FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

[ZodWallop]

The first two Simon Ark collections by Edward D. Hoch are on sale. These are stories that originally appeared in the mystery pulps. I first heard of them via the Paperback Warrior podcast. I think the blog does a better job of explaining the stories than I would. TLDR - These are mysteries that may or may not have a supernatural angle to them. That is always left up to the reader.

Simon Ark may or may not be a 2,000 year old occult detective who is endlessly searching for Satan. He teams with an unnamed narrator who normally presents each Simon Ark story in first-person perspective. These stories have Ark and the narrator somewhere on Earth investigating a weird menace that typically has more in common with crime-fiction than the supernatural. But, Hoch writes the stories subjectively with the reader still thinking something creepy really happened long after the last page is read. That is sort of the Ark gimmick with these tales.

The first collection is City of Brass: And Other Simon Ark Stories. $2 at Amazon, full price at Kobo

The second collection is The Quests of Simon Ark: And Other Stories. $2 at Amazon and Kobo.

[GA Russell]

Speaking of Hugh Pentecost, here is a novelet called Cancelled in Red.

Triple Detective Magazine
Fall, 1949

Three novelets plus five short stories.

$1.99

https://www.radioarchives.com/Triple...l_p/re1349.htm

[salty-horse]

Never Flinch (Holly Gibney #4) by Stephen King is $3 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)

From Stephen King, “a writer of towering brilliance” (The Spectator), a “cinematic, brilliant” (The New York Times) psychological thriller exploring vigilante justice and a diabolical serial killer—featuring the beloved Holly Gibney and a dynamic new cast of characters.

When the Buckeye City Police Department receives a disturbing letter from a person threatening to “kill thirteen innocents and one guilty” in “an act of atonement for the needless death of an innocent man,” Detective Izzy Jaynes has no idea what to think. Are fourteen citizens about to be slaughtered in an unhinged act of retribution? Izzy turns to her friend Holly Gibney for help.

Meanwhile, controversial and outspoken women’s rights activist Kate McKay is embarking on a multi-state lecture tour, drawing packed venues of both fans and detractors. Someone who vehemently opposes Kate’s message of female empowerment is targeting her, disrupting her events, and growing bolder. Holly is hired to be Kate’s bodyguard—a challenging task with a headstrong employer and a determined adversary driven by wrath and his belief in his own righteousness.

Featuring a riveting cast of characters, including world-famous gospel singer Sista Bessie and an unforgettable villain addicted to murder, King’s twinned narratives converge in a chilling and spectacular conclusion—a feat of storytelling only this master of suspense and horror could pull off.

[sufue]

A Murder in Springtime is the most recent (2026) in Martin Walker's generally excellent IMO Bruno series. It's £0.99 in the UK for only a few more hours, if anyone is still up late there .

(I'm sorry to be late with it - I'm seriously, insanely, swamped at work, which is why I haven't been around much - hopefully the swampedness will end at the end of this month, or at worst, the end of October...)

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FK2SB5N2
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/a-murder-in-springtime

Spoiler:

Bruno Courrѐges, chief of police of the Dordogne town of St Denis, is no stranger to murder. But when he receives a phone call from his friend, Pamela, reporting a fatal attack on her newly arrived lodger, Josette Quirit, he is forced to recuse himself from the investigation due to his close ties to the case.

Luckily, he has a project to distract him. For hundreds of years, the market of St. Denis has been the beating heart of the small town. Now, suddenly, customers and stallholders alike have fallen away dramatically. Frustrated with his work - where a new, young detective has been brought in to replace him - Bruno throws himself into breathing new life into his beloved market.

But it's not long before Bruno finds himself caught up in the investigation again when it transpires that Josette is not quite the kindly nurse she first appeared to be...

[sufue]

Almost three years on, A World of Curiosities is £0.99 again in the UK. The links below are still good....

Originally Posted by sufue

A World of Curiosities is the most recent (2022) in Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series, which just keeps winning/being nominated for awards. (Per SYKM, this one won the 2022 Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel, and also was a finalist for a couple of others.) It's £0.99 in the UK right now.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09Z616T5L
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/a-w...-curiosities-3

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by sufue

A Murder in Springtime is the most recent (2026) in Martin Walker's generally excellent IMO Bruno series. It's £0.99 in the UK for only a few more hours, if anyone is still up late there .

(I'm sorry to be late with it - I'm seriously, insanely, swamped at work, which is why I haven't been around much - hopefully the swampedness will end at the end of this month, or at worst, the end of October...)

Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/a-murder-in-springtime

It's still £0.99 at Kobo UK.

[salty-horse]

The Devotion Of Suspect X (Detective Galileo Series) by Keigo Higashino is £1 in the UK (Kobo, Amazon)

Yasuko lives a quiet life, working in a Tokyo bento shop, a good mother to her only child. But when her ex-husband appears at her door without warning one day, her comfortable world is shattered.

When Detective Kusanagi of the Tokyo Police tries to piece together the events of that day, he finds himself confronted by the most puzzling, mysterious circumstances he has ever investigated. Nothing quite makes sense, and it will take a genius to understand the genius behind this particular crime...

One of the biggest-selling Japanese thrillers ever, and the inspiration for a cult film, The Devotion of Suspect X is now being discovered across the world. Its blend of a page-turning story, evocative Tokyo setting and utterly surprising ending make it a must-read for anyone interested in international fiction.

[sufue]

Clete is the next to most recent (2024) in the Dave Robicheaux series by James Lee Burke. It's £0.99 in the UK right now, although probably not for too much longer.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CTJWPSGW
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/clete-1

Spoiler:

In the latest Robicheaux novel, Clete Purcel - veteran, private investigator, and former New Orleans cop - takes centre stage for the first time.
****

Clete Purcel - private investigator, ex-member of the New Orleans Police Department, and war veteran with a hard shell and just a few soft spots - is Dave Robicheaux's longtime friend and partner in detective work. But he has a troubled past.

When Clete leaves his car at the local car wash, only to return to find it ransacked by a group of thugs tied to the drug trade from Mexican cartels to Louisiana, it feels personal - his grandniece died of a fentanyl overdose, and his fists curl when he thinks of the dealers who sold it.

Just as Clete starts to trail the culprits, Clara Bow hires Clete as a detective to investigate her scheming, slippery ex-husband, and a string of brutal deaths all link back to a heavily tattooed man who seems to lurk around every corner. Clete is experiencing shockingly lifelike hallucinations and questioning Clara's ulterior motives when he and Dave start to hear rumors of a dangerous substance with potentially catastrophic effects. The thugs who destroyed his car might have been pawns in a scheme far darker than they could've imagined.

Gripping, violent, yet interlaced with Clete's humor and consistent drive to protect those he loves, Clete brings a fresh perspective to a truly iconic series.

[salty-horse]

Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam is $2 in the US (Kobo, Amazon)

A magnetic novel about two families, strangers to each other, who are forced together on a long weekend gone terribly wrong.

From the bestselling author of Rich and Pretty comes a suspenseful and provocative novel keenly attuned to the complexities of parenthood, race, and class. Leave the World Behind explores how our closest bonds are reshaped—and unexpected new ones are forged—in moments of crisis.

Amanda and Clay head out to a remote corner of Long Island expecting a vacation: a quiet reprieve from life in New York City, quality time with their teenage son and daughter, and a taste of the good life in the luxurious home they’ve rented for the week. But a late-night knock on the door breaks the spell. Ruth and G. H. are an older couple—it’s their house, and they’ve arrived in a panic. They bring the news that a sudden blackout has swept the city. But in this rural area—with the TV and internet now down, and no cell phone service—it’s hard to know what to believe.

Should Amanda and Clay trust this couple—and vice versa? What happened back in New York? Is the vacation home, isolated from civilization, a truly safe place for their families? And are they safe from one other?

[DrNefario]

Strange Buildings by Uketsu is £0.99 on Amazon UK

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FRNFY3H2

I'm assuming it's a monthly deal?

These are mysteries that rely heavily on illustrations, so maybe not well suited to ebooks, but I read the previous books on my iPad with no real problems. And apparently there's an audiobook. I don't know that's going to work.

I enjoyed Strange Pictures and Strange Houses, although I felt the latter took some leaps of logic that weren't really warranted, and I guess Buildings is in the same style, so I'll have to see how I get on with it.

[sufue]

I’m not much of a movie aficionado – I barely watch at home, much less actually go to a movie theater. But a bunch of the films on the Los Angeles Times’ just-published list, The 33 Best LA Crime Movies, Ranked, are adaptations of books I’ve read and liked. And several more are based on books I now intend to read...

I also enjoyed just reading the reviews that comprise most of the article, at least partly because I’m a native Angeleno and have trouble imagining wanting to live anywhere else. But, as the article points out, countless classic pulp mysteries are set in LA, and LA was home base for many of the earliest noir writers, so there’s plenty to enjoy in the list, even if you’re not an Angeleno at heart.

I’m not sure if the article is behind a pay wall since I have a subscription. But if it is, hopefully you can find access through your local library.

Los Angeles Times: https://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...-crime-movies?