The winners of the 2011 ForeWord Book of the Year Awards have been announced by ForeWord Reviews, recognizing the best in independent publishing.
In addition to the winners of the Mystery and Thriller & Suspense categories (listed below), the top prize for fiction went to All Cry Chaos by Leonard Rosen, which was one of our top picks as the best mystery of 2011. (You can read our review on Mysterious Reviews.)
• Mystery: Gold: Trick of the Dark by Val McDermid (Bywater Books)
• Mystery: Silver: Poison Makers by Jimmy Olsen (Hoffman House Press)
• Mystery: Bronze: Medieval Murders by Aaron Stander (Writers and Editors)
• Thriller/Suspense: Gold: Fly by Night by Ward Larsen (Oceanview Publishing)
• Thriller/Suspense: Silver: The Parsifal Pursuit by Michael McMenamin and Patrick McMenamin (Enigma Books)
• Thriller/Suspense: Bronze: Waiting for the Bones by Donna Cousins (iUniverse)
(Hat tip to Mystery Fanfare for alerting us that the winners had been announced.)
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Winners of the 2011 ForeWord Awards
Radical Equations by Robert Spiller is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Radical Equations by Robert Spiller 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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Radical Equations by Robert Spiller
A Bonnie Pinkwater Mystery
Publisher: Courtney Literary
This is the fourth and most recent (March 2012) mystery in this series featuring the Colorado schoolteacher.
About Radical Equations (from the publisher): Math teacher extraordinaire and inveterate busybody, Bonnie Pinkwater is at it again. When she and her Wiccan sidekick Rhiannon Griffith are out hiking and find the body of Bonnie's boss, Vice Principal Clarence Murphy, their day takes a decided turn for the worse. But when that same body disappears then reappears seated at his desk, amid the wreckage in a tornado-ravaged high school, Bonnie proclaims things downright weird and decides to nose around. What show up are killer motorcyclists, suspicious preachers, tyrannical dwarves, high-stakes poker games, land-grabbing CEOs, and a damaged math genius desperately needing her help. As Bonnie and Rhiannon sort through a rising body count, Bonnie comes to a disturbing conclusion. Whoever is murdering the good citizens of East Plains, Colorado, has decided to eliminate one meddlesome math teacher.
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):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
Under the Shadows Moon by T. L. Haddix is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Under the Shadows Moon by T. L. Haddix 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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Under the Shadows Moon by T. L. Haddix
Publisher: Streetlight Graphics
The is the second novel of romantic suspense in the "Shadows Collection", stand-alones set in small town Indiana.
About Under the Shadows Moon (from the publisher): Journalist Beth Hudson knows her hometown. When disappearances are coupled with strange nighttime events on local farms, she puts two and two together to make a terrifying picture. She turns to her friends, family and a mysterious, handsome stranger for assistance in rooting out the truth, determined to solve the mysteries before another person disappears.
As if that weren't enough, her contentious relationship with Detective Ethan Moore takes an unexpectedly tragic turn. Will Beth be able to figure out what is going on in time to stop a dangerous killer, or will she be the next victim?
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):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
Rabbit in the Moon by Deborah Shlian and Joel Shlian is Today's Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Rabbit in the Moon by Deborah Shlian and Joel Shlian 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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Rabbit in the Moon by Deborah Shlian and Joel Shlian
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing
About Rabbit in the Moon (from the publisher): San Francisco, 1989: Forty years after Mao and his People’s Liberation Army set poised to change China forever, Dr. Lili Quan prepares for a journey that will change her life forever. To honor her mother’s dying wish that Lili “return home,” Lili reluctantly sets out for China.
For Lili, a passionate idealist, this will be an extraordinary trip filled with remarkable discoveries – from meeting and falling in love with Chi-Wen Zhou, a victim of the Cultural Revolution and zealous Taoist, to finding Dr. Ni-Fu Cheng, the grandfather Lili believed had died years ago. But Dr. Cheng has made the most remarkable discovery of all: he’s discovered the secret to long life.
As Dr. Cheng’s only relative, Lili’s life is in jeopardy. As greedy and unscrupulous men vie for control of the most earth-shattering discovery of the century, Lili Quan could become a pawn in a deadly and dangerous international game.
Before Lili can hold the key to the future, she must unlock the deadly secrets of the past.
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):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
In the Courts of the Sun by Brian D'Amato is Today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal
MystereBooks is pleased to feature In the Courts of the Sun by Brian D'Amato as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal. The deal price of $2.99 is valid only for today, Sunday, June 24, 2012.
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In the Courts of the Sun by Brian D'Amato
Publisher: NAL
About In the Courts of the Sun (from the publisher): December 21, 2012. The day time stops. Jed DeLanda, a descendant of the Maya living in the year 2012, is a math prodigy who spends his time playing Go against his computer and raking in profits from online trading. (His secret weapon? A Mayan divination game—once used for predicting corn-harvest cycles, now proving very useful in predicting corn futures—that his mother taught him.) But Jed's life is thrown into chaos when his former mentor, the game theorist Taro, and a mysterious woman named Marena Park, invite him to give his opinion on a newly discovered Mayan codex.
Marena and Taro are looking for a volunteer to travel back to 664 AD to learn more about a "sacrifice game" described in the codex. Jed leaps at the chance, and soon scientists are replicating his brain waves and sending them through a wormhole, straight into the mind of a Mayan king …
Only something goes wrong. Instead of becoming a king, Jed arrives inside a ballplayer named Chacal who is seconds away from throwing himself down the temple steps as a human sacrifice. If Jed can live through the next few minutes, he might just save the world.
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 Sunday, June 24, 2012 only.
Download Link(s):
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (120623)
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.
Short Delay in Updating Kindle Mysteries Page
For the past few Saturdays, we've been publishing an updated list of 100 Kindle mystery books priced $2.99 or less. But this week we're going to delay our update until Monday because our current list includes so many titles from The Big Deal sale, which ends tomorrow, Sunday June 24th, 2012. After the books included in the sale are repriced, we'll remove them from our own list.
Thanks for your patience … and in the meantime, if you haven't taken advantage of the many mystery, suspense and thriller novels included in The Big Deal sale, you only have until tomorrow to do so!
The Last Witness by K. T. Roberts is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Last Witness by K. T. Roberts 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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The Last Witness by K. T. Roberts
Publisher: Carolyn Hughey
K. T. Roberts is a pen name used by romance novelist Carolyn Hughey. This title is her first mystery.
About The Last Witness (from the publisher): The first victim’s car is rammed into an embankment. The second takes a bullet to the back of the head. Two down and counting! Who’s next?
Detectives Tate Kensington and Zachary Gerard of the NYPD have two seemingly unrelated cases on their plate and aren’t making much progress toward a resolution of either one. Complicating the proceedings are Detective Kensington’s personal issues with weak women, violent men, and death threats. Other than that, she’s doing just fine except her ex-beau is now her boss.
Can the two detectives put the killer away without a body? And what if a grammar-school prank becomes the key to solving these two major cases?
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):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
65 Below by Basil Sands is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature 65 Below by Basil Sands 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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65 Below by Basil Sands
Publisher: CreateSpace
About 65 Below (from the publisher): At sixty-five degrees below zero exposed human flesh freezes solid within three minutes.
Retired Marine Master Sergeant Marcus Johnson returned to his family homestead in rural Alaska after twenty years chasing bad men. Now he wants nothing but to hunt and fish and run his trapline in peace and quiet, and no more war.
Lurking deep in a long forgotten bunker in the remote arctic hills is a decades old secret that could not be destroyed, and was never meant to be rediscovered.
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):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
Let Us Prey by Jamie Lee Scott is Today's Featured Free MystereBook
MystereBooks is pleased to feature Let Us Prey by Jamie Lee Scott 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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Let Us Prey by Jamie Lee Scott
A Gotcha Detective Agency Mystery
Publisher: CreateSpace
This is the first title in this mystery series.
About Let Us Prey (from the publisher): Mimi Capurro, owner of Gotcha Detective Agency, has been hired to protect New York Times bestselling author, Lauren Silke, who was recently assaulted in the bathroom at a paranormal conference. Though Mimi is hired to act as bodyguard for Lauren’s upcoming book tour, plans change when Lauren's assistant is murdered and the slaying is a replica of a scene from Lauren’s newest novel. A novel that hit bookstores the same day as the killing.
Now instead of playing bodyguard, Mimi is cracking computer code, and chasing down vampires. These vampires come alive on the streets of Santa Cruz, as part of a live-role-playing game. Mimi must find the connection between the vampires and the author to track down the killer.
This would be much easier if Detective Nick Christianson wanted her investigating the case. Nick, Mimi’s old college fling, is the lead homicide investigator. Though he wants her off the case, he also wants to pump her for information. Nick may have used her in the past, but this time she’ll use him to try to catch the murderer first.
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):
For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.
A Small Fortune by Audrey Braun is Today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal
MystereBooks is pleased to feature A Small Fortune by Audrey Braun as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal. The deal price of $0.99 is valid only for today, Saturday, June 23, 2012.
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A Small Fortune by Audrey Braun
Publisher: AmazonEncore
About A Small Fortune (from the publisher): When Celia Donnelly’s husband, Jonathon, surprises her with a family vacation to Mexico, the harried book editor couldn't be happier. She is overworked and exhausted, a situation that has taken a toll on her eighteen-year marriage, not to mention her relationship with her teenaged son. Escaping the perpetually rainy Pacific Northwest for the sugary sands of Mexico could be just what the doctor ordered.
Yet shortly after their arrival south of the border, a chance encounter with a stranger sparks illicit memories of a former affair. The moment passes, but that brief encounter proves enough to change her life forever. Hours later, Celia is lured from the beach and abducted off the street.
At first a seemingly random victim, Celia quickly realizes her captors know exactly who she is. Desperate for news of her family and devastated by the betrayal of someone she trusts, Celia, along with an unlikely ally, is soon running for her life.
Pursued from the balmy shores of Mexico to the steamy thickets of the jungle, to the crisp, cold mountains of Zurich, Celia will stop at nothing to find her way home.
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, June 23, 2012 only.
Download Link(s):
Friday, June 22, 2012
Amazon's The Big Deal Ends This Sunday, June 24th
This post is essentially a repost of one from last Saturday, announcing The Big Deal at Amazon.com. But we thought it important enough to mention it again!
Through this Sunday, June 24th, 2012 only, 400 Kindle ebooks are priced $3.99 or less.
Amazon has conveniently sorted the titles by price — $0.99, $1.99, $2.99, and $3.99 — but we've taken that a step further and added the "mystery" keyword to these links: $0.99 mysteries, $1.99 mysteries, $2.99 mysteries, and $3.99 mysteries.
If you're looking to stock up on some summer reading at great prices, this is a terrific place to start.
Important Note: The books on these lists are only available at these special prices through June 24th, 2012.
International Teaser Poster for Taken 2
Earler this week we featured the UK quad poster for the thriller Taken 2. Now we have the international teaser version (right; click for larger image). We like the introspective, somewhat minimalist looks to these posters.
Liam Neeson reprises his role as Bryan Mills, the retired CIA agent with a particular set of skills who stopped at nothing to save his estranged teenage daughter Kim from Albanian kidnappers — the storyline from the 2008 film Taken. When the father of one of the kidnappers swears revenge and takes Bryan and his wife hostage during their family vacation in Istanbul, Bryan enlists Kim to help them escape, and uses the same advanced level of special forces tactics to get his family to safety and systematically take out the kidnappers one by one.
Directed by Olivier Megaton from a screenplay by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, the film opens on October 5th, 2012 in the US … and apparently October 3rd internationally. An international trailer has been released but we couldn't find an embeddable version that wasn't cluttered with ads; when we do, we'll post it.
Two Poisoned Pen Press First in Series Mysteries, Free on iTunes
Poisoned Pen Press just notified us that it has lowered the price of two of its "first in series" mysteries to free … on iTunes. Restrictions prevent the publisher from listing these books as free on other vendors, though in the past Amazon has quickly matched prices, even free prices.
We wanted our i-device readers to know about these books as quickly as possible, hence this post. If the other vendors price match, we'll do an update.
The series are the Melissa and Rep Pennyworth mysteries by Michael Bowen — first title, Screenscam — and the Inez Stannert, Silver Rush mysteries by Ann Parker — first title, Silver Lies. (A bit of trivia: our review of Screenscam was one of the first we published on our, at the time, "new" Mysterious Reviews. It's written in a clumsy and awkward manner. We've improved since then … at least we hope so!)
Important note: Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of the sale is the price of the book.
Michael Bowen
Series: Rep and Melissa Pennyworth
Ann Parker
Series: Inez Stannert, Silver Rush
Important Note: Prices can and do change without notice. The price shown on the vendor website at the time of the sale is the price of the book. Please confirm the price before completing your purchase.
Culinary Noir: Get Jiro!, a Graphic Novel by Anthony Bourdain and Joel Rose
We were preparing updates for our July 2012 hardcover and paperback mystery titles and came across something we're quite sure we haven't seen before: culinary noir, in the form of a graphic novel, and more specifically Get Jiro! by Anthony Bourdain and Joel Rose, with illustrations by Langdon Foss.
In a not-too-distant future L.A. where master chefs rule the town like crime lords and people literally kill for a seat at the best restaurants, a bloody culinary war is raging.
On one side, the Internationalists, who blend foods from all over the world into exotic delights. On the other, the "Vertical Farm," who prepare nothing but organic, vegetarian, macrobiotic dishes.
Into this maelstrom steps Jiro, a renegade and ruthless sushi chef, known to decapitate patrons who dare request a California Roll, or who stir wasabi into their soy sauce. Both sides want Jiro to join their factions. Jiro, however has bigger ideas, and in the end, no chef may be left alive!
"I think the explosion of interest in chefs and restaurants is certainly easy fodder for satire," says Bourdain. "But my motivation was really nothing more than to help tell a story that would be fun, extremely bloody, beautifully illustrated — and insanely detailed as to the specifics of cooking and eating. I'm a big fan of classic Japanese cinema, Hammett's Red Harvest, spaghetti westerns and food — so these were obvious elements."
Get Jiro! has a publication date of July 3rd, but the publisher's website says that it should be in stores a week earlier.
