Firsts on the 1st: New Series Characters Being Introduced in October 2013 Mysteries

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books recently updated its list of October 2013 hardcover mysteries as well as shelved new October paperbacks on The Mystery Bookshelf.

In this series of monthly posts, which we call Firsts on the 1st, we're introducing readers to new series characters who will make their mysterious American debut in print during October.

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Title: Murder at Hatfield House
Author: Amanda Carmack
Series Character: Kate Haywood
Formats: Mass Market Paperback and ebook

What we know about the character: Kate Haywood is a simple musician in the employ of a princess in this historical series set in the mid-16th century.

Her first case: England is in tumult under the rule of Queen Mary and her Spanish husband. Confined to house arrest at Hatfield House, young Princess Elizabeth is the country's greatest hope. Far from court intrigues, Elizabeth finds solace in simple things: the quiet countryside and peaceful recreation, including the melodies of her chief musician and his daughter, Kate Haywood.

But Kate will prove herself most valuable when an envoy of the queen — sent to flush out heretics in the princess's household — is found dead on the grounds of Hatfield. Acting as Elizabeth's eyes and ears, Kate is sent out on the trail of a killer whose mission could destroy her family, friends — and the future of England.

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Title: Drizzled with Death
Author: Jessie Crockett
Series Character: Dani Greene, Sugar Grove
Formats: Mass Market Paperback and ebook

What we know about the character: Dani Greene is a fourth-generation maple syrup maker in Sugar Grove, New Hampshire.

Her first case: The annual pre-Thanksgiving pancake-eating contest is a big event in Sugar Grove, New Hampshire. It's sponsored by the Sap Bucket Brigade, aka the firefighters auxiliary, and the Greene family farm provides the syrup. But when obnoxious outsider Alanza Speedwell flops face first into a stack of flapjacks during the contest, Greener Pastures' syrup falls under suspicion.

Dani knows the police — including her ex-boyfriend — are barking up the wrong tree, and she's determined to pull her loved ones out of a very sticky situation. The odds may be stacked against her, but she's got to tap the real killer before some poor sap in her own family ends up trading the sugar house for the Big House …

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Title: Murder and Marinara
Author: Rosie Genova
Series Character: Victoria Rienzi, Italian Kitchen
Formats: Mass Market Paperback and ebook

What we know about the character: Whodunit writer Victoria Rienzi is getting back to her roots by working at her family's Italian restaurant along the Jersey shore.

Her first case: When Victoria takes a break from penning her popular mystery series and moves back to the Jersey shore, she imagines sun, sand, and scents of fresh basil and simmering marinara sauce at the family restaurant, the Casa Lido. But her nonna's recipes aren't the only things getting stirred up in this Italian kitchen.

Their small town is up in arms over plans to film a new reality TV show, and when Victoria serves the show's pushy producer his last meal, the Casa Lido staff finds itself embroiled in a murder investigation. Victoria wants to find the real killer, but there are as many suspects as tomatoes in her nonna's garden. Now she'll have to heat up her sleuthing skills quickly…before someone else gets a plateful of murder.

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Title: Malicious Mischief
Author: Marianne Harden
Series Character: Rylie Keyes
Formats: Trade Paperback and ebook

What we know about the character: Is it strange to have the unemployment office on speed dial? Not for twenty-four-year-old college dropout Rylie Keyes, who has PI training that she keeps hidden from her ex-detective grandfather.

Her first case: Rylie's current job at a small retirement home is worlds more important than all her past gigs. Fact is, if she loses this one, she'll fail to stop the forced sale of her grandfather's home, a modest lakeside bungalow that has been in the family for ages. But to keep her job she needs to figure out the truth behind the death of a senior citizen found murdered in her care.

The victim was thought to be a penniless man with a silly grudge against Rylie. However, his enemies will do whatever it takes to keep their part in his murder secret.

Forced to dust off the PI training, Rylie has to juggle the attentions of two very sexy, very different cops who both arouse and fluster her at the same time. And as she trudges through the case, she has no idea that along the way she just might win, or lose, a little piece of her heart.

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Title: The King's Hounds
Author: Martin Jensen
Series Character: Winston and Halfdan
Formats: Trade Paperback and ebook

What we know about the characters: Halfdan's mixed lineage — half Danish, half Saxon — has made him a pauper in the new kingdom of Cnut (Canute) the Great. He meets up with former monk and manuscript illuminator Winston on his way to Oxford, where Cnut holds court and hires them to investigate crimes in this historical series set in early 11th century England.

Their first case: The newly crowned King Cnut of Denmark has conquered England and rules his new empire from Oxford. The year is 1018 and the war is finally over, but the unified kingdom is far from peaceful.

Halfdan's land that he should have inherited were all taken by the new king's men. He lost everything to the war but his sense of humor. Once a proud nobleman, Halfdan now wanders the country aimlessly, powered only by his considerable charm and some petty theft. When he finds an unlikely ally in Winston, a former monk, he sees no reason not to accept his strange invitation to travel together to Oxford. Winston has been commissioned to paint a portrait of the king at the invitation of his new wife, and the protection of a clever man like Halfdan is well worth its price in wine and bread.

But when the pair's arrival in court coincides with news of a murder, the king has a brilliant idea: Why not enlist the newly arrived womanizing half-Dane and the Saxon intellectual to defuse a politically explosive situation? The pair represents both sides of the conflict and seem to have crime-solving skills to boot. In their search for the killer, Halfdan and Winston find seduction, adventure, and scandal in the wild early days of Cnut's rule.

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Title: Chili Con Carnage
Author: Kylie Logan
Series Character: Maxie Pierce, Chili Cook-Off
Formats: Mass Market Paperback and ebook

What we know about the character: Maxie Pierce is the daughter of Texas Jack Pierce, king of the chili cook-off circuit.

Her first case: Romance is supposed to be the spice of life. But Maxie Pierce is so done with bad relationships — well, almost. She just has to get rid of the latest loser, Roberto. Besides, she has more important things to worry about. Her daddy, Texas Jack Pierce, king of the chili cook-off circuit, has been missing for nearly six weeks now. In his place, she must team up with her irritating half sister, Sylvia, to promote the family business at the Taos Chili Showdown, to be judged by celebrity chef Carter Donnelly.

But when Maxie discovers Roberto's body in the chef's trailer — only hours after publicly breaking up with him while wearing a giant red chili pepper costume — she suddenly finds she's the one in the spotlight as the police pepper her with questions. Now this Chili Chick needs to kick up the search to catch the real killer and get back to finding her father …

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Title: The Seance Society
Author: Michael Nethercott
Series Character: O'Nelligan and Plunkett
Formats: Hardcover and ebook

What we know about the characters: Set in mid-1950s Connecticut, Mr. O'Nelligan and Lee Plunkett are private investigators.

Their first case: It's 1956, and Lee Plunkett has taken over the family business as a private investigator despite his reluctance to follow in his father's footsteps. When murder intrudes on a group of ghost seekers, Lee is asked to solve the case by a cop on the verge of retirement.

At the urging of his perpetual fiancée Audrey, Lee enlists the help of Mr. O'Nelligan, a scholarly Irishman with a keen eye for solving mysteries. The duo is drawn into a murder investigation involving the "Spectricator", a machine designed to communicate with the dead.

Soon, Plunkett and O'Nelligan are knee-deep in a suspect pool that includes a surly medium, a former speakeasy queen, a mysterious Spanish widow, and a whole slew of eccentric servants.

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Title: Thoreau at Devil's Perch
Author: B. B. Oak
Series Character: Henry David Thoreau
Formats: Trade Paperback and ebook

What we know about the character: In this historical series, author Henry David Thoreau has all the makings of a great crime solver — the analytical skills of a surveyor, the observational skills of a scientist, a photographic memory, and a passion for collecting arcane information. His instinct for detecting human foibles is razor-sharp and he has a heart-felt sense of justice. And like most legendary detectives, he marches to his own drummer.

His first case: The lush, overgrown banks of Massachusetts' Assabet River are the ideal place for Dr. Adam Walker to find coveted medicinal plants for his remedies. But on one balmy August morning he finds something very different. A stranger, identifying himself as Henry David Thoreau of nearby Walden Pond, approaches and entreats Adam to accompany him upriver. He has discovered the body of a young black man at the base of the cliff known as Devil's Perch.

As they examine the broken corpse and the surrounding scene, both men become convinced that the unfortunate victim was dead long before he fell. Yet the coroner's jury insists otherwise, dismissing the matter as an accident. Angered by the injustice, Adam and his lovely cousin Julia Bell agree to assist Thoreau in investigating.

As the case progresses, the mysteries only deepen and there is no mistaking the brutal slaying of a womanizing army captain as anything other than the coldest murder. Journeying from their tranquil village to Boston's most disreputable district, they gradually uncover the monstrous truth even while a vicious killer prepares to end their inquiry for good.

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Title: Blowback
Author: Valerie Plame and Sarah Lovett
Series Character: Vanessa Pierson
Formats: Hardcover and ebook

What we know about the character: Vanessa Pierson is a covert CIA ops officer.

Her first case: Vanessa Pierson is finally close to capturing the world's most dangerous international nuclear arms dealer: Bhoot, alias the ghost. One of her assets has information about Bhoot's upcoming visit to a secret underground nuclear weapons facility in Iran — in only a few days. But just as Pierson's informant is about to give her the location, they're ambushed by an expert sniper. Pierson narrowly escapes. Her asset: dead.

Desperate to capture Bhoot and the sniper before they inflict more damage, Pierson enlists all of the Agency's resources to find them. But with each day, the pressure of the manhunt mounts, causing her to push her forbidden romance with a fellow ops officer to its limit when she asks him to do the impossible. Despite the risks, she refuses to halt her pursuit of the terrorists, and she puts her cover and her career — and her life — at risk.

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Title: White Ginger
Author: Thatcher Robinson
Series Character: Bai Jiang
Formats: Trade Paperback and ebook

What we know about the character: Bai Jiang is a souxum, a people finder, in San Francisco.

Her first case: Armed with Buddhist philosophy and wicked knife skills, Bai Jiang works at being a better person by following her conscience, while struggling with what she likes to think of as "aggressive assertiveness".

When a girl goes missing in San Francisco's Chinatown, Bai is called upon as a souxun, a people finder, to track down the lost girl. The trail leads to wannabe gangsters, flesh peddlers, and eventually to those who have marked Bai for death.

Enlisting the aid of her closest friend and partner, Lee — a sophisticated gay man who protects her, mostly from herself — and Jason — a triad assassin and the father of her daughter — they follow the girl across the Bay and across the country. Bai confronts paid assassins and triad hatchet men, only to find that being true to her beliefs as a Buddhist and staying alive are often at odds. At the same time, fighting a faceless enemy who seems committed to having her killed fills her with anger and fear that sometimes turns into a burning rage with deadly consequences.

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Title: Death Over Easy
Author: Toby Speed
Series Character: Emma Trace
Formats: Hardcover and ebook

What we know about the character: Emma Trace is an editor.

Her first case: As risk-averse Emma Trace races to win a bet and dodge a flight in her uncle's aerobatic airplane, the cook at her favorite breakfast spot is found murdered, and Emma is under suspicion.

Forced to look for clues to clear her name, Emma becomes the target of a vicious killer when she uncovers an elaborate blackmail scheme involving members of her small community.

And although she's terrified to fly, Emma knows there may be no other way to prevent further killings and save the life of the man she loves.

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Title: Killer Image
Author: Wendy Tyson
Series Character: Allison Campbell
Formats: Trade Paperback and ebook

What we know about the character: Allison Campbell is Philadelphia's premier image consultant.

Her first case: Allison Campbell helps others reinvent themselves, but her most successful transformation was her own after a scandal nearly ruined her. Now she moves in a world of powerful executives, wealthy, eccentric ex-wives and twisted ethics.

When Allison's latest Main Line client, the fifteen-year-old Goth daughter of a White House hopeful, is accused of the ritualistic murder of a local divorce attorney, Allison fights to prove her client's innocence when no one else will. But unraveling the truth brings specters from her own past. And in a place where image is everything, the ability to distinguish what's real from the facade may be the only thing that keeps Allison alive.

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Title: Styx & Stone
Author: James W. Ziskin
Series Character: Ellie Stone
Formats: Trade Paperback and ebook

What we know about the character: Eleonora "Ellie" Stone is a journalist in this series set in the 1960s.

Her first case: Ellie is sure that Sgt. McKeever meant that as a compliment, but that identity — a girl wanting to do a man's job — has throttled her for too long. It's 1960, and Ellie doesn't want to blaze any trails for women; she just wants to be a reporter, one who doesn't need to swat hands off her behind at every turn.

Adrift in her career, Ellie is back in New York City after receiving news that her estranged father, a renowned Dante scholar and distinguished professor, is near death after a savage bludgeoning in his home. The police suspect a routine burglary, but Ellie has her doubts. When a second attempt is made on her father's life, in the form of an "accident" in the hospital's ICU, Ellie's suspicions are confirmed.

Then another professor turns up dead, and Ellie's investigation turns to her father's university colleagues, their ambitions, jealousies, and secret lives. Ellie embarks on a thorny journey of discovery and reconciliation, as she pursues an investigation that offers her both a chance at redemption in her father's eyes, and the risk of losing him forever.

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For a list of more hardcover mysteries scheduled for publication during October, please visit our New Mysteries home page. If you're interested in new paperbacks, visit The Mystery Bookshelf, where you can discover a library of new mysteries, also updated with October 2013 releases. See also our regularly updated eBook site for new mysteries, suspense novels and thrillers, MysterEbooks.com.

Please also visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books where we are committed to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

A Conversation with Mystery Author Wendy Tyson

with Wendy Tyson

We are delighted to welcome debut mystery author Wendy Tyson to Omnimystery News today.

Wendy introduces Philadelphia image consultant Allison Campbell in Killer Image (Henery Press; October 2013 trade paperback) and we recently had the chance to catch up with her to talk about it.

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Omnimystery News: Why did you choose to write Killer Image as the first in a series?

Photo provided courtesy of
Wendy Tyson

Wendy Tyson: As a reader — and aren't most writers first and foremost readers? — I love a good series. When I connect with characters, it's so wonderful to meet them again and again, to see them grow and develop over time, and to be part of their world for longer than the span of a book. As a writer, I like having the chance to really submerge myself in my characters' worlds and to get to know them as a series continues. For these reasons, I knew I wanted to write a series. As it happens, I am writing two — and yes, in both instances, I plan to let the characters grow and develop (or, at times, not develop, as the case may be) in the way that people do when confronted with life's joys and challenges.

OMN: Into which mystery genre would place the book?

WT: I would characterize Killer Image as a traditional mystery, although, frankly, putting it into a box has been a challenge. Based on my publisher's list, I think many early readers expected Killer Image to be a cozy. And while it has some of the attributes of a cozy, the pacing and plot make it more in line with a traditional mystery — or even a psychological thriller. In terms of advantages or disadvantages, I think the primary advantage to labeling is that it helps authors find their audience (or their audience to find them). I used to think publishers and agents tried too hard to categorize books. After only a few months in the industry, I've come to understand the importance of labeling from a marketing perspective. Readers often have distinct preferences and can be disappointed when their expectations aren't met. Labeling can help avoid that disappointment. On the flip side, I think many wonderful books aren't published or read because they can't be easily categorized. Not every book fits neatly into one or two genres, and we, as readers, may miss out on the opportunity to experience some really terrific authors and ground-breaking material because of our collective reluctance to think beyond these boxes.

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

WT: While the book is about Allison Campbell, image consultant to the wealthy Philadelphia Main Line, and her quest to solve the mystery of who killed Arnie Feldman, it does touch upon some serious issues, like adolescent mental health and teen trafcking. It's a darker novel, but it's also hopeful. I believe that people often get second chances. We have to be aware enough to see them, though–and they don't always appear in the way we might like or expect. That belief is a core tenant of the book. In terms of the plot, because of a tragedy in her past, Allison's carefully constructed life shields her (purposefully) from unwanted memories, but the pain she keeps at bay is also what allows her to see beneath people's facades in order to help them change. But it's Allison's relationship with a new client who refuses to change — Maggie, the belligerent teen daughter of a narcissistic politician — and the subsequent murder investigation, that allow Allison to recognize and finally embrace her own second chance. Oh, and there's a dog in the book. A really ugly but lovable former stray named Brutus. He doesn't change, and we're all happy about that.

OMN: Did you include any of your own personal or professional experience into the book?

WT: It was inspired by my background in law and psychology, and while none of the characters or events is based on real people or experiences, they are informed by what I saw and felt in my early career. While in graduate school for counseling, I worked in the social services field as a caseworker, a group home counselor and, later, a therapist in a residential setting. I was in my twenties at the time, and the populations I worked with — mostly kids and teens who had ended up in the system for one reason or another, along with their families — made a lasting impression on me. I gained an understanding that beneath the surface of even the toughest (and most abused) kids is the potential for kindness and achievement. The human spirit is resilient, and people can change. I left the psych world in the late 90s to get my J.D. My experience in the counseling field juxtaposed against law school on the Philadelphia Main Line–and my subsequent work at a big Philly law firm–triggered the idea to put Allison on the Main Line and to surround her with so many über successful people. The Main Line is a beautiful area, and the setting worked well for exploring the theme of what's on the surface versus what's underneath.

OMN: How did the book come to be titled?

WT: The book was originally titled Underneath It All, reflecting the theme of image versus reality. In the early stages of trying to market the book to agents, a very astute literary agent told me to change the name — it's a thriller/mystery, she said, and it needs to sound like one. That's how the name Killer Image was born.

OMN: Complete this sentence for us: "If you are a mystery author, you are also …".

WT: A criminal mastermind! Alice Walker said, "Writing saved me from the sin and inconvenience of violence." Perhaps all mystery and crime writers have a little of the criminal element in them, too.

OMN: Describe your writing environment.

WT: Ah, which one? I have several. My main desktop computer sits amidst a very messy pile of to-dos and should-haves in an ofce I share with my husband. He's an engineer, and as a stark contrast to my piles, his desk is pristine, each piece of paper neatly filed in carefully labeled binders. I, on the other hand, have one fat file I call “Important Papers.” If it's not in there, it's not that important. When I tire of the visual clutter of my desk, I write on my laptop in my bedroom, on our ironing board. I sit on a bar chair I confiscated from the kitchen. The ironing board faces a blank wall, but has good lighting overhead, and to the right is a bank of windows overlooking our garden. The children don't think to look for me up there, and our wireless network doesn't reach that part of our old house, so I have few distractions. Other than the spin bike, which mocks me mercilessly. And finally, when I want to be in the middle of everything, but pay attention to nothing, I write at Starbucks or Barnes and Noble. I like the background noise. It helps me think.

OMN: What specific authors or books influenced how and what you write today?

WT: So many, it's hard to pinpoint a few. I liked the horror genre as a kid, and I read a lot of Stephen King. One of my favorite books was The Stand. It's such an incredibly ambitious book — so many characters, so many intertwined stories, and, of course, the age-old theme of good versus evil. I think I read that book about six times between the ages of twelve and eighteen–and several times since. I wanted to understand how King crafted each character to be so real and each storyline to be so compelling. Even the minor characters and their struggles come alive. I was also influenced by The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Her chilling dystopian novel about a dark future in which women are tightly controlled by a theocratic government was terrifying. Atwood is a master storyteller. I was in college when I first read The Handmaid's Tale, and that one novel made me think more about government, feminism, religion and politics than any class had. I realized then the power of books, not only to entertain, but to spark debate and give the otherwise conceptual a human face.

OMN: What do you read now for pleasure?

WT: I love mysteries and thrillers, and I read them voraciously. I also enjoy science fiction, historical fiction, and literary fiction — just about any genre, really. Including horror. I still love a good Stephen King novel. On the nonfiction side, I read cookbooks, especially ethnic cookbooks. I love Indian cuisine, but try as I might, I can't seem to come even close to replicating the flavors of my favorite restaurants. I also read books on organic gardening and nutrition. And I have a special shelf for science-related books (Hawking, Tipler, Sagan). What seemed like torture during school is much more fun now that I can stick with the books aimed at lay-readers.

OMN: Where might we find you when you're not writing?

WT: I work full-time as a legal consultant, and I have three kids, so that doesn't leave a lot of time for too many other activities. My husband and I are hardcore organic gardeners, though, and we've been pretty proactive in our support of the local farm movement. We grow almost all of our own vegetables on our small suburban lot near Philly and we're in the process of leasing land to start a CSA. Mia, one of the characters in Killer Image, was inspired at least in part by our gardening life. Someday I want to move to her farm, although I think I'd locate it in Vermont or Maine. Aside from that, we travel a lot, both in and out of the States, and as a family we enjoy the outdoors: hiking, biking, camping, and swimming.

OMN: What's next for you?

WT: Oh, I am so blessed to say more writing! I have the first in a new series being released by E-Lit Books on November 1, 2013 — another mystery, The Seduction of Miriam Cross. And then the second book in the Allison Campbell Mystery Series will be released by Henery Press in May, 2014.

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Wendy Tyson's background in law and psychology has provided
inspiration for her mysteries and thrillers. Wendy lives near Philadelphia with her husband, three sons and two muses, Labs Molly and Driggs.

For more information about Wendy, please visit her website at WATyson.com or find her on Facebook and Twitter.

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Killer Image
Wendy Tyson
An Allison Campbell Mystery

As Philadelphia's premier image consultant, Allison Campbell helps others reinvent themselves, but her most successful transformation was her own after a scandal nearly ruined her. Now she moves in a world of powerful executives, wealthy, eccentric ex-wives and twisted ethics.

When Allison's latest Main Line client, the fifteen-year-old Goth daughter of a White House hopeful, is accused of the ritualistic murder of a local divorce attorney, Allison fights to prove her client's innocence when no one else will. But unraveling the truth brings specters from her own past. And in a place where image is everything, the ability to distinguish what's real from the facade may be the only thing that keeps Allison alive.

    

Burnt Offerings by Michael Lister is Today's Fourth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Burnt Offerings by Michael Lister as today's fourth free mystery ebook (Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, October 01, 2013 at 7:40 AM ET. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of 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.

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Burnt Offerings
Michael Lister
Publisher: Pulpwood Press

Terror reigns over the North Florida National Forest, the coastal town of Bayshore, and the barrier island of Pine Key — a fiery terror whose flame threatens to consume the whole world.

An exacting and methodical killer whose weapon is fire is working on his masterpiece, and only a wounded and scarred FDLE agent and a retired ritual crimes expert hiding from the world in a cabin in the woods have any hope of stopping him.

  

Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.

For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.

Overtime by Jack Hayes is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Overtime by Jack Hayes as today's third free mystery ebook (A Suspense Thriller; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, October 01, 2013 at 7:30 AM ET. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of 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.

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Overtime
Jack Hayes
A Suspense Thriller
Publisher: Endeavour Press

The American football team, the Black Ears, has a problem — not on the pitch but in the press. Bad stories are being spread about them.

Simon Ritter is hired to clean up its image. His job is to be the first man on the scene — any potential news story has to reach him before the press, so he can cover up and neutralise any scandal. As soon as he starts work the club's deputy grounds-keeper asks for a meeting. But when Ritter arrives he finds the man shot dead.

As he starts investigating the murder, he finds out a Russian billionaire called Janokovic has just bought the club. But why? And what is the true source of his fabulous wealth?

As Ritter starts to uncovers the truth he finds not only his reputation, but his life, is on the line. And very soon it will be game on or game over for Ritter.

  

Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.

For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.

Deep Fried and Pickled by Paisley Ray is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Deep Fried and Pickled by Paisley Ray as today's second free mystery ebook (The Rachael O'Brien Chronicles; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, October 01, 2013 at 7:20 AM ET. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of 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.

— ♦ —

Deep Fried and Pickled
Paisley Ray
The Rachael O'Brien Chronicles
Publisher: Paisley Ray

It's '86, the era of Pop Rocks, Jelly shoes, and big hair bands. Rachael O'Brien's freshman plan seems simple: Attend a southern college five-hundred miles from her hometown of Canton, Ohio, earn an Art History degree, party, and lose her virginity — hopefully, not in that order. "Becoming a woman" somehow turns into a series of life lessons that she and her journal are lucky to live to tell.

Threatened by a redheaded She-Devil, avoiding the advances of a thirty-something redneck, and discovering an art fraud scheme interfere with her "to do" list. On top of her troubles at school, Rachael finds herself forging a new relationship with her emotionally distant father after her mother abandons him for a psychic adventure.

  

Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.

For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.

The Case of the Moomah's Moolah by Jim Stevens is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Case of the Moomah's Moolah by Jim Stevens as today's free mystery ebook (A Richard Sherlock Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, October 01, 2013 at 7:10 AM ET. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of 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.

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The Case of the Moomah's Moolah
Jim Stevens
A Richard Sherlock Mystery
Publisher: Creative Inc.

It starts with a simple kidnapping, proceeds to a botched ransom drop, escalates to a safe deposit box theft, and culminates in a missing four-million- dollar diamond necklace.

The timing is awful. It all goes down during Sherlock's two summer weeks with his daughters, Kelly and Care. The suspects are worse; Tiffany's half-uncles, half-aunts, and other half-wit relatives. And, Moomah is the worst possible victim, because the Grande Dame of the insurance fortune now exists in an Oz state of mind.

In order to solve the case, Sherlock enlists the help of an odd group of associates, including Phoebe the Forger, Freddy the Fencer, Second Story Man, Shervy, and the Mona Lisa.

Sherlock will reluctantly figure out whodunit, but it won't be easy.

  

Important Note: This book was listed for free on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.

For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.

Bedfellows by Bob Garfield is Today's Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Bedfellows by Bob Garfield as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal.

The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Tuesday, October 01, 2013.

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Bedfellows
Bob Garfield
A Crime Thriller
Thomas & Mercer

Jack Schiavone wants to rebuild his life after an embezzlement scandal saw him drummed out of his high-paying advertising job. So he's reinvented himself as "Mr. Mattress", a discount bedding franchisee in Ebbets Beach, Brooklyn. Running a mattress store is a nice, quiet life — until Jack gets sucked into a simmering mob war that pits an ambitious Russian crime boss against a softening Italian don.

Soon everyone is "going to the mattresses."

Jack falls for the don's gorgeous black-sheep daughter, a legal aid attorney, making him the target of a jealous wise guy/lounge singer who's fixated on her too. And his new store manager — the don's gentle, stamp collecting, cottage cheese–eating former consigliere — proves as good at selling mattresses as he was at cooking the books for the mob. Then the Russians put on a show of force, and the don's only recourse is to call on the world's worst hit man: a mild-mannered chiropractor with an innovative killing technique.

When the smoke clears, who will be the don of Ebbets Beach?

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Today's Mystery and Suspense Update from Big Fish Games (131001)

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

• The New Release is Dark Sisterhood: The Initiation.

• The Daily Deal is Where Angels Cry, just $2.99 today only!

• The current Catch of the Week is Royal Detective: The Lord of Statues, just $2.99 through Sunday, October 06, 2013 only.

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

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Today's New Release is Dark Sisterhood: The Initiation

After receiving a letter from an old friend, you start a journey to the remote island of Cold Peak, a place with its own traditions where people observe a forgotten way of life. In this village ruled by fear and arcane traditions, you are drawn into a web of ancient cults and murderous deceit, where villagers are bound together by the law of silence. In order to save a little girl's life, you will have to unveil the mystery surrounding a cruel witch-hunt and the events that triggered it. Gain the confidence of the secretive people of Cold Peak in order to get closer to the truth and save the innocent.

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

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Today's Daily Deal is Where Angels Cry

Strange events are taking place in an isolated medieval monastery, set high in the Alps. Monks are vanishing without a trace, mysterious persons are being sighted running through the dark passages of the monastery and there are even reports that a statue in the center of the village is crying the tears of blood! A Vatican Cardinal has chosen you to travel to the monastery, undercover, to investigate these bizarre occurrences. Your duty is to reveal the secrets of the monastery, and monks who inhabit it, freeing this once sacred place from the evil forces currently in power. Embark on an amazing adventure and prove that your keen investigative instincts are up to this formidable task in this challenging and exciting hidden object puzzle adventure!

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour. You can purchase this game today only — Tuesday, October 01, 2013 — for $2.99.

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The current Catch of the Week is Royal Detective: The Lord of Statues

You have been summoned to save the alpine village of Martlet, which has been taken over by statues! What made these statues come alive, and how can you stop them from destroying Martlet? The answer lays in the story of Princess, a young girl who was left on the statue maker's doorstep at birth. Find out who enchanted the statues and why in this charming game set in a small European town.

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour. You can purchase this game at the special price of $2.99 through Sunday, October 06, 2013.