Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (120906)

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.

The Cold Light of Day Opens in Theaters September 7th

The Cold Light of Day. Opens in theaters September 07, 2012.

Will Shaw (Henry Cavill) goes to Spain for a week long sailing vacation with his family (Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver) but soon his whole world turns upside down. When the family is kidnapped by intelligence agents hell-bent on recovering a mysterious briefcase, Will suddenly finds himself on the run.

Directed by Mabrook El Mechri from an original screenplay co-written by John Petro and Scott Wiper.

Running time: 93 minutes. Rated PG-13 for language and sexual content.

Watch a trailer for the film below:

Fox Orders Pilot for Futuristic Buddy Cop Drama

Fox has ordered a pilot for a near-future buddy-cop action-drama, in which an LAPD officer is teamed with an evolved human-esque android. (No word on what superpowers will be invested in the latter partner.)

J. J. Abrams (Alias, Lost, Person of Interest) and J. H. Wyman (Fringe) will executive produce, with the latter also writing the pilot's script and acting as showrunner.

Sequel (or Prequel) to Action Thriller Safe House Planned

Screenwriter David Guggenheim — and soon to be crime novelist David Guggenheim, with his debut Hitchcock-ian thriller Exile scheduled to be published by Mulholland Books in 2013 — is reportedly penning a follow-up to his screenplay Safe House, which opened in theaters earlier this year and has proven to be one of the year's most successful thrillers to date. The film stars Ryan Reynolds as the guardian of a South African safe house, to which a rogue CIA agent (played by Denzel Washington) is assigned.

No word yet on the storyline or casting, though it is assumed that it would feature Reynolds' character — and presumably Reynolds playing him.

Please Welcome Novelist Ben Aaronovitch

by Ben Aaronovitch

We are delighted to welcome novelist Ben Aaronovitch as our guest.

Ben's new mystery is Whispers Under Ground (Del Rey, July 2012 paperback and ebook formats), the third title in the "Peter Grant" series.

Today Ben tells us about genre confusion, one of the pitfalls of writing cross-over fiction.

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But, but, but … you're reading it wrong!

I, like most writers, have an immediate and visceral reaction to those who criticise my work. First denial — how could they? Secondly anger — how dare they? Thirdly grief — everybody hates me. Fourthly qualified acceptance — everybody is entitled to their opinion, even if it does indicate that they were born in a barn and schooled in a cesspit by dullards. Finally you decide to move on to write the next book pretty much the same way you always planned to. It's only once you've moved on that you can, if you wish, look at the criticism anew and see if there's anything to be learnt from it. Sometimes the results can be … interesting.

Photo provided courtesy of
Ben Aaronovitch

Now a quick word of explanation for the many of you who have no idea who I am. I write what could best be described as a police procedural/fantasy cross over series — it starts with Midnight Riot (published as Rivers of London in the UK) and book 3 Whispers Under Ground has just been published in the US. It is what publishers are pleased to call a cross-over book and came about because I couldn't decide which of my two favourite genres to write first — so I did both at the same time.

So, when you decide to mash up some genres for fun and profit you figure you're going to face some consumer resistance. I thought fans of crime novels might be wary of the fantasy elements and that the SF fans might balk at the police procedural elements, but what I wasn't expecting was what I've come to call "Genre Confusion". This occurs when a reader's enjoyment of a novel is damaged because they make incorrect assumptions about the genre of work they are reading. That this was happening became painfully obvious to me when I started getting reviews for Whispers Under Ground which included lines like this — The plot was total filler, with nothing of real significance taking place with any of our main characters.

Now, the plot of Whispers Under Ground is such that a murder occurs which our protagonist then solves. He's a detective and this is what he does for a living. I wasn't sure how the central murder mystery that makes up the bulk of the novel could be considered filler. Then I read this in another review —

We steadily move through ... filler. Not a whole lot happens, and once we do discover something it's just left alone. If you're reading this in hopes of finding out what happens to Lesley, I'm sorry to say that nothing much happens for her, either. I'm assuming a lot is set-up for the fourth and final instalment [sic] — let's hope the payoff is worth it!

And all was made clear.

The giveaway is in that last sentence. The reviewer is assuming that what he is reading is a standard fantasy novel in which the protagonist is revealed at the beginning and then develops through a number of volumes until a final crisis and resolution. In such a plot the emphasis is on the development of the protagonist, the coterie of the characters around him, and the inevitable climatic denouement which traditionally takes place in the last third of the last volume.

What I thought I was writing was a classic detective series in which you introduce a protagonist in the first book who then goes on to solve mysteries, traditionally at the rate of one or two per book, a process that continues until the author, publisher or audience loses interest. In this classic form the character of the detective rarely changes much from novel to novel, they may marry, have kids, get divorced or, if Scandinavian, be diagnosed as clinically depressed. But they remain pretty constant. Morse, Wexford, Marlow, Carella, Poirot et al. stay essentially the same people from their introduction to their last case.

The reviewers cited above see the self-contained mystery plot in Whispers Under Ground as "filler" because it doesn't directly tie into what they see as the main multi-volume plot. They don't enjoy it because they see it as "getting in the way" of the main action, in other words that most dreaded of narrative ailments — the plot tumour.

Now this is all a matter of degree — there are mystery series that build to a climax and there are fantasy protagonists who fight their way through a series of episodic novels — but the archetype is true enough to cause one of the two big problems of writing cross-over fiction. (The other problem, bookshop section schizophrenia, is a whole different blog post.)

Avoiding genre confusion is harder than diagnosing it. Once you have written a book, and put it out there, how it is read is nobody's damn business but the individual reader's. You might have a legitimate complaint if a reviewer misrepresents the actual content of your work, but how they interpret it — that's down to them. If they want to regard your meticulously crafted mystery plot as "filler", then to them it is filler. You may want to be careful with the cover art, assuming you have some influence on the cover, so it isn't ambiguous, or check that the blurb on the back doesn't given the wrong impression. You may even write long self-involved guest articles for popular blog sites but all that is just tinkering at the margins. People will read your book the way that they want to read it, and there's nothing you can do to stop them.

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Ben Aaronovitch was born in London in 1964 and had the kind of dull routine childhood that drives a man to drink or to science fiction. He is a screenwriter, with early notable success on BBC television’s legendary Doctor Who, for which he wrote some episodes now widely regarded as classics, and which even he is quite fond of. He has also penned several groundbreaking TV tie-in novels.

After a decade of such work, he decided it was time to show the world what he could really do and embarked on his first serious original novel. The result is Midnight Riot, the debut adventure of Peter Grant, followed by Moon Over Soho.

Learn more about the author and his books on his website, The-Folly.com.

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Whispers Under Ground
Ben Aaronovitch
Publisher: Del Rey

A whole new reason to mind the gap …

It begins with a dead body at the far end of Baker Street tube station, all that remains of American exchange student James Gallagher — and the victim's wealthy, politically powerful family is understandably eager to get to the bottom of the gruesome murder. The trouble is, the bottom — if it exists at all — is deeper and more unnatural than anyone suspects … except, that is, for London constable and sorcerer's apprentice Peter Grant. With Inspector Nightingale, the last registered wizard in England, tied up in the hunt for the rogue magician known as "the Faceless Man", it's up to Peter to plumb the haunted depths of the oldest, largest, and — as of now — deadliest subway system in the world.

At least he won't be alone. No, the FBI has sent over a crack agent to help. She's young, ambitious, beautiful … and a born-again Christian apt to view any magic as the work of the devil. Oh yeah — that's going to go well.

           

Irreparable Harm by Melissa F. Miller is Today's Fourth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Irreparable Harm by Melissa F. Miller 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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Irreparable Harm
Melissa F. Miller
A Sasha McCandless Mystery
Publisher: Brown Street Books

There's a smartphone app capable of crashing a commercial jet. And it's for sale to the highest bidder …

Attorney Sasha McCandless is closing in on the prize: After eight years of long hours, she's about to make partner at a prestigious law firm. All she has to do is keep her head down and her billable hours up. Then a plane operated by her client slams into the side of a mountain, killing everyone aboard. She gears up for the inevitable civil lawsuits. But, as Sasha digs into the case, she learns the crash was no accident. She joins forces with a federal air marshal and they race to prevent another crash. People close to the matter start to turn up dead. And Sasha's next on the list. She'll need to rely on her legal training and Krav Maga training in equal measure to stop a madman and save herself.

    

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.

Calamity @ the Carwash by Sharon Rose is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Calamity @ the Carwash by Sharon Rose 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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Calamity @ the Carwash
Sharon Rose
A Parson's Cove Mystery
Publisher: Cozy Cat Press

A marital spat at a carwash turns deadly — and Mabel Wickles, Parson's Cove's amateur sleuth, isn't buying the claim that the victim's wife bashed him over the head with a brick. However, when the woman confesses to the murder, Mabel decides to investigate the crime herself — along with help from her best friend Flori, her cat Sammy, and a busload of senior citizens.

  

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.

Plaza by Shane M. Brown is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Plaza by Shane M. Brown 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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Plaza
Shane M. Brown
Publisher: Shane M. Brown

Their first mistake was ever telling the world about the wonders they had found.

They should have kept it all a secret. If they’d kept it a secret, fewer people would have died. When archaeologists uncover the largest ancient safe in the world, the wrong kinds of people will show up: criminals, mercenaries, treasure hunters.

Their second mistake was opening it. Why would an ancient culture devote three generations to build a giant stone safe? Why would they bury it so the jungle could hide it from the world? Why ritually sacrifice one hundred thousand people to ensure its secrecy?

Their last mistake proved the biggest.

This last mistake hurt the most. Their last mistake was to assume that nothing had been left behind to keep guard …

  

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.

Death by Unches by H. O. Ward is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Death by Unches by H. O. Ward 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 by Unches
H. O. Ward
Publisher: Winpublish

When the newspaper eulogizes Deborah O'Nair, well-known cryptic crossword puzzle composer of New Orleans, by running the unfinished puzzle with her obituary, one of her more devoted fans—a semi-retired physician named Galimatias—quickly sees that one of the clues suggests foul play.

This unpromising sleuth—potbellied, messy, and given to florid speech that obscures his fundamental shrewdness—enlists the reluctant aid of his houseguest, Aramus Limpkin, a young history professor anxious to prove worthy of his first sabbatical. Together they attempt to bring the police around to the doctor's rather tenuous way of thinking.

The police investigation, headed by the swaggering Detective Sergeant Mink Fleming and his conscientious but naive rookie assistant, Hazel Catkin, is hardly less inept than the doctor's own fumbling attempts to uncover the truth.

But in the end, the truth is revealed. And along the way, Aramus learns the secrets of working cryptic crossword puzzles. Four cryptic crossword puzzles revealing some answers pertinent to the mystery are included for the reader to solve.

  

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.

Flowertown by S. G. Redling is Today's Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Flowertown by S. G. Redling as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal.

The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Thursday, September 06, 2012.

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Flowertown
S. G. Redling
Thomas & Mercer

When Feno Chemical spilled an experimental pesticide in rural Iowa, scores of people died. Those who survived contamination were herded into a US Army medically maintained quarantine and cut off from the world. Dosed with powerful drugs to combat the poison, their bodies give off a sickly sweet smell and the containment zone becomes known simply as Flowertown.

Seven years later, the infrastructure is crumbling, supplies are dwindling, and nobody is getting clean. Ellie Cauley doesn’t care anymore. Despite her paranoid best friend's insistence that conspiracies abound, she focuses on three things: staying high, hooking up with the Army sergeant she's not supposed to be fraternizing with and, most importantly, trying to ignore her ever-simmering rage. But when a series of deadly events rocks the compound, Ellie suspects her friend is right—something dangerous is going down in Flowertown and all signs point to a twisted plan of greed and abuse. She and the other residents of Flowertown have been betrayed by someone with a deadly agenda and their plan is just getting started. Time is running out. With nobody to trust and nowhere to go, Ellie decides to fight with the last weapon she has—her rage.

Important Note: This book was listed at the price mentioned above 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.

A Choice of Nightmares by Lynn Kostoff is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature A Choice of Nightmares by Lynn Kostoff as today's third — and late in day addition — 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.

— ♦ —

A Choice of Nightmares
Lynn Kostoff
Publisher: New Pulp Press

Robert Staples is on the verge of finally making it as a second-rate actor when his agent asks him to deliver a package. Staples promptly loses the package, forcing him into the heart of a bloody and highly lucrative drug-running operation. Pulled in all directions by desperate men, sociopaths, and a sexually alluring woman, Robert soon finds himself embracing the explosive lifestyle.

  

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.

New Poster for Castle Season 5

A new poster for the fifth season of Castle has been released by ABC (right; click for larger image). The tagline: "Caught in the act."

Nathan Fillion stars as crime novelist Richard Castle, who tags along with NYPD homicide detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) on her murder investigations. He uses her as an inspiration for his new series of bestselling novels featuring NYPD homicide detective Nikki Heat, the fourth of which — Frozen Heat — is published next week.

The fifth season of Castle premieres on Monday, September 24th at 10 PM (ET/PT).

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Frozen Heat
Richard Castle
A Nikki Heat Mystery (4th in series)

NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat arrives at her latest crime scene to find an unidentified woman stabbed to death and stuffed inside a suitcase left on a Manhattan street. Nikki is in for a big shock when this new homicide connects to the unsolved murder of her own mother. Paired once again with her romantic and investigative partner, top journalist Jameson Rook, Heat works to solve the mystery of the body in the suitcase while she is forced to confront unexplored areas of her mother's background.

Facing relentless danger as someone targets her for the next kill, Nikki's search will unearth painful family truths, expose a startling hidden life, and cause Nikki to reexamine her own past. Heat's passionate quest takes her and Rook from the back alleys of Manhattan to the avenues of Paris, trying to catch a ruthless killer. The question is, now that her mother's cold case has unexpectedly thawed, will Nikki Heat finally be able to solve the dark mystery that has been her demon for ten years?

    

Review: The Resistance by Peter Steiner

A Mysterious Review of …

The Resistance by Peter Steiner. A Louis Morgon Mystery.

Review summary: This is a superb historical thriller, with strongly developed characters and set during a time of history that many would like to forget, but a time that needs to be remembered. Such a clever way of integrating history into a fictional storyline. One of the year's best. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

The Resistance
Peter Steiner
A Louis Morgon Mystery
Minotaur Books (August 2012)

Publisher synopsis: When Louis purchases a rundown house in Saint-Leon-sur-Dême, he quickly goes to work fixing it up. However, during the renovations, he discovers evidence of a long forgotten crime hidden beneath the floorboards. Unable to leave a good mystery unsolved, he enlists the help of his friend Renard, a French cop, and sets out to discover exactly what happened in this small French village during the Nazi occupation.

As Louis and Renard search for the answer to a decades-old question, they encounter an unforgettable cast of characters, including Simon, a Jew from Berlin who leads a French resistance cell, a Nazi colonel who is not at all what he seems, and Marie Piano, whose bravery is unmatched. Soon, Louis is pulled into the secrets and lies of the past as he begins to call into question the very nature of guilt and innocence in times of war.

      

This Week's Bestselling Mystery and Suspense Television and Film on DVD (120905)

Here is this week's list of the top bestselling mystery and suspense television and film on DVD available from Amazon.com.

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.

New Poster for The Walking Dead Season 3

A new poster for the third season of The Walking Dead has been released by AMC (right; click for larger image). The tagline: "Fight the dead. Fear the living."

Based on "The Walking Dead" graphic novels by Robert Kirkman, the series stars Andrew Lincoln as County Sheriff Rick Grimes, who wakes from a coma to discover the world has been ravaged by a zombie epidemic.

The third season begins on AMC on Sunday, October 14th at 9 PM (ET/PT).