Death on the Aegean Queen by Maria Hudgins is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Death on the Aegean Queen by Maria Hudgins 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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Death on the Aegean Queen by Maria Hudgins
A Dotsy Lamb Travel Mystery
Publisher: Five Star

This is the third and most recent mystery to feature the ancient medieval history professor from Virginia.

About Death on the Aegean Queen (from the publisher): George Gaskill, a car salesman from Indiana, goes missing from the stern deck of the Aegean Queen leaving only a pool of blood and a strange note behind. Ollie Osgood, the husband of Dotsy Lamb's best friend Lettie, is the last person to have seen him and one of three men who lost a bundle to George in a Texas Hold'em Poker game. Then the ship's photographer turns up murdered on the beautiful island of Mykonos.

Dotsy wants only to unwind and to renew her promising relationship with Marco Quattrocchi, the Carabinieri captain she met in Italy three years ago, but since Ollie is the prime suspect in George's disappearance and Marco is embroiled in the photographer's murder, she can't.

The Aegean Queen is a ship with a theme — archaeology. Dotsy strikes up a friendship with the ship's guest lecturer, famous archaeologist, Dr. Luc Girard, and introduces him to the ship's klutziest dancer, Sophie Antonakos. With the help of Lettie Osgood's amazing powers of observation, Dotsy, Sophie, and Luc discover antiquities in the ship's display cases that have been looted from museums or smuggled from their homelands.

The trails of murder and theft converge on the island of Crete where Dotsy finds herself dodging bullets from the gun of a man she doesn't even know.

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.

The Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning by Hallgrimur Helgason is Today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning by Hallgrimur Helgason as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal. The deal price of $0.99 is valid only for today, Saturday, March 24, 2012.

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The Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning by Hallgrimur Helgason
Publisher: AmazonCrossing

We recently reviewed this book, one we called "a very odd crime novel", appreciating the wry humor but also noting that it was "incredibly uneven, both in narrative style and pacing."

About The Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning (from the publisher): With some 66 hits under his belt, Tomislav Bokšic, or Toxic, has a flawless record as hitman for the Croatian mafia in New York. That is, until he kills the wrong guy and is forced to flee the States, leaving behind the life he knows and loves. Suddenly, he finds himself on a plane hurtling toward Reykjavik, Iceland, borrowing the identity of an American televangelist named Father Friendly. With no means of escape from this island devoid of gun shops and contract killing, tragicomic hilarity ensues as he is forced to come to terms with his bloody past and reevaluate his future.

Read our review of The Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning by Hallgrimur Helgason.

Important Note: Amazon.com updates its Kindle book deal every day at approximately midnight PT. The title referenced above is available at a discounted price for Saturday, March 24, 2012 only.

Download Link(s):

Amazon Kindle Daily Deal.

Watch a 22 minute Game of Thrones Recap, Preview

The second season of HBO's Game of Thrones premieres next weekend (Sunday, April 1st). To get everyone prepared, the cable network has released a 22 minute special — embedded below — that revisits the events of the first season, introduces the major players, and presents a sneak peek at Season 2.

Game of Thrones is adapted from the series of "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels by George R. R. Martin. This second season is expected to generally follow the storyline in the second book of the series,
A Clash of Kings.

Second US Trailer for Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter

A new trailer for the alternate reality film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter has been released by the studio; we've embedded it below. "Are you a patriot … or a vampire?"

Adapted from the 2009 novel of the same title by Seth Grahame-Smith, the storyline is based on the recently discovered document titled The Secret Journal of Abraham Lincoln, given to him by a vampire named Henry Sturges. "[H]enceforth my life shall be one of rigorous study and devotion," Lincoln writes. "I shall become a master of mind and body. And this mastery shall have but one purpose …"

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, the film stars Benjamin Walker as Lincoln, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as his wife Mary, Dominic Cooper as Sturges, and Rufus Sewell as Adam, Lincoln's vampire nemesis. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter opens in theaters June 22nd, 2012.

Review: Dead Harvest by Chris F. Holm

We've just published our Review of Dead Harvest by Chris F. Holm. A Sam Thornton, Collector of Souls Mystery. Angry Robot Mass Market Paperback, February 2012.

Available to purchase from …

Voices of the Dead by Peter Leonard is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Voices of the Dead by Peter Leonard as today's second 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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Voices of the Dead by Peter Leonard
Publisher: The Story Plant

About Voices of the Dead (from the publisher): The year is 1971. The place is Detroit. Harry Levin, a scrap metal dealer and Holocaust survivor, has just learned that his daughter was killed in a car accident. Traveling to Washington, DC to claim the body, he learns that the accident was caused by a German diplomat who was driving drunk. This is only the beginning of the horror for Harry, though, as he discovers that the diplomat will never face charges — he has already been released and granted immunity. Enraged and aggrieved, Harry discovers the identity of his daughter’s killer, follows him to Munich, and hunts him down. What Harry finds out about the diplomat and his plans will explode his life and the lives of everyone around him.

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

Download Link(s):

Amazon Free Kindle Edition Download Link.

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

Three Mysteries from Oceanview are Today's Featured Set of Free MystereBooks

MystereBooks is pleased to feature three mysteries from Oceanview Publishing as today's first set of free mystery ebooks.

These titles were 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 prices of the books before completing your transaction.

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Justice in June by Barbara Levenson
A Mary Magruder Katz Mystery
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing

We labeled this second mystery in the series "legal chick lit", saying the two primary storylines were "logically handed well and all the various plot threads neatly tied up in the end."

About Justice in June (from the publisher): Miami in June: it's raining, it's pouring, but the life of criminal defense attorney Mary Magruder Katz is anything but boring-especially when she gets caught up in a whirlwind of three different cases.

Judge Liz Maxwell's job, sanity, and reputation are at stake, and she needs Mary to ferret out wrongdoing in Miami's courts. Solving this case won't just mean going out on a limb; it will mean risking life and limb.

Luis Corona, a family friend of Mary's boyfriend, Carlos, needs help with a legal matter that, to Mary's horror, turns out to be a terrorism charge. And this case will leave some catastrophic damage — and unwelcome notoriety — in its wake.

Just when Mary thought things couldn't get worse, Carlos gets in his own nasty legal quandary — one that could cost him everything.

Three cases. One Mary. One torrential downpour of turmoil. Can she weather the storm? Ride out the cold front that settles over her once-hot romance? Salvage what remains of her-and her clients'-reputations? For Mary Magruder Katz, this month's forecast calls for trouble.

Read our review of Justice in June by Barbara Levenson.

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.

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Book of Nathan by Curt Weeden and Richard Marek
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing

We called this stand-alone "a delightful blend of mystery, comedy, thriller and more" adding that "readers seeking a diverting and generally entertaining novel will likely appreciate simply being along for the ride."

About Book of Nathan (from the publisher): The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and Rick Bullock is about to learn just how true that is. Bullock takes the road less traveled when he quits his job as an advertising executive to become director of a homeless shelter. Trading in a six-figure salary for paltry pay and even less respect? Costly. But helping one man get back on his feet? Priceless.

When Zeus, a mentally challenged gentle giant and longtime shelter resident, is arrested for murdering evangelist Benjamin Kurios, Bullock wants answers. Convinced Zeus is incapable of such a horrific act, Bullock, along with a colorful cadre of characters, sets off on a journey to keep an innocent man off death row.

The trip takes a disturbing detour when the bizarre group stumbles upon a transcript of the Book of Nathan and the discovery attracts the sinister attentions of a Jersey mobster, pro-life and pro-choice groups, and a billionaire used to getting his way.

Read our review of Book of Nathan by Curt Weeden and Richard Marek.

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.

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Fortuna by Michael R. Stevens
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing

In our review of this debut novel, we said, "The premise of Fortuna will certainly appeal to fans of high tech-type thrillers, of which this is arguably one, but others may find the path taken here too circuitous and the outcome too predictable."

About Fortuna (from the publisher): Longing for escape from his mundane existence as a Stanford computer science major, Jason Lind signs up to play Fortuna, an online role-playing game set in Renaissance Florence. From the first, fateful mouse click, Jason tumbles into the vibrant, lush, anonymous world of Fortuna. Swept up in this highly complex, highly addictive game of fame, fortune, and power, Jason quickly transitions from casual gamer to compulsive player. Soon tangled up in a steamy virtual love triangle, Jason becomes obsessed with breaking Fortuna's code of anonymity. But Fortuna is anything but fun and games, and when a sizable debt incurred in the game spills over into reality, Jason is forced to leverage the legacy of his father, a high-tech legend killed in a car accident years before, to pay off the debt. What started as a great escape may only leave Jason trapped, as the game that transported Jason deep into the past exposes a shocking, present-day reality. In the world of Fortuna, it's not how you play the game; it's if you survive.

Read our review of Fortuna by Michael R. Stevens.

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.

First Among Equals by Jeffrey Archer is Today's Barnes&Noble Nook Daily Find

MystereBooks is pleased to feature First Among Equals by Jeffrey Archer as today's Barnes&Noble Nook Daily Find. The deal price of $2.99 is valid only for today, Friday, March 23, 2012.

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First Among Equals by Jeffrey Archer
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

About First Among Equals (from the publisher): Charles Seymour, second-born son, will never be the earl like his father, but he did inherit his mother's strength — and the will to realize his destiny …

Simon Kerslake's father sacrificed everything to make sure his son's dreams come true. Now it is Simon's chance to rise as high as those dreams allow …

Ray Gould was born to the back streets but raised with pride — a quality matched by a sharp intellect and the desire to attain the impossible …

Andrew Fraser was raised by a soccer hero turned politician. Now it's his turn for heroics, whatever the cost.

From strangers to rivals, four men embark on a journey for the highest stakes of all — the keys to No. 10 Downing Street. Unfolding over three decades, their honor will be tested, their loyalties betrayed, and their love of family and country challenged. But in a game where there is a first among equals, only one can triumph.

Important Note: Barnes&Noble updates its Nook Daily Find every day at approximately midnight PT. The title referenced above is available at a discounted price for Friday, March 23, 2012 only.

Download Link(s):

B&N Nook Daily Find.

Amazon Kindle Price Match (today only).

Mystery Bestsellers for the Week Ending March 23, 2012

A list of the top 15 mystery hardcover bestsellers for the week ending March 23rd, 2012 has been posted by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

Vince Flynn's 12th Mitch Rapp thriller Kill Shot retains its spot atop the list as this week's bestselling crime novel … but that's likely to change next week given the strength of one of our new bestsellers; two others join in on the list this week.

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Entering the list at a very strong number five is the stand-alone thriller Stay Close by Harlan Coben.

Megan is a suburban soccer mom who once upon a time walked on the wild side. Now she's got two kids, a perfect husband, a picket fence, and a growing sense of dissatisfaction. Ray used to be a talented documentary photographer, but at age forty he finds himself in a dead-end job posing as a paparazzo pandering to celebrity-obsessed rich kids. Jack is a detective who can't let go of a cold case — a local husband and father disappeared seventeen years ago, and Jack spends the anniversary every year visiting a house frozen in time, the missing man's family still waiting, his slippers left by the recliner as if he might show up any moment to step into them.

Three people living lives they never wanted, hiding secrets that even those closest to them would never suspect, will find that the past doesn't recede. Even as the terrible consequences of long-ago events crash together in the present and threaten to ruin lives, they will come to the startling realization that they may not want to forget the past at all. And as each confronts the dark side of the American Dream — the boredom of a nice suburban life, the excitement of temptation, the desperation and hunger that can lurk behind even the prettiest facades- they will discover the hard truth that the line between one kind of life and another can be as whisper-thin as a heartbeat.

Purchase Options:

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Just four spots lower at number nine is the latest Joe Pickett mystery, Force of Nature by C. J. Box.

He never wanted to tell Joe Pickett about it, but Nate Romanowski always knew trouble was coming out of his past. Now it's here, and it may not only be the battle of his life — but of Joe's.

In 1995, Nate was in a secret Special Forces unit abroad when a colleague did something terrible. Now high up in the government, the man is determined to eliminate anyone who knows about it, and Nate knows exactly how he'll do it-by striking at Nate's friends to draw him out. The entire Pickett family will be a target, and the only way to fight back is outside the law. Nate knows he can do it, but he isn't sure about his straight-arrow friend-and all their lives could depend on it.

Purchase Options:

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Finally, new at number 13 is Fall from Grace by Richard North Patterson.

Adam Blaine arrives on the island of Martha's Vineyard to attend the funeral of his estranged father, Ben Blaine, a famous and charismatic writer who has served as patriarch of his clan for many years. A man fond of sailboats, good wine, and women other than his wife, Ben Blaine has left behind a string of secrets in addition to an emotionally distraught widow and his strangely aloof mistress, Carla Pacelli, a beautiful television actress who once had a drug problem.

As soon as Adam arrives, he discovers that Ben has disinherited his mother, uncle, and brother in favor of his lover, and begins to wonder if his father's death — caused by an inexplicable fall from a cliff — might be murder. Using his training as a CIA operative, Adam skillfully seeks to obscure the evidence suggesting that a family member may have killed his father, while at the same time fighting to undo the will, which favors the enigmatic Carla. As he walks this tightrope, Adam risks his freedom and perhaps his life, even as he unearths increasingly disturbing family secrets never meant to be discovered, and which cause him to question his understanding of his own life and everyone around him — his beloved mother, uncle, and brother and, not least, Carla.

Purchase Options:

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

First Teaser Trailer for the Film Adaptation of The Host by Stephenie Meyer

It doesn't open in theaters for more than a year, but the first teaser trailer for the film adaptation of the futuristic thriller The Host by Stephenie Meyer has been released. (We're thinking the studio wants to divert a little attention away from The Hunger Games, which opens tomorrow.)

In the book, the earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie Stryder's body, didn't expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind. But she refuses to fade away.

As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.

Starring Saoirse Ronan as Melanie and Diane Kruger as Wanderer, the film is directed by Andrew Niccol (Gattaca) from his own adapted screenplay. It opens in theaters March 29th, 2013.

There really isn't much to this trailer, but here it is:

Neil Cross on his New Luther Book and the Future of the Character

Neil Cross is the creative force behind the television series Luther, and his first novel featuring the character was published last week in the UK — The Calling. (It won't be published here in the US until September 2012.)

In an interview yesterday with BBC Radio 4's Front Row, Cross talks about the book, the character, and the future, which he says is more likely to be a theatrical film than an additional television season. (BBC has recommissioned the series for a third season, though we don't believe production has begun yet.)

In Cross's new book, Detective Chief Inspector John Luther is introduced as a homicide detective with an extraordinary case clearance rate. He's obsessive, instinctive, and intense. Nobody who ever stood at his side has a bad word to say about him. And yet there are rumors that Luther is bad — not corrupt, not on the take, but tormented. He seethes with a hidden fury that at times he can barely control. Sometimes it sends him to the brink of madness, making him do things he shouldn't — things well beyond the limits of the law.

Review: Heart of a Killer by David Rosenfelt

We've just published our Review of Heart of a Killer by David Rosenfelt. Minotaur Books Hardcover, February 2012.

Available to purchase from …