Saturday, September 06, 2014

Mystery Bestsellers for the Week Ending September 06, 2014

Bestselling Crime Fiction: Hardcover Mysteries, Suspense Novels and Thrillers

A list of the top 15 Mystery Hardcover Bestsellers for the week ending September 6th, 2014 has been posted by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

Last week's featured title, The Long Way Home by Louise Penny, takes over the top spot this week.

Three new titles enter the list this week; debut position in [brackets].

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Personal by Lee Child

[8]: Personal
Lee Child
— The Jack Reacher Series (19th)

Someone has taken a shot at the president of France in the City of Light. The bullet was American. The distance between the gunman and the target was exceptional. How many snipers can shoot from three-quarters of a mile with total confidence? Very few, but John Kott — an American marksman gone bad — is one of them. And after fifteen years in prison, he's out, unaccounted for, and likely drawing a bead on a G-8 summit packed with enough world leaders to tempt any assassin.

If anyone can stop Kott, it's the man who beat him before: Reacher. And though he'd rather work alone, Reacher is teamed with Casey Nice, a rookie analyst who keeps her cool with Zoloft. But they're facing a rough road, full of ruthless mobsters, Serbian thugs, close calls, double-crosses — and no backup if they're caught. All the while Reacher can't stop thinking about the woman he once failed to save. But he won't let that that happen again. Not this time. Not Nice.

Reacher never gets too close. But now a killer is making it personal.

Purchase Options

Amazon.com Print/Kindle Edition  Barnes&Noble Print/Nookbook Edition  Apple iBookstore eBook  Kobo eBook  The Book Depository: Free Worldwide Shipping

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The Secret Place by Tana French

[10]: The Secret Place
Tana French
— The Dublin Murder Squad Series (5th)

The photo on the card shows a boy who was found murdered, a year ago, on the grounds of a girls' boarding school in the leafy suburbs of Dublin. The caption says, I KNOW WHO KILLED HIM.

Detective Stephen Moran has been waiting for his chance to get a foot in the door of Dublin's Murder Squad — and one morning, sixteen-year-old Holly Mackey brings him this photo. "The Secret Place," a board where the girls at St. Kilda's School can pin up their secrets anonymously, is normally a mishmash of gossip and covert cruelty, but today someone has used it to reignite the stalled investigation into the murder of handsome, popular Chris Harper. Stephen joins forces with the abrasive Detective Antoinette Conway to find out who and why.

But everything they discover leads them back to Holly's close-knit group of friends and their fierce enemies, a rival clique — and to the tangled web of relationships that bound all the girls to Chris Harper. Every step in their direction turns up the pressure. Antoinette Conway is already suspicious of Stephen's links to the Mackey family. St. Kilda's will go a long way to keep murder outside their walls. Holly's father, Detective Frank Mackey, is circling, ready to pounce if any of the new evidence points toward his daughter. And the private underworld of teenage girls can be more mysterious and more dangerous than either of the detectives imagined.

Purchase Options

Amazon.com Print/Kindle Edition  Barnes&Noble Print/Nookbook Edition  Apple iBookstore eBook  Kobo eBook  The Book Depository: Free Worldwide Shipping

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Murder 101 by Faye Kellerman

[14]: Murder 101
Faye Kellerman
— The Peter Decker and Rina Lazarus Series (22nd)

As a detective lieutenant with the LAPD, Peter Decker witnessed enough ugliness and chaos for a lifetime. Now he and his spirited wife, Rina Lazarus, are ready to enjoy the quiet beauty of upstate New York, where they can be closer to their four adult children, grandchildren, and their foster son, Gabe.

But working for the Greenbury Police Department isn't as fulfilling as Decker hoped. While Rina has adapted beautifully to their new surroundings, Decker is underwhelmed and frustrated by his new partner, Tyler McAdams, a former Harvard student and young buck with a bad attitude. Just when he thinks he's made a mistake, Decker is called to an actual crime — a possible break-in at the local cemetery.

The call seems like a false alarm until it's discovered that a mausoleum's stunning Tiffany panels have been replaced by forgeries. Soon the case escalates into murder: a co-ed at an exclusive consortium of liberal-arts colleges is brutally slaughtered. Poking into the hallowed halls of academia to find a killer, Decker and McAdams are drawn deep into a web of nasty secrets, cold-case crimes, international intrigue, and ruthless people who kill for sport.

Suddenly Decker's job is anything but boring, and the case might be too much to handle for a sleepy town that hasn't seen a murder for nearly a quarter century. Decker will need to use every bit of his keen mind, his thirty years of experience as a homicide cop, and much-appreciated help from family and old friends to stop a callous killer and uncover a cabal so bizarre that it defies logic.

Purchase Options

Amazon.com Print/Kindle Edition  Barnes&Noble Print/Nookbook Edition  Apple iBookstore eBook  Kobo eBook  The Book Depository: Free Worldwide Shipping

Enter to Win — Plagues of Eden by Sharon Linnéa and B.K. Sherer

Enter to Win Plagues of Eden by Sharon Linnéa and B.K. Sherer

Omnimystery News invites you to Enter to Win a copy of Plagues of Eden by Sharon Linnéa and B.K. Sherer, courtesy of Arundel Publishing.

One (1) winner will receive a copy of …

Title: Plagues of Eden
Author: Sharon Linnéa and B.K. Sherer
Series: An Eden Thriller
Publisher: Arundel Publishing
Format: Trade Paperback
List Price: $9.95

Use the form below to submit your entry. One entry per person; US residents only. Entry period ends Saturday, September 13, 2014. (If you cannot see the entry form, use this link.)

Synopsis: Tel-Al-Balamum, Egypt. The dig of an ancient temple is decimated by fiery hail from the heavens. And that's only the beginning.

Buenos Aires. Paris. West Point. The countdown has begun.

Only Army Chaplain Jaime Richards, along with rock star Mark Shepard, can stop the catastrophe and save the mysterious Sword 23 from the clutches of a psychopath … if they can find the true mastermind in time.

Plagues of Eden by Sharon Linnéa and B.K. Sherer

Please Welcome Crime Novelist Christopher Meeks

Omnimystery News: Guest Post by Christopher Meeks
with Christopher Meeks

We are delighted to welcome mystery author Christopher Meeks to Omnimystery News today.

Chris's new crime thriller is A Death in Vegas (White Whisker Books; July 2014 trade paperback and ebook formats).

We asked Chris what led him to write books in our favorite genre, and he titles his guest post for us today "Why Crime?".

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Christopher Meeks
Photo provided courtesy of
Christopher Meeks

My wife loves watching bludgeoning shows. This is our term for real-crime series such as 20/20, 48 Hours, and Dateline. Their stories, more times than not, cover serial killers or one spouse knocking off the other for profit or for the love of another.

For instance, a wife wants to divorce her husband, and then she doesn't pick up the kids after work one night. Days later, her body, cut into sections, floats to the top of a lake in garbage bags. Her husband says, "I was playing basketball with buddies. They can vouch for me." It turns out that when he went to the bathroom, he zipped off and killed her. So much real-life crime is depressing. Yet I write crime books.

Why crime? I began with short stories, moved into literary fiction, and now with Blood Drama and A Death in Vegas, I'm focusing on bad people doing very bad things. Why? And why don't I like bludgeoning shows?

The real-crime stories can be interesting, but the stories of bad marriages for me quickly became cliché. The husband or wife typically wants a) to cash in on a huge life insurance policy or b) wants to avoid a divorce because the surviving spouse will get the kids, split half an expensive estate, or both.

The motives for serial killers are rarely clear. A hatred of women? A sexual dysfunction? A twisted interpretation of the Bible? In novels, motivation is demanded, but real-life stories often don't sort it out. That makes for an unsatisfying drama. Also, a lot of these shows are simply out to prove that forensic science is amazing.

The crime novel genre's popularity cannot be denied. My mother, my wife, and my father-in-law all have all been voracious readers of mysteries and thrillers, not because they have an interest in law enforcement but because as stories, the drama can be intense. Often, a time element is involved. If so-and-so isn't caught, he'll kill again. The protagonist's life is at stake when confronting the killer or other antagonist. Questions need answering such as who did it and why?

I didn't fall into this because the genre is popular but because I ran out of personal experiences worth examining. After all, many of my short stories and first two novels were based on crazy things from my life. The Brightest Moon of the Century, for instance, was based in part on my moving from Los Angeles to an Alabama trailer park much out of curiosity. What's the South like? It became quite colorful.

I also teach fiction writing to college students, and traditional story structure demands four essential things: 1) a clear protagonist who has 2) a need or desire, and 3) something or someone stands in his way. 4) The stakes should be high. This works for all genres, but crime books as page-turners make these things crystal clear. When I ran out of personal stories, the challenge of this genre appealed to me. I could create a situation, and, like a huge puzzle, figure it out.

This doesn't mean I don't have a personal connection to the story. I always look for ways to connect my experiences. Blood Drama began, for instance, when I corrected my student papers nearly every day at a Starbucks in the lobby of a South Pasadena bank. One day it struck me: what if there were a robbery and I was taken hostage in a getaway?

A Death in Vegas was inspired by a couple I knew who had a beneficial bug company, and I visited their booth once at a Las Vegas convention. I saw models selling all sorts of things in booths and thought if my friends hired a model, she'd have to be a sexy lady bug. What if she turned up dead? Where?

I don't take the genre lightly. I ask people what they're reading, and sometimes I hear "Just a dumb mystery," said as if it's a guilty pleasure. They seem to be saying, "I should be reading literature, but this book is fun." I don't see the genre as dumb. My short stories have often had ordinary people in extraordinary situations, and my sense of absurdity sometimes slips through. My style fits crime.

Even though my mother had been an avid reader of mysteries in particular, I didn't get into it until I came across Raymond Chandler on my own. First, I liked seeing old Los Angeles where there had been bean fields and oil derricks on the way to Santa Monica. The other reason was that Chandler wasn't so much concerned about plot but enmeshed in character and theme, the very things that interested me. When I hit the end of The Big Sleep, and even though there seemed to be no reason for a chauffeur driving off of a pier, I was in awe. I raced through his other books. He showed me the genre was what you made of it.

I've since come to be enamored of novels by Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, Patricia Cornwell, and a few others. My wife loves Lisa Gardner, too. A friend introduced me to a new author, John Lansing, whose The Devil's Necktie simply grabs. So did another novel by a newcomer, The Crack-Up by Eric Christopherson.

Over the years, I've come to see ordinary people mess up big time. They can be friendly but nice people who do terrible things. I love exploring the moral gray areas this shows. Crime can make it clear.

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Christopher Meeks writes stories that have a unique twist all his own. Whether short fiction, a drama, or his novels, each story, while serious, is layered with the odd. He teaches English and fiction writing at Santa Monica College, and Children’s Literature at the Art Center College of Design.

For more information about the author, please visit his website at ChrisMeeks.com or find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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A Death in Vegas by Christopher Meeks

A Death in Vegas
Christopher Meeks
A Crime Thriller

The president of BenBugs, a company that specializes in beneficial bugs for organic gardening, discovers a young woman dead in his Las Vegas hotel suite. She had worked as a sexy lady bug at his convention booth — and he had nothing to do with her death.

While that's being investigated, the FBI raids his booth on a money-laundering scam that he knows nothing about, either. Soon, the coroner doesn't have good news. The police and FBI are against him — and his wife cannot be found. He flees to find the answers.

Amazon.com Print/Kindle Format(s)  BN.com Print/Nook Format(s)

When Nothing Else Was Right by Carol Costa is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

When Nothing Else Was Right by Carol Costa

Omnimystery News is pleased to feature …

When Nothing Else Was Right by Carol Costa

A Dana Sloan Mystery

Publisher: Open Books Press

… as today's third free mystery ebook. This is a repeat freebie that was last featured on our site on July 03, 2012.

When Nothing Else Was Right by Carol Costa, Amazon Kindle format

This title was listed for free as of September 06, 2014 at 7:20 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.

Dana Sloan's investigation into the disappearance of a talented singer, who has run off with money belonging to the mob, is sidetracked when the girl's husband confesses to killing her. The confession is a lie and the case quickly becomes a dangerous web of deceptions and related crimes.

Identity theft, murder, and an attempt on Dana's life send her across the country to find the missing girl before the mob catches up with her. For once, investigative reporter Sloan and her boyfriend, Detective Al Bruno, are working a case together, and uncover new evidence that heals a family torn apart by tragedy nineteen years earlier.

When Nothing Else Was Right by Carol Costa

Dream Queen by Betsy Thornton is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

Dream Queen by Betsy Thornton

Omnimystery News is pleased to feature …

Dream Queen by Betsy Thornton

A Chloe Newcombe Prequel Mystery

Publisher: Mango & Pat

… as today's second free mystery ebook.

Dream Queen by Betsy Thornton, Amazon Kindle format

This title was listed for free as of September 06, 2014 at 7:10 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.

Chloe Newcombe arrives in Arizona from New York City to see her bad boy brother Danny and his new girl friend Kristi who live in Dudley. They stop at a restaurant in a small town on the way to Dudley and Danny disappears, nowhere to be found. Frustrated Chloe and Kristi continue on to Dudley, but the next day Kristi disappears too.

Chloe begins a search for her brother and for answers that take her deep into a past that changes the way she thinks about everything.

Dream Queen by Betsy Thornton

Misfortune Cookies by Linda P. Kozar is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

Misfortune Cookies by Linda P. Kozar

Omnimystery News is pleased to feature …

Misfortune Cookies by Linda P. Kozar

An Until the Fat Lady Sings Mystery

Publisher: Linda P. Kozar

… as today's free mystery ebook.

Misfortune Cookies by Linda P. Kozar, Amazon Kindle format

This title was listed for free as of September 06, 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.

Best friends Sue Jan and Lovita run a beauty shop/boutique in the little West Texas town of Wachita. They share a passion of food and fun. But one day, over lunch in a Chinese restaurant, Lovita opens a fortune cookie with a sinister message: "Your father was murdered …", a clue that leads them to God, an international spy ring and several devastatingly handsome strangers.

A most unlikely pair of detectives, these girlfriends "Comb" the countryside with style, sarcasm, and lots of Szechwan.

Misfortune Cookies by Linda P. Kozar

Today's Mystery and Suspense Update from Big Fish Games (140906)

Big Fish Games

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

• The New Release is Mayan Prophecies: Blood Moon.

• The Daily Deal is Clockwork Tales: Of Glass and Ink, just $2.99 today only!

• The current Catch of the Week is Spirits of Mystery: The Dark Minotaur, just $2.99 through Sunday, September 07, 2014 only.

• Today's Special Deal — End of Summer Sale! All Games Are 60% Off this weekend only! Use coupon code SUMMER at check-out to purchase any Collector's Edition game for $7.99 or use coupon code SUNSET for Standard Edition games at just $3.99. Offer valid through September 7th, 2014 only until 11:59 PM PT.

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

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Mayan Prophecies: Blood Moon

The New Release is Mayan Prophecies: Blood Moon

Wild jaguars are running loose down the streets of a coastal South American town, but this is no act of nature — a hooded man is transforming people into jaguars and controlling them! U.S. Coast Guard Officers Alexis and Gregory are on the case, but they're up against a mighty foe. A young Mayan priestess claims that the Jaguar God is behind the attacks, continuing a war with the Moon Goddess that has raged for centuries. You'll need all your skills to save the world from erupting into chaos in this thrilling Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game.

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

Also available for this game:

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Clockwork Tales: Of Glass and Ink

Today's Daily Deal is Clockwork Tales: Of Glass and Ink

Earthquakes are causing cities around the world to crumble! Dr. Ambrose Ink, one of the foremost scientific minds, has vowed to stop this unnatural phenomenon. All the clues point to Castle Barber, overlooking the quiet mountain town of Hochwald. Shortly after arriving though, Dr. Ink vanishes. Now it's up to you, Agent Evangeline Glass, to save him. You'll have to think fast to outwit soldiers, golems, and a crafty mechanical genius who always plans one step ahead. Stop the earthquakes before more cities fall in this thrilling Hidden-Object Puzzle Adventure game.

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

Also available for this game:

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Spirits of Mystery: The Dark Minotaur

The current Catch of the Week is Spirits of Mystery: The Dark Minotaur

In the dark of night, an elusive figure breaks in to the royal menagerie and steals four magic animals, your childhood companions and dearest friends. It is up to you to save them! Take the journey to discover more about the Dark Minotaur who threatens the magical world. Can you save them in time?

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

Also available for this game:

Friday, September 05, 2014

New This Week: The Destruction of Neva, An Ardis Cole Mystery by Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson

The Destruction of Neva by Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson

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 September 2014 and priced $4.99 or less …

The Destruction of Neva by Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson

An Ardis Cole Mystery (5th in series)

Publisher: Rowe Publishing

Price: $3.99 (as of 09/05/2014 at 5:30 PM ET).

The Destruction of Neva by Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson, Amazon Kindle format

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.

Ardis Cole is summoned to Russia to help Grant Merlin's friend, Nikolai Savik, locate a priceless marble statue called Neva. The life-sized sculpture vanished along with the artist, Nikolai's uncle Treve Savik, seven years ago. Most people believe Treve destroyed his masterpiece then committed suicide after being jilted by the statue's beautiful model, Varina Morinsky.

On the way to the Savik mansion Ardis is nearly pushed to her death in the Moscow subway. Once in St. Petersburg instead of finding the sculpture, Ardis discovers the grave of a murder victim, buried for seven years.

The search for the missing sculpture becomes a hunt for a dangerous killer — one who will not hesitate to strike again.

The Destruction of Neva by Vickie Britton and Loretta Jackson

The Hot Spot, A Crime Thriller by Charles Willliams, Now Available at a Special Price

The Hot Spot by Charles Willliams

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, Open Road …

The Hot Spot by Charles Willliams

A Crime Thriller

Publisher: Open Road

Price: $1.99 (as of 09/05/2014 at 5:00 PM ET).

The Hot Spot by Charles Willliams, Amazon Kindle format

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.

For Madox, a dull town, a beautiful woman, and an easy bank heist spell doom …

In a town so small that Main Street is only three blocks long, there isn't a lot to do — other than work, ogle women, and think about fast ways to get rich. After a year of aimless wandering, Madox has landed here, nearly broke and with no prospects but a dead-end job selling cars to yokels.

Until one afternoon a fire at the burger joint draws the attention of everyone in town — including the men who are supposed to be guarding the bank. It's almost too good to be true, but there it is — $15,000 lying around, watched by no one. Now all Madox needs is a little nerve and a second distraction. And while one woman will give him the nerve, another will make him ready to kill.

The Hot Spot by Charles Willliams

New This Week: Falling Apart at the Edges, A Suspense Thriller by Maynard Sims

Falling Apart at the Edges by Maynard Sims

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 September 2014 and priced $4.99 or less …

Falling Apart at the Edges by Maynard Sims

A Suspense Thriller

Publisher: Maynard Sims

Price: $3.99 (as of 09/05/2014 at 4:30 PM ET).

Falling Apart at the Edges by Maynard Sims, Amazon Kindle format

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.

John Blake fights crime the only way he knows how, fast and dirty. There is a killer on the streets and John has to track him down.

When his wife is kidnapped and he has to find her, his personal life starts to spin out of control. Blake has his own set of moral codes that allow him to challenge the evils he sees on the streets on his own terms. But can he win his battles and save his marriage and his career?

Falling Apart at the Edges by Maynard Sims

As the Pig Turns, An Agatha Raisin Mystery by M. C. Beaton, Now Available at a Special Price

As the Pig Turns by M. C. Beaton

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 …

As the Pig Turns by M. C. Beaton

An Agatha Raisin Mystery (22nd in series)

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Price: $2.99 (as of 09/05/2014 at 4:00 PM ET).

As the Pig Turns by M. C. Beaton, Amazon Kindle format

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.

Winter Parva is a "picturesque" (touristy) Cotswold village with gift shops, a medieval market hall, and thatched cottages. After a disappointing Christmas season, the parish council has decided to hold a special event in January, complete with old-fashioned costumes, morris dancing, and a pig roast on the village green.

Always one for a good roasting, Agatha Raisin organizes an outing to enjoy the merriment. The rotary spit turning over a bed of blazing charcoals is sure to please on this foggy and blistery evening. But as the fog lifts slightly, the sharp-eyed Agatha notices something peculiar about the pig: a tattoo of a heart with an arrow through it and the name Amy.

As the Pig Turns by M. C. Beaton

The Joke House Mystery by David A. Adler, a New Cam Jansen Mystery

The Joke House Mystery by David A. Adler

Omnimystery News is pleased to present in this post a new First Clues: Mysteries for Kids series title published this month …

The Joke House Mystery by David A. Adler

Series: Cam Jansen

Publisher: Viking

Format(s): Hardcover, eBook

Recommended for Junior Sleuths, Ages 7 to 9

The Joke House Mystery by David A. Adler, Amazon Kindle format

For more information about the book, see a synopsis, below.

Aunt Molly has entered a joke-telling contest at a local comedy club and Cam, her best friend Eric, and Mr. Jansen are in the audience to watch her perform. The prizes are exciting, but the competition is stiff — there's a prop comic, a knock-knock joker, and more! As the show starts, Cam notices that one of the prizes, an engraved silver plate, has disappeared. Suddenly, everyone in the club becomes a suspect.

Can Cam solve the mystery of the missing prize or will she be laughed out of the Joke House?

The Joke House Mystery by David A. Adler

Graveyard of Memories, A John Rain Thriller by Barry Eisler, Now Available at a Special Price

Graveyard of Memories by Barry Eisler

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, Thomas & Mercer …

Graveyard of Memories by Barry Eisler

A John Rain Thriller (8th in series)

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Price: $1.99 (as of 09/05/2014 at 3:00 PM ET).

Graveyard of Memories by Barry Eisler, Amazon Kindle format

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.

What makes a legendary assassin? For John Rain, it was the lessons of love, war, and betrayal he learned in Tokyo in 1972 …

Fresh from the killing fields of Southeast Asia, Rain works as a bagman under the watchful eye of his CIA handler, delivering cash to corrupt elements of the Japanese government. But when a delivery goes violently wrong, Rain finds himself in the crosshairs of Japan's most powerful yakuza clan. To survive, Rain strikes a desperate deal with his handler: take out a high-profile target in the Japanese government in exchange for the intel he needs to eliminate his would-be executioners.

As Rain plays cat and mouse with the yakuza and struggles to learn his new role as contract killer, he also becomes entangled with Sayaka, a tough, beautiful ethnic Korean woman confined to a wheelchair. But the demands of his dark work are at odds with the longings of his heart — and with Sayaka's life in the balance, Rain will have to make a terrible choice.

Graveyard of Memories by Barry Eisler

Tomorrow's Vengeance by Marcia Talley, New in Bookstores during September 2014

Tomorrow's Vengeance by Marcia Talley

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

Tomorrow's Vengeance by Marcia Talley

A Hannah Ives Mystery (13th in series)

Publisher: Severn House

Tomorrow's Vengeance by Marcia Talley, Amazon Kindle format  Tomorrow's Vengeance by Marcia Talley, Nook format  Tomorrow's Vengeance by Marcia Talley, Kobo format

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

More about our featured title, below …

While at Calvert Colony, a life care community centre in Maryland, and at lunch with her friend, retired mystery author and amateur painter L.K. "Naddie" Bromley and her neighbour Sophia Milanesi, who survived the closing years of the Second World War in a convent in Italy, Hannah meets Filomena Buccho, a personable young Argentine server. Her brother, Raniero, also works at the Colony as chef.

But when Masud Abaza and his wife, Safa, move into the community and Masud is found murdered, his head bashed in by a croquet mallet, suspicion falls on Raniero, who has made no secret of his neo-Fascist sentiments. Hannah and Naddie agree to investigate, uncovering old crimes and reigniting ancient quarrels that know no boundaries of place or time.

Tomorrow's Vengeance by Marcia Talley

The Trouble with Tulip, A Smart Chick Mystery by Mindy Starns Clark, Now Available at a Special Price

The Trouble with Tulip by Mindy Starns Clark

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, Harvest House Publishers …

The Trouble with Tulip by Mindy Starns Clark

A Smart Chick Mystery (1st in series)

Publisher: Harvest House Publishers

Price: $0.99 (as of 09/05/2014 at 2:00 PM ET).

All three books in this series — which includes Blind Dates Can Be Murder and Elementary, My Dear Watkins — are currently available for 99 cents each (as of the date and time of this post).

The Trouble with Tulip by Mindy Starns Clark, Amazon Kindle format

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.

Josephine Tulip is definitely a smart chick, a twenty — first century female MacGyver who writes a helpful hints column and solves mysteries in her spare time. Her best friend, Danny, is a talented photographer who longs to succeed in his career … perhaps a cover photo on National Geographic?

When Jo's next — door neighbor is accused of murder, Jo realizes the police have the wrong suspect. As she and Danny analyze clues, follow up on leads, and fall in and out of trouble, she recovers from a broken heart and he discovers that he has feelings for her. Will Danny have the courage to reveal them, or will he continue to hide them behind a façade of friendship?

The Trouble with Tulip by Mindy Starns Clark

Rebel Without a Cake by Jacklyn Brady, New on the Mystery Bookshelf during September 2014

Rebel Without a Cake by Jacklyn Brady

New on the Mystery Bookshelf during September 2014 …

Rebel Without a Cake by Jacklyn Brady

The Rita Lucero, Piece of Cake Series (5th)

Publisher: Berkley

Rebel Without a Cake by Jacklyn Brady, Amazon Kindle format

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

More about our featured title, below …

In the still of the night …

Halloween is approaching, and the co-owners of Zydeco Cakes, Rita Lucero and her former mother-in-law, Miss Frankie, have scored a sweet treat — a fantastic catering opportunity that could lead to a rich future for their bakery. But their good news is quickly rattled by a bump in the night when Miss Frankie's neighbor, Bernice, barrels into her kitchen toting a Bible and a gun, and serves up a story about a ghost at her window.

Bernice swears she just saw the ghost of her moonshiner uncle who disappeared in the swamp fifteen years ago. And when her cousin soon goes missing in the same swamp, Bernice is certain someone's playing a nasty trick, and convinces Rita and Miss Frankie to help her investigate. They'll just need to watch their steps, as these ladies are liable to get mired in a very swampy mystery …

Rebel Without a Cake by Jacklyn Brady

A Brush with Death, A Penny Brannigan Mystery by Elizabeth J. Duncan, Now Available at a Special Price

A Brush with Death by Elizabeth J. Duncan

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 …

A Brush with Death by Elizabeth J. Duncan

A Penny Brannigan Mystery (2nd in series)

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Price: $1.99 (as of 09/05/2014 at 1:00 PM ET).

A Brush with Death by Elizabeth J. Duncan, Amazon Kindle format

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 Penny Brannigan inherits a charming, old-fashioned cottage in the North Wales town of Llanelen, she soon realizes she has come into more than what real estate agents like to describe as a desirable period property: She's also acquired memories, mystery, and an unsolved, decades-old crime.

As Penny sorts through the belongings of her benefactor, a deceased teacher, she comes upon a packet of letters from a promising young Liverpool artist, A. Jones, who was killed in an accident in 1970. An artist herself, Penny sets out to discover who killed this painter, and is helped by a small group of townsfolk, including her business partner, Victoria Hopkirk.

While at a retrospective art exhibition in Liverpool, Penny recognizes what she believes to be a watercolor painted by Jones. But it is attributed to another artist, leading her to suspect that art theft was at the heart of the case, and that Jones's death was no accident.

A Brush with Death by Elizabeth J. Duncan

New This Week: Hijack, A Royal Military Police Crime Thriller by Wendy Cartmell

Hijack by Wendy Cartmell

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 September 2014 and priced $4.99 or less …

Hijack by Wendy Cartmell

A Royal Military Police Crime Thriller (2nd in series)

Publisher: Costa Press

Price: $0.99 (as of 09/05/2014 at 12:30 PM ET).

Hijack by Wendy Cartmell, Amazon Kindle format

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 hostage situation places the UK Government at the mercy of its worst enemies — terrorists returning from Syria, bringing the ISIS Jihad to the shores of Britain …

When a tranquil train journey over the Ribblehead Viaduct, a 100' structure high on the Yorkshire Moors, turns into something far more dangerous, Sgt Billy Williams of the Royal Military Police, a branch of the British Army, becomes self-appointed champion of the hostages.

Sgt Major Crane and Corporal Dudley-Jones toil away in the background, working with military leaders and the intelligence services, to bringing the hijacking to a safe conclusion. But can British police detective Mike Keane negotiate with the terrorists to get the hostages out alive? Can anyone reason with a psychotic killer?

Hijack by Wendy Cartmell

Triggerfish Twist, A Serge Storms Mystery by Tim Dorsey, Now Available at a Special Price

Triggerfish Twist by Tim Dorsey

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, HarperCollins …

Triggerfish Twist by Tim Dorsey

A Serge Storms Mystery (4th in series)

Publisher: HarperCollins

Price: $0.99 (as of 09/05/2014 at 12:00 PM ET).

Chronologically, this title would be the first in the series.

Triggerfish Twist by Tim Dorsey, Amazon Kindle format

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.

Ensconced in a lovely tropical villa on idyllic Triggerfish Lane, Jim Davenport anticipates the good life to come. But this isn't living — it's Florida, and the neighborhood is not quite what it seems. It's got overly aggressive Little League parents, drug-free Rastafarians, homicidal hookers, unnatural sex and casual violence.

Oh, yes, and there's a psychopathic serial killer-cum-Sunshine-State folklorist named Serge A. Storms living directly across the street. So it's only a matter of time before Jim up and actually kills somebody …

Triggerfish Twist by Tim Dorsey

A Conversation with Thriller Writer Sharon Linnéa

Omnimystery News: Author Interview with Sharon Linnéa
with Sharon Linnéa

We are delighted to welcome novelist Sharon Linnéa to Omnimystery News today.

Sharon's fourth "Eden Thriller" — co-written with B.K. Sherer — is Plagues of Eden (Arundel Publishing; September 2014 trade paperback and ebook formats) and we recently had the opportunity to spend some time with her to talk about the new book and the series in general.

— ♦ —

Omnimystery News: Introduce us to the principal characters of the Eden Thrillers.

Sharon Linnéa
Photo provided courtesy of
Sharon Linnéa

Sharon Linnéa: Army Chaplain Jaime Richards and the mysterious Sword 23, also known as Yani, adventure together through the Eden Thrillers. I love Jaime because, while she is an Army chaplain, and very good at what she does, she is also a flesh-and-blood woman who has a sense of humor, a temper, screws up sometimes and is sometimes deeply wounded by what goes on in the process of saving the world. But, like the rest of us, she has to challenge herself, and her beliefs, and get on with it. I write the Eden Thrillers with my best friend from childhood, B.K. Sherer, who happens to be an active duty Army chaplain. I love getting to play around inside that world.

We also love the character of Yani. First, he sexy as hell. He also gives us a chance to send an altruistic person who is highly trained into situations where writers usually send James Bond-type people with guns. Yani goes in with nothing but his wits (and, well, okay, he can incapacitate or kill you with his hands if he has to). But it gives us a chance to ask if there might not be another way to handle life-threatening situations that is more effective and equally sexy.

OMN: How have these characters changed from the first book in the series, Chasing Eden?

SL: The fun and challenge of the series is to have our characters evolve over time. The plot exists to pierce the character where s/he is wounded and make her decide to either fight or die. It's fun, too, having Jaime and Yani in a relationship, so that can evolve over time, also. They're two very different and very interesting folks to journey with.

OMN: How difficult is it as a female author to find the right voice for the male characters?

SL: It's an interesting question. We have two main characters, and it was very important to us that the primary protagonist was a woman. However, the other main character is a man. I do believe that men and women think differently, which gives their interactions and partnerships spice and verve. But honestly, it does seem rather humorous to think about the challenge of finding the right voice for an opposite-sex character when we're also writing in the voice of psychopaths, megalomaniacs and (in Plagues) a young boy with autism. Finding and respecting the voice of every character is an author's duty and privilege. For me, it's also where the greatest expenditure of emotional energy goes.

OMN: If you were asked to select a fiction genre (or subgenre) into which to place this series, what would it be?

SL: Plagues of Eden is definitely a thriller. But then, we're often asked to "pick one" and given a list that includes: international thriller, contemporary thriller, action/adventure thriller, military thriller, religious thriller, romantic thriller … and the answer to all of those is "yes." So, how do you pick?

OMN: How much of your own personal or professional experience have you included in the books?

SL: The Eden Thrillers follow the adventures of Army Chaplain Jaime Richards, and my co-author is an active duty military chaplain. So yes, a lot of Jaime's background and experiences are supplied by B.K. — although Jaime is certainly not based on B.K.! But Chasing Eden, the first of the Eden thrillers, takes place in Iraq during the opening days of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and B.K. happened to have been in many of those same places during that same time. Truth is, there's no way I could write these books without B.K. Many, many things can be researched and brought to fiction, but military people can spot a civilian doing her best about a million miles away. One tiny error in uniform or speech or command, and you've lost them. B.K. brings that authenticity and authority.

OMN: How do you manage the writing process with two authors?

SL: Writing thrillers with a co-author that have so many characters, things have to be pretty well mapped out. It's crucial to know who knows what when. Plagues of Eden was especially challenging because the characters were also in different time zones all over the world — sometimes things that were happening concurrently were happening on different days. It was a challenge!

But then, once you get through a first draft, you quickly realize which characters have much more blossoming to do to make the story what it needs to be. So yes, many characters take off on their own — within the confines of the story.

OMN: Did you and B.K. work in separate locations while writing Plagues of Eden?

SL: A fun thing about this book is that a lot of it is set at West Point, and we were able to write a lot of it at B.K.'s quarters at West Point.

OMN: You mentioned how important it is to get the details right. How did you go about researching the plot points of the series?

SL: We're very picky about the Eden Thrillers being exhaustively researched. We create the characters, but the planes they fly in, the places they visit, the things they know and talk about, are all real. We now know the architectural requirements of building in Paris, how many stories the Eiffel Tower is (and how many steps to come down), inheritance laws in France, and wine making in China. Often we do change the names of things, such as the winery in China, but we are describing a real place. Sometimes we do take liberties with a real place — but only in ways people can't disprove. Although I doubt there's a nefarious command center beneath the Castel Del Monte in Italy, but you never know.

We usually start with locations we love and know well — which is why it's often handy to have B.K. around. Everything we describe about the secret places in West Point's Cadet Chapel actually exist. Of course.

OMN: Complete this sentence for us: "I am a thriller writer and thus I am also …".

SL: … someone who acknowledges her dark side and insatiable curiosity about the world!

OMN: You used a pen name early in the series. Why was that?

SL: The first Eden Thrillers were published by St. Martin's Press, and their marketing folks insisted we only use one author name instead of two — AND use initials so that "men would buy the book," so they were published under S.L. Linnea.

When Arundel took over the series, we insisted that they use both our names, which they were happy to do.

OMN: Create a Top 5 list for us on any topic.

SL: Top 5 Sexiest Male Characters in Modern Fiction (A Thinking Woman's Guide):

• Jaime Fraser (Outlander)
• Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird)
• Ambrosius (The Crystal Cave)
• Ari Ben Canaan (Exodus)
• Sergeant Mike Flannigan (Mrs. Mike)

(For more information on each of these characters, see Sharon's post on her super-secret Eden blog.)

— ♦ —

Sharon has been a staff writer for five national magazines and a ghostwriter for dozens of celebrities. She lives with her family outside of New York City.

For more information about the author, please visit her website at SharonLinnea.com or find her on Facebook and Twitter.

— ♦ —

Plagues of Eden by Sharon Linnéa and B.K. Sherer

Plagues of Eden
Sharon Linnéa and B.K. Sherer
An Eden Thriller

The wheel spins. Chaos is unleashed. Death of the firstborn. 72 hours and counting … The race is on to stop a madman bent on unleashing the ancient plagues of Egypt against the modern world.

Tel-Al-Balamum, Egypt. The dig of an ancient temple is decimated by fiery hail from the heavens. And that's only the beginning.

Buenos Aires. Paris. West Point. The countdown has begun.

Only Army Chaplain Jaime Richards, along with rock star Mark Shepard, can stop the catastrophe and save the mysterious Sword 23 from the clutches of a psychopath … if they can find the true mastermind in time.

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