Kindle Singles: Short Form Crime Fiction

Were were looking through the current list of fiction Kingle Singles — novellas and other short form novels — and couldn't help but notice that many of the 42 titles currently listed are mysteries, novels of suspense, or thrillers.

Amazon describes Kindle Singles as "compelling ideas expressed at their natural length". We're fans of short fiction … not necessarily short stories, but novels that can introduce characters, develop a mystery storyline, and wrap it all up in about 100 pages or less.

The bestselling Kindle Single when we checked this morning was Deep Down, a Jack Reacher story by Lee Child. It checks in at just 58 pages, and has this as its brief description: Jack Reacher must track down a spy in soldier's clothing — by matching wits with four formidable females. Three are clean — but the fourth may prove fatal.

A bit further down is Snatched, a 73 page "Will Trent" novella by Karin Slaughter; and The Khmer Kill, a 65 page "Dox" story by Barry Eisler.

Readers unfamiliar with these characters will find Kindle Singles an quick and inexpensive way to be introduced. And those who are fans of the characters may find these ebooks to be just what you need to tide you over until the next full-length novel in the series is published. (Indeed, many include previews of these books.)

Kindle Singles are generally priced between 99 cents and $2.99, though there are a handful that are priced a bit higher. (The ones we mention above are currently either $1.99 or $2.99.)