FREE/BARGAIN - Mystery, Suspense, Thriller - 2014

[ATDrake]

Free from the author via KDP Select @ Amazon:

Thursday's Orchid by Robert Mitchell, some kind of marijuana-smuggling disaster thriller, originally out from Queensland-based small publisher Boolarong Press in 1994.

“Marijuana!” he burst out as soon as the others had moved away. “We move fifty tonnes of marijuana out of Australia!”
[excerpted conversation redacted]
He leaned back into the armchair, smiling like the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland.

It was weeks later that I was to question that grin, but not until after the killing had started, not until the waves had begun crashing into the stern of the ship, the salt spray covering the decks, the hull grinding, tearing itself upon the coral.

Not until terror had taken hold!

[Hampshire Nanny]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Bargain @ slightly higher price points from Soho (the rest of their catalogue seems to start at $7 CAD, with most titles in the $12+ CAD range, and they're couponable, so I'm considering these the cheap deals):

• $2.99: Maisie Dobbs by Agatha Award-winner Jacqueline Winspear (SYKM, Wikipedia), 1st in the eponymous series starring a psychologist/investigator in Britain in the 1920s/30s, which apparently involves some treatment of post-WWI issues as well. These seem to be not only very popular, but also very highly rated, with SYKM listing 2 Awards (Agatha & Macavity) won for this 1st novel, along with additional 4 Finalist nods (Anthony, Edgar, Barry, & Dilys Awards). And many of the other books in the series have similar multiple nominations.
  
  NB: the Amazon blurb refers to a 10th anniversary outroduction from the author which only exists in the paperback, and cannot be found in the TOC listing in the sample of this ebook version.

The Maisie Dobbs series is amazing! I'm anxiously waiting for A Dangerous Place, due out in March 2015.

[ATDrake]

^

Thanks for the Maisie Dobbs recommend. I was kind of wavering, since $2.99 is a bit higher than Soho's other current discount sale titles and my usual impulse-buy threshold for things that aren't of compelling interest to my tastes (I'm not usually really into the kind of "traditional" British cozy-ish mysteries that the series seemed like).

But I think I'll splurge and give this first one a try, since it's reasonably cheap and couponable (and sales might encourage Soho to lower the prices on some of their other books that I want ). That many award committees probably can't be overly wrong…

Also bargain @ $1.99 from Soho (couponable @ Kobo, price should be matched in the usual Canada & US stores, maybe in other regions, etc.):

Viral by James Lilliefors (SYKM), 1st in his John & Charles Mallory series of espionage thrillers starring brothers who are an investigative reporter and a former CIA operative, respectively.

Two brothers race to stop a political mastermind's massive bioterrorist plot in this terrifying espionage thriller.

In remote pockets of the Third World, a deadly virus is quietly sweeping through impoverished farming villages and shanty towns with frightening speed and potency. Meanwhile, in Washington, a three-word message left in a safe-deposit box may be the key to stopping the crisis—if, that is, Charles Mallory, a private intelligence contractor and former CIA operative, can decipher the puzzle before time runs out.

What Mallory begins to discover are the traces of a secret war, with a bold objective—to create a new, technologically advanced society. With the help of his brother Jon, an investigative reporter, can he break the story to the world before it is too late—before a planned “humane depopulation” takes place?

As the stakes and strategies of this secret war become more evident, the Mallory brothers find themselves in a complex game of wits with an enemy they can’t see: a new sort of superpower led by a brilliant, elusive tactician who believes that ends justify means.

[Lynx-lynx]

Originally Posted by Hampshire Nanny

The Maisie Dobbs series is amazing! I'm anxiously waiting for A Dangerous Place, due out in March 2015.

Me too!!!

[Catlady]

Here's a negative vote on Maisie Dobbs. I plodded through three or four of them before I decided no, not for me. I just couldn't warm up to the character.

I'd say go with Charles Todd's Bess Crawford series instead--Bess is also a WWI nurse.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Here's a negative vote on Maisie Dobbs. I plodded through three or four of them before I decided no, not for me. I just couldn't warm up to the character.

I'd say go with Charles Todd's Bess Crawford series instead--Bess is also a WWI nurse.

I think Maisie Dobbs is dreadful. The first few books weren't that bad, but they're chockful of solecisms and Maisie is perhaps the most humorless heroine in fiction.

OTOH, I also don't like Todd's Bess Crawford, but I like their Ian Rutledge series.

[Lynx-lynx]

Well we've got a mixed bunch of reviews between us, and perhaps as one would expect that's as it should be.

Unfortunately I couldn't get past about page 20 of Charles Todd's Unmarked Grave (No 1 in the Crawford series). My Calibre comments (to self) include: author tries to find the right tone - unsuccessfully; a bit too lolly poppy (heavens knows what I meant?!?!).

[pendragginp]

I couldn't read the Maisie Dobb books either.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Lynx-lynx

Well we've got a mixed bunch of reviews between us, and perhaps as one would expect that's as it should be.

Unfortunately I couldn't get past about page 20 of Charles Todd's Unmarked Grave (No 1 in the Crawford series). My Calibre comments (to self) include: author tries to find the right tone - unsuccessfully; a bit too lolly poppy (heavens knows what I meant?!?!).

Number one in the Bess Crawford series is Duty to the Dead; Unmarked Grave (which I haven't read yet) is number 4.

I listened to the audiobook versions of the first three Bess Crawfords; that may have influenced my enjoyment of them.

[sufue]

Another Joseph Flynn title is on Kindle US Countdown. The President's Henchman is at $1.99 for about six more days, before going up to $4.99. It's the first in the Jim McGill series, whose premise seems sort of amusing - he's the private eye husband of the first female US President. The cover makes it look a little more thriller-ish than I usually read, but I like the premise, and it's the first in the series, so I'll probably give it a try.

link: http://www.amazon.com/Presidents-Hen.../dp/B00DPYK8KK
blurb:

Spoiler:

According to the polls, it's only a matter of time — and not that long a time — before the United States elects its first female president. Which will make her husband — what?

Well, if he's the ex-cop who solved the murder of the president's first husband and brought the killers to justice … and if he's not the kind of guy to stand on formality … and if he doesn't want to be the head of the FBI … and if he takes out a license and becomes the first private eye to live in the White House …

That would make him The President's Henchman.

Jim McGill's first case is to find out who is stalking a member of the White House press corps, before that stalker turns the tables on McGill and maybe even threatens the president herself. He also has to be a shadow advisor to a young Air Force investigator who is looking into a he-said she-said charge of adultery leveled against a female colonel working at the Pentagon, a case with the potential to derail the new president's administration before it has a chance to begin.

Originally Posted by sufue

And a few other Kindle US Countdown Deals from other presses/authors:

The Burglar Who Counted the Spoons by Lawrence Block is the 11th in the Bernie Rhodenbarr series. It's a repeat countdown deal (or at least a repeat on sale, because I have it), and is $1.99 for about one more day, before going up to $2.99 for an unknown length of time. It looks as if it may be self-pubbed since it lists Block as the publisher, but I've read and enjoyed it, along with most of the rest of this series, so I'm posting anyway.
link: http://www.amazon.com/Burglar-Counte.../dp/B00G2K8IPQ
blurb:


One False Step is, according to SYKM, a non-series title by Joseph Flynn. It's at $1.99 for almost four more days before going up to $3.99.
link: http://www.amazon.com/One-False-Step.../dp/B004YQCPHW
blurb:

P.S. I couldn't get into Maisie Dobbs either...

[ATDrake]

Free from the author via KDP Select @ Amazon:

Enter Second Murderer by Alanna Knight (SYKM), 1st in her long-running Inspector Faro series of murder mysteries set in 19th century Edinburgh, this one originally out from Macmillan in 1988.

'The Gruesome Convent Murders'

Prime suspects are a fanatical nun, an aristocratic hermit and a public schoolboy in a chronicle of terror, betrayal, greed and violence. As this sensational case for which the murderer has been executed is reopened when a second victim is claimed, D.I Faro is drawn into the shady underworld beyond Victorian middle-class Edinburgh's theatres and salons.

As for Maisie Dobbs, I've decided to give them a try from the library, since as I've mentioned, trad-cozy-ish British mysteries aren't my usual cup of tea. If it turns out I like the 1st one, I'll buy it at the sale price to encourage them to discount more; if not, I'll only be out a few hours of my time.

[ATDrake]

Bargain @ $2.99 for Canadians only from Simon & Schuster's Touchstone imprint (non-couponable; linkage goes to Kobo, should be price-matched in the usual Canadian stores, was $12 in the US when I checked):

Death of a Patriot by Don Gutteridge (Wikipedia), the recently-published 6th and latest in his Marc Edwards series of historical military/legal murder mysteries set in pre-Confederation Canada, where the tensions between the UK and US are still going on over the colonial borders, starring the titular officer-turned-lawyer.

Gutteridge is a prize-winning poet and we've previously gotten one of his other novels free during Read an Ebook Week from Canadian specialty backlist re-publisher Bev Editions and historical mysteries with actual history in them are my 2nd favourite subgenre and these have a whole bunch of blurb praise from Canadian newspapers and literature review outlets, so I snapped this one up. Also, the others in the series are priced at $10-$17 in Canada, so this is dirt-cheap, considering and I hope they put the rest of them on sale at some point.

ETA: here's a bit of a non-spoilery article w/interview-ette that gives an overview of the series and a few quotes from Gutteridge on its origins and his historical research for and approach towards it. Apparently the word "detective" post-dates the setting of the series by 6 years, so he couldn't use it.

As the winter cold settles over Upper and Lower Canada, sparks still fly between the provinces. But while the fate of the colony is debated in the British parliament, a more pressing danger threatens the fledgling state: American militia is raiding across the border, intent on annexing the Canadian provinces by any means necessary.

Following a battle along the border, a high-ranking American officer is wounded and captured. Brought back to Toronto, he is scheduled to be tried and executed in order to send a message to the encroaching Americans. The American colonel has a penchant for showmanship, and trouble always follows closely in his wake. But the American colonel’s boasts of escape and revenge are cut short when he is poisoned in his cell.

All fingers point to Billy McNair, a young Canadian militia officer and the same man who saved the American colonel from dying from his wounds on the battlefield. Into this turmoil steps Marc Edwards, a decorated army officer who has traded his military uniform for a lawyer’s robes. Marc is convinced that the accused is innocent, and so, with the aid of Constable Cobb, he sets forth to track down the killer.

But the investigation is nowhere near straightforward. Spies are everywhere, spreading lies and half-truths, and everyone has an agenda, some personal and some political. With time running out and the ever-present threat of attack from a foreign army looming, Marc must rely on his every skill to secure a future not only for his friend, but for his entire country.

[Lynx-lynx]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

... As for Maisie Dobbs, I've decided to give them a try from the library, since as I've mentioned, trad-cozy-ish British mysteries aren't my usual cup of tea. If it turns out I like the 1st one, I'll buy it at the sale price to encourage them to discount more; if not, I'll only be out a few hours of my time.

I definitely wouldn't place the series in the trad-cozy-ish British mysteries. The books are rather dark, and speak of hard times and situations.

[Lynx-lynx]

Originally Posted by Catlady

Number one in the Bess Crawford series is Duty to the Dead; Unmarked Grave (which I haven't read yet) is number 4.

I listened to the audiobook versions of the first three Bess Crawfords; that may have influenced my enjoyment of them.

oops .... it's definitely number 4.

[Wearever]

I am enjoying the back & forth banter, about the Maisie Dobbs & Bess Crawford series

I have read a couple each and have liked them. Although I like the Rutledge series best. I must confess that the first Maisie Dobbs, ( The one on sale now ) is not one I want to read. Lol. Only because I don't want to go back that far in her history. I only started to read her books with the 3rd one. I know it's a good book, but I feel that I have met her character as an adult, and she has moved on.

This always happens to me when I miss the first couple books Then of course they go on sale.