Wednesday’s Mystery eBooks
Balloon Body Murder
by Stephanie Parker McKean
Rating: 4.8 #ad
When Rik Patience—who has no patience—trips over the body of a murder victim sticking out from under the envelope of a hot air balloon, it turns into a sometimes hilarious, sometimes terrifying, sometimes heartbreaking ride.
Rik and her over-sixties group of fellow sleuths endeavor to solve a mystery that even the sheriff’s department can’t solve. Things never go well for Rik in life or love in spite of her best intentions. She finds herself on the wrong side of her Mason, Texas, friends when she becomes “public enemy number one” after refusing to help with a festival that will bring tourists into town—but also promotes alcoholic beverages.
Livid
by Patricia Cornwell
Rating: 4.3 #ad
Chief medical examiner Kay Scarpetta is the reluctant star witness in a sensational murder trial when she receives shocking news. The judge’s sister has been found dead. At first glance, it appears to be a home invasion, but then why was nothing stolen, and why is the garden strewn with dead plants and insects?
Although there is no apparent cause of death, Scarpetta recognizes telltale signs of the unthinkable, and she knows the worst is yet to come. The forensic pathologist finds herself pitted against a powerful force that returns her to the past, and her time to catch the killer is running out . . .
Check out:
(Kay Scarpetta Mysteries)
Barren Waters
by Julia Shupe
Rating: 4.3 #ad
WINNER! Hollywood Book Festival, Best Science Fiction Novel, 2017
WINNER! Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) – Silver Medal National Winner, Best Science Fiction Novel of 2017
WINNER! NIEA (National Indie Excellence Awards) – Silver Medal Finalist, Best Science Fiction Novel, 2017
WINNER! San Francisco Green Book Festival, Best Science Fiction Novel, 2017
In a desolate, post-apocalyptic world, how far will a father go to save his daughter’s life?
Sometimes life ends with a bang. Other times it ends with a slow strangulation. The oceans are empty, marine life is extinct, and civilization has collapsed. But what does that mean for the rest of the planet? What does that mean for those who survived?
Enter the world as it exists in the twenty-second century. Join Jeremy Colt and his daughter, Sam, as they race across the country to survive. With only their bikes and the packs on their backs, they must reach San Diego before her medicine runs out. The clock is ticking. Can they get there fast enough? And if they do, will it even save her?
Stigmata
by Colin Falconer
Rating: 4.2 #ad
Stigmata is an epic tale of heresy, courage, loyalty and loss set against the tumultuous crusades of medieval France.
France, 1205: Philip of Vercy returns from fighting the infidel in the Holy Land to find his life in ruins and his only son near death.
He hears of a miracle healer, a young woman marked with the stigmata. Fleeing the Inquisition, she has sought refuge in the mist-shrouded mountains of the Languedoc. He sets out to find her to save his son.
But the south is home to a heretic Christian sect – the Cathars – and the Pope has ordered a crusade to crush them. As the Languedoc convulses into flame and revolt, Philip and his liege men must battle their way into hell itself.
The Other Half of the Grave
by Jeaniene Frost
Rating: 4.8 #ad
There are two sides to every story–and the sizzling British alpha vampire, Bones, has a lot to say…
Ever wondered what Bones was thinking and feeling when he and half-vampire Cat Crawfield first met? Or how their story might differ if he were the one telling it? Now, relive the beginning of Cat and Bones’ bestselling love story through Bones’ point of view, which reveals a darker, sexier take on their early days, as well as a deeper dive into Bones’ past, the vampire world, and other things that Cat didn’t see when their story was told only through her eyes in Halfway to the Grave.
Check out:
(Night Huntress Mysteries)
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas
by Agatha Christie
Rating: 4.8 #ad
Christmas Eve, and the Lee family’s reunion is shattered by a deafening crash of furniture and a high-pitched wailing scream. Upstairs, the tyrannical Simeon Lee lies dead in a pool of blood, his throat slashed.
When Hercule Poirot offers to assist, he finds an atmosphere not of mourning but of mutual suspicion. It seems everyone had their own reason to hate the old man. . . .
Check out:
(Hercule Poirot Mysteries)
Christmas Danger
by Lynn Shannon
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Danger can lurk in the most innocent of places…
Holly Miller is seeking a fresh start, but when she narrowly escapes a vicious attack days before Christmas, she’s forced to face the truth—someone is stalking her.
Police Chief Aiden James takes pride in protecting the citizens of his hometown. The attack on Holly bothers him in more ways than one, especially since the beautiful social worker has slipped past his defenses and into his heart.
Can Aiden and Holly stop her stalker before it’s too late or will this Christmas be her last?
Preacher: Book Six
by Garth Ennis
Rating: 4.9 #ad
In this final PREACHER volume, Jesse Custer makes amends with his girlfriend, Tulip, then seeks revenge against his formerfriend and compatriot Cassidy for the things the Irish vampire did to her when they both believed the Preacher to be dead.
The final chapter in the Preacher storyline and the conclusion of Jesse Custer’s quest to literally find God and take Him to taskfor the world’s injustices. As the Preacher’s crusade draws to an end, all of the players converge at the Alamo for a final show-down…
Check out:
(Preacher Mysteries)
Stim
by Kevin Berry
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Robert’s life is a huge struggle.
Asperger’s Syndrome: Robert experiences the world differently to 99% of the population.
He struggles to accept himself, tries to understand others – but can’t – and find a girlfriend. Especially find a girlfriend – he’s decided it’s his special project for the year.
Accompanied by his quirky flatmates, Chloe (who also has Asperger’s and mental illness, amongst other things), Stef (who hasn’t, but doesn’t mind) and their oddly-named kitten, Robert endures a myriad of awkward moments in his quest to meet a nice, normal girl.
Tuesday’s Mystery eBooks
Daggers at the Country Fair
by Catherine Coles
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Winteringham Village 1947
As a thank you for her previous brilliant crime solving, amateur sleuth, Martha Miller is guest of honour at the Winteringham Country Fair. However, this time she is looking forward to simply judging dog shows and eating cream teas rather than apprehending a killer!
And Martha is just beginning to enjoy spending quality time with Vicar Luke Walker away from the prying eyes and gossips of her own village, when disaster strikes, and the local teenage femme fatale is found stabbed to death behind the tea tent by Martha’s trusted red setter Lizzie!
Check out:
(The Martha Miller Mysteries)
Brett Wilson and Coronado’s Door
by John Suter
Rating: 5.0 #ad
On a treasure hunting expedition with her father, Brett Wilson watches her father enter the fabled golden city of Cibola. The joy of discovery quickly turns to tragedy when the city disappears in front of her eyes.
Now in a race against time, Brett must locate the city before her father is lost forever. The only information she has to help her is the tattered old field book of her father and her best friend Natalie’s energy and enthusiasm. Together with Grandpa Jake and Natalie’s mom Dr. Brown, they must decipher the clues in the field book and understand the earth’s hidden properties to locate Cibola’s final position.
Kingdom Lost
by Patricia Wentworth
Rating: 4.1 #ad
Austin Muir has just landed on a seemingly uninhabited South Seas island when he meets a remarkable young woman. Valentine claims to have lived there for twenty years. She has no memory of the shipwreck of the Avronia because she was just a baby at the time. All she knows is that she was rescued and raised by Edward Bowden, the only other survivor. Valentine has no knowledge of the Great War, let alone the world beyond her remote desert island.
With Edward now dead, Valentine must return to civilization and learn the ways of British society. She learns she’s due to come into a vast sum of money when she turns twenty-five, but since she was given up for dead, her inheritance passed to her cousin Eustace…
Fall of the Western Kings
by J Drew Brumbaugh
Rating: 4.1 #ad
An epic fantasy where, Gant, a reluctant swordsman is pulled toward a destiny he doesn’t want. A dark king who is bent on revenge against all that is good summons a demon prince to aid him and only the greatest magic has any chance of stopping them. Gant might be the chess piece capable of neutralizing the demon but he doesn’t know it. A woodland nymph captures his heart and while under her spell he is helpless.
Will Gant find a way to escape the nymph’s enchantment and prevent the chaos that is coming?
Check out:
(Tirumfall Trilogy)
The Demands
by Mark Billingham
Rating: 4.5 #ad
The Crime The customers in a London convenience store are taken captive. Among them is young mother, Detective Helen Weeks. She is told her life depends on the co-operation of one of her colleagues – detective Tom Thorne.
The Demand Akhtar is desperate to know what really happened to his beloved son, who died a year before in prison. He is convinced the death was not an accident and forces the one man who knows more about the case than any other, Thorne, to re-investigate.
The Twist
Check out:
(Tom Thorne Mysteries)
Blood Drawn
by John Conroe
Rating: 4.7 #ad
Demon Accords number 17. Chris Gordon and Tanya Demidova are the world’s top close quarters battle experts. As fast and powerful as elder vampires, with supernatural weapons that match their supernatural speed, strength and senses. But how does a close quarters warrior fight an enemy that is literally light years away — 25,000 light years away?
It would take one hell of a ranged weapon, something that can cross unimaginable distances with unfathomable power. Something… or… someone. Hmm, but witch is best?
The Beautiful Addiction
by Dr. Zeev Gilkis
Rating: 4.5 #ad
It’s never too late to make dreams come true – even at the age of 70.
At the age of 68 Dr. Zeev Gilkis, a cancer survivor, decided to gift himself an unusual present for his 70th birthday – to run his first full marathon.
In his previous book “Running Back in Time” the author, writing at the time at age 69, told the story of the first half of his journey. Beginning with two injuries and 5 km runs and ending with achieving his interim goal of running a half-marathon.
Loch Down Abbey
by Beth Cowan-Erskine
Rating: 4.3 #ad
It’s the 1930s and a mysterious illness is spreading over Scotland. But the noble and ancient family of Inverkillen, residents of Loch Down Abbey, are much more concerned with dwindling toilet roll supplies and who will look after the children now that Nanny has regretfully (and most inconveniently) departed this life.
Then Lord Inverkillen, Earl and head of the family, is found dead in mysterious circumstances. The inspector declares it an accident but Mrs MacBain, the head housekeeper, isn’t so convinced. As no one is allowed in or out because of the illness, the residents of the house – both upstairs and downstairs – are the only suspects.
Killing Kennedy
by Bill O’Reilly
Rating: 4.6 #ad
More than a million readers have thrilled to Bill O’Reilly’s Killing Lincoln, the page-turning work of nonfiction about the shocking assassination that changed the course of American history. Now the iconic anchor of The O’Reilly Factor recounts in gripping detail the brutal murder of John Fitzgerald Kennedy—and how a sequence of gunshots on a Dallas afternoon not only killed a beloved president but also sent the nation into the cataclysmic division of the Vietnam War and its culture-changing aftermath.
In January 1961, as the Cold War escalates, John F. Kennedy struggles to contain the growth of Communism while he learns the hardships, solitude, and temptations of what it means to be president of the United States.