Double Shot by Cindy Blackburn is Today's First Featured Free MystereBook

Omnimystery News is pleased to feature one of today's Free MystereBooks …

Double Shot by Cindy Blackburn

A Cue Ball Mystery

Publisher: Cindy Blackburn

  

This title was listed for free as of January 22, 2015 at 7:00 AM ET.

Jessie Hewitt thought her pool-hustling days were long gone. But when uber-hunky cop Wilson Rye asks her to go undercover to catch a killer, she jumps at the chance to return to a sleazy poolroom.

Jessie is confident she can handle a double homicide, but the doubly-annoying Wilson Rye is another matter altogether. What's he doing flirting with a woman half his age? Will Jessie have what it takes to deal with Tiffany La-Dee-Doo-Da Sass and solve the murders? Take a guess.

— Double Shot by Cindy Blackburn

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.

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

Sleep Tight, A Novel of Suspense by Rachel Abbott, is Today's Kindle Daily Deal

Omnimystery News is pleased to feature Sleep Tight by Rachel Abbott as today's Kindle Daily Deal. The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Thursday, January 22, 2015.

Sleep Tight by Rachel Abbott

A Novel of Suspense

Publisher: Black Dot Publishing

Price: $1.99 (as of 01/22/2015 at 6:10 AM ET).

How far would you go to hold on to the people you love?

When Olivia Brookes calls the police to report that her husband and children are missing, she believes she will never see them again. She has reason to fear the worst; this isn't the first tragedy that Olivia has experienced. Now, two years later, Detective Chief Inspector Tom Douglas is called in to investigate this family again, but this time it's Olivia who has disappeared. All the evidence suggests that she was here, in the family home, that morning.

But her car is in the garage, and her purse is in her handbag — on the kitchen table. The police want to issue an appeal, but for some reason every single picture of this family has been removed from albums, from phones, from computers.

And then they find the blood …

Has the past caught up with Olivia?

— Sleep Tight by Rachel Abbott

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Review: The Button Man by Mark Pryor

A Mysterious Review of The Button Man by Mark Pryor. A Hugo Marston Mystery.

Review summary: The most enjoyable aspect to mystery is that it is one unexpected plot twist after another. Written as a prequel, though there is nothing to suggest that's an important reference point, this well-constructed and plotted story with an appealing cast of characters is a fine addition to this entertaining series. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

The Button Man
Mark Pryor
A Hugo Marston Mystery
Seventh Street Books (September 2014)

Publisher synopsis: Former FBI profiler Hugo Marston has just become head of security at the US Embassy in London. He's asked to protect a famous movie-star couple, Dayton Harper and Ginny Ferro, who, while filming a movie in rural England, killed a local man in a hit and run.

The task turns from routine to disastrous almost immediately. Before Hugo even meets them, he finds out that Ferro has disappeared, and her body has been found hanging from an oak tree in a London cemetery. Hours later a distraught Harper gives Hugo the slip, and Hugo has no idea where he's run off to.

Taking cues from a secretive young lady named Merlyn, and with a Member of Parliament along for the chase, Hugo's search leads to a quaint English village. There, instead of finding Harper, more bodies turn up. Teaming with local detectives and then venturing dangerously out on his own, Hugo struggles to find connections between the victims. Is this the work of a serial killer — or something else entirely? Knowing he's being tailed, the killer prepares for the final, public act of his murderous plan, and Hugo arrives just in time to play his part.

      

The Julius Katz Collection, Julius Katz Short Stories by Dave Zeltserman, Now Available at a Special Price

Amazon Kindle Countdown Deals are limited-time discounts on Kindle-exclusive books.

Omnimystery News is pleased to present you with one of today's titles … but take advantage of this deal now as the price will go up to its digital list price soon! (See the countdown clock on the book product page to see how much time remains on this deal.)

The Julius Katz Collection by Dave Zeltserman

Julius Katz Short Stories

Publisher: Top Suspense Books

Price: $0.99 (as of 01/21/2015 at 6:00 PM ET).

  

The Julius Katz detective stories have been a favorite among mystery fans since first appearing on the pages of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine in 2009, winning a Shamus, Derringer, and two Ellery Queen Readers Choice awards. "Julius Katz" introduced readers to Boston's most brilliant, eccentric, and possibly laziest detective, as well as his sidekick, Archie, a tiny marvel of computer technology with the heart and soul of a hard-boiled PI.

If you haven't had a chance to meet Julius and Archie yet, now's your chance to get caught up in these clever, funny, and very unusual mystery stories as this collection contains the first six Julius Katz mystery stories originally published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, as well as a never-before published novella, Julius Katz and the Case of a Sliced Ham.

— The Julius Katz Collection by Dave Zeltserman

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Past Praying For, A Novel of Suspense by Aline Templeton, New This Week from Endeavour Press

Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher, promoting and selling ebook editions of works by new authors as well as bringing out ebook editions of out of print books.

We've selected one of their recently published mystery, suspense, thriller or crime titles to feature here today …

Past Praying For by Aline Templeton

A Novel of Suspense

Publisher: Endeavour Press

Price: $2.99 (as of 01/21/2015 at 5:30 PM ET).

  

The people of Stretton Noble are middle-class and complacent — or so thinks the Reverend Margaret Moon, who is disgusted by the materialistic lifestyle of her new parishioners. It's only when her brother, Robert, a forensic psychologist, comes to visit that she is made aware of the uneasy undercurrents and tensions which pervade this seemingly peaceful village society. But even he doesn't suspect that someone is concealing a childhood trauma so severe that it has fractured their personality.

Then a strange series of events persuades both Margaret and Robert that a killer is among them. It starts with small attacks. Strange objects appear in villagers' homes, belongings are damaged and rooms ransacked. But then hate-filled poison pen letters follow, and an arson attack that results in a death.

Victims themselves, Margaret and Robert are drawn to the heart of the mystery. Combining their very different approaches they must try and single out the damaged individual whose tragic past has led them to commit such evil acts. But will they be able to identify the perpetrator before more lives are lost? Or are they past praying for?

— Past Praying For by Aline Templeton

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A Dose of Death, A Helen Binney Mystery by Gin Jones, 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 present the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, Gemma Halliday Publishing …

A Dose of Death by Gin Jones

A Helen Binney Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Gemma Halliday Publishing

Price: $0.99 (as of 01/21/2015 at 5:00 PM ET).

  

As the former governor's wife, Helen Binney is used to being in charge. So when illness and two pushy nieces force her to take on a visiting nurse, Helen uses every trick in the book to slip away from the annoying woman. Only someone must have disliked the nurse even more than Helen, because the woman's dead body shows up the next day in Helen's yard! Now it's up to Helen to prove that not only is she perfectly capable of taking care of herself, she's also perfectly capable of solving one cold-blooded murder.

Between the nurse's shady past, an elusive "Remote Control Burglar," and an unlikely partnership with a handsome lawyer, Helen finds herself being drawn into the killer's carefully crafted web. The only question is, can Helen survive a little dose of death?

— A Dose of Death by Gin Jones

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New This Week: It's Only Death, A Novel of Suspense by Lee Thompson

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 January 2015 and priced $4.99 or less …

It's Only Death by Lee Thompson

A Novel of Suspense

Publisher: DarkFuse

Price: $3.99 (as of 01/21/2015 at 4:30 PM ET).

  

Six years ago James blew town after killing his cop-father in a bank job gone bad. When his sister informs him that their mother's health is fading fast, he returns home, wanting to make peace with her before she passes. But James quickly finds there is little peace left for him at his childhood home.

His father's old partner has been biding his time, waiting for a chance at retribution, and finally discovers James is back. But he's only one of the many shady characters James must face if he is to survive the next few days. Not only must James survive his return, he must also face the devastation he left behind, the shattered pieces of what remained of his life before he was forced to run. Now his days on the run are over.

Upon the edge of reckoning, James's past comes full circle to the final showdown with his personal demons and the devils that are closing in.

— It's Only Death by Lee Thompson

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Terrified, A Suspense Thriller by Kevin O'Brien, 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 present the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, Pinnacle Books …

Terrified by Kevin O'Brien

A Suspense Thriller

Publisher: Pinnacle Books

Price: $2.99 (as of 01/21/2015 at 4:00 PM ET).

  

Megan Keeler died years ago — or so everyone believes. In fact, she disappeared to escape from her sadistic husband, Glenn. When dismembered body parts were found near their home, Glenn was convicted of his wife's murder. And Megan, terrified for her unborn child's safety, never came forward with the truth …

Since then, Megan has built a new life in Seattle for herself and her son, Josh. She's never forgotten that she's a fugitive, and Josh knows nothing about her past. But someone does. First, there are anonymous emails and threats, just as she learns that Glenn has been released from prison. Then the unthinkable happens: a masked man breaks into their home and abducts Josh …

To save her son, Megan must put herself at the mercy of a maniac. Is Glenn a cold-blooded killer determined to destroy her world piece by piece, or is the truth even more twisted? Megan thought she knew fear, but her nightmare is only beginning …

— Terrified by Kevin O'Brien

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The Accidental Alchemist by Gigi Pandian, a New 1st in Series Mystery Introducing Zoe Faust

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) …

The Accidental Alchemist by Gigi Pandian

A Zoe Faust Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Midnight Ink

  

What we know about the character: Zoe Faust is a herbalist and reformed alchemist in Portland, Oregon. For more information about her first murder, see a synopsis of the book, below.

Unpacking her belongings in her new hometown of Portland, Oregon, Zoe Faust can't help but notice she's picked up a stowaway. Dorian Robert-Houdin is a living, breathing three-and-half-foot gargoyle — not to mention a master of French cuisine — and he needs Zoe's expertise to decipher a centuries-old text.

Zoe, who's trying to put her old life behind her, isn't so sure she wants to reopen her alchemical past … until the dead man on her porch leaves her no choice.

— The Accidental Alchemist by Gigi Pandian

Higher Law Box Set, The Mike Daley/Rosie Fernandez Novels 1-4 by Sheldon Siegel, Now Available at a Special Price

Amazon Kindle Countdown Deals are limited-time discounts on Kindle-exclusive books.

Omnimystery News is pleased to present you with one of today's titles … but take advantage of this deal now as the price will go up to its digital list price soon! (See the countdown clock on the book product page to see how much time remains on this deal.)

Higher Law Box Set by Sheldon Siegel

The Mike Daley/Rosie Fernandez Novels 1-4

Publisher: Sheldon Siegel

Price: $1.99 (as of 01/21/2015 at 3:00 PM ET).

  

Meet Mike Daley. Ex-priest. Ex — public defender. Ex-husband. And as of yesterday, ex-partner in one of San Francisco's most prominent law firms. Today he's out on his own, setting up practice on the wrong side of town. Then his best friend and former colleague is charged with a brutal double murder, and Daley is instantly catapulted into a high-profile investigation involving the prestigious law firm that just booted him.

So begins Special Circumstances, the first novel in this legal thriller series featuring Mike Daley and his law partner/ex-wife Rosie Fernandez. Books 2-4 are also included in this set: Incriminating Evidence, Criminal Intent, and Final Verdict.

— Higher Law Box Set by Sheldon Siegel

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The Honest Folk of Guadeloupe by Timothy Williams, New in Bookstores during January 2015

Today's featured new hardcover mystery, suspense, or thriller title scheduled to be published during January 2015 is …

The Honest Folk of Guadeloupe by Timothy Williams, an Anne Marie Laveaud Mystery (2nd in series)

Publisher: Soho Crime

    

April 1990: French-Algerian judge Anne Marie Laveaud has been living and working in the French Caribbean département of Guadeloupe for more than a decade, but her days are still full of surprises. She is only just starting to investigate the suspicious suicide of a high-profile environmental activist and media personality when she is pulled off the case. Is it because she was getting too close to the truth?

But the new case she's been assigned takes precedence. The naked body of a white woman has been discovered on a beach. The victim's remains offer no clues about her final hours — she was found without any of her belongings, and it seems she had been dead at least three days before anyone spotted her corpse. What turned this woman's vacation in paradise into a final nightmare?

As always, the story of a murdered white woman attracts international media attention. The pressure is on Anne Marie to solve the murder quickly, before bad publicity destroys the island's all-important tourist industry.

— The Honest Folk of Guadeloupe by Timothy Williams

For a list of more new hardcover titles to be published this month, visit our New Mysteries page for January 2015. For new paperback mysteries, visit The Mystery Bookshelf where a selection of January 2015 mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers are shelved.

GingerDead Man by Logan Zachary, New on the Mystery Bookshelf during January 2015

New on the Mystery Bookshelf during January 2015 …

GingerDead Man by Logan Zachary, A Murder Mystery

Publisher: Bold Strokes Books

  

Paavo Wolfe sells horror, but he isn't prepared for what he finds in the baker's oven. A body burns at his feet, and his ex, Detective Joe DeCarlo, is on the case. Joe is getting unwanted help investigating the crime from Paavo and his best friend, Stacey.

While Paavo and Joe's relationship is getting better, going uncover in the bathhouse isn't going to help Paavo mend their issues. A steam room stranger, the new bakery owner, and his landlord reveal grudges against the dead baker. Lured back to the sauna, the heat is turned up as Paavo embarks on A dangerous relationship. When the homeless shelter blows up, Paavo knows he's in trouble and has to keep Stacey and Joe out of the line of fire.

Can Paavo find the killer before everything goes up in smoke?

— GingerDead Man by Logan Zachary

To see more new paperback titles scheduled to be published this month, visit The Mystery Bookshelf for January 2015. For new hardcover mysteries, visit New Mysteries where for a list of January 2015 mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers is provided.

Mysteries, Novels of Suspense, and Thrillers Discounted to $1.99 Courtesy of Witness Impulse

Omnimystery News is always searching for newly discounted mystery, suspense, thriller and crime novels for our readers to enjoy.

Today, we're pleased to present one of over 35 mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers currently available at a special discounted price of $1.99, courtesy of the publisher, Witness Impulse. Please note that this selection of titles changes frequently, and the featured book below may no longer be available at this price.

The Chill of Night by James Hayman

A Michael McCabe and Maggie Savage Thriller (2nd in series)

Publisher: Witness Impulse

Price: $1.99 (as of 01/21/2015 at 1:00 PM ET).

  

A frozen corpse … A missing witness … Strange voices that aren't there ...

One cold night, Lainie Goff, a glamorous young attorney on the fast track to a partnership at Portland's top firm, is found frozen in the trunk of her BMW on the local fishing pier.

Detectives Mike McCabe and Maggie Savage quickly uncover a long list of suspects: Lainie's boss, who was also her lover; an ex-priest who runs a shelter for runaway teens; an abusive stepfather who raped Lainie as a teen; and a creepy landlord who seems to know more than he should about her private life.

Still, there is no hard evidence until a mentally ill young woman who hears voices gives an island cop an eyewitness account he doesn't take seriously.

But when she too disappears, McCabe and Savage find themselves in a desperate race against time to stop a vicious killer before he rids himself of the only person who knows who he is.

— The Chill of Night by James Hayman

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Lethal Consequences, The Aegis Series by Elisabeth Naughton, New This Week from Montlake Romance

Montlake Romance delivers happily-ever-afters for all romantic reading tastes, from steamy to sweet, from sweeping historicals to provocative paranormals.

In this post, we've selected one of their recently published suspense titles to feature here today …

Lethal Consequences by Elisabeth Naughton

The Aegis Series (2nd in series)

Publisher: Montlake Romance

Price: $3.99 (as of 01/21/2015 at 12:30 PM ET).

  

Three months after rescuing Olivia Wolfe from danger, Aegis Security operative Landon Miller still can't stop thinking about her, even though she's off-limits in every way possible. Knowing he's leaving Aegis and returning to the DIA soon, Landon decides it's time for their flirty online relationship to end. But Olivia can't stop thinking about Landon, either. On a whim, she takes a leave of absence from her teaching job to surprise him in Barcelona — and arrives to find a sexy redhead in his hotel room.

Things aren't always what they seem, though. Landon's would-be one-night stand is really a member of the Red Brotherhood, a terrorist group targeting Landon for information on a lethal bioweapon. And now Olivia is unwittingly ensnared in their deadly plot, too. Forget escaping emotionally unscathed; Olivia just wants to make it home alive. Yet to survive, she'll have to put her trust in the very man who not only broke her heart, but whose lies now threaten both their lives.

— Lethal Consequences by Elisabeth Naughton

Also available, the first book in this series, Extreme Measures, for $4.99 on Kindle.

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Nominees for the 2015 Edgar Awards Announced

The nominees for the 2015 Edgar Awards have been announced by the Mystery Writers of America honoring the best in mystery fiction, non-fiction and television published or produced in 2014. The winners will be announced at the 69th Gala Banquet, April 29th, 2015 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, New York City.

The nominees are …

Best Novel:
• This Dark Road to Mercy by Wiley Cash (William Morrow)
• Wolf by Mo Hayder (Atlantic Monthly Press)
• Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King (Scribner)
• The Final Silence by Stuart Neville (Soho Press)
• Saints of the Shadow Bible by Ian Rankin (Little, Brown)
• Coptown by Karin Slaughter (Ballantine Books)

Best First Novel:
• Dry Bones in the Valley by Tom Bouman (W. W. Norton)
• Invisible City by Julia Dahl (Minotaur Books)
• The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens (Seventh Street Books)
• Bad Country by C. B. McKenzie (Minotaur Books)
• Shovel Ready by Adam Sternbergh (Crown Publishers)
• Murder at the Brightwell by Ashley Weaver (Minotaur Books)

Best Paperback Original:
• The Secret History of Las Vegas by Chris Albani (Penguin Books)
• Stay With Me by Alison Gaylin (William Morrow)
• The Barkeep by William Lashner (Thomas & Mercer)
• The Day She Died by Catriona McPherson (Midnight Ink)
• The Gone Dead Train by Lisa Turner (William Morrow)
• World of Trouble by Ben H. Winters (Quirk Books)

Best Fact Crime:
• Kitty Genovese: The Murder, the Bystanders, the Crime that Changed America by Kevin Cook (W. W. Norton)
• The Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism, and Michael Rockefeller's Tragic Quest for Primitive Art by Carl Hoffman (William Morrow)
• The Other Side: A Memoir by Lacy M. Johnson (Tin House Books)
• Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood by William Mann (Harper)
• The Mad Sculptor: The Maniac, the Model, and the Murder that Shook the Nation by Harold Schechter (New Harvest)

Best Critical/Biographical:
• The Figure of the Detective: A Literary History and Analysis by Charles Brownson (McFarland & Company)
• James Ellroy: A Companion to the Mystery Fiction by Jim Mancall (Oxford University Press)
• Kiss the Blood Off My Hands: Classic Film Noir by Robert Miklitsch (University of Illinois Press)
• Judges & Justice & Lawyers & Law: Exploring the Legal Dimensions of Fiction and Film by Francis M. Nevins (Perfecdt Crime Books)
• Poe-Land: The Hallowed Haunts of Edgar Allan Poe by J.W. Ocker (Countryman Press)

Best Short Story:
• "The Snow Angel" by Doug Allyn (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)
• "200 Feet" by John Floyd (Strand Magazine)
• "What Do You Do?" by Gillian Flynn (Rogues, Ballantine Books)
• "Red Eye" by Dennis Lehane vs. Michael Connelly (Faceoff, Simon & Schuster)
• "Teddy" by Brian Tobin (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)

Best Juvenile:
• Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick (Simon & Schuster)
• Space Case by Stuart Gibbs (Simon & Schuster)
• Greenglass House by Kate Milford (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• Nick and Tesla’s Super-Cyborg Gadget Glove by Science Bob Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith (Quirk Books)
• Saving Kabul Corner by N. H. Senzai (Simon & Schuster)
• Eddie Red, Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile by Marcia Wells (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Best Young Adult:
• The Doubt Factory by Paolo Bacigalupi (Little, Brown)
• Nearly Gone by Elle Cosimano (Penguin Books)
• Fake ID by Lamar Giles (HarperCollins)
• The Art of Secrets by James Klise (Algonquin)
• The Prince of Venice Beach by Blake Nelson (Little, Brown)

Best Television Episode Teleplay:
• "The Empty Hearse" by Mark Gatiss (Sherlock)
• "Unfinished Business" by Siobham Byrne O'Connor (Blue Bloods)
• "Episode 1" by Sally Wainwright (Happy Valley)
• "Dream Baby Dream" by Sean Whitesell (The Killing)
• "Episode 6" by Toby Whithouse (The Game)

• Robert L. Fish Memorial Award: "Getaway Girl" by Zoë Z. Dean (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine)

• Grand Masters: Lois Duncan and James Ellroy

• Raven Awards: Ruth and Jon Jordan, Crimespree Magazine; and Kathryn Kennison, Magna Cum Murder

• Ellery Queen Award: Charles Ardai, Hard Case Crime

The Simon & Schuster — Mary Higgins Clark Award:
• A Dark and Twisted Tide by Sharon Bolton (Minotaur Books)
• The Stranger You Know by Jane Casey (Minotaur Books)
• Invisible City by Julia Dahl (Minotaur Books)
• Summer of the Dead by Julia Keller (Minotaur Books)
• The Black Hour by Lori Rader-Day (Seventh Street Books)