do the responsible thing and return to Mexico, her country of origin. Selena vows to become a legal immigrant.
When she asks for help with a visa at the US Embassy, she meets attractive Wyatt Demko, a helpful embassy employee. But they are surprised to discover shocking details about her past and connections to a notorious drug cartel.
City of Time and Magic
by Paula Brackston
Rating: 4.7 #ad
She must choose from three treasures that sing to her; a beautiful writing slope, a mourning brooch of heartbreaking detail, and a gorgeous gem-set hat pin. All call her, but the wrong one could take her on a mission other than that which she must address first, and the stakes could not be higher. While her earlier mission to Regency England had been a success, the journey home resulted in Liam being taken from her, spirited away to another time and place. Xanthe must follow the treasure that will take her to him if he is not to be lost forever.
Xanthe is certain that Mistress Flyte has Liam and determined to find them both. But when she discovers Lydia Flyte has been tracking the actions of the Visionary Society, a group of ruthless and unscrupulous Spinners who have been selling their talents to a club of wealthy clients, Xanthe realizes her work as a Spinner must come before her personal wishes.
Check out:
(Found Things Mysteries)
A Panther Crosses Over
by Sam Foster
Rating: 4.1 #ad
A clash of civilizations, two powerful leaders, and a dramatic outcome that ripples through generations.
Following the French and Indian War, white settlers pour over the Appalachians and down the Ohio River. But native tribes of the Northwest Territory have long inhabited this land—and they are willing to fight to remain. Leading the Shawnee is Tecumseh—courageous, discerning, and capable of assembling fifty thousand warriors to rise together to chase the white settlers back east when he commands. How will warriors from Florida to Canada know when the command has come? For twenty years his answer has been the same: “I will stomp my foot.”