Sunday, March 30, 2014

The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Zouroudi, New in Bookstores in March 2014

New Mysteries (

Today's new hardcover mystery title, scheduled to be published during March 2014 by Little, Brown, is The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Zouroudi.

For a list of more new hardcover mysteries published this month, visit our New Mysteries page for March 2014. For new paperback mysteries, visit The Mystery Bookshelf where a selection of March 2014 mysteries, novels of suspense, and thrillers are shelved.

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The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Zouroudi

The Lady of Sorrows
Anne Zouroudi
Series: Hermes Diaktoros, Greek Detective (4th)

A painter is found dead at sea off the coast of a remote Greek island. For our enigmatic detective Hermes Diaktoros, the plot can only thicken: the painter's work, an icon of the Virgin long famed for its miraculous powers, has just been uncovered as a fake.

But has the painter died of natural causes or by a wrathful hand? What secret is a dishonest gypsy keeping? And what haunts the ancient catacombs beneath the bishop's house?

The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Zouroudi, Amazon Kindle format  The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Zouroudi, Nook format  The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Zouroudi, iTune iBook format  The Lady of Sorrows by Anne Zouroudi, Kobo format

New from Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense: Deadly Safari by Lisa Harris

Harlequin

Every month Harlequin publishes several new novels of mystery and suspense. We are pleased to present in this post one of its new March, 2014 titles, published in the Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense series.

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Deadly Safari by Lisa Harris

Deadly Safari by Lisa Harris
Publisher: Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense
List Price: $5.99 (ebook), $5.99 (paperback)

Texas Ranger Alex Markham lands an unusual assignment — protecting an ambassador's daughter on the African savanna. No one — not even wildlife filmmaker Meghan Jordan herself — can know his true identity. The stubborn but beautiful Meghan is nothing like the bookish woman he expected … and neither is his unguarded reaction to her. For the cowboy-turned-cop, the routine babysitting assignment turns into a lifesaving mission when poachers target the unsuspecting beauty.

But when Meghan learns the truth of Alex's identity, can she forgive him before their chances for a future are destroyed forever?

Amazon Kindle Book  Nook eBook  Kobo eBook  Apple iBook

The Cold Dish, A Walt Longmire Mystery by Craig Johnson, Now at a Special Price

The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson

MystereBooks is pleased to feature The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson, now available at a special price, courtesy of the publisher, Penguin Books.

The ebook format of this title was priced at $4.99 from the listed vendors (below) as of the date and time of this post (03/30/2014 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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The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson

The Cold Dish by Craig Johnson
A Walt Longmire Mystery (1st in series)
Publisher: Penguin Books

The citizens of the Cowboy State boast a long and bloody history of dispensing rough justice but the last few decades have bred peace between the white and Native American communities. So when Cody Pritchard is found dead near the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, Sheriff Walt Longmire and the general population of Absaroka County are inclined to think it's a hunting accident. But two years earlier Cody was one four high school boys convicted of brutally raping Melissa Little Bird, a young Cheyenne girl with fetal alcohol syndrome. The boys were guilty but let off with suspended sentences. Was this a revenge killing? Sheriff Longmire intends to find out.

After twenty-four years as sheriff, Walt, along with Deputy Victoria Moretti and lifelong friend Henry Standing Bear, is embroiled in the most volatile and challenging case of his career. He might be the only thing standing between the three remaining boys and a Sharps .45-70 buffalo rifle.

Amazon Kindle Book

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.

A New MystereBook: The K Street Hunting Society by Andy Straka

New MystereBooks (Mystery eBooks)

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 during March 2014 priced $4.99 or less …

The K Street Hunting Society by Andy Straka is the sixth mystery in this Shamus Award-winning series featuring PI Frank Pavlicek.

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The K Street Hunting Society by Andy Straka

The K Street Hunting Society by Andy Straka
A Frank Pavlicek Mystery
Publisher: LLW Media
Publication Date: March 28, 2014
Price: $3.99 (as of 03/30/14 12:30 PM ET)

It's supposed to be an easy paycheck for private investigators Frank Pavlicek and his daughter Nicole. Their friend and fellow falconer Jake Toronto has a new client: multi-millionairess Raquel Greensmythe, founder and CEO of Greensmythe Global. Greensmythe keeps a stable of prized falcons at her Northern Virginia estate while her firm hunts sensitive information, using sophisticated data mining techniques to make predictions about pending legislation and other issues for lobbying firms, Wall Street bankers, and other high paying customers. All Frank and Nicole have to do is help Jake escort Greensmythe and one of her Vice Presidents as they attend a series of meetings in Washington, D.C.

But when a professional killer ambushes them in an underground K Street parking garage, one of the executives ends up dead, Jake is shot in the hand, and Nicole is critically wounded. For Frank and Jake, the hunt is on for a killer even the cops refer to as "a ghost". It's a pursuit that will test them as never before.

Amazon Kindle Book

Important Note: This book was listed for the price indicated on the date and time as shown. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.

Monk: The Complete Series is Amazon's TV Deal of the Week

Amazon TV Deal of the Week

This week's Amazon Blu-ray Deal of the Week is Monk: The Complete Series.

He's obsessive. He's compulsive. He's Tony Shalhoub starring as Monk, who cleans up crime and grime galore in this long-running series.

Once upon a time Adrian Monk was a rising star with the San Francisco Police Department, but he lost his nerve, his mind and then his badge. Now, this obsessive-compulsive detective is determined to get back on the force by solving one crime at a time.

This 32-disc collection includes every episode from all 8 seasons with hours of behind-the-scenes bonus features, making Monk: The Complete Series a compulsively essential addition to any DVD obsessive's collection.

This week only, save 58% on this series DVD set. Offer ends April 5th, 2014.

Monk: The Complete Series

An Excerpt from Courage Matters by R. Scott Mackey

Omnimystery News: An Excerpt courtesy of R. Scott Mackey
Courage Matters
by R. Scott Mackey

We are delighted to welcome author R. Scott Mackey to Omnimystery News today.

Scott's new mystery Courage Matters (RSM Publishing; February 2014 hardcover and ebook formats) introduces private investigator Ray Courage, and we are pleased to provide you with an excerpt — the first three chapters — from this first in series mystery.

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Courage Matters by R. Scott Mackey

JILL STROUD WALKED INTO THE SAY HEY at eight o'clock that night and all the curses I had silently heaved at her the past two years changed into a love song, an anthem of longing and hope. My soul soared, my heart raced, my head swelled with Love Me Tender passion. In the interest of full disclosure, Elvis was in fact belting out Love Me Tender on the jukebox. Yet, there could be no doubting the malevolence that had once infused me evaporated in an instant.
  I was sitting alone at the bar. She came over and sat beside me. I mumbled something to her. She smiled at me and said something. I laughed. I think I laughed. A minute later, maybe two, she was sipping a glass of white wine and I ordered a second beer.
  "I'm glad this isn't awkward for you," she said, the first words I can remember, the earlier part of the conversation lost forever to history.
  "Why wouldn't it be? We're adults." It sounded pretty good, almost as if I meant it.
  Rubia, the bartender eased closer to our conversation. Rubia was twenty-three years old, one of my former students. She inherited the bar, The Say Hey, from an uncle two years before and, in his honor, kept its unique decor. Though maybe five hundred square feet, The Say Hey featured more photographs of Willie (The Say Hey Kid) Mays than anyplace outside of AT&T Park. All told there were 453 photos on the wall, all of Willie running, catching, throwing, goofing and just enjoying being Willie Mays. Rubia's uncle shot all the photos back when he was a sports photographer for the Sacramento Bee. Rubia told me he'd once been offered $50,000 for the collection, but her uncle turned the offer down flat. She watched Jill and me, part gossip girl, part protective mother.
  "I heard you retired from teaching. You must have been with the university, what, 25 years?" Jill hadn't changed at all, still athletically feminine, light brown hair to the shoulders, nice features, that wilting smile, the blue eyes.
  "Twenty-three. Yeah, and technically I did retire."
  She started to say something, stopped, deciding to let it go. She took another sip of the wine. "I heard you started your own investigation business."
  "Have to make ends meet somehow. My pension only covers so much."
  "I didn't know you had any interest in that kind of work."
  I thought about that for a second, recollecting the logic that had led me down a new career path. "Except for teaching I don't have a lot of skills. With no marketable talents and a natural inclination to snoop into other people's business, there weren't a lot of options."
  "Maybe you shouldn't have retired."
  "It was the right time."
  She looked at me and again I could tell she wanted to say something but held herself back. It was too soon to go down that path. She took a sip of wine before asking, "Do you have any clients?"
  "Uh, no. Actually, I just hung my shingle a couple of weeks ago. I've only been gone from Sac State six months. I'm being selective about who I'll take on."
  "So you've had offers?"
  "Not exactly. Maybe selective isn't the right word. Maybe lazy is more like it." That received a polite laugh.
   "That's kind of why I'm here," she said. "I was wondering if you might want to take on a new client."
  "You need PI services?" I was about to tell her no, but she spoke before I could get it out of my mouth.
  "Not me."
  Rubia drew nearer so that she could better overhear our conversation. I doubted that she knew who Jill was but the fact we knew each other obviously intrigued her. She repeatedly tried to set me up on blind dates and I repeatedly turned her down.
  "Excuse me," I said to Rubia. "A little privacy, please. We're talking business."
  Rubia walked a few feet away and pretended to watch the baseball game on the television at the far end of the bar.
  "If you're not looking for an investigator, then who is?"
  "You remember that my dad is a big-shot investment broker, don't you?"
  "Lionel Stroud, broker to the stars. Or as close to the stars as we have in Sacramento." I took a swig of beer.
  "I think he needs some help, even though he is being very close to the vest about it."
  "What kind of help?"
  "As far as I can tell, Dad's best employee is planning to leave the firm." This didn't seem like something requiring an investigator. It crossed my mind that she might be giving me pity work.
  "People change jobs all the time."
  "It's not that. What has my dad freaked out is that he thinks this employee is plotting to steal some of the firm's biggest clients. We're talking investors worth several hundred million dollars. Even for a firm like my dad's that could be crippling, even ruinous. He's very concerned." She didn't look at me as she spoke, focusing her attention on the wine glass which she rotated with her thumb and forefinger on the table.
  "When did he tell you this?"
  "A couple of days ago. We were having dinner — we do that about twice a year to appear civil — and he seemed distracted. I asked him what was wrong but he was tight-lipped. After his third scotch he finally admitted he had work problems. Took me damned near two hours to even find out the little bit I told you."
  I found myself unconsciously rotating my glass of beer in unison with Jill's wine glass. "What do you want me to do?" I said, taking my hand from the glass and setting it on my lap.
  "I don't know exactly," she said. "Maybe you could start by talking to my dad. I told him I was going to help him."
  "And you thought of me?"
  "You're the only private investigator I know. I think he would talk to you if you told him you could help." She reached into her purse, pulled out a business card and handed it to me. "Please call him."
  "I will," I said, slipping the card into my shirt pocket. Something about the situation seemed wrong and she must have seen it in my face.
  "You're not inspiring me here."
   "It just seems your dad has all the resources he needs to take care of this himself. Attorneys, employee contracts with non-compete clauses most likely, like that. Hell, this can't be the first time a broker has tried to walk away with the firm's clients."
  "I know all that and you're right. This just seems different to me."
  "How so?"
  She drank her wine down until it was almost gone.
  "Dad seems really paranoid about this. It sounded like he didn't want his lawyers or anyone else to know what was going on. That if anyone found out it would cause even worse problems. Whatever's going on, it's got him spooked."
  "All right, I'll at least call him."
  Jill thanked me and stood to leave. I walked her to the front door, opening it for her.
  "Can you keep me posted?" she said. "He and I don't have the closest father-daughter relationship in the world, but I'm worried about him, Ray. Very worried."
  I nodded. I wanted to talk more, and not about her father. It had been two years since we'd seen each other. I felt so different, that I had changed for the better. I wanted to fill her in on my life, but when I searched my mind for something I realized nothing about me except for my employment and romantic status had changed at all. I was still Ray Courage, the same schlub she had dumped two years before.
  "I'll call him tomorrow," I said, not daring to look her in the eyes.
  
CHAPTER 2

   Locals called 300 Capital Mall "The Emerald Tower," in part because its glass facade glimmered like a green jewel in the Sacramento sunlight. That it housed some of Sacramento's most prestigious law, lobbying and investment firms in its swanky offices contributed even more to its regal reputation.
  Atop the Emerald Tower, on the eighteenth floor, reigned Lionel Stroud Investments. Now pushing seventy, Lionel Stroud had been the King Midas on the local investment scene for four decades, generating new wealth for his already wealthy clientele at a pace that humbled his distant rivals. Though he almost never spoke to the media, I did read a rare profile article he granted to promote a fundraiser for childhood cancer he was sponsoring. Stroud played the interview close to the vest, but one remarkable number jumped out at me and I remembered it years later: 25 percent. That, Stroud said, was the average return on investment his clients earned year in and year out, bull market, bear market, boom or bust.
  I waited nearly an hour in the reception area, having long since finished the black coffee served me in a bone china cup, when a middle-aged woman with a helmet hairdo walked past the receptionist and approached me.
  "Mr. Stroud will see you now," she said. She turned and walked away. Always the quick study, I stood and followed.
  She led me into an office larger than the Say Hey. One corner window afforded a clear view of the state capitol, the other window framed the Tower Bridge, Sacramento River and Raley Field, home of the Sacramento River Cats baseball team. Photos of Stroud with the current governor, at least six past governors, state senators and assemblymen adorned the walls. One photo featured Stroud posing with a golf foursome that included Tiger Woods.
  Stroud walked in a moment after I sat in a chair across from his desk. As I shook his hand I sized him up at about my six-foot two inches, but with maybe an additional twenty pounds at the waist, putting him somewhere north of 200 pounds.
  "Do I know you?" he asked, settling in behind the desk in one of the biggest leather chairs I had ever seen.
  "We met once. Your daughter Jill introduced us at a party a few years ago."
  "If you say so."
  I didn't know what to say to that. Clearly, I had made quite an impression at that previous meeting.
  "Please remind me again why I agreed to see you on less than twenty-four hours notice," Stroud said. "I believe you said it had something to do with Jill."
  "She is worried about you and thought maybe I could help," I said.
  "What exactly is it that you do that would be ‘helpful' to me?" Stroud had thinning gray hair, crystal blue eyes and a golfer's tan. He wore a gray suit, blue striped shirt and a red tie with a matching pocket square.
  "I'm a private investigator."
  He raised both eyebrows at that. "And you would be investigating what as it relates to me?"
  I told him what Jill had reported to me. When I finished he stared at me poker-faced.
  "Jill is worried about me?" He let out a laugh. "God, can she be dramatic sometimes," he said, his eyes drifting from me to the capitol.
  "Maybe so. Nevertheless, she said you were genuinely concerned about this particular employee and that maybe I can help you out."
  "How would you do that?"
  "I would probably start by seeing if there was any truth in it. Is the employee looking to leave and steal clients? If so, which clients have been approached? Does he plan to leave your firm soon? Or in a year? That kind of thing." My off the cuff game plan impressed me.
  "Hell, I can do that! And I can do it without violating client confidentiality by releasing their names to some … some …" He flipped a back hand in my general direction.
  "Private investigator," I said, ever helpful.
  "I don't need a private investigator."
  "Like I said, your daughter is worried. If you're not concerned then there's no reason for me to be. But with all due respect, if you say you can find out what this employee is up to, then why haven't you done so?"
  Some of the tension in Stroud's face eased as he settled back into his chair. He appeared to ponder my question.
  "Very well, I admit that I've tried and so far come up empty. Whatever he's doing, he's done a remarkable job of covering his tracks."
  "Maybe he's not doing anything."
  "Mr. Courage, I have risen to my station in life not because I am a shrewd investor — which I am — but because I am the best interpreter of human behavior there is. Period. I don't mean to sound arrogant but it is true. Given this undeniable premise, I can tell you that Andrew Morris is absolutely up to something."
  "Andrew Morris. That's his name?"
  He nodded.
  "Here is what I would suggest," I began. I leaned forward, affecting my best college professor earnestness. "I follow Mr. Morris around for a few days. See who he meets with, poke into his personal and business affairs. Then I report back to you as soon as I learn anything of substance."
  Stroud looked again at the capitol, then over at Raley Field. When he finally looked back at me there was no trace of the earlier anger.
  "You are not a young man, Mr. Courage."
  "I'm fifty-two."
  "And I take it you've been doing this private investigating for some time."
  "No, you would be my first client."
  "Oh."
  "I mean I have taken all the coursework and interned with an insurance company investigating fraud cases. That experience wasn't unlike this."
  "I'll trust your interpretation." He steepled his fingers at his mouth, thinking. "I suppose Jill wouldn't have sent you to me if she didn't think you capable, though my daughter's own judgment is sometimes questionable."
  "I'm not only capable, I'm loyal and trustworthy," I said, giving him a Boy Scout salute.
  He blinked once. I cracked up this guy.
  "What did you do before becoming an investigator?"
  "I was a college professor at Sacramento State. Now retired."
  "So you know Jill from the college? What subject did you teach?"
  "Communication studies."
  "Which means exactly what?"
  "I taught public speaking and small group communication." I decided to keep it simple and backed off from the academic mumbo jumbo that I used to embellish my curricula vitae back when I still needed a curricula vitae.
  "That hardly inspires confidence, Mr. Courage."
  "You would be surprised at how twenty years of listening to 19-year olds deliver five-minute persuasive speeches can sharpen the senses."
  "I'll take your word for it. Here is my proposal to you, Mr. Courage. I will give you one week to determine what Andrew Morris is doing and if he is compromising this firm's best interests. I will pay you five hundred dollars a day, plus any reasonable expenses. I will have my secretary e-mail you a contract later today."
  "That sounds fair to me." Fair? Hell, I was going to charge him less than half that.
  "That's not all," Stroud said. "I will tell you now and it will be explicitly included in the contract. Under no circumstances are you to contact Andrew, his acquaintances, and especially my clients. If I hear one word that anybody knows you are snooping around the affairs of this firm you will be fired, forfeit any earnings, and very likely be subject to a lawsuit. Is that clear?"
  "Mr. Stroud, I can promise you that I will be as discrete as possible. However, in any investigation there are risks that —"
  "You are not listening to me. So let me repeat. You are not to contact anyone at this firm or any of our clients. You must be invisible in this whole thing. In the investment business, even the faintest suggestion of controversy is distasteful and can cause panic. Clear?"
  I nodded.
  "I'm doing this against my better judgment," he said, almost under his breath.
  "I elicit that response a lot."
  Stroud ignored the comment. He had already lost interest in me. He swiveled in his chair so that his back was to me. I sat there for at least a minute, waiting for Stroud to turn around or at least say something to me as he gazed out the window. As the silence became too awkward to endure, I stood, assuming our meeting was over. As I reached the door I took one look back at Stroud and saw his face buried in his hands, his shoulders racking, and I could hear him crying faintly in that big leather chair.

CHAPTER 3

  Rubia walked into the Say Hey about noon, thirty minutes later than promised, though I didn't mind opening the bar for her and working the first hour. I did it as a favor to her and for the free beer it earned me as payment.
  Rubia, to my knowledge was the only one of my students who belonged to a street gang, let alone, ran a street gang. By the time she enrolled in my organizational communication class, two busts and a dozen or so tattoos later, she had gone straight. Then, as now, it was difficult for me to imagine that this beautiful, petite Latina with the sad brown eyes and long black hair possessed the street smarts, guile and ruthlessness to have managed the Los Modernos gang, which until its demise with her departure ran a notorious meth operation in West Sacramento.
  "It's about time," I said, giving her a fist bump over the top of the bar. "I thought you'd never come in."
  "You're working your butt off I see," she said, looking about the empty space.
  "I have low tolerance for stress."
  "Thanks for covering for me." She came around to the working side of the bar and I moved to the more familiar confines of the barstool across from her. "Beer?"
  "Thought you'd never ask. How about a Full Sail?"
  She drew the beer into a pint glass and set it in front of me on a coaster. She dressed simply as always, wearing worn designer jeans that fit her slender figure nicely and a short-sleeved blue top that could not conceal the tats that ran down to her biceps on both arms. She watched me take a sip of the beer. She sighed.
  "Something wrong at the office?" I said. After graduating from Sacramento State with a degree in communication studies, Rubia started her own non-profit foundation, It's My Life, dedicated to getting kids out of gangs and into schools and the job market.
  "I shouldn't complain. Donations are up. I have a part-time assistant now. Four volunteers. Got over thirty kids in the program and working on a few others. I do what I can a day at a time. One kid at a time. It can be wearying." With what little free time she had between running her foundation and managing the Say Hey, Rubia used it to earn two black belts — one in Jujitsu, another in Tai Kwon Do — and learn to shoot a handgun well enough to become club champion at Cordova Shooting Gallery. Though I was almost literally twice her size, if the going ever got tough I knew the chances were that she would protect me more than the other way around.
  "Must make you feel good, though. Making a difference and all that."
  "Could be doing worse things I guess. It's just that instead of getting easier it's getting harder. The Mexican cartels. They're everywhere now. They've got the dads and even the grandpas cultivating weed up in the mountains. And the kids — some as young as ten — are packaging, muleing, and selling the stuff on the street. It's bad, real bad."
  "The Mexican cartels are here in Sacramento?"
  "Not just here. They're all over California, probably most other states, too. Where have you been?"
  "I had no idea."
  "Makes my job harder. These kids can make so much money. They see their parents for god sakes growing weed."
  I shook my head. Thank goodness for people like her who at least tried when it would be easier to give up. I admired her. I raised my glass to her and told her so. Rubia flushed, embarrassed by my uncharacteristic compliment.
  "Let's change the subject. Are you going to tell me about your girlfriend?"
  "Get out of here."
  "Tell me about the gringa. She your new lover? I could see the way you looked at her."
  "Hardly." I snorted. "She's a client of sorts is all." I told her about the job for Jill's dad. "I might have some work for you on this, as a matter of fact.
  Though she expressed some interest in the work she didn't press for details. She was more interested in Jill.
  "So this chick comes to you out of the blue?"
  "We used to date."
  "Ahh. How long ago?"
  "We went out for about three years. Broke up two years ago."
  "Did you dump her or did she dump you?" "Well, Dr. Phil, there wasn't any dumping of anyone. We came to a mutual, mature understanding that we were better off not seeing each other. Very adult. Very civil."
  "She dumped you."
  "Yes." I drank some beer.
  "And now you're working for her?"
  "Technically, no. I'm working for her father. She was just a referral."
  "Referral. Nice. You banging her?"
  "Jesus, I thought that college degree put some couth into that gangbanging head of yours."
  "Are you?"
  "No."
  "Do you want to?"
  "No," I said. "We are done. I will probably never see her again after today."
  "What's today?"
  "Nothing. Nothing at all. She wants an update on my meeting with her dad. She's worried."
  "And she wants to screw your lights out."
  "Stop!"
  "Just saying."
  "Well, you're wrong." I stood and started to leave. "Thanks for the beer."
  Rubia blew me a kiss and thanked me again for opening and tending the bar. "Oh, and keep me posted on how this case thing with the, uh, dad, works out. Don't want you getting your ass into trouble."

— ♦ —

R. Scott Mackey
Photo provided courtesy of
R. Scott Mackey

R. Scott Mackey is the author of four books, including Barbary Baseball: The Pacific Coast League of the 1920s and the young adult novels Blood Runs Deep and The Bugfish Experiment. Courage Matters, the first in a planned series featuring private investigator Ray Courage, is set in Northern California, where Mackey makes his home.

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Courage Matters by R. Scott Mackey

Courage Matters
R. Scott Mackey
A Ray Courage Mystery

Rookie Private Investigator Ray Courage is asked by "Stockbroker to the Stars" Lionel Stroud to investigate an employee who's been acting suspiciously. Ray soon learns that not everything is as it appears at Stroud's firm.

When his investigation uncovers a possible Ponzi Scheme orchestrated by Stroud himself, two people are murdered and Ray becomes Suspect Number One. Ray needs to find answers fast to avoid prison … or death at the hands of the killer.

Complicating his efforts are threats from the son of a Mexican drug lord, hostility from an octogenarian with a penchant for lap dances, harassment from a cop bent on putting Ray away for life, and a rekindled love affair with Stroud's daughter.

Amazon.com Print/Kindle Format(s)

48 Hours by J. Jackson Bentley is Today's Third Featured Free MystereBook

48 Hours by J. Jackson Bentley

MystereBooks is pleased to feature 48 Hours by J. Jackson Bentley as today's third free mystery ebook (A City of London Thriller; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, March 30, 2014 at 7:00 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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48 Hours by J. Jackson Bentley

48 Hours
J. Jackson Bentley
A City of London Thriller
Publisher: Fidus Publishing

"If you don't pay me £250,000.00 in the next 48 Hours you will die."

The text on Josh Hammond's BlackBerry was blunt and chilling. Surely it must be a joke, but when Josh is attacked in broad daylight and people around him start to die he knows that his blackmailer is deadly serious.

Can Josh raise the money? Can his attractive new bodyguard protect him? Who is blackmailing him  … and why?

He has 48 hours to find out.

Amazon Kindle Book

This is a repeat freebie, last featured on this site on January 03, 2013.

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.

Mystery of Bloodsworth Manor by Sophia Queen is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

Mystery of Bloodsworth Manor by Sophia Queen

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Mystery of Bloodsworth Manor by Sophia Queen as today's second free mystery ebook (A New England Gothic Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, March 30, 2014 at 6:45 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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Mystery of Bloodsworth Manor by Sophia Queen

Mystery of Bloodsworth Manor
Sophia Queen
A New England Gothic Mystery
Publisher: Sophia Queen

Nothing is as it seems …

16-year-old Claire McKenna and her sister, Lauren, have been stuck in a group foster home for teens for nine miserable months. When a prominent family in Gallows Point, MA requests guardianship, it gives Claire hope that her life will be semi-normal again. Those hopes are shattered soon after arriving to their new home, Bloodsworth Manor, when her sister disappears.

Evidence suggests Lauren ran away, but when Claire learns of a similar disappearance that occurred in the town five years earlier, she suspects her sister was taken. Her foster parents don't believe her and neither do the police. It's up to Claire alone to uncover the truth and save her sister. Uncertain whom she can trust in the strange town, Claire follows a grim trail of clues and discovers an ancient connection between the cruel witch who once served Countess Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary and the founders of Gallows Point. As frightening events start to occur at Bloodsworth Manor, Claire can't help but wonder if the mansion is haunted, or if she's losing her mind — just like her biological mother did. She soon discovers that things are not at all what they seem in the creepy town of Gallows Point. Dark secrets … deadly betrayals … and ancient curses are only the beginning.

To complicate matters, Evan Bradford, the hottest guy in school, seems to have his sights firmly set on Claire. He offers his help, and their friendship evolves into something deeper. But are his feelings for her sincere, or are his attentions merely one more part of the dangerous web of lies that is rapidly closing in on Claire?

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.

Bullets for a Ballot by Nik Morton is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

Bullets for a Ballot by Nik Morton

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Bullets for a Ballot by Nik Morton as today's free mystery ebook (A Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles Mystery; Kindle format only).

This title was listed for free as of the date and time of this post, March 30, 2014 at 6:30 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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Bullets for a Ballot by Nik Morton

Bullets for a Ballot
Nik Morton
A Cash Laramie and Gideon Miles Mystery
Publisher: Beat to a Pulp

In the town of Bear Pines, Mrs. Tolliver has announced she is running for the mayoral office. She’s the first woman to run as a candidate which divides the residents and sets the town into a tailspin. U.S. Marshal Cash Laramie is sent in to maintain peace and order and to protect Tolliver and her family from powerful allies of the incumbent, Mayor Nolan. In a bid to force her to quit the race, things turn ugly … and deadly.

Surrounded by killers who will stop at nothing to make sure Mrs. Tolliver is not elected, Cash wires Cheyenne for assistance. But will help arrive in time?

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.

Five Mysteries by Agatha Christie is Today's Kindle Daily Deal

Kindle Daily Deal

MystereBooks is pleased to feature Five Mysteries by Agatha Christie as today's Kindle Daily Deal. We're highlighting just one of the titles, Death on the Nile, below.

The deal price of $1.99 each is valid only for today, Sunday, March 30, 2014.

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Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Death on the Nile
Agatha Christie
A Hercule Poirot Mystery
William Morrow

The tranquillity of a cruise along the Nile was shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway had been shot through the head. She was young, stylish and beautiful. A girl who had everything … until she lost her life.

Hercule Poirot recalled an earlier outburst by a fellow passenger: "I'd like to put my dear little pistol against her head and just press the trigger." Yet in this exotic setting nothing was ever quite what it seemed.

Buy from Amazon.com

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.

Today's Mystery and Suspense Update from Big Fish Games (140330)

Big Fish Games

Here is today's mystery and suspense update from Big Fish Games …

• The New Release is Bridge to Another World: Burnt Dreams (Collector's Edition).

• The Daily Deal is Lost Tales: Forgotten Souls, just $2.99 today only!

• The current Catch of the Week is Murder, She Wrote 2: Return to Cabot Cove, just $2.99 through Sunday, March 30, 2014 only.

• Today's Special Deal — This Weekend Only — Fresh Cut Prices! All Standard Edition games are $4.99 each! Use coupon code BLOOM at check-out to purchase any Standard Edition game for just $4.99. Offer valid through March 30th, 2014 only until 11:59 PM PT.

Visit the Omnimystery Entertainment Network for more games of mystery and suspense!

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Bridge to Another World: Burnt Dreams (Collector's Edition)

The New Release today is Bridge to Another World: Burnt Dreams (Collector's Edition)

You’ll never forget the day the monstrous mist rose up and snatched away your little brother — while you watched helplessly from the bridge. But now, after twenty years, the mist has returned — and so has your determination to free him. But first you must confront the evil Countess, who keeps him painting creatures she has learned to burn into reality! Can you face your fears and help your brother finally escape the mysterious island where his dreams come to life — or will the whole world enter the mist? Enter a world where art and reality join hands, in this heart-stopping, hidden-object adventure!

This is a special Collector's Edition release full of exclusive extras you won't find in the standard version, including: Gripping bonus gameplay; Exciting new quests; Unlockable collectibles and achievements; Stunning wallpapers and concept art; and an Integrated strategy guide.

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour.

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Lost Tales: Forgotten Souls

Today's Daily Deal is Lost Tales: Forgotten Souls

A crow smashes into the windshield of your car and causes you to crash into a nearby tree. A nice elderly lady named Emma offers to let you and your daughter, Maria, rest in her cabin until the thick fog dissipates. You settle down for a nice cup of tea and then suddenly fall asleep. Emma fed you poisoned tea and kidnapped Maria! Solve riddles and brain teasing puzzles as you desperately search the spooky cabin for your missing daughter in this ghoulish Hidden Object tale.

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour. You can purchase this game today only — Sunday, March 30, 2014 — for $2.99.

Also available for this game:

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Murder, She Wrote 2: Return to Cabot Cove

The current Catch of the Week is Murder, She Wrote 2: Return to Cabot Cove

Take on the role of beloved murder-mystery writer Jessica Fletcher and return to lovely (but lethal) Cabot Cove! In Case 1, a prominent gallery owner is found stabbed in the back, and Jessica must distinguish friend from foe. Intrigue abounds in Case 2 when the philanthropic president of the local charity is electrocuted to death. It's up to Jessica to discover whether the motive was love, money or power. Jessica decides that she needs a vacation after all the mayhem and murder in her hometown, but Case 3 finds her embroiled in a mystery involving James Joyce!

A sample version is available to download and play for free for one hour. You can purchase this game at the special price of $2.99 through Sunday, March 30, 2014.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Review: Murder in Pigalle by Cara Black

Mysterious Reviews: Reviews of New Mysteries, Novels of Suspense, and Thrillers

A Mysterious Review of Murder in Pigalle by Cara Black. An Aimée Leduc Investigation.

Review summary: After several overly complicated and really rather average outings for Aimée Leduc and her investigative partner Rene Friant, this mystery is refreshingly simple in its scope and quite good as a result. And while the storyline is far afield of the primary focus of Leduc Detective, this is most certainly one of the better entries in this series. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating: 4 of 5 stars

Murder in Pigalle Cara Black

Murder in Pigalle
Cara Black
An Aimée Leduc Investigation
Soho Crime (March 2014)

Publisher synopsis: June, 1998: Paris's sticky summer heat is even more oppressive than usual as rowdy French football fans riot in anticipation of the World Cup. Private Investigator Aimée Leduc has been trying to slow down her hectic lifestyle — she's five months' pregnant and has the baby's well-being to think about now. But then disaster strikes close to home. A serial rapist has been terrorizing Paris's Pigalle neighborhood, following teenage girls home and attacking them in their own houses. It is sad and frightening but has nothing to do with Aimée — until Zazie, the 13-year-old daughter of the proprietor of Aimée's favorite café, disappears. The police aren't mobilizing quickly enough, and when Zazie's desperate parents approach Aimée for help, she knows she couldn't say no even if she wanted to.

Available from Amazon.com  Available from Barnes & Noble  Available from iTunes  Available from Kobo

A New MystereBook: Squeeze Play by Nicolette Pierce

New MystereBooks (Mystery eBooks)

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 during March 2014 priced $4.99 or less …

Squeeze Play by Nicolette Pierce is the fourth entry in this series of romantic suspense novels featuring Nadia Wolf.

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Squeeze Play by Nicolette Pierce

Squeeze Play by Nicolette Pierce
A Nadia Wolf Novel
Publisher: Nicolette Pierce
Publication Date: March 28, 2014
Price: $3.99 (as of 03/29/14 04:30 PM ET)

Nadia is faced with the hardest decision of her life and she's hiding like a coward. Since the decision is choosing between the two men she loves, hiding seems like a reasonable option. That is until things start going terribly wrong. Caleb's money has been stolen and the likely suspect is none other than his PR manager Jessica. And Greyson has embarked on a project that lures a killer.

While attempting to help both men, Nadia dates them simultaneously in order to figure out which man she loves more. It has nothing to do with the fact that they are both sinfully handsome. That's a bonus. Unfortunately, things never go as smoothly as Nadia plans. Not only does she anger the men she loves, but the killer sets her as the target.

Nadia's not the only one having relationship problems. Mya and David are at a standoff. Mya's determined to stand her ground, even if it means sleeping on an air mattress far away from her beloved clothes. Mark wants more from content bachelor Frankie. Neither of them are willing to talk, and Mark's ready to leave Las Vegas for good. Muffin finds she's married to a man who actually stands up to her. And, Lord, they aren't shy about letting everyone hear their arguments, nor their … other activities. Her husband has a reason for sticking around, and if Muffin isn't careful, it could mean her downfall. And Remy, well, he's gone and kissed someone, adding confusion to an already messy situation.

In the end, it all comes down to Nadia and the love of her life. She'll choose the right man. Sadly, it might be too late.

Amazon Kindle Book

Important Note: This book was listed for the price indicated on the date and time as shown. Prices can and do change without prior notice. Please confirm the price of the book before completing your purchase.

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