Review: Whack Job by Kendel Lynn

A Mysterious Review of Whack Job by Kendel Lynn. An Elliott Lisbon Mystery.

Review summary: It's hard to become invested in this cozy mystery as the narrative lacks focus with the storyline bouncing between its various subplots. Though fast-paced with some admittedly appealing aspects to the story, it nonetheless takes something of an effort to finish the book. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

Whack Job
Kendel Lynn
An Elliott Lisbon Mystery
Henery Press (May 2014)

Publisher synopsis: Elliott Lisbon blends her directorship of the Ballantyne Foundation with her PI-in-Training status by planning parties and performing discreet inquiries for charitable patrons. But when the annual Wonderland Tea Party makes everyone go mad as a hatter, Elli gets pulled into a shooting, a swindle, and the hunt for a Fabergé egg.

From seedy pawn parlors to creepy antique shops, Sea Pine Island's other half prove to be as wacky as the wealthy. Elli falls farther down the rabbit hole and finds a scheming salesman, a possessive paramour, a dead donor — everything but a bottle labeled "Drink Me." As events evolve from curious to crazy, Elli gets lost in the maze and finds herself trapped in a house of cards with a killer.

        

Splendour Falls, A Novel of Romantic Suspense by Susanna Kearsley, 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 feature the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, Sourcebooks Landmark …

Splendour Falls by Susanna Kearsley

A Novel of Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

Price: $1.99 (as of 08/20/2014 at 5:00 PM ET).

  

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.

An ancient castle, a tragic love, and a web of secrets begins to unravel …

Emily Braden has stopped believing in fairy tales and happy endings. When her fascinating but unreliable cousin Harry invites her on a holiday to explore the legendary own of Chinon, and promptly disappears — well, that's Harry for you.

As Emily makes the acquaintance of Chinon and its people, she begins to uncover dark secrets beneath the charm. Legend has it that during a thirteenth-century siege of the castle that looms over the city, Queen Isabelle, child bride of King John, hid a "treasure of great price." And in the last days of the German occupation during World War II, another Isabelle living in Chinon, a girl whose love for an enemy soldier went tragically awry.

As the dangers of the past become disastrously real, Emily is drawn ever more deeply into a labyrinth of mystery as twisted as the streets and tunnels of the ancient town itself.

— Splendour Falls by Susanna Kearsley

New This Week: Last Hope Alaska, A Novel of Romantic Suspense by Linda Trout

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 August 2014 and priced $4.99 or less …

Last Hope Alaska by Linda Trout

A Novel of Romantic Suspense

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Price: $4.99 (as of 08/20/2014 at 4:30 PM ET).

  

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.

Emily Redfern's ex-fiancé learned to kill on the back streets of New York. Now, she is his target. Broke, exhausted, and a step ahead of the man she once loved, she clings to one last hope: the wilds of Alaska. The quiet safety of her hide-a-way becomes addictive as she grows to care for the man who offers her refuge.

Released from prison after a wrongful conviction, native Alaskan Sam Tarkington is determined to regain his business, repair his reputation, and rebuild his life. But when he meets a desperate and vulnerable woman, guarding secrets of her own, she tugs at his heart. She's a distraction he can't afford. Sam must choose Emily or achieving his dreams.

Like Emily's life, the peacefulness of the wilderness is an illusion as danger lurks in the distance. Does Sam hold the key to her survival or will her past cost them everything?

— Last Hope Alaska by Linda Trout

Bring Forth Your Dead, A Lambert and Hook Mystery by J. M. Gregson, Now Available at a Special Price

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

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

Bring Forth Your Dead by J. M. Gregson

A Lambert and Hook Mystery (4th in series)

Publisher: Endeavour Press

Price: $0.99 (as of 08/20/2014 at 4:00 PM ET).

  

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 exhumation of the elderly invalid Edmund Craven proves that he was poisoned, and by one of those closest to him. But the scents are cold and the traces well covered — until Superintendent Lambert and Sergeant Bert Hook investigate.

The detectives arrive on the scene twelve months after the victim has been buried. Never before has Lambert had to investigate a murder perpetrated over a year earlier. Gradually he unearths a network of malice and deceit. Craven's son and daughter, his housekeeper and the American who was his friend all had reason to wish Craven dead.

And when new evidence conveniently arises, it is up to the detectives to take the case into their own hands. But the decision almost proves fatal.

— Bring Forth Your Dead by J. M. Gregson

A Beautiful Madness by Lee Thompson, New on the Mystery Bookshelf during August 2014

New on the Mystery Bookshelf during August 2014 …

A Beautiful Madness by Lee Thompson

A Novel of Suspense

Publisher: DarkFuse

  

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

More about our featured title, below …

A Texas Senator and his wife go missing … On the same day, their son is slaughtered by an enigmatic killer on the lawn of ex-Governor Edward Wood's residence. Sammy, Wood's drug dealing son, suspects his father of the crime. After all, his old man snapped once before and crippled his wife with a lead pipe. But there's something more to these events … something deeper and festering just beneath the surface …

In direct opposition to Homicide Detective Jim Thompson, Sammy begins an investigation of his own, searching for the truth in a labyrinth of lies, deception, depravity and violence that drags him deeper into darkness and mayhem with each step. And in doing so, brings them all into the sights of an elusive and horrifying killer who may not be what he seems.

A brutal killer on a rampage of carnage … a hardened detective on the brink … an antihero from the shadows … a terrifying mystery that could destroy them all …

— A Beautiful Madness by Lee Thompson