Saturday, September 30, 2017

Today's Selection of New or Newly Released Indie MystereBooks

Omnimystery News is pleased to present a selection of newly published and recently released mystery, suspense and thriller titles — mostly from independent publishers — for Saturday, September 30, 2017.

Scary Sweets by Jessica Beck

Scary Sweets by Jessica Beck

The Donut Mysteries (34th in series)

Published: 09/28/17 by Jessica Beck

Edition(s): eBook only

eBook Price: $4.99

Scary Sweets by Jessica Beck

Operation Turtle Ransom by Kimberli A. Bindschatel

Operation Turtle Ransom by Kimberli A. Bindschatel

A Poppy McVie Mystery (4th in series)

Published: 09/28/17 by Turning Leaf Productions

Edition(s): eBook only

eBook Price: $5.99

Operation Turtle Ransom by Kimberli A. Bindschatel

Heinous Habits! by Anna Celeste Burke

Heinous Habits! by Anna Celeste Burke

A Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery (3rd in series)

Published: 09/28/17 by Anna Celeste Burke

Edition(s): eBook only

eBook Price: 99¢

Heinous Habits! by Anna Celeste Burke

Snatched by Deidra D. S. Green

Snatched by Deidra D. S. Green

A Chloe Daniels Mystery (8th in series)

Published: 09/28/17 by Rathsi Publishing

Edition(s): eBook only

eBook Price: $3.99

Snatched by Deidra D. S. Green

Apple Turnovers 'n Murder by Emily Greene

Apple Turnovers 'n Murder by Emily Greene

A Prairie Cove Mystery (3rd in series)

Published: 09/28/17 by Emily Greene

Edition(s): eBook only

eBook Price: $2.99

Apple Turnovers 'n Murder by Emily Greene

Antique Secrets by Libby Howard

Antique Secrets by Libby Howard

A Locust Point Mystery (3rd in series)

Published: 09/28/17 by Libby Howard

Edition(s): Print and eBook

eBook Price: $3.99

Antique Secrets by Libby Howard

Stray Narrow by Jerusha Jones

Stray Narrow by Jerusha Jones

An Imogene Museum Mystery (7th in series)

Published: 09/28/17 by Jerusha Jones

Edition(s): eBook only

eBook Price: $3.99

Stray Narrow by Jerusha Jones

The Ménage à Trois by Katy Leen

The Ménage à Trois by Katy Leen

A Lora Weaver Mystery (3rd in series)

Published: 09/28/17 by Katy Leen

Edition(s): eBook only

eBook Price: $3.99

The Ménage à Trois by Katy Leen

Last Laugh by Ben Rehder

Last Laugh by Ben Rehder

A Blanco County Mystery (11th in series)

Published: 09/28/17 by Ben Rehder

Edition(s): eBook only

eBook Price: $5.99

Last Laugh by Ben Rehder

Mousse Moscato & Murder by Jamie Lee Scott

Mousse Moscato & Murder by Jamie Lee Scott

A Willa Friday Food & Wine Mystery (3rd in series)

Published: 09/28/17 by Novels & Coffee

Edition(s): eBook only

eBook Price: $3.99

Mousse Moscato & Murder by Jamie Lee Scott

Casino Havana by Graham Tempest

Casino Havana by Graham Tempest

An Oliver Steele Thriller (3rd in series)

Published: 09/28/17 by Brightway Press

Edition(s): eBook only

eBook Price: 99¢

Casino Havana by Graham Tempest

Death Parts Us by Alex Walters

Death Parts Us by Alex Walters

An Alec McKay Thriller (2nd in series)

Published: 09/28/17 by Bloodhound Books

Edition(s): Print and eBook

eBook Price: 99¢

Death Parts Us by Alex Walters

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of 09/30/17 4:30 PM ET. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. 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 purchasing it.

A Casualty of War by Charles Todd, New in Bookstores during September 2017

Today's featured new hardcover mystery, suspense, or thriller title scheduled to be published during September 2017 is …

A Casualty of War by Charles Todd

A Casualty of War by Charles Todd, a Bess Crawford Mystery (9th in series)

Publisher: William Morrow

A Casualty of War by Charles Todd, Amazon Kindle format

Though the Great War is nearing its end, the fighting rages on. While waiting for transport back to her post, Bess Crawford meets Captain Alan Travis from the island of Barbados. Later, when he's brought into her forward aid station disoriented from a head wound, Bess is alarmed that he believes his distant English cousin, Lieutenant James Travis, shot him. Then the Captain is brought back to the aid station with a more severe wound, once more angrily denouncing the Lieutenant as a killer. But when it appears that James Travis couldn't have shot him, the Captain's sanity is questioned. Still, Bess wonders how such an experienced officer could be so wrong.

On leave in England, Bess finds the Captain strapped to his bed in a clinic for brain injuries. Horrified by his condition, Bess and Sergeant Major Simon Brandon travel to James Travis's home in Suffolk, to learn more about the baffling relationship between these two cousins.

Her search will lead this smart, capable, and compassionate young woman into unexpected danger, and bring her face to face with the visible and invisible wounds of war that not even the much-longed for peace can heal.

A Casualty of War by Charles Todd

For a list of more new hardcover titles to be published this month, visit our New Mysteries page for September 2017. For new paperback titles, visit The Mystery Bookshelf where a selection of September 2017 mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers are shelved.

Today's Selection of Newly Discounted MystereBooks

Here is a selection of the recently discounted mystery, suspense and thriller titles found on Saturday, September 30, 2017 …

A Room with a Pew by Peg Cochran

A Room with a Pew by Peg Cochran

A Lucille Mystery (4th in series)

Publisher: Beyond the Page

Price: 99¢

A Room with a Pew by Peg Cochran

A Deadly Bluff by Kathleen Concannon

A Deadly Bluff by Kathleen Concannon

A Dana Madison Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Kathleen Concannon

Price: 99¢

A Deadly Bluff by Kathleen Concannon

Sharpshooter by Nadia Gordon

Sharpshooter by Nadia Gordon

A Sunny McCoskey Napa Valley Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Price: $1.99

Sharpshooter by Nadia Gordon

Killer Kale Chips by Patrice Lyle

Killer Kale Chips by Patrice Lyle

A Health Nut Mystery (3rd in series)

Publisher: Gemma Halliday Publishing

Price: 99¢

Killer Kale Chips by Patrice Lyle

Night's Landing by Carla Neggers

Night's Landing by Carla Neggers

The Cold Ridge Series

Publisher: MIRA

Price: 99¢

Night's Landing by Carla Neggers

Stiff Arm Steal by A. J. Stewart

Stiff Arm Steal by A. J. Stewart

A Miami Jones Florida Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Jacaranda Drive

Price: 99¢

Stiff Arm Steal by A. J. Stewart

Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson

Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson

A Novel of Suspense

Publisher: William Morrow

Price: $1.99

Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson

This title is included in the Kindle Daily Deal and is available at this price today only.

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of 09/30/17 6:53 AM. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. 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 purchasing it.

A Conversation with Mystery Author Mark S. Bacon

Omnimystery News: Author Interview with Mark S. Bacon

We are delighted to welcome back author Mark S. Bacon to Omnimystery News today.

Mark's second mystery in his "Nostalgia City" series is Desert Kill Switch (Black Opal Books; September 2017 trade paperback and ebook formats) and we recently had the opportunity to catch up with him to talk more about the book.

— ♦ —

Omnimystery News: Introduce readers to Desert Kill Switch with a tweet of the synopsis.

Mark S. Bacon
Photo provided courtesy of
Mark S. Bacon

Mark S. Bacon: Gorgeous theme park VP turns investigator when accused of murder: suspense, $2 million car, desert chase, blackmail, missing corpse, romance.

OMN: Suppose your lead character was interviewing you. What would be her opening question? And what would your answer be?

MSB: Kate Sorensen: Am I really as beautiful as you describe me?  

Answer: And then some. You’re a tall shapely blonde with nearly flawless skin and only tiny lines around your eyes that hint you haven’t been in your twenties for some time. Your hair is long and billows in the breeze and you keep yourself fit with regular exercise. Yes, you are exceptionally tall, taller than most women and perhaps a majority of men. But although you can be self-conscious about your height, it only serves to emphasize your allure. Remember how you vamped that corporate executive when you went undercover in our first book? It was easy for you.

OMN: When you start a new book, which comes first: the cast of characters or the storyline?

MSB: Both. Writing a mystery series means you already have your main character or characters established so you’re looking for a new setting, a new problem for them to solve. So in a sense, the story is the genesis of succeeding books in a series.

With me, that’s true—in part. In Desert Kill Switch, I wanted to explore two distinct areas of the automobile business: (1) a seemingly insidious practice of car sales for average to low-income buyers and (2) the high-end classic car market. To do that however, I created two characters who would represent those automotive worlds and be the subject of the investigation by my protagonists Lyle and Kate.

One of the new characters for this book is Alvin Busick, the owner of a chain of car dealerships in Las Vegas. The other is Ricky Stark, Busick’s unloved stepson, a dealer in antique cars who is in most ways the antithesis of his stepfather. Busick is old-school, hardnosed and possibly shady. Stark is young, hip, impulsive, emotional, and distrustful of his stepfather.

So while of necessity, the next book in the Nostalgia City series begins with a new storyline, it also has major new characters to carry the story ahead.

In addition of course, in each new novel of a series, the main characters get a chance to evolve slightly, exposing different elements of their histories and personalities.

OMN: Are any of the situations in which your characters find themselves based on real events?

MSB: Yes. Alvin Busick, the Vegas car dealer, sells lots of cars to low-income buyers. He considers many of them high-risk borrowers so he takes steps to protect his investment. His dealerships install GPS tracking devices and kill switches in the cars. If a buyer misses a payment, sometimes by as little as a few days, the car is dead. In my novel maybe the borrower is, too.

This is based on an actual practice among some car dealers in the US. According to news reports, more than two million kill switches have been installed in cars being financed. At least one dealer brags about it saying his customers love it because it keeps them from missing a payment. Automobile kill switches are real. What the characters in my novel do with them is fiction.

OMN: Was Desert Kill Switch your working title for the book as you wrote it?

MSB: Long story. Titles can’t be copyrighted. As a result, at least six relatively current suspense/mystery novels are titled “Kill Switch.” I knew that as I was working on the book so I tried hard to avoid those words in the title. Yet I kept coming back to it for two reasons:

1. Automobile kill switches are central to the story; and

2. None of the other books titled Kill Switch are about the kind of switches installed by auto dealers.

I tried to think of all kinds of modifiers to make my title unique. Auto Kill Switch, Secret Kill Switch were some titles I considered. Since the story takes place in Arizona and Nevada, “desert” came to mind. But my first thought was to pick a desert name. The story wanders around the two southwest states traveling through the Mojave, Sonoran and Great Basin deserts. I thought about using one of those in the title but settled on Desert Kill Switch. Simple to remember.

OMN: What kinds of books did you read as a child? Did the genre you read most influence your decision to become an author of the kinds of books you write today?

MSB: Absolutely, although I had a career as a journalist and business writer before turning to mysteries. As a teenager and young adult I read probably every novel Agatha Christie wrote. (She wrote 80+ books.) I loved the puzzles and tried my best to figure out whodunit before Hercule Poirot or Miss Jane Marple did. I also read contemporaries of Christie including Josephine Tey, Ngaio Marsh, Dorothy L. Sayers, G. K. Chesterton and others.

Later my tastes changed. I watched Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade, Paul Newman as Lew Archer, Tom Selleck as Jesse Stone. I became attached to the PI novel and read Chandler, Hammett, Ross Macdonald and others.

PI novels are an American institution but, Raymond Chandler’s arguments to the contrary, they’re a little plodding. Just a little—but nothing like the slow-moving British detectives of the Miss Marple school. So I explored the increasingly popular suspense/thriller genre. Baldacci, Follett, DeMille, and Kyle Mills, are among the many thriller authors I’ve read.

So, with that background, when I decided to switch to mysteries from nonfiction books and articles for periodicals, I wanted to combine elements of the different types of mysteries I like to read.

My mysteries are not easy to solve—though not impossible if you just follow the clues. I want to involve my readers in the puzzles, plot twists and list of suspects. In other words, appeal to readers’ heads. But unlike the detectives of classic British whodunits, Lyle and Kate find themselves in one scrape after another and have to move fast to stay ahead of the bad guys—whoever they may be. In this way I want to reach my readers’ hearts as they consider what might be about to happen to Kate or Lyle.

And, in the tradition of American PIs, my duo sometimes find themselves in dark alleys and mean streets that lead nowhere.

OMN: Suppose the Nostalgia City series were to be adapted for television or film, who do you see playing the key roles?

MSB: I’ve revised my short list of female actors who I think could become Kate Sorensen on the screen.

Adrianne Palicki, star of the NBC TV movie Wonder Woman, and a variety of TV series, would be a good fit. She’s tall, although a little shorter than Kate, and she combines an appealing femininity with athleticism. She even played basketball in high school. Her versatile acting could turn Kate into a movie heroine.

Although seemingly not the type, Gwendoline Christie of Game of Thrones fame, could pull it off, if only because she’s a towering 6’-3”, a half inch taller than my protagonist. And, as Lyle would say, a looker.

As to Lyle, I’d now say, Russell Crowe, Dennis Quaid, Eric McCormack, Viggo Mortensen, or George Clooney.

OMN: What's next for you?

MSB: In my next book, I build a story around a latter-day hippie pot promoter and a hard-charging former hedge fund manager. Kate and Lyle are challenged as these two people threaten to change the character of the Nostalgia City theme park.

— ♦ —

Mark Bacon's articles have appeared in The Washington Post, Kansas City Star, Denver Post, USAir Magazine, Trailer Life, Cleveland Plain Dealer, San Antonio Express-News, The Orange County Register, Working Woman, and other publications. He is a former columnist for BusinessWeek Online and most recently was a regular correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle, where he wrote on travel, outdoors and entertainment.

Bacon is a former president of the Orange County Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. He and his wife, Anne, and their golden retriever, Willow, live in Reno, Nevada.

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

— ♦ —

Desert Kill Switch by Mark S. Bacon

Desert Kill Switch by Mark S. Bacon

A Nostalgia City Mystery

Publisher: Black Opal Books

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

A deadly Vegas pursuit—with a twist…

On an empty desert road, stressed-out ex-cop Lyle Deming finds a bullet-riddled body next to a vintage mint-condition 1970s Pontiac Firebird. When he returns to the scene with sheriff's deputies: no car, no body. Does the answer lie in Nostalgia City, the retro theme park where Lyle works?

Nostalgia City VP Kate Sorensen, a former college basketball star, is in Reno, Nevada, on park business when she gets mixed up with a sleazy Las Vegas auto dealer who puts hidden "kill switches" and GPS trackers into the cars he sells to low-income buyers. Miss a payment — sometimes by as little as a few days — and your car is dead. Maybe you are, too.

When Kate's accused of murder in Reno, Lyle rushes to help his blonde not-quite-girlfriend. Kate and Lyle plow through a deadly tangle of suspects and motives, hitting one dead end after another, as they struggle to exonerate Kate, catch a blackmailer, save a witness's life, and find the missing car and corpse.

Desert Kill Switch by Mark S. Bacon

Today's Selection of Free MystereBooks for Saturday, September 30, 2017

Omnimystery News is pleased to feature a selection of Free MystereBooks found on Saturday, September 30, 2017 at 7:00 AM ET …

Undertow by Ben Chase

Undertow by Ben Chase

A Crime Thriller

Publisher: Second Sight Press

Price: FREE!

Undertow by Ben Chase, Amazon Kindle format

Paladine by Kenneth Eade

Paladine by Kenneth Eade

A Political Thriller

Publisher: Times Square Publishing

Price: FREE!

Paladine by Kenneth Eade, Amazon Kindle format

Tricky Conscience by Cenarth Fox

Tricky Conscience by Cenarth Fox

A Novel of Suspense

Publisher: Cenarth Fox

Price: FREE!

Tricky Conscience by Cenarth Fox, Amazon Kindle format

4 Nicholas Colt Novels by Jude Hardin

4 Nicholas Colt Novels by Jude Hardin

A Box Set

Publisher: Jude Hardin

Price: FREE!

4 Nicholas Colt Novels by Jude Hardin, Amazon Kindle format

Bound by Tam Kellan

Bound by Tam Kellan

The Sara's Shadows Series

Publisher: S. Prescott Thrillers

Price: FREE!

Bound by Tam Kellan, Amazon Kindle format

Dead or Alive by Troy Pendleton and Charles Little Jr.

Dead or Alive by Troy Pendleton and Charles Little Jr.

A Novel of Suspense

Publisher: New Legend Books

Price: FREE!

Dead or Alive by Troy Pendleton and Charles Little Jr., Amazon Kindle format

The Natural Victim by Peter Reynard

The Natural Victim by Peter Reynard

A Novel of Suspense

Publisher: Peter Reynard

Price: FREE!

The Natural Victim by Peter Reynard, Amazon Kindle format

The Tian Triangle by Major Sherman

The Tian Triangle by Major Sherman

A Suspense Thriller

Publisher: Major Sherman

Price: FREE!

The Tian Triangle by Major Sherman, Amazon Kindle format

Baked Corpses by Cynthia Tart

Baked Corpses by Cynthia Tart

A Dead Desserts Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Cynthia Tart

Price: FREE!

Baked Corpses by Cynthia Tart, Amazon Kindle format

For a summary of all of today's titles, plus any that may have been added since this post was created, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

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

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