Review: Death Deals a Hand by Janet Dawson

A Mysterious Review of Death Deals a Hand by Janet Dawson. A California Zephyr Mystery.

Review summary: There is a strong sense of riding the rails in this murder mystery. The atmospheric setting is drawn perfectly, from the detailed touches of the Zephyr's interior to the sweeping descriptions of the land over which the train is passing. Overall, a memorable step back in time to the not-so-distant past that many readers will certainly enjoy revisiting. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

Death Deals a Hand
Janet Dawson
A California Zephyr Mystery
Perseverance Press (April 2016)

Publisher synopsis: It's April 1953, and Zephyrette Jill McLeod is back on the rails, aboard the fabled train called the California Zephyr. Heading west from Chicago to the San Francisco Bay Area, Jill looks forward to reuniting with family members and the new man in her life. She's learned to expect and deal with just about anything on the train, from troublesome passengers to long-lost relatives to high-stakes poker games.

But the stakes just got even higher: Death has a seat at the table.

Eye for an Eye, A Dewey Andreas Mystery by Ben Coes, 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, St. Martin's Press …

Eye for an Eye by Ben Coes

A Dewey Andreas Mystery

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Price: $2.99 (as of 05/03/2016 at 7:00 PM ET).

  

Click here to take a Look Inside Eye for an Eye.

When Dewey Andreas uncovers the identity of a mole embedded at a high level in Israel's Mossad, it triggers a larger, more dangerous plot. The mole was the most important asset of Chinese Intelligence, and Fao Bhang, head of China's Ministry of State Security (MSS), responds to the discovery and brutal elimination of the mole, by immediately placing a kill order on the man responsible — Dewey Andreas.

Dewey is tracked to Argentina, where he is on vacation with his fiancée, Jessica Tanzer, a U.S. National Security Advisor. A top-level kill team is sent in quickly and quietly, but their attack fails to take out Dewey. The collateral damage, however, is both horrifying and deeply personal. With nothing left to lose, Andreas is determined to have his revenge. Once he learns who is probably behind the attack — and why they are after him — Dewey goes rogue, using all of his assets and skills to launch a counterattack. Andreas must now face the full weight and might of the MSS, Chinese Intelligence, and the formidable Fao Bhang, if he's to achieve his one last goal: revenge on a biblical scale, no matter the odds or the armies that he will have to fight his way through. Andreas — former Army Ranger and Delta — is a man of great skills and cunning. His opponent, Fao Bhang, is ruthless, determined, and with no limit to the assets at his disposal.

— Eye for an Eye by Ben Coes

A complete list of today's featured titles can be found on the Discounted MystereBooks page on Omnimystery News.

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New This Week: Off the Grid, A Maggie O'Dell Short Story Collection by Alex Kava

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 May 2016 and priced $4.99 or less …

Off the Grid by Alex Kava

A Maggie O'Dell Short Story Collection

Publisher: Prairie Wind Publishing

Price: $4.99 (as of 05/03/2016 at 6:30 PM ET).

  

Click here to take a Look Inside Off the Grid.

For the first time, all of Alex Kava's short works of psychological suspense are finally together in one collection, which offers four short stories and one novella. All but one, feature Kava's critically acclaimed FBI profiler, Special Agent Maggie O'Dell.

In Goodnight Sweet Mother, Maggie O'Dell and her mother's road trip takes a chilling and an unexpected detour.

A Breath of Hot Air puts Maggie's forensic skills to work. While in Pensacola, Florida, for another investigation she's awakened in the middle of the night when a man is found dead in the same hotel.

Cold Metal Night brings Maggie back together with Nick Morrelli (A Perfect Evil) to chase a cold-blooded killer who's targeting homeless people.

Electric Blue drops Maggie and her partner, R.J. Tully, into a dangerous storm on the Gulf of Mexico to help track a United States senator's family that has gone missing.

And finally, in After Dark, corporate executive, Madeline Kramer hopes to escape for a much needed vacation. All she wants is the quiet and solitude the cabin in the woods promises. Be careful what you ask for.

Also included: A list of where these Maggie O'Dell short works fit chronologically in the series. Although they can be read and enjoyed individually, some were meant to be companion pieces to various novels in the series.

NOTE: All of these short works have been previously published in separate anthologies or as a larger ebook. This is the first time they are being offered all together in one collection.

— Off the Grid by Alex Kava

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Please Don't Tell, A Novel of Suspense by Elizabeth Adler, 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, Minotaur Books …

Please Don't Tell by Elizabeth Adler

A Novel of Suspense

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Price: $2.99 (as of 05/03/2016 at 6:00 PM ET).

  

Click here to take a Look Inside Please Don't Tell.

Fen Dexter's quiet life on the idyllic California coast is interrupted one stormy night when a blood-covered man shows up on her doorstep, claiming to have had a car accident. He tells her that he is on his way to San Francisco to help the police solve the murder of his fiancé.

Unable to make it to the hospital because of the storm, he stays the night at Fen's, and the attraction between them is obvious. The next morning he heads to the hospital where Fen's niece, Vivi, is an ER doctor. Vivi is treating the most recent target of a serial killer whose signature move is to leave a note saying "Please Don't Tell" taped across his victims' mouths.

When Fen's mysterious stranger comes to Vivi to have his wounds stitched she agrees to set him up to talk with the police about his fiancé. Who is this man, really? What does he want with Fen and her family? And will they live long enough to uncover the truth?

— Please Don't Tell by Elizabeth Adler

A complete list of today's featured titles can be found on the Discounted MystereBooks page on Omnimystery News.

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.

New This Week: Blue Pearl, A Quin St. James and Mike McCleary Mystery by T. J. MacGregor

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 May 2016 and priced $4.99 or less …

Blue Pearl by T. J. MacGregor

A Quin St. James and Mike McCleary Mystery (9th in series)

Publisher: Crossroad Press

Price: $3.99 (as of 05/03/2016 at 5:30 PM ET).

  

Click here to take a Look Inside Blue Pearl.

This is a new ebook edition of a book published in hardcover by Hyperion in 1994.

When Mike McCleary is shot one morning while jogging, Quin's investigation into the shooting thrusts her into the upper echelons of Palm Beach society. She encounters a Chilean fisherman, Alejandro Domingo, whose healing abilities have attracted numerous wealthy clients in Palm Beach, including the wife of a man running for the U.S. Senate. Videos, photos, and printed material all lead to the haunted Chilean, whose sister and daughter have disappeared en route to South America.

Quin's investigation, with the help of fellow operative John Tark, himself a man with a dark past in South America, leads to the place where Alejandro plies his powers.

— Blue Pearl by T. J. MacGregor

See more reissued mysteries in the Quin St. James Series for $3.99 each on Kindle.

Visit our New Indie MystereBooks page on Omnimystery News for a complete list of titles featured today.

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.

The Ice Limit, A Suspense Thriller by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, 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, Grand Central …

The Ice Limit by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

A Suspense Thriller

Publisher: Grand Central

Price: $2.99 (as of 05/03/2016 at 5:00 PM ET).

  

Click here to take a Look Inside The Ice Limit.

The largest known meteorite has been discovered, entombed in the earth for millions of years on a frigid, desolate island off the southern tip of Chile. At four thousand tons, this treasure seems impossible to move. New York billionaire Palmer Lloyd is determined to have this incredible find for his new museum.

Stocking a cargo ship with the finest scientists and engineers, he builds a flawless expedition. But from the first approach to the meteorite, people begin to die. A frightening truth is about to unfold: The men and women of the Rolvaag are not taking this ancient, enigmatic object anywhere.

It is taking them.

— The Ice Limit by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

A complete list of today's featured titles can be found on the Discounted MystereBooks page on Omnimystery News.

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.

New This Week: Wild Horses, An Eddie Malloy Mystery by Joe McNally

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 May 2016 and priced $4.99 or less …

Wild Horses by Joe McNally

An Eddie Malloy Mystery (8th in series)

Publisher: Joe McNally

Price: $4.99 (as of 05/03/2016 at 4:30 PM ET).

  

Click here to take a Look Inside Wild Horses.

A steeplechase at Bangor races … after a mile, a horse suddenly goes wild and smashes through a fence leaving his jockey, Eddie Malloy, comatose. This is no freak accident. In the following weeks, more horses go wild during races. Fortunes are won and lost on them, and the only consistent clue is that Eddie Malloy rides in every race where the horses hit blind panic.

The racing authorities want Eddie grounded. The police want to use Eddie to nail an "uncatchable" crime lord. Ben and Alice Searcey want Eddie's help and protection against a vicious ring of girl traffickers. And the sexy "Gypsy Princess", Primarolo Romanic needs Eddie to help hold together her relationship with handsome two-timing trainer, Dil Grant.

Eddie has never faced so many challenges. In this long, intense and fast-moving story, can he keep everyone he cares for alive and unharmed? Or has his luck finally run out along with the wild horses?

— Wild Horses by Joe McNally

See all eight mysteries in the Eddie Malloy Series for $4.99 or less each on Kindle.

Visit our New Indie MystereBooks page on Omnimystery News for a complete list of titles featured today.

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.

Circle of Influence, A Zoe Chambers Mystery by Annette Dashofy, 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, Henery Press …

Circle of Influence by Annette Dashofy

A Zoe Chambers Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Henery Press

Price: 99¢ (as of 05/03/2016 at 4:00 PM ET).

  

Click here to take a Look Inside Circle of Influence.

Zoe Chambers, paramedic and deputy coroner in rural Pennsylvania's tight-knit Vance Township, has been privy to a number of local secrets over the years, some of them her own …

But secrets become explosive when a dead body is found in the Township Board President's abandoned car. As a January blizzard rages, Zoe and Police Chief Pete Adams launch a desperate search for the killer, even if it means uncovering secrets that could not only destroy Zoe and Pete, but also those closest to them.

— Circle of Influence by Annette Dashofy

A complete list of today's featured titles can be found on the Discounted MystereBooks page on Omnimystery News.

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.

Hearse and Gardens by Kathleen Bridge, New on the Mystery Bookshelf during May 2016

New on the Mystery Bookshelf during May 2016 …

Hearse and Gardens by Kathleen Bridge, A Hamptons Home & Garden Mystery (2nd in series)

Publisher: Berkley

  

Click here to take a Look Inside Hearse and Gardens.

A Hamptons interior designer deals with skeletons in the closet …

To keep her mind off the legal battle over the oceanfront cottage she's trying to buy, Meg agrees to help her friend inventory and clear out furniture from the massive Montauk estate of wealthy art broker Harrison Falks. But the job takes a terrifying turn when Meg discovers a skeleton in a hidden room in one of the estate's many bungalows. The remains turn out to be those of Harrison's son, who went missing nearly twenty years ago — along with one of his father's Warhol paintings.

As Meg delves into the Hamptons' pop art past, she gets drawn into the sketchy goings-on and family drama at the estate. But when Meg makes no bones about solving the crime, she just might become the subject of the killer's next installation.

— Hearse and Gardens by Kathleen Bridge

To see more new paperback titles scheduled to be published this month, visit The Mystery Bookshelf for May 2016. For new hardcover titles, visit New Mysteries where for a list of May 2016 mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers is provided.

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: 99¢ (as of 05/03/2016 at 3:00 PM ET).

  

Click here to take a Look Inside A Dose of Death.

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

A complete list of today's featured titles can be found on the Discounted MystereBooks page on Omnimystery News.

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.

Slow Burn by Ace Atkins, New in Bookstores during May 2016

Today's featured new hardcover mystery, suspense, or thriller title scheduled to be published during May 2016 is …

Slow Burn by Ace Atkins, a Spenser Mystery (44th in series)

Publisher: Putnam

Click here to take a Look Inside Slow Burn.

 

The fire at a boarded-up Catholic church raged hot and fast, lighting up Boston's South End and killing three firefighters who were trapped in the inferno. A year later, as the city prepares to honor their sacrifice, there are still no answers about how the deadly fire started. Most at the department believe it was just a simple accident: faulty wiring in a century-old building. But Boston firefighter Jack McGee, who lost his best friend in the blaze, suspects arson.

McGee is convinced department investigators aren't sufficiently connected to the city's lowlifes to get a handle on who's behind the blaze — so he takes the case to Spenser. Spenser quickly learns not only that McGee might be right, but that the fire might be linked to a rash of new arsons, spreading through the city, burning faster and hotter every night. Spenser follows the trail of fires to Boston's underworld, bringing him, his trusted ally Hawk, and his apprentice Sixkill toe-to-toe with a dangerous new enemy who wants Spenser dead, and doesn't play by the city's old rules. Spenser has to find the firebug before he kills again — and stay alive himself.

— Slow Burn by Ace Atkins

For a list of more new hardcover titles to be published this month, visit our New Mysteries page for May 2016. For new paperback titles, visit The Mystery Bookshelf where a selection of May 2016 mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers are shelved.

Telemystery: Check Out This Week's Deals on Mystery and Crime Drama DVDs

There are a number of first-rate mysteries and crime dramas included in the Movies & TV Deal of the Week on Amazon. Here are some of our favorites …

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries Series 3, starring Essie Davis as Phryne Fisher and based on a character created by Kerry Greenwood.

Vera Set 5, starring Brenda Blethyn as Vera Stanhope and based on a character created by Ann Cleeves.

Poirot Series 13, starring David Suchet at Hercule Poirot and based on a character created by Agatha Christie.

Other series featured include Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime, the UK crime drama Chasing Shadows, the spy thriller Restless, and more. Use this link to see all the titles on sale this week (through May 8th, 2016).

Gone With the Witch by Heather Blake, New on the Mystery Bookshelf during May 2016

New on the Mystery Bookshelf during May 2016 …

Gone With the Witch by Heather Blake, A Darcy Merriweather, Wishcraft Mystery (6th in series)

Publisher: NAL

  

Click here to take a Look Inside Gone With the Witch.

Wish-granting witch Darcy Merriweather is put to the test after murder takes first prize at a pet show …

Darcy and her dog Missy are determined to put their best foot forward at the Enchanted Village's annual Pawsitively Enchanted pet contest. She's happy to lend a hand when the show's organizer hires Darcy to keep an eye on things among growing suspicions that someone is sabotaging the event. But Darcy's quest for justice is thrown off the scent when her lead suspect is found dead at the competition.

As if a murder weren't bad enough, someone begins snatching up prize-winning pets right from under their owners' noses. Darcy is determined to protect the pampered participants at whatever cost. But she'll have to work fast to sniff out the thief before she becomes the next victim of a killer determined to stop her dead in her tracks …

— Gone With the Witch by Heather Blake

To see more new paperback titles scheduled to be published this month, visit The Mystery Bookshelf for May 2016. For new hardcover titles, visit New Mysteries where for a list of May 2016 mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers is provided.

The Bone Orchard, A Mike Bowditch Mystery by Paul Doiron, 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, Minotaur Books …

The Bone Orchard by Paul Doiron

A Mike Bowditch Mystery (5th in series)

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Price: $2.99 (as of 05/03/2016 at 1:00 PM ET).

  

Click here to take a Look Inside The Bone Orchard.

In the aftermath of a family tragedy, Mike Bowditch has left the Maine Warden Service and is working as a fishing guide in the North Woods. But when his mentor Sgt. Kathy Frost is forced to kill a troubled war veteran in an apparent case of "suicide by cop," he begins having second thoughts about his decision.

Now Kathy finds herself the target of a government inquiry and outrage from the dead soldier's platoon mates. Soon she finds herself in the sights of a sniper, as well. When the sergeant is shot outside her farmhouse, Mike joins the hunt to find the mysterious man responsible. To do so, the ex-warden must plunge into his friend's secret past — even as a beautiful woman from Mike's own past returns, throwing into jeopardy his tentative romance with wildlife biologist Stacey Stevens.

As Kathy Frost lies on the brink of death and a dangerous shooter stalks the blueberry barrens of central Maine, Bowditch is forced to confront the choices he has made and determine, once and for all, the kind of man he truly is.

— The Bone Orchard by Paul Doiron

A complete list of today's featured titles can be found on the Discounted MystereBooks page on Omnimystery News.

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.

New This Week: Remembering Dresden, A Jack Turner Suspense Novel by Dan Walsh

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 May 2016 and priced $4.99 or less …

Remembering Dresden by Dan Walsh

A Jack Turner Suspense Novel (2nd in series)

Publisher: Bainbridge Press

Price: $4.99 (as of 05/03/2016 at 12:30 PM ET).

  

Click here to take a Look Inside Remembering Dresden.

Young history professor Jack Turner takes a retreat at a lakeside cabin just outside of Culpepper, Georgia to work on his doctoral dissertation. The cabin is owned by an ambitious state senator, an inheritance from his father. Inside, everything is exactly the way it was when the old man died ten years ago.

While taking a break from his research, Jack snoops through the father's books and finds an old photo album filled with black-and-white pictures of orphaned children. Intrigued, he continues searching and finds what appears to be evidence of murder and an old leather journal, handwritten entirely in German. Rachel Cook, Jack's girlfriend, translates the journal for him. What it reveals instantly puts both of their lives in mortal danger.

— Remembering Dresden by Dan Walsh

See also the highly reviewed first book in this series, When Night Comes, for $3.99 on Kindle.

Visit our New Indie MystereBooks page on Omnimystery News for a complete list of titles featured today.

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.