New This Week: Prescription for Murder, An Alexis J. Smith Mystery by Evelyn Smith

Omnimystery News is pleased to present 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 August 2014 and priced $4.99 or less …

Prescription for Murder by Evelyn Smith

An Alexis J. Smith Mystery (3rd in series)

Publisher: Phoenix International

Price: $3.99 (as of 08/03/2014 at 5:00 PM ET).

  

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

It was announced that Alexis J. Smith, an American private investigator, had married Detective Inspector Harry Hawkins of Scotland Yard that morning on the island of Majorca. But, in fact, a mysterious telegram addressed to Lexie and allegedly signed by her sister Mary, had arrived saying that their mother was ill and needed her desperately. Trouble is, their mother had been dead for three years. So who sent the wire, and why? Someone needed her, that much was clear, and Lexie feels she must fly home and find out who it is. Of course, the wedding is off.

Back home in Sacramento, she learns that a U.S. congressman from that district has been poisoned, and one of her friends is about to be charged with the crime. A second murder, of the druggist who dispensed the lethal prescription to the congressman, now points to the Irish Mafia. In the meantime, Mary is kidnapped by the Mob and held prisoner while Lexie is sent to Ireland to find, and bring back, a young woman who had fled the country to escape the attentions of one of the Mob bosses. Her sister's life depends on a successful mission, but Lexie has double-crossed powerful organizations before, and may have to do it again.

In the meantime, Harry Hawkins will bend every rule of Scotland Yard to help her, but will it be enough? Is this the end, or merely the closing of the circle?

— Prescription for Murder by Evelyn Smith

Jackpot Blood, A Nick Herald, Genealogical Mystery by Jimmy Fox, Now Available at a Special Price

Amazon Kindle Countdown Deals are limited-time discounts on Kindle-exclusive books.

Omnimystery News is pleased to present you with one of today's titles … but take advantage of this deal now as the price will go up to its digital list price soon! (See the countdown clock on the book product page to see how much time remains on this deal.)

Jackpot Blood by Jimmy Fox

A Nick Herald, Genealogical Mystery (3rd in series)

Publisher: Jimmy Fox

Price: $0.99 (as of 08/03/2014 at 4:00 PM ET).

  

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

Professional genealogist Nick Herald must rescue a Louisiana Indian tribe's future from a deadly past!

Big trouble plagues rural central Louisiana when the small tribe of nearly assimilated Katogoula Indians unexpectedly receives federal recognition. In a cruel irony, will good fortune mean the death of the tribe?

Spirits long ignored begin to haunt the pine forest. Outsiders pour into the isolated community. Tribal unity unravels. Someone — or something — is murdering tribe members!

Into this crisis comes Nick Herald, sleuth and professional genealogist from New Orleans. The tribe has hired him to help establish guidelines for membership, often a delicate task in which treasured heritage and large sums of money are at stake. Putting the newly recognized Katogoula Tribe on a firm foundation is just the sort of lucrative job that will allow Nick to pay his loyal, brilliant, wheelchair-using sidekick, Hawty Latimer, what she's worth. But the lure of huge casino profits brings out the worst in everyone. Nick soon finds that he's landed in the middle of a free-for-all involving other Louisiana tribes, crooked politicians, a powerful local family, mercenary gambling syndicates, and ruthless drug runners.

And what's more, the family secrets of central Louisiana's piney woods are as deadly as the genealogical masquerades of New Orleans. Hidden forces want Nick off the case, dead or alive.

Stubborn sleuth that he is, Nick probes forbidden subjects to learn why tribal recognition is turning out to be not the expected jackpot, but a murderous disaster for the Katogoula. He scours family and tribal histories and calls on his knowledge of American Indian genealogy. Assisting him on the scene is an amateur ethnographer, a gorgeous woman Nick falls for, even though he questions her role in the deadly drama. Contemporary human plotters and undying genealogical demons assail the intrepid investigator as he digs up buried ancient malice in his quest to save the resurrected tribe.

Nick realizes that unless he stops the evil, his Katogoula friends and their storied ancestry face extinction, just as their dream of rebirth seems so close. He confronts an age-old fury that stalks the Katogoula Indians and threatens their very survival — and his!

— Jackpot Blood by Jimmy Fox

The Devil Takes Half by Leta Serafim, a New 1st in Series Mystery Introducing Yiannis Patronas

Omnimystery News is pleased to present you with one of this month's new 1st in Series titles, a mystery, thriller or suspense novel that introduces a recurring character (or characters) …

The Devil Takes Half by Leta Serafim

Yiannis Patronas, Greek Islands (1st in series)

Publisher: Coffeetown Press

  

What we know about the character: Yiannis Patronas is a police officer on the Greek Island of Chios. For more information about his first murder, see a synopsis of the book, below.

At an archeological dig on the idyllic Greek Island of Chios, a severed hand is found lying in a blood-filled trench. Could it belong to Eleni Argentis, a beautiful archeologist who is also the wealthy daughter of a local ship owner? She and her young assistant, Petros, are both missing.

The chief officer of the local police force, Yiannis Patronas, suspects that Eleni and Petros happened upon something of real value. However, his search turns up nothing but handfuls of broken clay, and then, another body — that of Petros, whose throat has been brutally cut. Body parts belonging to Eleni are left behind on a remote beach, confirming her demise. Then an old priest with a fondness for TV detective shows is attacked and left for dead.

The dig site is located near the monastery where he was the only resident. Patronas interviews Petros' longsuffering grandmother, his flighty mother and her money-grubbing boyfriend, as well as Eleni's greedy stepmother and her charming son. He also confronts two archeologists, one British and one American. If Eleni's find is, as they insist, worthless, what are these men doing on Chios?

Although Patronas has little experience with homicide, he is determined to conquer the evil that threatens this formerly peaceful island.

— The Devil Takes Half by Leta Serafim

Queen of Hearts by Rhys Bowen, New in Bookstores during August 2014

Today's featured new hardcover mystery, suspense, or thriller title scheduled to be published during August 2014 is …

Queen of Hearts by Rhys Bowen

The Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, Royal Spyness Series (8th)

Publisher: Berkley Hardcover

        

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

More about our featured title, below …

My mother, the glamorous and much-married actress, is hearing wedding bells once again — which is why she must hop across the pond for a quickie divorce in Reno. To offer my moral support, and since all expenses are paid by her new hubby-to-be, Max, I agree to make the voyage with her.

Crossing the Atlantic, with adventure in the air and wealthy men aboard, Mother all but forgets about Max and matrimony — especially when movie mogul Cy Goldman insists on casting her in his next picture.

Meanwhile, I find myself caught up in the secret investigation of a suspected jewel thief. Lucky for me, the lead investigator happens to be my dashing beau, Darcy!

Mother's movie and Darcy's larceny lead everyone to Cy's Hollywood home, where the likes of Charlie Chaplin are hanging about and there's enough romantic intrigue to fill a double feature. But we hardly get a chance to work out the sleeping arrangements before Cy turns up dead — as if there wasn't enough drama already …

— Queen of Hearts by Rhys Bowen

Evidence of Passion by Cynthia Eden, New from Harlequin Intrigue in August 2014

Omnimystery News is pleased to introduce a new mystery, suspense, or thriller title from Harlequin, published this month …

Evidence of Passion by Cynthia Eden

Series: Shadow Agents

Imprint: Intrigue

  

For more information about the book, see a synopsis, below.

Friends become endangered lovers …

Trusting the wrong man had almost cost EOD agent Rachel Mancini her life. Now, years later, the killer's back to make the hit he missed. But he won't succeed while Rachel's gorgeous partner, Dylan Foxx, is on the case. He's been the sexy ex-lawyer's friend for years and will do anything to keep her safe. And though it could prove fatal, he wants her in his arms … and his bed.

But first he has to stop the madman obsessed with Rachel. Ex-SEAL Dylan has the skills and determination to meet every danger the twisted assassin can unleash. A relationship has never had a place in his life … until he senses Rachel wants him as badly as he wants her.

— Evidence of Passion by Cynthia Eden

Mystery Godoku Puzzle for August 04, 2014

A new Mystery Godoku Puzzle has been created by the editors of the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books and is now available on our website.

Godoku is similar to Sudoku, but uses letters instead of numbers. To give you a headstart, we provide you a mystery clue to fill in a complete row or column (if you choose to use it!).

— ◊ —

This week's letters and mystery clue:

B D I L N O P S T

Nancy Bush's 2010 psychological thriller is subtitled "You'll never see it coming …" (9 letters).

We now have two weeks of our puzzles on one page in PDF format for easier printing. Print this week's puzzle here.

Previous puzzles are stored in the Mystery Godoku Archives.

Enjoy the weekly Mystery Godoku Puzzle from the Hidden Staircase Mystery Books, and Thanks for visiting our website!

New This Week: The Coercion Key, A Marc Craig Crime Novel by Catriona King

Omnimystery News is pleased to present 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 August 2014 and priced $4.99 or less …

The Coercion Key by Catriona King

A Marc Craig Crime Novel (7th in series)

Publisher: Crooked Cat Publishing

Price: $3.99 (as of 08/03/2014 at 12:00 PM ET).

  

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

Belfast's Suicide …

When a series of suicides occurs within a short period of time, and every one is committed by a person with everything to live for, Marc Craig's suspicions begin to rise.

On investigating, Craig's team enters a world that links cyber reality with real lives, where respectable façades unravel to reveal hidden identities.

— The Coercion Key by Catriona King

Please Welcome Mystery Author Joan Del Monte

with Joan Del Monte

We are delighted to welcome mystery author Joan Del Monte to Omnimystery News.

Joan's fourth novel is Murder Redrum (February 2014 trade paperback and ebook formats) and today she tells us about the time period of the storyline, 1923.

— ♦ —

Photo provided courtesy of
Joan Del Monte

Well, so I've been learning about 1923.

Did you know men's pants did not have zippers on their flies in 1923? Zippers were just appearing. The cutting edge crowd had them; young and fashionable men. But they were in the minority.

Real men, by God, wore buttons!

When I decided to set my fourth mystery, Murder Redrum, in 1923, I knew I'd have to make changes from modern life. No computers, cell phones, TV, and a population staggered by the deadliest flu the word has known. From spring 1918 into l9l9 the Spanish flu pandemic killed over 50 million people worldwide. The American government insisted on trying to keep up public morale, so it kept releasing statements that the flu was over. But the flu came in three waves, the third being the most deadly.

The poor, left to their own solutions, had all kinds of ways to protect themselves. Word spread that the only cure was garlic worn in a linen bag around the neck. Or sugar cubes soaked in turpentine. To walk into a New York tenement was to be knocked back three feet by the reek.

— ♦ —

Joan Del Monte has taught courses in antiques at UCLA extension and the California State College system; lectured on antiques on radio and wrote a bibliography of small antiques for the Los Angeles Public Library.

Joan has also taught a course in writing the mystery novel at Santa Monica College, which she called "A Guide to the Pitfalls, From Someone Who Has Fallen Into Most of Them". She has a B.S. from Columbia University and an M.A. from U.C.L.A. She is a frequent public speaker on her books and the writer’s life.

For more information about the author, please visit her website at JoanDelMonte.com or find her on Facebook.

— ♦ —

Murder Redrum
Joan Del Monte
A Palindrome Mystery

High in his outrageous apartment over a brewery, a stock market genius plots four simultaneous bank robberies at one intersection. The police receive four alarms and ignore them thinking it has to be an error. The genius codes his plans with palindromes to hide them.

In 1923, the abrasive dry laws only add more confusion to an already addled, overworked police department riven with the politically ambitious and inept criminal investigation department. Consequently, the solution of the crimes falls to a retired forensics cop, who is now a Chinese restaurant chef, and his protégé, who has family problems of his own with the dry laws. The robbers’ escape seems inconceivable plus they have hostages. Only one thing is for sure: They aren’t stopping for anything.

  

Death Warmed Over by Kevin J. Anderson is Today's Second Featured Free MystereBook

Omnimystery News is pleased to feature …

Death Warmed Over by Kevin J. Anderson

A Dan Shamble, Zombie PI Mystery

Publisher: Kensington

… as today's second free mystery ebook.

  

This title was listed for free as of August 03, 2014 at 7:10 AM ET. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of the 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.

More on today's free book, below.

Single Dead Detective Seeks Clue …

Ever since the Big Uneasy unleashed vampires, werewolves, and other undead denizens on the world, it's been hell being a detective — especially for zombie P.I. Dan Chambeaux. Taking on the creepiest of cases in the Unnatural Quarter with a human lawyer for a partner and a ghost for a girlfriend, Chambeaux redefines "dead on arrival". But just because he was murdered doesn't mean he'd leave his clients in the lurch. Besides, zombies are so good at lurching.

Now he's back from the dead and back in business — with a caseload that's downright unnatural. A resurrected mummy is suing the museum that put him on display. Two witches, victims of a curse gone terribly wrong, seek restitution from a publisher for not using "spell check" on its magical tomes. And he's got to figure out a very personal question — Who killed him?

For Dan Chambeaux, it's all in a day's work. (Still, does everybody have to call him "Shamble"?)

— Death Warmed Over by Kevin J. Anderson

Predatory Kill by Kenneth Eade is Today's Featured Free MystereBook

Omnimystery News is pleased to feature …

Predatory Kill by Kenneth Eade

A Legal Thriller

Publisher: Times Square Publishing

… as today's free mystery ebook.

  

This title was listed for free as of August 03, 2014 at 7:00 AM ET. Prices are subject to change without notice. The price displayed on the vendor website at the time of the 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.

More on today's free book, below.

A maniacal killer is on the loose. April's mother is brutally murdered and her father beaten within an inch of his life. Enter Brent Marks. He's already paid his dues as a lawyer, having taken his share of divorces and drunk driving cases over his 20 year career, but has finally reached a place in his life where he can take on cases of social importance. What he least expected was for April Marsh's predatory lending case against the big banks for wrongful foreclosure on her parent's home to turn into a murder investigation.

As the courtroom drama heats up, the action outside the courtroom spirals out of control. Are banks really that above the law?

— Predatory Kill by Kenneth Eade

Today's Mystery and Suspense Update from Big Fish Games (140803)

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

• The New Release is Witch Hunters: Full Moon Ceremony (Collector's Edition).

• The Daily Deal is 9: The Dark Side, just $2.99 today only!

• The current Catch of the Week is The Torment of Whitewall, just $2.99 through Sunday, August 03, 2014 only.

• Today's Special Deal — This weekend only: All Collector's Editions are $8.99 each! Use coupon code COLLECT at check-out to purchase any Collector's Edition game for just $8.99. Offer valid through August 3rd, 2014 until 11:59 PM PT.

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

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The New Release is Witch Hunters: Full Moon Ceremony (Collector's Edition)

An old mirror reveals a terrible secret when a strange creature suddenly emerges and begins terrorizing your home. But you soon learn he's just a lackey for an even bigger threat — a group of evil witches who want to take over the world! Stopping them won't be easy, though. Your whole house has been enchanted with a series of deadly tricks and traps. A trip down the hallway is now a dangerous battle of will and wits. Can you overcome the obstacles and send the witches packing before the night is over? Find out in this thrilling Hidden Object Adventure game!

This is a special Collector's Edition release full of exclusive extras you won't find in the standard version, including: A bonus game from your sister's point of view; Replayable mini-games; Morphing object collectibles; Achievements; and Wallpaper, soundtracks, and concept art.

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

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Today's Daily Deal is 9: The Dark Side

End a centuries-old war between the Guardians and the Clan of the Nine! Are you the Last Descendant of whom the legend foretells, the one who will stop the darkness that haunts Prague? Find out in this incredible Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game! Take on dark enemies and solve perplexing puzzles as you explore the gorgeous city of Prague. Fulfill your destiny!

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

Also available for this game:

• Get the Strategy Guide.
• Check out the Blog Walkthrough.
• For a more in-depth experience, see the Collector's Edition.

— ♦ —

The current Catch of the Week is The Torment of Whitewall

Uncover the mystery of the Night Stalker! A shadowy figure has been stalking the streets of Whitewall, and young women have been disappearing without trace. Only one girl has managed to escape from the mysterious attacker, but she's not talking to anyone … Rumor has it that something strange and terrible happened to her that night. Rumor has it that this so-called Night Stalker is some kind of monster. As more and more people are driven from their homes by fear, you are called in to end the town's terrible torment.

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

Also available for this game:

• Get the Strategy Guide.
• Check out the Blog Walkthrough.
• For a more in-depth experience, see the Collector's Edition.

Review: Cradle to Grave by Eleanor Kuhns

A Mysterious Review of Cradle to Grave by Eleanor Kuhns. A Will Rees Mystery.

Review summary: Set in late 18th century New York, this is an enjoyable mystery with a complicated whodunit storyline that is best enjoyed by simply following along with the lead character as he does the ground work in solving the murders, and closes with a very touching, very appropriate ending. (Click here for text of full review.)

Our rating:

Cradle to Grave
Eleanor Kuhns
A Will Rees Mystery
Minotaur Books (June 2014)

Publisher synopsis: Will Rees is adjusting to life on his Maine farm in 1797, but he's already hungering for the freedom of the road, and his chance to travel comes sooner than he expects. Lydia has just received a letter from her old friend Mouse, a soft-spoken and gentle woman who now lives in the Shaker community in Mount Unity, New York. To Lydia and Rees's astonishment, she's in trouble with the law. She's kidnapped five children, claiming that their mother, Maggie Whitney, is unfit to care for them.

Despite the wintry weather and icy roads, Rees and Lydia set out for New York, where they sadly conclude that Mouse is probably right and the children would be better off with her. There's nothing they can do for Mouse legally, though, and they reluctantly set out for home. But before they've travelled very far, they receive more startling news: Maggie Whitney has been found murdered, and Mouse is the prime suspect.

        

Airport, A Suspense Thriller by Arthur Hailey, Now Available at a Special Price

Omnimystery News is always searching for newly discounted mystery, suspense, thriller and crime novels for our readers to enjoy. Today, we're pleased to feature the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, Open Road …

Airport by Arthur Hailey

A Suspense Thriller

Publisher: Open Road

Price: $1.99 (as of 08/02/2014 at 5:00 PM ET).

  

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

As a raging blizzard wreaks havoc at Lincoln International Airport outside Chicago, airport and airline personnel try to cope with this unstoppable force of nature that is endangering thousands of lives. And in the air, a lone plane struggles to reach its destination.

Over the course of seven pulse-pounding hours, a tense human drama plays out as a brilliant airport manager, an arrogant pilot, a tough maintenance man, and a beautiful stewardess strive to avert disaster.

— Airport by Arthur Hailey

Heir Apparent, A Grace Smith Mystery by Liz Evans, New This Week from Endeavour Press

Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher, promoting and selling ebook editions of works by new authors as well as bringing out ebook editions of out of print books.

We've selected one of their recently published mystery, suspense, thriller or crime titles to feature here today …

Heir Apparent by Liz Evans

A Grace Smith Mystery (2nd in series)

Publisher: Endeavour Press

Price: $3.99 (as of 08/02/2014 at 4:30 PM ET).

  

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

Grace Smith, Private Investigator, hasn't been doing a lot of investigating lately. With her cases drying up, her pitying co-worker hands her a client whose demands are too mundane for him to deal with. The client wants to leave her fortune to three strangers.

The lucky benefactors have already been picked — all Grace has to do is find out as much about them as possible, and report back to the lonely millionairess, without giving the game away. Easy? Not quite.

It turns out that these harmless strangers may not be as harmless after all, with Grace stumbling upon a juicy conspiracy that involves all three of her chosen subjects. She can't help but get caught up in it — and as she delves deeper into her investigation, things start to get messy …

— Heir Apparent by Liz Evans

Deadly Recall, A Suspense Thriller by Donnell Ann Bell, Now Available at a Special Price

Omnimystery News is always searching for newly discounted mystery, suspense, thriller and crime novels for our readers to enjoy. Today, we're pleased to feature the following title, now available at a special price courtesy of the publisher, Bell Bridge Books …

Deadly Recall by Donnell Ann Bell

A Suspense Thriller

Publisher: Bell Bridge Books

Price: $1.99 (as of 08/02/2014 at 4:00 PM ET).

  

Important Note: Price(s) verified as of the date and time shown. Price(s) are subject to change at any time. Please confirm the price of the book before purchasing it.

A terrifying memory is locked deep inside her. A killer wants to keep it that way.

As a nine-year-old child, Eden Moran witnessed the murder of her beloved teacher, Sister Beatrice. Her mind blocked the horrifying memory, and now, seventeen years later, Eden still can't recall what she saw that fateful day at Albuquerque's St. Patrick's Church. The nun's remains have been unearthed at a local construction site, and Albuquerque police detective, Kevin Dancer, starts pressuring Eden to search the shadows of her terror for clues.

Eden insists she didn't see the killer that day. She can't even remember knowing Sister Beatrice. Regardless, Detective Dancer refuses to give up on her. He's not only hell-bent on solving the crime, he's falling in love with her. If her memories resurface, she'll be in danger, and he wants to protect her. The killer seems determined that she'll take the memory to an early grave.

— Deadly Recall by Donnell Ann Bell