When the Fox Dies Even the Rabbit Weeps by Edgar Bailitis is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature When the Fox Dies Even the Rabbit Weeps by Edgar Bailitis as today's free mystery ebook (A Crime Thriller; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, April 21, 2013 at 7:10 AM ET. 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.

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When the Fox Dies Even the Rabbit Weeps
Edgar Bailitis
A Crime Thriller
Publisher: Edgar Bailitis

A Chicago homicide detective searching for a kidnapped young girl in 1930 colonial Shanghai unearths an unlikely international conspiracy …

For disillusioned Detective Jake Puccini, the shortest distance between a cop and a crime is never a straight line. In order to find the young girl in his last few days of an enforced police exchange program in China, Jake must first reevaluate a stagnant multiple murder case he thinks he's leaving behind. He must also determine for Police Commissioner Gibbons why a high profile councilman, who allegedly committed suicide, was shot post mortem. Even more puzzling, Jake must determine how communist organizer Kang Sheng, in Masquerade and wanted by Gibbons, appears to know his every move.

As Jake delves into three seemingly disparate events, he's unwittingly drawn into a precarious cloak-and-dagger game by both Gibbons and Kang, discovering that virtually everybody he knows is not who they appear to be.

  

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.

40 Kindle Mysteries and Thrillers for $1.99 or less is the Amazon Gold Box Deal of the Day for April 21st, 2013

The Amazon Gold Box Deal of the Day for
Sunday, April 21st, 2013 — and also the Kindle Daily Deal — is 40 Kindle Mysteries and Thrillers for $1.99 or less.

Featured authors include Max Allan Collins (Nathan Heller; "Disaster Series"), Jutta Profijt (Martin Gänsewein), L. J. Sellers (Wade Jackson), Blair S. Walker (Darryl Billups), and many more.

The special deal price of $1.99 or less for these 40 mysteries and thrillers is valid for only for today, April 21st, 2013.

Today's Mystery and Suspense Update from Big Fish Games (130421)

Here is today's mystery and suspense update from Big Fish Games …

• The New Release is The Secret Order: Masked Intent.

• The Daily Deal is Victorian Mysteries: The Yellow Room, just $2.99 today only!

• The current Catch of the Week is Bedtime Stories: The Lost Dreams, just $2.99 through Sunday, April 21, 2013 only.

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Today's New Release is The Secret Order: Masked Intent

Sarah receives shocking news from her father. One of the newest members in the Order of the Griffins has turned traitor, murdering one of the Secret Five, the heads of the Order. What’s worse is that very traitor is about to join the Secret Five, and he’s wearing a mask that gives him supernatural abilities. Sarah has to race back through time and search for the one artifact that can subdue the mask: a magical scepter. Hop aboard the Royal Griffin and help Sarah unmask the traitor before he destroys the Order in this exhilarating Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure Game.

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour.

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Today's Daily Deal is Victorian Mysteries: The Yellow Room

Solve a perplexing conundrum when a young woman is attacked in the middle of the night inside a locked room. There are only two ways out: a dead-bolted door and a single window blocked by iron bars. How did the murderer escape? Interact with a host of characters to unravel this Victorian mystery.

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour. You can purchase this game today only — Sunday, April 21, 2013 — for $2.99.

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The current Catch of the Week is Bedtime Stories: The Lost Dreams

Change the course of history by helping your relatives during key moments of their lives! Change the past and make your family's faces shine in a family photo. Help out an unaccomplished prima ballerina, a genius detective, a recognized chocolatier, and a famous adventurer in this incredible Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game. Relive crucial moments and change the past.

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour. You can purchase this game at the special price of $2.99 through Sunday, April 21, 2013.

Review: Rage Against the Dying by Becky Masterman

A Mysterious Review of …

Rage Against the Dying by Becky Masterman.

Review summary: The plot of this debut novel, which features an insular yet appealing narrator, is very well crafted, and though it includes common elements from other serial killer thrillers, it adds several unexpected — and more importantly unanticipated — twists that make it feel original and fresh. This is definitely an author worth following. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

Rage Against the Dying
Becky Masterman
Minotaur Books (March 2013)

Publisher synopsis: Brigid Quinn's experiences in hunting sexual predators for the FBI have left her with memories she wishes she didn’t have and lethal skills she hopes never to need again. Having been pushed into early retirement by events she thinks she's put firmly behind her, Brigid keeps telling herself she is settling down nicely in Tucson with a wonderful new husband, Carlo, and their dogs.

But the past intervenes when a man named Floyd Lynch confesses to the worst unsolved case of Brigid’s career — the disappearance and presumed murder of her young protégée, Jessica. Floyd knows things about that terrible night that were never made public, and offers to lead the cops to Jessica's body in return for a plea bargain.

It should finally be the end of a dark chapter in Brigid’s life. Except … the new FBI agent on the case, Laura Coleman, thinks the confession is fake, and Brigid finds she cannot walk away from violence and retribution after all, no matter what the cost.

      

Winners of the Los Angeles Times Book Prizes Announced

The winners of this year's Los Angeles Times Book Prizes were announced last night, with Tana French winning in the mystery/thriller category for her novel Broken Harbor.

We had the pleasure of reading this fourth police procedural of the author's "Dublin Murder Squad" series, and though we found it a little too long to cover "a narrow, self-contained investigation spanning a very short period of time with just a handful of characters", in the end we said that "the narrative is exceptionally descriptive, beautifully written, and really a joy to read." [Mysterious Reviews]

MystereBooks: Social Crimes by Jane Stanton Hitchcock, Now at a Special Price

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Social Crimes by Jane Stanton Hitchcock, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, Harper.

The ebook format of this title was priced at $1.99 from the listed vendors (below) as of the date and time of this post (04/20/2013 at 11:00 AM ET). 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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Social Crimes by Jane Stanton Hitchcock
A Jo Slater Mystery (1st in series)
Publisher: Harper

When Jo Slater, one of New York's premier socialites and a patron of the arts, befriends a French countess, she ignores warnings from friends about the mysterious newcomer. Soon, the young woman knocks Jo off her Park Avenue throne. But using her knowledge of the greatest historical swindle of all time — a true story involving Marie Antoinette — Jo sets out to reclaim her fortune and her place in society.

For the plan to work, however, she must resort to the most desperate of measures: murder.

      

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

MystereBooks: Vendetta: Lucky's Revenge by Jackie Collins, Now at a Special Price

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Vendetta: Lucky's Revenge by Jackie Collins, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, HarperCollins.

The ebook format of this title was priced at $2.99 from the listed vendors (below) as of the date and time of this post (04/20/2013 at 10:30 AM ET). 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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Vendetta: Lucky's Revenge by Jackie Collins
Publisher: HarperCollins

Lucky Santangelo is in the most perilous situation of her life when her prized Panther Studios is taken from her by Donna Landsman, the unscrupulous widow of Lucky's arch-enemy, Santino Bonnatti. Donna intends to destroy Lucky in every way she can, but Lucky is street-smart, powerful, and just as ruthlessly dangerous. And so the battle for control begins in this nonstop, action-packed tale of sex, betrayal, drugs, intrigue, and murder.

      

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

MystereBooks: Working Stiff by Annelise Ryan, Now at a Special Price

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Working Stiff by Annelise Ryan, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, Kensington.

The ebook format of this title was priced at $1.99 from the listed vendors (below) as of the date and time of this post (04/20/2013 at 10:00 AM ET). 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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Working Stiff by Annelise Ryan
A Mattie Winston Mystery (1st in series)
Publisher: Kensington

When Mattie Winston catches her husband Dr. David Winston receiving some very special loving care from R.N. Karen Owenby, she quits her job and moves out. Mattie's best friend Izzy offers her a place to stay and suggests she'd be a natural as deputy coroner. Now, instead of taking patients' pulses, Mattie's weighing their hearts and livers.

But Mattie's first homicide call turns out to be for none other than Nurse Karen, and even though she saw her ex in a heated argument with the newly deceased the night before, she refuses to believe David could be a killer. Keeping mum about what she saw, Mattie is also left speechless by the sight of hunky Detective Steve Hurley …

From learning the ropes on her new job to sorting out her feelings about her ex and dealing with her growing attraction to Detective Hurley, Mattie's in deep water and in danger of sinking quickly, especially when she places herself dead center in the path of a desperate — yet determined — killer.

    

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

About Time Already by L. A. Noble is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature About Time Already by L. A. Noble as today's third free mystery ebook (A Max and Michelle Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, April 20, 2013 at 7:30 AM ET. 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.

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About Time Already
L. A. Noble
A Max and Michelle Mystery
Publisher: CreateSpace

Why has peaceful small town New Attica, Illinois suddenly seen murder, kidnapping, and blackmail? Could it be related to the unexplained disappearance of Elizabeth Warner? Are the dark secrets of the proud, prominent Roberts family to blame? Or, could it be the return of successful, independent, and somewhat lonely twenty-six-year-old Jenny Masters? She is being blamed … and framed.

Max and Michelle — a creative crime-solving duo from Blessington, Illinois — rush over to help Jenny. After meeting an assortment of friendly neighbors and fun-loving local gossips, they finally unravel the mysteries buried just below the surface of seemingly picture-perfect placid New Attica.

  

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 Glitch by Ken Douglas is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Death Glitch by Ken Douglas as today's second free mystery ebook (A Novel of Suspense; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, April 20, 2013 at 7:20 AM ET. 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.

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Death Glitch
Ken Douglas
A Novel of Suspense
Publisher: Bootleg Press

Heart surgeon Isadora Eisenhower is seventy-seven and dying of cancer when she is shot dead. She wakes in the morgue with the body of an eighteen year old. Something brought her back to life, made her young again and some very bad people want to find out how it happened. However, being poked and prodded and having her new life sucked out of her in the name of science and so a few wealthy people can have eternal life doesn't sit too well with Dr. Eisenhower, so to save herself, she goes on the run.

But the men behind her pursuit are powerful and bring the forces of Homeland Security and the FBI after her and it seems no matter where she runs, they're a jump ahead of her and soon she'll have no place to hide.

  

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.

Southern Cross by Jen Blood is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Southern Cross by Jen Blood as today's free mystery ebook (An Erin Solomon Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, April 20, 2013 at 7:10 AM ET. 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.

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Southern Cross
Jen Blood
An Erin Solomon Mystery
Publisher: Adian Press

Reporters Daniel "Diggs" Diggins and Erin Solomon travel to Kentucky to look into the bizarre ritual murder of one of Diggs' oldest friends. But that single death is hardly the only bizarre occurrence in Justice: soon, power outages, explosions, standoffs, and conspiracy rock the small town, and fundamentalist preacher Jesup T. Barnel claims he knows the reason for the madness: The end times are upon them, and judgment will be fast and furious as the clock winds down.

  

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.

Today's Mystery and Suspense Update from Big Fish Games (130420)

Here is today's mystery and suspense update from Big Fish Games …

• The New Release is Secrets of the Dark: Mystery of the Ancestral Estate.

• The Daily Deal is Silent Nights: The Pianist, just $2.99 today only!

• The current Catch of the Week is Bedtime Stories: The Lost Dreams, just $2.99 through Sunday, April 21, 2013 only.

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Today's New Release is Secrets of the Dark: Mystery of the Ancestral Estate

You will have to challenge yourself as a professional who specializes in most tangled cases and defeat the darkness to rescue an innocent soul. Earlier you’ve already had a chance to investigate strange cases in ancient Thai and Mexico. Now it’s time visit the Mediterranean coast and reveal the secret of an ancient family estate which was inherited by a young woman who is now begging you for help. Her life hangs in the balance and her fate is up to your strength and courage.

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour.

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Today's Daily Deal is Silent Nights: The Pianist

Save your sister and uncover the secrets of an ancient organization! You and your sister, Yvette, come from a long line of gifted musicians. When you arrive to accompany her at a vocal concert in your hometown, you discover she has been abducted by a mysterious group with plans to use her talent for a dire purpose. Explore hidden object scenes and get to the bottom of things before your sister’s voice is silenced forever!

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour. You can purchase this game today only — Saturday, April 20, 2013 — for $2.99.

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The current Catch of the Week is Bedtime Stories: The Lost Dreams

Change the course of history by helping your relatives during key moments of their lives! Change the past and make your family's faces shine in a family photo. Help out an unaccomplished prima ballerina, a genius detective, a recognized chocolatier, and a famous adventurer in this incredible Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game. Relive crucial moments and change the past.

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour. You can purchase this game at the special price of $2.99 through Sunday, April 21, 2013.

Two More Teaser Posters for Action Thriller White House Down

Two new teaser posters have surfaced for the action thriller White House Down (right; click for larger images). The second is a variation of the poster we featured last month, and while Channing Tatum is in an identical position, he's wearing different clothes. What would the studios do without Photoshop?

Channing Tatum stars as Capitol policeman John Cale, who has just been denied his dream job with the Secret Service of protecting President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx). Not wanting to let down his little girl with the news, he takes her on a tour of the White House, when the complex is overtaken by a heavily armed paramilitary group. Now, with the nation's government falling into chaos and time running out, it's up to Cale to save the president, his daughter, and the country.

Directed by Roland Emmerich from an original screenplay by James Vanderbilt, White House Down opens in theaters June 28th, 2013.

Amazon Studios Pilots Available to Watch Online … Though (sigh) No Crime Dramas Included

Amazon Studios has made available all fourteen pilots produced for possible original series; they are currently available to watch for free via Amazon's Instant Video service.

There are no crime dramas (sigh). Instead, there are six kids' pilots and eight comedy pilots. And you are encouraged to pass along your thoughts and help decide which (if any) are ordered to series.

We actually quite like the idea of helping a studio decide what shows to make. It seems so many series get on the air with scarcely any viewer feedback ahead of time, only to be quickly pulled from the schedule when no one ends up watching them. We hope that Amazon moves into (crime) dramas soon … or at the very least, crime comedy. Until then, enjoy what they have to offer and remember to proffer your opinion!

Nominees for the 2013 Arthur Ellis Awards Announced

The nominees (short list) for the 2013 Arthur Ellis Awards have been announced by the Crime Writers of Canada honoring the best crime fiction written by Canadian authors.

The winners will be announced at the Arthur Ellis Awards gala dinner on Thursday, May 30th, 2013 at the Arts & Letters Club in downtown Toronto.

The nominees are …

Best Novel:
• Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay (Doubleday)
• Until the Night by Giles Blunt (Random House)
• The Trinity Game by Sean Chercover (Thomas & Mercer)
• The Messenger by Stephen Miller (Delacorte Press)
• Niceville by Carsten Stroud (Knopf)

Best First Novel:
• The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair (Penguin)
• Confined Space by Deryn Collier (Simon & Schuster)
• The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James (NAL)
• The Dead of Winter by Peter Kirby (Linda Leith)
• A Private Man by Chris Laing (Seraphim)

Best Novel in French:
• La Nuit des albinos by Mario Bolduc (Libre Expression)
• De pierres et de sang by André Jacques (Druide)
• L'homme du jeudi by Jean Lemieux (La courte échelle)
• L'inaveu by Richard Ste Marie (Alire)
• Je me souviens by Martin Michaud (Goélette)

Best Non-Fiction:
• Bloody Justice: The Truth behind the Bandidos Massacre at Shedden by Anita Arvast (John Wiley)
• Octopus: Sam Israel, the Secret Market, and Wall Street's Wildest Con by Guy Lawson (Crown Books)
• The Devil's Cinema: The Untold Story behind Mark Twitchell's Kill Room by Steve Lillebuen (McClelland and Stewart)
• Thieves of Bay Street: How Banks, Brokerages and the Wealthy Steal Billions from Canadians by Bruce Livesey (Random House)

Best Juvenile/Young Adult Novel:
• Live To Tell by Lisa Harrington (Cormorant Books)
• The Traitor in the Tunnel by Y. S. Lee (Candlewick Press)
• Crush Candy Corpse by Sylvia McNicoll (James Lorimer)
• Becoming Holmes by Shane Peacock (Tundra Books)
• The Lynching of Louie Sam by Elizabeth Stewart (Annick Press)

Best Short Story:
• "Life without George" by Melodie Campbell (Over My Dead Body Mystery Magazine, August 2012)
• "Sins of the Fathers" by Sandy Conrad (Daughters and Other Strangers, The Brucedale Press)
• "Cruel Coast" by Scott MacKay (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, July 2012)
• "Mad Dog" by Jas R. Petrin (Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, October 2012)
• "Spring-blade Knife" by Yasuko Thanh (Floating Like the Dead, McClelland & Stewart)

Best Unpublished First Novel ("Unhanged Arthur"):
• Cold Black Tide by Willliam Hall
• The Raffle Baby by Ilonka Halsband
• Sins Revisited by Coleen Steele

New award this year — Best Novella:
• Contingency Plan by Lou Allin (Orca Rapid Reads)
• A Winter Kill by Vicki Delany (Orca Rapid Reads)
• Evil Behind that Door by Barbara Fradkin (Orca Rapid Reads)
• "Reunion" by Christopher Moore (Phnom Penh Noir, Heaven Lake Press)