Two Shots by Joe Albert is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Two Shots by Joe Albert 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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Two Shots by Joe Albert
A Tony Leach Mystery
Publisher: Joe Albert

About Two Shots (from the publisher): When state conservation officer Tony Leach responds to an emergency call about a hunter who has been shot and killed at a deer camp in the woods of northern Minnesota, there’s no way he can be prepared for the twisted web into which he’s been thrust.

Five years removed from a stint with the Minneapolis Police Department, Tony Leach is a conservation officer for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Content to spend his days in the woods and on the water enforcing fishing and hunting laws, he thought he’d left violent crime behind when he left the city. But a single call from dispatch two days before the deer-hunting season opens changes that.

Now, he’s pushed into working a case he really shouldn’t be involved with, and digging for the truth in the death of a noted political operative that some high-powered people would prefer remain buried in the northern Minnesota woods. As Leach pursues those responsible, he finds people and things aren’t exactly what they seem. And as the investigation goes on and the web unravels, it becomes increasingly clear the only way for it to end is with a killer’s — or his — demise.

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.

The Blue Zone by Andrew Gross is Today's Barnes&Noble Nook Daily Find

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Blue Zone by Andrew Gross as today's Barnes&Noble Nook Daily Find. The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Tuesday, June 12, 2012.

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The Blue Zone by Andrew Gross
Publisher: HarperCollins

This stand-alone thriller is by the author of the Ty Hauck mysteries.

About The Blue Zone (from the publisher): Kate Raab's life seems almost perfect: her boyfriend, her job, her family … until her father runs into trouble with the law. His only recourse is to testify against his former accomplices in exchange for his family's placement in the Witness Protection Program. But one of them gets cold feet. In a flash, everything Kate can count on is gone.

Now, a year later, her worst fears have happened: Her father has disappeared — into what the WITSEC agency calls "the blue zone" — and someone close to him is found brutally murdered. With her family under surveillance, the FBI untrustworthy, and her father's menacing "friends" circling with increasing intensity, Kate sets off to find her father — and uncover the secrets someone will kill to keep buried.

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 Tuesday, June 12, 2012 only.

Download Link(s):

B&N Nook Daily Find.

Amazon Kindle Price Match (today only).

Carbs & Cadavers by J. B. Stanley is Today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Carbs & Cadavers by J. B. Stanley as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal. The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Tuesday, June 12, 2012.

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Carbs & Cadavers by J. B. Stanley
A James Henry Mystery
Publisher: Midnight Ink

This is the first in the "Supper Club" mystery series by the author of the "Molly Appleby" and "Hope Street Church" mysteries.

About Carbs & Cadavers (from the publisher): James "Professor Puff" Henry may as well have "loser" stamped on his forehead. Divorced, overweight, shy, and living at home, he relies on books and his favorite snack — cheese puffs — for sweet relief from his problems. A former English lit professor at William and Mary, he moves back to Quincy's Gap, a small Virginia town in the Shenandoah Valley, to take care of his recently-widowed father. To improve his social life and waistline, he joins a supper club for dieters who lovingly call themselves the "Flab Five". Avoiding carbs is nearly impossible in this deep-fried potato-loving land, so a mysterious death in their small burg provides an effective, if disturbing, distraction. While dodging delectable temptations, Professor Henry and his fellow dieters work together to shed pounds and find the killer who has struck fear in this tight-knit community.

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 Tuesday, June 12, 2012 only.

Download Link(s):

Amazon Kindle Daily Deal.

Hard Case Crime to Publish Harlan Ellison's First Novel, Web of the City

Harlan Ellison may be best known for his works of science fiction, but he is also the author of a considerable body of crime fiction. Two of his short stories have won Edgar Awards — "The Wimper of Whipped Dogs" in 1974 and "Soft Monkey" in 1988 — and now Hard Case Crime will be publishing a new edition of his first novel, Web of the City, in April 2013.

Originally published in 1958 by Pyramid Books under the title of Rumble — Ellison reportedly hated the title — Web of the City is set in Rusty Santaro's neighborhood, where the kids carry knives, chains, bricks. Broken glass. And when they fight, they fight dirty, leaving the streets littered with the bodies of the injured and the dead. Rusty wants out — but you can't just walk away from a New York street gang. And his decision may leave his family to pay a terrible price.

In his early 20s, Ellison — anonymously — became a member of a Brooklyn gang as part of his research for the book.

Hard Case Crime will publish the book together with three of the author's short stories. You can read an excerpt from Web of the City on the publisher's website.

(Hat tip to CrimeSpree Magazine.)

Special Offer: Save $20 This Week Only on Nook Color, Nook SimpleTouch

All this week, until Sunday June 17th, 2012, you can save $20 on either a Nook Color or Nook SimpleTouch.

This deal is available from both Barnes&Noble and Books-a-Million. (Though the B&N banner, right, doesn't say so, the $20 offer is also available on the Nook SimpleTouch.)

One advantage of BAM is that you can purchase it with any credit card; the B&N offer requires you to use MasterCard.

However, B&N offers free shipping while BAM seems to require you to be a club member to get free shipping.

They are identical products at identical prices, so choose the vendor that offers you the best advantage.

Review: Kings of Midnight by Wallace Stroby

We've just published our Review of Kings of Midnight by Wallace Stroby. A Crissa Stone Mystery. Minotaur Books Hardcover, April 2012.

Our rating:

Available to purchase from …

Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (120611)

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.

Mark Billingham's Thorne to Air on Encore, June 12th and 13th

Back in April we mentioned that made-for-television adaptations of two of Mark Billingham's crime novels were scheduled to air on Encore in June.

That day has come! (Or will be here tomorrow.)

Adaptations of Sleepy Head and Scaredy Cat, the first two "Tom Thorne" mysteries by Mark Billingham, will air on Encore Tuesday and Wednesday, June 12th and 13th. (Both will be repeated on Saturday, June 16th.) Thorne originally aired as a six-part mini-series on the UK's Sky1 in 2010, and stars David Morrissey as Detective Tom Thorne, for whom — as the tagline reads — "nothing is by the book".

In Sleepy Head, the detective is dragged back into the nightmares of his past when young girls begin falling victim to sadistically induced strokes. Thorne knows there are more deaths to come, as the skillful predator enjoys toying with Thorne just as much as pursuing his sick fantasy.

In Scaredy Cat, when two female victims turn out to be killed in the exact same way, Thorne finds himself on the hunt for not one, but two serial killers. Are they working together, yet killing separately? The answer will unravel a case that reaches back ten dark years.

Telemystery: Missing, New This Week on DVD

Telemystery, your source for one of the most comprehensive listings of crime drama, amateur sleuth, private investigator, mystery and suspense television series, mini-series and made-for-television movies, now available on or coming soon to DVD or Blu-ray disc, is profiling one series being released this week.

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How far would you go to save the person you love most in the world? Ashley Judd stars as Becca Winstone, who learns that her son, Michael, has disappeared while studying abroad, and it's a race against time when she travels to Europe to track him down in Missing.

It soon becomes clear that Becca is no ordinary woman, but a former CIA agent deactivated after the devastating death of her husband, Paul Winstone (Sean Bean). If she wants to find her son alive, Becca will have to rely on old friends, as well as old enemies, ex-lovers, and spies, and will be forced to reopen old wounds. Her resourcefulness, skill, and determination will be put to the test — but a mother's love knows no limits.

Missing: Season One is available on DVD and consists of episodes that originally aired on ABC during the Spring of 2012, electing not to renew the series for a second season. (We're not quite sure why the artwork on the cover wasn't changed to "The Complete Series" … unless the producers are confident of finding a new home for the series on another network.)

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Visit the Telemystery website to discover more television mystery series currently available on and coming soon to DVD, Blu-ray disc, or video on demand.

Nominees for the 2012 Anthony Awards Announced

The nominees for the 2012 Anthony Awards have been announced. The winners will be selected by the attendees of the annual Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in Cleveland this October. The award is named after Anthony Boucher, who helped found the Mystery Writers of America.

Best Novel …
• The End of Everything by Megan Abbott (Little, Brown)
• Hurt Machine by Reed Farrel Coleman (Tyrus)
• The Drop by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown)
• A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny (Minotaur Books)
• One Was a Soldier by Julia Spencer-Fleming (Minotaur Books)

Best First Novel …
• Learning to Swim by Sara J. Henry (Crown)
• Nazareth Child by Darrell James (Midnight Ink)
• All Cry Chaos by Leonard Rosen (The Permanent Press)
• Who Do, Voodoo? by Rochelle Staab (Berkley Prime Crime)
• The Informationist by Taylor Stevens (Crown)
• Purgatory Chasm by Steve Ulfelder (Minotaur Books)
• Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson (HarperCollins)

Best Paperback Original …
• The Company Man by Robert Jackson Bennett (Orbit)
• Choke Hold by Christa Faust (Hard Case Crime)
• Buffalo West Wing by Julie Hyzy (Berkley Prime Crime)
• Death of the Mantis by Michael Stanley (HarperCollins)
• Fun & Games by Duane Swierczynski (Mulholland Books)
• Vienna Twilight by Frank Tallis (Random House)

Best Short Story …
• "Disarming" (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine) by Dana Cameron
• "The Case of Death and Honey" (A Study in Sherlock) by Neil Gaiman (Bantam)
• "Palace by the Lake" (Fish Tales: The Guppy Anthology) by Daryl Wood Gerber (Wildside)
• "Truth and Consequences" (Mystery Times Ten) by Barb Goffman (Buddhapuss Ink)
• "The Itinerary" (The Rich and the Dead) by Roberta Isleib (Grand Central)
• "Happine$$" (The Rich and the Dead) by Twist Phelan (Grand Central)

Best Non-Fiction …
• Books, Crooks and Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law and Courtroom Procedure by Leslie Budewitz (Quill Driver)
• Agatha Christie: Murder in the Making: More Stories and Secrets from Her Notebooks by John Curran (HarperCollins)
• On Conan Doyle: or, The Whole Art of Storytelling by Michael Dirda (Princeton University Press)
• Detecting Women: Gender and the Hollywood Detective Film by Philippa Gates (SUNY Press)
• The Sookie Stackhouse Companion by Charlaine Harris, editor (Ace)

indicates a review by Mysterious Reviews.

D.R.T. (Dead Right There) by Ray Ellis is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature D.R.T. (Dead Right There) by Ray Ellis as today's third 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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D.R.T. (Dead Right There) by Ray Ellis
A Nate Richards Mystery
Publisher: StoneHouse Ink

This is the second mystery to feature the rookie detective.

About D.R.T. (Dead Right There) (from the publisher): Registered sex offenders in the valley have started showing up dead, killed with apparent violence and forethought; and Detective Nate Richards finds himself pitted against a psychotic killer set on ridding the valley of the unclean.

When Chrystal Johansson, the only female on the killer's list, barely escapes the attempt on her life, Richards takes her into protective custody. Driven by a voice he calls God and a group of men he calls the Uncles, the killer sets a deadline of two weeks to complete the valley's cleansing.

Around him, the community divides about the actions of the vigilante. Some hail the killer as a modern day knight, only doing what they wish they could; while others curse him as being part of the sickness he claims to fight.

In the midst of the chaos, Nate finds his faith tested when he discovers a sympathetic link in his own heart for the killer's ideas, if not his actions. Will he find the strength to keep his own path from falling into darkness and bring the killer in, or will he succumb to the powerful sway of street justice?

With the deadline quickly approaching, and the city threatening to tear itself apart, will the killer fulfill his calling or will Nate stop the killings before another victim turns up D.R.T.

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.

Where the Sun Don't Shine by Alex Metcalf is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Where the Sun Don't Shine by Alex Metcalf 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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Where the Sun Don't Shine by Alex Metcalf
Publisher: Restless Ego

About Where the Sun Don't Shine (from the publisher): Marley, a once successful Hollywood player, has tumbled so far down the ladder of success that he's got almost nothing left. Just a one room apartment on Venice Beach and a fragile relationship with his 16 year old daughter.

Marley's at the end of his rope when he gets a phone call from an old producing partner who wants to throw Marley some work. Which sounds great until Marley realizes that the “work” is tracking down a missing actress. An actress who may or may not be dead. Every instinct Marley has tells him to walk away. But the lure of easy money is the single thing that everyone in Hollywood has in common.

Marley finds himself thrust into the back alleys of the film industry. Into a nexus of porn, kidnapping, studio politics and the dream-dead denizens of modern Hollywood. Struggling to do the right thing, and to be a father to his daughter, Marley soon finds that everything is at stake: His future, his daughter, even his 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.

Download Link(s):

Amazon Kindle Edition Download Link.

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

The Truth about Scarlet Rose by Julia Madeleine is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Truth about Scarlet Rose by Julia Madeleine 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 Truth about Scarlet Rose by Julia Madeleine
Publisher: Black Heart Books

This book was originally published in trade paperback under the title Scarlet Rose.

About The Truth about Scarlet Rose (from the publisher): Scarlet Rose, the once remarkably beautiful, queen of the burlesque scene in 1960s Toronto, has aged into a decrepit bitter alcoholic, living on welfare and her daughter's handouts—a daughter she forced into the adult entertainment industry at the age of sixteen to support the family. Now in 1983, Scarlet's wealthy ex-husband has been found tortured and murdered in a hotel room, and her twenty-two-year-old daughter Fiona, must help the police find the killer.

While Fiona navigates her way through the dark recesses of her family's history, uncovering shocking secrets that threaten to destroy her, Scarlet Rose employs the skills she learns in Sun Tzu's The Art Of War, fixating on making a new life for herself using other people's money. But when she befriends a lonely American woman sitting on an inheritance, greed that knows no bounds, cold-blooded murder and identity theft, might just prove to be Scarlet's undoing.

Read our review of The Truth about Scarlet Rose by Julia Madeleine.

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 Godoku Puzzle for June 11, 2012

A new Mystery Godoku Puzzle has been created by the editors of the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and is now available on our website.

Godoku is similar to Sudoku, but uses letters instead of numbers. To give you a headstart, we provide you a mystery clue to fill in a complete row or column (if you choose to use it!).

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This week's letters and mystery clue:

A D E F G I L R Y

This is the title of the 7th Bernie Gunther mystery by Philip Kerr (9 letters).

We now have two weeks of our puzzles on one page in PDF format for easier printing. Print this week's puzzle here.

Previous puzzles are stored in the Mystery Godoku Archives.

Enjoy the weekly Mystery Godoku Puzzle from the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, and Thanks for visiting our website!

Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (120610)

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.