A Provençal Mystery by Ann Elwood is Today's Fifth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature A Provençal Mystery by Ann Elwood as today's fifth free mystery ebook.

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.

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A Provençal Mystery
Ann Elwood
Publisher: CreateSpace

Why did a nun in a seventeenth-century convent flagellate herself until her blood spattered the wall? Why did nuns save a child doomed to death in the Holocaust and who wanted her killed? Who wants a lost head-shaped reliquary that holds something other than a head? And are answers to these questions the key to a terrible modern-day death in a quiet archive?

When American historian Pandora (Dory) Ryan finds a very rare, uncataloged seventeeth century nun’s diary inside a record book at the provincial archives in Avignon, she is thrilled. This is historian’s treasure. But she doesn’t know yet that it will send her on a search that brings about changes in how she feels about her profession, the irrational, and love with a sexy Frenchman. And it will take her from the archive on a dangerous adventure into the countryside of Provence, which, beautiful as it is, has a long and bloody history.

The archive’s dramatis personae: the grumpy archivist, with his paper-clip chains; the gofer, who smokes Gauloises and gets away with far too much; a nun with a sense of humor who harangues high school kids about sex; the nun's glamorous sidekick; a famous American historian, whose requests for documents are inexplicably denied; the eminent professor, destined to fall in love; his nervous graduate student. And that sexy Frenchman, who isn’t who he says he is.

  

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.

Faithful Warrior by Basil Sands is Today's Fourth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Faithful Warrior by Basil Sands as today's fourth free mystery ebook.

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.

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Faithful Warrior
Basil Sands
Publisher: CreateSpace

Pastor Michael Farris was a well loved man. Loving husband and father, Shepherd of his church, Courageous minister to the inner city gangs of Columbus Ohio. He helped people change their lives for the better. But when his peaceful life is suddenly shattered by a senseless drive by shooting, a side of Pastor Farris that almost no one knew comes to the surface … a violent shadow of a life that he had been able to keep secret all these years. As he seeks to right the crimes committed against him he is unexpectedly confronted by a ghost from his past, and Mike Farris suddenly finds himself in a race against the clock to stop an insane terrorist from killing thousands, maybe even millions in one fell swoop.

  

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.

Private Lies by Amy Eastlake is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Private Lies by Amy Eastlake as today's third free mystery ebook.

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.

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Private Lies
Amy Eastlake
Publisher: Rob Preece

Making it a as a private investigator isn't easy — especially when your parents have been on the run since they were involved in the Weather Underground during the 1960s. But Heather Webb thinks she finally has her life under control — until Jack Eastland walks into her office with a proposition she really doesn't want to accept.

  

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.

Shoot the Money by Chris Wiltz is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Shoot the Money by Chris Wiltz as today's second free mystery ebook.

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.

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Shoot the Money
Chris Wiltz
Publisher: Premier Digital Publishing

Karen and Raynie are roommates hiding from sticky pasts. When vengeful gangsters and old boyfriends descend, Karen can’t hide from the Miami thug who wants his money back, and Raynie’s would-be rapist gets a gun and goes on a rampage. To top it off, Karen’s boss, LaDonna, has a young lover with a new and dangerous idea. The three women unite to face the repercussions of the stolen money and the violence that ensues.

From Mamou to Miami to New Orleans, money and friendship are at the heart of Shoot the Money as it explores women’s desires for big bucks, and they see what money does to those who have it, lose it, pursue it, or steal it. And what happens when they try a little revenge on their rapid chase toward a better life.

They’ve got the money, they’re smart and they’re daring. And they’ve got a gun. They could just whip it out and shoot somebody, but that would be way too easy.

  

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.

Crossed by C. J. Graves is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Crossed by C. J. Graves as today's free mystery ebook.

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.

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Crossed
C. J. Graves
A Jayden Morrow Mystery
Publisher: C. J. Graves

Jayden Morrow moves to Grasshopper Hill, NC and becomes a private investigator expecting life to be safe. After dodging bombs in Iraq as an MP, cheating husbands and insurance fraud seem like a walk in the demilitarized zone. But when a young girl is found murdered at a local Christian rock concert, Jayden's military instincts kick in, and any hope for peace and quiet blows up in her face.

The case plunges her into the midst of a powerful church family. Hirshel Lightner, the head pastor, tries to crush her investigation. Even worse, Jayden finds herself attracted to Hirshel’s son-in-law, Adam — a man who could be the killer. If Jayden isn’t careful, she might be the next victim.

  

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.

Telemystery: Your Fall 2012 Schedule for Thursday, September 27th

Here is your Telemystery Fall 2012 Schedule for Thursday, September 27th, 2012 (all times are ET/PT) …

At 8 PM on ABC is the new thriller Last Resort. In the opening episode, "Captain", five hundred feet beneath the ocean's surface, the crew of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine "USS Colorado" — the most powerful nuclear submarine ever built — receive their orders. Over a communications channel designed only to be used if the U.S. homeland has been wiped out, they're told to fire nuclear weapons at a foreign country. Captain Marcus Chaplin (Andre Braugher) demands confirmation of the orders, only to be unceremoniously relieved of duty. XO Sam Kendal (Scott Speedman) finds himself suddenly in charge of the submarine and facing the same difficult decision. When he also demands confirmation of the orders, the Colorado is fired upon and hit. The submarine and its crew, honorable patriots, now find themselves crippled on the ocean floor and declared rogue enemies of their own country.

ABC made the pilot available to view in its entirety online a few weeks ago, and we did watch it, for the most part enjoying it. There are a lot of similarities to the film Crimson Tide, at least in this episode, though the last scenes take the storyline in a very different direction from how the film ended.

At 9 PM on CBS, the second season of Person of Interest premieres with the episode "The Contingency". With Finch missing — kidnapped by his hacker nemesis, Root — Reese enlists Detectives Carter and Fusco to get his friend back.

Finally, at 10 PM on CBS is the premiere of the new series Elementary. The pilot episode introduces Jonny Lee Miller as a contemporary Sherlock Holmes, who, along with his sober companion Dr. Joan Watson (Lucy Liu), uses his uncanny ability to read people and analyze crimes to assist the NYPD on some of their more difficult cases. Tonight, Holmes consults on a home invasion that resulted in murder. Aiden Quinn stars as Holmes's NYPD connection, Captain Toby Gregson.

Cinemystery: Warner Bros. Options Linwood Barclay's Trust Your Eyes

Warner Bros. has optioned for film the stand-alone thriller Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay, which was just published earlier this month. Todd Phillips (The Hangover, Starsky & Hutch) is set to direct, and co-executive produce with Dan Lin (Sherlock Holmes, Gangster Squad). Variety reported on the deal, but made no mention of a screenwriter.

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Trust Your Eyes
Linwood Barclay

Thomas Kilbride is a map-obsessed schizophrenic so affected that he rarely leaves the self-imposed bastion of his bedroom. But with a computer program called Whirl360.com, he travels the world while never so much as stepping out the door. He pores over and memorizes the streets of the world. He examines every address, as well as the people who are frozen in time on his computer screen.

Then he sees something that anyone else might have stumbled upon—but has not—in a street view of downtown New York City: an image in a window. An image that looks like a woman being murdered.

Thomas's brother, Ray, takes care of him, cooking for him, dealing with the outside world on his behalf, and listening to his intricate and increasingly paranoid theories. When Thomas tells Ray what he has seen, Ray humors him with a half-hearted investigation. But Ray soon realizes he and his brother have stumbled onto a deadly conspiracy.

And now they are in the crosshairs …

      

This Week's Bestselling Mystery and Suspense Television and Film on DVD (120926)

Here is this week's list of the top bestselling mystery and suspense television and film on DVD available from Amazon.com.

We're using a script to embed an RSS feed from Amazon.com, which is frequently updated, but if you cannot see the box below — or have scripts blocked — you can use this link to see the relevant page on Amazon.com.

MystereBooks: The Stoney Winston Mysteries by Jim Stinson, Free to Download

About a month ago, we featured Jim Stinson's first Stoney Winston mystery as our free ebook of the day.

What we didn't realize at the time is that the author had actually made available all four books in the series free to download from iTunes, Kobo, and Smashwords. (They're not available on Amazon.com, though you can get a Kindle compatible .mobi version through Smashwords.)

We're going to remedy that right now, by featuring all four titles in this post. But, as we always caution you, 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.

We read the four books in the series when they were first published (between 1986 and 1991) and are looking forward to revisiting them again!

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Double Exposure
Jim Stinson
A Stoney Winston Mystery
Publisher: Jim Stinson

First published in 1986 in hardcover by Scribner, this is the first mystery in this series.

Ah, the romantic 1980s! No Internet, Facebook, or Twitter. Telephones tied to the wall. Music on vinyl or flimsy cassettes — and don't even start on the fashions! Hollywood wandered in the desert between the lush studio days that were gone and our flush modern times full of cable and Netflix. Work for film people was scarce in those days and Stoney Winston just barely scraped by. If the 1980s were romantic, Stoney was far too busy surviving to notice …

Desperate for cash, Stoney takes a job tracking a missing daughter whose porno screen test is being used to blackmail the owner of a tiny, failing studio. When he finds the girl murdered, the bad guys responsible start hunting him down, with a similar plan for Stoney. Pursuing his quest (and saving his hide) Stoney tangles with a randy TV evangelist, hired thugs, two lethal fires, and a cold midnight swim off a boat taking him out to sea on a one-way trip with a heavy anchor. All the while, three women offer him aid and comfort, though only one is his live-in lady. In the end, Stoney delivers a rough and ready justice, but all he gets in return is a totaled car. He keeps his lady, though, and that's more important to him.

      

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Low Angles
Jim Stinson
A Stoney Winston Mystery
Publisher: Jim Stinson

First published in 1986 in hardcover by Scribner, this is the second mystery in this series.

Against his better judgment, Hollywood foot soldier Stoney Winston arrives at a flea-bitten desert Hamlet to help Diane LaMotta direct her first feature, a no-budget indie action potboiler titled Cycles from Hell. The director's hostile, the cameraman's drunk, the crew's rebellious, and the real bikers playing most of the parts perform as bad as they smell. Diane and a biker momma start fighting over Stoney, while the production's being slowly killed by systematic sabotage that turns into stabbing, near-drowning, and violent death.

Stoney's only weapons are his courage, his movie smarts, and his friend, Scuzzy. Courtly Nathaniel Hawthorne ("Scuzzy") Fenster supports his Talmudic scholarship by playing heavies in biker films. Since he stands six-six, weighs 300 pounds, and sprouts hair in all directions, the very sight of him would make Attila wet his pants. He works a lot.

      

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Truck Shot
Jim Stinson
A Stoney Winston Mystery
Publisher: Jim Stinson

First published in 1989 in hardcover by Scribner, this is the third mystery in this series.

Stoney Winston is teaching a film workshop at low-rent Angeles Commercial Design College when the college president is literally blown away. To pry loose the insurance transfusion needed to keep the dying college alive, Stoney has to prove it wasn't suicide. Stoney follows the murderer's trail into a labyrinth of embezzlements, real estate hustles, and suspicious moves by a mysterious multinational company. Before he emerges, he has to fight fires, foil attempts on his life and fly like a bird. Through all this, he has to help his class finish their pretentious student film, which involves a woman and a goldfish, both of them symbolic, naked, and pregnant.

Meanwhile, his prettiest student wants him in bed, his friend Tina, the new college president, leans on him for help and maybe more, and a surprise from his past adds romantic complications. In the end, Stoney's glad to retreat to the routine madness of Hollywood and resume his eternal struggle to rise above the bottom level of the Industry food chain.

      

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TV Safe
Jim Stinson
A Stoney Winston Mystery
Publisher: Jim Stinson

First published in 1991 in hardcover by Scribner, this is the fourth mystery in this series.

Big bucks incite big greed, and the quiz show Oh-Pun Sesame! Offers a $1 million prize that people will kill for. Vulnerable celebrities like show star Kelli Dengham hide career-destroying secrets. And a low-caste program staffer named Stoney Winston has to stop the murders and protect the beautiful airhead star. A perennial Hollywood foot soldier, Stoney's equipped to navigate the backwater swamps of late '80s Hollywood, where he uncovers a psychotic fan writing eerie mash notes telling Kelli the fun sadistic things he'll do to her, plus two murders linked to the show and slides stolen from Kelli's nude photo session that could kill far more than just her career. Once again, Stoney has to rely on his movie smarts, inherent decency, and wry sense of humor to get him through all this with his sanity – and maybe his very life – intact.

      

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Important Note: These books were 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.

Mysterious Press Releases Gourmet Detective Mysteries by Peter King in eBook Format

Mysterious Press released all eight books in the "Gourmet Detective" series by Peter King this week in ebook format.

King, a Cordon Bleu — trained chef himself, introduced the character in 1991 in The Gourmet Detective, a cozy mystery about a chef turned sleuth who solves mysteries in the kitchen. He's never given a name in the series.

King has also written three books featuring author and adventurer Jack London as an amateur sleuth.

We're providing a list of all eight newly released "Gourmet Detective" titles below, with a synopsis from the first in the series.

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The Gourmet Detective
Peter King
A Gourmet Detective Mystery (1st in series)

They call him the gourmet detective; the only thing sharper than his mind is his palate. When chefs need a rare ingredient, an ancient wine, or simply a new idea to gain that extra Michelin-star boost, they come to the detective's cozy London office and plead for his help. For top-notch cooking, he is always happy to lend his taste buds to the cause.

Now Raymond Lefebvre, executive chef at one of London's finest French restaurants, has asked for the detective's help with a bit of kitchen espionage. Lefebvre's crosstown rival is winning international accolades cooking a dish called Oiseau Royal, and Lefebvre wants the recipe. Getting it takes the detective deep into the Circle of Careme, where the most elite chefs in Britain gather to swap recipes, techniques, and gossip. But when the chefs of Careme start to die, the detective starts to salivate. There is no finer appetizer than murder.

      

(2nd) Spiced to Death — Amazon | iTunes | Kobo

(3rd) Dying on the Vine — Amazon | iTunes | Kobo

(4th) Death Al Dente — Amazon | iTunes | Kobo

(5th) A Healthy Place To Die — Amazon | iTunes | Kobo

(6th) Eat, Drink, and Be Buried — Amazon | iTunes | Kobo

(7th) Roux the Day — Amazon | iTunes | Kobo

(8th) Dine and Die on the Danube Express — Amazon | iTunes | Kobo

Looper Opens in Theaters Friday, September 28th

Looper. Opens in theaters September 28, 2012.

In the year 2042, time travel exists, but it is illegal and only available on the black market. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they send their target 30 years into the past, where a "looper" — a hired gun, like Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) — is waiting to mop up. Joe is doing good as a looper until the day the mob decides to "close the loop", sending back Joe's future self (Bruce Willis) for assassination.

Written and directed by Rian Johnson.

Running time: 118 minutes. Rated R for strong violence, language, some sexuality/nudity and drug use.

Watch a trailer for the film below:

Telemystery: BBC America to Air The Secret of Crickley Hall

BBC America announced today that the bone-chilling haunted house thriller The Secret of Crickley Hall will air on the cable network on Sunday, October 28th at 8 PM (ET/PT).

Adapted from the novel of the same title by James Herbert, the thriller begins a year after the disappearance of Cam, the son of Gabe Caliegh (Tom Ellis) and Eve Caleigh (Suranne Jones). As the couple and their two daughters attempt to start anew, they head to Crickley Hall — a seemingly perfect countryside house. But when cellar doors start to open on their own, phantom children's cries are heard through the night and a frenzied cane-wielding specter rears its head — the Caleigh's realize the house comes with a lot more than they bargained for. Just as they're ready to move out, Eve Caleigh hears Cam's cries and all bets are off.

Shifting between 1943 and present day, the Caleigh's are desperate to find the source of the crying and the connection the haunted house has to their son. Will they find him before the evil that stalks Crickley Hall finds their other children?

Written and directed by Joe Ahearne, this classic haunted house spine chiller is full of scares, yet underpinned by the heartbreaking story of a family needing to heal and ghosts who need to be laid to rest. Watch a trailer for the three-hour made-for-television movie below.

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The Secret of Crickley Hall
James Herbert

Would you stay in a haunted house for more than one night?

Would you live in a place where ghostly things keep happening? Where a cellar door you know you locked the night before is always open the following morning? Where hushed whimpering is heard? Where white shadows steal through the darkness? Where the presence of evil is all around you?

Would you? Should you?

The Caleighs did, but they had their reasons. They should have known better though. As the terror mounts, they begin to regret their decision. As the horror rises, they realize their very lives are at risk … and so is their sanity. For the secret of Crickley Hall is beyond all nightmares.

      

Today's Bestselling Free Kindle MystereBooks (120926)

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, but if you cannot see the box below — or have scripts blocked — you can click on the image to the right or use this link to see the relevant page on Amazon.com.