Sunday’s Mystery eBooks
The Rocky Road to Ruin
by Meri Allen
Rating: 4.5 #ad
Justice will be swirled by amateur sleuth Riley Rhodes in the first in Meri Allen’s brand-new mystery series, The Rocky Road to Ruin!
Riley Rhodes, travel food blogger and librarian at the CIA, makes a bittersweet return to her childhood home of Penniman, Connecticut – land of dairy farms and covered bridges – for a funeral. Despite the circumstances, Riley’s trip home is sprinkled with reunions with old friends, visits to her father’s cozy bookshop on the town green, and joyful hours behind the counter at the beloved Udderly Delicious Ice Cream Shop. It feels like a time to help her friend Caroline rebuild after her mother’s death, and for Riley to do a bit of her own reflecting after a botched undercover mission in Italy. After all, it’s always good to be home.
Dream Town
by David Baldacci
Rating: 4.4 #ad
It’s the eve of 1953, and Aloysius Archer is in Los Angeles to ring in the New Year with an old friend, aspiring actress Liberty Callahan, when their evening is interrupted by an acquaintance of Callahan’s: Eleanor Lamb, a screenwriter in dire straits.
After a series of increasingly chilling events – mysterious phone calls, the same blue car loitering outside her house, and a bloody knife left in her sink – Eleanor fears that her life is in danger, and she wants to hire Archer to look into the matter. Archer suspects that Eleanor knows more than she’s saying, but before he can officially take on her case, a dead body turns up inside of Eleanor’s home . . . and Eleanor herself disappears.
Secret of the Broken King
by Eliza Raine
Rating: 4.6 #ad
He married me, exiled me, and now he’s the only thing stopping me from saving my sister.
My sister is turning to stone. She’s been asleep for eight years – the same amount of time I’ve been the secret, exiled wife of the King of the Ocean. Poseidon is fierce, unforgiving, and terrifyingly powerful. I’m just a broken sea nymph whose magic never surfaced. But the only way to save my sister lies in his underwater palace, and I’ve got nothing else to lose.
I expected escaping exile and getting to the palace to be tough. What I didn’t anticipate was battling a torrent of unexpected desire for Poseidon when he catches me. The devastatingly beautiful ocean god has secrets. Wild waves crash through his eyes when he looks at me, and I soon realize he might be just as broken as I am.
But when a god has secrets, the consequences are deadly.
Check out:
(The Poseidon Trials)
Who Killed These Girls?
by Beverly Lowry
Rating: 4.3 #ad
“Gripping, moving, and as good as any depiction of a murder case since In Cold Blood…. Brilliant.” – Ann Patchett, award-winning, bestselling author
The facts are brutally straightforward. On December 6, 1991, the naked, bound-and-gagged, burned bodies of four girls – each one shot in the head – were found in a frozen yogurt shop in Austin, Texas.
Grief, shock, and horror overtook the city. But after eight years of misdirected investigations, only two suspects (teenagers at the time of the crime) were tried; their convictions were later overturned and detectives are still working on what is now a very cold case. The story has grown to include DNA technology, coerced false confessions, and other developments in crime and punishment.
The Dime
by Kathleen Kent
Rating: 4.2 #ad
Dallas, Texas is not for the faint of heart. Good thing for Betty Rhyzyk she’s from a family of take-no-prisoners Brooklyn police detectives. But her Big Apple wisdom will only get her so far when she relocates to The Big D, where Mexican drug cartels and cult leaders, deadbeat skells and society wives all battle for sunbaked turf. Betty is as tough as the best of them, but she’s deeply shaken when her first investigation goes sideways. Battling a group of unruly subordinates, a persistent stalker, a formidable criminal organization, and an unsupportive girlfriend, the unbreakable Detective Betty Rhyzyk may be reaching her limit.
Check out:
(Betty Rhyzyk Mysteries)
The Girl She Wanted
by K.L. Slater
Rating: 4.2 #ad
What was my sister doing standing over Florence’s cot in the middle of the night?
I trust my sister Carrie with my daughter’s life. But then she’s accused of a terrible crime. Carrie lives under our roof, she pushes my daughter on the swings, she takes her out for ice cream. You might ask, why do I let her? Why would I risk my darling baby? How could I let my sister stay?
Because I have a dangerous secret too. One that only Carrie knows about. And if that secret gets out, I could lose my little girl…
The Marriage of Sticks
by Jonathan Carroll
Rating: 4.2 #ad
Miranda marches into her high school reunion with the confidence of a professional at the top of her field. But inside she is lost, disenchanted with her career, and as alone as a person can possibly be. As a teenager in Crane’s View, she fell in love with unrepentant bad boy James Stillman, and though they never slept together, he thrilled her as no man has since. She returns to her hometown hoping to reconnect with him, but learns at the reunion that he was killed in a car crash years ago. In the weeks that follow, Miranda is haunted by visions of the past.
Stop Toxic Thoughts
by Cody Evans
Rating: 4.8 #ad
Kick Toxic Thoughts in The Teeth –Without The Same “Happy Thoughts” Advice.
Are you tired of feeling stuck, exhausted, worried, and stressed? Perhaps you’re constantly doubting and questioning yourself: Why did I say that? Why did I do that? What will they think? What will I do now?
It’s no surprise that this constant and relentless negative self-talk makes you doubt yourself, weighs you down, and brings your ambition to a dead halt. The good news is that you CAN take back control over your mind and finally stop those annoying thoughts with simple strategies proven to work!
Saturday’s Mystery eBooks
Live, Local, and Dead
by Nikki Knight
Rating: 3.9 #ad
Death waits for snowman in Nikki Knight’s new Vermont-based cozy series, perfect for fans of Connie Archer and Mary Kennedy.
In a fit of anger, radio DJ Jaye Jordan blows a snowman’s head off with a Revolutionary War-style musket. But the corpse that tumbles out is all too human. Jaye thought life would be quieter when she left New York City and bought a tiny Vermont radio station. But now, Edwin Anger – the ranting and raving radio talk show host who Jaye recently fired – lies dead in the snow. And the Edwin Anger fans who protested his dismissal are sure she killed him.
Smoke and Mirrors
by Elizabeth Peters
Rating: 5.0 #ad
Praise for New York Times–bestseller Elizabeth Peters and Smoke and Mirrors
An idealistic young woman finds working a political campaign can be murder in this romantic suspense novel by “a master storyteller” (Mary Higgins Clark).
Young Erin Hartsock arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition – and little interest in politics. However, when she’s offered a position on a congresswoman’s campaign for the Senate, she’s more than happy to flee her dead-end job to take on what she expects will be boring administrative work . . .
But as the campaign heats up, disturbing events follow. There’s a string of dangerous fires, a violent attack, and a seemingly accidental death.
Oyster Bay Boogie
by Eric Wilder
Rating: 5.0 #ad
Oyster Bay Mystery Series set on a remote Louisiana Island about fifty miles from New Orleans.
A Cajun werewolf stalking Oyster Bay, a Prohibition-era resort in the Gulf of Mexico, leads to Jack Wiesinski and Grogan ‘Chief’ la Tortue’s discovery of a gold doubloon and case of rare Dominican rum. Dancer Odette Mouton hitchhikes to the secluded Louisiana island following Jack and Chief’s drunken celebration at a New Orleans Bourbon Street strip club. The three quickly learn the werewolf isn’t the island’s only paranormal entity.
Subversive
by Raena Rood
Rating: 4.6 #ad
Since the night of her parent’s arrest, Gemma Alcott has been hiding in an abandoned coal mine with a group of subversives. She’s found a home – and someone to love – but she’s never forgotten the love she left behind.
Taylor Nolan, a young Task Force officer, believes wholeheartedly in his mission and in the danger posed by subversives. But when his first love, Gemma, is captured by a rogue Task Force unit, his loyalties are put to the test.
Facing interrogation and possible death, Gemma must summon the strength—and faith—to protect her friends, no matter the cost.
Check out:
(Subversive Trilogy)
The Mirror Man
by Lars Kepler
Rating: 4.5#ad
Sixteen-year-old Jenny Lind is kidnapped in broad daylight on her way home from school and thrown into the back of a truck. She’s taken to a dilapidated house, where she and other girls face horrors far beyond their worst nightmares. Though they’re desperate to escape, their captor foils everyone of their attempts.
Five years later, Jenny’s body is found hanging in a playground, strung up with a winch on a rainy night. As the police are scrambling to find a lead in the scant evidence, Detective Joona Linna recognizes an eerie connection between Jenny’s murder and a death declared a suicide years before.
Check out:
(Killer Instinct Mysteries)
Daughter of the Twin Moons
by Holly Bargo
Rating: 4.2 #ad
He yanked me away from Death’s doorstep. And then he staked his claim on me.
Diagnosed with a terminal illness, I was ready to walk gently into that good night. After a long and content life, I thought my time had finally come.
Then he came for me. And nothing would ever be the same. Thelan, son of the Fae, Captain of the Seelie Palace Guard, spent many lifetimes searching for his destined mate. When the Oracle prophesied his fated beloved, he did not hesitate.
Check out:
(Twin Moons Saga)
Death on a Winter’s Day
by Verity Bright
Rating: 4.6 #ad
Winter, 1921. Lady Eleanor Swift, amateur sleuth and reluctant lady of the manor, has been invited to spend Christmas in Scotland, at the beautiful castle of her dear friends Baron and Baroness Ashley. Even her favourite companion, master of mischief Gladstone the bulldog, is coming along to share a slice of turkey. As snow begins to fall outside, the rather mismatched group are cozy by the roaring fire, sharing a tipple over a plate of Mrs Trotman’s famous mince pies.
But after what was supposed to be a fun party game, Mr Eugene Randall is found dead at the feast. A somewhat unpopular business associate of the Baron’s from across the pond, it seems Mr Randall has certainly upset somebody. Was it what he said about Scottish whisky?
Check out:
(A Lady Eleanor Swift Mysteries)
Agent Zero
by Janet Walden-West
Rating: 4.5 #ad
He owns the spotlight, she lives in the shadows.
VEE: My only purpose? Keep lethal cryptids in check, and our Company existence secret.
Sometimes a girl needs a night of karaoke and tequila though. Instead, after a vicious new cryptid species crashes the party, I end up saving and carting home a way arrogant, way hot chef. With Bruce Kantor now a temporary roommate it seems like the perfect time to indulge my forbidden civilian fascination—especially the friends-with-benefits part. But the feelings he ignites threaten my oath and mission.
BRUCE: Damn right I’m the bad boy of the culinary world.
Check out:
(Region Two Mysteries)