Wednesday’s Mystery eBooks
The Waitress
by Emily Shiner
Rating: 4.0 #ad
Anne Marie would love a son who is kind, respectful, obedient. But she’s got Dave.
Anne Marie’s life isn’t easy. She’s a single mom in a dead-end waitressing job with a beater car and bills to pay. Adding to the pressure, her teenage son, Dave, is out of control, and no matter what she does, Anne Marie can’t seem to get through to him.
Then, out of the blue, Dave completely changes. He’s kind, he’s thoughtful, he helps out around the house and looks after his mom. Anne Marie can’t believe her luck…
If It Bleeds
by Stephen King
Rating: 4.6 #ad
Readers adore Stephen King’s novels, and his novellas are their own dark treat, briefer but just as impactful and enduring as his longer fiction. Many of his novellas have been made into iconic films, including “The Body” (Stand by Me) and “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” (Shawshank Redemption).
The four brilliant tales in If It Bleeds prove as iconic as their predecessors. In the title story, reader favorite Holly Gibney (from the Mr. Mercedes trilogy and The Outsider) must face her fears, and possibly another outsider—this time on her own. In “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone” an intergenerational friendship has a disturbing afterlife. “The Life of Chuck” explores, beautifully, how each of us contains multitudes. And in “Rat,” a struggling writer must contend with the darker side of ambition.
The Night of Four Hundred Rabbits
by Elizabeth Peters
Rating: 4.2 #ad
An unexpected “gift” has arrived for Carol Farley this Christmas: an envelope with no return address containing a newspaper clipping. Blurred but unmistakable is a photo of a man missing for years and feared dead – Carol’s father. It is a summons calling her to a world she has never known, to a place of ancient majesty and blood-chilling terror. Surrounded by towering pyramids on Mexico City’s Walk of the Dead, a frightened yet resolute young woman searches for a perilous truth and for the beloved parent she thought was gone forever.
The Orphans’ Amish Christmas
by Tracy Fredrychowski
Rating: 4.8 #ad
It will take an Amish miracle to save Christmas for the Willow Springs Children’s Home orphans.
When presents are stolen right before the annual Christmas benefit, Lydia Troyer and Aaron Shetler join forces with Detective Lewis Powers to unravel the mystery. The town’s Christmas spirit is tested by strange events that leave the community ready to cancel all holiday festivities.
When prominent Amish businessman Milo Glick goes missing, it will take special detective skills to discover the truth behind his sudden disappearance…
The Man in the Brown Suit
by Agatha Christie
Rating: 4.3 #ad
On a ship from London to South Africa, a young woman gets wrapped up in a deadly scheme, in this classic novel by the master of mystery.
New to London, Anne Beddingfeld is hungry for adventure, when she witnesses a shocking accident. At the Hyde Park tube station, a man named L. B. Carton falls onto the tracks, dying instantly. An address for Mill House is found on Carton’s person, but only Anne notices the slip of paper he dropped—with the name of a ship and an inscrutable series of numbers…
Lady Apprentice
by Toni Cabell
Rating: 4.3 #ad
Linden is the worst mage apprentice at her school. Her latest disaster: accidentally destroying her classroom when a small hooded fay pops up inside the fireball she’s just conjured.
Linden is sent to the headmaster’s office to be formally expelled, when she is saved by the bell—quite literally. Someone is frantically ringing the bell inside the watchtower overlooking the western frontier. Raiders are coming, in broad daylight, wearing the uniforms of the enemy army.
Collateral Damage
by Dale Brown, Jim DeFelice
Rating: 4.4 #ad
The fires still burn in Libya years after the fall of Gaddafi, forcing NATO to intervene in a new war that could have devastating consequences for the volatile region. But something has gone terribly wrong with a foolproof new superweapon, resulting in the shocking deaths of innocents.
The latest military miracle to come out of the Whiplash group was designed to eliminate any possibility of human error—yet the computer-controlled UAV drone inexplicably goes rogue while the whole world watches. With the entire Whiplash program under fire, the weapon’s creator heads into the warzone determined to find evidence of sabotage.
Eater of Souls
by Lynda S. Robinson
Rating: 4.4 #ad
In the city of Memphis in ancient Egypt, multiple victims have been found with their hearts torn from their chests, and white feathers left in their place. The latest corpse belongs to a Hittite prince who insulted King Tut—in whose service Lord Meren works. Now Meren must put aside his quiet inquiries into the death of Queen Nefertiti to investigate this new string of killings. The circumstances suggest the likely culprit is the god Ammut. But if the murderer is in fact mortal, it’ll be up to Meren and his adopted son to end the carnage . . .
A Six Letter Word for Death
by Patricia Moyes
Rating: 4.4 #ad
It’s a slow day at Scotland Yard, so Inspector Henry Tibbett takes a busman’s holiday, immersing himself in the world of puzzling puzzlers. The hijinks kick off with an amusing gift: Someone unnamed has sent Henry the beginnings of a crossword puzzle. Even more mysterious: The clues point to the group of mystery writers to whom Henry has pledged to give a presentation. Most mysterious of all: None of the writers are who they claim to be, and one is a murderer. Which one? For that you’ll need to solve the puzzle. Six across and then down, down, down.
Long, Lean, and Lethal
by Heather Graham
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Anything can happen on Valentine Valley. People recover from amnesia, awake from comas, and rise from the dead – all to the delight of the daytime soap’s millions of fans. But while Valentine Valley may be glamorous onscreen, behind the camera the soap’s grueling production schedule punishes actors, directors, and writers in the name of ratings. Soap star Jennifer Connolly is near her breaking point, and a murderer is about to push her over the edge. As Jennifer struggles to care for her ill mother, a serial killer stalks the lot, committing a gory string of murders inspired by classic Hitchcock films.
Evidence of Murder
by Lisa Black
Rating: 4.3 #ad
Eight months ago, forensic investigator Theresa MacLean lost her fiancé in a bank robbery gone wrong, and she’s had trouble concentrating on her work ever since. But when she investigates the death of a young mother that may have consequences for an innocent child, her attention is riveted by the harrowing case.
Jillian Perry has been found dead in the woods, leaving behind a husband of three weeks and a young daughter. The police can’t determine how she died—her body shows no visible marks, and the autopsy reveals nothing suspicious—and the leading theory is that she purposely wandered into the forest and succumbed to the freezing weather. But something doesn’t feel right to Theresa, and she can’t let it go.
The April Dead
by Alan Parks
Rating: 4.5 #ad
From an Edgar Award finalist: A cop tracks a shadowy, fanatical group in a “tightly plotted and fast-moving” noir mystery set in 1970s Glasgow (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
When an American sailor from the Holy Loch Base goes missing, Harry McCoy is determined to find him. But as he investigates, a wave of bombings hits Glasgow. Soon McCoy realizes that the sailor may be part of a shadowy organization led by a dangerous fanatic, and committed to a very different kind of Scotland. A Scotland its members are prepared to kill for.
Tuesday’s Mystery eBooks
“A” is for Alibi
by Sue Grafton
Rating: 4.1 #ad
A IS FOR AVENGER. A tough-talking former cop, private investigator Kinsey Millhone has set up a modest detective agency in a quiet corner of Santa Teresa, California. A twice-divorced loner with few personal possessions and fewer personal attachments, she’s got a soft spot for underdogs and lost causes.
A IS FOR ACCUSED. That’s why she draws desperate clients like Nikki Fife. Eight years ago, she was convicted of killing her philandering husband. Now she’s out on parole and needs Kinsey’s help to find the real killer. But after all this time, clearing Nikki’s bad name won’t be easy.
Wreck
by Shawn Luther
Rating: 3.9 #ad
Five seemingly unrelated stories become entwined during the course of a single night in this climactic novella. It all starts when Darya and her boyfriend Brian witness a man being held at gunpoint on the side of the highway. Despite Brian’s protests, Darya follows the perpetrator, determined to stop him somehow. The chase ensues until events begin to spiral out of control, mistakes are made, and people are forced to choose who lives and who dies.
A suspenseful thriller as well as an intimate character study, Wreck investigates a day in the life of five ordinary individuals who don’t always realize their presence in other’s lives. Short but effective, this book will have you clinging to each page.
The Heist
by Janet Evanovich, Lee Goldberg
Rating: 4.3 #ad
Nicolas Fox is an international con man, famous for running elaborate scams on very rich and powerful people. He knows that the FBI has been hot on his trail for years—particularly FBI Special Agent Kate O’Hare. But just when it seems that Fox has been captured for good, he pulls off his greatest con of all: He convinces the FBI to offer him a job, working side by side with O’Hare.
Their first assignment takes them to the side streets of Berlin, the California desert, and remote Indonesian islands as they team up to catch Derek Griffin, a corrupt investment banker charged with stealing millions from his clients.
The Survival Rule
by Stephen Penner
Rating: 4.3 #ad
A family on top of the world. With a long, long way to fall.
Attorney Daniel Raine is hired by Adam Harper, the son of Seattle’s biggest real estate developer. Adam wants to seize control of the family company by declaring his father mentally unfit.
There’s only one problem. It soon becomes clear that the old man is very much in possession of his mental faculties and Raine is going to lose the case. Ever the pragmatist, Raine decides to stick with it and rack up some billable hours.
But he soon finds himself in the middle of a deadly dispute as various members of this powerful family fight to gain control of the business. Each more ruthless than the last, they will stop at nothing to get what they want. Including murder.
Winter Counts
by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
Rating: 4.3 #ad
A groundbreaking thriller about a vigilante on a Native American reservation who embarks on a dangerous mission to track down the source of a heroin influx.
Virgil Wounded Horse is the local enforcer on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. When justice is denied by the American legal system or the tribal council, Virgil is hired to deliver his own punishment, the kind that’s hard to forget. But when heroin makes its way into the reservation and finds Virgil’s nephew, his vigilantism suddenly becomes personal. He enlists the help of his ex-girlfriend and sets out to learn where the drugs are coming from, and how to make them stop.
Unsigned Card Murder
by Stephanie Parker McKean
Rating: 4.3 #ad
It’s a hoot-and-a-half when Rik Patience – who has no patience – sets out to discover why a “hot” guy at her church refuses to sign the pastor’s birthday card and ends up as a suspect in a murder investigation.
Rik engages the over-sixties members of the Closure Club book reading and mystery-solving group – who refuse to let the grey streaks in their hair define them – in her quest to answer the question – why does her secret heartthrob refuse to sign anything? Is he in witness protection, or is he a criminal?
Before Rik solves that mystery, she finds a body behind his house; is tackled by a ‘black bear’; is accused of poisoning an obnoxious woman who attends her church; and is threatened with the confiscation of her wild animal rescues – a fox, raccoon, jaguarondi, squirrel, and raven.
Immune
by Shannon Mayer
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Torn between a missing child, a friend in danger, and an FBI agent on her tail, she has no choice but to take help from a dangerous quarter. “My name is Rylee, and I am a Tracker.”
When children go missing, and the Humans have no leads, I’m the one they call. I am their last hope in bringing home the lost ones. I salvage what they cannot.
Underestimating demons is a bad idea, and it’s a mistake that may cost me not only my own life but the life of a missing child.
Empire of Shadows
by Vincent Valentean
Rating: 4.6 #ad
Vinnie Romano had it all. As the Don of a powerful Mafia crime family, he ruled over an empire with his wife and daughter at his side. But when an EMP attack decimates the nation’s power grid, Vinnie quickly comes to realize that his perfect life is over. As rival crime families and what’s left of law enforcement battle it out in the streets, Vinnie’s wife and daughter go missing in the chaos. Now armed with nothing more than his side arm and the knowledge imparted by his late father, Vinnie will fight his way through the apocalypse to find his family and make sure they get to safety, no matter the cost.
RECLAIMING ME
by Multiple Authors
Rating: 4.9 #ad
After years of deception, tragedy, lies, and trauma, these women need a change. Meet five incredible women who have been through the wringer, but never gave up. Join them as they fight to reclaim themselves, and forge forward to build a new and better life.
Watch out world, it’s time for RECLAIMING ME!
Mission: Believe – Stacy Eaton, USA Today Bestselling Author
The Bootlegger’s Legacy – Denise Devine, USA Today Bestselling Author
The Blue Dragon – Susanne Matthews
The Set Up – Dani Haviland, USA Today Bestselling Author
A Change of Heart – Patrice Wilton, NY Times Bestselling Author