Two T. R. Ragan Mysteries are Today's Featured Free MystereBooks

MystereBooks is pleased to feature two "Lizzy Gardner" mysteries by T. R. Ragan — the first two in the series to date — as today's set of free mystery ebooks. (Thomas & Mercer will publish Abducted in trade paperback this coming July.)

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 price of the book before completing your transaction.

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Abducted by T. R. Ragan
A Lizzy Gardner Mystery
Publisher: Theresa Ragan

About Abducted (from the publisher): Elizabeth Gardner (Lizzy) is seventeen-years old when she tells her parents she's going out with her girlfriends. Instead, she meets up with Jared Shayne, her boyfriend of two years. As she walks home beneath an inky black sky, her perfect night becomes her worst nightmare.

Fourteen years later, Lizzy is a licensed PI known as the "one who got away". When she's not searching for runaway teenagers, working on insurance scams, or talking to her therapist, she's at the local high school teaching young girls to defend themselves. But her world is turned upside down for the second time after she receives a call from Jared Shayne. He's an FBI special agent now and he needs her help. Lizzy has no plans to get involved. Not until Jared tells her the kidnapper left her a personalized note.

Escaping from a madman should have been the end of her nightmare … but it was only the beginning.

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 Kindle Edition Download Link.

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Dead Weight by T. R. Ragan
A Lizzy Gardner Mystery
Publisher: Theresa Ragan

About Dead Weight (from the publisher): Lizzy Gardner, a private investigator known as the "one who got away", has spent over a decade trying to get over her past and move on. Although she knows that the man responsible for ruining her life is now dead, letting it all go is easier said than done. Hoping murder and mayhem are behind her, she delves into her first cold case: twenty-one years ago, a girl went missing and the girl’s dying mother is more desperate than ever to know what happened to her only child.

After a woman walks into Lizzy’s office and offers her a large sum of money to keep a close eye on a fitness guru, a man she believes is responsible for her sister’s disappearance, Lizzy realizes she might have taken on more than she can handle.

Lizzy calls in the help of her two assistants, forcing Hayley and Jessica to work together. Hayley might be of more use to Lizzy if she wasn’t wandering the streets of Sacramento in the dead of night.

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 Kindle Edition Download Link.

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

Mystery Walk by Robert R. McCammon is Today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Mystery Walk by Robert R. McCammon as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal. The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Wednesday, May 23, 2012.

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Mystery Walk by Robert R. McCammon
Publisher: Open Road

About Mystery Walk (from the publisher): Billy Creekmore was born to be a psychic. His mother, a Choctaw Indian schooled in her tribe’s ancient mysticism, understood that the barrier between life and death is permeable. She knew how to cross it, and used that knowledge to help the dead rest easier. She passed that power on to her son, and he has spent his whole life learning how to communicate with the dead to prevent them from meddling with the living.

Though his powers are the same, Wayne Falconer’s background could not be more different. The son of a prominent preacher, he would be disowned if his father learned he was using supernatural powers in service of the church. Though they don’t know each other, Billy and Wayne share a recurring dream—and a common enemy. When a nightmarish monster descends on their community in Alabama, mankind’s fate will rest in their hands.

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 Wednesday, May 23, 2012 only.

Download Link(s):

Amazon Kindle Daily Deal.

First International Trailer for Skyfall

Sony Pictures has released the first "official international trailer" for the James Bond film Skyfall … but don't get too excited. It appears to us to be identical to the teaser trailer released just yesterday — with one exception: the date at the end. The film has its world premiere in London in October and doesn't open in the US until early November.

And there's still no more information about the storyline; now that would have been news.

Skyfall, based on characters created by Ian Fleming, is directed by Sam Mendes from an original screenplay.

Review: Guilt by Degrees by Marcia Clark

We've just published our Review of Guilt by Degrees by Marcia Clark. A Rachel Knight Mystery. Mulholland Books Hardcover, May 2012.

Our rating:

Available to purchase from …

Mysterious Press Publishes eBook Editions of Novels and Stories by Clayton Rawson and Rex Stout

Mysterious Press announced today the release of new ebook editions of novels and stories written by two classic crime writers.

Clayton Rawson (1906–1971) was a novelist, editor, and magician. He is best known for creating the Great Merlini, an illusionist and amateur sleuth introduced in Death from a Top Hat (1938), a rollicking crime novel which has been called one of the best locked-room mysteries of all time. Rawson followed the character through three more adventures, concluding the series with No Coffin for the Corpse (1942). In 1941 and 1943 he published the short-story collections Death out of Thin Air and Death from Nowhere, starring Don Diavolo, an escape artist introduced in the Merlini series.

Use this link to see a list of Kindle editions of Clayton Rawson's books.

Rex Stout (1886-1975) was one of the most beloved mystery novelists of all-time, best known for creating the corpulent genius Nero Wolfe. Fer-De-Lance (1934) introduced the master of deduction, and his indefatigable assistant Archie Goodwin. Over the next four decades, Stout published dozens of stories and novels starring the quirky pair, earning him a place in the mystery novelist's pantheon along Agatha Christie and Erle Stanley Gardner. Newly released are two collections of the author's short stories — Target Practice and An Officer and a Lady — and an early serialized novel Her Forbidden Knight (1913).

Use this link to see a list of Kindle editions of the above listed Rex Stout books.

The Mystery Bookshelf: Last Call for the Living by Peter Farris

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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Last Call for the Living by Peter Farris
Forge Books (Hardcover)
Publication Date: May 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0-765-33007-9

About Last Call for the Living (from the publisher): For bank teller Charlie Colquitt, it was just another Saturday. For Hobe Hicklin, an ex-con with nothing to lose, it was just another score. For Hobe's drug-addled, sex-crazed girlfriend, it was just more lust, violence, and drugs. But in this gripping narrative, nothing is as it seems.

Hicklin's first mistake was double-crossing his partners in the Aryan Brotherhood. His second mistake was taking a hostage. But he and Charlie can only hide out for so long in the mountains of north Georgia before the sins of Hicklin's past catch up to them.

Hot on Hicklin's trail are a pair of ruthless Brotherhood soldiers, ready to burn a path of murder and mayhem to get their revenge. GBI Special Agent Sallie Crews and Sheriff Tommy Lang catch the case, themselves no strangers to the evil men are capable of. Soon Crews is making some dangerous connections while for the hard-drinking, despondent Lang, rescuing Charlie Colquitt might be the key to personal salvation.

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About the author: A graduate of Yale University, Peter Farris lives in Cobb County, Georgia. His blog is A Depository for Author Peter Farris.

Purchase Options for Last Call for the Living:

Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (120522)

Here is today's list of the top bestselling free Kindle mysteries, suspense novels and thrillers.

We're using a script to embed an RSS feed from Amazon.com, which is updated hourly, but if you cannot see the box below — or have scripts blocked — you can use this link to see the relevant page on Amazon.com.

Please Welcome Mystery Author Peg Cochran

We are delighted to welcome mystery author Peg Cochran as our guest blogger today.

Peg is one busy writer! She has two new series coming out this summer and has just published her first mystery in the Patron Saint series, Confession is Murder (April 2012 Kindle edition).

Today Peg tells us more about her "Patron Saint" heroine together with a list of her top ten favorite patron saints.

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"My name is Lucille Mazzarella. That's like mozzarella only with an 'a'." That's how my main character, Lucille, introduces herself in Confession Is Murder. The book is written in very close third person — in Lucille's unique "voice." It's the first and only time I've ever had a character speak so clearly to me. I always knew exactly how Lucille would put something. I knew what she wore, what was in her refrigerator, what kind of car she drove and what was in her heart almost from the moment I conceived her. I didn't need to fill out character profiles or write her biography — I knew exactly who she was from the minute I put my hands on the computer keys.

Photo provided courtesy of
Peg Cochran

I wanted to create an ordinary, middle-aged female heroine. Why? Because there are so few of them. And there are so many of us out here who are readers. Why didn't anyone want to write about us?

Lucille struggles with many of the things we all do — gaining weight, dealing with an elderly parent and a teenaged daughter who seems to be going nowhere, a husband having a seeming mid-life crisis. She is sustained by her faith (but this isn't a religious book even though Lucille's greatest wish is to have an audience with the Pope), her love for her family and her friends. Lucille is an ordinary woman who is a lot smarter than she realizes.

An early critique partner urged me to make Lucille "sexier." To write something like "only Lucille could make a pair of sweats look so sexy." I resisted. Instead, Lucille is always brushing lint, flour or dust balls off her sweatshirt, and even the elastic waist on her pants is getting tight.

I also wanted to write about a mature love affair. Lucille and her Frankie have been married for decades but "he still did it to her even after all these years," as Lucille puts it. Their relationship is threatened when Frankie does something unthinkable, and Lucille begins to worry, "Maybe he was tired of her old flannel gowns, the socks because her feet were always cold, the tattered robe she threw on every morning to make the breakfast."

This is a mystery story, but it's also Lucille's story. I feel privileged to have been able to get to know her.

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Lucille's Top Ten Favorite Patron Saints …

10. Saint Aldegundis, patron saint against sudden death. Because Lucille's brother-in-law's body suddenly dropped out of the confessional at church, and Lucille is pretty sure he's dead.

9. St. John Nepomucene, patron saint against indiscretions. Because it's highly unlikely that Lucille's family members can be persuaded to keep their mouths shut.

8. Saint Marguerite Bourgeous, patron saint against impoverishment. Because Lucille's mother's QVC addiction is sure to send them to the poor house.

7. St. Catherine of Siena, patron saint against temptation. Because Detective Richie Sambucco is hot even if her Frankie is hotter.

6. St. Catherine of Alexandria, patron saint of unmarried girls. Because Lucille's daughter, Bernadette, is pregnant and not married.

5. St. Catherine of Sweden, patron saint against miscarriages. Because Lucille can't decide if she wants St. Catherine to protect her daughter from a miscarriageÉor arrange for one.

4. St. Margaret of Antioch, patron saint of falsely accused people. Because the police are saying her Frankie did it, and Lucille knows that isn't true.

3. St. John of God, patron saint of heart patients. Because being held at gun point by a murderer is certainly going to give Lucille a heart attack.

2. Beatrice da Silva Meneses, patron saint of prisoners. Because someone is going to jail-that's for sure.

And Lucille's number one favorite patron saint …

1. St. Jude, patron saint of lost causes. Because Bernadette is pregnant and unmarried, her boyfriend is in jail, Lucille's husband might be playing around, her best friend could be a murderer, and Lucille has gained ten pounds thanks to her latest diet.

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Peg grew up in a New Jersey suburb about 25 miles outside of New York City. After college, she moved to the city where she managed an art gallery owned by the son of the artist Henri Matisse. After her husband died, Peg remarried and her new husband took a job in Grand Rapids, MI where they now live (on exile from NJ, she likes to joke). She has two cozy mystery series debuting from Berkley Prime Crime — the "Gourmet De-Lite" series set in Connecticut and the "Sweet Nothings Vintage Lingerie" series, written as Meg London, set in Paris, TN … which is also the setting for Confession Is Murder. For more information about the author and her books, visit her website at PegCochran.com.

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About Confession is Murder:

For middle-aged "Jersey girl," Lucille Mazzarella, only two things in life really count — her family and her friends. When her brother-in-law's body falls out of the confessional at church, everything she holds dear is threatened, especially when the police arrest her husband for the murder. Plagued by hot flashes, a thickening waistline, a mother addicted to the home shopping channel and tempted by a sexy old flame come back to town, Lucille really has her hands full. But while Lucille may not know much about solving crimes, she does know her patron saints. With some prayers, fast thinking and even faster talk, Lucille manages to nail the killer and restore order to her life.

Trial Junkies by Robert Gregory Browne is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Trial Junkies by Robert Gregory Browne 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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Trial Junkies by Robert Gregory Browne
Publisher: Penname Press

This title is the first in a new series by this thriller author.

About Trial Junkies (from the publisher): Ethan "Hutch" Hutchinson hasn't seen his old college pals in nearly ten years. Now fate has brought them together again as one of the gang is put on trial for a brutal, senseless murder.

The Chicago police and prosecutor think they have their perp, but Hutch isn't about to sit silently in a courtroom as someone he cares about is wrongfully convicted.

When Hutch and his friends join forces to search for the real killer, what they find shatters every notion they have about friendship, loss and redemption … and may very well cost Hutch — and the woman he loves — their lives.

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 Kindle Edition Download Link.

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

Two Ryne Douglas Pearson Thrillers are Today's Featured Free MystereBooks

MystereBooks is pleased to feature two "Art Jefferson" thrillers by Ryne Douglas Pearson — the first two in the series of four — as today's 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 price of the book before completing your transaction.

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Cloudburst by Ryne Douglas Pearson
An Art Jefferson Mystery
Publisher: Schmuck & Underwood

About Cloudburst (from the publisher): In Los Angeles, the president is killed in a brazen terrorist suicide attack. Halfway across the globe, an American airliner is hijacked by another group of Middle Eastern extremists and forced to make a brief stop in Libya. Events that are first seen as unconnected soon are proven to be part of an interconnected plan to strike at the heart of the United States.

On opposite coasts, FBI Agent Art Jefferson and National Security Adviser Bud DiContino race to manage situations as they spiral toward disaster. With the hijacked airliner racing toward the United States, its cargo hold filled with what intelligence analysts believe is a nuclear weapon, the only hope for the passengers' lives comes in the form of an audacious rescue plan to be executed by the highly secretive Delta Force.

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 Kindle Edition Download Link.

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October's Ghost by Ryne Douglas Pearson
An Art Jefferson Mystery
Publisher: Schmuck & Underwood

About October's Ghost (from the publisher): October 1962. It was a time when the world came to the brink of nuclear Armageddon over an island nation ninety miles off the U.S. mainland. Now, decades later, the past is about to be revisited.

The world has changed, but not enough for some. As one element of the United States government strives to build a secure relationship with a tenuous Russian government, another has engineered a plan to topple the Western Hemisphere's last Communist dictator — Castro.

But the aging revolutionary will not go quietly, and, as the CIA-supported rebel elements in his military launch a widespread assault on his leadership, the Cuban dictator secretly readies his trump card--a decades-old nuclear missile. Intelligence reports warn Washington of the weapon, setting a highly secret search in motion. Moscow, however, sees only suspect actions that threaten to destroy all the progress in post-Cold War relations.

As the superpowers brace for a familiar, apocalyptic game of blind man's bluff with each other, elements across the globe struggle to prevent the final countdown to a nuclear apocalypse. From Los Angeles, where FBI Agents Art Jefferson and Francine "Frankie" Aguirre seek to unravel the mystery of a murdered Cuban privy to Castro's secret weapon, to Cuba, where the military's Special Operations Detachment DELTA races to execute a plan to secure the rogue missile before it can be launched.

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 Kindle Edition Download Link.

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

212 by Alafair Burke is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature 212 by Alafair Burke as today's third free mystery ebook. (Most titles have their prices adjusted overnight, but this is a rare case of one being changed mid-day.)

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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212 by Alafair Burke
An Ellie Hatcher Mystery
Publisher: HarperCollins

This is the third mystery in this series, featuring the New York City police detective, one we called "a compelling thriller, with a credible whodunit-style mystery integrated into it."

About 212 (from the publisher): In New York City, nights are dangerous. Days are numbered.

When New York University sophomore Megan Gunther finds personal threats posted to a Web site specializing in campus gossip, she's taken aback by their menacing tone. Someone knows her daily routine down to the minute and is watching her—but thanks to the anonymity provided by the Internet, the police tell her there's nothing they can do. Her friends are sure it's someone's idea of a joke, but when Megan is murdered in a vicious attack, NYPD Detective Ellie Hatcher is convinced that the online threats are more than just empty words.

With smooth, straight-talking partner J. J. Rogan at her side, Ellie tries to identify Megan's enemies, but she begins to wonder if the coed's murder was more than just the culmination of a cyber obsession. Phone records reveal a link between Megan and a murdered real estate agent who was living a dangerous double life. The detectives also learn that the dead real estate agent shared a secret connection to a celebrity mogul whose bodyguard was mysteriously killed a few months earlier. And when Megan's roommate suddenly disappears, they know they have to find her before another young woman dies.

Read our review of 212 by Alafair Burke.

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 Kindle Edition Download Link.

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

Patricia Highsmith's The Price of Salt to be Adapted for Film

Romantic suspense novelist Patricia Highsmith's 1952 novel The Price of Salt is being adapted for film, with Cate Blanchett and Mia Wasikowska set to star.

Published under the pseudonym Claire Morgan, the story is centered on two women in early 1950s New York City. Therese is 19-years-old and working in a department store during the Christmas shopping season. She dates men, although not with real enthusiasm. One day a beautiful older woman comes over to her counter and buys a doll. As the purchase is a C.O.D. order, Therese makes a mental note of the customer's address. She is intrigued and drawn to the woman. Although young, inexperienced and shy, she writes a note to the customer, Carol, and is elated and surprised when Carol invites her to meet.

Therese realizes she has strong feelings for Carol, but is unsure of what they represent. Carol, in the process of a bitter separation and divorce, is also quite lonely. Soon the two women begin spending a great deal of time together. Before long, they are madly and hopelessly in love. The path is not easy for them, however. Carol also has a child and a very suspicious husband — dangerous ground for the lovers. When the women leave New York and travel west together, they discover the choices they've made to be together will have lasting effects on both their lives.

First Teaser Poster for Killing Them Softly

A new teaser poster — but a really effective one — for Killing Them Softly has been released (right; click for larger version).

The film stars Brad Pitt as Jackie Cogan in an adaptation of George V. Higgins's 1974 crime novel Cogan's Trade.

Little is known about the film's storyline — adapted by the director Andrew Dominik — but we're assuming it follows closely that of the book: Jackie Cogan is an enforcer for the New England mob. When a high-stakes card game is heisted by unknown hoodlums, Cogan is called in to "handle" the problem. Moving expertly and ruthlessly among a variety of criminal hacks, hangers-on, and bigger-time crooks, Cogan gets to the root of the problem and, with five consecutive shots from a Smith & Wesson thirty-eight Police Special, restores order to his corner of the Boston underworld.

Killing Them Softly opens in theaters September 21st, 2012.

Mystery and Suspense Films, New This Week on DVD (120522)

Checking through our list of films currently scheduled for release this week on DVD and/or Blu-ray disc, shown below are those that fall into the mystery, suspense, thriller and adventure categories.

See also a list of current mystery and suspense DVD, Blu-ray, or VOD deals on Amazon.com.

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Purchase/Rental Options

The Woman in Black (2012)

Film Synopsis (from the studio): The story follows a young lawyer, Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe), who is ordered to travel to a remote village and sort out a recently deceased client's papers. As he works alone in the client's isolated house, Kipps begins to uncover tragic secrets, his unease growing when he glimpses a mysterious woman dressed only in black. Receiving only silence from the locals, Kipps is forced to uncover the true identity of the Woman in Black on his own, leading to a desperate race against time when he discovers her true intent.

Adapted by Jane Goldman from the 1983 novel of the same title by Susan Hill and directed by James Watkins, the film runs 95 minutes and is rated PG-13 for thematic material and violent, disturbing images.

Watch a trailer for the film below:

Russian Poster for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

It's often interesting to see how the studios market films in other countries. Twentieth Century Fox has released the Russian version of a poster for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (right, click for larger version), which we rather like. The title is slightly different though: президент линкольн: охотник на вампиров ("President Lincoln: Vampire Hunter").

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov from an screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith — who also wrote the novel from which the film is adapted — Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter opens in US theaters on June 22nd, 2012. (It opens in Russian theaters a week later on June 28th.)