Telemystery: The Closer Series Finale, Major Crimes Premiere, Monday August 13th on TNT

The Closer airs its series finale tomorrow, Monday August 13th at 9 PM (ET/PT) on TNT. Immediately afterward, though, is the premiere of its spin-off, Major Crimes.

The detectives in the Los Angeles Police Department's Major Crimes division are still reeling from the departure of Brenda Leigh Johnson and the realization that Captain Sharon Raydor (Mary McDonnell) is now in charge. Unlike their previous chief, Raydor is determined to lead the department with a more team-oriented approach, sharing the credit with the people with whom she works. Raydor's hardest job, however, will be gaining the full trust and confidence of her detectives, who aren't quick to forget her long history of internal investigations targeting them and their previous boss. Especially troublesome is Provenza (G. W. Bailey), who has a difficult time taking orders from someone he doesn't think knows as much as he does.

Watch an introduction to Major Crimes below.

Review: Curse of the Jade Lily by David Housewright

A Mysterious Review of …

Curse of the Jade Lily by David Housewright. A Rushmore McKenzie Mystery.

Review summary: This mystery has a clever, crime caper feel to it. The narrative moves along quickly and though it may seem serpentine at times it actually doesn't stray too far from its pathway, leading to a classic whodunit convention, gathering the suspects in a room to name the culprit. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

Curse of the Jade Lily
David Housewright
A Rushmore McKenzie Mystery
Minotaur Books (June 2012)

Publisher synopsis: Several years ago, Rushmore McKenzie became an unexpected millionaire and set about doing not much of anything. Now, showing up at his doorstep is the insurance company that paid the settlement that made him rich — and they want a favor. Someone has stolen a very expensive gem from a local art museum and is willing to ransom it back. The only condition is that McKenzie has to be the go between. And this is no ordinary gem — it is a jade with a history going back to the Qing Dynasty and a reputed curse that stories claim has ruined or killed everyone who has ever owned it. McKenzie agrees to help but what starts out as a simple ransom quickly becomes complicated.

Suddenly other parties — including the State Department and a mysterious woman named Heavenly — start showing up, wanting McKenzie to turn over the gem to them. When the murdered body of on of the thieves turns up in a snow drift, it looks like the cursed Jade Lily has claimed its latest victim. And there may well be more to follow …

      

The Mystery Bookshelf: White Shotgun by April Smith, an Ana Grey 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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White Shotgun by April Smith
An Ana Grey Mystery (4th in series)
Vintage (Trade Paperback)
Publication Date: July 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0-307-39101-8

About White Shotgun (from the publisher): Even on leave from the FBI, Ana can’t kick old habits: when she witnesses a drive-by shooting at an Italian restaurant in London, she helps the injured and gives testimony to the police. Still, it comes as a shock when, soon after, the Bureau contacts her — not because they want her to investigate the shooting, but because they want her to investigate the half sister she never knew she had, Cecilia, who lives in Siena and is married to Nicosa, a coffee mogul with some suspicious connections.

Settling into their home under false pretenses is the least of the complications Ana encounters. The entire city of Siena is gearing up for its legendary horse race, the Palio — the dazzling annual culmination of ancient rivalries between the city’s many wards. But when her nephew is stabbed and her sister goes missing, Ana understands with painful clarity that there’s more than a horse race at stake here. And for Ana herself, it will mean an almost impossible choice between duty and family.

Purchase Options for White Shotgun:

      

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About the author: In addition to writing novels, April Smith writes and produces television shows, nominated for an Emmy award three times and a Writer’s Guild Award twice. She most recently adapted the second in the Ana Gray series, Good Morning, Killer into the made-for-television movie of the same title that aired on TNT last year, which she also executive produced. She practices kado — Japanese flower-arranging with a Tibetan influence – and tends an herb and vegetable garden in her home in Santa Monica, California. For more information about the author and her books, visit AprilSmith.net.

Pride and Predator by Sally Wright is Today's Sixth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Pride and Predator by Sally Wright as today's sixth 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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Pride and Predator
Sally Wright
A Ben Reese Mystery
Publisher: Ballantine / Sally Wright

This is the second mystery in this series featuring the archivist at an academic research institute near Oxford, England, originally published in 1997.

Parson Jonathan MacLean is too healthy and widely loved to die so young. Yet suddenly and mysteriously he's dead.

Ben Reese, in Scotland to appraise the treasures of Balnagard Castle for his old friend Lord Alexander Chisholm, suspects cold-blooded murder. And he is absolutely certain it was one of Jonathan's kith and kin who slipped into his picnic hamper the bees that triggered his fatal allergy. What Ben doesn't suspect is that the same venomous killer is now arranging a most creative death for Ben himself …

  

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.

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

Enemy Among Us by Jason Melby is Today's Fifth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Enemy Among Us by Jason Melby as today's fifth 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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Enemy Among Us
Jason Melby
Publisher: ePublishing Works!

Former FBI Special Agent Jim McLeary is on a dangerous mission. Paired with an adversarial female partner and an egocentric Section Chief with a hidden agenda, McLeary must prevent an elusive enemy from releasing a silent weapon of mass destruction.

Hindered by a tainted past, a gauntlet of double-agents, covert operatives, and a guilty conscience — McLeary comes face-to-face with his worst fear: the cost of victory may prove more than he can afford.

  

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.

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

Silvertip by Max Brand is Today's Fourth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Silvertip by Max Brand as today's fourth 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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Silvertip
Max Brand
Publisher: Prologue Books

This western adventure series of pulp novels was originally published by Dodd, Mead in 1942. Max Brand is one of many pen names used by the profilic author Frederick Schiller Faust.

It was a one shot kill …

But it wasn’t the man Silvertip meant to kill. It was just a kid wearing Bandini’s cape. And while Silvertip wasn’t denying he pulled the trigger, it was Bandini who set the youngster up, sending him out of the saloon to die like a dog. It should have been the back-shooting, throat-cutting Bandini who bled his life away into the dust of that dark alley.

Before the young boy’s corpse was cold, Silvertip made an oath. He’d track down the kid’s kin. And whatever the youngster was supposed to do, he’d finish the job. Then he’d find Bandini and kill him proper. Though it was a crying shame you couldn’t kill a man like Bandini more than once …

  

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.

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

Midnight Sun by Basil Sands is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Midnight Sun by Basil Sands 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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Midnight Sun
Basil Sands
Publisher: Basil Sands

Kharzai Ghiassi has served the US Government his entire adult life. The best infiltration agent they've ever had. Death is not just his business, death is his life. He’s gone off the CIA’s radar and all they know is that someone is in danger.

When a former soccer star turned Islamic terrorist shows up in Anchorage Alaska, retired Marine Corps Special Operator Marcus "Mojo" Johnson and his State Trooper wife Lonnie team up with the FBI’s Mike and Hilde Farris to put a stop to the threat that hangs over the city like a hammer about to fall. No one is safe. No on can hide in the Land of The Midnight Sun.

  

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.

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

Jezebel in Blue Satin by Peter S. Fischer is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Jezebel in Blue Satin by Peter S. Fischer 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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Jezebel in Blue Satin
Peter S. Fischer
The Hollywood Murder Mysteries
Publisher: The Grove Point Press

This is the first mystery in this historical series, written by the co-creator of Murder, She Wrote and the writer-producer of Columbo and Ellery Queen.

World War II is over and Joe Bernardi, army war correspondent and aspiring novelist, has landed a job in the Publicity Department of a third rate movie studio. He's good at his job but it gets a lot tougher when he stumbles upon the body of an aspiring young actress on the set of a low budget B movie. The cops have him pegged as the killer and they're not much worried about such niceties as evidence or proof.

His world in shambles, he struggles to clear himself even as he fights to salvage a wartime marriage that ended in divorce.

  

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.

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

Outburst by R. D. Zimmerman is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Outburst by R. D. Zimmerman 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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Outburst
R. D. Zimmerman
A Todd Mills Mystery
Publisher: ScribblePub

This is the fourth mystery in this series, originally published in 1998 by Delacorte Press.

Todd Mills is running out of time.

Against his instincts, Todd is lured to the Stone Arch Bridge by an anonymous phone call with promises of a hot blackmail story. Under pressure, and in need of a scoop, Minneapolis television's most well-known (and only) openly gay reporter soon finds that his visit to the bridge does deliver a sensational exclusive, but not the one he is expecting: Todd arrives to see a man murdered, leaving him as the sole witness to the crime.

Todd's lover, city homicide investigator Steve Rawlins, immediately takes on the case. But when a mysterious suspect emerges, the danger only intensifies, for this suspect has a secret, a past, and an identity that isn't what it appears to be. An attempt is made on Rawlins's life in the course of his investigation, and Todd — dragged into the center of the story he's trying to cover — makes a frightening discovery. The murder victim was a police officer, and was gay. The killer, it seems, has developed a taste for watching gay cops die.

And unless Todd and Rawlins are able to put together the pieces of the suspect's meticulously concealed past, the consequences may prove deadly — for them both.

  

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.

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

This Week's Bestselling Mystery and Suspense Games to Download (120811)

Here is this week's list of the top ten bestselling games to download from Amazon.com, many of which have a mystery or suspense theme.

We're using a script to embed an RSS feed from Amazon.com, which is frequently updated, 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.

See also these pages: Mystery Games to download to your PC and Mystery Games available as Android Apps.

Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (120811)

Here is today's list of the Bestselling Free Kindle Crime Fiction: the top nine mysteries, novels of suspense, 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 click on the image to the right or use this link to see the relevant page on Amazon.com.

MystereBooks: This Week's Update of Kindle Crime Fiction Priced $2.99 or Less (120811)

Every month Amazon publishes a list of 100 Kindle books priced $3.99 or less. We thought we'd take that idea and improve on it, publishing a list of 100 Kindle mystery books priced $2.99 or less and updating it every week!

Here is our general criteria for selecting titles to include: books from major or specialty publishers of crime fiction and those written by authors familiar to us. There are far more than 100 to choose from, so we use our best judgment to narrow it down.

And just a reminder … as we add new titles, older ones are removed from the list. These books aren't likely to be repeated, so we encourage you to check in frequently!

A couple-three quick notes before we get to today's update.

• Don't miss the August selection of $3.99 or less Kindle books. We've tried to avoid any duplication on our list, but one or two titles may have slipped by.

• Nearly all our new titles this week came from two publishers: Midnight Ink and Oceanview Publishing. Both are generous in providing an interesting selection of discounted titles, but both also tend to not keep them discounted for very long … or mix-up the selection. If any interest you, we suggest snapping them up sooner than later.

• It's always worth checking out Poisoned Pen Press. Over the past few months they have been discounting first in series titles — and usually the second and third in series as well — which is a terrific and inexpensive way of getting an introduction to a character.

Below are listed the new $2.99 or less titles we added today; click on the cover or title for more information or to purchase the Kindle edition.

Important Note: Prices can and do change without prior notice! We strongly urge you to confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase is the price of the book.

Takeover by Lisa Black.
A Theresa MacLean Mystery (1st).

Too Much Stuff by Don Bruns.
A James Lessor and Skip Moore Mystery (5th).

Murder of the Bride by C. S. Challinor.
A Rex Graves Mystery (5th).

Midnight Alley by Miles Corwin.
An Ash Levine Mystery (2nd).

Collateral Damage by H. Terrell Griffin.
A Matt Royal Mystery (6th).

Wicked Eddies by Beth Groundwater.
A Mandy Tanner Mystery (2nd).

The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis.
A Nina Borg Mystery (1st).

Fly by Night by Ward Larsen.

Black Water Rising by Attica Locke.

Knee High by the Fourth of July by Jess Lourey.
A Mira James, Murder-by-the-Month Mystery (3rd).

Don't Die Under the Apple Tree by Amy Patricia Meade.
A Rosie O'Doyle Keefe Mystery (1st).

Stiffs and Swine by J. B. Stanley.
A James Henry Mystery (4th).

Old Maid's Puzzle by Terri Thayer.
A Dewey Pellicano Quilting Mystery (2nd).

Vertigo by Kristina Dunker.

 

Get 40% Off Debut Authors, This Weekend at Kobo

From now through Monday, August 13th, 2012, Kobo is offering 40% off a single title from a select group of debut author ebooks.

Here is the code — debut40 — and here is the link to the list of eligble books.

We took a look through the list and came up with several cozy mysteries from which to choose …

• Death of a Kitchen Diva by Lee Hollis;
• Stay at Home Dead by Jeffrey Allen;
• Going Organic Can Kill You by Staci McLaughlin; and
• Scrapbook of Secrets by Mollie Cox Bryan.

We think the coupon code can only be used once, and should be applied during checkout; look for the "Have a gift card or promo code?" and enter it there.

Remember … this promotion ends on August 13th, 2012 at 11:59 PM ET.