Desert Places by Blake Crouch is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Desert Places by Blake Crouch as today's free mystery ebook (An Andrew Z. Thomas Thriller; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, July 08, 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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Desert Places
Blake Crouch
An Andrew Z. Thomas Thriller
Publisher: Blake Crouch

Greetings. There is a body buried on your property, covered in your blood. The unfortunate young lady's name is Rita Jones. In her jeans pocket you'll find a slip of paper with a phone number on it. Call that number. If I have not heard from you by 8:00 P.M., the police will receive an anonymous call. I'll tell them where Rita Jones is buried on your property, how you killed her, and where the murder weapon can be found in your house. (I do believe a paring knife is missing from your kitchen.) I strongly advise against going to the police, as I am always watching you.

Andrew Z. Thomas is a successful writer of suspense thrillers, living the dream at his lake house in the piedmont of North Carolina. One afternoon in late spring, he receives a bizarre letter that eventually threatens his career, his sanity, and the lives of everyone he loves. A murderer is designing his future, and for the life of him, Andrew can't get away.

  

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.

Mystery Godoku Puzzle for July 08, 2013

A new Mystery Godoku Puzzle has been created by the editors of the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and is now available on our website.

Godoku is similar to Sudoku, but uses letters instead of numbers. To give you a headstart, we provide you a mystery clue to fill in a complete row or column (if you choose to use it!).

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This week's letters and mystery clue:

A E H L M S T U Y

John Harwood's 2013 Gothic thriller has this title (9 letters).

We now have two weeks of our puzzles on one page in PDF format for easier printing. Print this week's puzzle here.

Previous puzzles are stored in the Mystery Godoku Archives.

Enjoy the weekly Mystery Godoku Puzzle from the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, and Thanks for visiting our website!

Today's Mystery and Suspense Update from Big Fish Games (130708)

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

• The New Release is Off the Record: Linden Shades.

• The Daily Deal is Arizona Rose and the Pirates' Riddles, just $2.99 today only!

• The current Catch of the Week is Tesla's Tower: The Wardenclyffe Mystery, just $2.99 through Sunday, July 14, 2013 only.

• Today's Special Deal — It is Bonus Punch Monday! Receive a BONUS PUNCH with every game purchase, only on Mondays.

Visit the Omnimystery Entertainment Network for more games of mystery and suspense!

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Today's New Release is Off the Record: Linden Shades

A mysterious figure in red … Something's driven everyone away from Linden Shades. No one's been back since that time of terror when the kids drew startling images of blood-red ghosts, and the police were no help. Your editor's sure there's a story hidden in the Shades. Can you get the truth, off the record?

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

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Today's Daily Deal is Arizona Rose and the Pirates' Riddles

Decipher the clever codes of Blackbeard's treasure maps! While shopping for exotic antiques, Arizona stumbles across the lost maps of an infamous pirate's hidden treasure. Join Arizona on her epic treasure-hunting quest with 200 levels and fortunes waiting to be discovered. There's always one more puzzle to solve, one more cave or shipwreck to explore and one more treasure to take home at the end!

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour. You can purchase this game today only — Monday, July 08, 2013 — for $2.99.

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The current Catch of the Week is Tesla's Tower: The Wardenclyffe Mystery

Save the world from an experiment gone wrong! Nikola Tesla — villain or victim? It's the question everyone asks after what should have been his greatest invention drained the world of color. Tesla disappeared in the Ether that fateful day when his experiment went horribly wrong. Help him get back and bring the color back to your world!

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, July 14, 2013.

Today's Amazon Local Deal Is a Free Voucher Worth $30 Off a Kindle Fire 7" Tablet

Today's Amazon Local Deal is a free voucher to save $30 on the Kindle 7" tablet, lowering its price to $129 for the version with Special Offers or $144 for the version without. (Note: this Kindle tablet is not the HD version.) Limit 1 voucher per customer; quantities are limited.

The voucher will be automatically applied to your Amazon.com account; please do not place your Kindle Fire order until you have received an e-mail from Amazon Local confirming that your voucher has been applied. The credit may not apply to orders placed on Amazon.com prior to the receipt of this confirmation.

The voucher will expire if not used toward a qualifying purchase of Kindle Fire on Amazon.com by 11:59 P.M. PST on July 20th, 2013.

We're thinking this Kindle Fire would make for a great gift for students heading off to college this fall … at least that's how we intend to use our voucher!

MystereBooks: Six Seconds by Rick Mofina, Available this Month at a Special Price

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

Today's featured title from the Mystery & Thrillers category is Six Seconds by Rick Mofina. This Kindle book was listed at $1.99 as of the date and time of this post, Sunday, July 07, 2013 at 1:30 PM ET, and should be available at this price through the end of the month.

More information about the book is below; if other vendors have priced-matched this title, links to their sites are also shown.

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Six Seconds by Rick Mofina
A Suspense Thriller
Publisher: Mira Books

A vengeful woman who aches for her place in paradise …

In Iraq an aid worker who lost her husband and child in a brutal attack saves the life of an American contractor. Believing he can help her avenge her family's deaths, she follows him back home to the United States.

An anguished mother desperate to find her child …

In California a soccer mom arrives to pick up her son from school, only to discover that her husband has taken their child and vanished without a trace.

A detective who needs to redeem himself …

In the Rocky Mountains an off-duty cop rescues a little girl from a raging river moments before she utters her final words in his arms. Haunted by failure, he launches an investigation that leads him to a Montana school where time is ticking down on an event that will rewrite history.

Three strangers entangled in a plot to change the world in only six seconds …

  

Important Note: 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.

Deadly Legacy, a Carmedy & Garrett Mystery by Alison Bruce, Now at a Special Price

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Deadly Legacy by Alison Bruce, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, Imajin Books.

The ebook format of this title was priced at $0.99 from the listed vendors (below) as of the date and time of this post (07/07/2013 at 1:00 PM 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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Deadly Legacy by Alison Bruce
A Carmedy & Garrett Mystery (1st in series)
Publisher: Imajin Books

Even in the future, the past can kill you …

In 2018, rookie detective Kate Garrett lives in the shadow of her near-legendary father Joe. When Joe dies unexpectedly, he leaves Kate half interest in Garrett Investigations, his last case that ties to three murders, a partner she can't stand and a legacy to live up to.

Jake Carmedy has lost a partner, mentor and friend, but grief will come later. First, he has a case to solve, one that has detoured from a simple insurance case to a murder investigation. If that isn’t enough, Joe’s daughter seems to want to take her father’s place as his boss.

No matter how hard they try, Carmedy and Garrett can't avoid each other — and they might be next on a killer's list.

  

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.

Death of a Bankster, a Maddie Richard Mystery by David Bishop, Now at a Special Price

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Death of a Bankster by David Bishop, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, Telemachus Press.

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 (07/07/2013 at 12:30 PM 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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Death of a Bankster by David Bishop
A Maddie Richard Mystery (2nd in series)
Publisher: Telemachus Press

Maddie Richards finds herself in the middle of a case which starts with the sights and sounds of just another murder investigation. A woman claims her husband, a banker, was murdered. Later, Maddie learns that the woman had begun divorce proceedings the day before she claims a bullet had taken her husband from her. The murder greased her path to not only ending her marriage, but negating any need to divide their marital property. Then the wheels come off and nothing about Maddie's case is what it seems.

On her day job, Maddie continues to work her strange and twisting investigation. At night, she is increasingly taken with the most unusual and fascinating man she has ever known — Ryan Testler. On his day job, Ryan carries out his latest mission in his usual over-the-line style. Along the way, the sparks between Maddie and Ryan get hotter and hotter while they struggle to resolve their conflicting views on justice and whether the end can justify the means.

  

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.

Telemystery: BBC Daytime Acquires Australian Crime Drama The Doctor Blake Mysteries

BBC Daytime has acquired the Australian original crime drama The Doctor Blake Mysteries.

"We are delighted that the unconventional Doctor Blake will be providing traditional Aussie grit and humour as well as intriguing and intelligent mystery to BBC Daytime's successful drama line-up," said Sue Deeks, Head of Programme Aquisition.

The Doctor Blake Mysteries premiered earlier this year on Australia's ABC (not to be confused with the ABC network here in the US). Ten episodes aired during its first season, and it has been renewed for a second season.

Craig McLachlan stars as maverick country town doctor Lucien Blake, a risk-taker, impulsive, and not afraid to upset the status quo.

The series is set in 1959. Dr. Blake has returned to a place he once called home, to take over his deceased father's medical practice. Everything seems peaceful on the surface, but seething underneath are the age-old passions of a regional town clashing head-on with the tensions and fears of the decade to come.

Haunted by the horrors of war, his own personal loss and changed by his experiences as a POW, the wry, dry, yet very human Dr. Blake undertakes his other role as police surgeon with precision and gusto — yet many find his unpredictable and unconventional manner unnerving. Ahead of his time, Blake looks to the science of forensics and his own understanding of the human heart to help solve the mysteries that inevitably come his way.

Though we have no news about the series reaching our shores, we expect The Doctor Blake Mysteries to follow in Phyrne Fisher's footsteps, as it were, and be available on DVD here in the US at some point in the near future.

Watch a trailer for the series, below.

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Please Welcome Helga Zeiner

with Helga Zeiner

We are delighted to welcome novelist Helga Zeiner to Omnimystery News, courtesy of Partners in Crime Tours, which is coordinating her current book tour. We encourage you to visit all of the participating host sites; you can find her schedule here.

Helga's new novel of psychological suspense is Birthdays of a Princess (POW WOW Books; May 2013 ebook format), and today she tells us how a story about a child beauty pageant and turn into a thriller.

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Photo provided courtesy of
Helga Zeiner

With my new novel Birthdays of a Princess I have gone beyond my beloved "mystery and suspense" genre and have delved deep into the specific genre "psychological thriller". According to many of my readers, this particular genre is their favorite as it opens avenues of the soul they are often unfamiliar with. It appeals to their intellect.

And trust me, it sure opened up some hidden knowledge for me as well. While I researched the topic of my novel — based on the television reality show Toddlers&Tiaras, which I find, well, let's say: extremely weird … evading a stronger, more judgemental description — I had to admit to myself that I was moving into dangerous territory. Not only did the motivation of the mothers who subject their little girls to such exposure seem bizarre to me, the story line I had developed required me to think and feel like a former beauty queen who has to work through her extreme experiences.

Questions like: "Why does a mother make up her daughter like a mini adult?" and "How does this dolled up little thing feel while being paraded in front of drooling men?" as well as "What happens to her when she out-grows her nubile beauty?" didn't let go of me. I had to find out.

As luck had it, a well-known adolescent psychiatrist, whom I found in the course of my subject research, was gracious enough to guide me through the process of writing. He gave me valuable insight into the twisted world I was describing. Slowly but surely, the psychopathology of my characters drove the plot, and a dark and intense thriller emerged.

Birthdays of a Princess is not for the faint-hearted and comes with a warning to all those who think children's beauty pageants are harmless amusement. I am very proud of this novel, which has received amazing praise already, because I know that it can have the power to make readers think twice about what they support indirectly by giving those shows a good rating.

Hopefully, you will give it your attention. If you enjoy fast-paced psychological thrillers — I think this will be the book for you.

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Born and educated in Germany, Helga Zeiner left her home country when she was 18 to travel the world and experience the magic of life she was passionately reading about.

She spent the next 15 years in exotic places like India, Thailand, Australia and Hong Kong, where she worked her way up into managerial positions in large international companies. To achieve this she had to further her education and enrolled at night classes at the Chinese University of Hong Kong for her Diploma in Management Studies.

Love eluded her for many years. She was nearly 40 when she finally met her dream man and settled in Canada, where she now lives, neatly tucked away in the wilderness.

To learn more about Helga, find her on Facebook or Twitter.

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Birthdays of a Princess
Helga Zeiner
A Psychological Thriller

To be famous and be admired by total strangers can be very dangerous …

Her little girl has always been her princess. In fact, she was so lovely, Melissa entered her toddler into child beauty pageants, making her a star from an early age.

But her dreams and hopes are shattered one October morning, when Melissa watches a breaking news story on television. A young girl has been filmed by bystanders, committing a brutal assault in broad daylight in a downtown Vancouver Starbucks … and it looks like the girl is her daughter …

      

Charity Kills by Jon Bridgewater is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Charity Kills by Jon Bridgewater as today's second free mystery ebook (A David Storm Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, July 07, 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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Charity Kills
Jon Bridgewater
A David Storm Mystery
Publisher: Boot Hill

A young woman is found with her throat slashed on the grounds of the biggest charity event in Texas. The people in power know a murder at such an esteemed event could garner the wrong kind of attention from an unenlightened public that the charity has come to depend on to fill its treasure chest. Immediate action has to be taken and they go into a mode of subterfuge and misdirection to cover up a crime.

Detective David Storm, a defeated cop slowly deteriorating in place as he awaits his pending retirement, is assigned to lead the investigation. Haunted by addiction and depression due to his own wife's inexplicable death, he is hand picked by the establishment to play the role of the patsy to yet another unsolved crime.

Armed with only his friends, detective Storm relentlessly digs for answers, all the while fighting the obstructions of City Hall, the charity officials, and even his own department, only to find that there's a pattern of multiple slayings — a series of crimes more sinister than ever imagined …

As the clock ticks and another body is found, will this unlikely champion be able to vanquish his personal demons and stop a cunning killer?

  

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.

Grayson Manor Haunting by Cheryl Bradshaw is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Grayson Manor Haunting by Cheryl Bradshaw as today's free mystery ebook (An Addison Lockhart, Paranormal Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, July 07, 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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Grayson Manor Haunting
Cheryl Bradshaw
An Addison Lockhart, Paranormal Mystery
Publisher: Pixie Publishing

When Addison Lockhart inherits Grayson Manor after her mother's untimely death, she unlocks a secret that's been kept hidden for over fifty years. For Addison, it seems like she's finally found the house of her dreams … until the spirit of Roxanne "Roxy" Rafferty comes to call. Who is Roxanne, why is she haunting Grayson Manor, and how will Addison's connection reveal a key to her own past that she thought no longer existed?

  

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.

15 Kinsey Millhone Mysteries by Sue Grafton is Today's Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature the first 15 mysteries in the "Kinsey Millhone" series by Sue Grafton — A is for Alibi (details, below) through O is for Outlaw — as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal.

The deal price of $1.99 each is valid only for today, Sunday, July 07, 2013.

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A is for Alibi
Sue Grafton
A Kinsey Millhone Mystery
Macmillan

When Laurence Fife was murdered, few mourned his passing. A prominent divorce attorney with a reputation for single-minded ruthlessness on behalf of his clients, Fife was also rumored to be a dedicated philanderer. Plenty of people in the picturesque southern California town of Santa Teresa had a reason to want him dead. Including, thought the cops, his young and beautiful wife, Nikki. With motive, access, and opportunity, Nikki was their number-one suspect. The jury thought so, too.

Eight years later and out on parole, Niki Fife hires Kinsey Millhone to find out who really killed her late husband.

A trail that is eight years cold. A trail that reaches out to enfold a bitter, wealthy, and foul-mouthed old woman and a young boy, born deaf, whose memory cannot be trusted. A trail that leads to a lawyer defensively loyal to a dead partner — and disarmingly attractive to Millhone; to an ex-wife, brave, lucid, lovely — and still angry over Fife's betrayal of her; to a not-so-young secretary with too high a salary for too few skills — and too many debts left owing: The trail twists to include them all, with Millhone following every turn until it finally twists back on itself and she finds herself face-to-face with a killer cunning enough to get away with murder.

Important Note: These books were 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.

Telemystery: Endeavour Season 1 Premieres Sunday, July 7th on PBS

The first of four episodes of Endeavour premieres tomorrow, Sunday July 7th on PBS's Masterpiece Mystery!

In this prequel drama, Shaun Evans stars as a young Endeavour Morse, a character created by Colin Dexter, and here described as a cerebral and solitary Detective Constable, who conducts his dogged, incorruptible pursuit of justice from the shadows of Oxford and the fringes of the police force.

In the opening episode, titled "Girl", burgled gas meters, the sudden death of a pretty young secretarial student, and a string of post office robberies threaten to mask the solution to a pair of violent murders as DC Endeavour Morse and DI Fred Thursday's (Roger Allum) newly forged relationship is tested to the breaking point.

Watch a preview of the episode, below.

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Review: The Innocence Game by Michael Harvey

A Mysterious Review of The Innocence Game by Michael Harvey.

Review summary: This is a very satisfying mystery novel, with a seemingly never ending sequence of twists and turns that keep the reader asking, "What's next?". The characters are well drawn, and uniquely defined, and the Chicago setting provides a strong backdrop to the action. A solidly crafted crime novel worth seeking out. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

The Innocence Game
Michael Harvey
Knopf (May 2013)

Publisher synopsis: They're young, brilliant, beautiful … and naïve enough to believe they can make a difference. For three graduate students, the exclusive innocence seminar at the nation's most esteemed journalism school is supposed to teach them how to free the falsely accused from prison. Little do they know the most important lesson they'll learn is how to stay alive.

The first day of class for Ian Joyce and Sarah Gold starts like any other, until a fellow student, Jake Havens, pulls a wrinkled envelope from his backpack. Inside is a bloodstained scrap of shirt from a boy murdered fourteen years ago and an anonymous note taking credit for the killing. The only problem is the alleged murderer is already dead.

Suddenly, the class has a new assignment: find the real killer. As the case unfolds, the bodies and questions begin to pile up.

Why are innocent men being framed?

Who's been getting away with murder?

Drawn into a web of deceit and corruption, the students realize they, too, are being hunted. Ian, Sarah, and Jake are smart … but are they smart enough to stay alive?

      

MystereBooks: Try Dying by James Scott Bell, Available this Month at a Special Price

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

Today's featured title from the Mystery & Thrillers category is Try Dying by James Scott Bell. This Kindle book was listed at $1.99 as of the date and time of this post, Saturday, July 06, 2013 at 1:30 PM ET, and should be available at this price through the end of the month.

More information about the book is below; if other vendors have priced-matched this title, links to their sites are also shown.

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Try Dying by James Scott Bell
A Ty Buchanan Mystery (1st in series)
Publisher: Center Street

On a wet Tuesday morning in December, Ernesto Bonilla, twenty-eight, shot his twenty-three-year-old wife, Alejandra, in the back yard of their West 45th Street home in South Los Angeles. As Alejandra lay bleeding to death, Ernesto proceeded to drive their Ford Explorer to the westbound Century Freeway connector where it crossed over the Harbor Freeway and pulled to a stop on the shoulder.

Bonilla stepped around the back of the SUV, ignoring the rain and the afternoon drivers on their way to LAX and the west side, and placed the barrel of his .38 caliber pistol into his mouth and fired.

His body fell over the shoulder and plunged 100 feet, hitting the roof of a Toyota Camry heading northbound on the Harbor Freeway. The impact crushed the roof of the Camry. The driver, Jacqueline Dwyer, twenty-seven, an elementary school teacher from Reseda, died at the scene.

This would have been simply another dark and strange coincidence, the sort of thing that shows up for a two minute report on the local news — with live remote from the scene — and maybe gets a follow-up the next day. But eventually the story would go away, fading from the city's collective memory.

But this story did not go away. Not for me. Because Jacqueline Dwyer was the woman I was going to marry.

      

Important Note: 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.