Tuesday, December 30, 2014

White Sky, Black Ice, A Nathan Active Mystery by Stan Jones, Now Available at a Special Price

White Sky, Black Ice by Stan Jones

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 …

White Sky, Black Ice by Stan Jones

A Nathan Active Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Soho Crime

Price: $1.99 (as of 12/30/2014 at 1:00 PM ET).

White Sky, Black Ice by Stan Jones, Amazon Kindle format

Find more discounted mystery, suspense and thriller titles on the Omnimystery News Facebook page.

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.

Trooper Nathan Active, child of a fifteen-year-old unmarried Inupiat Eskimo girl, was given up for adoption and raised in Anchorage, where he graduated from the university. Now that he has been posted to his remote birth village, Chukchi, he longs to return to civilization. Before that happens, he is confronted with atypical suicides. Eskimos are notoriously at risk for self-slaughter, but never has one man after another shot himself in the Adam's apple. Can a shaman's curse really be at work?

Lucy Generous is a beautiful villager who is enlivening Nathan's tour of duty. Nathan's mother tells him to beware; she wants him to find a girl who went to college and has a good job. But with Lucy's help, the nalauqmiiyaak (almost white) state trooper begins to understand his Eskimo heritage, which provides him with the solution to the crimes that he is confronted with.

White Sky, Black Ice by Stan Jones

Murder at Castle Rock, An Amelia Grace, Rock 'n' Roll Mystery by Anne Marie Stoddard, New This Week from Gemma Halliday

Murder at Castle Rock by Anne Marie Stoddard

Gemma Halliday Publishing is a boutique publisher of light-hearted mystery, romantic suspense and romantic comedy novels, perfect for popping into your beach bag for a weekend away or cozying up beside a warm fire for a quiet night in.

We've selected one of their recently published titles to feature here today …

Murder at Castle Rock by Anne Marie Stoddard

An Amelia Grace, Rock 'n' Roll Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Gemma Halliday Presents

Price: $0.99 (as of 12/30/2014 at 12:30 PM ET).

Murder at Castle Rock by Anne Marie Stoddard, Amazon Kindle format

Find more newly released mystery, suspense and thriller titles on the Omnimystery News Facebook page.

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.

As the manager and booking agent for Atlanta's famous Castle Rock concert venue, Amelia "Ame" Grace is ready for the most exciting week of her career: she's booked three shows and a live DVD-filming for the comeback tour of none other than the Pop Rock Prince himself, Bobby Glitter!

Before the rock star can take a bow on the first night, however, trouble steals the show as Castle Rock's owner takes a deadly tumble from atop the venue's tower. To make matters worse, the police suspect foul play — and all signs point to two of Castle Rock's own employees.

Ame soon finds herself in a race against time to clear the names of her friends and uncover the truth before the killer decides it's curtains for her too!

Murder at Castle Rock by Anne Marie Stoddard

A Conversation with Mystery Authors Rosemary and Larry Mild

Omnimystery News: Author Interview with Rosemary and Larry Mild
with Rosemary
and Larry Mild

We are delighted to welcome mystery authors Rosemary and Larry Mild to Omnimystery News today.

Rosemary and Larry write two series, and their most recent book in the second of these, Death Takes a Mistress (Magic Island Literary Works; August 2014 trade paperback and ebook formats), featuring booksellers Dan and Rivka Sherman, was recently published.

We recently had the chance to catch up with the busy duo to talk a little more about their books.

— ♦ —

Omnimystery News: Tell us more about your series mysteries.

Rosemary and Larry Mild
Photo provided courtesy of
Rosemary and Larry Mild

Rosemary Mild (with Larry chiming in): We have two novel series. In both, the protagonists are very individual and very human. They're not static from book to book. They deepen in character and decision-making — and their foibles — because they are affected by the dangers, conflicts, and emotions that come with pursuing villains and solving cases.

Let's start with our first series, the Paco and Molly Mysteries: Locks and Cream Cheese, Hot Grudge Sunday, and Boston Scream Pie. Paco and Molly are drawn from real life. The real Molly was my psychoanalyst father's housekeeper/gourmet cook. My father kept a secret list of all her clever sayings, which we call "Mollyprops." She says "I have to take my calcium so I don't get osteoferocious." She was a born snoop, who knew the secrets of every family member and friend. The fictional Molly's snooping skills prove to be of great help to Paco. In Locks and Cream Cheese she overwaters all the plants (leaving white rings) and overfeeds Dr. Avi Kepple's golden retriever, who lunches on filet mignon and scalloped potatoes. All of this is true to the real-life Molly. Both she and my father have passed away, but we're delighted to have immortalized them.

The real-life Paco was Inspector Garcia Garcia Garcia, a guest aboard a U.S. Navy ship in Barcelona, Spain. Larry was a field engineer for RCA aboard that ship, and he engaged the inspector in a long, lively conversation, which brought out many anecdotes of the man's work as a police detective. In Locks and Cream Cheese, Larry turned him into Paco LeSoto, a semi-retired Baltimore police detective.

Our passion is bringing our characters to life. In Locks and Cream Cheese, Paco and Molly fall in love. She woos him with her divine cooking. In Hot Grudge Sunday they're married and on their honeymoon at the national parks out West. They'd rather smooch than sleuth, but conspirators and thieves on the tour bus change all that. In Boston Scream Pie, a shocking tale of twins, Molly is thrust into her most life-threatening confrontation. Paco begins to feel his age when he tries to heft roly-poly Molly out of a car.

Our brand-new series introduces the Dan and Rivka Sherman Mysteries: Death Goes Postal and Death Takes A Mistress. (Death Steals A Holy Book will come out next year.) Dan and Rivka leave their professional careers: he as an engineer, she as an editor, to buy The Olde Victorian Bookstore in historic Annapolis, Maryland. They anticipate a safe, normal life. Instead, they're embroiled in the fallout of a mugging, burglary, kidnapping — and murder. But every day they cuddle, analyze, argue, and investigate on their way to exposing imposters and criminals. Dan and Rivka's personalities are very much like Larry's and mine. The review in Bitten by Books said: "They're a great couple, as well as dedicated crime solvers. Their relationship with one another is adorable and realistic, two things I think a lot of novels miss."

We also published a series of short stories with the same main character in Mysterical-E mystery magazine on-line. Now we've published the eight stories in one fetching little volume: The Misadventures of Slim O. Wittz, Soft-Boiled Detective. He's a spoof on the hard-boiled male detectives of the 1930s and '40s; always getting into himself trouble and still catching the crooks.

OMN: When developing a story for a new book, how do you decide (a) if it will be a series mystery, and (b) which characters to feature?

LM: The series decision always rests with the reception a character has received in the first book. I write our first drafts after extensive back and forth discussions with Rosemary. These discussions end with my writing a five- to ten-page statement of work and a character list. My first-draft characters are skeletal and the scenes are sketchy. This is where Rosemary re-enters the picture, personalizes both people and places, and makes everything come alive.

RM: When I met Larry twenty-eight years ago, I had no idea how to write fiction. Here I was, divorced, out on a blind date. As he was driving me home, he announced: "When I retire, I'm going to write a novel and I want you to help me." Now neither of us had ever written a word of fiction, and I had only known this man for four hours! So I chirped, "Okay!" We married the following year, but it was seven years later that we started writing together. Larry retired and, with his typical gusto, wrote the first draft of the novel he'd dreamed about, a suspense-thriller set in Hawaii called Cry Ohana, ohana meaning "family". Then he handed me his 450-page manuscript and said, "Okay, your turn." Yikes! We cut our fiction teeth on this stand-alone novel. We were actually in a good place, literally, to write it. We spent twenty years as winter "snowbirds" in Honolulu, where we have family. It took us years to write Cry Ohana and during that time we became quite local. All the settings are authentic and familiar. Fresh Fiction for Today's Reader said: "You can almost feel the island breezes. This is an uplifting tale of family and love."

OMN: Larry explained a bit about your writing process. How would you describe writing together?

RM: Sometimes I throw a new trait into a character. And that can have consequences: like derailing the plot line. So I have to watch out. Larry's very romantic, so in Cry Ohana the teenage sister, Leilani, has a sweet, uncomplicated romance. I thought it was icky sweet, so I made her feisty and independent — but still lovable. And occasionally I'll change a character's name. When we "negotiate" (sometimes with sleeves rolled up!) Larry says "Who dat?"

OMN: As a couple, do you believe you have an advantage in writing both male and female characters?

RM: Being a husband-and-wife writing team gives us an advantage. We can not only choose to write about either gender, we can choose to make a couple our protagonists, which we have done in both of our murder mystery series. Though the detective (Sam) in the Copper and Goldie short story series is male, his exceptional golden retriever is female and very story-relevant — another couple, you might say.

OMN: Where do you usually find yourselves writing?

RM: We write back to back on our dueling computers in our "office": the second bedroom of our Honolulu apartment.

OMN: Into which mystery subgenre do you place your series?

RM: Our two novel series are cozies: following the Agatha Christie, "Murder, She Wrote" tradition of intrigue, puzzles, and humor. No explicit sex, torture, or gory murder scenes. Cry Ohana has a prostitute who plays a major role in the plot, and we do include a steamy sex scene. And regarding torture in fiction (and on TV): I consider it disgusting! (Larry is only slightly more tolerant. But he does like macho books and is more tough-minded by far than I am.)

OMN: Tell us something about Death Takes a Mistress that isn't mentioned in the synopsis.

RM: Lainee — age twenty-three, naïve, and vulnerable — has a long, sensual affair in London with a married man. He pays for her apartment, showers her with gifts, and visits her four or five times a week, never on weekends. Logic should tell her he's a dead end. She never learns his real name or where he lives and works; or even if he has children. But passion drives her to accept him as the love of her life, revealing all in her diary. When she gets pregnant, she's murdered.

OMN: How do you go about researching the plot points of your stories? Have you come across any particularly exciting or challenging topics?

RM: Hawaii is the most exciting topic because we're living it. We've consulted the police in two states; used the Internet for details; and collected dozens of Honolulu newspaper articles for descriptions of festivals, ethnic traditions, crimes, etc. Larry did extensive research for Death Goes Postal, about rare printing relics dating back to Gutenberg. In Locks and Cream Cheese he made up a beautiful historical subplot about star-crossed lovers, just drawn from all the historical novels he'd ever read.

OMN: How true would you say you are to the settings of your books?

RM: In Hot Grudge Sunday, we took the same bus tour as Paco and Molly out West, but we reversed the itinerary so the most dramatic scene is at the most thrilling locale. We used our memories, maps, tour books to make every locale authentic. We also consulted a Yellowstone park ranger.

We lived in Severna Park, Maryland, north of Annapolis, for many years. Black Rain Corners is fictional, on the Chesapeake Bay, but both our series combined fictional and real setting details, such as a chase scene in historic Annapolis.

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

RM: We have already traveled extensively throughout North America, Asia, the South Pacific, Western Europe, and the Middle East. That research has found its way into many of our short stories. We would love to take one of the Rhine cruises for pleasure. Who knows what might wind up in a future story.

OMN: What are some of your outside interests?

RM: I've been going to Jazzercise for 26 years; it satisfies my suppressed desire to be a Rockette! Our other interests? Swimming, reading, movies, the theater and opera; Sunday night dinners at a restaurant with our family. We love walking at Magic Island — overlooking Diamond Head, the skyline, and ocean; it's the small peninsula off Ala Moana Beach Park. That's why we call our ourselves Magic Island Literary Works.

OMN: What is the best advice you've received as authors?

LM: "Write! Write! Write! And get on with it." "Get with the program." Excuse the clichés, please.

RM: Larry's advice is based on the course we taught at a Maryland community college in Continuing Education, "Advice for Wannabe Writers":

1. Above all, get something, anything, down on paper. Your story is the primary concern. Save the rules for writing it until you have a complete draft.
2. Don't be intimidated, first drafts are never perfect.
3. Fear of the blank page is something to be skirted. Don't give up, go on to the next scene, and come back later.
4. Write regularly, at least an hour per sitting, if possible. Schedule a time and place to write, a spot where you won't be distracted or disturbed.
5. Write about what you are comfortable with, even if it's about vampires in paradise.
6. Think about writing even when you're not at the keyboard.
7. Establish the strongest sense of the plot in your head:
 a. How many ways and reasons are there to kill a victim?
 b. What kind of story moves, turns, and twists can I create?
8. Try visualizing the scenes in your head.
9. Develop clear mental images of your central characters.
10. Become more aware of people and places:
 a. Carry a notebook or recorder with you and accumulate notes.
 b. Tune into both the unusual and the commonplace.

OMN: Tell us more about your clever book titles. And do you design your own covers?

RM: Larry makes up all our titles. As you can see from the Paco and Mollys, he's an incorrigible punster! We have a wonderful graphic designer in Annapolis, who does our covers. We're still working with her via email and phone.

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

RM: We're always thrilled to hear that so many have liked our writing style, plots, locales, and characters, but we're super-thrilled when our readers tell us the puzzles we've posed have kept them guessing.

OMN: What kinds of books did you read when you were young?

LM: My grandfather influenced my reading the most. Whenever he caught me reading comics, he'd haul me down to the public library and introduce me to another classic: Alexander Dumas, Charles Dickens and so many others. I think Conan Doyle's concept of deduction, putting together the subtle bits and pieces of the puzzle and making sense out of them, fascinated me from the start. I believe he knew all the real makings of the mystery. It made me extra-conscious of plotting and aware of detailing in my current writing.

OMN: And what do you read today for pleasure?

LM: Adventure-thrillers and dramas, especially those with historical narratives, e.g., anything by Ken Follett. Brad Meltzer's Washington conspiracies also intrigue me. M. Connelly, Wilbur Smith, M. Crichton, S. Larsson, F. Forsyth, R. Ludlum, P.D. James, E. George, K. Reichs, and T. Hoag make my list as well. As you can see, I'm more fascinated by author style, locale, and plot than any particular series character within.

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

RM: My favorite book of all time is Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. It's my friend. I especially love how it gives the origin of every word in brackets.

I just re-read Anna Karenina. Tolstoy's characters truly come alive. He can also be satiric: in his portrait of Anna's husband, the pompous bureaucratic; and the parasitic ladies of society. Tolstoy excels in detail. As Levin runs his vast farm, we pitch hay with a scythe, sweat with the peasants. When Anna's lover rides in a dangerous steeplechase, we hold our breath. Tolstoy expertly paces his two main plot lines, building suspense in every chapter.

OMN: Do you have any favorite contemporary authors?

RM: My current favorite mystery author is Louise Penny. She's Canadian; her setting is the Quebec/Montreal environs. Her books are in a class by themselves because they get deep into character; very psychological, yet suspenseful.

Among other books I admire: Ken Follett's historical novels beginning with The Pillars of the Earth; Snow Falling on Cedars (David Guterson); the novels of Tom Wolfe; A Patchwork Planet (Anne Tyler); A Separate Peace (John Knowles); The Pearl (John Steinbeck); Life of Pi (Yann Martel); Saving Fish From Drowning (Amy Tan); "Brokeback Mountain" in Annie Proulx's collection Close Range; Original Sin (P.D. James); The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields); and the scholarly Chocolate Lab in A Dog About Town (J. Englert).

OMN: What's next for each of you?

LM: My current thinking is to publish Exploring the Mystery (Eighteen Valuable Lessons on Mystery Writing); and Murder, Fantasy, and Weird Tales (seventeen of our short stories). I'm also expanding our new short story series, The Perilous Adventures of Copper and Goldie. It features Sam Nahoe, a disabled Hawaiian ex-detective, who drives a cab with his (mostly) golden retriever beside him. When Sam is out of the cab, she sits in the driver's seat, front paws on the steering wheel, wearing his peaked cap. Goldie sheds a lot, eats a lot, and helps him catch bad guys.

RM: Coauthoring with Larry sometimes drives him crazy, because I'm the tortoise, he's the hare. I take forever because I have my own personal writing life: memoirs and essays. I've written three memoirs: a) Miriam's Gift: A Mother's Blessings — Then and Now (1999); b) Miriam's World — and Mine (2012). Both are tributes to our beloved 20-year-old daughter Miriam Wolfe, whom we lost in the terrorist bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. And c) Love! Laugh! Panic! Life With My Mother (2014). Growing up in Milwaukee with a mother whose huge expectations for us kids didn't always match our talents.

On our website you'll find my new blog, "Rosemary's World." The second entry is: "In My Next Life I'll Get It Right." Yes, many of my essays are filled with wry humor. My newest one, entitled "My Best Move" (really my worst one), is coming soon in Chess Life magazine. You'll also find us on Facebook and LinkedIn, etc. I'm on Twitter, but haven't the faintest idea of how to use it.

— ♦ —

Rosemary and Larry Mild are cheerful partners in crime. They coauthor the Dan and Rivka Sherman Mysteries and the Paco and Molly Mysteries. In 2013 they moved from Severna Park, Maryland to Honolulu, Hawaii, where they are close (but not too close) to their delightful children and grandchildren. They're members of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, both the Chesapeake and Hawaii chapters.

For more information about the author, please visit their website at Magicile.com.

— ♦ —

Death Takes a Mistress by Rosemary and Larry Mild

Death Takes a Mistress
Rosemary and Larry Mild
A Dan and Rivka Sherman Mystery

After twenty-three years, the daughter of a mistress seeks revenge from the murderous lover who killed her mother and deserted her at age three months. Ivy, the daughter, follows the cold case clues from London, England to Annapolis, Maryland where she discovers her father and killer belong to one of four families. But which one?

Ivy seeks employment as a clerk at The Olde Victorian Bookstore where she finds friendship, advice, love, and caution from Dan and Rivka Sherman, the booksellers. The Shermans use their old connections at Scotland Yard to obtain Ivy's mother's diary, but it is soon stolen. Will they get it back? Does it contain the clues they need? Will Ivy cause fear and havoc in the four families — enough to put her own life in jeopardy?

Amazon.com Print/Kindle Format(s)  BN.com Print/Nook Format(s)

Did Anyone Die? by Stella Stafford is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

Did Anyone Die? by Stella Stafford

Omnimystery News is pleased to feature …

Did Anyone Die? by Stella Stafford

A Little Wychwell Mystery

Publisher: Stella Stafford

… as today's second free mystery ebook.

Did Anyone Die? by Stella Stafford, Amazon Kindle format

This title was listed for free as of December 30, 2014 at 7:10 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.

A gunfight with no bodies, a missing wheelie bin, abandoned groceries, can they possibly all be connected? Is Elodea suffering from over active imagination and if not did anyone die?

Some are born detectives, some become detectives and some have detectiveship thrust upon them. In this last category are Priscilla, dedicated classicist and Oxford academic, and Barnabus, her un-nephew, who are left to solve the mystery and to discover that dog sitting can be dangerous.

Did Anyone Die? by Stella Stafford

Fallen Palm by Wayne Stinnett is Today's First Featured Free MystereBook

Fallen Palm by Wayne Stinnett

Omnimystery News is pleased to feature …

Fallen Palm by Wayne Stinnett

A Jesse McDermitt Mystery

Publisher: Down Island Press

… as today's first free mystery ebook.

Fallen Palm by Wayne Stinnett, Amazon Kindle format

This title was listed for free as of December 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.

Jesse McDermitt lives alone on an isolated island in the Florida Keys where he runs a charter fishing business. Retired from the Marine Corps for six years, he wanted nothing more than to relax, fish, dive and enjoy the laid back lifestyle of the islands.

Russ, his former Platoon Sergeant and old friend, dies unexpectedly in a mysterious scuba diving accident and Jesse becomes suspicious. When his friend's son comes to south Florida to ask Jesse if he would take him to a remote reef to spread his father's ashes, the two men discover that Russ was murdered and agree to hunt down the psychotic killer together, unaware that their manhunt will lead them to a Caribbean terrorist cell.

Meanwhile, a beautiful woman has returned to the Keys on a manhunt of her own, distracting Jesse with the idea that he could finally leave his warrior past behind. The prospect of finding lost Confederate gold, several high speed boat chases and dodging demented killers, won't stop Jesse from revenge. Surviving a powerful hurricane puts everything on hold as a top secret government agency tries to recruit him into their fold.

When the sun comes back out, will Jesse be ready?

Fallen Palm by Wayne Stinnett

The Last Policeman Trilogy by Ben H. Winters is Today's Kindle Daily Deal

The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters

Omnimystery News is pleased to feature The Last Policeman Trilogy by Ben H. Winters as today's Kindle Daily Deal.

The deal price of $2.99 or less is valid only for today, Tuesday, December 30, 2014. We're highlighting the first book in the trilogy in this post.

The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters

The Last Policeman Trilogy (1st in series)

Publisher: Quirk Books

Price: $1.99 (as of 12/30/2014 at 6:20 AM ET).

Winner of the 2013 Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original Mystery.

The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters, 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.

What's the point in solving murders if we're all going to die soon, anyway?

Detective Hank Palace has faced this question ever since asteroid 2011GV1 hovered into view. There's no chance left. No hope. Just six precious months until impact.

The economy spirals downward while crops rot in the fields. Churches and synagogues are packed. People all over the world are walking off the job — but not Hank Palace. He's investigating a death by hanging in a city that sees a dozen suicides every week — except this one feels suspicious, and Palace is the only cop who cares.

The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters

20 Popular Fiction Books is Today's Kindle Daily Deal

Hidden by Kendra Elliot

Omnimystery News is pleased to feature 20 Popular Fiction Books as today's Kindle Daily Deal.

The deal price of $1.99 or less each is valid only for today, Tuesday, December 30, 2014. We're highlighting one of the romantic suspense titles available in this post.

Hidden by Kendra Elliot

A Bone Secrets Novel of Romantic Suspense (1st in series)

Publisher: Montlake Romance

Price: $1.99 (as of 12/30/2014 at 6:10 AM ET).

Hidden by Kendra Elliot, 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.

Eleven years ago, the Co-ed Slayer murdered nine female students on the Oregon State University campus. Lacey Campbell barely escaped his attack, but lost her best friend whose remains were never found. As the sole surviving victim, Lacey helped send the sadistic serial killer to prison for life.

Now a forensic odontologist examining teeth and bones for the state Medical Examiner, Lacey is devastated when she arrives at a crime scene and identifies the skeletal remains as her college friend's.

The remains are discovered on the land of ex-cop Jack Harper. Sparks fly between him and Lacey, even as they realize that the prosecution's witnesses from a decade ago are now being murdered one by one. All the evidence points to the Co-ed Slayer as the culprit — only, he's long since dead. So who's the new killer? And is Lacey next in line to die?

Hidden by Kendra Elliot

Today's Mystery and Suspense Update from Big Fish Games (141230)

Big Fish Games

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

• Our Featured Title is Haunted Halls: Fears from Childhood.

• The Daily Deal is Haunted Halls: Nightmare Dwellers, just $2.99 today only!

• The current Catch of the Week is The Secret Order: Masked Intent, just $2.99 through Sunday, January 04, 2015 only.

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

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Haunted Halls: Fears from Childhood

Our Featured Title is Haunted Halls: Fears from Childhood

Explore the evil Dr. Blackmores latest experiment in this terrifying Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game! After dragging Tim through a mysterious portal, Dr. Blackmore reveals his newest atrocity: a world that makes the fears of children a reality. Help the hapless victims confront their fears and return home. Track Dr. Blackmore to his lair and save the day!

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

Also available for this game:

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Haunted Halls: Nightmare Dwellers

Today's Daily Deal is Haunted Halls: Nightmare Dwellers

The night started out like any other. A local collector was complaining about paranormal activity in her mansion, and the authorities called you to get to the bottom of things. But it turns out that the pit of bizarre activity was bottomless. Now you find yourself lost in a living nightmare brimming with strange creatures, comatose colleagues, and mysterious tentacles reaching out around every corner! Can you find the source of the happenings and destroy it before it's too late? Race to uncover an ancient secret in this thrilling Hidden Object adventure game!

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

Also available for this game:

— ♦ —

The Secret Order: Masked Intent

The current Catch of the Week is The Secret Order: Masked Intent

Sarah receives shocking news from her father. One of the newest members in the Order of the Griffins has turned traitor, murdering one of the Secret Five, the heads of the Order. What's worse is that very traitor is about to join the Secret Five, and he's wearing a mask that gives him supernatural abilities. Sarah has to race back through time and search for the one artifact that can subdue the mask: a magical scepter. Hop aboard the Royal Griffin and help Sarah unmask the traitor before he destroys the Order in this exhilarating Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure Game.

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

Also available for this game:

Monday, December 29, 2014

The Bourne Identity, A Jason Bourne Thriller by Robert Ludlum, Now Available at a Special Price

The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

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, Bantam …

The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

A Jason Bourne Thriller (1st in series)

Publisher: Bantam

Price: $1.99 (as of 12/29/2014 at 5:00 PM ET).

The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum, Amazon Kindle format

Find more discounted mystery, suspense and thriller titles on the Omnimystery News Facebook page.

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.

His memory is a blank. His bullet-ridden body was fished from the Mediterranean Sea. His face has been altered by plastic surgery. A frame of microfilm has been surgically implanted in his hip. Even his name is a mystery. Marked for death, he is racing for survival through a bizarre world of murderous conspirators — led by Carlos, the world's most dangerous assassin.

Who is Jason Bourne? The answer may kill him.

The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, A Hannah Swensen Mystery by Joanne Fluke, Now Available at a Special Price

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

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, Kensington …

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

A Hannah Swensen Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Kensington

Price: $1.99 (as of 12/29/2014 at 4:00 PM ET).

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke, Amazon Kindle format

Find more discounted mystery, suspense and thriller titles on the Omnimystery News Facebook page.

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.

No one cooks up a delectable, suspense-filled mystery quite like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke's dessert-baking, red-haired heroine whose gingersnaps are as tart as her comebacks, and whose penchant for solving crimes — one delicious clue at a time — has made her a bestselling favorite. And it all began on these pages, with a bakery, a murder, and some suddenly scandalous chocolate-chip crunchies. Featuring a bonus short story and brand new, mouthwatering recipes, this new edition of the very first Hannah Swensen mystery is sure to have readers coming back for seconds …

Hannah already has her hands full trying to dodge her mother's attempts to marry her off while running The Cookie Jar, Lake Eden's most popular bakery. But once Ron LaSalle, the beloved delivery man from the Cozy Cow Dairy, is found murdered behind her bakery with Hannah's famous Chocolate Chip Crunchies scattered around him, her life just can't get any worse. Determined not to let her cookies get a bad reputation, she sets out to track down a killer. But if she doesn't watch her back, Hannah's sweet life may get burned to a crisp.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

1st To Die, A Women's Murder Club Mystery by James Patterson, Now Available at a Special Price

1st To Die by James Patterson

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, Little, Brown …

1st To Die by James Patterson

A Women's Murder Club Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Little, Brown

Price: $1.99 (as of 12/29/2014 at 3:30 PM ET).

1st To Die by James Patterson, Amazon Kindle format

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Four women — four friends — share a determination to stop a killer who has been stalking newlyweds in San Francisco. Each one holds a piece of the puzzle: Lindsay Boxer is a homicide inspector in the San Francisco Police Department, Claire Washburn is a medical examiner, Jill Bernhardt is an assistant D.A., and Cindy Thomas just started working the crime desk of the San Francisco Chronicle.

But the usual procedures aren't bringing them any closer to stopping the killings. So these women form a Women's Murder Club to collaborate outside the box and pursue the case by sidestepping their bosses and giving one another a hand.

The four women develop intense bonds as they pursue a killer whose crimes have stunned an entire city. Working together, they track down the most terrifying and unexpected killer they have ever encountered — before a shocking conclusion in which everything they knew turns out to be devastatingly wrong.

1st To Die by James Patterson

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, A Flavia de Luce Mystery by Alan Bradley, Now Available at a Special Price

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

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, Delacorte Press …

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

A Flavia de Luce Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Price: $1.99 (as of 12/29/2014 at 3:00 PM ET).

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley, Amazon Kindle format

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It is the summer of 1950 — and at the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw, young Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison, is intrigued by a series of inexplicable events: A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Then, hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath.

For Flavia, who is both appalled and delighted, life begins in earnest when murder comes to Buckshaw. "I wish I could say I was afraid, but I wasn't. Quite the contrary. This was by far the most interesting thing that had ever happened to me in my entire life."

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley

A String of Beads by Thomas Perry, New in Bookstores during December 2014

A String of Beads by Thomas Perry

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

A String of Beads by Thomas Perry, a Jane Whitefield Mystery (8th in series)

Publisher: Mysterious Press

A String of Beads by Thomas Perry, Amazon Kindle format  A String of Beads by Thomas Perry, Nook format  A String of Beads by Thomas Perry, Kobo format

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

More about our featured title, below …

After two decades protecting innocent victims on the run, and a year after getting shot on a job that took a dangerous turn for the worse, Jane McKinnon, née Whitefield, has settled into the quiet life of a suburban housewife in Amherst, New York — or so she thinks.

One morning as she comes back from a long run, Jane is met by an unusual sight: all eight clan mothers, the female leaders of the Seneca clans, parked in her driveway in two black cars. A childhood friend of Jane's from the reservation, Jimmy, is wanted by the police for the murder of a local white man. But instead of turning himself in, he's fled, and no one knows where he is hiding out. At the clan mothers' request, Jane retraces a walking trip she and Jimmy took together when they were fourteen in hopes that he has gone the same way again. But it soon becomes clear that the police aren't the only ones after him. As the chase intensifies, the number of people caught up in this twisted plot multiplies, and Jane is the only one who can protect those endangered by it.

A String of Beads by Thomas Perry

Telemystery: Banshee, New This Week on DVD

Telemystery, the most complete selection of detective, amateur sleuth, private investigator, and suspense television mystery series now available or coming soon to DVD

Telemystery, your source for one of the most comprehensive listings of crime drama, amateur sleuth, private investigator, mystery and suspense television series, mini-series and made-for-television movies, now available on or coming soon to DVD, Blu-ray disc, or Video-on-Demand, is profiling one series from our site being released this week.

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Banshee: Season Two

Banshee
Season Two

Anthony Starr stars as Lucas Hood, an ex-convict who improbably assumes the identity of sheriff of the rural, Amish-area town of Banshee, where his former lover and partner-in-crime (Ivana Milicevic) lives under her own alias, Carrie Hopewell … in this original Cinemax drama.

This second season takes up immediately after the first season finale, when Carrie’s father, gang kingpin Rabbit (Ben Cross) was left for dead after a climactic warehouse shootout. Carrie, now exposed and estranged from her husband and kids, is torn between her devotion to her family and her connection to Lucas, who had given himself up in order to save her years earlier.

The new season finds Lucas, having escaped detection after being interrogated by FBI agent Jim Racine (guest star Zeljko Ivanek), with his hands fuller than ever as sheriff, dealing with (among other things) the murder of a Kinaho tribe girl, the continuing escalation of tensions between Amish overlord Kai Proctor (Ulrich Thomsen) and Kinaho tribe leader Alex Longshadow (Anthony Ruivivar), and the unwelcome appearance of a surprise visitor: the reprobate son of the real (dead) Lucas Hood.

Banshee: Season Two on DVD  Banshee: Season Two on Blu-ray Disc

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Visit the Telemystery website to discover more television mystery series currently available on and coming soon to DVD, Blu-ray disc, or video on demand.

The Lincoln Lawyer, A Mickey Haller Mystery by Michael Connelly, Now Available at a Special Price

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

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, Little, Brown …

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

A Mickey Haller Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Little, Brown

Price: $1.99 (as of 12/29/2014 at 1:30 PM ET).

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly, Amazon Kindle format

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Mickey Haller is a Lincoln Lawyer, a criminal defense attorney who operates out of the backseat of his Lincoln Town Car, traveling between the far-flung courthouses of Los Angeles to defend clients of every kind. Bikers, con artists, drunk drivers, drug dealers — they're all on Mickey Haller's client list. For him, the law is rarely about guilt or innocence, it's about negotiation and manipulation. Sometimes it's even about justice.

A Beverly Hills playboy arrested for attacking a woman he picked up in a bar chooses Haller to defend him, and Mickey has his first high-paying client in years. It is a defense attorney's dream, what they call a franchise case. And as the evidence stacks up, Haller comes to believe this may be the easiest case of his career. Then someone close to him is murdered and Haller discovers that his search for innocence has brought him face-to-face with evil as pure as a flame. To escape without being burned, he must deploy every tactic, feint, and instinct in his arsenal — this time to save his own life.

The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson, Now Available at a Special Price

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

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, Vintage …

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Millennium Trilogy (1st in series)

Publisher: Vintage

Price: $1.99 (as of 12/29/2014 at 1:00 PM ET).

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson, Amazon Kindle format

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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.

Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch — and there's always a catch — is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades.

With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

New This Week: Death of a Winter Shaker, A Sister Rose Callahan Mystery by Deborah Woodworth

Death of a Winter Shaker by Deborah Woodworth

Omnimystery News is pleased to present a mystery, suspense, or thriller ebook that we recently found by sleuthing (as it were) through new or recently reissued titles from independent publishers during December 2014 and priced $4.99 or less …

Death of a Winter Shaker by Deborah Woodworth

A Sister Rose Callahan Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Avon

Price: $3.79 (as of 12/29/2014 at 12:30 PM ET).

First published in paperback by Avon in 1997. This is its first appearance as an ebook.

Death of a Winter Shaker by Deborah Woodworth, Amazon Kindle format

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Sister Rose is on a mission … to catch a killer …

The peaceful Shakers, pledged to hard work, worship and nonviolence could scarcely believe there was a dead body in their herb house. The handsome young drifter known as a "Winter Shaker" had professed to be a Believer to find refuge from the cold and the Depression. Now he'd gotten himself murdered.

Shaker Sister Rose Callahan, with her practical knowledge and worldly experience is assigned to find answers the sheriff refuses to consider-even if it mean discovering one of their own is the killer. But to protect a declining Shaker population, Rose must keep the sinful details hidden from the outside world. What the good Sister uncovers among the brethren are more than a tad of Earthly temptations, some un-Godly rivalry, and enough shameful secrets to raise havoc among the faithful … and to tempt some misguided soul to commit the most diabolical sin of all.

Death of a Winter Shaker by Deborah Woodworth

An Excerpt from Deadline for Murder, A Hilary Adams Mystery by Linda Y. Atkins

Omnimystery News: An Excerpt courtesy of Linda Y. Atkins
Deadline for Murder
by Linda Y. Atkins

We are delighted to welcome back author Linda Y. Atkins to Omnimystery News.

Linda visited with us last week when we discuss her latest legal thriller Deadline for Murder (Turquoise Morning Press; October 2014 trade paperback and ebook formats) and today we're pleased to introduce you to it with an excerpt, the prologue and first chapter.

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Deadline for Murder by Linda Y. Atkins

Prologue

Six months previously …

YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN MORE careful. But with your insatiable need to grab readers using nothing more than malicious insinuation mixed with a giant helping of what ultimately amounted to unsubstantiated gossip, why should your recklessness come as a surprise?
  Now it's time for payback. So when you least expect it, you'll pay for the role you had in causing my pain. And I can promise you the pain you experience will be excruciating. Now it's your turn to lose everything you value in life — your reputation, your wife, your children, your friends, your career. But that won't be all you'll lose. Because in the end, when you think it can't get any worse, you'll also lose your wretched, worthless life.
  All those years ago, you were the lucky one. But your luck has finally run out. I warned you!
  That was all the unsigned typewritten note said. Holding it up to the bright overhead fluorescent tube lighting, he could see nothing unusual about the piece of notepaper he held in his hand. It looked to be nothing more than plain, old, run-of-the-mill, four-by-six, ivory-colored cardstock. Curious, he turned it over to see if anything of interest was on the reverse side. Nothing.
  The warning didn't scare him since it wasn't the first time he'd been threatened. It came with the territory. Slumping down, he nestled his head against the back of his swivel chair with its padded lumbar support — a comfort measure, made necessary from a career-ending football injury sustained while playing tight end for the local university. Looking up, he studied the indentation patterns pressed into the acoustical tiles overhead while trying to recall if he had ever been told by anyone in particular, other than his jackass of an editor, that he "should have been more careful." About what exactly, his editor had never been able to explain. And what was this about "payback?"
  He picked up a paper clip, threw it up in the air, and then caught it again in the palm of his hand. What kind of a wiseass would write this crock of shit? No one immediately sprang to mind. He had gotten lots of menacing warnings from all sorts of crackpots during his twenty-plus year career, and, early on, he had been self-important enough to take them seriously. But fortunately, since none of the threats had ever amounted to anything, he had become convinced they were nothing more than idle threats made by people who had nothing better to do. Without a doubt, his boss was a well-known pain in the ass, but he couldn't conceive of him stooping this low, even though their run-ins were legendary and the subject of lots of chatter in the newsroom.
  As the paper's crime columnist, there frankly was no tolerance for any sort of "recklessness" as alleged in the note. It certainly was no secret most of what he wrote in his daily column could be verified by looking at court records and transcripts of taped statements given by blabbermouth defendants who, for whatever cockeyed reason, wanted their fifteen minutes of fame recorded in the City section. All he did was piece the stories together. So being "careful" never really entered into it. His column was always factually driven. It had to be. Of course, he, on occasion, made good use of outside sources, better known as anonymous or confidential, but then every reporter had his or her own stable of gossips and snitches.
  These so-called lowlifes may have been considered by most anyone's standards, including his own, to be reprehensible, but they were indispensable when doing business in the newspaper world. Even his editor had to admit, albeit grudgingly, that his star columnist never reported anything that wasn't nailed down six different ways from Sunday by using other, more pragmatic methods of investigative journalism, regardless of where, how, or from whom the original rumor got started.
  He glanced down at the note one last time. Since it wasn't attached, he assumed the envelope it arrived in had been destroyed by handlers in the mailroom. No matter. Receiving threats like this just proved he had been doing the job he was hired to do for The Louisville Gazette. People were actually reading his column and, as a result, thinking about what he had written and forming their own opinions. If truth be told, he didn't give a rat's behind if readers' opinions of him or of his column were good, bad or indifferent. He still got paid, regardless.
  He wondered why he had even given this latest piece of garbage a second thought. Bending down, he pitched the note into the wastebasket at his feet, turned to face his computer and started typing. He couldn't screw around with this any longer. He had a deadline to meet. And he was already late. As usual.


Chapter One

Tuesday, May 20

"Where in the hell am I?" A simple question. But to Blake Hunter, who was never known to be at a loss for words, the answer remained strangely elusive. Feeling weak and aching all over, as if he had been clobbered by a bad case of the flu, he cautiously pulled himself upright in the chair. Inadvertently, his hands brushed up against spools of yellowed stuffing escaping from beneath strips of rotted fabric that, at one time, must have been wrapped snugly around each of the now fractured armrests. The interaction made his hands feel uncomfortably gritty and sticky with some kind of residue. He jerked them away and then wiped both right and left palms against his thighs. But whatever it was still clung to his hands like skin on a snake.
  Trying hard to overcome his growing sense of panic, even though a cold chill was inching its way up his spine, he glanced around, taking stock of his surroundings. The effort, however, immediately caused sharp pains to shoot through the left side of his head, making any further such exertion much too ambitious. Debilitating dizziness, disorientation and an overwhelming need to give in to sleep became overpowering sensations. Exhausted, Blake slumped back in the chair before trying once more to get his bearings. Seconds ticked away. It was so tempting just to remain sitting limp, like a rag doll. But instinctively, he knew he had to get up and keep moving.
  Easing around an exposed coil sprouting like a prickly weed from the seat cushion, which he quickly realized felt alarmingly damp to the touch, he managed to stand up, but just barely. Shivering, he knew that whatever had dampened the chair had now transferred itself to the back of his trousers. And since the room temperature was somewhere close to frigid, he knew it wasn't sweat. And that realization was all the incentive he needed to remain upright. Tentatively, with one hand still planted firmly on the back of the chair and the other splayed on the wall behind it for added support, he fought back the vertigo, and then the nausea, all of which seemed to roll over him in waves of varying intensity.
  Taking a deep breath, he slowly inched his way forward by placing one hand, then the other against the wall's cold surface. His objective was simple. Head in the direction of the only window in the room. He staggered forward. Out of breath and still reeling from the throbbing pain in his head, he reached out and, hoping to regain his balance, clutched at the short drapery panel that covered the window. The action, however, prompted a plume of accumulated dust to waft through the air and, like lint on a black suit, promptly deposit itself on his face and fingers. Again, Blake attempted to wipe off the grime on his dampened gray flannel slacks but succeeded only in making himself cough, which resulted in his head hurting more, if that was even possible.
  Cautiously lifting the hem of the drapery to eye level, he could see that just outside the three-byfive-foot window was a large metal pole capped twelve feet above with a rectangular neon sign in Pepto-
  Bismol pink letters that blinked "Vacancy" in rhythmic unison to an incessant buzzing sound. Taking advantage of the blinking light, which illuminated the room every two seconds, he studied his watch. Exactly 5:12 a.m. The first blush of color heralding a late spring sunrise was just beginning to spread across the early morning sky. Looking past the Vacancy sign, he searched for the name of the motel, but no name was visible from his rather limited vantage point. Peering around to the left and then to the right, he saw nothing that looked even vaguely familiar except for his Jeep parked three spaces down from the exterior door. Frustrated, he tried but couldn't remember driving here, wherever here was. Dropping the corner of the drapery, Blake turned to take a quick inventory of the room, which had only one low wattage bulb in a floor lamp anchored near one of two twin beds pushed together, but not quite all the way. Both coverlets looked to be pulled back in muddled disarray as if each bed had been slept in. In the area between the beds, he could make out a small pie-shaped section of well-worn shag carpeting. Not surprisingly, even from a distance and with limited light, he could tell that this too was stained. With what, he didn't want to hazard a guess.
  Not knowing who, or what, had brought him there, Blake tried once more to think. But his only recollection of recent events seemed trapped in a mass of jumbled, disjointed conversations with people he couldn't identify — people whose distorted faces seemed to puddle together like wax melting from a hot flame. Nothing was making any sense. And the more he tried to recapture the memories, the more they seemed to fade into nothingness like wisps of smoke.
  With care, he angled his way toward the beds with an overwhelming desire, in spite of the filth, to plop down and sleep off whatever it was that had caused his loss of memory, lack of coordination, and this mother of all headaches. He was in no condition to drive, so sleep, he convinced himself, was the best, if not the only, option he had at the moment. With that goal in mind, he again stumbled forward, his hands involuntarily fluttering around in a useless effort to try to remain standing. Silently, he urged himself on — you're almost there — just two more steps to go before you can lie down and sink back into oblivion. But then, all of a sudden, his knees buckled, and he once more lost control of his movements. Just in time, before falling face down on the floor, he reached out and managed to grab hold of the corner of one of the mattresses. Using all the strength he had left, he pulled himself up and, maneuvering his body as best he could, crawled onto the edge of the bed closest to where he had been standing, slid slowly across it on his belly, cautiously straddling the two mattresses where they remained joined at their shared headboard. But once there, something stopped him cold. What was it he had just touched? He rose up, steadied himself on both elbows, and dared to look. It was a hand. He shifted his weight, and with one arm now free, he pulled back the bedspread. In spite of his fuzzy headedness and overwhelming sense of fatigue, what he saw caused him, without thought as to his present condition, to rear back and jump off the beds.
  Trying to steady himself on still-wobbly legs, he stepped backward, falling against the nearby wall. Leaning on it for support, he stared, transfixed at what had been rolled up, cocoon-like, in the bed covers. A woman's body. And from the coldness of the hand he had touched, he was pretty damn sure she was dead. Stone cold dead.

— ♦ —

Linda Y. Atkins
Photo provided courtesy of
Linda Y. Atkins

Linda Y. Atkins has practiced law in Louisville, Kentucky since 1982. She began her career as a prosecutor in the Jefferson County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office, working her way up through the ranks to become the Director and Chief Prosecutor of the County's first domestic violence unit. Married with two children (and three cats) she now practices law with her husband, concentrating in medical and legal malpractice claims. And of course, she uses her extensive knowledge of the law to write the Hilary Adams mystery series.

For more information about the author, please visit her website at LindaAtkinsAuthor.com, or find her on Facebook.

— ♦ —

Deadline for Murder by Linda Y. Atkins

Deadline for Murder
Linda Y. Atkins
A Hilary Adams Mystery

Defending a crime reporter accused of a double-homicide puts Hilary Adams to the test once more. Can she meet the deadline for murder?

Attorney Hilary Adams makes the difficult decision not to run for another term as Louisville's top prosecutor. She's determined to return to the defense side of the justice system. The only hitch is that her newfound resolve isn't resonating too well with her husband Peter Elliott, Louisville's police chief.

On the first day after her incumbency has ended, Hilary receives an unexpected and very hard to resist offer from Winfield Bennett, the managing partner of Louisville's biggest white-shoe law firm. He wants her to head up a newly formed criminal litigation division. Unable to turn down such a prestigious position and the obscene salary package that accompanies it, Hilary accepts. She soon realizes, however, that the job comes with a hefty price tag — take on every case Win throws her way, including the representation of his old college chum, journalist Blake Hunter, a happily married man who can't seem to remember how he woke up that morning in a seedy motel room with a very dead young woman.

Then, in quick succession, another murder victim turns up. Blake's new boss is found brutally beaten and stabbed in exactly the same manner as the young woman. Evidence, including DNA left at each of the crime scenes, points to only one person as being the culprit in both slayings — Hilary's errant client, Blake Hunter.

As always, Hilary has her work cut out for her. Once again, she's up to the challenge.

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