The Bone Polisher by Timothy Hallinan is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Bone Polisher by Timothy Hallinan as today's free mystery ebook.

This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. 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.

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The Bone Polisher by Timothy Hallinan
A Simeon Grist Mystery
Publisher: Hallinan Consulting

About The Bone Polisher (from the publisher): This sixth and final novel featuring erudite Los Angeles private eye Simeon Grist takes place in the West Hollywood of 1995, where the community is shaken by the brutal killing of an older man who was widely loved for his generosity and kindness. In a time when the police were largely indifferent to crimes against gay people, Simeon is hired to catch the murderer — and finds himself up against the most dangerous adversary of his career, a man who kills his victims not once, but twice: once physically and once in spirit. The story's climax takes place at a memorable Halloween-themed wake, but there's a big plot twist yet to come.

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.

Download Link(s):

Amazon Free Kindle Edition Download Link.

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

Altar of Eden by James Rollins is This Week's Amazon Deal Vote Winner

We're not sure when Amazon began their "Weekly Deal Vote" but we did notice that this week's Kindle book winner is a thriller by James Rollins, available to download at a discounted price. (The game download winner is also a mystery!)

Visit the deal page to see this week's winners in all four categories — Instant Video, MP3 Album, Kindle Book, and Game Download — and to vote for next week's winner.

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Altar of Eden by James Rollins
Publisher: William Morrow

About Altar of Eden (from the publisher): Following the fall of Baghdad, two Iraqi boys stumble upon armed men looting the city zoo. The floodgates have been opened for the smuggling of hundreds of exotic birds, mammals, and reptiles to Western nations, but this crime hides a deeper secret. Amid a hail of bullets, a concealed underground weapons lab is ransacked — and something even more horrific is set free.

Seven years later, Louisiana state veterinarian Lorna Polk stumbles upon a fishing trawler shipwrecked on a barrier island. The crew is missing or dead, but the boat holds a frightening cargo: a caged group of exotic animals, clearly part of a black market smuggling ring.

Yet, something is wrong with these beasts, disturbing deformities that make no sense: a parrot with no feathers, a pair of Capuchin monkeys conjoined at the hip, a jaguar cub with the dentition of a saber-toothed tiger. They also all share one uncanny trait — a disturbingly heightened intelligence.

To uncover the truth about the origin of this strange cargo and the terrorist threat it poses, Lorna must team up with a man who shares a dark and bloody past with her and is now an agent with the U.S. Border Patrol, Jack Menard.

Together, the two must hunt for a beast that escaped the shipwreck while uncovering a mystery tied to fractal science and genetic engineering, all to expose a horrifying secret that traces back to humankind's earliest roots.

But can Lorna stop what is about to be born upon the altar of Eden before it threatens not only the world but also the very foundation of what it means to be human?

Important Note: Amazon.com updates its weekly deal vote winners every Friday. The title referenced above is available at a discounted price of $1.99 from Friday, March 09, 2012 through Sunday, March 11, 2012 only.

Download Link(s):

Amazon Weekly Deal Vote Winner.

The Mystery Bookshelf: Lie in the Dark by Dan Fesperman, a Vlado Petric Mystery

The Mystery Bookshelf, where you can discover a world of mystery and suspense, is pleased to feature a new crime novel we recently received from the publisher.

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Lie in the Dark by Dan Fesperman
A Vlado Petric Mystery (1st in series)
Soho Crime (Trade Paperback)
Publication Date: March 2012
ISBN-13: 978-1-61695-064-4

About Lie in the Dark (from the publisher): Vlado Petric is a homicide investigator in war-torn Sarajevo. When he encounters an unidentified body near "sniper alley", he realizes that it is the body of Esmir Vitas, chief of the Interior Ministry's special police, and that Vitas has been killed not by any sniper's aim but by a bullet fired at almost pointblank range. Searching for the killer in this "city of murderers," Petric finds himself drawn into a conspiracy, the scope of which goes beyond anything he could possibly have imagined.

Lie in the Dark was originally published in 1999 and was the winner of the CWA New Blood Dagger Award.

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About the author: Dan Fesperman is a former foreign correspondent for the Baltimore Sun and the author of eight novels of international intrigue. In addition to his Dagger Award, he was recognized with The Hammett Prize in 2006 for The Prisoner of Guantanamo. For more information about the author and his books, visit his website at DanFesperman.com.

Purchase Options for Lie in the Dark:

Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival Short Story Competition

The inaugural Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival will be held this coming September 2012 in, where else, Scotland. But amateur and unpublished writers around the world will want to keep an earlier date in mind.

Glengoyne Highland Single Malt is sponsoring a short story writing competition as part of Bloody Scotland. With the aim of discovering the next big name in crime fiction, the competition gives you the opportunity to be published in an ebook anthology of short crime stories entitled Worth The Wait.

Entries may be submitted now through June 29th, 2012. Stories must be original (not previously published), in English, and may not exceed 3000 words. Entrants must be 18 years of age or older and there are no restrictions on country of residence (though an entry fee of £10 or the local equivalent is required). See the competition page on the festival website for all the details.

Warner Bros. Options Crime Comic LUCID for Film

Warner Bros. is looking to adapt the four-issue crime comic series, collected into the single graphic novel LUCID, for film.

Written by Michael McMillian and illustrated by Anna Wieszczyk, the comics feature Federal Agent Matthew Dee, a modern "combat mage" whose history can be traced back to 16th century scholar John Dee — a real person who lived in late 16th century England and was known as a leading expert in mathematics and science but was also a student of magic.

The storyline follows a conspiracy to prevent humankind from reaching its true potential with Agent Dee, the newly appointed "Protector of the Realm", using his skills as a covert spy to ensure America's freedom from the grip of evil.

The studio, of course, hopes to create a franchise from the character. No screenwriter has yet been identified.

(Related article: Variety.)

Review: Big Leagues by Jen Estes

Read our … Review of Big Leagues by Jen Estes. A Cat McDaniel Mystery. Camel Press Trade Paperback, December 2011.

Available to purchase from …

Chicago Public Library Celebrates Sara Paretsky Day, March 14th, 2012

If you're going to be in Chicago next Wednesday, March 14th, 2012, you'll want to plan on attending a celebration of crime novelist Sara Paretsky at the Chicago Public Library.

Designated as "Sara Paretsky Day", the event marks the 30th anniversary of the first appearance of V. I. Warshawski, who took on her first case in Indemnity Only (The Dial Press, 1982).

Sara Paretsky will discuss her books and their significance to Chicago, and will be joined by Steppenwolf Theatre Company actors Amy Morton and John Mahoney, who will give a reading of Paretsky's work.

The location is the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium at the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State Street.

Registration is not required to attend, but seating is limited and available on a first come basis.

(Source: Chicago Public Library News.)

Telemystery: Karin Slaughter's Grant County Mysteries Optioned for Television

Entertainment One has optioned the "Grant County" series of mysteries by crime novelist Karin Slaughter. The television project will be developed by the same group that created Haven, adapted from Stephen King's novella The Colorado Kid.

Set in rural Georgia, the "Grant County" mysteries feature a number of recurring characters, including Dr. Sara Linton, the town's pediatrician and coroner, Jeffrey Tolliver, Sara's ex-husband and Chief of Police, and Lena Adams, the county's only female detective. Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent Will Trent is also a series character in Slaughter's books, but he isn't specifically mentioned as part of this deal.

(Related article: Deadline.)

MystereBooks: Two Free First in Series Mysteries from E-Reads

[e-reads] — which brings out-of-print books back in electronic and print formats to create an independent e-book market for authors — is offering two first in series mysteries for free until March 15th, 2012. Two versions are available for each title: Mobi and ePub. (We had no problems downloading the Mobi versions for our Kindle Fire.)

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Suspicion of Innocence by Barbara Parker
Publisher: E-reads

About Suspicion of Innocence (from the publisher): Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana are a combustible mix on many levels. Passionately attracted to each other on a personal level, they are equally passionate defenders of their clients even when their interests don't always work in tandem. Set all this against the sultry background of a Miami that is riddled with crime and corruption, drowning in drugs, illegal immigrants and shady deals, simmering with a melting-pot clash of cultures and you have a recipe for highly entertaining, hotly explosive crime and justice.

In this first title in the "Suspicion" series, Gail Connor is a fast-rising attorney in a major law firm, about to make partner — until her life is derailed by the discovery of her sister's murdered body and the quick revelation that Gail is the prime suspect. Gail must fight for her life as she gets a first-hand look at the dark underside of the legal system.

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. This offer is only available until March 15th, 2012.

Suspicion of Innocence Download Link(s): Mobi; ePub.

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Fellowship of Fear by Aaron Elkins
Publisher: E-reads

About Fellowship of Fear (from the publisher): When Oliver is offered a teaching fellowship at U.S. military bases in Germany, Sicily, Spain, and Holland, he wastes no time accepting. Stimulating courses to teach, a decent stipend, all expenses paid, plenty of interesting European travel … what's not to like?

It doesn't take him long to find out. On his first night, he is forced to fend off two desperate, black-clad men who have invaded his Heidelberg hotel room with intent to kill. And then there's the little matter of a few trivial details that the recruiting agency forgot to mention — such as the fact that the two previous holders of the fellowship both met with mysterious ends.

From there it's all downhill. Gideon finds himself the target in an unfamiliar game for which no one has bothered to give him the rules. What he does have, however, is his own considerable intellect and his remarkable forensic skills. He will need them, for he is playing for some fairly high stakes. The security of Western Europe …

And his own life.

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. This offer is only available until March 15th, 2012.

Fellowship of Fear Download Link(s): Mobi; ePub.

Stroganov by Ty Hutchinson is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Stroganov by Ty Hutchinson as today's free mystery ebook.

This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. 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.

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Stroganov by Ty Hutchinson
A Darby Stansfield Mystery
Publisher: CreateSpace

This is the second mystery to feature telecommunication consultant to the criminal underworld Darby Stansfield.

About Stroganov (from the publisher): With his career back on track, Darby focuses on improving his personal life. However, his unconventional methods for finding love land him in the middle of a war between the Ukrainian government and a dangerous sex trafficking ring. That’s his life. Wrong place. Wrong time. All of the time.

Anxious to get out of the situation, he reluctantly offers his help to the authorities in hopes of a clean break. What he gets instead is the attention of Russia’s most feared criminal.

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.

Download Link(s):

Amazon Free Kindle Edition Download Link.

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