Monday, October 01, 2012

100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less; October 2012 Mystery and Suspense Selection

Amazon Kindle eBooks $3.99 or Less

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

We've looked through the October books and listed below those in the "mystery/suspense" category; we've added one written for young adults that we think may also be of interest to our readers.

Most of these titles are currently priced at either $1.99 or $2.99, though there are a few at $3.99. Prices are valid for the month of October 2012 only.

— ♦ —

Predator by Terri Blackstock

Predator by Terri Blackstock

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

The murder of Krista Carmichael's fourteen-year-old sister by an online predator has shaken her faith and made her question God's justice and protection. Desperate to find the killer, she creates an online persona to bait the predator. But when the stalker turns his sights on her, will Krista be able to control the outcome?

Ryan Adkins started the social network GrapeVyne in his college dorm and has grown it into a billion-dollar corporation. But he never expected it to become a stalking ground for online Predators. One of them lives in his town and has killed two girls and attacked a third. When Ryan meets Krista, the murders become more than a news story to him, and everything is on the line.

Joining forces, he and Krista set out to stop the killer. But when hunters pursue a hunter, the tables can easily turn. Only God can protect them now.

The Back Door Man by Dave Buschi

The Back Door Man by Dave Buschi

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

All credit cards have stopped working. Today. This morning.

What cash you have in your wallet is it. ATMs and bank systems are down. You can't get gas, groceries … Commerce has essentially come to a halt.

Our society is computercentric. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. We're plugged in. Managing our finances online. Downloading apps for our iPhone. Reading the WSJ on our Kindle.

There are things out there on the cutting edge we don't even know we need to fear.

We see it through the eyes of James Kolinsky, a simple family man who works in information security. His day goes from bad to worse when he discovers that his greatest fear is his fault and what's happened to him has happened to millions of others.

He's been set up. His family — make that the world — has been taken hostage. The next twenty-four hours we find out what James Kolinsky is really made of.

Blue Eyes by Jerome Charyn

Blue Eyes by Jerome Charyn

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

Before Isaac Sidel adopts him, Manfred Coen is a mutt. A kid from the Bronx, he joins the police academy after his father's suicide leaves him directionless, and is trudging along like any other cadet when first deputy Sidel, the commissioner's right hand man, comes looking for a young cop with blue eyes to infiltrate a ring of Polish smugglers. He chooses Coen, and asks the cadet to join his department after he finishes the academy. Working under Sidel means fast promotions, plush assignments, and, when a corruption scandal topples his mentor, the resentment of every rank-and-file detective on the force.

Now just an ordinary cop, Coen hears word that his old mentor has a line on a human trafficking operation. When Sidel's attempt at infiltration fails, he sends in Coen. For Coen, it's a shot to prove himself and redeem his mentor, but it could cost the blue-eyed cop his life.

Dread Champion by Brandilyn Collins

Dread Champion by Brandilyn Collins
A Chelsea Adams Mystery (2nd in series)

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

Chelsea Adams has visions. But they have no place in a courtroom.

As a juror for a murder trial, Chelsea must rely only on the evidence. And this circumstantial evidence is strong — Darren Welk killed his wife. Or did he?

The trial is a nightmare for Chelsea. The other jurors belittle her Christian faith. As testimony unfolds, truth and secrets blur. Chelsea's visiting niece stumbles into peril surrounding the case, and Chelsea cannot protect her. God sends visions — frightening, vivid. But what do they mean? Even as Chelsea finds out, what can she do? She is helpless, and danger is closing in …

Last Breath by Brandilyn Collins and Amberly Collins

Last Breath by Brandilyn Collins and Amberly Collins
A Rayne Tour Mystery for Young Adults (2nd in series)

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

A dying man whispers four stunning words into Shaley O'Connor's ear. Should she believe him? After two murders on the Rayne concert tour, Shaley is reeling. But she has no time to rest. If the dying man's claim is right, the danger is far from over.

Shaley's quest for the truth leads to the mysterious and wrenching past of her mother and father. Could what happened to them so many years ago threaten Shaley's life now?

Who In Hell is Wanda Fuca? by G. M. Ford

Who In Hell is Wanda Fuca? by G. M. Ford
A Leo Waterman Mystery (1st in series)

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

When an old gangster friend of Leo's father makes a request he "can't refuse", Leo and his band of drunks, delve into the world of environmental politics in search of Caroline Nobel, a spoiled brat, without the sense God gave a gopher. With the help of "the Boys" — a group of aging winos who are his modern day "Baker Street Irregulars" — Leo fights Native American tribal politics, industrial pollution, and psychotic grannies to fulfill his obligation to a friend.

Before Her Eyes by Rebecca Forster

Before Her Eyes by Rebecca Forster

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

In a remote mountain community, the execution of a grocer and the abduction of a world-renowned model leave the local sheriff searching for a connection, two killers and a woman who is running for her life. In the next 48 hours, Sheriff Dove Connelly will peel back the layers of intrigue beneath the tranquil camaraderie of his mountain enclave and find that nothing is what it seems.

As Dove sets his investigation in motion, Tessa Bradley, a hard assed Texas gal, faces off with her abductors. Her rangy beauty doesn't mean a damn thing to the foreign men holding her at gunpoint. Just as one of them pulls the trigger, Tessa lashes out. Wounded but alive, she escapes her captors only to find greater peril lies ahead. As her life flashes before her eyes, Tessa struggles to stay alive, prays for rescue and fights for her soul's salvation.

77 Days in September by Ray Gorham

77 Days in September by Ray Gorham

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

On a Friday afternoon before Labor Day, Americans are getting ready for the holiday weekend, completely unaware of a long-planned terrorist plot about to be launched against the country. Kyle Tait is settling in for his flight home to Montana when a single nuclear bomb is detonated 300 miles above the heart of America. The blast, an Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP), destroys every electrical device in the country, and results in the crippling of the power grid, the shutting down of modern communications, and bringing to a halt most forms of transportation.

Kyle narrowly escapes when his airplane crashes on take-off, only to find himself stranded 2,000 miles from home in a country that has been forced, from a technological standpoint, back to the 19th Century. Confused, hurt, scared, and alone, Kyle must make his way across a hostile continent to a family he's not even sure has survived the effects of the attack. As Kyle forges his way home, his frightened family faces their own struggles for survival in a community trying to halt its slow spiral into chaos and anarchy.

Tears of the Jaguar by A. J. Hartley

Tears of the Jaguar by A. J. Hartley

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

Six months ago, museum curator Deborah Miller had never heard of Ek Balam, an obscure Mayan archaeological site known for its carved figures. Now here she is, having traded Atlanta's urban jungle for a remote village in Mexico's Yucatan, tasked with overseeing Ek Balam's excavation. But when a sudden rainstorm causes a partial collapse at the site, an unexpected treasure is unearthed: a collection of rough-cut rubies hidden from the world for hundreds of years — and very out-of-place in the Yucatan. It is a find of immeasurable value, one that Deborah vows to protect — and yet is powerless to prevent from being stolen soon after its discovery. Determined to retrieve the stones, she sets out to trace their complex history across four centuries and two continents, from Mexico to northern England where the jewels once played a harrowing role in the Lancashire witch trials of 1612. But Deborah is not the only one searching for the stones; close on her heels are archaeologists, occultists, and one very determined arms dealer, all of whom will stop at nothing, not even murder, to claim the prize for themselves.

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

Judas Coyne is a collector of the macabre: a cookbook for cannibals … a used hangman's noose … a snuff film. An aging death-metal rock god, his taste for the unnatural is as widely known to his legions of fans as the notorious excesses of his youth. But nothing he possesses is as unlikely or as dreadful as his latest discovery, an item for sale on the Internet, a thing so terribly strange, Jude can't help but reach for his wallet.

I will "sell" my stepfather's ghost to the highest bidder …

For a thousand dollars, Jude will become the proud owner of a dead man's suit, said to be haunted by a restless spirit. He isn't afraid. He has spent a lifetime coping with ghosts — of an abusive father, of the lovers he callously abandoned, of the bandmates he betrayed. What's one more?

But what UPS delivers to his door in a black heart-shaped box is no imaginary or metaphorical ghost, no benign conversation piece. It's the real thing.

And suddenly the suit's previous owner is everywhere: behind the bedroom door … seated in Jude's restored vintage Mustang … standing outside his window … staring out from his widescreen TV. Waiting — with a gleaming razor blade on a chain dangling from one bony hand …

The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum

The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

Suburbia in the 1950′s. A nice quiet simpler time to grow up — unless you count the McCarthy trials and red-scares and the shadow of the Bomb and the Cold War, unless you could see the dark side emerging. And on a quiet tree-lined dead-end street, in the dark damp basement of the Chandler house, it's emerging big-time for teenage Meg and her crippled sister Susan — whose parents are dead now, who are left captive to the savage whims and rages of a distant Aunt who is rapidly descending into madness. It is a madness that infects all three of her sons — and finally an entire neighborhood. Only one troubled boy stands hesitantly between Meg and Susan and their cruel, torturous deaths. A boy with a very adult decision to make. Between love and compassion, and lust and evil.

The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie

The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

When Thomas Lang, a hired gun with a soft heart, is contracted to assassinate an American industrialist, he opts instead to warn the intended victim — a good deed that doesn't go unpunished.

Within hours Land is butting heads with a Buddha statue, matching wits with evil billionaires, and putting his life (among other things) in the hands of a bevy of femmes fatales, whilst trying to save a beautiful lady … and prevent an international bloodbath to boot.

What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman

What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

Thirty years ago two sisters disappeared from a shopping mall. Their bodies were never found and those familiar with the case have always been tortured by these questions: How do you kidnap two girls? Who — or what — could have lured the two sisters away from a busy mall on a Saturday afternoon without leaving behind a single clue or witness?

Now a clearly disoriented woman involved in a rush-hour hit-and-run claims to be the younger of the long-gone Bethany sisters. But her involuntary admission and subsequent attempt to stonewall investigators only deepens the mystery. Where has she been? Why has she waited so long to come forward? Could her abductor truly be a beloved Baltimore cop? There isn't a shred of evidence to support her story, and every lead she gives the police seems to be another dead end—a dying, incoherent man, a razed house, a missing grave, and a family that disintegrated long ago, torn apart not only by the crime but by the fissures the tragedy revealed in what appeared to be the perfect household.

In a story that moves back and forth across the decades, there is only one person who dares to be skeptical of a woman who wants to claim the identity of one Bethany sister without revealing the fate of the other. Will he be able to discover the truth?

Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates

Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

Meet Quentin P.

He is a problem for his professor father and his loving mother, though of course they do not believe the charge (sexual molestation of a minor) that got him in that bit of trouble.

He is a challenge for his court-appointed psychiatrist, who nonetheless is encouraged by the increasingly affirmative quality of his dreams and his openness in discussing them.

He is a thoroughly sweet young man for his wealthy grandmother, who gives him more and more, and can deny him less and less.

He is the most believable and thoroughly terrifying sexual psychopath and killer ever to be brought to life in fiction …

First to Kill by Andrew Peterson

First to Kill by Andrew Peterson

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

Ten years ago, a botched mission in Nicaragua ended covert ops specialist Nathan McBride's CIA career. Now he utilizes his unique skill set in the private sector — until the night Frank Ortega, former director of the FBI, calls in a favor. A deep-cover federal agent has vanished, along with a ton of Semtex explosives, and Ortega needs them found — fast. Because for him, this mission is personal: the missing agent is his grandson. And Nathan McBride is the only man he trusts to save him.

But it quickly becomes clear that something bigger than even Ortega could have imagined is at stake. Within days of accepting the assignment, McBride finds himself trapped between a ruthless adversary hell-bent on revenge and a group of high-ranking federal officials who will stop at nothing to reap their own brand of justice. Here there are no rules, no protocol, no backup. Only McBride …

Abducted by T. R. Ragan

Abducted by T. R. Ragan
A Lizzy Gardner Mystery (1st in series)

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

When Lizzy Gardner was only seventeen, what should have been the perfect night became the perfect nightmare. Kidnapped just blocks from home after a romantic evening with her boyfriend, Jared, she woke up to find herself at the mercy of a depraved serial killer. Imprisoned and tormented for months by the maniac she came to know as Spiderman, Lizzy narrowly escaped, the only one of his victims to survive. But Spiderman escaped too, outwitting police and cursing Lizzy to spend her life looking over her shoulder …

Fourteen years later, Lizzy is a private investigator who teaches self-defense to teenage girls in her free time. She does what she can to help others protect themselves and to forget the horror of her ordeal, yet fears she will always be known as "the one who got away". Then she receives a phone call from Jared, now a special agent for the FBI, with grim news. The killer has resurfaced, this time with a very specific target — Lizzy. And he's made it clear that she will not escape him again. So begins a chilling game of cat-and-mouse, a terrifying, heart-pounding hunt that only one will survive.

PRIMAL Unleashed by Jack Silkstone

PRIMAL Unleashed by Jack Silkstone

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

PRIMAL is a team of elite operatives, hell bent on fighting for the downtrodden and oppressed. A renegade agency waging a secret war against the untouchables; powerful criminals, greed driven corporations, and twisted politicians. With cutting-edge technology and tactics they strike across the globe with impunity, stepping in where government agencies fail.

The Ambition by Lee Strobel

The Ambition by Lee Strobel

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

A corrupt judge in a mob murder case. A disillusioned pastor, hungry for power. A cynical reporter, sniffing for a scandal. A gambling addict whose secret tape threatens the lives of everyone who hears it.

This intricate thriller is set in a gleaming, suburban megachurch, a big-city newspaper struggling for survival, and the shadowy corridors of political intrigue. The unexpected climax is as gripping as the contract killing that punctuates the opening scene.

Season of the Witch by Arni Thorarinsson

Season of the Witch by Arni Thorarinsson

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

When the editors at Reykjavik-based The Afternoon News decide to expand the newspaper into northern Iceland — with their crime writer Einar as its sole reporter on location — the journalist feels as though he has stepped back in time. Compared to the hustle and bustle of the capital, where the nation's economic and social crises rear their heads on a daily basis, the small town of Akureyri feels slow, quiet, and terribly old-fashioned.

So it's only fitting that one of Einar's first assignments is to cover a college theater production of Loftur the Sorcerer, an Icelandic folktale of ambition and greed. But that supposedly ancient history becomes ominously relevant when a local woman dies after falling overboard during a corporate boating retreat. All evidence indicates an accident, but when the victim's mother cries foul play, kindhearted Einar agrees to investigate. Just days later, the lead actor in Loftur vanishes, leaving the locals reeling — and Einar unconvinced that a single village could be so accident prone. Keenly perceptive and hungry for the truth, Einar begins to chip away at the quaint small-town facade, uncovering a tangled web of power and greed that threatens to devour the historic community for good.

The Fall by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

The Fall by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
The Strain Trilogy (2nd in series)

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

The vampiric virus unleashed in The Strain has taken over New York City. It is spreading and soon will envelop the globe. Amid the chaos, Eph Goodweather—head of the Centers for Disease Control's team—leads a band out to stop these bloodthirsty monsters. But it may be too late.

Ignited by the Master's horrific plan, a war erupts between Old and New World vampires, each vying for control. At the center of the conflict lies a book, an ancient text that contains the vampires' entire history … and their darkest secrets. Whoever finds the book can control the outcome of the war and, ultimately, the fate of us all. And it is between these warring forces that humans — powerless and vulnerable — find themselves no longer the consumers but the consumed. Though Eph understands the vampiric plague better than anyone, even he cannot protect those he loves. His ex-wife, Kelly, has been transformed into a bloodcrazed creature of the night, and now she stalks the city looking for her chance to reclaim her Dear One: Zack, Eph's young son.

With the future of humankind in the balance, Eph and his team, guided by the brilliant former professor and Holocaust survivor Abraham Setrakian and exterminator Vasiliy Fet and joined by a crew of ragtag gangsters, must combat a terror whose ultimate plan is more terrible than anyone has imagined — a fate worse than annihilation.

The Wicked by Michael Wallace

The Wicked by Michael Wallace
The Righteous Thrillers (3rd in series)

Featured on the October 2012 list of
100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less
.

Amazon Whispersync OfferSee also the special Whispersync
offer associated with this title.

Growing up in a conservative polygamous community, Eliza Christianson was a young woman of faith who could never quite wrap her mind around the fundamentalist aspects of her religion. Thanks to her older brother Jacob, she managed to survive adolescence unmarried, even enrolling in classes at the University of Utah. Eliza always suspected God had more in store for her than just to be some man's third or fourth wife; nonetheless, she is surprised when Allison Caliari seeks her out for help. Allison's daughter Madeline has been recruited by a doomsday cult led by a cruel man known only as the Disciple, and she wants Eliza's help to get the girl back. One of the few leads Allison can offer is a fateful one: Jacob and Eliza's brother David, a “lost boy” shunned by the church. Eliza sets out to convince David to help her infiltrate the cult, and she ventures to an abandoned dumping ground in the Las Vegas desert to rescue Madeline.

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Important Note: Any prices mentioned above were correct 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.

This Week's New Mystery/Suspense Title from Carina Press

Carina Press

Carina Press is a digital-first imprint from Harlequin, publishing books in an interesting and diverse selection of genres including contemporary romance, steampunk, gay/lesbian fiction, science-fiction, fantasy, and — but of course — mystery and suspense.

Here is this week's new ebook (listed under Mystery) …

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Beaded to Death by Janis Patterson

Beaded to Death
Janis Patterson

You'd think the life of a bead artist would be fairly uneventful. But that's not the case for Lilias Ruiz. Especially when she returns from an art fair tour and is greeted by a dead body.

The police are convinced she's the killer and suddenly Lilias finds herself hanging on to a thread of innocence. But after her home is vandalized and her van broken into, Lilias begins to realize that she has something someone wants.

Determined to return to the craft circuit, Lilias is relieved to be accompanied by her 7'3" nephew who's on the run from an unwanted basketball scholarship. Along with the help of her colorful neighbor, Annie, a cutthroat attorney who means well and an overzealous FBI agent, they string together the clues and wonder if there really could be a gem in Lilias's collection of dusty old beads. Or is the killer after something more?

Beaded to Death by Janis Patterson, Amazon Kindle format  Beaded to Death by Janis Patterson, iTune iBook format  Beaded to Death by Janis Patterson, Kobo format

Firsts on the 1st: New Series Characters Being Introduced in October 2012 Mysteries

Mystery Books for October 2012 featuring New Series Characters

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books recently updated its list of October 2012 hardcover mysteries as well as shelved new October paperbacks on The Mystery Bookshelf.

In this series of monthly posts, which we call Firsts on the 1st, we're introducing readers to new series characters who will make their mysterious American debut in print during October.

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The Aden Effect by Claude Berube
Print and/or Kindle Edition

Title: The Aden Effect
Author: Claude Berube
Series Character: Connor Stark
Formats: Hardcover and ebook

What we know about the character: Connor Stark is a former naval officer turned mercenary.

His first case: Set against a background of modern piracy in the Gulf of Aden, the story begins as the new Ambassador to Yemen, C. J. Sumner, is assigned to negotiate access to the oil fields off the island of Socotra and enlist help countering pirates who are capturing ships at will off the Horn of Africa. Meeting with resistance to her diplomatic overtures, Sumner recruits Connor Stark, who knows the region, as her defense attache. When Stark sets up a meeting with the owner of a Yemeni shipping company and the ruling family, the challenges begin.

Against this backdrop, diplomatic security agent Damien Golzari is investigating the death of a State Department official's son when he stumbles on an illicit khat trade involving Somali refugees in the United States. His probe leads him to Yemen and the shipping company owned by Stark's contact. As a result of this chance discovery, the two men are forced to become unwitting allies when they discover that their mysterious roads lead to one source.

To earn the favor of the Yemeni government, Sumner sets up a humanitarian-assistance mission to Socotra. But the Navy warship assigned to assist her is attacked by pirates. Stark assumes command and mounts a daring counterattack. Sumner negotiates a treaty to develop the oil fields and provide mutual security from the pirates, who, unknown to her, are working with other powers. In a final confrontation, Stark and Golzari must decide whether to challenge a navy and the most powerful man in the world.

— ♦ —

Field of Schemes by John Billheimer
Print and/or Kindle Edition

Title: Field of Schemes
Author: John Billheimer
Series Character: Lloyd Keaton
Formats: Hardcover and ebook

What we know about the character: Lloyd Keaton is a sportswriter.

His first case: One lie told with the best of intentions leads to murder and threatens to ruin the man who told it. Dale Loren, an ex-pitcher whose promising career was short-circuited by mismanagement, now helps others reach the majors as a trainer for a triple-A baseball team. When a hot-shot outfielder asks him for steroids, he provides a harmless mixture of cold cream and lemon juice, telling him it's a brand-new steroid that can't be detected by baseball's drug testing regimen. Believing the mixture gives him an illegal edge, the outfielder goes on a hitting spree and is called up to the majors where, cut off from his supply of "steroids," he falls into a deep slump. Then he tests positive for drugs and names Loren as his supplier. After testifying before a congressional committee, Loren is fired. Shortly afterward, the outfielder is found dead under mysterious circumstances.

Local sportswriter Lloyd Keaton — who lost his money, marriage and a major-market career to a gambling addiction — sets out to clear Loren's name. In the process he is threatened by mobsters, shot at, and learns his teenage son is hooked on steroids. When a long-time friend is critically injured in a suspicious accident, Keaton's world spirals out of control, and he reverts to his destructive gambling habit.

Keaton soon discovers that the highest stakes are off the field … and he'll risk more than he ever imagined to protect his family and find the truth.

— ♦ —

Drop Dead on Recall by Sheila Webster Boneham
Print and/or Kindle Edition

Title: Drop Dead on Recall
Author: Sheila Webster Boneham
Series Character: Janet MacPhail, Animals in Focus
Formats: Trade Paperback and ebook

What we know about the character: Janet MacPhail is an animal photographer.

Her first case: When a top-ranked competitor keels over at a dog obedience trial, Janet is swept up in a maelstrom of suspicion, jealousy, cut-throat competition, death threats, pet-napping, and murder.

She becomes a "person of interest" to the police, and apparently to major hunk Tom Saunders as well.

As if murder and the threat of impending romance aren't enough to drive her bonkers, Janet has to move her mother into a nursing home, and the old lady isn't going quietly. Janet finds solace in her Australian Shepherd, Jay, her tabby cat, Leo, and her eccentric neighbor, Goldie Sunshine. Then two other "persons of interest" die, Jay's life is threatened, Leo disappears, and Janet's search for the truth threatens to leave her own life underdeveloped — for good.

— ♦ —

Iced Chiffon by Duffy Brown
Print and/or Kindle EditionApple iBook

Title: Iced Chiffon
Author: Duffy Brown
Series Character: Reagan Summerside, Consignment Shop
Formats: Mass Market Paperback and ebook

What we know about the character: Reagan Summerside owns a consignment shop in Savannah, Georgia.

Her first case: Reagan's messy divorce has left her with nothing but a run-down Victorian and a bunch of designer clothes. Strapped for cash, Reagan makes use of the two things she has left, turning the first floor of her home into a consignment shop and filling it with the remnants of her rich-wife wardrobe.

Thanks to his cunning lawyer Walker Boone, her ex got everything else, including the Lexus — not to mention a young blond cupcake. When Reagan finds the cupcake dead in the Lexus, she's determined to beat Boone to finding the murderer. As it turns out, the gossip fiends flooding Reagan's shop will give her a lot more than just their unwanted clothes — they have information more precious than a vintage Louis Vuitton …

— ♦ —

Pago Pago Tango by John Enright
Print and/or Kindle Edition

Title: Pago Pago Tango
Author: John Enright
Series Character: Apelu Soifua
Formats: Trade Paperback and ebook

What we know about the character: Detective Sergeant Apelu Soifua is a police officer in Pago Pago, American Samoa.

His first case: Apelu Soifua spent seven years in the San Francisco Police Department, where the job was just a job and solving crimes required cool detachment. But back home on American Samoa, life is personal — especially for a cop. Because on a small island where no one is a stranger and secrets are widely known but never discussed, solving crimes requires a certain … finesse.

Here, Apelu must walk the line between two cultures: Samoan versus American, native versus new. And that gulf never yawns wider than when a white family's home in Pago Pago is burglarized. And what appears to be a simple, open-and-shut case turns out to anything but. As the evidence piles up, Apelu follows a tangled trail between cultures, dead bodies, hidden codes, and a string of lies on his hunt for the ugly truth buried at the heart of paradise.

— ♦ —

What the Cat Saw by Carolyn Hart
Print and/or Kindle EditionApple iBook

Title: What the Cat Saw
Author: Carolyn Hart
Series Character: Nela Farley
Formats: Hardcover and ebook

What we know about the character: Nela Farley is an unemployed investigative reporter plagued by a sixth sense.

Her first case: Ever since the death of her fiancé, Nela understands the thoughts of cats when she looks into their eyes. Nela knows that what she's experiencing is completely irrational and tries to convince herself that she is simply transferring her own thoughts that she doesn't want to face.

When her adventurous sister, Chloe, goes on a trip and asks for a favor, Nela welcomes the distraction and agrees to substitute at Chloe's job at a charitable foundation. Chloe has arranged a place for her sister to stay, but when Nela shows up, she encounters the previous tenant's cat and gets a flash of thought: "… dead … dead and gone … She loved me … board rolled on the second step …"

Nela wants to ignore what the cat saw, but the idea that the death of former tenant Marian Grant wasn't an accident is something she can't ignore. As Nela begins to do some research into Marian's life, strange events begin to occur, all seeming to lead back to the Haklo Foundation. But when a detective becomes suspicious of Nela's sister and a second murder occurs, Nela realizes she'll have to make the most of her unwanted ability to figure out what's really going on, before she meets her own untimely end …

— ♦ —

City of Saints by Andrew Hunt
Print and/or Kindle EditionApple iBook

Title: City of Saints
Author: Andrew Hunt
Series Character: Art Oveson
Formats: Hardcover and ebook

What we know about the character: Art Oveson is a Salt Lake City Deputy.

His first case: To the outside observer, Salt Lake City seems to be the squeaky-clean "City of Saints" — its nickname since Mormon pioneers first arrived. Its wide roads, huge Mormon temple topped by a horn-blowing angel, and orderly neighborhoods give it the appearance of the ideal American city, but looks can be deceiving.

When a beautiful socialite turns up dead, Art Oveson, a twenty-something husband, father, and devout Mormon just getting his start — finds himself thrust into the role of detective. With his partner, a foul-mouthed former strikebreaker, he begins to pursue the murderer — or murderers. His search takes him into the underbelly of Salt Lake City, a place rife with blackmail, corruption, and death.

Winner of the 2011 Tony Hillerman Prize for Best First Novel set in the southwestern United States.

— ♦ —

The Dark Winter by David Mark
Print and/or Kindle EditionApple iBook

Title: The Dark Winter
Author: David Mark
Series Character: Aector McEvoy
Formats: Hardcover and ebook

What we know about the character: Aector McEvoy is a Yorkshire Detective Sergeant.

His first case: Hull, the northern England port, is as old and mysterious as its bordering sea. There, a series of suspicious deaths have captured the attention of DS McAvoy, whose keen intelligence leads him to notice a pattern missed by others: All of the victims were at one time the sole survivors of tragedies large and small.

As McAvoy strives to connect the cases to a single culprit, he is continually torn between his duties and his aching desire to spend more time with his wife and child — both of whom he adores.

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Murder in the Ashram by Kathleen McCaul
Print and/or Kindle Edition

Title: Murder in the Ashram
Author: Kathleen McCaul
Series Character: Ruby Jones
Formats: Mass Market Paperback and ebook

What we know about the character: Ruby Jones is an international news journalist.

Her first case: Ruby Jones has moved to Delhi to pursue her dreams. But when the body of Stephen Newby, her flatmate and best friend, is pulled from the Yamuna River — and the mystery around his death becomes more and more mysterious — she puts her investigative instincts to good use as she tries to uncover who's responsible.

Ruby's questions take her deeper and deeper into the world of Indian policing, and into the heart of a yoga ashram. She discovers that the yoga world isn't always the calm, spiritual place advertised; beneath the breathing exercises and dog poses lies something sinister — something that she's certain points to dark, hidden secrets that could have huge repercussions for all involved if discovered.

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The 13th Tablet by Alexandre G. Mitchell
Print and/or Kindle Edition

Title: The 13th Tablet
Author: Alexandre G. Mitchell
Series Character: Mina Osman
Formats: Trade Paperback and ebook

What we know about the character: Mina Osman is an archeologist.

Her first case: Iraq, 2004. Lawlessness is spreading throughout the country and looters have plundered the museums and historical sites. Mina Osman, a young American of Iraqi descent, is fighting to preserve the country's antiquities. When she stumbles upon an ancient cuneiform tablet, it proves to be of unimaginable significance — its cryptic language holds a secret that will play a part in a series of earth-shattering events.

Aided by ex-US Army Major Jack Hillcliff, Mina travels across the world to unlock the secrets of the 13th Tablet but at each step she is pursued by deadly enemies who will stop at nothing to obtain the tablet and its power for themselves.

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The Island Caper by Paul Sunshine Murphy
Print and/or Kindle Edition

Title: The Island Caper
Author: Paul Sunshine Murphy
Series Character: Jake Lafferty
Formats: Trade Paperback and ebook

What we know about the character: Jake Lafferty is a recently retired investment banker, who lives on his fifty-five foot trawler.

His first case: After Jake moves onto his long range trawler and travels to the Bahamas, his retirement is interrupted when he pulls a beautiful girl from the water, saving her life. The nonstop plot kicks into overdrive when his newly found soul mate is murdered.

From that point, Jake's past as a former CIA operative draws him into a dangerous yet exciting adventure through the Bahamas, Haiti and Mexico chasing a colorful but ruthless group of Latino drug smugglers. Jake works with his former colleagues to track down and apprehend Pablo Salvador Medellin, boss of the second largest drug cartel in existence, squelching his attempt to bring the largest quantity of cocaine into the U.S. market that has ever been attempted.

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Sacrifice Fly by Tim O'Mara
Print and/or Kindle EditionApple iBook

Title: Sacrifice Fly
Author: Tim O'Mara
Series Character: Raymond Donne
Formats: Hardcover and ebook

What we know about the character: Raymond Donne is an ex-cop, now a schoolteacher.

His first case: Raymond Donne wasn't always a schoolteacher. Not only did he patrol the streets of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, as one of New York's Finest, but being the nephew of the chief of detectives, he was expected to go on to bigger things. At least he was until the accident that destroyed his knees. Unable to do the job the way he wanted, he became a teacher in the same neighborhood, and did everything he could to put the force behind him and come to terms with the change.

Then Frankie Rivas, a student in Ray's class and a baseball phenom, stops showing up to school. With Frankie in danger of failing and missing out on a scholarship, Ray goes looking for him, only to find Frankie's father bludgeoned to death in their apartment. Frankie and his younger sister are gone, possibly on the run. But did Frankie really kill his father? Ray can't believe it. But then who did, and where are Frankie and his sister? Ray doesn't know, but if he's going to have any chance of bringing them home safely, he's going to have to return to the life, the people, and the demons he walked out on all those years ago.

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The Bookseller by Mark Pryor
Print and/or Kindle Edition

Title: The Bookseller
Author: Mark Pryor
Series Character: Hugo Marston
Formats: Trade Paperback and ebook

What we know about the character: Hugo Marston is a former FBI profiler.

His first case: Max — an elderly Paris bookstall owner — is abducted at gunpoint. His friend, Hugo Marston, head of security at the US embassy, looks on helplessly, powerless to do anything to stop the kidnapper. Marston launches a search, enlisting the help of semiretired CIA agent Tom Green. Their investigation reveals that Max was a Holocaust survivor and later became a Nazi hunter. Is his disappearance somehow tied to his grim history, or even to the mysterious old books he sold?

On the streets of Paris, tensions are rising as rival drug gangs engage in violent turf wars. Before long, other booksellers start to disappear, their bodies found floating in the Seine. Though the police are not interested in his opinion, Marston is convinced the hostilities have something to do with the murders of these bouquinistes.

Then he himself becomes a target of the unknown assassins.

With Tom by his side, Marston finally puts the pieces of the puzzle together, connecting the past with the present and leading the two men, quite literally, to the enemy's lair.

Just as the killer intended.

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Rogue by Mark Sullivan
Print and/or Kindle EditionApple iBook

Title: Rogue
Author: Mark Sullivan
Series Character: Robin Monarch
Formats: Hardcover and ebook

What we know about the character: Robin Monarch is a professional thief and CIA operative.

His first case: Two years ago, Robin Monarch was a top level CIA operative — perhaps the best they had when it came to black bag operations. Then one day, in the middle of an operation, with his team around him in the field, Monarch walked away, leaving his old life and friends behind without a word of explanation.

Now this ex-soldier, ex-operative, and orphan with a murky past is a thief, stealing from the super-rich and has surfaced in St. Tropez. But when a complicated, high profile jewel heist goes wrong, Monarch is led into a carefully woven trap designed to force him to complete the very same mission he walked away from years ago.

It will take all of his skills (as well as those of the team he burned) and all of his cunning, if Monarch is to thwart the violent and deadly goals of the very powerful cabal who will do whatever it takes to bring the very dangerous "Green Fields" technology under their control.

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For a list of more hardcover mysteries scheduled for publication during October, please visit our New Mysteries home page. If you're interested in new paperbacks, visit The Mystery Bookshelf, where you can discover a library of new mysteries, also updated with October 2012 releases. See also our regularly updated eBook site for new mysteries, suspense novels and thrillers, MysterEbooks.com.

Please also visit the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books where we are committed to providing readers and collectors of mystery books with the best and most current information about their favorite authors, titles, and series.

Telemystery: It Takes a Thief, New This Week on DVD

Telemystery, the most complete selection of detective, amateur sleuth, private investigator, and suspense television mystery series now available or coming soon to DVD

Telemystery, your source for one of the most comprehensive listings of crime drama, amateur sleuth, private investigator, mystery and suspense television series, mini-series and made-for-television movies, now available on or coming soon to DVD or Blu-ray disc, is profiling the only series on our site being released this week.

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It Takes a Thief: Season One

It Takes a Thief
Season One

Last year, at long last, the Complete Series of It Takes a Thief was released. Now the distributor is releasing each of the individual season sets.

First up, not surprisingly, is Season 1, which introduced Robert Wagner as professional thief Alexander Mundy, who is released from prison with the provision that he steal on behalf of his country. His handler is Noah Bain (Malachi Throne), the head of a secret government organization.

The first season was a shortened one — the series didn't premiere until January 1968 on ABC — and consists of 16 episodes. The DVD set includes the original, rarely seen feature-length version of the pilot.

It Takes a Thief: Season One on DVD

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Visit the Telemystery website to discover more television mystery series currently available on and coming soon to DVD, Blu-ray disc, or video on demand.

Bad Blood by Geraldine Evans is Today's Fourth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks: Mystery, Suspense, and Thriller eBooks

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Bad Blood by Geraldine Evans 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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Bad Blood by Geraldine Evans

Bad Blood
Geraldine Evans
A Rafferty and Llewellyn Mystery
Publisher: Severn House

This is the seventh entry in this long-running series featuring detectives Rafferty and Llewellyn, who are assigned to a police station in Essex, England.

Investigating the murder of wealthy widow Clara Mortimer, estranged from her family and living alone in an upmarket sheltered apartment, Rafferty fears his own family estrangement. Because when Abra, his girlfriend, said she might be pregnant, his reaction wasn't exactly New Man …

Between the grudges of Clara's estranged family and those of her adoptive "family" — the other apartment residents — Rafferty has suspects and questions in plenty. Why had the sensible Clara Mortimer chosen to open her door to a burglar, for instance? When he considers the awful lies her family tells, how can he not conclude they have something to hide?

Amazon Kindle Book

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.

Isabel's Run by M. D. Grayson is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks: Mystery, Suspense, and Thriller eBooks

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Isabel's Run by M. D. Grayson 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.

— ♦ —

Isabel's Run by M. D. Grayson

Isabel's Run
M. D. Grayson
A Danny Logan Mystery
Publisher: Cedar Coast Press

This is the third mystery in this series.

When danger comes lurking in the night, most people run home and hide — safe behind a locked door. For others, though, running home isn't the answer. For these unlucky ones, when the front door closes and locks at night — the horror's not locked outside. It's locked inside.

Isabel Delgado knows all about horror. For nearly five years, her step-father subjects her to the kind of abuse and depravation that no child should ever have to endure. But Isabel survives. Her spirit is strong and she never gives up hope. On the morning of her 16th birthday, Isabel takes a stand. She wakes early, gathers her things in a school backpack, and with a last look behind, she runs. But Isabel's not prepared for what she finds.

Amazon Kindle Book

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.

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