FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

[sufue]

I don't see the Lovejoy books, by Jonathan Gash, go on sale very often. In fact, I don't see most of them in e-book at all right now, although I have a number of them from several years ago - like 2020 and earlier.

However, The Ten Word Game, which is the next to last in the series, is both available and on sale ($2.99) in the US at the moment. If you haven't read the series (which is really quite fun) and want to stick with e-books, I'm not sure I'd start it now, since only the last couple seem to be available in that format. So why start something you won't have many titles available in? But hopefully some e-publisher manages to pick them up again...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HTJJSU8
Kobo US (discountable): https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-ten-word-game-4

Spoiler:

A mystery in the long-running series featuring the well-known antiques "divvy" and general bad boy, Lovejoy.

Lovejoy cannot be said to have clean hands and a pure heart, flitting bee-like as he does from one flower of womanhood to the next, and straining the truth when necessary. But when it comes to the relics of history, be it a silver tea service or the gold buttons from Lord Nelson's second-best uniform coat, he cannot be topped.

In Jonathans Gash's The Ten Word Game, Lovejoy is hiding out from the law in a port city far from London. By a ruse, he is shanghaied aboard a luxurious cruise ship on its way to Russia. There a group of schemers feed him well, but hold him prisoner because they need his talents for their daring plan. They intend to steal Russia's legendary "amber room," wall panels and all, and sell it for ransom back in the U.K.

[sufue]

Nicholas Meyer has written seven Sherlock Holmes books in fifty years (!!!), starting with The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, which won the 1975 Gold Dagger Award. Now the second book, The West End Horror, is on sale at Kindle US for $2.99. It's not on sale at Kobo US, at least as of now, but could probably be price-matched.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RYSNQY8
Kobo US (for price-check/match): https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-west-end-horror-1

Spoiler:

March 1895. London. A month of strange happenings in the West End. First there is the bizarre murder of theater critic Jonathan McCarthy. Then the lawsuit against the Marquess of Queensberry for libel; the public is scandalized. Next, the ingenue at the Savoy is discovered with her throat slashed. And a police surgeon disappears, taking two corpses with him.

Some of the theater district's most fashionable and creative luminaries have been involved: a penniless stage critic and writer named Bernard Shaw; Ellen Terry, the gifted and beautiful actress; a suspicious box office clerk named Bram Stoker; an aging matinee idol, Henry Irving; an unscrupulous publisher calling himself Frank Harris; and a controversial wit by the name of Oscar Wilde.

Scotland Yard is mystified by what appear to be unrelated cases, but to Sherlock Holmes the matter is elementary: a maniac is on the loose. His name is Jack.

[sufue]

Six years later, Dress Her in Indigo is $1.99 again in the US. The links are still good...

Originally Posted by sufue

Another rare and short-lived price drop on a Travis McGee title, by John D MacDonald...

Dress Her in Indigo is the 11th in the series and has dropped to $1.99 today as part of the US Kindle Daily Deal, matched at Kobo US.

The McGee titles are normally ridiculously expensive, in the US at least, but as I've looked back over the last couple of years, they seem to have been going on sale, very briefly, one-by-one, every few months, without many (or any?) repeats. So, all of this is a long winded way of saying, grab it immediately if you want it. No hesitation, do not pass Go, just grab it .

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/Dress-Her-Ind...dp/B008WOO7FK/
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dress-her-in-indigo

[sufue]

Untrue Blue is free right now - the links below are still good. And the more-or-less permanent-freebie first book, Ice Blue, is also still free. Those links are still good too.

Note: I take it back - Untrue Blue doesn't seem to be free at Kindle UK, at least yet. It is showing as free for me at Kobo UK. It's quite odd for something to go free at Kobo UK before Kindle UK, but...

Originally Posted by sufue

Emma Jameson's Untrue Blue is on sale right now in the US ($0.99) and UK (£0.78), and discountable at Kobo. I haven't read this one, but have read and liked all the others in the series...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MSS8GBG
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/untrue-blue
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09MSS8GBG
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/untrue-blue


And the first book in the series, Ice Blue, has really become almost a permanent freebie, except not at Kobo UK right now...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004UB0WTY
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/ice-blue
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004UB0WTY
Kobo UK (for price-check): https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/ice-blue

[sufue]

It's 92 ºF right now in the middle of July in Los Angeles.* But for some reason 😁, Minotaur Books thought it was a good time to put the most recent (2024) Meg Langslow holiday mystery on sale.* Maybe they thought we need to be able to daydream of coolness?* *In any case, Rockin' Around the Chickadee by Donna Andrews is the thirty-sixth in the series, and it's $2.99 at Kindle US right now.* Sadly it's not on sale at Kobo US, but probably can be price-matched.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQHNB752
Kobo US (price-check): https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/roc...-the-chickadee

Spoiler:

Bells are ringing and alarms are sounding in Donna Andrews' latest cheery addition in the New York Times bestselling Meg Langslow series.

Meg's sister-in-law, Delaney, is pregnant. Since her due date is on or around Christmas Day, this is putting a bit of a damper on the usual holiday festivities. Meg and Michael are NOT hosting the usual house full of relatives and parties. Instead, Meg, along with her mother, her grandmother, her cousin Rose Noire, and her good friend Caroline, are militantly doing everything they can think of to keep Delaney quiet and healthy. All the relatives are farmed out to friends and neighbors; all the parties are being held somewhere else; and while Delaney is bored and mutinous, she's doing well, and they're managing to maintain a serene, peaceful environment for her . . . until a body is found in Meg and Michael's yard.

The body turns out to be an attendee at Presumed Innocent, a nearby conference that Meg’s grandmother has organized. Some of the attendees want to learn how to exonerate a friend or family members who has been unjustly convicted, while the rest are avid true crime aficionados. And since the dead guy has been very vocal about his belief that most actual and would-be exonerees are guilty, guilty GUILTY!, nearly everyone at the conference dislikes him. But would any of them hate him enough to kill him? And can Meg still keep Delaney calm in the middle of a murder investigation, all while trying to catch the killer?

[sufue]

Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd is $1.99 in the US right now.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BAU2KSI
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/thr...cat-hath-mew-d

Originally Posted by sufue

Two titles in the Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley have dropped to £0.99. I have read and quite enjoyed most of the titles in this series.

[edited other book]

Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd, #8
link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thrice-Brin...dp/B010RIDG7S/

[sufue]

Freedom's Ghost by Eliot Pattison is the seventh and most recent in his Duncan McCallum/Bone Rattler series, set during the run-up to the American Revolution. It's on sale right now in both the US and UK. I've read a couple of other books in this series and liked them, and am also a fan of Pattison's Shan Tao Yun series.

Kindle US, $1.99: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BT926354
Kobo US, $1.99: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/freedom-s-ghost
Kindle UK, £0.74: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BT926354
Kobo UK, £0.99, discountable with VIP/coupon code: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/freedom-s-ghost

Spoiler:

As the drumbeat of the American Revolution grows ever closer, Scotsman-turned-American-patriot Duncan McCallum must navigate treacherous cultural and political waters if he’s to secure a fighting chance for the fledgling nation in this gripping installment of the acclaimed Bone Rattler series

After narrowly avoiding death in London at the hands of the king’s secret agents, Duncan McCallum returns to colonial America only to discover that his troubles have followed him across the Atlantic.

The harbor town of Marblehead, Massachusetts, is a smoldering powder keg as British loyalists and advocates for liberty feverishly maneuver to determine the future of the colonies. When a Native American sailor is scapegoated for the gruesome murders of officers of the British occupation troops, McCallum will have to face off against ruthless adversaries close to the crown. Soliciting the assistance of such notable historical figures as John Hancock, Crispus Attucks, and John and Samuel Adams, McCallum must rely on his skills in science, subterfuge, and diplomacy to stave off a war for which America is not yet prepared.

Just as Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander series took readers on a thrilling journey through the Napoleonic Wars, Freedom’s Ghost and the Bone Rattler series offer riveting historical adventures embedding readers in the clashes and intrigue of the American Revolution.

[Mort1997]

Originally Posted by sufue

Untrue Blue is free right now - the links below are still good. And the more-or-less permanent-freebie first book, Ice Blue, is also still free. Those links are still good too.

Note: I take it back - Untrue Blue doesn't seem to be free at Kindle UK, at least yet. It is showing as free for me at Kobo UK. It's quite odd for something to go free at Kobo UK before Kindle UK, but...

Untrue Blue is now free on Amazon UK- See Sufue's post for the link

[sufue]

Several books in Shirley Rousseau Murphy's Joe Grey and Dulcie series are on sale right now in the US and UK. $1.99 in the US, £1.59 at Kindle UK unless otherwise indicated, and £1.99 (but discountable) at Kobo UK.

Cat Spitting Mad, #6
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000W914OK
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cat-spitting-mad-5
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000W914OK
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/cat-spitting-mad-5

Cat Laughing Last, #7
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000W916G6
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cat-laughing-last-5
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000W916G6
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/cat-laughing-last-5

Cat Seeing Double, #8
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000W9654Y
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cat-seeing-double-5
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000W9654Y
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/cat-seeing-double-5

Cat Fear No Evil, #9
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000W9666G
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cat-fear-no-evil-5
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000W9666G
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/cat-fear-no-evil-5

Cat Deck the Halls, #13
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000W916DO
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cat-deck-the-halls

Cat Bearing Gifts, #18
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007HBGMJI
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cat-bearing-gifts-4
Kindle UK, £1.99: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007HBGMJI
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/cat-bearing-gifts-4

Cat Chase the Moon, #21
Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074SJFG7D
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/cat-chase-the-moon

And, yeah, I should have just done webpage links, but I got started and then just kept noticing more, so here they all are individually. I clearly never heard of the sunk cost fallacy .

[Cactus Chef]

Butter by Asako Yuzuki is $2 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)

The cult Japanese bestseller about a female gourmet cook and serial killer, and the journalist intent on cracking her case, inspired by a true story

There are two things that I simply cannot tolerate: feminists and margarine

Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in the Tokyo Detention House convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen, whom she is said to have seduced with her delicious home cooking. The case has captured the nation’s imagination, but Kajii refuses to speak with the press, entertaining no visitors. That is until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew, and Kajii can’t resist writing back.

Rika, the only woman in her news office, works late each night, rarely cooking more than ramen. As the visits unfold between her and the steely Kajii, they are closer to a master class in food than journalistic research. Rika hopes this gastronomic exchange will help her soften Kajii, but it seems that Rika might be the one changing. Do she and Kajii have more in common than she once thought?

Inspired by the real case of a convicted con woman and serial killer—the “Konkatsu Killer”—Asako Yuzuki’s Butter is a vivid, unsettling exploration of misogyny, obsession, romance, and the transgressive pleasures of food in Japan.

No idea if it's any good or not. I saw it on a table of new books at BAM! yesterday, and then happened to see it on sale when looking through Kobo's list this morning.

[sufue]

I've had an eye on the Harrie McKinsey mysteries for a while, for no better reason than that they are set in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and a good chunk of my family is from New Mexico. Now the first one, The Easter Egg Murder, is free at all the usual places, so I will get a chance to see if I like the short four-book series. (Yes, there are four books in the series, even if the webpage tries to say there are three.) I already know I hate the cover, and am not wild about parts of the blurb, but hopefully the book is better . In any case, it's free, so I can just delete if I DNF...

Oh, and the author is Patricia Smith Wood.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRXZWLZJ
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-easter-egg-murder
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CRXZWLZJ
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-easter-egg-murder

Spoiler:

In a mystery inspired by a historical murder, best friends become amateur sleuths when a senator’s memoir reveals secrets someone would kill to keep quiet.

Why was a US senator suddenly writing a book about an unsolved murder that happened fifty years ago? Dynamic duo Harrie McKinsey and Ginger Vaughn know the story is bound to stir up trouble, especially since the ruthless killing on Easter Sunday in 1950 led to the end of illegal casinos in New Mexico. Eager to tell the tale, the two ambitious editors take on the high profile project. But just moments after the Albuquerque press announces the news of the senator’s upcoming exposé, a person closely connected to the case is killed, and another narrowly escapes death.

Suddenly Harrie and Ginger are not just editing the story but racing to get to the bottom of it. Uncovering the clues pits Ginger against her overprotective husband, and Harrie against an attractive FBI agent who would prefer she keep her pretty nose out of it. But Harrie is having mysterious dreams about the murder victims, so she feels an urgency to stay on the case, even if it means confronting a cold-blooded killer intent on silencing Harrie and Ginger forever.

[Quoth]

UK Amazon currently £9.70 (logged in on Chromium and Vivaldi on two different accounts), but showing free not logged in on Firefox. However, on logging into Firefox (which needed OTP again, though I checked no last time) the price changed from free to £9.70. Reverts to £0.00 (free) if I log out.

UK Kobo is free even when logged in.