The Rogue Gentleman by Brian Drake is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Rogue Gentleman by Brian Drake as today's third free mystery ebook (A Steve Dane Adventure; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, May 08, 2014 at 7:00 AM 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.

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.

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The Rogue Gentleman
Brian Drake
A Steve Dane Adventure
Publisher: Single Bullet Press

International adventurer Steve Dane never should have set foot in Italy. Witnessing a young woman’s kidnapping, he is drawn into the decades-old vendetta behind the crime.

Hired by the girl's father, racing against time as her life hangs in the balance, Dane battles the mafia who want him dead and the police and international agents who want him out of the way. With the help of his lover, Nina Talikova, Dane plunges along a path that leads him past a mere kidnapping and into an ever-more complex world of high stakes, ruled by a powerful and mysterious woman known only as The Duchess.

Life, it seems, is getting cheaper than Dane could ever imagine and The Duchess has put a price on the ultimate weapon that will make it worthless. Only he and Nina have the power to stop a clock that is ticking away the life of both the girl and the world.

  

Important Note: This book was listed for free 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.

For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.

Blood Bath by Stephen Leather is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Blood Bath by Stephen Leather as today's second free mystery ebook (A Short Story Collection; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, May 08, 2014 at 6:45 AM 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.

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.

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Blood Bath
Stephen Leather
A Short Story Collection
Publisher: Stephen Leather

Supernatural detective Jack Nightingale is called in to investigate a series of bloody murders in a struggling hotel.

"Blood Bath" is a short story written by Stephen Leather, accompanied by six more short stories written by fans inspired by the cover and title.

  

Important Note: This book was listed for free 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.

For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.

Time is of the Essence by Catharine Bramkamp is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Time is of the Essence by Catharine Bramkamp as today's free mystery ebook (A Real Estate Diva Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, May 08, 2014 at 6:30 AM 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.

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.

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Time is of the Essence
Catharine Bramkamp
A Real Estate Diva Mystery
Publisher: A Few Little Books

Claim Jump, CA was founded on the principle of act first and suffer the consequences later. But sometimes sooner becomes the new later.
Over building and over population results in disaster when a firestorm sweeps down the forest and into town.

"I could just make out the car lights through the windows on either side of the front door, there was only one way off the mountain. I wondered if anyone considered that a problem? Stuck in traffic, no alternative routes. What a way to live. What a way to die."

  

Important Note: This book was listed for free 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.

For more free mystery ebooks, visit our Free MystereBooks page.

Havana Lost by Libby Fischer Hellmann is Today's Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Havana Lost by Libby Fischer Hellmann as today's Kindle Daily Deal.

The deal price of $0.99 is valid only for today, Thursday, May 08, 2014.

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Havana Lost
Libby Fischer Hellmann
A Novel of Suspense
The Red Herring Press

On the eve of the Cuban Revolution, headstrong 18-year-old Francesca Pacelli flees from her ruthless Mafia-boss father in Havana to the arms of her lover, a rebel fighting with Fidel Castro. Her father, desperate to send her to safety in the US, resorts to torture and blackmail as he searches the island for her.

So begins the first part of a spellbinding saga that spans three generations of the same family. Decades later, the family is lured back to Cuba by the promise of untold riches. But pursuing those riches brings danger as well as opportunity, and ultimately, Francesca's family must confront the lethal consequences of their choices.

  

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.

Today's Mystery and Suspense Update from Big Fish Games (140508)

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

• Our Featured Title is Relics of Fate: A Penny Macey Mystery.

• The Daily Deal is Vampire Legends: The True Story of Kisilova, just $2.99 today only!

• The current Catch of the Week is Death Upon an Austrian Sonata: A Dana Knightstone Novel, just $2.99 through Sunday, May 11, 2014 only.

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

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Our Featured Title today is Relics of Fate: A Penny Macey Mystery

Newtown's local PI Jack Macey is kidnapped while investigating a series of robberies linked to a mysterious set of relics discovered in the town. You take on the role of Penny, his daughter, who discovers hes missing after finding a letter addressed to her at his office. Explore the town, talk to its inhabitants and solve intriguing puzzles in this exciting Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game!

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

Also available for this game:

• Check out the Blog Walkthrough

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Today's Daily Deal is Vampire Legends: The True Story of Kisilova

Here is an incredible adventure based on the true story of the first documented case of vampirism ever! Who or what is killing the townspeople of Kisilova? You and your partner are sent on an improbable journey by the Imperial Court in Vienna. You must investigate a series of strange deaths in a distant town, Kisilova, a far-off region of the Empire on the banks of the Danube River. The murders occurred under strange circumstances and people are fleeing the town in panic. There is a sense of urgency to solving the mystery, as townspeople are dying and it is up to you to find the culprit and stop the murders. In the end you will discover that things are not as they seem; you must put an end to the tragedy that has struck the unfortunate town of Kisilova.

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour. You can purchase this game today only — Thursday, May 08, 2014 — for $2.99.

Also available for this game:

• Get the Strategy Guide.
• Check out the Blog Walkthrough.
• For a more in-depth experience, see the Collector's Edition.

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The current Catch of the Week is Death Upon an Austrian Sonata: A Dana Knightstone Novel

Return to Europe in a brand new adventure as Dana Knightstone, the best-selling novelist who can see ghosts. When your cousin, famed musician Sebastian Knightstone, starts hearing eerie violin music in his Austrian manor, he asks for your help to investigate. But you're not the only one digging up the ghost's secrets — and you find yourself falling headlong into danger! Solve challenging puzzles as you trek through snowy Austrian landscapes in search of missing clues. Can you follow the ghost's trail before time runs out?

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, May 11, 2014.

Also available for this game:

• Get the Strategy Guide.
• Check out the Blog Walkthrough.
• For a more in-depth experience, see the Collector's Edition.

Review: Murder and Mendelssohn by Kerry Greenwood

A Mysterious Review of Murder and Mendelssohn by Kerry Greenwood. A Phryne Fisher Mystery.

Review summary: Phryne Fisher is drawn into two mysteries, one involving the murder of a conductor and the other involving a brilliant mathematician, who is currently lecturing in Melbourne and has ties to British intelligence, in this latest entry of the series. But it is not one of the better ones, with too much time spent on tangential topics and not enough on the mysteries at hand. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

Murder and Mendelssohn
Kerry Greenwood
A Phryne Fisher Mystery
Poisoned Pen Press (May 2014)

Publisher synopsis: An orchestral conductor has been found dead and Detective Inspector Jack Robinson needs the delightfully incisive and sophisticated Miss Fisher's assistance to enter a world in which he is at sea. Hugh Tregennis, not much liked by anyone, has been murdered in a most flamboyant mode by a killer with a point to prove. But how many killers is Phryne really stalking?

At the same time, the dark curls, disdainful air and the lavender eyes of mathematician and code-breaker Rupert Sheffield are taking Melbourne by storm. They've certainly taken the heart of Phryne's old friend from the trenches of WW1, John Wilson. Phryne recognises Sheffield as a man who attracts danger and is determined to protect John from harm.

Even with the faithful Dot, Mr and Mrs Butler, and all in her household ready to pull their weight, Phryne's task is complex. While Mendelssohn's Elijah, memories of the Great War, and the science of deduction ring in her head, Phryne's past must also play its part as MI6 become involved in the tangled web of murders.

        

Privileged Lives, A Vince Cardozo Mystery by Edward Stewart: 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 Privileged Lives by Edward Stewart. This Kindle book was listed at $1.99 as of the date and time of this post, Wednesday, May 07, 2014 at 5:00 PM ET, and should be available at this price through Sunday, May 11, 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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Privileged Lives by Edward Stewart
A Vince Cardozo Mystery (1st in series)
Publisher: Open Road

In a private suite at a New York hospital, Beatrice "Babe" Vanderwalk Devens awakens from a seven-year coma. The socialite and fashion designer is stunned to learn that her husband, Scottie, was brought to trial twice — and acquitted — for her attempted murder.

Across town, the naked, mutilated body of a young man wearing a black leather bondage mask is found in an empty apartment in the Beaux Arts Tower, high atop the Museum of Modern Art. Seven miles away, off-duty NYPD lieutenant Vince Cardozo is relaxing on a Brooklyn beach with his twelve-year-old daughter when he gets the call.

Cardozo's investigation into the savage murder of the Beaux Arts John Doe takes him into the exclusive lairs of Manhattan's elite. Babe Devens is part of that world. When Cardozo uncovers a shocking connection between the two cases, it could topple more than just high society.

  

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.

A New MystereBook: Porter's Rule – Saving Grace by Adam Rabinowitz

Here is 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 2014 priced $4.99 or less …

Porter's Rule – Saving Grace by Adam Rabinowitz is the first mystery in a new series, introducing crime solving detective Matt Porter.

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Porter's Rule – Saving Grace by Adam Rabinowitz
A Matt Porter Mystery
Publisher: Imagin8 Publishing
Publication Date: May 05, 2014
Price: $3.99 (as of 05/07/14 4:30 PM ET)

Crime solving Detective Matt Porter is a city cop who lives and breathes for justice. He's been single for a while now, and life is going to stay that way. Women, romance and relationships just complicate things. So much so, that Matt lives by his own simple set of rules. Rules which keep him alive. And away from women.

But one morning he meets the beautiful Grace, and despite the warning bells in his head, Matt can't resist the smell of her perfume and the deep sadness she carried in her beautiful green eyes. When two men in black suits threaten to harm Grace, Matt steps in and saves her, and begins breaking all his own rules. But falling for Grace throws Matt into an underworld that destroys everything Matt Porter has worked for.

Now, with his life in ruins, Matt must fight to put his life back together. And face demons from his past. Are his rules strong enough to save him from saving Grace? A fugitive from the law, and hunted by the criminals he seeks to bring to justice, can he solve mystery in time?

  

Important Note: This book was listed for the price indicated on the date and time as shown. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.

Fly by Wire, A Jammer Davis Mystery by Ward Larsen: 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 Fly by Wire by Ward Larsen. This Kindle book was listed at $1.99 as of the date and time of this post, Wednesday, May 07, 2014 at 4:00 PM ET, and should be available at this price through Sunday, May 11, 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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Fly by Wire by Ward Larsen
A Jammer Davis Mystery (2nd in series)
Publisher: Oceanview Publishing

With its revolutionary fly-by-wire technology, the C-500 had become the freight airframe of choice. Until a routine delivery goes horribly wrong.

Falling like a stone from six miles up, a brand new C-500 crashes in central France, killing two pilots aboard. When French officials take over this highly public investigation, they call in the best there is: they call Frank "Jammer" Davis.

A retired U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, Davis is part of the NTSB's "go-team". With a reputation for getting things done-and for steamrolling anyone who gets in his way-Davis starts to dig.But just as Davis starts his investigation, news of the crash is overshadowed by a more spectacular disaster: suicide bombers attack oil refineries worldwide, sending governments and financial markets into a tailspin.

A relentless Davis keeps investigating, but uncovering the cause of the crash, and its terrifying connection to this worldwide disaster, reveals a conspiracy of unthinkable proportions — a conspiracy he might not be able to stop.Jammer Davis won't stop until he gets answers — or until somebody stops him from getting answers.

  

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.

Doing It at the Dixie Dew by Ruth Moose, a New 1st in Series Mystery Introducing Beth McKenzie

We are pleased to present you with one of this month's new 1st in Series mysteries: Doing It at the Dixie Dew by Ruth Moose and introducing Beth McKenzie.

What we know about the character: Beth McKenzie owns the Dixie Dew Bed and Breakfast in Littleboro, North Carolina.

For more information about her first murder, see a synopsis of the book, below.

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Doing It at the Dixie Dew by Ruth Moose
Series: A Beth McKenzie Mystery
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Format(s): Hardcover, eBook

Winner of the 2013 Minotaur Books/Malice Domestic Competition for Best First Traditional Mystery Novel.

When Beth McKenzie returns to her hometown and attempts to turn an old Southern mansion into a bed and breakfast called The Dixie Dew, her first guest is murdered. Three days later a young priest who looks better in tennis whites than cleric black is found strangled in his chapel. The whole town of Littleboro is turned upside down, inside out, and Ossie Delbardo, the town cop whose job heretofore mainly involved controlling football traffic on Friday nights, is not cut out to solve the murders. Beth fears her newly opened B&B is in danger of failing. She's even more worried that she is Ossie's number one suspect. Aided by her friend from high school and trusty handyman, she sets out to discover the truth of the murders.

Littleboro has its share of characters, some of which are helpful and others misleading. There's Crazy Reba who lives in a tree, bathes in any bathtub she finds empty, and Dumpster dives; Verna, the town know-it-all and affectionate owner of Robert Redford, a huge white rabbit; and Miss Tempie Merritt, music teacher and organist who always wears hat, gloves, and lace-trimmed white socks. When Beth herself is attacked, there's no more time for baking muffins and stenciling pineapples on the porch. She's in a race to uncover her neighbors' secrets before her hometown becomes her burial ground.

  

Judgment Call, A Joanna Brady Mystery by J. A. Jance: 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 Judgment Call by J. A. Jance. This Kindle book was listed at $1.99 as of the date and time of this post, Wednesday, May 07, 2014 at 3:00 PM ET, and should be available at this price through Sunday, May 11, 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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Judgment Call by J. A. Jance
A Joanna Brady Mystery (15th in series)
Publisher: William Morrow

When Joanna Brady's daughter Jenny stumbles across the body of her high school principal Debra Highsmith in the desert, the Cochise County sheriff's personal and professional worlds collide. Though she's tried to protect her children from the dangers of the grown-up world, the search for justice leads straight to her own door and forces her to face the possibility that her beloved daughter may be less perfect than she seems.

Yet the deeper Joanna digs, the more complications she uncovers. It seems the quiet, upstanding principal had a hidden past, full of mysterious secrets she'd successfully kept buried for years.

As the seasoned sheriff juggles professional constraints and personal demands, she finds herself walking a fine line between justice and family that has never been so blurred.

  

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 Keeper by John Lescroart, New in Bookstores in May 2014

Today's new hardcover mystery title, scheduled to be published during May 2014 by Atria Books, is The Keeper by John Lescroart.

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

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The Keeper
John Lescroart
Series: Dismas Hardy (15th)

On the evening before Thanksgiving, Hal Chase, a guard in the San Francisco County Jail, drives to the airport to pick up his step-brother for the weekend. When they return, Hal's wife, Katie, has disappeared without a clue.

By the time Dismas Hardy hears about this, Katie has been missing for five days. The case strikes close to home because Katie had been seeing Hardy's wife, a marriage counselor. By this time, the original Missing Persons case has become a suspected homicide, and Hal is the prime suspect. And the lawyer he wants for his defense is none other than Hardy himself.

Hardy calls on his friend, former homicide detective Abe Glitsky, to look into the case. At first it seems like the police might have it right; the Chases' marriage was fraught with problems; Hal's alibi is suspect; the life insurance policy on Katie was huge. But Glitsky's mission is to identify other possible suspects, and there proves to be no shortage of them: Patti Orosco — rich, beautiful, dangerous, and Hal's former lover; the still unknown person who had a recent affair with Katie; even Hal's own step-mother Ruth, resentful of Katie's gatekeeping against her grandchildren. And as Glitsky probes further, he learns of an incident at the San Francisco jail, where Hal works — only one of many questionable inmate deaths that have taken place there. Then, when Katie's body is found not three blocks from the Chase home, Homicide arrests Hal and he finds himself an inmate in the very jail where he used to work, a place full of secrets he knows all too well.

Against this backdrop of conspiracy and corruption, ambiguous motives and suspicious alibis, an obsessed Glitsky closes in on the elusive truth. As other deaths begin to pile up he realizes, perhaps too late, that the next victim might be himself.

        

New from Alibi: The Garden Plot by Marty Wingate

Alibi is a digital-only imprint of Random House dedicated to publishing mystery and thriller titles.

We've selected one of their recently released ebooks to feature here today …

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The Garden Plot by Marty Wingate
A Pru Parke, Potting Shed Mystery
Publisher: Alibi
Publication Date: May 06, 2014
Price: $2.99 (as of 05/07/14 2:00 PM ET)

Originally published in ebook format in 2011, this is a new release of this debut mystery.

Pru Parke always dreamed of living in England. And after the Dallas native follows an impulse and moves to London, she can't imagine ever leaving — though she has yet to find a plum position as a head gardener. Now, as the sublet on her flat nears its end, the threat of forced departure looms. Determined to stay in her beloved adopted country, Pru takes small, private gardening jobs throughout the city.

On one such gig in Chelsea, she makes an extraordinary find. Digging in the soil of a potting shed, Pru uncovers an ancient Roman mosaic. But enthusiasm over her discovery is soon dampened when, two days later, she finds in the same spot a man's bludgeoned corpse. As the London police swarm her worksite, ever inquisitive Pru can't quite manage to distance herself from the investigation — much to the dismay of stern Detective Chief Inspector Christopher Pearse. It seems that, much as he tries, even handsome DCI Pearse can't keep Pru safe from a brutal killer who thinks she's already dug up too much.

  

Important Note: This book was listed for the price indicated on the date and time as shown. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.

Murder Gone A-Rye by Nancy J. Parra, New on The Mystery Bookshelf in May 2014

Today's featured paperback original mystery title, scheduled to be published during May 2014 by Berkley Prime Crime, is Murder Gone A-Rye by Nancy J. Parra.

For a list of more new paperback mysteries, thrillers, and novels of suspense published this month, visit our Mystery Bookshelf page for May 2014. For hardcover titles, visit New Mysteries for a selection of books published during May 2014.

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Murder Gone A-Rye
Nancy J. Parra
Series: A Toni Ryder, Baker's Treat Mystery

Toni Holmes is the best gluten-free baker in Oiltop, Kansas — okay, she's the only one — but when her grandmother becomes a murder suspect, she's more concerned with keeping Grandma free …

When Toni's beloved — and eccentric — grandma Ruth is arrested for the murder of her archenemy, Lois Striker, it's time for a senior moment of truth. Telltale tracks from a scooter like the one Grandma Ruth rides lead the police to suspect the outspoken oldster, but Toni knows her grandmother wouldn't burn a cookie, let alone extinguish a life.

In fact, the case has Grandma more revved up than her infamous scooter. A former investigative journalist, she decides to solve the murder herself — with help from Toni — by digging up long-buried town secrets. But as Grandma scoots in where others fear to tread, Toni needs to make sure she not only stays out of jail but out of harm's way …