FREE/BARGAIN — Mystery, Suspense & Thrillers

[sufue]

I agree that even worse are the "Elizabeth Thatcher" follow-on titles you refer to (there are at least two of them!), which, as you note, purport to be by Emma Lathen, but clearly can't be since Mary Jane Latsis passed away in 1997. I'm guessing that perhaps Deaver Brown got the rights to the name/characters and not just the books - if such a thing is possible? And even more guessing/wild speculation, since you found Harvard in Deaver's past - that maybe he has known Martha Henissart (the surviving author) since mutual Harvard days, so maybe that's how he got the rights? I would have to assume that some other more reputable publishers like Open Road or Poisoned Pen Press or Wildside Press would have tried to get the rights too. (Keep in mind this is total speculation on my part!!!)

Since the Elizabeth Thatcher titles are KU, I started to read one of them, thinking it might be a nice series continuation - along the lines, say, of Robert Goldsborough's continuations of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe series, most of which I've liked. Instead it was so bad (poor writing, huge injection of politics, minimal mystery plot) that I quit and returned it part way through, and I almost never quit part way through.

I did buy Something in the Air at $0.99, to experiment with liberating and reformatting the text, since I would like to have better digital copies of the original books than the pdf scans of ancient brown-paged paperbacks that I made myself. But I'm still debating whether to give this person any more money at all - I may cut off my nose to spite my face since I agree with you and really object to what he has done.

BTW, I assume you are also aware that Latsis and Hennisart wrote a few titles in another series using the pen name RB Dominic? Not available as ebooks, but a few of them are available at fairly reasonable prices as used DTB (and some others are outrageously priced as DTB...).

Originally Posted by disconnected

I wish this series had been acquired by a reputable publisher. The original books always seemed so meticulously researched and written it's awful to see them treated like this. I bought this one book but I don't think I can bear to buy any more of them.

I googled this Deaver Brown person and found this on Smashwords --

"Deaver Brown is a Harvard College Magna graduate in History and a graduate of Harvard Business School. He has been a serial entrepreneur starting with the Umbroller stroller in the 1970s, American Power Conversion in the 1980s, Pride Retail Systems in the 1990s, and Simply Magazine and Products since then. He authored The Entrepreneurs Guide through Macmillan and Ballantine, which later formed the basis of the Simply Business series."

The man has no shame. You'd think he would have expended a little effort in preparing the books before putting his name (prominently) on them.

Edit -- He even seems to have added an additional title not written by the original authors as well as a short book about the "mysterious" authors; the content in the look-inside seems to have been taken directly from news articles written when Mary Jane Latsis died.

[sufue]

Winter Study is the 14th in the Anna Pigeon series by Nevada Barr. It has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle US.

link: https://www.amazon.com/Winter-Study-...dp/B0010SEN40/

Spoiler:

Soon after Anna Pigeon joins the famed wolf study team of Isle Royale National Park in the middle of Lake Superior, the wolf packs begin to behave in peculiar ways. Giant wolf prints are found, and Anna spies the form of a great wolf from a surveillance plane. When a female member of the team is savaged, Anna is convinced they are being stalked, and what was once a beautiful, idyllic refuge becomes a place of unnatural occurrences and danger beyond the ordinary…

[sufue]

I don't think I've ever thanked you, Mort1997 for all the Endeavour Press freebies, so

And especially for all the various international flavors of Amazon links - I am far too lazy to do that, and really appreciate that you do!

Originally Posted by Mort1997

Free on Amazon UK - A Crushing Blow (Anna McColl Mystery Book 3) by Penny Kline

Spoiler:

Psychologist and occasional police consultant Anna McColl needs a holiday...

But murder never takes a vacation…

A middle-aged man is found bludgeoned to death in nearby Leigh Woods and psychologist Anna McColl is shocked at the violence of the crime.

Little does she realize that she’s about to get involved in the case herself …

After delivering a set of psychology lectures, one of the attendees insists that Anna come around to his place and talk to his wife, Geraldine.

Geraldine lives near Leigh Woods and after the murder found that she was too terrified to leave her house, an acute case of agoraphobia.

Against her better judgement, Anna is drawn into Geraldine’s case.

She has no connection with the victim, so why has the incident affected her so profoundly?

Anna agrees to visit with Geraldine while she is on vacation from her regular practice, so only for two weeks.

If Geraldine isn’t cured in two weeks, she must find someone else to help her.

Will Anna be able to help Geraldine in such a short window?

Or will she find out that there is more to the murder in Leigh Woods than anyone thought?

UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crushing-Bl...ndeavour+press

US
https://www.amazon.com/Crushing-Blow...ndeavour+press

Au
https://www.amazon.com.au/Crushing-B...ndeavour+press

Can
https://www.amazon.ca/Crushing-Blow-...ndeavour+press

[sufue]

Nefertiti: The Book of the Dead is the first in the short Rahotep series by Nick Drake. It has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle US.

link: https://www.amazon.com/Nefertiti-Boo...dp/B0014H325S/

Spoiler:

She is Nefertiti—beautiful and revered. With her husband, Akhenaten, she rules over Egypt, the most affluent, formidable, sophisticated empire in the ancient world. But an epic power struggle is afoot, brought on by the royal couple's inauguration of an enlightened new religion and the construction of a magnificent new capital. The priests are stunned by the abrupt forfeiture of their traditional wealth and influence; the people resent the loss of their gods—and the army is enraged by the growing turbulence around them. Then, just days before the festival that will celebrate the new capital, Nefertiti vanishes.

Rahotep, the youngest chief detective in the Thebes division, has earned a reputation for his unorthodox yet effective methods. Entrusted by great Akhenaten himself with a most secret investigation, Rahotep has but ten days to find the missing Queen. If he succeeds, he will bask in the warmth of Akhenaten's favor. But if Rahotep fails, he and his entire family will die.

[Mort1997]

Originally Posted by sufue

Nefertiti: The Book of the Dead is the first in the short Rahotep series by Nick Drake. It has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle US.

link: https://www.amazon.com/Nefertiti-Boo...dp/B0014H325S/

Looks interesting, unfortunately not on offer here

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nefertiti-R...rds=nick+drake

Link attached for those who might be interested (Harry?)

Thanks Sufue for your links - I discover some interesting authors thr' these.

[Cosimo]

Two Dorothy L. Sayers books from the Lord Peter Wimsey series are on sale at Kobo US.

Whose Body (book #1) is $.99 / $.89 for VIP members - LINK


Have His Carcase (book 7) is $1.99 / $1.79 for VIP members - LINK

[Little.Egret]

Free, not US

Anne Belinda: A Golden Age Mystery by Patricia Wentworth

The Annam Jewel: A Golden Age Mystery by Patricia Wentworth

Dead or Alive: A Frank Garrett Mystery by Patricia Wentworth


Not US
https://www.amazon.com/s/?url=search...icia+Wentworth

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?url=sear...icia+Wentworth

https://www.amazon.ca/s/?url=search-...icia+Wentworth

[sufue]

Big Easy Bonanza is an omnibus with three novels (two by Julie Smith and one by Tony Dunbar) and a short story (by Smith). All set, of course, in New Orleans. It has dropped to $0.99 at Amazon US.

The novels/story are:

• New Orleans Mourning (Smith, 1st in Skip Langdon series)
• Louisiana Bigshot (Smith, 2nd in Talba Wallis series)
• Private Chick (short story, Smith, introduces Diva Delish)
• Crooked Man (Dunbar, 1st in Tubby Dubonnet series)

Smith and Dunbar rotate their books through $0.99 pretty often, and long ago used to rotate them through free, so if you've been following these authors for a while check carefully before buying this omnibus. If you're new-ish to ebooks/MR and haven't tried these, this would be a good way to figure out if you like the authors/series. And if you do, with patience, you can probably pick up the rest of the titles inexpensively too...

Per eReaderIQ, the more recent price drops on this haven't lasted very long, so if you want it, grab it.

More info and link in this previous post: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh....php?p=2361912

[sufue]

Scarlet Night is the 2nd in the Julie Hayes series by Dorothy Salisbury Davis. It was one of the Open Road freebies back in December, but if you missed it then, it has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle US now.

link: https://www.amazon.com/Scarlet-Night...dp/B00HWKHRLQ/

Spoiler:

In Grand Master of crime fiction Dorothy Salisbury Davis’s second Julie Hayes mystery, the Manhattan fortune-teller is plunged into a mystery that hinges on a stolen Da Vinci masterwork

It starts innocently enough. Julie Hayes and her husband have just returned to Manhattan from a month in Paris. Julie looks forward to spending quality time with Jeff, whose career as a journalist takes him away from home for months on end. Now if they could just find the perfect work of art to hang over their mantel.

Julie’s quest takes her to a trendy SoHo gallery where she meets an itinerant artist named Ralph Abel. Julie instantly falls in love with one of his paintings, Scarlet Night, and is stunned to discover that itcan be hers—for a mere one hundred dollars. But then the artist disappears and it becomes apparent that somebody else wants the painting . . . and will do whatever it takes to possess it.

Scarlet Night is the second novel in Dorothy Salisbury Davis’s Julie Hayes mystery series, which also includes A Death in the Life, Lullaby of Murder, and The Habit of Fear, as well as the stories “The Puppet” and “Justina” in the collection In the Still of the Night.

[sufue]

The Maggody Militia is the tenth in the Arly Hanks/Maggody series by Joan Hess. It was NOT free back in December, but has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle US now.

link: https://www.amazon.com/Maggody-Milit...dp/B01ENRHK4E/

Spoiler:

In this hilarious cozy mystery, small-town police chief Arly Hanks tries to stop a right-wing militia from turning Maggody into a battlefield.

The sign welcoming travelers to Maggody, Arkansas, reads “Pop. 755,” and don’t expect Hizzoner Jim Bob to repaint it just because there’s someone new in town. The mayor won’t go out of his way for anyone, especially someone wicked—and a woman who would open a pawnshop in Maggody must be very wicked indeed. Kayleen Smeltner decided to open the shop after her husband was killed during a burglary. She came to Maggody expecting peace and quiet, but she’ll find this quaint little patch of nowhere isn’t as peaceful as it seems.

When a right-wing militia takes up residence in the pasture behind the pawnshop, police chief Arly Hanks knows it’s only a matter of time before the bullets start to fly. The strange citizens of Maggody are on the verge of civil war, and it will only take one spark to set the town ablaze.

There’s no politics like small-town politics, and there’s no town on earth like Maggody. This madcap take on right-wing militias is one of Joan Hess’s most topical—and outrageous—mysteries yet.

The Maggody Militia is the 10th book in the Arly Hanks Mysteries, but you may enjoy reading the series in any order.

[maddz]

Originally Posted by sufue

The Maggody Militia is the tenth in the Arly Hanks/Maggody series by Joan Hess. It was NOT free back in December, but has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle US now.

link: https://www.amazon.com/Maggody-Milit...dp/B01ENRHK4E/

US only unfortunately but while checking I spotted that the last Amelia Peabody is finally on pre-order for a July release (Joan Hess is the co-author):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Painted-Que...ords=joan+hess

[rhari79]

There seems to be some sort of sale going on, in Amazon.in Kindle store.

As part of this noticed that Arthur Hailey's Detective and Airport are priced at just 14.80 Rs.
I can see a reduced price in Amazon US too: 0.22$ (easy to find, so not posting links)

Not sure if this has been on for some time, but I noticed this just now and
Since I had some hidden promo cash, it just took me about 10 secs to buy both!

I had already read these a long time back, but well worth another read.

[sufue]

Play Dead is a non-series title by Peter Dickinson. It was one of the Open Road freebies back in December, but if you missed it then, it has dropped to $1.99 at Kindle and Kobo US now, and is couponable/VIPable at Kobo.

Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VSLI6O2
Kobo US: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/play-dead-21

Spoiler:

A London woman taking her grandson to the park finds her lonely life disrupted by murder in this award-winning author’s “gripping thriller” (Reginald Hill).

Poppy Tasker never imagined this would be her life at age fifty: divorced, living alone, and stuck caring for a tiny grandson while his mother is busy seeking public office. Sad and resentful, Poppy feels completely detached from the nannies she’s now forced to associate with when she brings little Toby to the park to play. But her discomfort is replaced by a creeping dread when she notices a stranger watching her and the boy a bit too closely—and her fear turns to near panic when the man tries to follow them home.

The following day, the stalker is found murdered in the park, his corpse decorated in an odd and troubling manner. Poppy’s terror grows as she realizes that she and her innocent grandson have become entangled in something twisted and very dangerous. Then the nanny of one of Toby’s playground friends meets an untimely end—and Poppy realizes that this may only be the beginning.

One of the true greats of contemporary British crime fiction, Peter Dickinson is often compared to luminaries including Ruth Rendell, Peter Lovesey, P. D. James, and Reginald Hill. Play Dead is a shining example of his storytelling artistry.

[sufue]

Wow! I didn't know there was a last Amelia Peabody coming, and I like Joan Hess' books, so hopefully it will be a good continuation/completion...

Thanks for the info!

Originally Posted by maddz

US only unfortunately but while checking I spotted that the last Amelia Peabody is finally on pre-order for a July release (Joan Hess is the co-author):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Painted-Que...ords=joan+hess

[sufue]

Hide My Eyes in the Albert Campion series by Margery Allingham is a repeat US Kindle Countdown deal at $0.99 for about 2 1/2 more days. As with many of Allingham's titles, it has alternate titles - it has also been published as Tether's End and/or Ten Were Missing.

link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LJ118SW

Spoiler:

In Hide My Eyes, private detective Albert Campion finds himself hunting down a serial killer in London's theatreland.

A spate of murders leaves him with only two baffling clues: a left-hand glove and a lizard-skin letter-case. These minimal clues and a series of perculiar events sets Campion on a race against time that takes him from an odd museum of curiosities hidden in a quiet corner of London to a scrapyard in the East End.

Allingham shows her dark edge in Hide My Eyes and evokes the sights, sounds, and inimitable atmosphere of fifties London.

This is a stand-alone title within Margery Allingham’s Albert Campion series. However, if you wish to read the books in the order that they were written please follow the link below to have a look at the order of publication:
http://www.margeryallingham.org.uk/b...aphy.htm#Books