FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

[graycyn]

Originally Posted by sufue

Some Buried Caesar is the sixth Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin book, which starts off with a truly wonderful scene in a pasture, which I still remember, even though I haven't read the book in years. It's on sale right now in the US and UK.

I started this series last summer, having picked up the first three books fairly cheaply. Tonight I picked up 4, 5, and 6 thanks to you! Sadly, my library has very few, and those are well down the road in the series.

[GA Russell]

Two Complete Detective Books Magazine
March, 1948

Mr. & Mrs. North
Death of a Tall Man
by Frances and Richard Lockridge

also

Killer in the Kitchen
by Franklin James

$1.99

https://www.radioarchives.com/Two_Co...8_p/re1093.htm

[salty-horse]

The Samurai Detectives (The Samurai Detectives #1) by Shotaro Ikenami is £1 in the UK (Kobo, Amazon)

Shogun meets Sherlock Holmes! Over 24 million copies have been sold of this beloved samurai adventure

It has been half a year since Akiyama Daijiro became a samurai; half a year since he left his father Kohei – once the most skilled swordsman in the land – to set up his own blade school by the cool of the river. Ever since, amid the swaying bamboo groves, he waits patiently for his first disciple.

But his serenity is soon disrupted by the visit of a mysterious samurai with an unhonourable offer: in exchange for a vast sum of gold, he must attack and injure the daughter of the Shogun’s most senior counsellor. Troubled by the proposal, Daijiro, alongside his father and Mifuyu, a female warrior without match, soon set out into the underworld of Edo-era Japan to uncover the conspiracy, before quickly finding themselves embroiled in a series of increasingly perilous adventures . . .

Widely considered to be the greatest work by Shotaro Ikenami, the master of Japanese historical fiction, The Samurai Detectives is a twisting, page-turning portrayal of one of the most intriguing, evocative periods in the history of Japan.

[sufue]

Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin books go on sale rarely, but many (most? all?) eventually do go on sale. But a lot of patience - like years of patience - is required. There are several folks on here who are fans, so the sales prices usually get posted. But who wants to wait, especially with such a great series

FWIW, I read the series a lot out of order, whenever I could find them in used book stores (remember those?), and to me, at least, it only occasionally mattered.

Originally Posted by graycyn

I started this series last summer, having picked up the first three books fairly cheaply. Tonight I picked up 4, 5, and 6 thanks to you! Sadly, my library has very few, and those are well down the road in the series.

[sufue]

The Charity Shop Detective Agency is the first in the The Charity Shop Detective Agency series by Peter Boland. It's free right now at Kindle US and UK as Joffe's free mystery of the weekend. But not for much longer, since it's already Sunday...

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BLZK87JF
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BLZK87JF

Spoiler:

PUT THE KETTLE ON AND DISCOVER AN UTTERLY CHARMING NEW COZY MURDER MYSTERY SET IN A SLEEPY ENGLISH SEASIDE TOWN.

Fiona, Sue and Daisy, three retired ladies who volunteer at the local charity shop, Dogs Need Nice Homes, can’t believe their favourite customer is dead.

Eighty-six-year-old Sarah Brown was found murdered in her hallway by her delivery man, a domino clutched in her hand — with a name scratched on it.

When another person is found dead with a domino in their hand, and with the police making no progress, the ladies will need to help unmask a serial killer. But at least they have Fiona’s scruffy-haired terrier cross to assist them.

With plenty of tea and cake along the way, and despite squabbles with their rivals, the Cats Alliance across the street, the Charity Shop Detective Agency is born.

[sufue]

I read most or all of Valerie Wolzien's Susan Henshaw cozy series back as they were coming out in paperback. It was one of the earlier cozy series I read, and I have fond, if indistinct, memories of it. (I was in/just finished graduate school at the time, and I wanted any rare recreational reading I could indulge in to be very non-demanding...)

Now Joffe has an omnibus of all sixteen books in the series on sale for $2.99/£1.99 in the US/UK. And for once, based on a spot-check, it seems they haven't changed the titles. Which is nice!

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GGHWNLPW
Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0GGHWNLPW

Spoiler:

GET THE *COMPLETE* SERIES OF 16 WITTY COZY MYSTERIES IN THIS GREAT-VALUE BOX SET.

‘Valerie Wolzien shows a nice writing style and considerable wit . . . She weaves a clean, believable, subtly humorous tale.’ Chicago Tribune

WHERE MANNERS MEET MURDER . . .

In a town of polished driveways, manicured lawns and country club terraces, trouble rarely bubbles. That is until the chairman of the fundraising committee is killed at a PTA luncheon. The first murder that Hancock, Connecticut, has seen in centuries.

Housewife Susan Henshaw does not mean to get involved. Years in Hancock have made her sensitive to the way committees work, friendships falter, and civility conceals more than it reveals. She knows this world inside out. When she sees what the police seem to miss – she’s unwilling to look away.

From a poisoned canapé to bodies discovered at parties, vacations and weddings, Susan’s ordinary life becomes an unlikely backdrop for extraordinary crimes.

Perfect for fans of Joanne Fluke, Robert Thorogood, Fiona Leitch, Peter Boland, Sarah Yarwood-Lovett, Richard Osman, and Dee MacDonald.

MEET SUSAN HENSHAW
Susan Henshaw is not a detective, and she never wanted to be one. She is a wife, a mother, and, more importantly, a long-term observer of suburban life. Living with her husband Jed, she balances domestic life with school events and committee duties. When murder intrudes on her home life and social calendar, Susan finds herself unable to stand aside.

THE SETTING
Hancock, Connecticut is a town of immaculate homes, tree-lined streets and carefully maintained routines. Life revolves around schools, clubs, social events and seasonal traditions. To the untrained eye, all seems as it should. But beneath the polished surfaces and polite conversations lie rivalries and quiet resentments. The perfect conditions for secrets to fester, and for murder to arrive where it is least expected.

[sufue]

Murder at the Pyramids is the twelfth and most recent (2025) in Jim Eldridge's Museum Mysteries series, at least until a new one comes out in October. I'm a sucker for mysteries about or set in Egypt, so I'm happy to see this one on sale for £0.99 in the UK, and discountable at Kobo UK.

Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FJS6WNL2
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/murder-at-the-pyramids

Spoiler:

January 1901. Abigail and Daniel Wilson, often lauded as 'The Museum Detectives', are on their way to the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza. Their explorations of the pyramid, including the Robbers' Tunnel, take a very sinister turn when they come upon the dead body of a man who has been brutally garrotted. Investigations by the local police reveal him to be Simeon McGruder, a wealthy American who is financing an excavation of the pyramids. When Daniel and Abigail return to Cairo they are asked by the American Embassy if they can take on the case, but they have a difficult path to tread as they try to keep different factions onside: the British and American authorities, the puppet Egyptian Government and officials, while at the same time facing lies and deviousness from McGruder's associates and friends.

[Apache]

Originally Posted by salty-horse

The Samurai Detectives (The Samurai Detectives #1) by Shotaro Ikenami is £1 in the UK (Kobo, Amazon)

Thank you for this. I took a virtual trip and picked it up from kobo.
Apache

[Apache]

Originally Posted by sufue

Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin books go on sale rarely, but many (most? all?) eventually do go on sale. But a lot of patience - like years of patience - is required. There are several folks on here who are fans, so the sales prices usually get posted. But who wants to wait, especially with such a great series

FWIW, I read the series a lot out of order, whenever I could find them in used book stores (remember those?), and to me, at least, it only occasionally mattered.

When I first read them, they were out of order. I also haunted used bookstores to pick them up. It never bothered me that I was reading them out of order. After I had all of them, I did read them in order. It did help when Archie referred to previous cases.
Apache

[issybird]

Originally Posted by sufue

Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin books go on sale rarely, but many (most? all?) eventually do go on sale. But a lot of patience - like years of patience - is required. There are several folks on here who are fans, so the sales prices usually get posted. But who wants to wait, especially with such a great series

FWIW, I read the series a lot out of order, whenever I could find them in used book stores (remember those?), and to me, at least, it only occasionally mattered.

I thought I'd make sure that all the Wolfe fans here are aware of The Nero Wolfe Cookbook, which has recipes for all the dishes mentioned in the books (except for the last one or two) with citations. Tons of fun. Alas, not available as an ebook. I picked up my Viking paperback decades ago.

And I, too, read the books out of order. Back in the day, you pretty much had to with long-running series. Which is why I can't fetishize starting with the first book in a series now. Sometimes you're better off anyway once the author's found his feet.

[graycyn]

Originally Posted by Apache

When I first read them, they were out of order. I also haunted used bookstores to pick them up. It never bothered me that I was reading them out of order. After I had all of them, I did read them in order. It did help when Archie referred to previous cases.
Apache

Well, I guess I will pick them up as I see sales and not worry too much. It's not like I don't have tons of reading material. But yeah, I enjoy these, so they might be my little guilty pleasure, to grab a few each month.

[BetterRead]

Originally Posted by sufue

Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin books go on sale rarely, but many (most? all?) eventually do go on sale. But a lot of patience - like years of patience - is required. There are several folks on here who are fans, so the sales prices usually get posted. But who wants to wait, especially with such a great series

FWIW, I read the series a lot out of order, whenever I could find them in used book stores (remember those?), and to me, at least, it only occasionally mattered.

I've read a lot of the Nero Wolfe mysteries over the years and the only time I recall order mattering is with the so-called "Zeck Trilogy": And Be a Villain, The Second Confession, and In the Best of Families. They were written and published in fairly quick succession (1948-1950), with only a couple of the 3 novella collections between them.

[Apache]

I plan on reading In the Best of Families as an audiobook in the next week or so.
Apache

[salty-horse]

Has a bit of SF&F, by a genre author, but this is mostly a historical true crime mystery.
A Granite Silence by Nina Allan is £4 in the UK (Kobo, Amazon)
Was on my wishlist.

LONGLISTED FOR THE BRITISH SCIENCE FICTION ASSOCIATION AWARDS 2026

A Granite Silence is an exploration - a journey through time to a particular house, in a particular street, Urquhart Road, Aberdeen in 1934, where eight-year-old Helen Priestly lives with her mother and father.

Among this long, grey corridor of four-storey tenements, a daunting expanse of granite, working families are squashed together like pickled herrings in their narrow flats. Here are Helen's neighbours: the Topps, the Josses, the Mitchells, the Gordons, the Donalds, the Coulls and the Hunts.

Returning home from school for her midday meal, Helen is sent by her mother Agnes to buy a loaf from the bakery at the end of the street. Agnes never sees her daughter alive again.

Nina Allan explores the aftermath of Helen's disappearance, turning a probing eye to the close-knit neighbourhood - where everyone knows everyone, at least by sight - and with subtlety and sympathy, explores the intricate layers of truth and falsehood that can coexist in one moment of history.

Full of echoes, allusions and eerie diversions, A Granite Silence is an investigation into a notorious true crime case, but also a stylish, imaginative inquiry into who gets to tell a story, how it is told, and why***.***