Sunday, November 30, 2014

Deliver Them from Evil, A Medical Thriller by Andrew Puckett, New This Week from Endeavour Press

Deliver Them from Evil by Andrew Puckett

Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher, promoting and selling ebook editions of works by new authors as well as bringing out ebook editions of out of print books.

We've selected one of their recently published mystery, suspense, thriller or crime titles to feature here today …

Deliver Them from Evil by Andrew Puckett

A Medical Thriller

Publisher: Endeavour Press

Price: $3.99 (as of 11/30/2014 at 5:30 PM ET).

Deliver Them from Evil by Andrew Puckett, Amazon Kindle format

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

When Sister Jo Farewell is persuaded to investigate a fertility scam at a well-respected clinic for the rich, she already knows it's not in her best interests. After all, her partner in crime will be ex-love Tom Jones, they'll be posing as an infertile married couple, and the scars their brief relationship a couple of years ago have still not healed. But her curiosity — and the chance to pay off her mortgage with the fee she'll earn — gets the better of her, and soon she and Tom are playing their respective roles to perfection. In spite of Tom's marriage, and his new baby son, the flame of attraction still burns for Jo, and this is one investigation she can't wait to see the back of.

But it may take longer than she'd first realised. For this is a deadly, high stakes game, where she and Tom are mere pawns in the hands of a terrifying adversary — and someone, somewhere, has a lot to lose, and will stop at nothing to silence them …

Deliver Them from Evil by Andrew Puckett

Wrongful Death, A David Sloane Legal Thriller by Robert Dugoni, Now Available at a Special Price

Wrongful Death by Robert Dugoni

Omnimystery News is always searching for newly discounted mystery, suspense, thriller and crime novels for our readers to enjoy. Today, we're pleased to present the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, Touchstone …

Wrongful Death by Robert Dugoni

A David Sloane Legal Thriller (2nd in series)

Publisher: Touchstone

Price: $1.99 (as of 11/30/2014 at 5:00 PM ET).

Wrongful Death by Robert Dugoni, Amazon Kindle format

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

Just minutes after winning a $1.6 million wrongful-death verdict, attorney David Sloane confronts the one case that threatens to blemish his unbeaten record in the courtroom. Beverly Ford wants Sloane to sue the United States government and military in the mysterious death of her husband, James, a national guardsman killed in Iraq. While a decades-old military doctrine might make Ford's case impossible to win, Sloane, a former soldier himself, is compelled to find justice for the widow and her four children in what is certain to become the biggest challenge of his career.

With little hard evidence to go on, Sloane calls on his friend, reclusive former CIA agent turned private investigator Charles Jenkins, to track down the other men serving with Ford the night he died. Alarmingly, two of the four who returned home alive didn't stay that way for long, and though the mission's wheelchairbound commander now works for a civilian contractor, he refuses to talk. The final — and youngest — soldier is also the most elusive, but he's their only shot at discovering the truth — if Sloane and Jenkins can keep him alive long enough to tell it.

Meanwhile, Sloane isn't the only one on a manhunt. As he propels his case into a federal courtroom, those seeking to hide the truth threaten Sloane's family, forcing his new wife Tina and stepson Jake into hiding, where they become the targets of a relentless killer. Now Sloane must race to uncover what really happened on that fatal mission, not only to bring justice to a family wronged but to keep himself and the people closest to him from becoming the next casualties …

Wrongful Death by Robert Dugoni

Face Value, A Richard and Amelia Patton Mystery by Roger Ormerod, New This Week from Endeavour Press

Face Value by Roger Ormerod

Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher, promoting and selling ebook editions of works by new authors as well as bringing out ebook editions of out of print books.

We've selected one of their recently published mystery, suspense, thriller or crime titles to feature here today …

Face Value by Roger Ormerod

A Richard and Amelia Patton Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Endeavour Press

Price: $3.99 (as of 11/30/2014 at 12:30 PM ET).

Face Value by Roger Ormerod, Amazon Kindle format

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

With three days left until he retires, Detective Inspector Richard Patton doesn't want any more big cases. Amelia Trowbridge reports her husband missing, and his car is soon discovered. A burned out car in a ravine should be the perfect way to while away his last days in the force. After all, there isn't even any proof of a crime. But strange things begin to turn up.

A threatening message written on the window of convicted rapist Clive Kendall, recently released from prison. A sinister bearded doll hanging from the branches outside.

When a mutilated body is found in a remote cottage, DI Patton knows his last days of work will be anything but dull. Who is the dead man? And where is the missing husband of Amelia Trowbridge, owner of the burned out car? Will DI Patton discover the truth behind the hanging doll murder? And can he take anything anyone tells him at face value.

Face Value by Roger Ormerod

In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead, A Dave Robicheaux Mystery by James Lee Burke, Now Available at a Special Price

In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead by James Lee Burke

Omnimystery News is always searching for newly discounted mystery, suspense, thriller and crime novels for our readers to enjoy. Today, we're pleased to present the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, Pocket Star …

In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead by James Lee Burke

A Dave Robicheaux Mystery (6th in series)

Publisher: Pocket Star

Price: $1.99 (as of 11/30/2014 at 4:00 PM ET).

In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead by James Lee Burke, Amazon Kindle format

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

When Hollywood invades New Iberia Parish to film a Civil War epic, restless specters waiting in the shadows for Louisiana detective Dave Robicheaux are reawakened — ghosts of a history best left undisturbed.

Hunting a serial killer preying on the lawless young, Robicheaux comes face-to-face with the elusive guardians of his darkest torments — who hold the key to his ultimate salvation … or a final, fatal downfall.

In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead by James Lee Burke

The Abbot's Agreement by Mel Starr, New on the Mystery Bookshelf during November 2014

The Abbot's Agreement by Mel Starr

New on the Mystery Bookshelf during November 2014 …

The Abbot's Agreement by Mel Starr

A Hugh de Singleton Mystery (7th in series)

Publisher: Lion Fiction

The Abbot's Agreement by Mel Starr, Amazon Kindle format

To see more new paperback titles scheduled to be published this month, visit The Mystery Bookshelf for November 2014. For new hardcover mysteries, visit New Mysteries where for a list of November 2014 mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers is provided.

More about our featured title, below …

My life would have been more tranquil in the days after Martinmas had I not seen the crows. Whatever it was that the crows had found lay in the dappled shadow of the bare limbs of the oak, so I was nearly upon the thing before I recognized what the crows were feasting upon. The corpse wore black.

Master Hugh is making his way towards Oxford when he discovers the young Benedictine — a fresh body, barefoot — not half a mile from the nearby abbey. The abbey's novice master confirms the boy's identity: John, one of three novices.

But he had gone missing four days previously, and his corpse is fresh. There has been plague in the area, but this was not the cause of death: the lad has been stabbed in the back.

To Hugh's sinking heart, the abbot has a commission for him …

The Abbot's Agreement by Mel Starr

The Name of the Rose, A Novel of Suspense by Umberto Eco, Now Available at a Special Price

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

Omnimystery News is always searching for newly discounted mystery, suspense, thriller and crime novels for our readers to enjoy. Today, we're pleased to present the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, Mariner Books …

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

A Novel of Suspense

Publisher: Mariner Books

Price: $2.99 (as of 11/30/2014 at 3:00 PM ET).

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, Amazon Kindle format

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective.

His tools are the logic of Aristotle, the theology of Aquinas, the empirical insights of Roger Bacon — all sharpened to a glistening edge by wry humor and a ferocious curiosity. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts, and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey, where "the most interesting things happen at night."

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

The Cinderella Murder by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke, New in Bookstores during November 2014

The Cinderella Murder by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke

Today's featured new hardcover mystery, suspense, or thriller title scheduled to be published during November 2014 is …

The Cinderella Murder by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke, a Laurie Moran, Under Suspicion Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

The Cinderella Murder by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke, Amazon Kindle format  The Cinderella Murder by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke, Nook format  The Cinderella Murder by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke, iTune iBook format  The Cinderella Murder by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke, Kobo format

For a list of more new hardcover titles to be published this month, visit our New Mysteries page for November 2014. For new paperback mysteries, visit The Mystery Bookshelf where a selection of November 2014 mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers are shelved.

More about our featured title, below …

Television producer Laurie Moran is delighted when the pilot for her reality drama, Under Suspicion, is a success. Even more, the program — a cold case series that revisits unsolved crimes by recreating them with those affected — is off to a fantastic start when it helps solve an infamous murder in the very first episode.

Now Laurie has the ideal case to feature in the next episode of Under Suspicion: the Cinderella Murder. When Susan Dempsey, a beautiful and multi-talented UCLA student, was found dead, her murder raised numerous questions. Why was her car parked miles from her body? Had she ever shown up for the acting audition she was due to attend at the home of an up-and-coming director? Why does Susan's boyfriend want to avoid questions about their relationship? Was her disappearance connected to a controversial church that was active on campus? Was she close to her computer science professor because of her technological brilliance, or something more? And why was Susan missing one of her shoes when her body was discovered?

With the help of lawyer and Under Suspicion host Alex Buckley, Laurie knows the case will attract great ratings, especially when the former suspects include Hollywood's elite and tech billionaires. The suspense and drama are perfect for the silver screen — but is Cinderella's murderer ready for a close-up?

The Cinderella Murder by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke

Bodily Harm, A David Sloane Legal Thriller by Robert Dugoni, Now Available at a Special Price

Bodily Harm by Robert Dugoni

Omnimystery News is always searching for newly discounted mystery, suspense, thriller and crime novels for our readers to enjoy. Today, we're pleased to present the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, Touchstone …

Bodily Harm by Robert Dugoni

A David Sloane Legal Thriller (3rd in series)

Publisher: Touchstone

Price: $1.99 (as of 11/30/2014 at 2:00 PM ET).

Bodily Harm by Robert Dugoni, Amazon Kindle format

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

A big win for David Sloane and his new partner, Tom Pendergrass, in a malpractice case centered on the death of a young child. But on the heels of this seeming victory, an unlikely character — toy designer Kyle Horgan — comes forward to tell Sloane that he's gotten it all wrong: Horgan's the one who's truly responsible for the little boy's death and possibly others — not the pediatrician Sloane has just proven guilty.

Ordinarily, Sloane might have dismissed such a person as a crackpot, but something about this case has always troubled him — something that he couldn't quite pinpoint. When Sloane tries to follow up with Horgan, he finds the man's apartment a shambles — ransacked by unknown perpetrators. Horgan has vanished without a trace. Together with his longtime investigative partner Charles Jenkins, Sloane reexamines his clients' son's death and digs deeper into Horgan's claims, forcing him to enter the billion-dollar, cutthroat toy industry. As Sloane gets closer to the truth, he trips a wire that leads to a shocking chain of events that nearly destroys him.

To get to the bottom of it all and find justice for the families harmed, Sloane must keep in check his overwhelming desire for revenge.

Bodily Harm by Robert Dugoni

Night of the Raven by Jenna Ryan, New from Harlequin Intrigue in November 2014

Night of the Raven by Jenna Ryan

Omnimystery News is pleased to introduce a new mystery, suspense, or thriller title from Harlequin, published this month …

Night of the Raven by Jenna Ryan

Imprint: Intrigue

Night of the Raven by Jenna Ryan, Amazon Kindle format

For more information about the book, see a synopsis, below.

He'd landed in a town steeped in curses and legends …

Ethan McVey was in Raven's Hollow to fill in for the police chief, not get entangled in a decades-old legend. But one look into Amara Bellam's striking gray eyes — eyes that had haunted his dreams for fifteen years — and he was helpless to turn his back on the vulnerable beauty. He vowed to keep her safe from the killer targeting her.

Amara couldn't deny the parallel between the recent murders and her family's local lore … nor could she ignore her undeniable attraction to her dark and mysterious protector. But as the danger to her life increased, Amara questioned if the killer was truly after her for her past, or was seeking to destroy something much closer to home.

Night of the Raven by Jenna Ryan

Help the Poor Struggler, A Richard Jury Mystery by Martha Grimes, Now Available at a Special Price

Help the Poor Struggler by Martha Grimes

Omnimystery News is always searching for newly discounted mystery, suspense, thriller and crime novels for our readers to enjoy. Today, we're pleased to present the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, Scribner …

Help the Poor Struggler by Martha Grimes

A Richard Jury Mystery (7th in series)

Publisher: Scribner

Price: $1.99 (as of 11/30/2014 at 1:00 PM ET).

Help the Poor Struggler by Martha Grimes, Amazon Kindle format

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

Around bleak Dartmoor, where the Hound of the Baskervilles once bayed, three children have been brutally murdered. Now Richard Jury of Scotland Yard joins forces with a hot-tempered local constable named Brian Macalvie to track down the killer.

The trail begins at a desolate pub, Help the Poor Struggler. It leads straight to the estate of Lady Jessica, a ten-year-old orphaned heiress who lives with her mysterious uncle and ever-changing series of governesses. And as suspense spreads across the forbidding landscape, an old injustice returns to haunt Macalvie … with clues that link a murder in the distant past with a killing yet to come.

Help the Poor Struggler by Martha Grimes

Mystery Godoku Puzzle for December 01, 2014

Mystery Godoku

A new has been created by the editors of the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and is now available on our website.

Godoku is similar to Sudoku, but uses letters instead of numbers. To give you a headstart, we provide you a mystery clue to fill in a complete row or column (if you choose to use it!).

— ◊ —

Mystery Godoku Puzzle for December 01, 2014

This week's letters and mystery clue:

A C D E G L O R V

The 6th Anya Crichton crime novel by Kathryn Fox has this title (9 letters).

We now have two weeks of our puzzles on one page in PDF format for easier printing. Print this week's puzzle here.

Previous puzzles are stored in the Mystery Godoku Archives.

Enjoy the weekly Mystery Godoku Puzzle from the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, and Thanks for visiting our website!

Maisie Dobbs, A Maisie Dobbs Mystery by Jacqueline Winspear, Now Available at a Special Price

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

Omnimystery News is always searching for newly discounted mystery, suspense, thriller and crime novels for our readers to enjoy. Today, we're pleased to present the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, Soho Crime …

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

A Maisie Dobbs Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Soho Crime

Price: $2.99 (as of 11/30/2014 at 12:00 PM ET).

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear, Amazon Kindle format

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

Maisie Dobbs got her start as a maid in an aristocratic London household when she was thirteen. Her employer, suffragette Lady Rowan Compton, soon became her patron, taking the remarkably bright youngster under her wing. Lady Rowan's friend, Maurice Blanche, often retained as an investigator by the European elite, recognized Maisie's intuitive gifts and helped her earn admission to the prestigious Girton College in Cambridge, where Maisie planned to complete her education.

The outbreak of war changed everything. Maisie trained as a nurse, then left for France to serve at the Front, where she found — and lost — an important part of herself. Ten years after the Armistice, in the spring of 1929, Maisie sets out on her own as a private investigator, one who has learned that coincidences are meaningful, and truth elusive. Her very first case involves suspected infidelity but reveals something very different.

In the aftermath of the Great War, a former officer has founded a working farm known as The Retreat, that acts as a convalescent refuge for ex-soldiers too shattered to resume normal life. When Fate brings Maisie a second case involving The Retreat, she must finally confront the ghost that has haunted her for over a decade.

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

A Conversation with Mystery Author Mark de Castrique

Omnimystery News: Author Interview with Mark de Castrique
with Mark de Castrique

We are delighted to welcome author Mark de Castrique to Omnimystery News today.

Mark is the author of two mystery series in addition to several stand-alones and young adult novels. His most recent book, Risky Undertaking (Poisoned Pen Press; Novembrer 2014 hardcover, trade paperback, audiobook and ebook formats) is the sixth mystery in his Barry Clayton series.

We recently had the chance to catch up with the very busy author to talk more about his work.

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Omnimystery News: How do you go about deciding whether a book will be part of a series or a stand-alone novel?

Mark de Castrique
Photo provided courtesy of
Mark de Castrique

Mark de Castrique: My original series, of which Risky Undertaking is the sixth book, was intended to be a series from the beginning. I had a character, a young, small-town funeral director, and a location, the Appalachian Mountains of western North Carolina. Without a single plot, I knew I wanted to write four novels that would take the reader through the four seasons of the Appalachians because not only the foliage changes but the diversity of people populating the region. However, story ideas can be generated from a variety of sources, and after I completed the fourth mystery, I tackled an idea suggested by the true story of an elderly white friend, who as a ten-year-old boy in 1919, accompanied his father as they aided an African-American funeral director in transporting a body through the Jim Crow South from Asheville to north Georgia. I used the history as a foundation for the plot, yet set the story in the present day. I felt the novel needed a fresh approach unrestricted by my series character. So, Sam Blackman and Blackman's Coffin were the result. The book was meant to be a standalone, but my editor, Barbara Peters of Poisoned Pen Press, encouraged me to follow it up with a sequel and I always listen to Barbara. I have also written two standalone thrillers and two Young Adult standalones. In each case, the premise of the story dictated the approach.

OMN: How do you categorize your books? That is, into which mystery subgenre would you place them?

MdC: My two series are categorized as traditional mysteries, and I guess stylistically they are closer to the Police Procedural sub-genre. Barry Clayton, the undertaker, is also a part-time deputy sheriff. The Sam Blackman series features Sam and his lover/partner, Nakayla Robertson, as a P.I. duo, but Sam's military career was as a Chief Warrant Officer investigating crimes in the Army. In some ways, the hybrid choices I've made enable me to use aspects of both traditional law enforcement and the looser reins of private investigations. As for labeling, I find it limiting in some ways. I've written two adult thrillers, one set in the confusing world of the Federal Reserve and the other in a particle physics supercollider in 2030. Both are very different from each other and from my two series. I write what interests me, and it's not necessarily what is easily categorized.

OMN: Tell us something about Risky Undertaking that isn't mentioned in the publisher's synopsis.

MdC: Risky Undertaking started because I wanted to write something involving the Eastern Band of the Cherokee. As a kid, my family would go as tourists to the reservation and I enjoyed learning about tribal heritage. I had no particular plot and so I visited the tribe's Internet site and read that the tribal council meeting the previous night had postponed a contentious vote on whether to build a second casino. Clearly there was a timely conflict involved. Proponents wanted a new casino on the southern edge of the NC reservation to lure players from Atlanta by shortening the drive through the winding mountain roads by nearly an hour. Opponents argued the second casino would cannibalize the existing casino and eliminate a number of visitors who also visited the Cherokee heritage museum, craft displays, outdoor drama, and reenactment village from the 1700s. At stake were millions of dollars and a potential increase in payouts to all enrolled members of the tribe. That one report of the tribal controversy got me started on the story's development.

OMN: How much of your own personal or professional experience have you included in your books?

MdC: My series books take advantage of the location where I grew up. The undertaking series extrapolates what might have been my destiny. I spent the first years of my life living upstairs in a funeral home. As a three-year-old, I was once evicted from a visitation when I crawled behind the casket and started singing, "So Long, It's Been Good to Know You." My dad later changed professions, but I was intrigued by what could have been my entry into a family funeral business and thought the character would be interesting. I also had humorous and poignant stories from my dad which I've used throughout the series. The Blackman series tends to extrapolate consequences of historic events in the region, and also involves real people such as Thomas Wolfe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Carl Sandburg who all had connections to the region. I went to school across the street from Sandburg's farm in Flat Rock, NC. I've also used real people who provided research assistance or stories for the books. I figured if I had to go to them for information, my detectives would have as well. That's been fun. I always let those "real characters" read their pages so that they are comfortable with the words I'm putting in their mouths.

OMN: Describe your writing process for us.

MdC: When I wrote the first few novels, I was a more detailed outliner. Later books tend to grow and develop during the writing process. I have an idea of motive and culprit, and usually a handle on the culminating scene, but how and who gets me there may change. For example, some characters that you needed for a very specific function turn out to be more important than you realized. In other words, they won't get off the page. I've planned to kill some people whom I let lived, and murdered others I anticipated would make it to the end. New events and characters create consequences that create new and unanticipated events and consequences. For me that is the fun of discovery. I'm looking for the story that was meant to be written and just happen to find it ahead of the readers.

OMN: Where do you most often find yourself writing?

MdC: I can and do write anywhere. I keep a journal and fountain pen with me everywhere I go. If I get free time during the day, (waiting for an appointment, for example), I'll work on the story. It might be doing a rough outline of where I think the story is headed in the moment or notes for character or plot development. Eventually, it comes back to my home office and Scrivener, which is the software I prefer. Also, moving between computer and long-hand can be beneficial when I'm stuck. Sometimes just changing the physical environment and method can move things forward. I try to stop writing when I know exactly what the next sentence or paragraph will be so that momentum returns quickly. Starting new chapters are the most challenging because I have to get that momentum going again.

OMN: You mentioned that you take advantage of the location where I grew up in some of your stories. How true are you to the settings of your books?

MdC: I have a series and a standalone that are set in a real place and accuracy is important to me. Most people aren't intimately familiar with Asheville, NC's geography, but for those who are, a geographical error will yank them out of the story. This is also true of the books that have been recorded for audio. I've been fortunate to have communication with my series' narrator to double check the regional pronunciations of places that would trip up a non-native.

My standalone thriller The 13th Target was set primarily in Washington DC, a city much more familiar to readers. My wife and I once drove seven hours to look at a street near the Mall and Vietnam Memorial for accuracy of details as minute as the location of a storm drain. I spent about 10 minutes walking the area and got back in the car for the seven hour drive back to Charlotte, NC. In hindsight, that might have been a little over the top, but I was pleased that what I'd imagined and already written as a draft matched what I found.

Setting is very important to me. Even though the themes and motives of the story might have universal appeal, I'd like to think the particulars of the setting make it an intergral part of the story. I do research as I go along. There's an initial flurry to see if research supports the premise, and then I write what I hope is accurate, check the specifics afterwards, and then either correct or have a plausible explanation for any variance. It's in making assumptions that I know everything about a subject, a weapon, or a procedure, that will get me in trouble.

OMN: If we could send you anywhere in the world, at our expense, to research the setting for a book, where would it be?

MdC: Wow! What a great question and even greater gift if any benefactors happen to be out there wanting to send me away as opposed to put me away. The opportunity would be so awesome that it is paralyzing. If I had to make a choice today, I would select Ireland. My wife and I were there for two weeks in June 2014 and storytelling, either through spoken word, written work, or song is in the country's DNA. The challenge would be that there are so many great Irish writers. I think I'd have to stay true to my perspective of someone from the outside following a case that had links to Ireland. The history and songs of my native Appalachians are descended from and in some ways preserved by the early Scotch-Irish settlers so that connection would have accurate roots. The premise could grow out of that relationship and unfold from there.

OMN: What are some of your outside interests? And have any of these found their way into your books?

MdC: My career has been and continues to be in film/video production. I primarily do documentary work, which is storytelling with moving images, and I think that helps me as a writer who views stories in scenes. Some of the things I've learned from various projects have become part of my mystery stories. What I enjoy outside of writing is reading and music. I play the banjo and guitar badly, but it's great mental therapy. I think it's required of anyone who grew up in the mountains, and the old ballads and song collections played a role in my book The Sandburg Connection.

OMN: Complete this sentence for us: "I am a mystery author and thus I am also …"

MdC: "… I am also allowed to kill people who have made me angry." I've never used real names, but it is great fun to envision and create the demise of some pompous jerk whose behavior, not necessarily to me, has been cruel, malicious, or just plain arrogant.

OMN: What kind of feedback have you received from readers?

MdC: I like when a reader lets me know that a character or story has touched them in a personal way. In my Barry Clayton undertaking series, I wanted Barry to have an internal conflict. That is, he wanted to pursue a career in law enforcement but had to give that up when his father developed Alzheimer's at an early age and could no longer run the funeral home. I hadn't anticipated the family dynamic that created, but I explored the implications as I wrote the first novel. Many readers have commented how they appreciated the treatment of the topic and how it reflected the experience of their own family when dealing with this tragic disease. I'm pleased that dimension of the story that I initially used as a reason for Barry's return offered a connecting point for readers in a way I hadn't anticipated.

OMN: What's next for you?

MdC: I'm working on a new Sam Blackman book, the series set in Asheville, NC. I'm about a third of the way through it, and find that I usually pick up speed as the options for the direction of the story begin to become more focused. Still, it's too early to say much about it as I'm in those uncharted waters where characters and events are unfolding as I go. The premise that propels the story taps into the lore of Asheville hauntings. The mountains and town are rich with murdered spirits walking the hills and streets. I thought it would be interesting to have several murders occur that are reenactments of some of the more famous ghost tales. How and why are yet to be revealed.

OMN: Finally, what advice might you offer aspiring writers?

MdC: First, be a critical reader. Study the stories that have lasted and pay attention to the way the story is structured. I believe aspects of storytelling are genetically embodied in each of us as a human trait that has served us since the cave days. Go back and review Aristotle's Poetics on structure, or Poe's literary criticism. After all, Poe impacted so many of our modern popular genres. The Edgars are named after him for a reason. Then there is the unavoidable BIC that none of us can escape — Butt in Chair. If you want to be a writer, you have to write and be disciplined about it. Don't over talk your story. It's tempting to share your great idea with family and friends, but only up to a point. I think it kills some of the spontaneity of the creative process. If your goal is publication, be persistent. Show your work to a few people whose judgment and honest criticism you trust. Look for patterns in their suggestions and reactions. Recognize that you are a storyteller if you have a reader or hearer, and their opinions are about your story as they understood it.

Write what you enjoy. It's a long process and I hope you don't find it a chore but rather an adventure!

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Mark de Castrique was born in Hendersonville, NC, near Asheville. He went straight from the hospital to the funeral home where his father was the funeral director and the family lived upstairs. The unusual setting sparked his popular Barry Clayton series and launched his mystery writing career. A veteran of the broadcast and film production business, he has directed numerous news and public affairs programs and received an EMMY Award for his documentary film work. Through his company, MARK et al., he writes and produces videos for corporate and broadcast clients. He also offers developmental editorial consultation to fiction writers providing structural, story, and character analyses of first-draft manuscripts.

Mark lives in Charlotte, but he and his wife Linda can be often found in the NC mountains or the nation's capital.

For more information about the author, please visit his website at MarkDeCastrique.com and his author page on Goodreads, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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Risky Undertaking by Mark de Castrique

Risky Undertaking
Mark de Castrique
A Buryin' Barry Mystery

When Cherokee burial remains are unearthed on the site expanding a local cemetery, the dual occupations of Barry Clayton, part-time deputy and full-time undertaker, collide. Then, during the interment of the wife of one of Gainesboro, North Carolina's most prominent citizens, Cherokee activist Jimmy Panther leads a protest. Words and fists fly. When Panther turns up executed on the grave of the deceased woman, Barry is forced to confront her family as the chief suspects. But the case lurches in a new direction with the arrival of Sheriff Tommy Lee Wadkin's Army pal, Boston cop Kevin Malone. He's on the trail of a Boston hit man who arrived at the Cherokee reservation only days before the murder. Malone is convinced his quarry is the triggerman. But who paid him? And why?

The accelerating investigation draws Barry onto the reservation where Panther's efforts to preserve Cherokee traditions threatened the development of a new casino, a casino bringing millions of dollars of construction plus huge yearly payouts to every member of the tribe. Leading an unlikely team — his childhood nemesis Archie Donovan and his elderly fellow undertaker Uncle Wayne — Barry goes undercover. But the stakes are higher than he realized in this risky undertaking. And the life of a Cherokee boy becomes the wager. Barry must play his cards very carefully …

Amazon.com Print/Kindle Format(s)  BN.com Print/Nook Format(s)  iTunes iBook Format  Kobo eBook Format

Devil's Lake by Aaron Paul Lazar is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

Devil's Lake by Aaron Paul Lazar

Omnimystery News is pleased to feature …

Devil's Lake by Aaron Paul Lazar

A Novel of Suspense

Publisher: Aaron Paul Lazar

… as today's free mystery ebook.

Devil's Lake by Aaron Paul Lazar, Amazon Kindle format

This title was listed for free as of November 30, 2014 at 7:00 AM ET. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of the purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

More on today's free book, below.

After two years of brutal captivity, Portia Lamont has escaped and returned to her family's Vermont horse farm — only to find her parents gone to New York to try an experimental treatment for her mother's cancer, and her childhood friend Boone Hawke running the farm.

Like the rest of her family, Boone has never given up hope that Portia would return. But when she turns up battered, skinny as a twelve-year-old boy, afraid of everything and unable to talk about what happened, he does the only thing he can — try to help her heal. He summons the town doctor and Portia's parents, and sets out to put this beautiful, broken woman back together again.

Through her family's love and Boone's gentle affection, Portia gradually comes back to herself, and starts to fall for her old friend in a whole new way. But one thing threatens her fragile hope for recovery: The man who took her promised that if she ever escaped, he'd kill her. Slowly. And someone is definitely watching her … waiting to make his next deadly move.

Devil's Lake by Aaron Paul Lazar

Popular Thrillers is Today's Kindle Daily Deal

Gray Justice by Alan McDermott

Omnimystery News is pleased to feature Popular Thrillers as today's Kindle Daily Deal.

The deal price of $1.99 each is valid only for today, Sunday, November 30, 2014. We're highlighting one of the titles in this post.

Gray Justice by Alan McDermott

A Tom Gray Thriller (1st in series)

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Price: $1.99 (as of 11/30/2014 at 6:10 AM ET).

Gray Justice by Alan McDermott, Amazon Kindle format

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

When ex-soldier Tom Gray loses his wife and child to a career criminal, it seems life can't get much worse. But when the killer is let off with time served on remand, Gray knows there is something fundamentally wrong with the justice system. Engaging the help of his ex-SAS buddies, he kidnaps five repeat offenders and asks the public to vote on their fate: Should they be allowed to continue their criminal ways with inadequate punishment, or has Britain had enough?

His website attracts a worldwide audience and, although the authorities know where he is, they are powerless to stop him.

Can Gray carry out his audacious plan? Will Andrew Harvey and his fellow MI5 operatives find a way to stop him?

Gray Justice by Alan McDermott

Today's Mystery and Suspense Update from Big Fish Games (141130)

Big Fish Games

Here is today's mystery and suspense update from Big Fish Games …

• The New Release is Weird Park: The Final Show.

• The Daily Deal is Revived Legends: Road of the Kings, just $2.99 today only!

• Today's Special Deal — Fall Harvest Sale! All Games Are 60% Off this weekend only! Use coupon code FALL at check-out to purchase any Collector's Edition game for $7.99 or use coupon code HARVEST for Standard Edition games at just $3.99. Offer valid through November 30th, 2014 only until 11:59 PM PT.

Visit the Omnimystery Entertainment Network for more games of mystery and suspense!

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Weird Park: The Final Show

The New Release is Weird Park: The Final Show

A young boy has stepped into a closet and disappeared. Cops and journalists have swarmed his home looking for answers but they can't see what lies behind the veil of reality — a bizarre alternate dimension created by a twisted imagination! Take the role of an investigative report and unlock the door to the other world. Save the child and bring an end to Mr. Dudley's reign of terror. Can you solve the puzzles he put in place to stop you from reaching the boy? Will you be able to cling to your sanity as you explore strange worlds that defy everything you have ever believed? Most importantly, the fate of Louis the Clown lies in your hands … what will you decide? The curtain closes on the Weird Park saga in this shocking third chapter in the hit series. Don't miss this stunning final installment in the Weird Park trilogy!

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour. Also available for  Mac.

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Revived Legends: Road of the Kings

Today's Daily Deal is Revived Legends: Road of the Kings

What started out as a normal day takes a turn for the fantastic when you drive into a strange fog bank. Inside, you learn that the fog is slowly blending our world with a magical realm. Soon both worlds will be destroyed, and you are the only one who can still save them! Now you must embark on a journey down the legendary Road of the Kings to confront the villain and his terrible fog. Explore enchanting locations, meet fantastic creatures, and solve perplexing puzzles as you become the hero of two worlds in this beautiful Hidden Object adventure!

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour. Also available for  Mac.

Also available for this game:

Saturday, November 29, 2014

2014 James Patterson Bestsellers for $2.50-$3.75 on Kindle

2014 James Patterson Bestsellers for $2.50-$3.75 on Kindle

Amazon has been discounting bestselling mysteries and thrillers published during 2014 this past week, and here are the James Patterson titles currently priced between $2.50 and $3.75 each as of the date and time of this post:

Invisible (with David Ellis);
NYPD Red 2 (with Marshall Karp);
Burn (with Michael Ledwidge);
Unlucky 13 (with Maxine Paetro);
Private L.A. (with Mark Sullivan); and
Private Down Under (with Michael White).

Prices have been fluctuating, so please confirm the price of the book before you 1-click purchase it. These are terrific deals on popular authors, so we encourage you to take advantage of them while they're available!

The Fox in the Forest, A Lambert and Hook Mystery by J. M. Gregson, New This Week from Endeavour Press

The Fox in the Forest by J. M. Gregson

Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher, promoting and selling ebook editions of works by new authors as well as bringing out ebook editions of out of print books.

We've selected one of their recently published mystery, suspense, thriller or crime titles to feature here today …

The Fox in the Forest by J. M. Gregson

A Lambert and Hook Mystery (5th in series)

Publisher: Endeavour Press

Price: $3.99 (as of 11/29/2014 at 5:30 PM ET).

The Fox in the Forest by J. M. Gregson, Amazon Kindle format

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

When the town vicar Peter Barton is found shot in the woods that lie between two peaceful villages on Christmas Eve, Superintendent Lambert and his CID team are called in to investigate. His estranged wife had herself gone missing in the days before her husband's death, busy with her lover. Could she be the killer Lambert is looking for? Or could it be the only man who seems to dislike the victim and owns a matching shotgun? Or the sweet local boy who travels through the woods every day?

Then a second victim is found, again in the woods, again with a shotgun: a man they had held for thirty six hours before. It seems that they have a serial killer on their hands, selecting victims at random, a killer who the papers are calling the "Fox".

With a long list of potential suspects and no real evidence, Lambert struggles to find his culprit. The rural community closes in upon itself, and with its own secrets, when another girl is attacked by the Fox and everyone seems to know the details of the two killings. Can Lambert and his team find a killer amongst the different townspeople with connections to the murders? More importantly, can they piece together the few clues they have to find the truth before another victim is found?

The Fox in the Forest by J. M. Gregson

2014 Bestsellers for $3.75 on Kindle

2014 Bestsellers for $3.75 on Kindle

Amazon has been discounting bestselling mysteries and thrillers published during 2014 this past week, and here are the titles currently priced $3.75 each as of the date and time of this post:

Missing You by Harlan Coben;
The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith;
The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness;
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King;
Festive in Death by J. D. Robb;
Field of Prey by John Sandford; and
Act of War by Brad Thor.

Prices have been fluctuating, so please confirm the price of the book before you 1-click purchase it. These are terrific deals on popular authors, so we encourage you to take advantage of them while they're available!

Body Market, A Ray Wilson Thriller by Andrew Leatham, New This Week from Endeavour Press

Body Market by Andrew Leatham

Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher, promoting and selling ebook editions of works by new authors as well as bringing out ebook editions of out of print books.

We've selected one of their recently published mystery, suspense, thriller or crime titles to feature here today …

Body Market by Andrew Leatham

A Ray Wilson Thriller

Publisher: Endeavour Press

Price: $3.99 (as of 11/29/2014 at 4:30 PM ET).

Body Market by Andrew Leatham, Amazon Kindle format

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

The North sea, many miles from the coast of Rotterdam. Mia, a beautiful medical student from Damascus, flings herself from the helm of a ferry. For £15,000, she had been promised a new life in England, a new job and more money than she could ever dream of. In reality, her destination had been the strip-clubs and brothels of England's seedy criminal underworld. Mia is one of hundreds of young girls lured into the snare of a complex network of criminal activity. The NCA have called it Hydra: a name taken from Ancient mythology. A beast with many heads. The Hydra network spreads across Europe and the Middle East, supplying Class A and B drugs as well as firearms. For a high price, to match high demand, they also import women. To take down this national network, the NCA must send someone in undercover.

Ray Wilson, Chief Constable of the West Yorkshire Police, must gain the trust of Mike Pilling and his gang members, in order to collect incriminating evidence. But there are complications. Hydra is protected by an old trick: the honey trap. Politicians, police officers and members of the press have been bought and blackmailed at the highest level using incriminating photographs. In order to protect Wilson and the operation, this mission must be kept off the records. An accidental leak would cost him his life.

Can this by-the-book Detective work off the radar to incriminate, and destroy, the Hydra's international domination? With no protocol to protect him, Wilson is on his own.

Body Market by Andrew Leatham

The Book of Killowen, A Nora Gavin Mystery by Erin Hart, Now Available at a Special Price

The Book of Killowen by Erin Hart

Omnimystery News is always searching for newly discounted mystery, suspense, thriller and crime novels for our readers to enjoy. Today, we're pleased to present the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, Scribner …

The Book of Killowen by Erin Hart

A Nora Gavin Mystery (4th in series)

Publisher: Scribner

Price: $1.99 (as of 11/29/2014 at 4:00 PM ET).

The Book of Killowen by Erin Hart, Amazon Kindle format

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

After a year away from working in the field, archaeologist Cormac Maguire and pathologist Nora Gavin are back in the bogs, investigating a ninth-century body found buried in the trunk of a car. They discover that the ancient corpse is not alone — pinned beneath it is the body of Benedict Kavanagh, missing for mere months and familiar to television viewers as a philosopher who enjoyed destroying his opponents in debate. Both men were viciously murdered, but centuries apart — so how did they end up buried together in the bog?

While on the case, Cormac and Nora lodge at Killowen, a nearby artists' colony, organic farm, and sanctuary for eccentric souls. Digging deeper into the older crime, they become entangled in high-stakes intrigue encompassing Kavanagh's death while surrounded by suspects in his ghastly murder. It seems that everyone at Killowen has some secret to protect.

The Book of Killowen by Erin Hart

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