Start off with Scepter of the Ancients ($7.99 Kindle; $16.95 Audible), the first title in the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy, narrated by Rupert Degas. If you've been following the blog for a while, you have the ebook in your library, as it was free in all formats last October.Book Description
Meet Skulduggery Pleasant
—as well as ally, protector, and mentor of Stephanie Edgley, a very unusual and darkly talented twelve-year-old.
- Ace Detective
- Snappy Dresser
- Razor–tongued Wit
- Crackerjack Sorcerer
and- Walking, Talking, Fire-throwing Skeleton
These two alone must defeat an all-consuming ancient evil.
The end of the world?
Over his dead body.
Grade Level: 5 and up
Dead Men Kill ($0.00 Kindle $2.95 Audible), by L. Ron Hubbard, narrated by Jennifer Aspen and a Full Cast, is the second selection for this week.Book Description
When several of the city's most respected citizens are inexplicably killed by what appear to be zombies, all Detective Terry Lane has to go on is a blue-grey glove, a Haitian pharmacy bill for some very unusual drugs, and a death threat from a mysterious stranger.
Matters are soon complicated when a beautiful nightclub singer shows up, claiming to have information that could solve the case. But her motives are plainly suspect. Against his better judgement, Terry investigates her lead, only to find himself sealed in a coffin en route to the next zombie murder - his own.
First published in 1934 in Thrilling Detective magazine, Hubbard's rollicking horror yarn just happens to tap into the current craze for zombies. Heroic Det. Sgt. Terrence "Terry" Lane looks into a deeply disturbing series of murders of powerful businessmen. Dawn Drayden, a pretty Club Haitian entertainer, confirms Lane's hunch that the killers are dead men "coming back from the grave and killing their employers." The zombie mastermind is the nefarious Dr. Leroux, originally of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, aka Loup-garou (or human hyena).
In the end, Drayden and Lane must face heart-pounding dangers once Dr. Leroux's secrets are revealed. This fun, campy novella reflects a contemporary revenge vibe felt by those who wouldn't mind dispatching a few zombies to punish criminally inclined businessmen.
Click HERE to get the free downloads (you'll need to enter your name and an email address. You'll end up clicking about three pages (for each book), before the audiobook actually downloads. Don't stop so long as you still see a button that talks about your Sync download (or until you see the Overdrive software open up; there is a link at Sync, if you don't already have Overdrive installed).
Once in Overdrive, you'll need to tell it where to save the files (just click OK to use the default location, since Overdrive will keep track of them for you), then again to actually start the download (by default, all parts of the book are downloaded; I would suggest not changing this in the last dialog box, just click on OK to get the download started). Make sure your audiobook is fully downloaded before the end of the week, as once the promo period is over, you won't be able to get them free.
You can't get any titles that have been missed, but once they are loaded into Overdrive (which you will need to install, if you are not already using it for library books), they are yours to keep (there is no expiration date). Two new titles each Thursday!
