A New MystereBook: The Christmas Carol Murders by Christopher Lord

Here is a mystery, suspense, or thriller ebook that we recently found by sleuthing (as it were) through new or recently reissued titles from independent publishers …

The Christmas Carol Murders by Christopher Lord is the first of a new cozy mystery series combining the atmosphere of a classic Agatha Christie puzzle, the deft touch of Charlotte MacLeod, a hint of Oscar Wilde's humor, and the literary spirit of the great Charles Dickens.

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The Christmas Carol Murders by Christopher Lord
A Dickens Junction Mystery
Publisher: Harrison Thurman Books
Publication Date: September 27, 2013

It's the holiday season in Dickens Junction, Oregon. Local bookstore owner Simon Alastair is getting ready for the community's annual celebration of Charles Dickens's well-known story.

But when a mysterious stranger shows up in the Junction and is murdered hours later, Simon begins to suspect that his little community has been targeted for destruction by a shadowy organization. With the support of Zach, a dashing young magazine reporter, Simon decides to investigate the crime himself.

When a second murder follows, Simon must confront the worst questions of all: which of his friends and business associates is a ruthless murderer? And why is everyone suddenly reading Ayn Rand?

    

The Simon Shaw Mysteries by Sarah R. Shaber, Now at a Special Price

MystereBooks is pleased to feature all five mysteries in the Simon Shaw series by Sarah R. Shaber, now available at a special price, courtesy of the author.

The ebook format of these titles was priced at $2.99 each from the listed vendors (below) as of the date and time of this post (09/29/2013 at 4:00 PM ET). 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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Simon Said by Sarah R. Shaber
A Simon Shaw Mystery (1st in series)
Publisher: Sarah R. Shaber

Winner of the 1996 Best Traditional Mystery Contest sponsored by St. Martin's Press.

Forensic historian Simon Shaw likes his murders old and cold, and his first case fits the bill. An archeologist friend has found a skeleton with a bullet hole in its skull under historic Bloodworth House, and Simon investigates with his usual doggedness until he discovers that the corpse is Anne Bloodworth, an heiress who disappeared in 1926. Shaw feels compelled to find out who killed her.

But this turns out to be more than an academic exercise when someone who wants to hide past secrets tries to murder him!

  

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Snipe Hunt by Sarah R. Shaber
A Simon Shaw Mystery (2nd in series)
Publisher: Sarah R. Shaber

Purchase Options …
Amazon.com

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Fugitive King by Sarah R. Shaber
A Simon Shaw Mystery (3rd in series)
Publisher: Sarah R. Shaber

Purchase Options …
Amazon.com

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The Bug Funeral by Sarah R. Shaber
A Simon Shaw Mystery (4th in series)
Publisher: Sarah R. Shaber

Purchase Options …
Amazon.com

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Shell Game by Sarah R. Shaber
A Simon Shaw Mystery (5th in series)
Publisher: Sarah R. Shaber

Purchase Options …
Amazon.com

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Important Note: These books were listed at the above mentioned price 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.

Review: The Last Alibi by David Ellis

A Mysterious Review of The Last Alibi by David Ellis. A Jason Kolarich Mystery.

Review summary: The strength of this twisty legal thriller lies in its superior, and really quite intricate and meticulous, plotting. The whodunit and howdunit elements of the murder are noteworthy, but more importantly the reader's attention is drawn to how the riveting murder trial at the center of this story is going to play out. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

The Last Alibi
David Ellis
A Jason Kolarich Mystery
Putnam (September 2009)

Publisher synopsis: James Drinker is a bit of an oddball. A funny-looking, geeky loner, he walks into Jason Kolarich's office one day with a preemptive concern: two women have recently been murdered, seemingly by the same killer, and Drinker thinks he will be the police's main suspect. One woman was his ex-girlfriend, he says, and the other was a friend. He's the only link between the victims and he has no alibi for the night of either murder — surely the police will realize it soon. Believing he's the target of a frame-up, Drinker hires Kolarich for his defense.

Something about James Drinker seems off from the start, but Kolarich doesn't give it too much thought. Until another murder occurs. And then another. And as he begins to probe his client's life and story more closely, it quickly becomes clear that nothing about James Drinker is what it seems … and that the target of the frame-up isn't Drinker, but Kolarich.

Unable to stop a serial killer — and prove his own innocence — without breaking his sworn attorney-client privilege, Jason Kolarich must hunt for the truth about James Drinker, the series of brutal murders, and why he's been set up to take the fall. The answers will be beyond anything he could have imagined.

      

Fall from Grace, A Novel of Psychological Suspense by Richard North Patterson, Now at a Special Price

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Fall from Grace by Richard North Patterson, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, Scribner.

The ebook format of this title was priced at $2.99 from the listed vendors (below) as of the date and time of this post (09/29/2013 at 3:00 PM ET). 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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Fall from Grace by Richard North Patterson
A Novel of Psychological Suspense
Publisher: Scribner

After ten years away from home, Adam Blaine returns to Martha's Vineyard to attend the funeral of his estranged father, Ben, a famous and charismatic writer who was fond of sailboats, good wine — and women other than his wife. When Adam learns that Ben disinherited his family in favor of his mistress, he begins to wonder if his father's death — caused by an inexplicable fall from a cliff — might have been suicide or murder.

Using his training as a CIA operative, Adam unearths some shattering revelations about the mistress's past. But even more disturbing are the family secrets that can't stay buried any longer — secrets that make Adam question everything he thought he knew about every player in this fateful game. Even himself …

      

Important Note: This book was listed at the above mentioned price 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.

Gone by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge, New in Bookstores This Week

Today's new hardcover mystery title, scheduled to be published this week by Little, Brown, is Gone by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge.

For a list of more new hardcover mysteries published this month, visit our New Mysteries page for September 2013. For new paperback mysteries, visit The Mystery Bookshelf where a selection of September 2013 mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers are shelved.

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Gone
James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
Series: Michael Bennett (6th)

Manuel Perrine doesn't fear anyone or anything. A charismatic and ruthless leader, Perrine slaughters rivals as effortlessly as he wears his trademark white linen suit. Detective Michael Bennett once managed to put Perrine behind bars, the only official in the US ever to accomplish that. But now Perrine is out, and he has sworn to find and kill Bennett and everyone dear to him.

Detective Bennett, along with his ten adopted children, their nanny, and his grandfather, are hidden safely on a rural California farm, with guards courtesy of the FBI's witness protection program. Perrine begins to embark on an escalating series of assassinations across the country, killings whose brazenness and audacity bring into question the possibility of safety and law in the US. The FBI has no choice but to ask Detective Bennett to risk it all in Perrine's war on America.

      

Mr. E. Reviews Now You See Me

Purchase/Rental Option(s)

This is an entertaining film, but one that really doesn't quite play fair with the viewer, leaving lots of questions unanswered, assuming that the viewer either won't ask or won't care. Despite these flaws, on balance I enjoyed watching it, but kept hoping that the ending would tie together a lot of the loose ends. It didn't; indeed, the ending is probably the weakest element of the film.

Read the full text of our review at Mr. E. Reviews Now You See Me.

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Mr. E. Reviews is your source for mystery, suspense, thriller, and crime drama reviews of television and film.

A Timely Alibi, A Novel of Suspense by Ilsa Mayr, Now at a Special Price

Amazon has discounted over 200 of its imprint titles to just 99 cents, including 34 books published by Thomas & Mercer. One of these books is featured, below.

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A Timely Alibi by Ilsa Mayr
A Novel of Suspense
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Cybil Quindt, recovering from the devastating grief caused by the death of her young son the year before and the subsequent estrangement from her physician husband, embraces the career and life change offered her as a trainee in her uncle's respectable security agency.

Her seemingly innocuous first case as an apprentice P.I. investigating pilfering in a warehouse seems the perfect assignment on which to cut her teeth, yet when a warehouse co-worker dies mysteriously on her watch, Cybil wonders if she is in too deep.

Against the wishes of her estranged husband, Cybil pushes forward into an ever-growing web of deceit — familial love turned destructive in the grand manner of a Greek tragedy. As time goes by, she finds herself caught up in blackmail, adultery, and cold-blooded murder — all leading to grave danger when she confronts the charming but cunning villain.

  

Important Note: This book was listed at the above mentioned price 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.

Two Appleseed Creek Mysteries by Amanda Flower, Now at a Special Price

MystereBooks is pleased to feature two Appleseed Creek mysteries by Amanda Flower, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, B&H Books.

The ebook format of these titles was priced at $0.99 each from the listed vendors (below) as of the date and time of this post (09/29/2013 at 1:00 PM ET). 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 Plain Death by Amanda Flower
A Chloe Humphrey, Appleseed Creek Mystery (1st in series)
Publisher: B&H Books

Welcome to Appleseed Creek, the heart of Ohio's Amish Country, where life is not as serene as it seems.

While her Cleveland friends relocated to Southern California and Italy, 24-year-old computer whiz Chloe Humphrey moves with some uncertainty to Appleseed Creek to direct technology services at a nearby college. Her first acquaintance is Becky, an ex-Amish teenager looking for a new home.

While driving Chloe's car, Becky collides with a buggy, killing an Amish elder. But what looks like an accident is soon labeled murder when police discover the car's cut brake line.

Now, Chloe must take on the role of amateur sleuth to discover who the real intended victim was before the murderer makes a second attempt. Becky's handsome Amish-turned-Mennonite brother, Timothy, a local carpenter, comes in handy along the way. With God's help, they'll solve the mystery that's rocking this small community.

  

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A Plain Scandal by Amanda Flower
A Chloe Humphrey, Appleseed Creek Mystery (2nd in series)
Publisher: B&H Books

The people of Appleseed Creek in the heart of Ohio's Amish Country are under attack. Soon after the dust has settled on a buggy accident that turned out to be murder, an unknown assailant begins cutting off the long hair of Amish women and the beards of Amish men.

New to the area, computer specialist Chloe Humphrey may not share their customs, but she is certainly alarmed over these crimes against the Amish and worries how such events will impact her growing number of friends who are more connected to that way of life.

In this small community, when Chloe discovers the body of an Amish businessman who was stabbed in the back and whose beard was cut off, she knows that finding the murderer and restoring peace to Appleseed Creek is as much her responsibility as anyone else's.

  

Important Note: These books were listed at the above mentioned price 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 New MystereBook: Angel's Bidding by Sharon Short

Here is a mystery, suspense, or thriller ebook that we recently found by sleuthing (as it were) through new or recently reissued titles from independent publishers …

Angel's Bidding by Sharon Short was first published in 1993 when PI Patricia Delaney was a cutting-edge, first-of-her-kind e-gumshoe. The mysteries still resonate with timeless humanity and passion, while providing a look back at the 1990s, when technology began to change forever how private investigators worked.

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Angel's Bidding by Sharon Short
A Patricia Delaney, eGumshoe Mystery
Publisher: Cornerstone Communications
Publication Date: September 24, 2013

A valued representative of Kauffman Real Estate and Auctioneering vanishes, and $100,000 in cash disappears from the company safe. But even more bizarre, old Friedrich Kauffman is receiving threatening notes — all skewered by antique hatpins that once belonged to his mother.

To solve this baffling mystery, Kauffman's anxious daughter Elsa turns to computer-whiz P.I. Patricia Delaney for help. But Delaney's tell-all computer databases and personal snooping quickly uncover more than the respectable Kauffmans wish to reveal, including shady business practices, bitter sibling rivalries, and Friedrich's corpse, stabbed in the chest with a twelve-inch-long haptin shaped like an angel. It will not be the last.

  

Anne Fletcher To Direct James Vanderbilt Comedy Whodunit, Murder Mystery

The comedy whodunit Murder Mystery has a new home with TWC-Dimension. Co-produced with Endgame Entertainment, Anne Fletcher will direct an original screenplay by James Vanderbilt (White House Down), which is said to be a cross between an Agatha Christie mystery and a Nick and Nora adventure.

Here is the official logline from the studio: "A married couple takes the honeymoon they never had in the hopes of saving their struggling marriage, but soon find themselves in the middle of their very own murder mystery when one of their fellow cruise passengers is found dead. They must travel across Europe to discover the true murderer's identity while trying to re-ignite the spark to their relationship."

"Murder Mystery is a throwback to Agatha Christie novels with a comedic spin. We have been huge fans of Anne Fletcher for years and have wanted to work with her," said Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein, co-chairmen of The Weinstein Company.

"James's script is absolutely great," added James D. Stern, CEO of Endgame. "It's a modern version of the old Nick and Nora movies … it has it all — suspense, romance, and humor."

This Week's Amazon TV Deal of the Week: Perry Mason, The Complete Series

This week's Amazon TV Deal of the Week is the complete series of Perry Mason.

Raymond Burr stars as Perry Mason, an attorney who specializes in defending seemingly indefensible cases.

With the aid of his secretary Della Street and investigator Paul Drake, he often finds that by digging deeply into the facts, startling facts can be revealed.

Often relying on his outstanding courtroom skills, he often tricks or traps people into unwittingly admitting their guilt.

All nine seasons (18 DVD sets), which originally aired on CBS from September 1957 through May 1966, are included in this deal.

This week only, save 59% on Perry Mason: The Complete Series, available on DVD. Offer ends October 5th, 2013.

Winner of the 2013 T. Jefferson Parker Mystery Award Announced

The winners of the 2013 Southern California Independent Booksellers Association (SCIBA) awards were announced Friday night for excellence in books that reflect the Southern California culture or lifestyle, with the T. Jefferson Parker Mystery Award going to What the Heart Remembers by Debra Ginsberg.

Ginsberg also won the award in 2009 for her novel of suspense The Grift.

(Hat tip to The Rap Sheet for alerting us to this news.)

The Mayhem Sisters by Lauren Quick is Today's Fourth Featured Free MystereBook

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Mayhem Sisters by Lauren Quick as today's fourth free mystery ebook (A Sister Witches Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, September 29, 2013 at 7:40 AM ET. 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 Mayhem Sisters
Lauren Quick
A Sister Witches Mystery
Publisher: Lauren Quick

Vivi, Honora, and Clover are the Mayhem sisters, and thanks to an old family curse, trouble is never far away.

In the witching world of Everland, magic is everywhere. Growing up all young witches are taught the arts of spellcasting, potions, charms, earth magic, and wandwork, but what really makes a witch special is her persuasion, the magical power she is born with.

Potion master Vivi Mayhem spends her days brewing up magical elixirs for her successful shop, The Potion Garden, in the quiet town of Willow Realm. But the middle Mayhem sister is hiding a dangerous secret. Her troubles begin when her true magical persuasion of prophecy forces her to see a terrible crime — a young witch kidnapped and tortured by an evil practitioner of black magic.

In her desperate quest to save the witch, Vivi must learn to master her burgeoning magical abilities in the face of skepticism from Willow Realm's handsome sheriff and strong resistance from the Witch Council's top security force. Hex Division doesn't want Vivi anywhere near the investigation, especially after her increasingly disturbing visions implicate the most powerful healers in Everland, the mysterious Mender twins.

Events take a turn for the worse when Vivi discovers the involvement of the Darklander, a ruthless fringe wizard who is involved in mysterious dealings in the Dire Woods that surround his mansion. Vivi's going to need all the help she can get from her sisters to rescue the missing witch and prove she isn't just seeing things.

  

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.