Edge of Understanding by Brian Meeks is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

Omnimystery News is pleased to feature …

Edge of Understanding by Brian Meeks

A Henry Wood Mystery

Publisher: Brian D. Meeks

… as today's free mystery ebook.

  

This title was listed for free as of August 19, 2014 at 7:00 AM ET. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of the 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.

More on today's free book, below.

1955 has been a good year for Henry, now, someone wants to ruin it for him. A recent series of murders all appear to have connections to Henry, and it's more than just a coincidence. Is there a new serial killer in the Big Apple? Is someone trying to set Henry up?

Henry doesn't have time to worry about them, though, he's on another case. Or so he thought when he agreed to look into Mrs. Palmeroy's fears her husband may be planning a murder … his own. Invited to spend the weekend at the Palmeroy's Henry soon learns that his client has brought him there under false pretenses. Lies become truths in this tangled web of a mystery.

— Edge of Understanding by Brian Meeks

Suspicion of Innocence by Barbara Parker is Today's Kindle Daily Deal

Omnimystery News is pleased to feature Suspicion of Innocence by Barbara Parker as today's Kindle Daily Deal.

The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Tuesday, August 19, 2014.

Suspicion of Innocence by Barbara Parker

A Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Open Road

Price: $1.99 (as of 08/19/2014 at 6:10 AM ET).

  

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

A smart and successful young attorney, Gail Connor is on the verge of a partnership at a major law firm in the "new" Miami, a city more Latin than Anglo, with a dark side that slides right into the Everglades. But Gail's success at work has masked failure in her personal life: an empty marriage, a daughter she hardly knows, and a past she would rather forget. Then her sister, Renee, is found dead with her wrists slashed.

After Renee's suicide, Gail, left to sort out her complicated feelings for her younger, prettier sister, soon uncovers some of Renee's shocking secrets. But most shocking of all is the police's determination that Renee was murdered … and Gail is the prime suspect. Gail's only hope is getting the best attorney she knows — her recent adversary in court, Anthony Quintana. But in what may be a major miscalculation for an otherwise street-smart woman, Gail finds herself drawn to her darkly handsome lawyer, a man whose past holds its own surprises.

Caught between the closing jaws of the legal system and her own careening emotions, Gail Connor's desperate struggle takes her from the steamy Everglades to the mansions of the wealthy Cubans who had made their mark on South Florida … and into a fight not only for her crumbling career, but for her life.

— Suspicion of Innocence by Barbara Parker

Today's Mystery and Suspense Update from Big Fish Games (140819)

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

• The New Release is Weather Lord: In Pursuit of the Shaman.

• The current Catch of the Week is Lake House: Children of Silence, just $2.99 through Sunday, August 24, 2014 only.

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

— ♦ —

The New Release is Weather Lord: In Pursuit of the Shaman

An earthquake has devastated a once peaceful land and shattered the lives of its natives! The country is now teeming with unpleasant creatures, and an evil shaman is making a bid for absolute power. Unleash the awesome power of nature as you lead a band of brave warriors across a ruined landscape to defeat the evil shaman! Help the natives by gathering resources and repairing their villages. Complete quests using sunlight, rain, wind, and thunder to replenish crops. Eliminate the enemies and remove obstacles that stand in your way. With the elements at your fingertips, there will be no stopping you!

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

— ♦ —

The current Catch of the Week is Lake House: Children of Silence

Long-forgotten memories bubble to the surface when the past invades the present! Located at the edge of a gloomy lake and shrouded in fog, the house at the center of this story has stood empty for 15 years. Beckoned by what appears to be a ghost, a woman who lived there as a child returns to the house to solve a mystery that begins with an old photograph and ends in a secret room. Find hidden objects, solve puzzles and prepare yourself for an ending that will take you to a place darker than you can imagine!

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

Also available for this game:

• For a more in-depth experience, see the Collector's Edition.

Review: Blind Moon Alley by John Florio

A Mysterious Review of Blind Moon Alley by John Florio. A Jersey Leo Mystery.

Review summary: This second in series mystery has a good sense of time and place, Prohibition in Philadelphia. The characters are well drawn and engaging, and while the story starts out slow, by the mid-point it has really captured the reader's attention with its plot twists. A solid effort overall. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

Blind Moon Alley
John Florio
A Jersey Leo Mystery
Seventh Street Books (August 2014)

Publisher synopsis: It's Prohibition. It's Philadelphia. And Jersey Leo doesn't fit in.

Jersey is an albino of mixed race. Known as "Snowball" on the street, he tends bar at a speakeasy the locals call the Ink Well. There, he's considered a hero for having saved the life of a young boy. But when his old grade school buddy, Aaron Garvey, calls from death row and asks for one last favor, all hell breaks loose.

Jersey finds himself running from a band of crooked cops, hiding an escaped convict in the Ink Well, and reuniting with his grammar school crush — the now sultry Myra Banks, who has shed a club foot and become a speakeasy siren. Through it all, Jersey tries to safeguard the Ink Well with no help other than his ragtag group of friends: his ex-boxing-champion father, Ernie Leo; the street-savvy Johalis; a dim-witted dockworker named Homer; and the dubious palm reader Madame Curio. With them, Jersey digs for the truth about his friend Aaron Garvey — and winds up discovering a few things about himself.

        

New This Week: Mermaids in the Pacific, A Peyton Brooks, FBI Mystery by M. L. Hamilton

Omnimystery News is pleased to present a mystery, suspense, or thriller ebook that we recently found by sleuthing (as it were) through new or recently reissued titles from independent publishers during August 2014 and priced $4.99 or less …

Mermaids in the Pacific by M. L. Hamilton

A Peyton Brooks, FBI Mystery (2nd in series)

Publisher: M. L. Hamilton

Price: $3.99 (as of 08/18/2014 at 5:30 PM ET).

  

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

Peyton thought working for the FBI would bring new adventure and intrigue into her life. Certainly being assigned to the Ghost Squad promised such things, but reality is often different than the dream.

Everything is wrong. Her new boss, Radar, thinks she's angling for his job, her personal life is in shambles, and her once over-crowded house has become an empty shell where she and her dog, Pickles, wander about, longing for what was lost.

With Marco in a battle for his life, Peyton feels sidelined, until a mermaid is found floating off Natural Bridges State Beach. Beyond the media frenzy looms the very real possibility that Peyton and her team may be sucked into a standoff between the federal government and an elusive cult known only as Horizon. And Radar fears, there will be blood.

— Mermaids in the Pacific by M. L. Hamilton

Blood Ties in Chef Voleur, A Delancey Dynasty Novel by Mallory Kane, Now Available at a Special Price

Omnimystery News is always searching for newly discounted mystery, suspense, thriller and crime novels for our readers to enjoy. Today, we're pleased to feature the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, Harlequin Intrigue …

Blood Ties in Chef Voleur by Mallory Kane

A Delancey Dynasty Novel (10th in series)

Publisher: Harlequin Intrigue

Price: $0.99 (as of 08/18/2014 at 5:00 PM ET).

  

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

As the newest member of the Delanceys, Jack Bush isn't who he claims. Eloping with their youngest granddaughter, Cara Lynn, is only the first part of his plan. With that he'd gain access to the entire family and expose them for what they are. Then he'd move on. Except Cara Lynn has charms of her own.

Their initial attraction, and their torrid love affair, make it hard for Jack to maintain his distance. Hurting her soon becomes the last thing he wants to do. But once the truth about his ancestral blood ties are revealed, every family secret will come crashing down around them. And he fears no one will escape unscathed …

— Blood Ties in Chef Voleur by Mallory Kane

New This Week: A Ghost of a Chance, A Dan Rhodes Mystery by Bill Crider

Omnimystery News is pleased to present a mystery, suspense, or thriller ebook that we recently found by sleuthing (as it were) through new or recently reissued titles from independent publishers during August 2014 and priced $4.99 or less …

A Ghost of a Chance by Bill Crider

A Dan Rhodes Mystery (10th in series)

Publisher: Crossroad Press

Price: $3.99 (as of 08/18/2014 at 4:30 PM ET).

First published in hardcover by St. Martin's Press in 2000. This is its first appearance as an ebook.

  

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

Blacklin County, Texas hasn't seen much action since Sheriff Dan Rhodes' childhood days. So when a ghost is sighted in the jail, and Ty Berry, president of the area's historical preservation group, is murdered, the small county is shocked.

Rhodes must get to the bottom of these mysteries before it's too late.

— A Ghost of a Chance by Bill Crider

The Crime of Julian Wells, A Novel of Suspense by Thomas H. Cook, Now Available at a Special Price

Omnimystery News is always searching for newly discounted mystery, suspense, thriller and crime novels for our readers to enjoy. Today, we're pleased to feature the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, Mysterious Press …

The Crime of Julian Wells by Thomas H. Cook

A Novel of Suspense

Publisher: Mysterious Press

Price: $1.99 (as of 08/18/2014 at 4:00 PM ET).

  

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

When famed true-crime writer Julian Wells' body if found in a boat drifting on a Montauk pond, the question is not how he died, but why?

The death is obviously a suicide. But why would Julian Wells have taken his own life? And was this his only crime? These are the questions that first intrigue and then obsess Philip Anders, Wells' best friend and the chief defender of both his moral and his literary legacies.

Anders' increasingly passionate and dangerous quest to answer these questions becomes a journey into a haunted life, one marked by travel, learning, achievement and adventure, a life that should have been celebrated, but whose lonely end points to terrors still unknown.

— The Crime of Julian Wells by Thomas H. Cook

Jack-Knifed by Wonny Lea, a New 1st in Series Mystery Introducing Martin Phelps

Omnimystery News is pleased to present you with one of this month's new 1st in Series titles, a mystery, thriller or suspense novel that introduces a recurring character (or characters) …

Jack-Knifed by Wonny Lea

Martin Phelps, Cardiff Bay (1st in series)

Publisher: Accent Press

  

What we know about the character: DCI Martin Phelps is a police officer in Wales. For more information about his first case, see a synopsis of the book, below.

Mark Wilson, a decent, well-liked gay man, lives alone in a beautiful house in Cardiff. One Saturday evening, his closest friends go to his house for an evening of drinks and catching-up.

Finding no answer, the concerned friends break in — to a horrific murder scene. For Mark Wilson has been brutally, sadistically murdered in his own home.

As DCI Phelps investigates, Mark's traumatic early life is revealed. Was his killer someone from his past? Was his sexuality a motive? What about his violent, homophobic father — a man who has already killed more than once …

Meanwhile, Mark's estranged sister Amy broods on the hatred she has for her brother, blaming him for turning their father into a killer. As she sinks further in to the depths of drug addiction, who's to say what her next move will be?

As the body count rises, Phelps and his sergeant, Matt Pryor, soon realise they are on the trail of a serial killer …

— Jack-Knifed by Wonny Lea

Into the Dark, A Suspense Thriller by Rick Mofina, Now Available at a Special Price

Omnimystery News is always searching for newly discounted mystery, suspense, thriller and crime novels for our readers to enjoy. Today, we're pleased to feature the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, Harlequin MIRA …

Into the Dark by Rick Mofina

A Suspense Thriller

Publisher: Harlequin MIRA

Price: $0.99 (as of 08/18/2014 at 3:00 PM ET).

  

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

Claire Bowen, a haunted psychologist, devotes her life to helping troubled women rebuild theirs. But her dream of a family with her new husband, Robert, a pilot and local hero, begins to crumble as disturbing revelations from his past emerge.

Detective Joe Tanner, struggling to overcome his wife's death while raising their little girl alone, heads the task force formed to stop the monster who has resurfaced with a chilling message.

In the wake of five cold-case murders across Los Angeles, one of Claire's most promising patients vanishes. Gut instinct tells Tanner the truth is within his grasp, while Claire is torn between guilt and terror over what's to come. As time runs out, both are pulled deeper and deeper into an unspeakable darkness.

— Into the Dark by Rick Mofina

An Unwilling Accomplice by Charles Todd, New in Bookstores during August 2014

Today's featured new hardcover mystery, suspense, or thriller title scheduled to be published during August 2014 is …

An Unwilling Accomplice by Charles Todd

The Bess Crawford Series (6th)

Publisher: William Morrow

        

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

More about our featured title, below …

Home on leave, Bess Crawford is asked to accompany a wounded soldier confined to a wheelchair to Buckingham Palace, where he's to be decorated by the King. The next morning when Bess goes to collect Wilkins, he has vanished. Both the Army and the nursing service hold Bess negligent for losing the war hero, and there will be an inquiry.

Then comes disturbing word from the Shropshire police, complicating the already difficult situation: Wilkins has been spotted, and he's killed a man. If Bess is to save her own reputation, she must find Wilkins and uncover the truth. But the elusive soldier has disappeared again and even the Shropshire police have lost him. Suddenly, the moral implications of what has happened — that a patient in her charge has committed murder — become more important to Bess than her own future. She's going to solve this mysterious puzzle, but righting an injustice and saving her honor may just cost Bess her life.

— An Unwilling Accomplice by Charles Todd

Enter to Win — The Blood Cries Out by Karl Bjorn Erickson

Omnimystery News invites you to Enter to Win a copy of The Blood Cries Out by Karl Bjorn Erickson, courtesy of The Book Concierge.

Two (2) winners will receive an ebook — one Kindle, one Nook — of …

Title: The Blood Cries Out
Author: Karl Bjorn Erickson
Series: A David Lightholler Mystery
Publisher: Light Switch Press
Format: eBook
List Price: $7.99

Use the form below to submit your entry. One entry per person; US residents only. Entry period ends Monday, August 25, 2014. (If you cannot see the entry form, use this link.)

Synopsis: Seattle Police Homicide Detective David Lightholler finds himself on a case unlike any he's faced before. In the midst of working the darkest double homicide of his career, he unearths violent secrets of his family's past that promise to haunt him for many years unless he can bring redemption and meaning out of the evil of the past — and present.

— The Blood Cries Out by Karl Bjorn Erickson

Deadly Shuffle by Norma Lehr, New on the Mystery Bookshelf during August 2014

New on the Mystery Bookshelf during August 2014 …

Deadly Shuffle by Norma Lehr

The Abby Rollins Series (2nd)

Publisher: Camel Press

  

To see more new paperback titles scheduled to be published this month, visit The Mystery Bookshelf for August 2014. For new hardcover mysteries, visit New Mysteries where for a list of August 2014 mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers is provided.

More about our featured title, below …

A Palm Springs poisoning stirs up the past …

Trish Malone is a member of the Malone Sisters' singing trio, which rose to fame in the '60s. She is also the mother of Abby Rollins, a retired dancer and owner of Starduds, a flourishing dance supply business. When Trish's sister Ginny drops out of the Palm Springs Follies because of hip surgery, Trish wants to take her place, but first she must learn some basic dance moves. Abby gives her a few lessons, and her mother is hired. Abby's new beau, private eye Blade Garret, wants to whisk her away for a romantic weekend. What better destination than Palm Springs, where Abby can also visit her aunt Ginny and see her mother perform?

Upon their arrival, things get complicated. First an old flame of her mother's keels over dead during a poker game attended by several other men from Trish's past. Then Trish vanishes, leaving an unlocked car and a briefcase full of papers from her real estate business. Dr. Thomas Levine, a plastic surgeon, was poisoned. Did Trish kill him? Is she hiding from the killer? Or is she dead, too — silenced to prevent her from revealing a terrible truth in her memoirs? Abby is determined to find out.

Trish Malone spent much of Abby's childhood on the road, leaving many questions unanswered. Now Abby must fill in the blanks in time to save her mother's life without losing her own.

— Deadly Shuffle by Norma Lehr

The Dirty Book Murder, A Michael Bevan, Rare Book Mystery by Thomas Shawver, Now Available at a Special Price

Omnimystery News is always searching for newly discounted mystery, suspense, thriller and crime novels for our readers to enjoy. Today, we're pleased to feature the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, Alibi …

The Dirty Book Murder by Thomas Shawver

A Michael Bevan, Rare Book Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Alibi

Price: $0.99 (as of 08/18/2014 at 1:00 PM ET).

  

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

Book merchant Michael Bevan arrives at the Kansas City auction house hoping to uncover some hidden literary gold. Though the auction ad had mentioned erotica, Michael is amazed to find lovely Japanese Shunga scrolls and a first edition of a novel by French author Colette with an inscription by Ernest Hemingway. This one item alone could fetch a small fortune in the right market.

As Michael and fellow dealer Gareth Hughes are warming up for battle, a stranger comes out of nowhere and outbids them — to the tune of sixty grand. But Gareth is unwilling to leave the auction house empty-handed, so he steals two volumes, including the Colette novel. When Gareth is found dead the next day, Michael quickly becomes the prime suspect: Not only had the pair been tossed out of a bar mid-fistfight the night before, but there is evidence from Michael's shop at the crime scene.

Now the attorney-turned-bookman must find out who wanted the Colette so badly that they would kill for it — and frame Michael. Desperate to stay out of police custody, Michael follows the murderer's trail into the wealthiest echelons of the city, where power and influence meet corruption — and mystery and eroticism are perverted by pure evil. Unfortunately for Michael, one dead book dealer is only the opening chapter in a terrifying tale of high culture and lowlifes.

— The Dirty Book Murder by Thomas Shawver

Midnight Vengeance, The Midnight Series by Lisa Marie Rice, New This Week from Carina Press

Carina Press is a digital-first imprint from Harlequin, publishing books in an interesting and diverse selection of genres including contemporary romance, steampunk, gay/lesbian fiction, science-fiction, fantasy, and — but of course — mystery and suspense.

We've selected one of their recently published titles to feature here today …

Midnight Vengeance by Lisa Marie Rice

The Midnight Series

Publisher: Carina Press

Price: $4.99 (as of 08/18/2014 at 12:30 PM ET).

  

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

Morton "Jacko" Jackman isn't afraid of anything. He's a former Navy SEAL sniper, and he's been in more firefights than most people have had hot meals. Lauren Dare scares the crap out of him.

Gorgeous, talented and refined, she's the type of woman who could never be interested in a roughneck like him. So he's loved her fiercely in secret, taken her art classes, and kept a watchful but comfortable distance. Until now.

Lauren had finally found a home in Portland, far from her real identity, far from the memories of her mother's death, and outside the reaches of the drugged-out psycho who's already tried to kill her twice. One tiny misstep — a single photograph — has shattered it all. She has no choice but to run again, but this time she'll give herself a proper farewell: one night with Jacko.

Their highly charged emotional encounter changes everything. In Jacko's arms there cannot be fear, there can only be pleasure. Anyone wishing her harm will have to pass through him, and Jacko is a hard man to kill.

— Midnight Vengeance by Lisa Marie Rice