Zoo City by Lauren Beukes is Today's Urban Fantasy Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Zoo City by Lauren Beukes as today's Urban Fantasy Kindle Daily Deal.

The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Monday, January 20, 2014.

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Zoo City
Lauren Beukes
Winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award
Angry Robot

Zinzi has a Sloth on her back, a dirty 419 scam habit and a talent for finding lost things. But when a little old lady turns up dead and the cops confiscate her last paycheck, she's forced to take on her least favourite kind of job — missing persons.

Being hired by reclusive music producer Odi Huron to find a teenybop pop star should be her ticket out of Zoo City, the festering slum where the criminal underclass and their animal companions live in the shadow of hell's undertow.

Instead, it catapults Zinzi deeper into the maw of a city twisted by crime and magic, where she'll be forced to confront the dark secrets of former lives — including her own.

  

Click on the Amazon button to see also the special Whispersync offer associated with this title.

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.

Mystery Godoku Puzzle for January 20, 2014

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:

E I K M N O P S U

Ross Pennie's third Dr. Zol Szabo mystery 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!

Save $30 on Kindle HDX 7" Tablets through January 21st, 2014 Only

Game on! Amazon is offering $30 Off the Kindle Fire HDX 7" tablet. Use promo code GameOn30 at at checkout to save $30 off all configurations of the Kindle Fire HDX 7" tablet. This offier is available for two days only, through January 21st, 2014 at 11:59 PM PST.

The HDX 7" features quad-core 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 processors, 2GB of RAM and Adreno 330 GPU for fast, fluid gaming and video, 16, 32 or 64GB of storage and new higher-resolution display (1920x1200px, 323 ppi).

The HDX also introduces a "Mayday" button — revolutionary, on-device tech support. Connect for free to an Amazon expert 24x7, 365 days a year.

In addition to storage options, they can be selected with or without special offers and as Wi-Fi only devices or Wi-Fi with 4G LTE (AT&T or Verizon).

Today's Mystery and Suspense Update from Big Fish Games (140120)

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

• The New Release is The Emerald Maiden: Symphony of Dreams.

• The Daily Deal is Mountain Trap: The Manor of Memories, just $2.99 today only!

• The current Catch of the Week is Mayan Prophecies: Ship of Spirits, just $2.99 through Sunday, January 26, 2014 only.

• Today's Special Deal — Dare To Dream Sale: $4.99 for any Standard Edition game this Martin Luther King Day! Use coupon code DREAM at check-out to purchase any Standard Edition game for just $4.99. Offer valid January 20th, 2014 only until 11:59 PM PT.

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

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The New Release today is The Emerald Maiden: Symphony of Dreams

After being abandoned at an orphanage 25 years prior, you've received an invitation to meet your biological mother aboard an underwater dream facility, a playground for the rich and elite, designed to simulate dreams. Powered by an ancient technology, the machine holds many dark secrets and surprises. After being abandoned at an orphanage 25 years prior, you've received an invitation to meet your biological mother aboard an underwater dream facility, a playground for the rich and elite, designed to simulate dreams. Powered by an ancient technology, the machine holds many dark secrets and surprises.

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

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Today's Daily Deal is Mountain Trap: The Manor of Memories

What will you do if the vacation of your dreams doesn't go as planned? If your friend is alone in a foreign country and gets into trouble, will you have enough strength and courage to help her? Join this fascinating journey and face the 200-year mystery of the manor Ardennes. Find out how strong friendship ties are and discover to what extremes unrequited love is ready to go!

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour. You can purchase this game today only — Monday, January 20, 2014 — for $2.99.

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The current Catch of the Week is Mayan Prophecies: Ship of Spirits

Climb aboard an ancient Spanish galleon lost in time as a Coast Guard officer tracking an elusive criminal. As you explore the vastness of a ship lost in time, what mysteries will you uncover amidst its Mayan idols, menacing sea creatures, and exotic treasures? Find out in this exciting new Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game on the open seas!

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, January 26, 2014.

Review: Hijack in Abstract by Larissa Reinhart

A Mysterious Review of Hijack in Abstract by Larissa Reinhart. A Cherry Tucker Mystery.

Review summary: This murder mystery storyline has a well-considered premise, though is somewhat weakly executed. There is nothing subtle about series lead Cherry Tucker, but that very characteristic helps smooth over some of the rough plot patches, providing a bit of comic relief throughout this entertaining, if also rather uneven, mystery. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

Hijack in Abstract
Larissa Reinhart
A Cherry Tucker Mystery
Henery Press (November 2013)

Publisher synopsis: With a classical series sold and a portrait commissioned, Cherry Tucker's art career is in Georgia overdrive. But when the sheriff asks Cherry to draw a composite sketch of a hijacker, her life takes a hairpin as the composite leads to a related murder, her local card-sharking buddy Max Avtaikin becomes bear bait, and her nemesis besmirches her classical series.

Cherry's jamming gears between trailer parks, Atlanta mansions, and trucker bars searching for the hijacker who left a widow and orphan destitute. While she seeks to help the misfortunate and save her local reputation, Cherry's hammer down attitude has her facing the headlights of an oncoming killer.

    

Gaijin Cowgirl, A Crime Thriller by Jame DiBiasio, Now at a Special Price

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Gaijin Cowgirl by Jame DiBiasio, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, Crime Wave Press.

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 (01/19/2014 at 4:30 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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Gaijin Cowgirl by Jame DiBiasio
A Crime Thriller
Publisher: Crime Wave Press

Sex, art and murder in the Wild East.

Working Tokyo nightclubs is easy money for beautiful and troubled American Val Benson — until a wealthy client with a dark past and sinister hobbies reluctantly gives up a map to one of the greatest treasures lost in World War II. With yakuza, motorcycle gangs, rogue CIA, treasure hunters, pimps, Thai boxers and her Congressman father snapping at her high heels, Val burns a trail of destruction across Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand and the Burmese borderlands to get the loot before someone less deserving does.

From comfort women and tomb-raiding in Japanese-occupied Burma to the murderous echoes of the Vietnam War, long forgotten crimes come roaring back to life. Val takes her dark, epic journey with her friends: a Japanese nightclub hostess with broken dreams, a British kickboxer, and a washed up Australian treasure hunter. The superficial party girl, confronted by mounting horrors, must dig deep to discover an inner courage to survive and win the prize — and maybe redemption.

  

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.

Murder, Lies and Chocolate, A Death by Chocolate Mystery by Sally Berneathy, Now at a Special Price

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Murder, Lies and Chocolate by Sally Berneathy, now available at a special price, courtesy of the author.

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 (01/19/2014 at 4:00 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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Murder, Lies and Chocolate by Sally Berneathy
A Death by Chocolate Mystery (2nd in series)
Publisher: Sally Berneathy

Rodney Bradford comes into Lindsay's restaurant, offers to buy her small house for double its value, eats her brownies, and drops dead on the sidewalk in front. Then someone breaks into her house and tries to dig up her basement. Next her almost-ex-husband offers to sign the divorce papers, but only if she'll give him her small, old house and take his big, new house instead.

Suddenly everybody wants Lindsay's house. Is there oil under the basement, plans to bring the railroad through, pirate treasure buried in the basement? A second break-in occurs and causes her cat, King Henry, to launch into full attack mode, taking a few chunks out of the intruder.

Lindsay enlists the aid of her enigmatic neighbor, Fred, to help solve the mystery while trying to keep her police detective boyfriend, Trent, from getting in their way with his insistence on all those silly cop rules.

On the positive side, sales skyrocket for the special dessert Lindsay calls Murdered Man's Brownies.

  

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.

The Dead Yard, A Michael Forsythe Mystery by Adrian McKinty: Amazon's The Big Deal Promotion

Every so often Amazon releases a new selection of Kindle books priced up to 85% off as part of The Big Deal Promotion.

Today's featured mystery, suspense, or thriller title is The Dead Yard by Adrian McKinty. This Kindle book was listed at $1.99 as of the date and time of this post, Sunday, January 19, 2014 at 3:30 PM ET, and should be available at this price through Sunday, February 02, 2014.

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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The Dead Yard by Adrian McKinty
A Michael Forsythe Mystery (2nd in series)
Publisher: Scribner

Michael Forsythe is on vacation in Spain, but when a soccer riot between Irish and English fans escalates out of control, Michael is suddenly arrested and thrown into a Spanish prison. Enter Samantha, a British intelligence agent as cunning as she is voluptuous. She makes Michael an offer he cannot refuse: instead of being extradited to Mexico to serve time for a prison break, he can help her by infiltrating an IRA sleeper cell in the United States, and she'll see to it that the Spaniards and Mexicans forget all about him.

Filled with apprehension about the dangers of the assignment, Michael reluctantly agrees. Within hours he is flown to New York City and thrust into the nightmare world of men known for their distinctive brands of torture and revenge. Michael crosses and double-crosses key players, escapes his own lies by a hairsbreadth, loses his only ally, and falls for the daughter of his enemy — a most inadvisable development.

      

Click on the Amazon button to see also the special Whispersync offer associated with this title.

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.

The Corpse with the Silver Tongue, A Cait Morgan Mystery by Cathy Ace, Now at a Special Price

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Corpse with the Silver Tongue by Cathy Ace, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, Touchwood Editions.

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 (01/19/2014 at 3:00 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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The Corpse with the Silver Tongue by Cathy Ace
A Cait Morgan Mystery (1st in series)
Publisher: Touchwood Editions

In the south of France where hatred simmers in the heat, a man seemingly admired, and certainly feared, drops dead at a dinner party. All of the guests fall under suspicion, including Welsh-Canadian professor Cait Morgan.

A criminologist who specializes in profiling victims, Cait sets out to solve the murder — and clear her name. Add to this the disappearance of an ancient Celtic gold collar said to be cursed and there you have the ingredients for a Nicoise salad of death, secrets, and lies.

Will Cait find the killer before she too falls victim to a murderer driven by a surprising and disturbing motive?

  

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.

The Ways of Evil Men by Leighton Gage, New in Bookstores in January 2014

Today's new hardcover mystery title, scheduled to be published during January 2014 by Soho Crime, is The Ways of Evil Men by Leighton Gage.

For a list of more new hardcover mysteries published this month, visit our New Mysteries page for January 2014. For new paperback mysteries, visit The Mystery Bookshelf where a selection of January 2014 mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers are shelved.

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The Ways of Evil Men
Leighton Gage
Series: Mario Silva (7th)

As Chief Inspector Mario Silva has learned, justice is hard to come by in Brazil, so when his niece tells him about a possible genocide deep in the jungle, he agrees to round up his team and charter a plane to Pará to check it out.

Thirty-nine natives have recently dropped dead of mysterious causes. Given the tense relationship between the Awana tribe and the white townsfolk nearby, Jade Calmon, Pará's sole government-sponsored advocate for the native population, immediately suspects foul play and takes the two remaining Awana—a father and his eight-year-old son—into her custody. But when the father is discovered holding a bloody machete next to the body of a village big-shot, just before Silva's arrival, the plot thickens. Why would a peaceful man who doesn't believe in alcohol turn into a drunken killer?

        

Baltimore Blues, A Tess Monaghan Mystery by Laura Lippman, Now at a Special Price

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Baltimore Blues by Laura Lippman, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, William Morrow.

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 (01/19/2014 at 2:00 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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Baltimore Blues by Laura Lippman
A Tess Monaghan Mystery (1st in series)
Publisher: William Morrow

Until her paper, the Baltimore Star, crashed and burned, Tess Monaghan was a damn good reporter who knew her hometown intimately — from historic Fort McHenry to the crumbling projects of Cherry Hill. Now gainfully unemployed at twenty-nine, she's willing to take any freelance job to pay the rent — including a bit of unorthodox snooping for her rowing buddy, Darryl "Rock" Paxton.

In a city where someone is murdered almost everyday, attorney Michael Abramowitz's death should be just another statistic. But the slain lawyer's notoriety — and his noontime trysts with Rock's fiancee — make the case front page news … and points to Rock as the likely murderer. But trying to prove her friend's innocence couls prove costly to Tess — and add her name to that infamous ever-growing 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.

The Burning Soul, A Charlie Parker Thriller by John Connolly, at a Special Price during January 2014

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 The Burning Soul by John Connolly. This Kindle book was listed at $1.99 as of the date and time of this post, Sunday, January 19, 2014 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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The Burning Soul by John Connolly
A Charlie Parker Thriller (11th in series)
Publisher: Atria Books

What's the worst thing you've ever done?

Randall Haight has a secret: He is a convicted murderer, a man with the blood of a young girl on his hands. He has built a new life for himself in the small Maine town of Pastor's Bay, but someone has discovered the truth about him. He is being tormented by anonymously sent reminders of his crime. He wants private detective Charlie Parker to make them go away.

But another girl has gone missing, this time from Pastor's Bay itself, and her family has its own secrets to protect. Now, in a town built on blood and shadowed by old ghosts, Parker must unravel a twisted history of violence and deceit involving the police and the FBI, a doomed mobster and his enemies, and Randall Haight himself.

Because Randall is telling lies …

        

Click on the Amazon button to see also the special Whispersync offer associated with this title.

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.

Found, A Matt Royal Mystery by H. Terrell Griffin: Amazon's The Big Deal Promotion

Every so often Amazon releases a new selection of Kindle books priced up to 85% off as part of The Big Deal Promotion.

Today's featured mystery, suspense, or thriller title is Found by H. Terrell Griffin. This Kindle book was listed at $2.99 as of the date and time of this post, Sunday, January 19, 2014 at 1:00 PM ET, and should be available at this price through Sunday, February 02, 2014.

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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Found by H. Terrell Griffin
A Matt Royal Mystery (8th in series)
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing

The quiet of Longboat Key, Florida, is shattered when an old man is shot to death and his murderer is killed while fleeing the police. Strange documents in German and Arabic are found in the killer's car then an old friend of the murdered man disappears.

The island's only detective, Jennifer Diane (J.D.) Duncan, receives a text message with a picture taken that morning of a college friend whom she thought was dead. Matt Royal and J.D. are pursued by men who would do them harm, and Matt's best friend, Jock Algren, a shadowy operative of the U.S. government's most secretive intelligence agency comes to visit the island.

As the mystery deepens, a ragtag group of devious and dangerous characters intrudes on the lives of the islanders, creating a kind of havoc unusual for a sun-splashed island full of retirees and beach bums. Matt, J.D., and Jock rush to find the answer to why one old man was killed and another disappeared, the meaning of the photo sent to J.D. of her almost surely dead college friend, and why somebody is trying to kill them.

  

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.