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Friday, December 23, 2011

Bargain and Free Book Roundup

Just a reminder, today is the last day on the current Kindle Big Deal sale.

Additional formats on free books:

The short story anthology A Walk In The Woods was written by an internet friend, Margaret Lake. It's her first time trying free books in the Lending Library and it's only free today. If you like it, you'll want to check out the rest of her titles, all of which are very reasonably priced and well reviewed (just ignore the picture on her author page, though, as that looks like a prom picture from long ago).
Book Description
A Walk In The Woods (Flash Fiction): In search of the perfect woman, Mathias the Wizard invents the most perfect spell ever made.

Sweet Savage Charity (Novelette): In 1621 New England, a Puritan woman fights for her right to choose.

Grindel’s Tale (Short Story): Grindel fights developers who would destroy the woods he protects.

Only In My Dreams (Novelette): After 30 years of marriage, Delia can still dream, can’t she?

Sir Dragonbreath (Short Story): Gwendolyn is a lonely witch, looking for love.

Of Love And War (Novelette): It’s John v. Julie in this vintage battle of the sexes.

A Slice of Life (Novella): Grace is 37, painfully shy, and she must overcome her fears to save her family restaurant.

J.A. Konrath (Jack Kilborn) has three books free on Kindle today and his co-author one one also has a free book; I suspect they are one-day also.
  • The List A technothriller about a group of ten people who each have tattoos of numbers on the bottoms their feet, and don't know why.

    One of them, a Chicago Homicide cop named Tom Mankowski, has had one of these strange tattoos since birth. When he investigates a violent murder and discovers the victim also has a tattooed number, it sets the ball rolling for an adventure of historic proportions.

    To say more would give away too much.

  • Flee - A Thriller (Chandler Series #1)
    She's an elite spy, working for an agency so secret only three people know it exists. Trained by the best of the best, she has honed her body, her instincts, and her intellect to become the perfect weapon.

    FLEE

    Then her cover is explosively blown, and she becomes a walking bulls-eye, stalked by assassins who want the secrets she holds, and those who'd prefer she die before talking.

    Chandler now has twenty-four hours to thwart a kidnapping, stop a murderous psychopath, uncover the mystery of her past, retire five highly-trained contract killers, and save the world from nuclear annihilation, all while dodging 10,000 bullets and a tenacious cop named Jack Daniels.

    Buckle up. It's going to be one helluva ride.

  • Desert Places (with Blake Crouch)
    The first installment in the Andrew Z. Thomas Series and a prequel to Crouch's and Konrath's thriller STIRRED...

    Greetings. There is a body buried on your property, covered in your blood. The unfortunate young lady's name is Rita Jones. In her jeans pocket you'll find a slip of paper with a phone number on it. Call that number. If I have not heard from you by 8:00 P.M., the police will receive an anonymous call. I'll tell them where Rita Jones is buried on your property, how you killed her, and where the murder weapon can be found in your house. (I do believe a paring knife is missing from your kitchen.) I strongly advise against going to the police, as I am always watching you.

    Andrew Z. Thomas is a successful writer of suspense thrillers, living the dream at his lake house in the piedmont of North Carolina. One afternoon in late spring, he receives a bizarre letter that eventually threatens his career, his sanity, and the lives of everyone he loves. A murderer is designing his future, and for the life of him, Andrew can't get away.

    Dear Reader: Please keep the light on tonight. What happens next will scare you. Guaranteed.

  • Run (Blake Crouch)
    For fans of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, and Thomas Harris, picture this: a landscape of American genocide...

    5 D A Y S A G O
    A rash of bizarre murders swept the country…
    Senseless. Brutal. Seemingly unconnected.
    A cop walked into a nursing home and unloaded his weapons on elderly and staff alike.
    A mass of school shootings.
    Prison riots of unprecedented brutality.
    Mind-boggling acts of violence in every state.

    4 D A Y S A G O
    The murders increased ten-fold…

    3 D A Y S A G O
    The President addressed the nation and begged for calm and peace…

    2 D A Y S A G O
    The killers began to mobilize…

    Y E S T E R D A Y
    All the power went out…

    T O N I G H T
    They’re reading the names of those to be killed on the Emergency Broadcast System. You are listening over the battery-powered radio on your kitchen table, and they’ve just read yours.

    Your name is Jack Colclough. You have a wife, a daughter, and a young son. You live in Albuquerque, New Mexico. People are coming to your house to kill you and your family. You don’t know why, but you don’t have time to think about that any more.

    You only have time to….

    R U N

For you Maria Schneider fans, she has a new anthology on Kindle; Black-Tie Bingo is 99 cents and contains both a cozy mystery and a fantasy story. It isn't quite free, but you can borrow it from the Lending Library if you want.
Book Description
Two short stories:

Black-Tie Dance: an undercover caper that sends an agent running for his life, dangling from a windowsill and visiting the morgue. Let's hope he makes it out of there alive.

Bingo: Not your average deal with the devil.

It's that time of year again. You know what I mean! When you reread Christopher Moore's The Stupidest Angel to get into the final mood for the holidays! This year, though, you can do so at a discount, if you haven't already bought the ebook. Since he has another book coming out, this Kindle edition with bonus material is down the $3.99, as is the same edition at Barnes & Noble, iTunes and Kobo. They all still have a full price ($9.99) edition, so be careful trying to buy from your device (I'd recommend against it, with most of them), but Kobo also has an odd-man-out edition for $1.99. It's the same publication date as the $9.99 edition (which oddly, has V2.0 added to the title) and doesn't contain the bonus materials.
Book Description
For a limited time, devour a heartwarming tale of Christmas terror in Christopher Moore's The Stupidest Angel, for a special price. Also included is a sneak peek at his forthcoming novel, Sacre Bleu, A Comedy d'Art.

In The Stupidest Angel, 'Twas the night (okay, more like the week) before Christmas, and all through the tiny community of Pine Cove, California, people are busy buying, wrapping, packing, and generally getting into the holiday spirit.

But not everybody is feeling the joy. Little Joshua Barker is in desperate need of a holiday miracle. No, he's not on his deathbed; no, his dog hasn't run away from home. But Josh is sure that he saw Santa take a shovel to the head, and now the seven-year-old has only one prayer: Please, Santa, come back from the dead.

But hold on! There's an angel waiting in the wings. (Wings, get it?) It's none other than the Archangel Raziel come to Earth seeking a small child with a wish that needs granting. Unfortunately, our angel's not sporting the brightest halo in the bunch, and before you can say "Kris Kringle," he's botched his sacred mission and sent the residents of Pine Cove headlong into Christmas chaos, culminating in the most hilarious and horrifying holiday party the town has ever seen.

Move over, Charles Dickens -- it's Christopher Moore time.

Next To Die ($1.99) is the third title in the Navy SEAL series by Marliss Melton.
Book Description
Penny Price dreads the sound of her ringing phone. She's convinced that the person barraging her with threatening calls is a man who got away with murder--her father's. Armed with evidence but branded a target, Penny's only salvation is the playboy nextdoor--Navy SEAL Lieutenant Commander Joe Montgomery. The sole survivor of the worst disaster in Special Forces history, Joe has been drowning his guilt in a potent mix of alcohol and isolation. Penny refuses to indulge his behavior and a tentative friendship begins, charged with desire. But as her father's killer sets his sights on Penny, all bets are off. The killer will do anything to protect his identity and Joe fears Penny is...NEXT TO DIE.

Den of Thieves ($0.99) is the first title David Chandler's Ancient Blades Trilogy.
Book Description
Born and raised in the squalid depths of the Free City of Ness, Malden became a thief by necessity. Now he must pay a fortune to join the criminal operation of Cutbill, lord of the underworld—and one does not refuse the master . . . and live.

The coronet of the Burgrave would fulfill Malden’s obligations, though it is guarded by hungry demons that would tear the soul from any interloper. But the desperate endeavor leads to a more terrible destiny, as Malden, an outlaw knight, and an ensorcelled lady must face the most terrifying evil in the land.

Rides a Dread Legion ($1.99), starts off Raymond E. Feist's Demonwar Saga.
Book Description
The last remnants of an ancient advanced race, the Clan of the Seven Stars, are returning at long last to their lost homeworld, Midkemia—not as friends, but as would-be conquerors. Led by the conjurer Laromendis, they are fleeing the relentless demon hordes that are sweeping through their galaxy and destroying the elves' vast empire planet by planet. Only by escaping to Midkemia and brutally overtaking the war-weary world can the last remnants of a mighty civilization hope to survive . . . if the Dread Legion does not pursue them through the rift.

The magician Pug, Midkemia's brave and constant defender, is all too familiar with the Demon King Maarg and his minions and their foul capacity for savagery and horror, and he recognizes the even graver threat that is following on the heels of the elven invasion. The onslaught to come will dwarf every dire catastrophe his imperiled world has previously withstood, and there is no magical champion in all of Midkemia powerful enough to prevent it. Only one path remains for Pug and Midkemia's clandestine protectors, the Conclave of Shadows: forging an alliance of formidable magical talents, from the demon-dealing warlock Amirantha, brother of Pug's hated foe, and the demon-taming cleric Sandreena, to the elven Queen Miranda, to the warrior Tomas. However, uniting enemies and bitter, vengeful former lovers will be no easy task, and even together they may ultimately be unable to turn the death tide. But a failure to do so will most certainly ensure Midkemia's doom.

White Tiger ($0.99) is the first title in the Dark Heavens series by Kylie Chan
Book Description
Emma Donahoe has just started her new job as nanny to Simone, the daughter of John Chen, a very rich Hong Kong businessman.

She understands that Simone may be a target for kidnappers but she does not expect to be drawn into a world of martial arts, magic and extreme danger, where both gods and demons can exist in themortal domain.

When John and his American bodyguard, Leo, teach Emma their particular style of martial arts, they begin to realize that Emma herself is more than she seems....

Nightwalker ($0.99) kicks off the Dark Days series by Jocelynn Drake (and isn't to be confused with Jacquelyn Frank's Nightwalker series). I've added it to my TBR pile and plan on getting to it soon....
Book Description
For centuries Mira has been a nightwalker—an unstoppable enforcer for a mysterious organization that manipulates earth-shaking events from the darkest shadows. But elemental mastery over fire sets her apart from others of her night-prowling breed . . . and may be all that prevents her doom.

The foe she now faces is human: the vampire hunter called Danaus, who has already destroyed so many undead. For Mira, the time has come to hunt . . . or be hunted.

If you missed Richard Kadrey's Sandman Slim when it was free last year (or earlier this year for Australians, only), now's your chance to pick it up for only 99 cents.
Book Description
Supernatural fantasy has a new antihero

Life sucks, and then you die. Or, if you're James Stark, you spend eleven years in Hell as a hitman before finally escaping, only to land back in the hell-on-earth that is Los Angeles.

Now Stark's back, and ready for revenge. And absolution, and maybe even love. But when his first stop saddles him with an abusive talking head, Stark discovers that the road to absolution and revenge is much longer than you'd expect, and both Heaven and Hell have their own ideas for his future.

Resurrection sucks. Saving the world is worse.

The Company Man ($1.99) is a standalone novel by Robert Jackson Bennett.
Book Description
The year is 1919.

The McNaughton Corporation is the pinnacle of American industry. They built the guns that won the Great War before it even began. They built the airships that tie the world together. And, above all, they built Evesden-a shining metropolis, the best that the world has to offer.

But something is rotten at the heart of the city. Deep underground, a trolley car pulls into a station with eleven dead bodies inside. Four minutes before, the victims were seen boarding at the previous station. Eleven men butchered by hand in the blink of an eye. All are dead. And all are union.

Now, one man, Cyril Hayes, must fix this. There is a dark secret behind the inventions of McNaughton and with a war brewing between the executives and the workers, the truth must be discovered before the whole city burns. Caught between the union and the company, between the police and the victims, Hayes must uncover the mystery before it kills him.

Son of a Witch ($3.99) is the second title in the Wicked Years series by Gregory Maguire.
Book Description
In this captivating New York Times bestseller, beloved author Gregory Maguire returns to the land of Oz and introduces us to Liir, an adolescent boy last seen hiding in the shadows of the castle after Dorothy did in the Witch. Is he really Elphaba's son? He has her broom and her cape—but what of her powers? In an Oz that, since the Wizard's departure, is under new and dangerous management, can Liir keep his head down long enough to grow up?

Forbidden ($2.99) is the first title in the Books of Mortals series by Ted Dekker (with Tosca Lee). He also has a stand-alone novel on sale, The Bride Collector.
Forbidden
New York Times bestselling author Ted Dekker teams with Tosca Lee to create this gripping thriller set in a desolate future.

Many years have passed since civilization's brush with apocalypse. The world's greatest threats have all been silenced. There is no anger, no hatred, no war. There is only perfect peace... and fear. But a terrible secret has been closely guarded for centuries: Every single soul walking the earth, though in appearance totally normal, is actually dead, long ago genetically stripped of true humanity.

Fleeing pursuit, with only moments to live, a young man named Rom stumbles into possession of a vial of blood and a piece of cryptic writing. When consumed, the blood will bring him back to life. When decoded, the message will lead him on a perilous journey that will require him to abandon everything he has ever known and awaken humanity to the transforming power of true life and love.

But the blood will also resurrect hatred, ambition, and greed.

Set in a terrifying, medieval future, where grim pageantry masks death, this tale of dark desires and staggering stakes peels back the layers of the heart for all who dare to take the ride.


The Bride Collector
FBI Special agent Brad Raines is facing his toughest case yet. A Denver serial killer has killed four beautiful young women, leaving a bridal veil at each crime scene, and he's picking up his pace. Unable to crack the case, Raines appeals for help from a most unusual source: residents of the Center for Wellness and Intelligence, a private psychiatric institution for mentally ill individuals whose are extraordinarily gifted.

It's there that he meets Paradise, a young woman who witnessed her father murder her family and barely escaped his hand. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Paradise may also have an extrasensory gift: the ability to experience the final moments of a person's life when she touches the dead body.

In a desperate attempt to find the killer, Raines enlists Paradise's help. In an effort to win her trust, he befriends this strange young woman and begins to see in her qualities that most 'sane people' sorely lack. Gradually, he starts to question whether sanity resides outside the hospital walls...or inside.

As the Bride Collector picks up the pace-and volume-of his gruesome crucifixions, the case becomes even more personal to Raines when his friend and colleague, a beautiful young forensic psychologist, becomes the Bride Collector's next target.

The FBI believes that the killer plans to murder seven women. Can Paradise help before it's too late?

The Heir of Night ($1.99) starts off Helen Lowe's Wall of Night series for adults and young adults/teens.
Book Description
If Night falls, all fall . . .

In the far north of the world of Haarth lies the bitter mountain range known as the Wall of Night. Garrisoned by the Nine Houses of the Derai, the Wall is the final bastion between the peoples of Haarth and the Swarm of Dark—which the Derai have been fighting across worlds and time.

Malian, Heir to the House of Night, knows the history of her people: the unending war with the Darkswarm; the legendary heroes, blazing with long-lost power; the internal strife that has fractured the Derai's former strength. But now the Darkswarm is rising again, and Malian's destiny as Heir of Night is bound inextricably to both ancient legend and any future the Derai—or Haarth—may have.

Most likely, you already have the free prequel to Goblin King ($1.99), by Shona Husk; now's your chance to nab the actual book at a discount.
Book Description
Cursed by a Druid millennia ago, Roan lives a bleak existence in the Shadowlands, desperately trying to retain his soul and not succumb to the goblin horde. When a beautiful human summons him to grant a wish, he sees a glimmer of hope. But will she ever agree to be his queen?