Mysteries

Mysteries

Looking to download free and discounted mystery ebooks? Well then, you sleuth, you’ve found the right place. Satisfy your crime solving needs in this category, and never pay more than what you should. We routinely feature the best authors of mystery ebooks, and they always promote their ebooks to you--for free or for a discount.

 

Definition of "Mystery Genre": Fiction in which a detective resolves a crime or series of crimes.  This genre can also be referred to as detective or crime novels.  The plot of a mystery ebook focuses on the crime that needs to be solved, and the detective that will solve it.  Typical elements include the detective being in danger, a host of suspects with their own motives, and clues, motives and alibis.  The genre can vary greatly dependent on the time in which the mystery is set, as that will drive what tools the detective has at his/her disposal.

 

Some examples of the best mysteries of all-time include Dashiell Hammett (The Maltese Falcon), Agatha Christie (Murder on the Orient Express), Caleb Carr (The Alienist), Lyndsay Faye (Dust and Shadow), James Cain (The Postman Always Rings Twice).  Of course, many of these are the best mystery ebooks of all time, as well as classics.  We try to bring you free and discounted mystery ebooks on their way to being the tops in their genre.

Skip Langdon Vol. 1-5 (The Skip Langdon Series)

by Julie Smith

 

An Edgar Award-winning murder mystery and four thrilling sequels at a killer price!

Save over 50% on five Skip Langdon Mysteries!
Follow the remarkably bold, smart, and refreshingly human homicide detective Skip Langdon through the twists and turns of a New Orleans teeming with crooked cops, mob encroachment, and southern kinships gone awry. The resourceful former debutante-turned-rookie cop investigates the shooting of a prominent Uptown socialite at Mardi Gras, tracks a terrifying serial killer, searches for a runaway teen - a person of interest in the stabbing of the well-loved director of the famed New Orleans Jazzfest, weaves her way through the tangled cyberspace web of a pre-Facebook virtual community, and caps it all off by unraveling the murder of a legendary restauranteur and the kidnapping of his family.

Gritty, witty, & mesmerizing! Langdon is a splendid female heroine.” –People Magazine

"Like a good Grisham: taut, fast, and thrilling. But with a lot more heart and soul.” -The Clarion-Ledger

"The real star of this superb effort is New Orleans, which has never seemed more dangerous or alluring—or less easy." -Publishers Weekly

NEW ORLEANS MOURNING
It's Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and civic leader and socialite Chauncy St. Amant has been crowned Rex, King of Carnival. But his day of glory comes to an abrupt and bloody end when a parade-goer dressed as Dolly Parton guns him down. Is the killer his aimless, promiscuous daughter Marcelle? Homosexual, mistreated son Henry? Helpless, alcoholic wife Bitty? Or some unknown player? Turns out the king had enemies...

AXEMAN'S JAZZ
What's the perfect killing field for a murderer? A place where he (or maybe she) can learn your secrets from your own mouth and then make friends over coffee. A supposedly "safe" place where anonymity is the norm. The horror who calls himself The Axeman has figured it out and claimed his territory—he's cherry-picking his victims in the 12-Step programs of New Orleans.

JAZZ FUNERAL
Skip Langdon just happens to be on hand when Ham Brocato, director of New Orleans Jazzfest, is discovered dead on the kitchen floor in the middle of his own party the evening before the Fest. To complicate the already murky case, the victim's sixteen-year-old blues musician sister has disappeared, and Skip suspects that if the young woman isn't the murderer, she's in mortal danger from the person who is. Melody's dangerous yet exhilarating journey tugs at the heart and raises the pulse rate.

DEATH BEFORE FACEBOOK
It’s a chilly November in 1994, and thirty-one-year-old Geoff Kavanagh surreptitiously splits his time between science fiction novels and cyberspace in his parents’ dilapidated, overgrown, uptown New Orleans mansion. Until his mother finds him dead from a suspicious fall off a ladder. Maybe he should never have posted about seeing his father murdered …

HOUSE OF BLUES
Sugar Hebert arrives home from a ten-minute errand to find her husband shot to death and the rest of her family missing—including her daughter Reed, heir apparent to the Hebert restaurant dynasty, and Reed's eleven-month-old daughter.

Fans of Ace Atkins, Tana French, Sue Grafton, and Marcia Muller will love Skip Langdon’s pluck and charm in this bountiful bundle, which includes the first five books in the series.

 

 

 

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These Rebel Waves

by Sara Raasch

 

A thrilling new fantasy series—full of deadly magic, double crosses, and a dangerous quest in a new world—from Sara Raasch, the New York Times bestselling author of the Snow Like Ashes series.

Adeluna is a soldier. Five years ago, she helped the magic-rich island of Grace Loray overthrow its oppressor, Agrid, a country ruled by religion.

But adjusting to postwar life has not been easy. When an Argridian delegate vanishes during peace talks with Grace Loray’s new Council, Argrid demands brutal justice—but Lu suspects something dangerous is at work.


Devereux is a pirate. As one of the stream raiders who run rampant on Grace Loray, he scavenges the island’s magic plants and sells them on the black market. But after Argrid accuses raiders of the diplomat’s abduction, Vex becomes a target. An expert navigator, he agrees to help Lu find the Argridian—but the truth they uncover could be deadlier than any war.

Benat is a heretic. The crown prince of Argrid, he harbors a secret obsession with Grace Loray’s forbidden magic. When Ben’s father, the king, gives him the shocking task of reversing Argrid’s fear of magic, Ben has to decide if one prince can change a devout country—or if he’s building his own pyre.

As conspiracies arise, Lu, Vex, and Ben will have to decide who they really are . . . and what they are willing to become for peace.

 

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Led Astray: A Crime Thriller (The Avia Chronicles)

by Karlianna Voncil


JUST HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY?


After sixteen-year-old Emily Burns turns up murdered, Sweet Valley detectives Martinez and van Daan must pin their hopes on thirteen-year-old Daisy Young, the only living soul who could have possibly witnessed the horrifying crime. But as the story of Daisy’s life spills out, the interview transforms into something darker and more tragic than either detective is equipped to handle.

Abandoned by her mother in a poor Sweet Valley neighborhood, Daisy falls in with a troupe of street-smart teens who offer her both the family and freedom she desperately craves. Their leader is Avia, a mysterious older teen who teaches Daisy both to survive and about the importance of family loyalty.

But when tragedy strikes and sends Avia down the deadly path of revenge, Daisy must prove her loyalty in one truly unforgettable act.

This twisted coming-of-age story questions the role that family, friends, and extreme poverty play in the lives of the youngest and most vulnerable members of society.

Fans of The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Swamplandia! by Karen Russell, Monster by Walter Dean Myers, and Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff will love this book.

This book is for anybody who likes reading:

  • Coming-of-age stories

  • Stories about rebellion, poverty, flawed mentors, and revenge

  • Crime thrillers

  • Young adult thrillers

  • Revenge thrillers

  • Murder mysteries
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Method 15/33

by Shannon Kirk

2015 National Indie Excellence Award Winner for Best Suspense Novel

2015 School Library Journal Best Adult Books for Teens (1 of only 17 Novels Selected)

2015 Foreword Reviews BOOK OF THE YEAR GOLD WINNER for best thriller

2016 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards Gold Winner Mystery/Suspense


Imagine a helpless, pregnant 16-year-old who's just been yanked from the serenity of her home and shoved into a dirty van. Kidnapped...Alone...Terrified.

Now forget her...

Picture instead a pregnant, 16-year-old, manipulative prodigy. She is shoved into a dirty van and, from the first moment of her kidnapping, feels a calm desire for two things: to save her unborn son and to exact merciless revenge.

She is methodical--calculating-- scientific in her plotting. A clinical sociopath? Leaving nothing to chance, secure in her timing and practice, she waits--for the perfect moment to strike. Method 15/33 is what happens when the victim is just as cold as the captors.

The agents trying to find a kidnapped girl have their own frustrations and desires wrapped into this chilling drama.  In the twists of intersecting stories, one is left to ponder. Who is the victim? Who is the aggressor?

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Forbidden Birth: A Chris Ravello Medical Thriller

by William Rubin


Doctor Christopher Ravello is driven by an unquenchable desire to avenge his mother's senseless murder. He forsakes a lucrative career in medicine, and plunges headlong into the brutal, unforgiving world of a New York City homicide detective. Head of the new Division of Medical Crimes, Ravello's first case pits him against a brilliant, sadistic serial killer. Known only as The Giver, he is hell bent on subjecting young women and their unborn babies to his illicit experiments. As the body count rises, New York City is engulfed in fear. Fighting an illness which threatens his job, immersed in turmoil at home due to his radical career change, Ravello struggles to understand who The Giver is and where he will strike next. Just as he discovers the killer's identity the unspeakable happens, and Ravello is confronted with an agonizing choice: will he play it safe or make the ultimate sacrifice to save his loved ones and the city he is sworn to protect and serve?

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Merry, Merry Ghost (Bailey Ruth Book 2)

by Carolyn Hart


“If I were teaching a course on how to write a mystery, I’d make Carolyn Hart required reading.”
Los Angeles Times 

Merry, Merry Ghost by Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Award winner Carolyn Hart, is the spirited second appearance of spectral sleuth, Bailey Ruth Raeburn, who would never let a little thing like being dead keep her from enjoying the Yuletide holiday or solving a dastardly crime. The light and funny follow up to Hart’s critically acclaimed Ghost At Work—which Publishers Weekly named One of the Best Books of 2008—Merry, Merry Ghost is a  true Christmas treat, and Bailey Ruth is a most welcome addition to Carolyn Hart’s coterie of beloved series protagonists, joining septuagenarian sleuth “Henrie O” Collins and the Darlings of “Death on Demand” fame.

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Say You're Sorry (Morgan Dane Book 1)

by Melinda Leigh

 

In this thrilling series from Amazon Charts and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melinda Leigh, former prosecutor Morgan Dane faces the most personal—and deadly—case of her lifetime.

After the devastating loss of her husband in Iraq, Morgan Dane returns to Scarlet Falls, seeking the comfort of her hometown. Now, surrounded by family, she’s finally found peace and a promising career opportunity—until her babysitter is killed and her neighbor asks her to defend his son, Nick, who stands accused of the murder.

Tessa was the ultimate girl next door, and the community is outraged by her death. But Morgan has known Nick for years and can’t believe he’s guilty, despite the damning evidence stacked against him. She asks her friend Lance Kruger, an ex-cop turned private eye, for help. Taking on the town, the police, and a zealous DA, Morgan and Lance plunge into the investigation, determined to find the real killer. But as they uncover secrets that rock the community, they become targets for the madman hiding in plain sight.

 

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Six Years

by Harlan Coben


Harlan Coben explores the dangers of obsession in this #1 New York Times bestselling masterpiece of modern suspense.
 
Six years have passed since Jake Fisher watched Natalie, the love of his life, marry another man. Six years of hiding a broken heart by throwing himself into his career as a college professor. Six years of keeping his promise to leave Natalie alone, and six years of tortured dreams of her life with her new husband, Todd.
 
But six years haven’t come close to extinguishing his feelings, and when Jake comes across Todd’s obituary, he can’t keep himself away from the funeral. There he gets the glimpse of Todd’s wife he’s hoping for...but she is not Natalie.
 
As Jake searches for the truth, his picture-perfect memories of Natalie begin to unravel. Mutual friends of the couple either can’t be found, or don’t remember Jake. No one has seen Natalie in years. And soon, Jake’s search for the woman who broke his heart puts his very life at risk as he uncovers the secrets and lies that love can hide...

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Where the Dead Walk: A Supernatural Suspense Thriller

by John Bowen


A TV ghost-hunting crew. A haunted house. An unimaginable crime. A past buried deep...

An Amazon US/UK Kindle Store Top 100 Bestseller: #1 Ghosts & Haunted Houses - #1 Occult - #1 Ghosts - #1 Paranormal.

For some, ghosts are no more than the wounds loved ones leave in their wake, haunting the living only with their absence. Others take a more literal view...

Kate Bennett, presenter of paranormal investigation cable TV show, 'Where the Dead Walk', isn't sure what she believes, other than she seems cursed to lose all those closest to her.

After investigating a neglected cliff-top house, empty for a decade because it's 'haunted', Kate is convinced a spirit within holds the answers to a childhood she can't remember and an unimaginable crime.

What she can't know is that the house's owner, Sebastian Dahl, is searching for something too, and he intends to get it, whatever the cost.

Part ghost story, part detective story, encompassing mediums, psychics, seances, the occult, trapped spirits and haunted houses... Are you willing to follow the crew of a British ghost hunting TV show as they venture, Where the Dead Walk?

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Kingdom of the Blind: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel

by Louise Penny

 

INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
A December 2018 Indie Next Pick
One of Kirkus Reviews' Best of 2018 Picks
BookPage Best of the Year 2018
A LibraryReads Pick for November 2018
A LibraryReads Hall of Fame Winner
Washington Post's 10 Books to Read This November
One of PopSugar’s Best Fall Books to Curl Up With

“A captivating, wintry whodunit.” —PEOPLE

"A constantly surprising series that deepens and darkens as it evolves." —Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

“A spellbinder . . . another outstanding Gamache adventure… ingenious . . . what more could a mystery reader – or any reader for that matter – want?”—Maureen Corrigan, Washington Post

The new Chief Inspector Gamache novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author.

When a peculiar letter arrives inviting Armand Gamache to an abandoned farmhouse, the former head of the Sûreté du Québec discovers that a complete stranger has named him one of the executors of her will. Still on suspension, and frankly curious, Gamache accepts and soon learns that the other two executors are Myrna Landers, the bookseller from Three Pines, and a young builder.

None of them had ever met the elderly woman.

The will is so odd and includes bequests that are so wildly unlikely that Gamache and the others suspect the woman must have been delusional. But what if, Gamache begins to ask himself, she was perfectly sane?

When a body is found, the terms of the bizarre will suddenly seem less peculiar and far more menacing.

But it isn’t the only menace Gamache is facing.

The investigation into what happened six months ago—the events that led to his suspension—has dragged on, into the dead of winter. And while most of the opioids he allowed to slip through his hands, in order to bring down the cartels, have been retrieved, there is one devastating exception.

Enough narcotic to kill thousands has disappeared into inner city Montreal. With the deadly drug about to hit the streets, Gamache races for answers.

As he uses increasingly audacious, even desperate, measures to retrieve the drug, Armand Gamache begins to see his own blind spots. And the terrible things hiding there.

 

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Rebecca Schwartz Mysteries 4-5

by Julie smith


Books 4 and 5 in Edgar-winner Julie Smith’s series featuring funny, lively lawyer Rebecca Schwartz (plus a bonus short story)—at a very nice price!

Vol. 4: DEAD IN THE WATER

WHAT'S THE ETIQUETTE WHEN YOUR HOSTESS IS ARRESTED FOR MURDER? 
San Francisco lawyer Rebecca Schwartz has occasion to wonder when she and her weekend hostess, Marty Whitehead, find a body floating in the 30-foot kelp tower at the Monterey Aquarium, and Marty's promptly dragged off to the slammer. 

Rebecca quickly grasps the Emily Post solution—sign on as Marty's lawyer, try to keep her client's two young kids out of the deep end, and somehow avoid drowning in the sea of lies gushing from Marty's mouth--and everyone else’s. There’s a lot of intrigue among the aquarium's oceangoing primates, as well as rumors of a pearl beyond price. Plus a new romance for our heroine!

Volume 5: OTHER PEOPLE’S SKELETONS


WHAT SHE'S ABOUT TO LEARN WILL ROCK HER WORLD! Rebecca Schwartz, “Jewish feminist lawyer,” as she’s fond of saying, thought she knew her best friend--and her boy friend. Not to mention her family. But everything’s about to change.

Secrets spill out of these pages like hornets out of a nest, each with its own distinct sting, as author Smith weaves a thrill-packed and complicated San Francisco mystery that’s as much about how little we know about our nearest and dearest as it is about whodunit. 

Rebecca’s shocked when Chris Nicholson, her glamorous law partner, is arrested for murder--but not nearly so shocked as when she discovers Chris can’t come up with an alibi. What she was doing, Chris says, involves a secret so damaging she’d be drummed out of San Francisco legal circles if anyone knew. Sure enough, when Rebecca uncovers it, her world tilts on its axis—and continues to list, ever more dangerously, as the story picks up speed and this formerly rational lawyer finds her worldview threatened by things she never knew existed. At least not in her circle! And Chris is far from the only one with a skeleton in her closet. 

Fans of Nancy Pickard’s delicate psychological probes, Janet Evanovich’s wild romps, and Marcia Muller’s complex yarns will appreciate this one. 
 

Author Alert: I wrote these after I'd written the first book in the Skip Langdon Police Procedural Series, which is a much darker proposition than the Rebecca Schwartz books. Usually. But some readers have remarked that these two are a good deal darker than the three previous titles in the series -- edgier, more realistic, and...well, just not as funny. Guilty as charged. (Sorry! They just came out that way.) DEAD IN THE WATER has some scary scenes, and some readers have been offended by the way the characters wrestle with issues of religion and lack of same in OTHER PEOPLE’S SKELETONS. Whatever you decide, we've got your back: if you think you’ll like it and you guess wrong, we’ll refund your money and throw in a free book! Just write me at juleorleans@cox.net. --Julie Smith

BONUS SHORT STORY: BLOOD TYPES

This one’s absolutely shivery. If you’re a lawyer, and someone you haven’t heard from in years calls to ask how to execute a holographic will, what are you to think if he dies the next day? For all fans of Bay Area mysteries, with perhaps more appeal to readers of noir than cozies.

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The Killer Trap (The Detective Book 2)

by K.R. Hill


Connor Marin, a military-trained PI, struggles to protect a beautiful woman from the Russian mob, while plotting revenge on the man who murdered his army brother.

Connor and five team members had been part of a Ranger squad fighting the cartels in South America, when their communications got hacked. That meant that Sanchez, Connor's closest friend, a man he had laughed and drank with, had been butchered by the cartels while trying to protect his wife and children. The army brass never suspected the murders were more than simple executions. But that wasn't what Connor found.

Justice is about to knock on the killer's door.

This is the second of three books in The Detective Series. The Killer Trap can be read without having read the other books.

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Coroner To Coroner (The Yarn-Over Series Book 1)

by B.K. Baxter

Bliss, Texas will never be the same. A murder will make sure of that.

The town Sheriff is fat, happy, and useless. Just like his daddy before him and his dad before that.

Ethel and Velma Harmon should know. They’ve been around for all three.

These two seventy-something sisters-in-law refuse to let their ages slow them down. Especially when there’s a mystery to get tangled up in.

The only thing that takes their time away from the whole ball of yarn is, well, a ball of yarn. Crochet class can’t be missed. No matter what.

But keeping things on track isn’t easy. Not with old high school boyfriends that still think they’re eighteen and overly friendly mailmen offering up winks.

Throw in a dead candidate for mayor, a gender-confused cat, and a splinter-giving park bench, and you’re in for one heck of a time.

Come fall in love with these two funny old ladies as they solve the small-town crime of who killed the new guy running for mayor, and make blankets, shawls, and the occasional pair of panties—one stitch at a time.

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A Killing At The Track (The Jeri Howard Series Book 9)

by Janet Dawson


THE LURE OF THE TRACK, A RIDE ON THE WILD SIDE, AND DANGER AT EVERY TURN…

"This little gem of a mystery centers around murder, mayhem and race-fixing at a fictional racetrack ... Dawson, a longtime racing fan, has really done her homework well... " --California Thoroughbred

Intrepid Jeri Howard, Janet Dawson’s savvy female private eye, steps into the Winner’s Circle in Dawson's NINTH action-packed mystery, set almost entirely at a track seething with intrigue. Author Dawson takes us to the fascinating and forbidden backside, where you practically need a hotwalker for the humans, as owners fret, jockeys throw fits, and vets sweat to hold overworked horses together with duct tape.

Overworked is a hazard of the job, but “injured” can result in lost fortunes or death—and not just death for horses, as Jeri soon finds out. You don't have to be a detective to know that if it's a track, there’s always a bad actor out there, looking to make a killing the easy way. And if they have to kill to do it, our intrepid PI’s not going to rest until the desperation stakes.

So here’s how it goes—one dead jockey, then two dead jockeys, three exotic poisons, and several possible payoffs—Jeri’s positively in a lather! But you can wager she’s going to show her stuff in the stretch and take home the purse. (She’s reliable that way.)

Dawson’s complex plot is a pleasure, but the rich backside lore makes this one a sure thing. When you can practically feel the breeze as the horses sweep by, you know you can't lose!

Dick Francis fans will be in heaven, as well as lovers of women sleuths of all kinds, but especially female private investigators like Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone, Linda Barnes’ Carlotta Carlyle and Marcia Muller’s Sharon McCone.

“I don’t know how much Janet Dawson knew about racing before writing A Killing at the Track but she makes you feel as though she’s gotten up at dawn to watch the horses work out all her life. She makes the most of her setting and peoples her story with wonderful characters. Highly recommended.” --Sally Powers, I Love A Mystery

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Heaven to Betsy (What Doesn't Kill You, #5): An Emily Romantic Mystery

by Pamela Fagan Hutchins


2015 WINNER USA Best Book Award, Cross Genre Fiction

A heartfelt and hilarious mystery from this bestselling and award-winning author of the What Doesn't Kill You romantic mystery series.

When a dead body swan-dives from a balcony into the pool at a wedding, gossip comes to a halt about disgraced paralegal and former rodeo queen Emily—whose husband left her for a woman who turns out to be a man. Enter Jack, a secretive attorney and sexy mix of cowboy and Indian. She refuses to work for him, until she learns about the disappearance of the six-year old daughter of his notorious client Sofia, the wedding shooter, who is also an illegal immigrant. Emily feels a strange affinity with the girl and launches a desperate search for her. Bodies pile up in her wake across Texas and New Mexico as the walls around her own secrets begin to crumble, and the authorities question whether the child is anything but a figment of her imagination.

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Maids of Misfortune (A Victorian San Francisco Mystery Book 1)

by M. Louisa Locke

 

First book in the USA Today bestselling Victorian San Francisco Mystery series.
 
It's the summer of 1879, and Annie Fuller, a young San Francisco widow, is in trouble. Annie's husband squandered her fortune before committing suicide five years earlier, and one of his creditors is now threatening to take the boardinghouse she owns to pay off a debt.

Annie Fuller also possesses a secret. She supplements her income by giving domestic and business advice as Madam Sibyl, one of San Francisco's most exclusive clairvoyants, and one of Madam Sibyl's clients, Matthew Voss, has died. The police believe his death was suicide brought upon by bankruptcy, but Annie believes Voss has been murdered and that his assets have been stolen.

Nate Dawson wrestles with a difficult decision. As the Voss family lawyer, he would love to prove that Matthew Voss didn't leave his grieving family destitute. But that would mean working with Annie Fuller, a woman who alternatively attracts and infuriates him as she shatters every notion he ever had of proper ladylike behavior.

Sparks fly as Anne and Nate pursue the truth about the murder of Matthew Voss in this light-hearted, cozy historical mystery set in the foggy, gas-lit world of Victorian San Francisco. 
 
Maids of Misfortuneis the first historical mystery in M. Louisa Locke's USA Today bestselling Victorian San Francisco mystery series, followed by Uneasy SpiritsBloody LessonsDeadly Proof, and Pilfered Promises. Locke's shorter works, found in Victorian San Francisco Stories and Victorian San Francisco Novellas, feature minor characters from the series.

 

 

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The Hit (Police Inspector Hadas Levinger, An Israeli Mystery Series Book 2)

by Michal Hartstein


A mysterious hitman opens fire on a Tel Aviv café and opens a Pandora's box.

It is a warm and sunny day when gunfire destroys the peace of lunchtime diners at a trendy café in central Tel Aviv. The shots, fired by a mysterious biker, hit several people, and two of them die on the spot: Kobi Ozri, a former criminal and police informer, and a young woman, a local office worker. Kobi's handler, Hadas Levinger, is immediately brought in to solve the double murder. As she mourns Kobi's death and confronts a public storm about the powerlessness of the police in their battle against the underworld, Hadas sets out on a journey full of startling twists and turns, until she exposes the surprising truth - all the while facing shattering revelations in her personal life.

The Hit is the second book in the Inspector Hadas Levinger series. It was preceded by Hill of Secrets.

 

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The Last Policeman: A Novel (Last Policeman Trilogy Book 1)

by Ben H. Winters

 

"[The] weird, beautiful, unapologetically apocalyptic Last Policeman trilogy is one of my favorite mystery series."—John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns

Winner of the 2013 Edgar® Award Winner for Best Paperback Original!


What’s the point in solving murders if we’re all going to die soon, anyway?
 
Detective Hank Palace has faced this question ever since asteroid 2011GV1 hovered into view. There’s no chance left. No hope. Just six precious months until impact.
 
The Last Policeman presents a fascinating portrait of a pre-apocalyptic United States. The economy spirals downward while crops rot in the fields. Churches and synagogues are packed. People all over the world are walking off the job—but not Hank Palace. He’s investigating a death by hanging in a city that sees a dozen suicides every week—except this one feels suspicious, and Palace is the only cop who cares.
 
The first in a trilogy, The Last Policeman offers a mystery set on the brink of an apocalypse. As Palace’s investigation plays out under the shadow of 2011GV1, we’re confronted by hard questions way beyond “whodunit.” What basis does civilization rest upon? What is life worth? What would any of us do, what would we really do, if our days were numbered?

Ebook contains an excerpt from the anticipated second book in the trilogy, Countdown City. 

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Chinawoman's Chance (Portia of the Pacific Book 1)

by James Musgrave


New Contest to Feature Fans and Readers Inside the Mysteries!

 
Go here to find out more:  emrepublishing.com/secret-access-to-the-asylum-five-and-new-contest-for-fourth-mystery/ 

Clara Shortridge Foltz faces a patriarchal nemesis in 1884 San Francisco. When a white prostitute is murdered and flayed down to a skeleton, Clara is hired by the Six Companies of Chinatown to defend the 16 males who are swept up by the Chinatown Squad. This ragtag and corrupt group of sheriffs work for the mayor,Washington Bartlett. The mayor uses the nation's anti-Chinese sentiment in his quest to win the race for governor of California.  

Foltz, the first woman admitted to the California Bar, must learn fast to become a detective in order to prove that her client, journalist George Kwong, is not the killer but was set up by the mayor to take the fall. Along with Ah Toy, her trusted translator and best friend, she is instructed by the head of detectives, Captain Isaiah Lees. Lees becomes enamored with Clara, who is having personal problems with sexual commitment due to her first marriage with Jeremiah Foltz. He was a Union vet who deserted Clara and their five children for a younger woman.   

Captain Lees has personal problems of his own, as he has devoted all his time to fighting the corrupt politicians and the Chinatown Squad for 20 years and has not even made time for female relations. Theirs is a very special kind of romance.   

Clara brings a national spotlight to bear on her case, as thousands of women flock to the City by the Bay to support her effort to win against these patriarchal forces. The Chinese are also oppressed, and Clara and Ah Toy become embroiled in a deadly came of cat and mouse to trap the real killer and save George Kwong. 
 
"An engaging mystery with a historically informative feminist bent."  
 
Anita Lock, Clarion Book Reviews, Foreword Reviews
 
"It was a darn good read and an excellent mystery."  
 
Grant Leishman, Author of The Second Coming
 
"I envision Chinawoman's Chance as a staple in the library of many historical mystery collectors."
 
Lisa McCombs, Author of I Have MS
 
From author Jim Musgrave, Chanticleer International CLUE Book Award winner with multiple mystery titles "Featured" by the American Library Association.
 
In this exciting first Chinese fiction mystery novel from Musgrave's Portia of the Pacific Historical Mystery series, emerges one of the best female heroine novels this year. 
 
Clara Shortridge Foltz, Esq. is the first woman admitted to the State Bar of California. It is 1884 in San Francisco's Chinatown. 
 
Clara stands up against sexism and racism in 19th century San Francisco. 
 
After losing her case in a sexist and racist kangaroo court, Clara learns to use street tactics to find the real killer.
 
Now you can see how it was in California before civil rights became an issue for anyone but males.

 

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Red Rain: Clouds Gathering: Red Rain Series 1/3

by David Beers


Are you tired of boring books? Are you looking for something you can’t put down?

Look no further.


Meet John Hilt. He lives The American Dream. His corner office looks out over Dallas’s beautiful skyline. His amazing wife and children love him. His father and sister adore him. John has it all.

Except there’s just one problem. His name is Harry.

John knew Harry a long time ago, when they were kids. Harry shouldn’t be here now, though, because he died as a teenager.

But he’s back. John’s seeing him everywhere, and Harry is telling him awful, awful things … He wants John to do something he hasn’t done in years.

He wants John to start killing people again.

Now, dead bodies are showing up across the city and Detective Alan Tremock has been assigned to the case. A meticulous and unrelenting cop, he’ll risk everything to find the murderer creating havoc in Dallas.

John’s grip on reality is breaking. Tremock is getting closer and closer to the truth. And, all the while Harry just keeps whispering, “Kill them, John. Kill them all…”

If you liked The Silence of the Lambs, you’ll love this taut psychological thriller! Grab this book today, but just take sure you leave the light on!
 

Partial Author Interview with Thriller Fiction Monthly


Question: Let’s get the obvious one out of the way. What are you trying to do when you write a book?

David Beers: I think all of us are looking for an escape from reality. We find it at the movies, in alcohol or drugs, and even books. For me, when the story is flowing, my purpose is to sweep the reader away. Not forever. They’ve got to go back to their family at some point, but, while they have my book open, I want them lost in it. I want them desperate to see what’s on the next page.

Question: Do you think you succeed?

David Beers: From my perspective, any writer worth his salt writes with some self doubt. I have a core group of fans who are very loyal, and very honest with me, and I truly value their feedback. So, if I asked them, I think they would say I succeed almost all the time. That’s why they love my work. The good thing, though, is that if you don’t like it, you can return it within 7 days and get a full refund. So you might be trying out a new author, but there’s really no risk.

Question: Talk about pricing a bit. You’ve got these major publishers charging $13.99 and $14.99 for an e-book, and here you are charging under 5 bucks. What makes you do it?

David Beers: That’s a great question. To me, it’s an incredible advantage to price so much less. I would put my novels up against any of theirs all day long, but I’m giving customers a tremendous value. For less than a McDonald’s meal, you’re going to get a lot of entertainment. For many people, I’m a new author, and so taking a chance on me with their hard earned dollars isn’t the easiest choice. My pricing makes it easy. You can get my books for under $5. Try that with any other major publishing houses. So, customers are getting a much better deal when they buy my books. It’s a win-win.

 

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