- First, a few freebies in the Kindle store, from small publishers, for the most part. Prices may hold up a day or so, but are just as likely to change at midnight tonight, so double check before one-clicking.
- The Shadow Eater, by A. Attanasio, John Bergin (Illustrator) and Mario Sanchez Nevado (Illustrator)
- Sleepless, Burning Life, She Who Runs and Stolen Souls by Mike Allen
- Windwalkers, by R. Michael Burns
- October Rain, by Dylan J. Morgan
- Attic Toys, by Jeff Strand, Piers Anthony, Joe McKinney, Gary McMahon and Lisa Morton
- The Love of the Dead, by Craig Saunders
- HELP! WANTED: Tales of On-the-Job Terror, by Peter Giglio
- Short of a Picnic, by Eric Shapiro
- Slag Attack, The Overwhelming Urge and My Fake War by Andersen Prunty
- Sky Tongues, by Gina Ranalli
From Baghdad to America: Life Lessons from a Dog Named Lava ($1.99), by Jay KopelmanBook Description
Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman won the hearts of readers everywhere with his moving story of adopting an abandoned puppy named Lava from a hellish corner of Iraq. He opened the door for other soldiers to bring dogs home, and in From Baghdad to America, Kopelman once again leads the pack with his observations on the emotional repercussions of war.
Here, for the first time, Kopelman holds nothing back as he responds to the question, “Why did you save a dog instead of a person?” The answer reveals much about his inner demons—and about the bigger picture of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He talks about what it’s like to return to the States and examines the shocking statistics to come out of Iraq: Depression, suicide, alcohol abuse, and broken relationships are at record highs for the men and women who serve there. Kopelman credits Lava with helping him to endure combat and the pain of war, as well as helping him deal with the surprising difficulties of returning to everyday life. Civilians have a hard time understanding what being a Marine means, and the adjustment to living among them is hard for these soldiers. This book attempts to shed light on that for all readers. 10 black-and-white illustrations
Murder at the Lanterne Rouge: An Aimee Leduc Investigation ($1.39), by Cara Black (great price!); companion audiobook $4.99Book Description
Aimée Leduc is happy her long-time business partner René has found a girlfriend. Really, she is. It’s not her fault if she can’t suppress her doubts about the relationship; René is moving way too fast, and Aimée’s instincts tell her Meizi, this supposed love of René’s life, isn’t trustworthy. And her misgivings may not be far off the mark: Meizi disappears during a Chinatown dinner to take a phone call and never comes back to the restaurant. Minutes later, the body of a young man, a science prodigy and volunteer at the nearby Musée, is found shrink-wrapped in an alleyway—with Meizi’s photo in his wallet.
Aimée does not like this scenario one bit, but she can’t figure out how the murder is connected to Meizi’s disappearance. The dead genius was sitting on a discovery that has France’s secret service keeping tabs on him. Now they’re keeping tabs on Aimée. A missing young woman, an illegal immigrant raid in progress, botched affairs of the heart, dirty policemen, the French secret service, cutting-edge science secrets and a murderer on the loose—what has she gotten herself into? And can she get herself—and her friends—back out of it all alive?
The Emerald Atlas: Books of Beginning ($3.99), by John StephensBook Description
Called “A new Narnia for the tween set” by the New York Times and perfect for fans of the His Dark Materials series, The Emerald Atlas brims with humor and action as it charts Kate, Michael, and Emma's extraordinary adventures through an unforgettable, enchanted world.
These three siblings have been in one orphanage after another for the last ten years, passed along like lost baggage.
Yet these unwanted children are more remarkable than they could possibly imagine. Ripped from their parents as babies, they are being protected from a horrible evil of devastating power, an evil they know nothing about.
Until now.
Before long, Kate, Michael, and Emma are on a journey through time to dangerous and secret corners of the world...a journey of allies and enemies, of magic and mayhem. And—if an ancient prophesy is correct—what they do can change history, and it is up to them to set things right.
Grade Level: 3 and up
Sanctum: Guards of the Shadowlands ($3.99), by Sarah FineBook Description
"My plan: Get into the city. Get Nadia. Find a way out. Simple."
A week ago, seventeen-year-old Lela Santos’s best friend, Nadia, killed herself. Today, thanks to a farewell ritual gone awry, Lela is standing in paradise, looking upon a vast gated city in the distance – hell. No one willingly walks through the Suicide Gates, into a place smothered in darkness and infested with depraved creatures. But Lela isn’t just anyone – she’s determined to save her best friend’s soul, even if it means sacrificing her eternal afterlife.
As Lela struggles to find Nadia, she’s captured by the Guards, enormous, not-quite-human creatures that patrol the dark city’s endless streets. Their all-too human leader, Malachi, is unlike them in every way except one: his deadly efficiency. When he meets Lela, Malachi forms his own plan: get her out of the city, even if it means she must leave Nadia behind. Malachi knows something Lela doesn’t – the dark city isn’t the worst place Lela could end up, and he will stop at nothing to keep her from that fate.
The Last Dragonlord ($2.99), by Joanne Bertin Book Description
Dragonlord Linden Rathan, last-born of a race of immortal weredragons, has spent six hundred years alone, searching for his soultwin while his fellow Dragonlords watch over humanity's Five Kingdoms.
When the Queen of Cassori dies mysteriously, Linden and the other Dragonlords are called upon to prevent civil war as two human claimants vie for the regency.
As the battle for Cassori rule escalates, Linden becomes the target of the Fellowship, a secret society of true-humans who could actually destroy his immortal life.
Then he meets a beautiful young ship captain named Maurynna who may be the only one who can help Linden bring Cassori back from the brink of chaos.
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
Gone ($3.60), by Mo Hayder; another by the same author, Ritual, is $5.Book Description
Detective Jack Caffery’s newest case seems like a routine carjacking, a crime he’s seen plenty of times before until he realizes the sickening truth: the thief wasn’t after the car, but the 11-year-old girl in the backseat. Meanwhile police diver Sergeant Flea Marley is pursuing her own theory of the case, and what she finds in an abandoned, half-submerged tunnel could put her in grave danger. The carjacker is always a step ahead of the Major Crime Investigation Unit, and as the chances for his victims grow slimmer, Jack and Flea race to fit the pieces together in time.
Gone is Mo Hayder at her terrifying best. Each dark and captivating twist reveals a new dimension to this tight-knit plot, burrowing deeper into the chilling and clever world Mo Hayder creates.
Wormhole ($4.99), the third title in The Rho Agenda series by Richard PhillipsBook Description
When the Rho Project’s lead scientist, Dr. Donald Stephenson, is imprisoned for his crimes against humanity, the world dares to hope the threat posed by the Rho Project’s alien technologies is finally over.
The world is wrong.
In Switzerland, scientists working on the Large Hadron Collider have discovered a new threat, a scientific anomaly capable of destroying the earth—and only Rho Project technology can stop it. In exchange for a full pardon, Dr. Stephenson agrees to create a wormhole that will send the anomaly into deep space. But his promise masks the alien agenda that brought the Rho Ship to earth.
Now a trio of altered humans, Heather McFarland and Mark and Jennifer Smythe, must infiltrate Stephenson’s wormhole project and stop it, no matter the cost. The ultimate battle has begun and, this time, mankind cannot afford to lose. The final installment to Richard Phillips’s Rho Agenda trilogy brings the epic tale to an explosive conclusion that will echo long past the final page.
30 Pieces of Silver ($1.99), the first title in The Betrayed series by Carolyn McCray; the next two in the series, Havoc ($3.99) and Shiva, are $3.99.30 Pieces of Silver
The Eiffel Tower is attacked…by a Christian suicide bomber.Havoc
Within the twisted wreckage a cache of bones is found. Bones that are inscribed with ancient Greek, letters that identify the remains as those of John the Baptist—and a promise to guide the seeker to the tomb of the Savior himself.
Tasked with untangling this millennia-old mystery, Dr. Rebecca Monroe, a paleo-archeologist, and Special Forces, Sergeant Vincent Brandt are hounded across three continents to attempt to piece together the bones’ clues. But their quest will not be an easy one. Born at the foot of the Cross, a secret society known only as the Knot has guarded the Savior’s bones, and they will do anything—even commit genocide—to protect the dark and controversial truth of Christ’s final days.
A paleo-archaeologist and her ex-lover, a Special Forces soldier, team up to uncover a millennia-old conspiracy, only to be targeted by the deadly cult guarding the true contents of the original Ten Commandments.Shiva
The biblical account of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments from God has the holy man descending from Mount Sinai with two stone tablets. But what's been left out is that the Ten Commandments only filled a single tablet.
So what was on the second?
Paleo-archaeologist Dr. Rebecca Monroe is researching biblical artifacts when terrorists attack her London research facility. She survives thanks only to her past—and currently estranged—lover, Special Forces sergeant Vincent Brandt. But their safety is short-lived as the pair discovers they're the prime targets of the Disciples of the Stone, an ancient cult that guards the mysterious second stone tablet and believes Rebecca’s knowledge jeopardizes a secret that has lasted millennia.
Pursued from London to Moscow to the Middle East, Rebecca and Brandt race to uncover the hidden tablet and discover its devastating truth, which threatens to unravel the faith of billions. But as their dangerous mission draws the former lovers together once more, it's Rebecca's and Brandt's faith in each other that faces the biggest test.
Filled with explosive action and revelations, the Betrayed Series continues with Shiva.
From the dark jungles of the Congo to the soaring mountains in Spain, Brandt and Monroe must stay one step ahead of the merciless Disciples.
Have they found the child prophesized in the Ten Commandments or is the child in their care simply a war-torn orphan?
The only way to discover the truth is to find the lost Temple of Solomon.
The wedding day of archeologist Rebecca Monroe and special-forces operative Vincent Brandt dawns clear and bright, the promise of a new life to come—until the wedding party is attacked by members of a violent cult. It seems a recent mission to the Congo exposed Brandt to a dangerous secret: a young girl whose followers claim can she heal with a touch. Is she the savior prophesied in the ancient writings of Moses? Or is she an innocent child being manipulated by religious zealots?
Determined to uncover the truth, Rebecca and Brandt embark upon a perilous journey across three continents, racing to distinguish fact from myth before they are overtaken by men who will do anything—even kill—to protect an ancient lie. Every step they take brings the world closer to the brink of religious war, until Rebecca and Brandt are forced to decide once and for all what price they’re willing to pay for peace.
The Woodcutter ($3.19), by Kate DanleyBook Description
Deep within the Wood, a young woman lies dead. Not a mark on her body. No trace of her murderer. Only her chipped glass slippers hint at her identity.
The Woodcutter, keeper of the peace between the Twelve Kingdoms of Man and the Realm of the Faerie, must find the maiden’s killer before others share her fate. Guided by the wind and aided by three charmed axes won from the River God, the Woodcutter begins his hunt, searching for clues in the whispering dominions of the enchanted unknown.
But quickly he finds that one murdered maiden is not the only nefarious mystery afoot: one of Odin’s hellhounds has escaped, a sinister mansion appears where it shouldn’t, a pixie dust drug trade runs rampant, and more young girls go missing. Looming in the shadows is the malevolent, power-hungry queen, and she will stop at nothing to destroy the Twelve Kingdoms and annihilate the Royal Fae…unless the Woodcutter can outmaneuver her and save the gentle souls of the Wood.
Blending magic, heart-pounding suspense, and a dash of folklore, The Woodcutter is an extraordinary retelling of the realm of fairy tales.
Crazy for the Storm: A Memoir of Survival ($2.99), by Norman Ollestad, an Amazon Best of the Month, June 2009.Book Description
From the age of three, Norman Ollestad was thrust into the world of surfing and competitive downhill skiing by the charismatic father he both idolized and resented. These exhilarating tests of skill prepared "Boy Wonder," as his father called him, to become a fearless champion—and ultimately saved his life.
Flying to a ski championship ceremony in February 1979, the chartered Cessna carrying Norman and his father crashed into the San Gabriel Mountains. "Dad and I were a team, and he was Superman," Ollestad writes. But now Norman's father was dead, and the devastated eleven-year-old had to descend the treacherous, icy mountain alone.
Set amid the spontaneous, uninhibited surf culture of Malibu and Mexico in the late 1970s, this riveting memoir, written in crisp Hemingwayesque prose, recalls Ollestad's childhood and the magnetic man whose determination and love infuriated and inspired him—and also taught him to overcome the indomitable. As it illuminates the complicated bond between an extraordinary father and his son, Ollestad's powerful and unforgettable true story offers remarkable insight for us all.
First to Kill ($2.99), the Nathan McBride series by Andrew PetersonBook Description
Ten years ago, a botched mission in Nicaragua ended covert ops specialist Nathan McBride’s CIA career. Now he utilizes his unique skill set in the private sector—until the night Frank Ortega, former director of the FBI, calls in a favor. A deep-cover federal agent has vanished, along with a ton of Semtex explosives, and Ortega needs them found—fast. Because for him, this mission is personal: the missing agent is his grandson. And Nathan McBride is the only man he trusts to save him.
But it quickly becomes clear that something bigger than even Ortega could have imagined is at stake. Within days of accepting the assignment, McBride finds himself trapped between a ruthless adversary hell-bent on revenge and a group of high-ranking federal officials who will stop at nothing to reap their own brand of justice. Here there are no rules, no protocol, no backup. Only McBride…
The Last Policeman ($2.99), by Ben H. Winters, an Amazon Best Books of the Month, July 2012.Book Description
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?
Only Time Will Tell ($2.99), the first title in Jeffrey Archer's Clifton Chronicles series.Book Description
From the internationally bestselling author of Kane and Abel and A Prisoner of Birth comes Only Time Will Tell, the first in an ambitious new series that tells the story of one family across generations, across oceans, from heartbreak to triumph.
The epic tale of Harry Clifton’s life begins in 1920, with the words “I was told that my father was killed in the war.” A dock worker in Bristol, Harry never knew his father, but he learns about life on the docks from his uncle, who expects Harry to join him at the shipyard once he’s left school. But then an unexpected gift wins him a scholarship to an exclusive boys’ school, and his life will never be the same again.
As he enters into adulthood, Harry finally learns how his father really died, but the awful truth only leads him to question, was he even his father? Is he the son of Arthur Clifton, a stevedore who spent his whole life on the docks, or the firstborn son of a scion of West Country society, whose family owns a shipping line?
This introductory novel in Archer’s ambitious series The Clifton Chronicles includes a cast of colorful characters and takes us from the ravages of the Great War to the outbreak of the Second World War, when Harry must decide whether to take up a place at Oxford or join the navy and go to war with Hitler’s Germany. From the docks of working-class England to the bustling streets of 1940 New York City, Only Time Will Tell takes readers on a journey through to future volumes, which will bring to life one hundred years of recent history to reveal a family story that neither the reader nor Harry Clifton himself could ever have imagined.
SuperFreakonomics ($3.79), by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. DubnerBook Description
The New York Times best-selling Freakonomics was a worldwide sensation, selling over four million copies in thirty-five languages and changing the way we look at the world. Now, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner return with SuperFreakonomics, and fans and newcomers alike will find that the freakquel is even bolder, funnier, and more surprising than the first.
Four years in the making, SuperFreakonomics asks not only the tough questions, but the unexpected ones: What's more dangerous, driving drunk or walking drunk? Why is chemotherapy prescribed so often if it's so ineffective? Can a sex change boost your salary?
SuperFreakonomics challenges the way we think all over again, exploring the hidden side of everything .
Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End ($3.99), by Manel Loureiro and Pamela Carmell (Translator). I finished this a couple of weeks ago ... definitely recommended. I can't wait for the next in the series.Book Description
The dead rise…
A mysterious incident in Russia, a blip buried in the news—it’s the only warning humanity receives that civilization will soon be destroyed by a single, voracious virus that creates monsters of men.
Humanity falls…
A lawyer, still grieving over the death of his young wife, begins to write as a form of therapy. Bur he never expected that his anonymous blog would ultimately record humanity’s last days.
The end of the world has begun…
Governments scramble to stop the zombie virus, people panic, so-called “Safe Havens” are established, the world erupts into chaos; soon it’s every man, woman, and child for themselves. Armed only with makeshift weapons and the will to live, a lone survivor will give mankind one last chance against…
Apocalypse Z
