100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less — Mystery and Suspense Selection for December 2012

Every month Amazon releases a new selection of Kindle books priced $3.99 or less.

We've looked through the December books and listed below those in the "mystery/suspense" category. (Click on the cover/title for more information on the book from Amazon.)

Though the headline is Kindle books for $3.99 or less, all of these mystery/suspense titles are currently priced at either $1.99 or $2.99. Prices are valid for the month of December 2012 only.

MystereBooks: This Week's Update of Kindle Crime Fiction Priced $2.99 or Less (121201)

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 few notes before we get to today's lengthy list …

• Today is the first of the month, which means Amazon has updated its list of 100 books. We've looked through the mystery titles and will report on them later today, but we haven't duplicated any of them on today's update.

• We try to keep close tabs on Poisoned Pen Press but apparently not close enough! Sometime this past week the specialty mystery publisher lowered the price on a number of its titles. We caught a few, reporting on them mid-week, but missed some others. We've added those we made note of today to our update, but in case we missed one or two, here is a link to all of the publisher's titles, sorted by price.

• Signet has lowered the price on a number of its Mickey Spillane titles to $2.99 or less, including the first "Mike Hammer" mystery, I, the Jury. We haven't included any here, but encourage you to use this link to see a list.

Firsts on the 1st: New Series Characters Being Introduced in December 2012 Mysteries

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books recently updated its list of December 2012 hardcover mysteries as well as shelved new December paperbacks on The Mystery Bookshelf.

In this series of monthly posts, which we call Firsts on the 1st, we're introducing readers to new series characters who will make their mysterious American debut in print during December.

Telemystery: The Killing may be Returning to AMC for a Third Season

Variety is reporting that work has begun on the third season of The Killing. And though AMC was the network which canceled the series after two seasons, it is also the network that is expected to air the third season … if it comes to be. (None of this information has been confirmed by the network.)

Series stars Mireille Enos and Joel Kinnaman will almost certainly return, though it isn't clear which, if any, of the other cast members may return since they were all associated with the murder mystery that was (finally) concluded at the end of the second season.

Showrunner Veena Sud is still associated with the show, which means we'll likely not be watching. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Defender by Chris Allen is Today's Fifth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Defender by Chris Allen as today's fifth free mystery ebook (An Alex Morgan, Intrepid Thriller; iTunes format only).

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.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

The One You Love by Paul Pilkington is Today's Fourth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The One You Love by Paul Pilkington as today's fourth free mystery ebook (A Suspense Thriller; Kindle and iTunes formats).

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.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

Memoria by Alex Bobl is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Memoria by Alex Bobl as today's third free mystery ebook (A Futuristic Noir Thriller; Kindle format only).

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.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

Plummet by Michael Zarocostas is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Plummet by Michael Zarocostas as today's second free mystery ebook (A Legal Thriller; Kindle format only).

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.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

Exit Wounds by Aaron Fisher is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Exit Wounds by Aaron Fisher as today's free mystery ebook (A Crime Thriller; Kindle format only).

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.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

Pines by Blake Crouch is Today's Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Pines by Blake Crouch as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal.

The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Saturday, December 01, 2012.

Cinemystery: Production Update on Adaptation of Linwood Barclay's Trust Your Eyes

A couple of months ago we reported that Linwood Barclay's stand-alone thriller Trust Your Eyes had been optioned by Warner Bros. for film.

Now we're learning that Halo: Reach writer Peter O'Brien will pen the screenplay for Todd Phillips to direct.

The publisher calls the book "a thrilling story in which two brothers suddenly find themselves pulled into a frightening vortex of power and murder", a storyline that some reviewers have called an updated twist on Hitchcock's classic film Rear Window, itself based on the 1942 short story "It Had To Be Murder" by Cornell Woolrich. Learn more about the book, below.

Telemystery: ABC Family Adapting Barry Lyga's I Hunt Killers for Drama Series

ABC Family is developing a television series adaptation of Barry Lyga's young adult novel I Hunt Killers. Akira Mittman (Dexter) will write the screenplay, which (as Deadline wryly points out) is appropriate given that the novel has a similar Dexter-esque twist to it … albeit at a teenaged level.

Lyga has written a sequel to the book, Game, which will be published next Spring by Little, Brown.

Review: Princess Elizabeth's Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal

A Mysterious Review of …

Princess Elizabeth's Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal. A Maggie Hope Mystery.

Review summary: This historical mystery is a fascinating look at behind-the-scenes London during the early years of World War II. The story itself is extraordinary but it is Maggie Hope herself that is the star of this show, a smart, strong-willed woman determined to help her country in whatever way she can. (Click here for text of full review.)

MystereBooks: Love in a Nutshell by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly, Now at a Discounted Price

The author of the popular "Stephanie Plum" mysteries, Janet Evanovich started out writing romance novels. Earlier this year she combined the two genres and co-wrote Love in a Nutshell with Dorien Kelly, the first in a series of romantic suspense books. (The second, The Husband List, will be published in January 2013.)

St. Martin's Press has discounted the ebook price of this first collaboration between the authors to just $2.99 (for a limited time only). Learn more about the book and find purchase options below.

Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (121130)

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; as an alternative, you can click on the image to the right or use this link to see the relevant page on Amazon.com, which includes a list of both the Top 100 Paid and Top 100 Free Kindle Mysteries and Thrillers.