Friday, February 01, 2013

Firsts on the 1st: New Series Characters Being Introduced in February 2013 Mysteries

Mystery Books for February 2013 featuring New Series Characters

The Hidden Staircase Mystery Books recently updated its list of February 2013 hardcover mysteries as well as shelved new February 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 February.

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The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair
Print and/or Kindle EditionApple iBook

Title: The Beggar's Opera
Author: Peggy Blair
Series Character: Ricardo Ramirez
Formats: Trade Paperback and ebook

What we know about the character: Inspector Ricardo Ramirez is the head of the Major Crimes Unit of the Cuban National Revolutionary Police.

His first case: In beautiful, crumbling Old Havana, detective Mike Ellis hopes the sun and sand will save his troubled marriage. He doesn't yet know that it's dead in the water, much like the little Cuban boy last seen begging the couple for a few pesos on the world famous Malecón.

For Inspector Ramirez, head of the Havana Major Crimes Unit, arresting Ellis isn't the problem — the law is. He has only seventy-two hours to secure an indictment and prevent a vicious killer from leaving the island. And Ramirez has his own troubles. He's dying of the same dementia that killed his grandmother, an incurable disease that makes him see the ghosts of victims of his unsolved cases. As he races against time, the dead haunt his every step …

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Buried In a Bog by Sheila Connolly
Print and/or Kindle EditionApple iBook

Title: Buried In a Bog
Author: Sheila Connolly
Series Character: Maura Donovan, County Cork
Formats: Mass Market Paperback and ebook

What we know about the character: Maura Donovan is a bartender in a small Irish village in County Cork.

Her first case: Honoring the wish of her late grandmother, Maura visits the small Irish village where her Gran was born — though she never expected to get bogged down in a murder mystery. Nor had she planned to take a job in one of the local pubs, but she finds herself excited to get to know the people who knew her Gran.

In the pub, she's swamped with drink orders as everyone in town gathers to talk about the recent discovery of a nearly one-hundred-year-old body in a nearby bog. When Maura realizes she may know something about the dead man — and that the body's connected to another, more recent, death — she fears she's about to become mired in a homicide investigation. After she discovers the death is connected to another from almost a century earlier, Maura has a sinking feeling she may really be getting in over her head …

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Crossbones Yard by Kate Rhodes
Print and/or Kindle EditionApple iBook

Title: Crossbones Yard
Author: Kate Rhodes
Series Character: Alice Quentin
Formats: Hardcover and ebook

What we know about the character: Alice Quentin is a psychologist.

Her first case: Alice is a woman with some painful family secrets, but she has a good job, a good-looking boyfriend, and excellent coping skills, even when that job includes evaluating a convicted killer who's about to be released from prison. One of the highlights of her day is going for a nice, long run around her beloved London — it's impossible to fret or feel guilty about your mother or brother when you're concentrating on your breathing — until she stumbles upon a dead body at a former graveyard for prostitutes, Crossbones Yard.

The dead woman's wounds are alarmingly similar to the signature style of Ray and Marie Benson, who tortured and killed thirteen women before they were caught and sent to jail. Five of their victims were never found. That was six years ago, and the last thing Alice wants to do is to enter the sordid world of the Bensons or anyone like them. But when the police ask for her help in building a psychological profile of the new murderer, she finds that the killer — and the danger to her and the people she cares about — may already be closer than she ever imagined.

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Scratch Deeper by Chris Simms
Print and/or Kindle EditionKobo eBook

Title: Scratch Deeper
Author: Chris Simms
Series Character: Iona Khan
Formats: Hardcover and ebook

What we know about the character: Detective Constable Iona Khan is a police officer in Manchester (England).

Her first case: In sun-soaked Mauritius, a retired Law Lord is brutally murdered, while in rain-sodden Manchester, the Labour Party conference is beginning.

Promoted to Greater Manchester Police's Counter Terrorism Unit, DC Khan's first case appears to be a trivial use of false identity regarding a Sri Lankan student asking suspicious questions about Manchester's tunnel system.

But when she learns the identity of the conference's guest speaker, Iona realizes it may not be so trivial after all, and she must enter the dark world beneath the city to prevent a possible catastrophe.

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Bear is Broken by Lachlan Smith
Print and/or Kindle EditionKobo eBookApple iBook

Title: Bear is Broken
Author: Lachlan Smith
Series Character: Leo Maxwell
Formats: Hardcover and ebook

What we know about the character: Leo Maxwell is an attorney in San Francisco.

His first case: Leo grew up in the shadow of his older brother, Teddy, a successful yet reviled criminal defense attorney who racked up enemies as quickly as he racked up acquittals. As children, their father was jailed for the murder of their mother, and Teddy was left to care for Leo who tried to emulate his older brother, even following him into the legal profession.

The two are at lunch one day when Teddy, supposed to give the closing argument of his current trial that afternoon, is shot: in public, in cold blood, the shooter escaping without Leo being able to identify him. As Teddy lies in a coma, Leo comes to the conclusion that the search for his brother's shooter falls upon him and him alone, as his brother's enemies were not merely the scum on the street but embedded within the police department as well. As he begins to examine the life of a brother he realizes he barely knew, Leo quickly realizes that the list of possible suspects is much larger than he could have imagined.

The deeper Leo digs into Teddy's life, the more questions arise: questions about Teddy and his ex-wife, questions about the history of the Maxwell family, even questions about the murder that tore their family apart all those years ago. And somewhere, the person who shot his brother is still on the loose, and there are many who would happily kill Leo in order to keep it that way.

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Brooklyn Bones by Triss Stein
Print and/or Kindle EditionKobo eBookApple iBook

Title: Brooklyn Bones
Author: Triss Stein
Series Character: Erica Donato
Formats: Hardcover and ebook

What we know about the character: Erica Donato is a young widow who works at a local museum in New York City.

Her first case: A crime of the past comes much too close to home when Erica's teenage daughter Chris finds a skeleton behind a wall in their crumbling Park Slope home.

Erica — young widow, over-age history Ph.D candidate, mother of a teen, product of blue-collar Brooklyn — is drawn into the mystery when she learns this was an unknown teen-age girl, hidden there within living memory. She and her daughter are both touched and disturbed by the mysterious tragedy in their own home.

Chris's dangerous curiosity and Erica's work at a local history museum lead her right back to her neighborhood in its edgy, pre-gentrification days, the period when the age of Aquarius was turning dark. A cranky retired reporter shares old files with her. The charming widow of a slumlord has some surprises for her. The crazy old lady who hangs around her street keeps trying to tell her something. And there are people, including some she is close to, who know the whole story and will stop at nothing to make sure it stays buried forever.

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For a list of more hardcover mysteries scheduled for publication during February, 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 February 2013 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.

Dying To Read by Lorena McCourtney is Today's Nook Daily Find

The Nook Daily Find

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Dying To Read by Lorena McCourtney as today's Barnes & Noble Nook Daily Find.

The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Friday, February 01, 2013.

Note: The price has been matched by Amazon.com for today only.

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Dying To Read by Lorena McCourtney

Dying To Read
Lorena McCourtney
A Cate Kinkaid Mystery
Revell

Cate Kinkaid is just dipping her toe into the world of private investigating until one of the many résumés she has floating around lands her a real job. All she has to do is determine that a particular woman lives at a particular address. Simple, right?

When the big and brooding house happens to contain a dead body, this routine PI job turns out to be anything but simple. Is Cate in over her head?

Barnes&Noble Nook Daily FindAmazon Kindle Daily Deal

Important Note: This book was listed at the price mentioned above on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.

Restore My Heart by Cheryl Norman is Today's Fifth Featured Free MystereBook

Restore My Heart by Cheryl Norman

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Restore My Heart by Cheryl Norman as today's fifth free mystery ebook (A Mustang Sally Romantic Mystery; Kindle format only).

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.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

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Restore My Heart by Cheryl Norman

Restore My Heart
Cheryl Norman
A Mustang Sally Romantic Mystery
Publisher: Medallion Press

Leo Desalvo, a loving husband and father is dead. It appears he committed suicide, but nothing could be further from the truth. And Leo's wife knows it. Although he'd rather grieve in private, Joe Desalvo agrees to help his mother prove a murder occurred, not a suicide.

Sally Clay desperately needs her auto restoration business to succeed. Not only is it her livelihood, but she's caring for her father. She hopes the garage will lure him out of his self-imposed exile and back to the world of cars he once loved. But new competition, and the death of her best customer, auto dealer Leo Desalvo, leave her struggling.

When Joe approaches Sally to appraise his father's rare, classic sports car, she welcomes the business. There's something fishy about the car, however, and Sally is beginning to suspect shady dealings in Leo's business. Is Joe involved too?

When her long-time friend and employee is murdered, Sally realizes it's too late to back out of the investigation she's inadvertently stumbled into. And it seems it's too late for her heart as well.

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.

The Last Call by George Wier is Today's Fourth Featured Free MystereBook

The Last Call by George Wier

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Last Call by George Wier as today's fourth free mystery ebook (A Bill Travis Mystery; Kindle, Kobo, and iTunes formats).

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.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

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The Last Call by George Wier

The Last Call
George Wier
A Bill Travis Mystery
Publisher: Flagstone Books

Bill Travis, an unmarried, unattached investment counselor rapidly approaching his fortieth birthday, conceives that he may not live the most exciting of lives, yet Julie Simmons, his first appointment that Monday, is deeply in trouble. She has taken a North Texas quarter horse racer and liquor baron named Archie Carpin — the last of a dynasty of criminals from the 1920's — for a ride and cleaned him out of a neat two million bucks. And thus begins the adventure of Bill's life.

Ensues a chase north across Texas to recover the money and shake the pursuit of a couple of rednecks with a penchant for rifles and rigged explosives. Yet, through all this action the compelling tale of yet another mystery — an 80-year-old missing person's case — begins to unravel.

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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.

Fiddleback by Jeff Vrolyks is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

Fiddleback by Jeff Vrolyks

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Fiddleback by Jeff Vrolyks as today's third free mystery ebook (A Psychological Thriller; Kindle, Kobo, and iTunes formats).

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.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

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Fiddleback by Jeff Vrolyks

Fiddleback
Jeff Vrolyks
A Psychological Thriller
Publisher: Jeff Vrolyks

Mae Clark is a ten-year-old girl with abusive parents and an imaginary friend named Breuer. Breuer has ideas to help Mae, ideas that aren’t very nice. Breuer isn't as imaginary as Mae thinks.

Tag Baylor is a bartender who writes fiction as a hobby, posting his works on an amateur website. The heroine in his stories is a young woman named Mae Clark. A man claiming to be Mae Clark’s husband emails Tag, threatening tremendous bodily harm if he continues writing about Mae. Tag is stunned: Mae Clark is a figment of his imagination. Or is she?

Warning: Book depicts explicit acts of violence. Discretion advised.

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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.

Last Call by Rob Cornell is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

Last Call by Rob Cornell

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Last Call by Rob Cornell as today's second free mystery ebook (A Ridley Brone Mystery; Kindle format only).

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.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

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Last Call by Rob Cornell

Last Call
Rob Cornell
A Ridley Brone Mystery
Publisher: Paradox Publications

Running a karaoke bar is no way for an ex-PI to make a living.

Just ask Ridley Brone, a California private investigator who returns to his Michigan hometown when he inherits his estranged parents' multimillion dollar estate. The songs his mom and dad wrote made them rich, but their popular karaoke bar, the High Note, made them famous. Now Ridley owns a bar he doesn't have a clue how to manage, and his every effort seems only to further tarnish his parents' legacy.

Then Ridley's high school love, Autumn, shows up asking for help. She suspects her husband of having an affair and wants Ridley to find the truth. Itching to do the kind of work he knows, Ridley takes her case. But after he finds her husband murdered, the karaoke bar feels like vacation compared to the hard job of proving Autumn's innocence.

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.

The Sweet Redemption by Thomas Stienstra is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

The Sweet Redemption by Thomas Stienstra

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Sweet Redemption by Thomas Stienstra as today's free mystery ebook (A Kristopher Korg Mystery; Kindle format only).

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.

For a summary of all of today's featured titles, plus any that may have appeared before and are repeat freebies, visit our Free MystereBooks page. This page is updated daily, typically by 8 AM ET.

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The Sweet Redemption by Thomas Stienstra

The Sweet Redemption
Thomas Stienstra
A Kristopher Korg Mystery
Publisher: Wild Earth Press

The shadow side of the music industry, crime, and the power of unseen forces are on the same stage.

Inspector Kristopher Korg, a week from being forced into retirement, is charged to investigate the disappearance of a rock star manager. With young partner Jeremy Sager, they bore into the shadow side of show business, where the trail leads to rock star Jesse James Johnson and his entourage, big money, greed, passion, sex and multiple murders.

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.

The Many Lives of Lilith Lane by E. V. Anderson is Today's Kindle Daily Deal for Teens

The Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Many Lives of Lilith Lane by E. V. Anderson as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal for Teens.

The deal price of $1.98 is valid only for today, Friday, February 01, 2013.

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The Many Lives of Lilith Lane by E. V. Anderson

The Many Lives of Lilith Lane
E. V. Anderson
A Mystery Adventure
Plympton

Seventeen-year-old Lilith Lane has a hunk of a boyfriend, a wicked tongue, and a talent for solving the mysteries that pop up in her small home town of Mirabalis. But when her little sister goes missing in the middle of the night, both Lilith's detective skills and her recall of sophomore year physics are put to the ultimate test.

To save her sister, Lilith must race against the clock with the help of Dr. Hammer, a mad scientist who pushes Lilith off the edge — literally — of his reality-bending skyscraper. Lilith's world is turned upside down by her sister's disappearance, and a skyscraper that is also a portal to a parallel universe suddenly doesn't seem that surreal. With Dr. Hammer's help, Lilith must put her girl detective skills to the test and try to save her sister.

Amazon Kindle Daily Deal

Important Note: This book was listed at the price mentioned above on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.

A Suspension of Mercy by Patricia Highsmith is Today's Kindle Noir Fantasy Daily Deal

The Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature A Suspension of Mercy by Patricia Highsmith as today's Amazon Kindle Noir Fantasy Daily Deal.

The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Friday, February 01, 2013.

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A Suspension of Mercy by Patricia Highsmith

A Suspension of Mercy
Patricia Highsmith
A Novel of Noir Fantasy
W. W. Norton

Sydney Bartleby has killed his wife, Alicia — at least he has thought about it, compulsively, over and over again, plotting schemes, designing escapes, forging alibis. Of course he has; he's a mystery-script writer.

But when Alicia takes a long unannounced vacation, Sydney seizes the opportunity to perfect his artistic method.

Amazon Kindle Daily Deal

Important Note: This book was listed at the price mentioned above on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.

The Pirate Coast by Richard Zacks is Today's Kindle Daily Deal

The Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Pirate Coast by Richard Zacks as today's Amazon Kindle Daily Deal.

The deal price of $1.99 is valid only for today, Friday, February 01, 2013.

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The Pirate Coast by Richard Zacks

The Pirate Coast
Richard Zacks
Thomas Jefferson, the First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805
Hyperion

The true story of the unheralded American who brought the Barbary Pirates to their knees.

In an attempt to stop the legendary Barbary Pirates of North Africa from hijacking American ships, William Eaton set out in 1805 on a secret mission to over-throw the government of Tripoli. The operation was sanctioned by President Thomas Jefferson, but at the last moment he grew wary of "intermeddling" in a foreign government, and Eaton set off without proper national support.

Amazon Kindle Daily Deal

Important Note: This book was listed at the price mentioned above on the date and time of this post. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.

Mystery Bestsellers for the Week Ending February 01, 2013

Bestselling Crime Fiction: Hardcover Mysteries, Suspense Novels and Thrillers

A list of the top 15 Mystery Hardcover Bestsellers for the week ending February 1st, 2013 has been posted by the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books.

Despite a strong showing by Robert Crais's new stand-alone Suspect, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn retains the top spot on our list again this week. Two new books enter the list this week (positions in brackets).

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Insane City by Dave Barry

[11]: Insane City
Dave Barry

Seth Weinstein knew Tina was way out of his league in pretty much any way you could imagine, which is why it continued to astonish him that he was on the plane now for their destination wedding in Florida. The Groom Posse had already sprung an airport prank on him, and he'd survived it, and if that was the worst of it, everything should be okay. Smooth sailing from now on.

Seth has absolutely no idea what he's about to get into. In the next several hours, he and his friends will become embroiled with rioters, Russian gangsters, angry strippers, a pimp as big as the Death Star, a very desperate Haitian refugee on the run with her two children from some very bad men, and an eleven-foot albino Burmese python named Blossom. And there're still two days to go before the wedding.

As it turns out, it's not smooth sailing, it's more like a trip on the Titanic. And the water below him is getting deeper every minute. By the end, amid gunfire, high-speed chases, and mayhem of the most unimaginable sort, violent men will fall, heroes will rise, and many lives will change.

Seth's, not least of all.

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Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley

[13]: Speaking from Among the Bones
Alan Bradley

Flavia de Luce (5th)

Eleven-year-old amateur detective and ardent chemist Flavia de Luce is used to digging up clues, whether they're found among the potions in her laboratory or between the pages of her insufferable sisters' diaries. What she is not accustomed to is digging up bodies.

Upon the five-hundredth anniversary of St. Tancred's death, the English hamlet of Bishop's Lacey is busily preparing to open its patron saint's tomb. Nobody is more excited to peek inside the crypt than Flavia, yet what she finds will halt the proceedings dead in their tracks: the body of Mr. Collicutt, the church organist, his face grotesquely and inexplicably masked. Who held a vendetta against Mr. Collicutt, and why would they hide him in such a sacred resting place?

The irrepressible Flavia decides to find out. And what she unearths will prove there's never such thing as an open-and-shut case.

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