Mystery Writers of America Announce 2013 Grand Masters

The Mystery Writers of America have chosen Ken Follett and Margaret Maron as this year's Grand Masters.

MWA's Grand Master Award represents the pinnacle of achievement in mystery writing and was established to acknowledge important contributions to this genre, as well as a body of work that is both significant and of consistent high quality. Mr. Follett and Ms. Maron will be presented with their awards at the Edgar Awards Banquet, which will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on Thursday, May 2, 2013.

Follett is the author of twenty novels, and has sold more than 100 million books since he began writing in the 1970s. His career has been wide reaching and after mastering the mystery genre, he expanded into literary epic fiction, TV, movies and children's books.

"I am delighted and honored," said Follett. "My first successful book, Eye of the Needle, won the Edgar for Best Novel more than thirty years ago. I'm thrilled to know that my fellow writers still hold me in such high regard."

Maron is the author of twenty-six novels and two short story collections. Her first mystery, One Coffee With, was published in 1981 and was the beginning of her Sigrid Harald series featuring a New York City police officer. But it wasn't until 1992, and a fictional return to her North Carolina roots with Bootlegger's Daughter (the first of the Deborah Knott series), that Maron was awarded an Edgar, Agatha, Anthony and Macavity award.

"It still hasn't fully sunk in," said Maron. "I keep remembering my first MWA dinner when I was half-afraid that I would be asked to leave because I only had a few short stories and a half-published book to my name, so how could I possibly belong there with those luminaries? Grand Master? Wow!"

Other awards announced today by the MWA include the recipients of the 2013 Raven Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing: the specialty bookstore The Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego and journalist Oline Cogdill.

Finally, the 2013 Ellery Queen Award will be given to Johnny Temple, founder and editor of Akashic Books. The Ellery Queen award is given to editors or publishers who have distinguished themselves by their generous and wide-ranging support of the genre.

Entangled by Barbara Ellen Brink is Today's Fourth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Entangled by Barbara Ellen Brink as today's fourth free mystery ebook (A Fredrickson Winery Mystery; Kobo and iTunes formats).

This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

A Shot in the Dark by Mackenzie Morgan is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature A Shot in the Dark by Mackenzie Morgan as today's third free mystery ebook (A Tracy Forrester Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

The Disappearance of Mavis Woodstock by Rosalind Burgess and Patricia Obermeier Neuman is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Disappearance of Mavis Woodstock by Rosalind Burgess and Patricia Obermeier Neuman as today's second free mystery ebook (A Val and Kit Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

The Test by Patricia Gussin is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Test by Patricia Gussin as today's free mystery ebook (Kindle format only).

This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

Blood Safari by Deon Meyer is Today's Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Blood Safari by Deon Meyer as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal.

The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Monday, December 03, 2012.

Mystery Godoku Puzzle for December 03, 2012

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!).

— ◊ —

This week's letters and mystery clue:

B E J N O R S U Y

Kathleen McCaul introduces this international news journalist in Murder in the Ashran (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!

Winner of the 2012 Nero Award Announced

The Wolfe Pack held their annual Black Orchid Banquet last night, at which time Though Not Dead by Dana Stabenow was honored with the Nero Award for literary excellence in the mystery genre.

Robert Lopresti was also recognized with the Black Orchid Novella Award for his story "The Red Envelope", which will appear in the July/August, 2013 edition of the Alfred Hitcock Mystery Magazine.

Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (121202)

Here is today's list of the Bestselling Free Kindle Crime Fiction: the top nine mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers.

We're using a script to embed an RSS feed from Amazon.com, which is updated hourly; as an alternative, you can click on the image to the right or use this link to see the relevant page on Amazon.com, which includes a list of both the Top 100 Paid and Top 100 Free Kindle Mysteries and Thrillers.

The Rembrandt Bomb by C. J. Klinger and James C. Moore is Today's Fourth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Rembrandt Bomb by C. J. Klinger and James C. Moore as today's fourth free mystery ebook (The Adventures of Justin Schott and Dr. Colleen Pendleton; Kindle format only).

This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

Russian Roulette by Austin S. Camacho is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Russian Roulette by Austin S. Camacho as today's third free mystery ebook (A Hannibal Jones Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

An Uncluttered Palette by Jean Sheldon is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature An Uncluttered Palette by Jean Sheldon as today's second free mystery ebook (An Art Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

The Wolf's Moon by Patrick Jones is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Wolf's Moon by Patrick Jones as today's free mystery ebook (A Suspense Thriller; Kindle format only).

This title was listed as free as of the date and time of this post. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of purchase will be the price paid for the book. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your transaction.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

The Bloodletter's Daughter by Linda Lafferty is Today's Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Bloodletter's Daughter by Linda Lafferty as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal.

The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Sunday, December 02, 2012.

Cinemystery: Edgar Award Winner Bent Road by Lori Roy Optioned for Film

Lori Roy's debut thriller Bent Road was the winner earlier this year of the Edgar Award for Best First Novel … and now we're learning that Cross Creek Pictures has optioned the book for film. Mark Mallouk has been selected to write the adapted screenplay.

Roy's next book will be published in June 2013: Until She Comes Home, a tale of spellbinding suspense in which a pair of seemingly unrelated murders crumbles the facade of a changing Detroit neighborhood.

MystereBooks: The YA Thriller Don't Turn Around by Michelle Gagnon, Now at a Special Price

Earlier this year crime novelist Michelle Gagnon — author of the "Kelly Jones" mysteries — published her first young adult thriller, Don't Turn Around.

Now, HarperCollins — the book's publisher — has discounted the ebook format to just $1.99 (for a limited time only).

We've provided a summary of the book, below, together with purchase options.

MystereBooks: The Four Julie Collins Mysteries by Lori Armstrong, Now at a Special Kindle Bundle Price

Lori Armstrong is a fourth generation South Dakotan. She left the firearms industry in 2000 to pursue her dream of writing crime/mystery fiction and published her first (of four) books in the "Julie Collins" series in 2005, featuring a private investigator in Bear Butte County, South Dakota.

More recently Armstrong began a new series, also set in South Dakota, featuring Mercy Gunderson, a former Army sniper.

Medallion Press has now made a Kindle ebook bundle of the four "Julie Collins" books available for just $9.99, approximately half off the price of the books when purchased individually.

Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (121201)

Here is today's list of the Bestselling Free Kindle Crime Fiction: the top nine mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers.

We're using a script to embed an RSS feed from Amazon.com, which is updated hourly; as an alternative, you can click on the image to the right or use this link to see the relevant page on Amazon.com, which includes a list of both the Top 100 Paid and Top 100 Free Kindle Mysteries and Thrillers.

100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less — Mystery and Suspense Selection for December 2012

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

We've looked through the December books and listed below those in the "mystery/suspense" category. (Click on the cover/title for more information on the book from Amazon.)

Though the headline is Kindle books for $3.99 or less, all of these mystery/suspense titles are currently priced at either $1.99 or $2.99. Prices are valid for the month of December 2012 only.

MystereBooks: This Week's Update of Kindle Crime Fiction Priced $2.99 or Less (121201)

Every month Amazon publishes a list of 100 Kindle books priced $3.99 or less. We thought we'd take that idea and improve on it, publishing a list of 100 Kindle mystery books priced $2.99 or less and updating it every week!

Here is our general criteria for selecting titles to include: books from major or specialty publishers of crime fiction and those written by authors familiar to us. There are far more than 100 to choose from, so we use our best judgment to narrow it down.

And just a reminder … as we add new titles, older ones are removed from the list. These books aren't likely to be repeated, so we encourage you to check in frequently!

A few notes before we get to today's lengthy list …

• Today is the first of the month, which means Amazon has updated its list of 100 books. We've looked through the mystery titles and will report on them later today, but we haven't duplicated any of them on today's update.

• We try to keep close tabs on Poisoned Pen Press but apparently not close enough! Sometime this past week the specialty mystery publisher lowered the price on a number of its titles. We caught a few, reporting on them mid-week, but missed some others. We've added those we made note of today to our update, but in case we missed one or two, here is a link to all of the publisher's titles, sorted by price.

• Signet has lowered the price on a number of its Mickey Spillane titles to $2.99 or less, including the first "Mike Hammer" mystery, I, the Jury. We haven't included any here, but encourage you to use this link to see a list.