Nook Daily Find 6/1

Bloodline ($8.19 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), the eighth novel in the Sigma Force series by James Rollins [William Morrow/HarperCollins], is the Nook Daily Find; it should be price matched on Kindle later this morning.

Book Description
In a thrilling masterwork that will make you rethink your perceptions of life and death, New York Times bestselling author James Rollins takes you to the edge of medicine, genetics, and technology, revealing the next evolutionary leap forward: immortality.

Galilee, 1025. Infiltrating an ancient citadel, a Templar knight uncovers a holy treasure long hidden within the fortress's labyrinth: the Bachal Isu -- the staff of Jesus Christ -- a priceless icon that holds a mysterious and terrifying power that promises to change humankind forever.

A millennium later, Somali pirates hijack a yacht off the coast of the Horn of Africa, kidnapping a young pregnant American woman. Commander Gray Pierce is enlisted for a covert rescue mission into the African jungle. The woman is no rich tourist: she's Amanda Gant-Bennett, daughter of the U.S. president.

Suspicious that the kidnapping masks a far more nefarious plot, Gray must confront a shadowy cabal which has been manipulating events throughout history...and now challenges the current presidency.

For this unique mission, SIGMA is aided by a pair of special operatives with unique talents: former Army Ranger Captain Tucker Wayne and his military war dog, Kane. But what should be a straightforward rescue turns into a fiery ambush and a deadly act of betrayal, as Gray and his team discover that the hostage is a pawn in a shattering act of terrorism with dark repercussions. And the danger is only beginning...

Halfway around the world, a firebombing at a fertility clinic in South Carolina exposes a conspiracy that goes back centuries...a scheme that lies within our genetic code. With time against them, SIGMA must race to save an innocent unborn baby whose very existence raises questions about the nature of humanity, asking:

Could you live forever?

Would you live forever?

Weekend Bargain Book Roundup

Beauty and the Bounty Hunter ($2.99 Kindle), the first novel in the Once Upon a Time in the West series by Lori Austin [Signet/Penguin]

Book Description
Cathleen Chase is no killer—but as Cat O’Banyon, she is a ruthless bounty hunter who always gets her man. Catching one lowlife after another, she continues her search for the only man she really cares to locate. The one whose voice she will never forget; the man who murdered her husband. She’ll stop at nothing to find him.

Con artist Alexi Romanov taught Cat every trick she knows. He is a master of deceit, disguise, and desire. He’s difficult to trust, and even more difficult to resist, but he has news she can’t ignore. The man she’s after has placed a bounty on her head. To get him before he gets her, she’ll have to team up with Alexi again....And just like before, the two of them together are nothing but trouble.

The Affinity Bridge ($2.99 Kindle), the first in the Newbury & Hobbes Investigations series by George Mann [Tor Books/Macmillan]. Now's your chance, if you missed this when it was on sale two years ago.

Book Description
Welcome to the bizarre and dangerous world of Victorian London, a city teetering on the edge of revolution. Its people are ushering in a new era of technology, dazzled each day by unfamiliar inventions. Airships soar in the skies over the city, while ground trains rumble through the streets and clockwork automatons are programmed to carry out menial tasks in the offices of lawyers, policemen, and journalists.

But beneath this shiny veneer of progress lurks a sinister side.

Queen Victoria is kept alive by a primitive life-support system, while her agents, Sir Maurice Newbury and his delectable assistant Miss Veronica Hobbes, do battle with enemies of the crown, physical and supernatural. This time Newbury and Hobbes are called to investigate the wreckage of a crashed airship and its missing automaton pilot, while attempting to solve a string of strangulations attributed to a mysterious glowing policeman, and dealing with a zombie plague that is ravaging the slums of the capital.

Get ready to follow dazzling young writer George Mann to a London unlike any you’ve ever seen and into an adventure you will never forget....

At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

Inspector Morse: The first three novels ($9.99 Kindle), is an omnibus edition by Colin Dexter [Pan - may be self-published backlist, but print editions are still available from Ivy].

Book Description
Featuring the first three books in this classic crime series starring Inspector Morse: Last Bus to Woodstock, Last Seen Wearing and The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn.

Last Bus to Woodstock: The death of Sylvia Kaye figured dramatically in Thursday afternoon's edition of the Oxford Mail. By Friday evening Inspector Morse had informed the nation that the police were looking for a dangerous man – facing charges of wilful murder, sexual assault and rape. But as the obvious leads fade into twilight and darkness, Morse becomes more and more convinced that passion holds the key . . .

Last Seen Wearing: Morse was beset by a nagging feeling. Most of his fanciful notions about the Taylor girl had evaporated and he had begun to suspect that further investigation into Valerie’s disappearance would involve little more than sober and tedious routine . . . The statements before Inspector Morse appeared to confirm the bald, simple truth. After leaving home to return to school, teenager Valerie Taylor had completely vanished, and the trail had gone cold. Until two years, three months and two days after Valerie’s disappearance, somebody decides to supply some surprising new evidence for the case . . .

The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn: Morse had never ceased to wonder why, with the staggering advances in medical science, all pronouncements concerning times of death seemed so disconcertingly vague. The newly appointed member of the Oxford Examinations Syndicate was deaf, provincial and gifted. Now he is dead . . . And his murder, in his north Oxford home, proves to be the start of a formidably labyrinthine case for Chief Inspector Morse, as he tries to track down the killer through the insular and bitchy world of the Oxford Colleges . . .

Lisa McMann's The Unwanteds and Island of Silence, the first two novels in the pre-teen The Unwanteds series, are on sale for $2.99, in anticipation of the concluding volume of the trilogy, Island of Fire, being released in September [Simon and Schuster]. If you are willing to take a chance, you can pre-order The Unwanteds Omnibus, which contains all three volumes, at the same $2.99. It's a bit of a risk because, although the hardcover edition will clearly be released on the same September 3 as Island of Fire, the Kindle edition is now marked with a 2030 release date. So, it may release at the same time as the hardcover, or the publisher may bury the listing and never release it at all; if the former, you get all three books for under a buck each and if the latter, you don't spend a cent. If you know your kids (or you) want to read the series, hedge your bets by grabbing the two titles on sale and pre-order the omnibus edition, so that you also get the third in the series at under 1/3 the regular price.

The Unwanteds

A riveting middle-grade dystopian novel from New York Times bestselling Wake author Lisa McMann that Kirkus Reviews calls “The Hunger Games meets Harry Potter.”

When Alex finds out he is Unwanted, he expects to die. That is the way of the people of Quill. Each year, all the thirteen-year-olds are labeled as Wanted, Necessary, or Unwanted. Wanteds get more schooling and train to join the Quillitary. Necessaries keep the farms running. Unwanteds are set for elimination.

It’s hard for Alex to leave behind his twin, Aaron, a Wanted, but he makes peace with his fate—until he discovers that instead of a “death farm,” what awaits him is a magical place called Artimé. There, Alex and his fellow Unwanteds are encouraged to cultivate their creative abilities and use them magically. Everything Alex has ever known changes before his eyes, and it’s a wondrous transformation.

But it’s a rare, unique occurrence for twins to be divided between Wanted and Unwanted, and as Alex and Aaron’s bond stretches across their separation, a threat arises for the survival of Artimé that will pit brother against brother in an ultimate magical battle.

Island of Silence

Following the life-altering events at the conclusion of The Unwanteds, the stark world of Quill and the magical haven of Artimé are now home to whoever wants to live there, whether they are Wanteds, Unwanteds, or Necessaries.

In Artimé, Alex Stowe and his friends continue to hone their artistic magical spells while welcoming newcomers, wondering how long this peace between Quill and Artimé will last. Alex is stunned when Mr. Today comes to him with a very special request—one Alex questions his readiness for, until circumstances offer a dramatic answer.

And back in Quill, Aaron Stowe, Alex’s twin, faces a very different path. Devastated by his loss of status after Justine’s defeat and seething with rage toward Alex, Aaron is stealthily planning his revenge and return to power.

Alex and Aaron’s separate stories proceed with suspenseful pacing, colliding in a stunning climax that elevates sibling rivalry to epic proportions and leaves the fate of both worlds hanging in the balance.

Strangers on a Train ($2.99 Kindle), by Patricia Highsmith [W. W. Norton]

Book Description
A major new reissue of the work of a classic noir novelist.

With the acclaim for The Talented Mr. Ripley, more film projects in production, and two biographies forthcoming, expatriate legend Patricia Highsmith would be shocked to see that she has finally arrived in her homeland. Throughout her career, Highsmith brought a keen literary eye and a genius for plumbing the psychopathic mind to more than thirty works of fiction, unparalleled in their placid deviousness and sardonic humor. With deadpan accuracy, she delighted in creating true sociopaths in the guise of the everyday man or woman. Now, one of her finest works is again in print: Strangers on a Train, Highsmith's first novel and the source for Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1953 film. With this novel, Highsmith revels in eliciting the unsettling psychological forces that lurk beneath the surface of everyday contemporary life.

A Town Called Valentine ($1.99 Kindle), by Emma Cane [Avon/HarperCollins]. You can also pre-order what looks like a novella anthology, All I Want for Christmas Is a Cowboy ($1.99 Kindle), which lists Ms Cane, Jennifer Ryan and Katie Lane as authors (but doesn't have any descriptive copy, yet).

Book Description
Small towns, rugged cowboy heroes, and passion are a perfect combination when it comes to contemporary romance—just ask the many fans of Susan Wiggs, Robyn Carr, Lori Wilde, and Linda Lael Miller. Now newcomer Emma Cane joins their ranks, transporting readers to fictional Valentine, Colorado. In the first book in Cane’s heartwarming and deliciously sexy series, a young woman with a painful past and a rancher who’s no stranger to heartbreak find love in a tiny western town known for happily-ever-afters … A Town Called Valentine.

Amelia Peabody Omnibus ($9.99 Barnes & Noble), contains four novels by Elizabeth Peters [Constable & Robinson]; the only Kindle Edition that I see on this one, though, isn't available for sale in the US.

Book Description
Amelia Peabody is Elizabeth Peters' most brilliant and best-loved creation, a thoroughly Victorian feminist who takes the stuffy world of archaeology by storm with her shocking men's pants and no-nonsense attitude!

In this first adventure, our headstrong heroine decides to use her substantial inheritance to see the world. On her travels, she rescues a gentlewoman in distress - Evelyn Barton-Forbes - and the two become friends. The two companions continue to Egypt where they face mysteries,mummies and the redoubtable Radcliffe Emerson, an outspoken archaeologist, who doesn't need women to help him solve mysteries -- at least that's what he thinks!

Join our plucky Victorian Egyptologist , together with her devastatingly handsome and brilliant husband Radcliffe, in another exciting escapadeWhen Lady Baskerville's husband Sir Henry dies after discovering what may have been an undisturbed royal tomb in Luxor, she appeals to eminent archaeologist Radcliffe Emerson and his wife Amelia to take over the excavation. Amid rumours of a curse haunting all those involved with the dig, the intrepid couple proceeds to Egypt, where they begin to suspect that Sir Henry did not die a natural death, and they are confident that the accidents that plague the dig are caused by a sinister human element, not a pharoah's curse

The irascible husband of Victorian Egyptologist Amelia Peabody is living up to his reputation as 'The Father of Curses'. Denied permission to dig at the pyramids of Dahshoor, Emerson is awarded instead the 'pyramids' of Mazghunah - countless mounds of rubble in the middle of nowhere. Nothing in this barren spot seems of any interest but then a murder in Cairo changes all of that. The dead man was an antiques dealer, killed in his shop, so when a sinister-looking Egyptian spotted at the crime scene turns up in Mazghunah, Amelia can't resist following his trail. At the same time she has to keep an eagle eye on her wayward son Rameses and his elegant and calculating cat and look into the mysterious disappearance of a mummy case...

The 1985-96 season promises to be an exceptional one for Egyptologist Amelia Peabody, her dashing husband Emerson and their precocious eight-year-old son Rameses. The much-coveted burial chamber in Dahshoor is theirs for the digging. Yet there is a great evil in the wind that caresses the hot sands sweeping through the bustling streets and marketplaces of Cairo. An expedition cursed by misfortune and the daring moonlit abduction of Rameses alerts Amelia to the presence of her arch-enemy, the Master Criminal. And his is now a personal quest for the most valuable and elusive prize of all: vengeance on the meddling lady archaeologist with the parasol who has sworn to deliver him to justice...Amelia Peabody herself!

The Sam Gunn Omnibus ($7.59 Kindle; $7.99 B&N), by Ben Bova [Tor Books/Macmillan], collects a number of older stories from an author who is still writing (his Orion and King Arthur, the sixth novel in the Orion series, released last July).

Book Description
A hero without peer or scruples, Sam Gunn has a nose for trouble, money, and women--though not necessarily in that order. A man with the ego (and stature) of a Napoleon, the business acumen of a P. T. Barnum, and the raging hormones of a teenage boy, Sam is the finest astronaut NASA ever trained…and dumped.

But more than money, more than women, Sam Gunn loves justice. (And he really does love money and women.) Whether he's suing the Pope, helping twin sisters entangled in the "virtual sex" trade, or on trial for his life on charges of interplanetary genocide, you can be sure of one thing: this is one space jockey who'll meet every challenge with a smile on his lips, an ace up his sleeve…and a weapon in his pocket.

Now, for the first time between covers, Hugo-winner Ben Bova presents all the tales of Sam Gunn to date, including three never before collected in book form. Here is the entire chronicle of Sam Gunn, trailblazer and scoundrel, as he scams his way from one end of the Solar System to the other, giving bold new meaning to the term "venture capitalist."

At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

The Darwath Trilogy: The Time of the Dark, The Walls of Air, and The Armies of Daylight ($9.99 Kindle), by Barbara Hambly [Open Road], gets you three novels for only a couple of bucks more than any one of them stand-alone.

Book Description
Barbara Hambly’s celebrated trilogy about a murderous force that threatens a far-off magical world and the two ordinary Californians who are drawn into the battle to save mankind

As a student of medieval history, Gil Patterson is a woman familiar with dark stories. She knows the Crusades, the Black Death, and the other horrors of the Middle Ages all too well, but it is another kind of atrocity that has begun to haunt her dreams. She sees forces of evil assaulting a beleaguered kingdom, whose kind people are on the brink of annihilation, and awakes each morning in a cold sweat.

In The Time of the Dark, Gil dismisses the dreams until a wizard appears in her apartment. He has crossed into her dimension, passing through the fraying fabric of the universe, to ask her help. For mankind to survive he must protect an infant prince, whom he plans to hide in Gil's world. She is about to get much closer to evil than she ever imagined.

In The Walls of Air and The Armies of Daylight, Gil and Rudy know the world is no longer safe and there is nowhere to hide from the Dark. Since the Dark Ones returned, the world has been laid to waste. The land’s wizards have been slaughtered, its cities destroyed, and its people scattered in terror. Few have witnessed more of the destruction than Gil and Rudy, and both of them will need all their strength to survive this final challenge.

Ingold, the master wizard, has devised a spell to hide the user from the deathly stare of the Dark, and he intends to use it to strike at their very heart. Finally, Gil, Rudy, and the rest of mankind’s survivors will take the offensive, bringing an end to this terrible war, for better or for worse.

Snow Adrift ($1.99 Kindle), is a brand-new Kindle Serial by Rex Kusler [Thomas & Mercer]

Book Description
This book is a Kindle Serial. Kindle Serials are stories published in episodes, with future episodes delivered at no additional cost. This serial currently contains one episode out of an estimated six total episodes, and new episodes will be delivered every two weeks.

Former Las Vegas homicide detective Jim Snow’s luck has been going from bad to worse, spurred by a series of rash decisions and a quickly developing mid-life crisis. He quit the force a few years ago to play poker for a living and has been losing steadily for months. His money is running out—and so is his live-in girlfriend.

After one of Snow’s poker buddies—a real estate investor and landlord who worked as a clown—is found shot to death in his home following their weekly game, Snow finds himself under suspicion by his former Metro Homicide partner, Marcia Stevens.

At forty-four, Snow is in the worst mess of his life. He’s not sure what to do, who to turn to, or who to trust as he scrambles to stay one step ahead of an arrest warrant for first-degree murder.

Smart and tightly plotted, Snow Adrift is the hardboiled origin story to Kusler’s popular Las Vegas Mystery series.

Daily Deal - Plastered in Stonington (DF)

Plastered in Stonington ($4.50 $3.60 Kindle), the third title in the Kate Bart Mysteries series by Rosemary Goodwin [Samhain Publishing], is today's Deal of the Day at at Diesel E-Books, where it's discounted to $0.90 (9 copies left).

Book Description
Sour grapes are the least of their problems…

The new skill decorating Kate’s resume—licensed PI—officially qualifies her to be Dutch’s partner in crime fighting. Unofficially, their personal relationship has grown well into serious territory.

Both halves of her life are called into service when Kate is hired to redesign the tasting room at Fiona and Cameron MacPherson’s winery. It doesn’t take long to figure out all is not sunshine and roses at Goose Pond, and Dutch agrees to look into some serious safety issues that have led to a string of mishaps.

When another incident results in a death, and it’s clear that this time it’s no accident, Kate and Dutch dig deeper to zero in on who’s responsible. The neighboring vintner who covets Goose Pond’s winery? The tasting room totsie seen skulking about with the MacPhersons’ sulky son?

As their investigation comes closer and closer to bearing fruit, the bullets start flying—and it seems that whoever’s pulling the trigger wants them all to pay the piper—in blood.

Warning: Contains an interior decorating PI with a talent for finding trouble, and her tough-and-tender PI boyfriend who can’t wait to get his hands on her. If only it’s to pull her out of harm’s way.

Get the book from Diesel; be sure to check the sales price, as the Deal of the Day often sells out. Deals change at 11AM Eastern Time, USA.

Nook Daily Find 5/31

Murder Is Binding ($7.99 Kindle, $2.99 B&N), the first novel in Lorna Barrett's Booktown cozy mystery series [Berkley/Penguin], is the Nook Daily Find; this should be price matched on Kindle, since Penguin is one of the few remaining Agency pricing publishers. I've reported the price difference on the Amazon product page and expect it to drop later today. The Audible companion audiobook is $7.99.

Book Description
The streets of Stoneham, New Hampsire are lined with bookstores...and paved with murder.

When she moved to Stoneham, city slicker Tricia Miles met nothing but friendly faces. And when she opened her mystery bookstore, she met friendly competition. But when she finds Doris Gleason dead in her own cookbook store, killed by a carving knife, the atmosphere seems more cutthroat than cordial. Someone wanted to get their hands on the rare cookbook that Doris had recently purchased-and the locals think that someone is Tricia. To clear her name, Tricia will have to take a page out of one of her own mysteries-and hunt down someone who isn't killing by the book

UK Kindle Daily Deal 5/30

Burn Out (£0.99 UK), a Rachel Scott Adventure by Traci Hohenstein [Thomas & Mercer], is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $2.99).

Book Description
The week before she is to testify at her estranged husband’s trial on drug charges, firefighter Lieutenant Samantha Collins vanishes while combating a warehouse fire, leaving only her helmet behind.

With Sam missing, her mother seeks the help of Florida Omni Search, a nonprofit organization founded by Rachel Scott, whose own daughter, Mallory, disappeared when only three years old. Rachel has worked with law enforcement agencies all over the United States, but she can’t possibly anticipate how terrifying the Sam Collins case will be. Rachel learns of Sam’s husband’s drug operation, and as she digs deeper, not only does the investigator expose Sam’s surprising past, she also uncovers clues that could reveal what happened to her own daughter.

The second book in the Rachel Scott series, Burn Out is a Traci Hohenstein original, an emotionally charged mystery-thriller that takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride of plot twists, turns, and startling surprises.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 5/27

The Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK is three novels by Simon Wood for £0.99 each (~75% off) [Thomas & Mercer].

Accidents Waiting to Happen (Main/UK; $2.99 US edition, companion audiobook $1.99)

Josh Michaels isn’t wanted dead or alive—just dead. That fact becomes shockingly clear when a stranger runs his car off the road. Instead of a helping hand, the man gives Josh a “thumbs down” and abandons him to what is almost certainly a watery grave. Luckily, Josh cheats death…this time. But when more harrowing “accidents” threaten his life, it’s clear he’s a marked man.

Are his past mistakes coming back to bite him? Or is something more sinister afoot? And how can he convince his family, friends, and especially the cops that he’s in danger? The harder Josh fights to stay alive, the more determined his unknown enemy is to see him dead. And the deeper he digs for answers, the more chilling the truth becomes. As his time and luck rapidly run out, he must unmask an insidious conspiracy bent on making a killing—in more ways than one.

Nerve-jangling noir doesn’t get much blacker than Simon Wood’s top speed trip into cold-blooded murder and hot-blooded vengeance.

Asking For Trouble (Main/UK; $2.99 US edition, companion audiobook $1.99)

Not every crime is committed with intent, but each has one thing in common: the guilty party was asking for trouble.

In “Making Ends Meet,” Richard can’t stand the idea of supporting his deadbeat in-laws anymore, so he decides to remove them from his life—permanently. Matt is ready to reform his brawling ways, but the group he joins doesn’t turn out to be a typical 12-step program, in “The Taskmasters.” “Protecting the Innocent” features Nick, who fails to heed the warnings of his girlfriend’s possessive brother. And with “A Gun in the House,” Leah refuses to move from her beloved home, leading to protective measures with disastrous results. These and six others send out the invitation for disaster—one that’s gladly accepted.

The ten taut tales in this collection from award-winning crime-fiction author Simon Wood are rife with good intentions gone bad—and bad intentions gone worse. Filled with jaw-dropping twists and turns, Asking for Trouble is a wild ride that will leave readers clamoring for more.

Paying The Piper (Main/UK; $2.99 US edition, companion audiobook $1.99)

For years, the serial kidnapper known as the Piper got rich by abducting children from San Francisco’s wealthiest families.

When crime reporter Scott Fleetwood gets a call from a man identifying himself as the Piper and offers an exclusive interview, Fleetwood jumps at the chance. But the caller turns out to be a fake, and the rash decision costs the life of the real Piper’s latest victim.

For eight long years, Fleetwood has lived with unbearable guilt—and the enduring disdain of the entire Bay area. Now he hears from the real Piper—and it’s not for an interview. The kidnapper has the reporter’s son. But he doesn’t want money…he wants blood. And he’s going to use Fleetwood to get it.

In the tradition of Harlan Coben and Gregg Hurwitz, Simon Wood weaves a plot thick with suspense and heavy with action. Paying the Piper grabs hold from page one and doesn’t let go until new debts are paid and old scores settled.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 5/25

Dispatcher (£0.99 UK), by Ryan David Jahn [Macmillan], is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $12.99 [Penguin]).

Book Description
Ian Hunt is the police dispatcher for the small town of Bulls Mouth, East Texas. Just as his shift is ending he gets a call from his fourteen-year-old daughter, Maggie.

Maggie, who has just been declared dead, having been snatched from her bedroom seven years ago. Her call ends in a scream.

The trail leads to a local couple, but this is just the start of his battle to get his daughter back. What follows is a bullet-strewn cross-country chase along Interstate 10, from Texas to California.

The riveting new novel from the acclaimed author of Acts of Violence and Low Life is a brilliantly original, blood drenched thriller, about the lengths a man will go to for his daughter.

Bargain Book Roundup

Naked Heat ($2.99 Kindle), the second novel in the Nikki Heat series by Richard Castle [Hyperion], in sale at Amazon only, where the the companion audiobook is $3.99.

Book Description
Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook are together again in Richard Castle’s thrilling follow-up to his New York Times bestseller, Heat Wave.

When New York’s most vicious gossip columnist, Cassidy Towne, is found dead, Heat uncovers a gallery of high profile suspects, all with compelling motives for killing the most feared muckraker in Manhattan.

Heat’s murder investigation is complicated by her surprise reunion with superstar magazine journalist Jameson Rook. In the wake of their recent breakup, Nikki would rather not deal with their raw emotional baggage. But the handsome, wise-cracking Pulitzer Prize-winning writer’s personal involvement in the case forces her to team up with Rook anyway. The residue of their unresolved romantic conflict and crackling sexual tension fills the air as Heat and Rook embark on a search for a killer among celebrities and mobsters, singers and hookers, pro athletes and shamed politicians.

This new, explosive case brings on the heat in the glittery world of secrets, cover-ups, and scandals.

3rd Degree ($2.84 Kindle, B&N), the third thriller in the Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson and Andrew Gross [Little, Brown/Hachette]

Book Description
The #1 bestselling new mystery series of the past decade comes roaring back with 3rd Degree, a shockingly suspenseful thriller featuring the Women's Murder Club.

One of James Patterson's best loved heroines is about to die. Detective Lindsay Boxer is jogging along a beautiful San Francisco street when a fiery explosion rips through the neighborhood. A town house owned by an Internet millionaire is immediately engulfed in flames, and when Lindsay plunges inside to search for survivors, she finds three people dead. An infant who lived in the house cannot be found - and a mysterious message at the scene leaves Lindsay and the San Francisco Police Department completely baffled.

Then a prominent businessman is found murdered under bizarre circumstances, with another mysterious message left behind by the killer. Lindsay asks her friends Claire Washburn of the medical examiner's office, Assistant D.A. Jill Bernhardt, and Chronicle reporter Cindy Thomas to help her figure out who is committing these murders-and why they are intent on killing someone every three days.

Even more terrifying, the killer has targeted one of the four friends who call themselves the Women's Murder Club.

Which one will it be?

While the investigation rages furiously, Lindsay works very closely with a federal officer assigned to the case. At the same time, she learns that one member of the Women's Murder Club is hiding a secret so dangerous and unbelievable that it could destroy them all.

One Reckless Summer ($0.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), the first romance in the Destiny series by Toni Blake [HarperCollins].

Book Description
It's tough to play it cool on a sultry summer night . . .

The perfect daughter. The perfect prom queen. The perfect wife. Jenny Tolliver's been the good girl all her life, and it's gotten her nowhere. Now that her marriage has been busted up by her cheating ex, she's decided it's time to regroup and rediscover herself. This summer she's headed back to her hometown of Destiny, Ohio, to the very lakeshore cottage where she grew up, to figure out what life holds in store for her next.

She never dreamed the answer would be Mick Brody, Destiny's #1 hellraiser. He comes from the wrong side of the tracks (or in his case, the lake), and he's landed in hot water more times than he can count. He's exactly the kind of guy Jenny's always kept her distance from . . . but soon the good girl and the bad boy are caught in a raw heat that's out of control. Too bad Mick's got a secret that threatens to tear them apart and ruin Jenny's perfectly, passionately reckless summer . . .

Holly Lane ($3.79 Kindle, B&N, $3.99 Kobo), the fourth romance in the Destiny series by Toni Blake [HarperCollins].

Book Description
One of the most exciting voices in contemporary romance fiction, Toni Blake returns to Destiny, Ohio with Holly Lane—a sizzling hot and deeply emotional holiday story of a longtime friendship that turns into something oh so much more. As warm and touching as the small-town romances of Debbie Macomber but with a deliciously sexy twist, Holly Lane is a Christmas love story that not even a confirmed Scrooge could resist—as a solitary weekend at a remote lake cabin becomes a miraculous, life-changing event for a struggling young woman when a double-booking error lands a handsome childhood friend on her doorstep…and a blizzard does the rest.

Willow Springs ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), the fifth romance in the Destiny series by Toni Blake [HarperCollins].

Book Description
No contemporary romance author combines steamy hot and heartwarming better than Toni Blake. Now she transports readers back to the small town of Destiny, Ohio, once again in Willow Springs, as a longtime friendship turns into something oh so much more when the town matchmaker provides some very special tlc for a young fireman haunted by a tragic on-the-job experience. Like Debbie Macomber’s New York Times bestselling small-town romances but with a deliciously sexy twist, Toni Blake’s Willow Springs is a love story to cherish.

Layer Cake ($2.99 Kindle), by J. J. Connolly [Grove/Atlantic]

Book Description
Our narrator's too smart to tell you his name ("if I [did], you'd be as clever as me"), but he's not afraid to tell you everything else about the "layer cake"-London's intricately arranged constellation of underworld fiefdoms. He's a drug dealer who's planning to retire on his thirtieth birthday-after one last great score-to a life as "a gentleman of leisure." Only problem is his boss, the crime kingpin "don" Jimmy Price, has other plans. He can walk away from the life for good only if he can track down a runaway daughter for Jimmy's old friend.
Complicating matters are two million top-grade Ecstasy tablets that were robbed from a factory in Amsterdam by a renegade outfit in Jimmy's employ who are now looking for someone to offload the ill-gotten loot. With an angry mob of German neo-Nazis in hot pursuit, and all crosses and double-crosses leading back to Jimmy, our narrator finds he may have to negotiate a new exit strategy.
With a rich supporting cast of dozens of characters, Layer Cake is a gripping, linguistically inventive thriller, a cross between Irvine Welsh and Dennis Lehane that keeps you turning the pages until the very end.

Just Curious ($0.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), a novella by Jude Deveraux [Simon and Schuster]

Book Description
New York Times bestselling author Jude Deveraux’s charming Christmas novella is now available as an eBook.

In the snow-covered hills of Virginia, a young widow finds that miracles really do come in the least expected packages. First appearing as a short story in the anthology Simple Gifts, this festive eBook is now available on its own at an unbeatable price—perfect for new and old fans alike.

The Wind Through the Keyhole ($4.99 Kindle), the eighth and latest novel in The Dark Tower series by Stephen King [Simon and Schuster], is half-price at Amazon only.

Book Description
In The Wind Through the Keyhole, Stephen King returns to the rich landscape of Mid-World, the spectacular territory of the Dark Tower fantasy saga that stands as his most beguiling achievement.

Roland Deschain and his ka-tet—Jake, Susannah, Eddie, and Oy, the billy-bumbler—encounter a ferocious storm just after crossing the River Whye on their way to the Outer Baronies. As they shelter from the howling gale, Roland tells his friends not just one strange story but two . . . and in so doing, casts new light on his own troubled past.

In his early days as a gunslinger, in the guilt-ridden year following his mother’s death, Roland is sent by his father to investigate evidence of a murderous shape-shifter, a “skin-man” preying upon the population around Debaria. Roland takes charge of Bill Streeter, the brave but terrified boy who is the sole surviving witness to the beast’s most recent slaughter. Only a teenager himself, Roland calms the boy and prepares him for the following day’s trials by reciting a story from the Magic Tales of the Eld that his mother often read to him at bedtime. “A person’s never too old for stories,” Roland says to Bill. “Man and boy, girl and woman, never too old. We live for them.” And indeed, the tale that Roland unfolds, the legend of Tim Stoutheart, is a timeless treasure for all ages, a story that lives for us.

King began the Dark Tower series in 1974; it gained momentum in the 1980s; and he brought it to a thrilling conclusion when the last three novels were published in 2003 and 2004. The Wind Through the Keyhole is sure to fascinate avid fans of the Dark Tower epic. But this novel also stands on its own for all readers, an enchanting and haunting journey to Roland’s world and testimony to the power of Stephen King’s storytelling magic.

Milk and Honey ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), by Faye Kellerman [HarperCollins], with the companion audiobook also $1.99.

Book Description
In the silent pre-dawn city hours -- alone with his thoughts about Rina Lazarus, the woman he loves, three thousand miles away in New York -- LAPD detective Peter Decker finds a small child, abandoned and covered in blood that is not hers. It is a sobering discovery, and a perplexing one, for nobody in the development where she was found steps forward to claim the little girl. Obsessed more deeply by this case than he imagined possible, Decker is determined to follow the scant clues to an answer. But his trail is leading him to a killing ground where four bodies lie still and lifeless. And by the time Rina returns, Peter Decker is already held fast in a sticky mass of hatred, passion, and murder -- in a world where intense sweetness is accompanied by a deadly sting.

Midnight Train to Paris ($1.99 Kindle) is a new Kindle Serial by Juliette Sobanet [Montlake Romance].

Book Description
This book is a Kindle Serial. Kindle Serials are stories published in episodes, with future episodes delivered at no additional cost. This serial currently contains four episodes out of an estimated eight total episodes, and new episodes will be delivered every week.

When hard-hitting DC reporter Jillian Chambord learns that her twin sister, Isla, has been abducted from a luxury train traveling through the Alps, not even the threat of losing her coveted position at The Washington Daily can stop her from hopping on the next flight to France. Never mind the fact that Samuel Kelly—the sexy former CIA agent who Jillian has sworn off forever—has been assigned as the lead investigator in the case.

When Jillian and Samuel arrive in the Alps, they soon learn that their midnight train isn’t leading them to Isla, but has taken them back in time to 1937, to a night when another young woman was abducted from the same Orient Express train. Given a chance to save both women, Jillian and Samuel are unprepared for what they discover on the train that night, for the sparks that fly between them . . . and for what they’ll have to do to keep each other alive.

Midnight Train to Paris is a magical and suspenseful exploration of just how far we will go to save the ones we love.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 5/24

The Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK is an assortment of 10 books, with prices up to £1.29 each (>70% off).

• Flowertown (£0.99 UK), by SG Redling (US edition $4.99)
• The Library of Gold (£0.99 UK), by Gayle Lynds (no US edition)
• The Business (£0.99 UK), by Michael Booker (US edition $7.99)
• How to Be Assertive in Any Situation (£1.19 UK), by Sue Hadfield and Gill Hasson (no US edition)
• Snake in the Grass (£0.99 UK), by Dominic Luke (US edition $7.99)
• Marked (£1.09 UK), by David Jackson (US edition $9.79)
• Where the Earth Ends (£0.99 UK), by John Harrison (no US edition)
• The World's Favourite Love Poems (£1.29 UK), by Suheil Bushrui (US edition $9.99)
• The Agony and the Ecstasy (£1.29 UK), by Daria Klimentova (no US edition)
• Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Classical Music (£1.09 UK), by Darren Henley and Sam Jackson (US edition $11.99)

UK Kindle Daily Deal 5/23

The Master Plan (£0.99 UK), the second novel in the Dana Sloan Mysteries series by Carol Costa [Thomas & Mercer], is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $3.99).

Book Description
Two wives suspected of their husbands' murders have investigative reporter Dana Sloan working to prove their innocence and at odds once again with her boyfriend, homicide detective Al Bruno. Dana quickly learns that one of the wives, a talented artist, was abused by her husband. The other wife, Dana's friend and employee Casey Jordan, admits that her recent wedding was part of a crazy scheme to marry into wealth.

But Casey isn't the only one with secrets. Dana uncovers evidence that Casey's bridegroom has his own hidden agenda for marring. What Dana doesn't know is that the murders are all part of another plan, this one the most sinister of all, devised by a killer who won't hesitate to add Dana to the list of victims.

Nook Daily Find 5/22

The Killer's Art ($6.59 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), the fourth novel in the Anders Knutas series by Mari Jungstedt and Tiina Nunnally (Translator) [Stockholm Text], is the Nook Daily Find.

Book Description
A cold Sunday morning, a man is found murdered and hanged on the old city wall that surrounds Visby, capital of Gotland. The victim is art gallery owner Egon Wallin. When the famous painting “The Dying Dandy” is stolen in Stockholm, disturbing links to the murder of Egon Wallin slowly start to surface, taking the reader into the exquisite Swedish art world and underworld of prostitution and drugs.

Killer’s Art is set in the picturesque yet uncanny island Gotland, the Swedish equivalent to Martha’s Vineyard. In this hair-raising story, superintendant Anders Knutas is facing one of the toughest investigations in his career.

With an intelligent plot and fast-paced, excruciating suspense, Mari Jungstedt is often compared to Minette Walters and Ruth Rendell. Her page-turning novels have made Jungstedt the second bestselling crime-in-translation author for Random House. With over 3 million copies sold, Jungstedt is a true queen of crime fiction.

Bargain Book Roundup

I mentioned before that I went to see Star Trek Into Darkness in 3D and really liked it. Since we wanted to grab it on Blu-ray when it was released, I signed up to be notified when it could be ordered and today, there it is! Even better, the prices are pretty reasonable, so I pre-ordered the 3D Combo Edition (with Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy) for under $25. If you want to save a few bucks, the Blu-ray Combo is $19.99 and the DVD Only (no digital copy) is $16.99. If you really want to splurge, though, you can also get Star Trek Into Darkness Starfleet Phaser Limited Edition Gift Set, which adds a (non-weaponized, although with a spinning barrel) Phaser to the 3D Combo Edition.

And here's the best part for Kindle readers: You also get a Free Star Trek Comic Book: Pre-Order Star Trek Into Darkness on DVD, Blu-ray Combo,or 3D Blu-ray Combo and receive a promotional credit (valued at $2.99) for a free Star Trek: Countdown to Darkness #1 Comic Book, by Mike Johnson and David Messina (Illustrator). Now, I'll be waiting to order mine after I get the promo credit and the details page claims you can't get it at all unless you are an Into Darkness pre-order customer ... but, right this minute there is a one-click order button on the page (and a $2.99 price tag); I don't know if it will refuse your order if you didn't buy the movie first, but it's there to click, for those that want to try for it.

Boring details: Promotional credit will be sent upon ship date and must be used by September 30, 2013 in order to receive the free download. Download must be used with a Kindle device or through the Kindle app.

It took several days, but 1,001 Best Grilling Recipes: Delicious, Easy-to-Make Recipes from Around the World ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Rick Browne [Agate Surrey], finally dropped on Kindle to match the B&N price. If you were holding off on getting it, I'd do it now, as this price may not last long.

Book Description
This newest addition to Surrey's 1,001 line of cookbooks is the definitive book on grilling everything from appetizers and side dishes, to lamb, beef, hamburgers, sausages, fish & shellfish, wild game, chicken, game birds, turkey, pork, and desserts. Also included are dozens of recipes for sauces, marinades, and rubs to use when cooking on a barbecue grill.

Author Rick Browne is one of the country's best-known authorities on grilling. The creator and host of the PBS TV series "Barbecue America," he is the author of seven cookbooks, most dealing with barbecue and grilling. In this new collection, he's created an encyclopedic collection of recipes drawn from cuisines around the world.

Browne begins with a brief, introductory primer on basic grilling techniques, but the real substance of this book is the dazzling array of recipes--all manner of meat and fish, plus numerous vegetarian options, from every corner of the globe, with a particular focus on North American and Asian traditions.

Never before have this many great grilling recipes been collected between two covers. If you love to grill--or know someone else who does--this is a must-have resource. It's the only grilling recipe book you'll ever need.

Cain ($1.39 Kindle; >$10 elsewhere), by Jose Saramago and Margaret Jull Costa (Translator) [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]; this is the one novel missing from The Collected Novels of Jose Saramago, as it was unfinished when the latter was published. The Audible companion audiobook is $3.99.

Book Description
In this, his last novel, José Saramago daringly reimagines the characters and narratives of the Old Testament, recalling his provocative The Gospel According to Jesus Christ. His tale runs from the Garden of Eden, when God realizes he has forgotten to give Adam and Eve the gift of speech, to the moment when Noah’s Ark lands on the dry peak of Ararat. Cain, the despised, the murderer, is Saramago’s protagonist.

Condemned to wander forever after he kills his brother Abel, Cain makes his way through the world in the company of a personable donkey. He is a witness to and participant in the stories of Isaac and Abraham, the destruction of the Tower of Babel, Moses and the golden calf, the trials of Job. The rapacious Queen Lilith takes him as her lover. An old man with two sheep on a rope crosses his path. And again and again, Cain encounters a God whose actions seem callous, cruel, and unjust. He confronts Him, he argues with Him. “And one thing we know for certain,” Saramago writes, “is that they continued to argue and are arguing still.”

A startling book—sensual, funny—and in all ways a fitting end to Saramago’s extraordinary career.

If you don't have a copy of The Great Gatsby ($4.99 Kindle, $10.93 B&N, $1.99-$7.99 Kobo), by F. Scott Fitzgerald [Simon and Schuster], now is the time to pick one up to read before seeing the latest movie version in the theaters. Those that prefer the the audiobook edition may want to grab this edition, as well, as the audiobook price drops to 99 cents once you have the Kindle edition in your libraries.

Note that the lower price editions at Kobo (and elsewhere) are public domain copies, for countries where the copyright has expired, which does not include the US.

Book Description
The exemplary novel of the Jazz Age, F. Scott Fitzgeralds' third book, The Great Gatsby (1925), stands as the supreme achievement of his career. T. S. Eliot read it three times and saw it as the "first step" American fiction had taken since Henry James; H. L. Mencken praised "the charm and beauty of the writing," as well as Fitzgerald's sharp social sense; and Thomas Wolfe hailed it as Fitzgerald's "best work" thus far. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when, The New York Times remarked, "gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession," it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s that resonates with the power of myth. A novel of lyrical beauty yet brutal realism, of magic, romance, and mysticism, The Great Gatsby is one of the great classics of twentieth-century literature.

Overdraft: The Orion Offensive ($1.99 Kindle), by John Jackson Miller [47North], is a new Kindle Serial from the author of Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith (now available as in a Collected Stories edition), as well as several Star Wars and Mass Effects novels. Half of the episodes have been released and you get the remaining episodes over time, at no extra charge (unlike many indie-published attempts at a serial); if you prefer, you can wait until it is finished and read it all at once (in a single book on your Kindle, no searching for chapters). Also unlike the indie serials I've seen lately, this has both editorial support and the length is known before your purchase (I've seen indie's priced at 99 cents/episode, with dozens of tiny episodes, which will break the bank quickly and is vastly overpriced for all but a huge name author, IMO).

Book Description
This book is a Kindle Serial. Kindle Serials are stories published in episodes, with future episodes delivered at no additional cost. This serial currently contains four episodes out of an estimated eight total episodes, and new episodes will be delivered every two weeks.

After an egotistical stock trader for one of the twenty-second century’s biggest corporations gets greedy and loses his employer a fortune, he has two options: go to jail or make the money back before anyone notices. Unfortunately, the only place such profits can be found is the galactic frontier, a region so dangerous it’ll take an uneasy alliance with a crew of rugged mercenaries to keep him alive and in the black.

You’d have to be insane to trade with the violent denizens of the Orion Arm, but with just one hundred days to recoup $100 billion, Jamie Sturm is feeling a little crazy. Standing between Jamie and a variety of agonizing deaths is Surge Team Sigma, the squad of power-armored mercenaries tasked with protecting him. Their last job ended in disaster thanks to Jamie’s scheming, and, led by the implacable Bridget Yang, the team is determined to keep the hapless Jamie alive long enough to fix their reputation. That is, assuming they can ignore their own growing desire to flush the annoying tagalong out of the nearest airlock.

A space opera fueled by today’s financial bravado, Overdraft: The Orion Offensive strikes a thrilling balance between desperate firefights and trenchant dark humor.

Truly Madly Deeply, A Carly Phillips Collection ($0.99 Kindle), by Carly Phillips [indie], contains three romance novels previously published in paper editions: Perfect Partners (Zebra/1999), Solitary Man (Kensington/2004) and The Right Choice (Kensington/2004).

Book Description
A collection of three full length novels by New York Times Bestselling Author Carly Phillips, originally written and published in 1999 and 2000, and published under her real name, Karen Drogin.

PERFECT PARTNERS
No sooner had Chelsie Russell and Griffin Stuart lost their siblings in a car crash than they find themselves fighting for custody of their two year old niece. Griff wins only to discover Chelsie is the only one who can soothe the child's night terrors and fears. Chelsie and Griff bond over the little girl and their growing sexual desire is mutual. But is it enough? Chelsie's been hurt before and Griff isn't sure he can trust the woman who once tried to take his
niece away. What will it take for them to realize they are ... perfect partners?

THE RIGHT CHOICE
Advice columnist Carly Wexler is planning the perfect wedding with the perfect fiancé. So what if he doesn't make her heart beat faster? He's the right choice. Until sexy photo journalist, Mike Novak, her fiance's adopted brother arrives and Carly experiences all the passion she's convinced herself she doesn't need. Mike is torn by loyalty and a yearning unlike any he's ever known. After spending time with Carly, he is sure the engaged couple are marrying for the wrong reasons. With one week to go before the wedding, can Mike convince Carly he's the only choice for her?

SOLITARY MAN
When tough Boston cop Kevin Manning promised to care for his fatally wounded partner's family, a one night stand with the man's grieving sister wasn't part of the plan. No matter how intense the night had been, a woman like Nikki Welles deserves much more than a broken man like Kevin can give, and he leaves the next day. When he returns months later, everything has changed. Nikki can't forgive Kevin for abandoning her nor can she regret the baby she's now carrying. And she can't stop wanting Kevin. But can this solitary man come to believe he's worthy of love?

Nook Daily Find 5/19

Dial C for Chihuahua ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Sony), by Waverly Curtis [Kensington Books], is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle and at Sony. This was free in all the major stores two months ago, so you probably already have it in your libraries.

Book Description
"I am Pepe. But you can call me el Jefe."

Pepe may have soft white fur, big brown eyes, and mucho attitude--but he's no furry fashion fad. Pepe can talk--even if his new owner, Geri Sullivan, seems to be the only person who can understand him.

When Geri takes on her first assignment for a quirky investigator named Jimmy G and stumbles over a Seattle millionaire's corpse, Pepe proves to be worth his weight in liver treats. Suspicion falls on the not-so-grieving widow, who wants to finance a reality TV show, Dancing With Dogs.

Normally, Pepe wouldn't be caught muerte in a sparkly costume. However, he has to sniff out the real killer and keep Geri safe. Lesser dogs might flinch. But Pepe isn't the kind to turn tail and run....

UK Kindle Daily Deal 5/17

A Good and Useful Hurt (£0.99 UK), by Aric Davis [47North], is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $4.99; companion audiobook $1.99).

Book Description
Mike is a tattoo artist running his own shop, and Deb is the piercing artist he hires to round out the motley crew at his studio of four. The last thing either expects is romance, but that’s exactly what happens when they follow their off-kilter careers and love lives into complete disaster.

When Mike follows a growing trend and tattoos the ashes of deceased loved ones into several customers’ tattoos, he has no idea that it will one day provide the solution—and solace—he will sorely need. And when the life of a serial killer tragically collides with the lives of those in the tattoo shop, Mike and Deb will stop at nothing in their quest for revenge, even if it means stepping outside the known boundaries of life and death.

Ink that is full of crematory ashes, a sociopathic killer, and pain in its most raw form combine for one of the most imaginative, haunting thrillers in recent memory. Full of wit and heart, A Good and Useful Hurt delivers the goods with the pain of a needle in skin.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 5/16

The Water Clock (£0.99 UK), by Jim Kelly, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (no US edition).

Book Description
Time is running out for Philip Dryden . . .

In the snowbound landscape of the Cambridgeshire fens, a body is discovered, locked in a block of ice. High on Ely Cathedral a second corpse is found, grotesquely 'riding' a stone gargoyle.

Journalist Philip Dryden knows he's onto a great story when forensic evidence links both victims to one terrifying event in 1966. But the murders also offer Dryden the key to a very personal mystery. Who saved his life two years ago? And, more importantly, who left his wife to die?

The answer will bring Dryden face to face with his own guilt, his own fears - and a cold and ruthless killer . . .

Bargain Book, Music and Game Roundup

There are two free book from Marie Force on my Squidoo Lens, Today's Free Kindle Books. Pick up the second, which is indie-published, and you'll qualify for the two $1 books by Debra Holland.

For Gamers, there is a special deal on Rockstar Games Downloads through May 28 - Get both 50% off your purchase and a 5 Rockstar Games credit. Which means you could pick up Manhunt for $4.99, then use the credit later to get Manhunt 2 for $2.49 (don't try it the other way, around; the promo credit only works on items priced at $5 or more). There are other games in the sale, including at least one other at $4.99. Watch for this notice in the Special Offers section of the game before buying:

Purchase this product and receive a $5 credit towards other Rockstar Digital Downloads sold by Amazon Digital Video Games. Credit may be used on products priced greater than $5. Credit must be used by 5/28/2014

I also turned up a Jazz sale at Amazon, which includes a number of CDs that are priced in the $3.99-$4.99 range and include the AutoRip MP3 CD dropped into your account immediately. If you are into classical, here are a few bargains from the MP3 store:

• Classics for a Rainy Day ($0.99) from Cobra Entertainment
• Classics for a Rainy Day 2 ($1.09) from Cobra Entertainment
• 100 Must-Have Love Song Classics ($0.99) from Cobra Entertainment (nearly 7 hrs!)
• Piano ($0.99) from Cobra Entertainment
• Classical Music for the Reader 9: Great Masterpieces for the Dedicated Reader ($0.99) from Cobra Entertainment
• 50 Must-Have Travel Classics ($0.99) from Cobra Entertainment
• Big Haydn Box ($1.09) from Vanguard Classics
• 100 Must-Have Russian Masterpieces ($0.99) from Cobra Entertainment
• 100 Must-Have Angel Voices ($0.99) from Cobra Entertainment

The Thief ($2.09 Kindle), by Fuminori Nakamura [Soho Crime]; the companion audiobook is $3.99.

Book Description
A literary crime masterpiece that follows a Japanese pickpocket lost to the machinations of fate. Bleak and oozing existential dread, The Thief is simply unforgettable.

The Thief is a seasoned pickpocket. Anonymous in his tailored suit, he weaves in and out of Tokyo crowds, stealing wallets from strangers so smoothly sometimes he doesn’t even remember the snatch. Most people are just a blur to him, nameless faces from whom he chooses his victims. He has no family, no friends, no connections.... But he does have a past, which finally catches up with him when Ishikawa, his first partner, reappears in his life, and offers him a job he can’t refuse. It’s an easy job: tie up an old rich man, steal the contents of the safe. No one gets hurt. Only the day after the job does he learn that the old man was a prominent politician, and that he was brutally killed after the robbery. And now the Thief is caught in a tangle even he might not be able to escape.

The first four novels in Richard Kadrey's Sandman Slim series (Kindle; B&N) are on sale for $1.99 apiece [HarperCollins]; grab them now and you might get them finished by the time the fifth, Kill City Blues, is released in July.

Sandman Slim (companion audiobook $2.99)

Sandman Slim has arrived—a wild and weird, edge-of-your-seat supernatural roller-coaster rider that propels author Richard Kadrey to the forefront of the fantasy, thriller, and a host of other literary genres. This spellbinding, utterly remarkable tale of a vengeful magician/hitman’s return from hell is part H.P. Lovecraft, part Christopher Moore, part Jim Butcher, and totally, unabashedly dark, twisted, and hilarious.

Kill the Dead (companion audiobook $3.99)

Sandman Slim is back from Hell. After wreaking unholy havoc in author Richard Kadrey’s resoundingly acclaimed Sandman Slim, the demon-slaying anti-hero and half-angel fugitive from the underworld returns in a brutally funny, eye-poppingly inventive, and totally addicting follow-up, Kill the Dead. If you’re a fan of Buffy and Jim Butcher, Christopher Moore, Neil Gaiman, and Warren Ellis, or you dig the dark urban fantasy vibe of Charlaine Harris, Kim Harrison, and Simon Green, you’ll cheer Lucifer’s onetime personal assassin as he signs on as his ex-boss’ Hollywood bodyguard…and takes on the zombie apocalypse almost single-handedly.

Aloha from Hell (companion audiobook $2.99)

All hail Sandman Slim, author Richard Kadrey’s ultra-extreme anti-hero and recent escapee from Lucifer’s overheated Underworld playground. Legendary author William Gibson (Neuromancer) called Kadrey’s first deliciously twisted Slim adventure “an addictively satisfying, deeply amusing, dirty-ass masterpiece,” and in number three, Aloha from Hell, the ruthless avenger, a.k.a. Stark, finds himself trapped in the middle of a war between Heaven and Hell. With God on vacation, the Devil nosing around in Paradise, and an insane serial killer doing serious damage on Earth, Stark/Slim is ready to unleash some more adrenaline-surging, edgy and violent supernatural mayhem—and even pay another visit to Hell if necessary—which is great news for fans of Jim Butcher, Warren Ellis, Charlaine Harris, Kim Harrison, and Simon R. Green.

Devil Said Bang

Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim—aka James Stark—is, quite simply, one of the most outrageous uber-anti-heroes ever to kick serious butt on this or any other world or dimension.

In his previous three adventures—Sandman Slim, Kill the Dead, and Aloha from Hell—Stark has fled Hell for California, taken on angels, demons, outlaw bikers, zombies, covert government operatives, and all manner of monsters, while saving humankind from total annihilation on numerous occasions. But in Devil Said Bang, he finally assumes the role he was destined for: as the new Lucifer, ruler of the Underworld.

Combining outrageously edgy humor with a dark and truly twisted vision, Richard Kadrey has once again delivered a masterful amalgam of action novel, urban fantasy, and in-your-face horror that will delight a wide range of readers—from Christopher Moore and Warren Ellis fans to the devoted adherents of Jim Butcher, Charlaine Harris, Kim Harrison, and Simon Green.

Dead or Alive ($2.99 Kindle; $0.99 B&N), the second novel in the Outlaws and Heroes series by Mallory Rush [ePublishing Works!]; previously published as Pistol in my Pocket.

Book Description
Alaska was a rough and tumble place in the 1800s when outlaw Noble Zhivago was forced to run for his life—only to be buried alive in an avalanche!

Now, a century later, Noble is discovered, frozen in time, by a policeman's young widow.

Lori Morgan can't resist the irrational desire to release the rugged hunk from his icy tomb. Nor can she explain why Noble ignites fiery passions she thought dead.

Then Lori discovers Nobel is a murderer, wanted Dead or Alive.

Imperfect Rebel ($3.99 Kindle; $0.99 B&N), the second novel in The Carolina Magnolia series by Patricia Rice [ePublishing Works!]; previously published as Almost Perfect.

Book Description
Cleo Alyssum has a plan: stay sober, keep her job, and bite her tongue until Social Services relents and returns her little boy.

Then Jared McCloud, a celebrated cartoonist and bull-headed extrovert, shatters Cleo's carefully constructed serenity by demanding that they help their drug-dealing neighbor's neglected children.

Cleo knows Jared is right.

Risking everything they thought they wanted, the pair join forces to save the children and face a new realization: there's more to life and love than either of them ever planned or dreamed.

Zero Separation ($3.99 Kindle), by Philip Donlay [Oceanview Publishing]; the companion audiobook is $3.99.

Book Description
Donovan Nash has a secret he'll do anything to keep. But he's the prime suspect after someone steals a fifty million dollar executive jet, and FBI agent Veronica Montero put him squarely in the crosshairs. As she digs, she discovers Nash's secret -- a revelation that, if made public, would stun the world. Operating on her own agenda, Montero blackmails Nash into helping her hunt down a man she wants dead.Powerless against the information Montero holds, Nash is forced into a situation far deadlier than either of them could ever have imagined. The man they are after isn't the criminal they expect, he's a terrorist with a plan to use the stolen jet to carry out an unthinkable and devastating act that could plunge America into the most heinous conflict since World War II.When Nash and Montero are taken prisoner aboard the stolen jet, they will have only one opportunity to execute a daring midair attempt to stop the attack. Success could cost them their own lives, but failure could cost millions of innocent lives.

Devil in a Blue Dress: Featuring an Original Easy Rawlins Short Story ($3.99 Kindle), by Walter Mosley [Simon and Schuster]; the companion audiobook is $4.49.

Book Description
Los Angeles, 1948: Ezekiel "Easy Rawlins" is a black war veteran just fired from his job. Now he's drinking in a friend's bar, wondering how he'll meet his mortgage.

That's when De Witt Albright , a quietly vicious white man in a white linen suit, walks in and offers Easy good money if he'll just do a little job for him: find Miss Daphne Monet, a blonde beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs.

It seems simple enough, but Easy soon discovers that Albright isn't the only one looking for the lovely Miss Monet - isn't the only one who's ready to kill anyone, including Easy, who might get in the way.

The Smart One ($4.99 Kindle), by Jennifer Close [Random House]

Book Description
With her best-selling debut, Girls in White Dresses (An “irresistible, pitch-perfect first novel” —Marie Claire), Jennifer Close captured friendship in those what-on-earth-am-I-going-to-do-with-my-life years of early adulthood. Now, with her sparkling new novel of parenthood and sibling rivalry, Close turns her gimlet eye to the only thing messier than friendship: family.

Weezy Coffey’s parents had always told her she was the smart one, while her sister was the pretty one. “Maureen will marry well,” their mother said, but instead it was Weezy who married well, to a kind man and good father. Weezy often wonders if she did this on purpose—thwarting expectations just to prove her parents wrong.

But now that Weezy’s own children are adults, they haven’t exactly been meeting her expectations either. Her oldest child, Martha, is thirty and living in her childhood bedroom after a spectacular career flameout. Martha now works at J.Crew, folding pants with whales embroidered on them and complaining bitterly about it. Weezy’s middle child, Claire, has broken up with her fiancé, canceled her wedding, and locked herself in her New York apartment—leaving Weezy to deal with the caterer and florist. And her youngest, Max, is dating a college classmate named Cleo, a girl so beautiful and confident she wears her swimsuit to family dinner, leaving other members of the Coffey household blushing and stammering into their plates.

As the Coffey children’s various missteps drive them back to their childhood home, Weezy suddenly finds her empty nest crowded and her children in full-scale regression. Martha is moping like a teenager, Claire is stumbling home drunk in the wee hours, and Max and Cleo are skulking around the basement, guarding a secret of their own. With radiant style and a generous spirit, The Smart One is a story about the ways in which we never really grow up, and the place where we return when things go drastically awry: home.

The Tudors: The Complete Story of England's Most Notorious Dynasty ($2.99 Kindle), by G.J. Meyer [Random House]

Book Description
BONUS: This edition contains a The Tudors discussion guide.

Acclaimed historian G. J. Meyer provides a fresh look at the fabled Tudor dynasty—and some of the most enigmatic figures ever to rule a country. In 1485, Henry Tudor, whose claim to the English throne was so weak as to be almost laughable, nevertheless sailed from France with a ragtag army to take the crown from the family that had ruled England for almost four centuries. Fifty years later, his son, Henry VIII, aimed to seize even greater powers—ultimately leaving behind a brutal legacy that would blight the lives of his children and the destiny of his country. Edward VI, a fervent believer in reforming the English church, died before realizing his dream. Mary I, the disgraced daughter of Catherine of Aragon, tried and failed to reestablish the Catholic Church and produce an heir, while Elizabeth I sacrificed all chance of personal happiness in order to survive.

The Tudors presents the sinners and saints, the tragedies and triumphs, the high dreams and dark crimes, of this enthralling era.

An Expert in Murder ($1.99 Kindle), the first novel in the Josephine Tey series by Nicola Upson [HarperCollins]; the companion audiobook is $3.99.

Book Description
March 1934. Revered mystery writer Josephine Tey is traveling from Scotland to London for the final week of her play Richard of Bordeaux, the surprise hit of the season, with pacifist themes that resonate in a world still haunted by war. But joy turns to horror when her arrival coincides with the murder of a young woman she had befriended on the train ride—and Tey is plunged into a mystery as puzzling as any in her own works.

Detective Inspector Archie Penrose is convinced that the killing is connected to the play, and that Tey herself is in danger of becoming a victim of her own success. In the aftermath of a second murder, the writer and the policeman must join together to stop a ruthless killer who will apparently stop at nothing.

The Black Company ($2.99 Kindle), the first novel of The Chronicles of The Black Company by Glen Cook [Macmillan], will get you started on a good series, but your best bang for the buck is to get Chronicles of the Black Company omnibus instead, which contains the next two novels as well, with a total price equal to either of the bonus novels, alone. That leaves The Silver Spike as the remaining novel in that series, but there is an omnibus you'll want instead of that one, as well: The Books of the South: Tales of the Black Company, for only $1.30 extra.

At the publisher's request, these titles are being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

The Black Company (companion audiobook $3.99)

Some feel the Lady, newly risen from centuries in thrall, stands between humankind and evil. Some feel she is evil itself. The hardbitten men of the Black Company take their pay and do what they must, burying their doubts with their dead.

Until the prophesy: The White Rose has been reborn, somewhere, to embody good once more.

There must be a way for the Black Company to find her...

Chronicles of the Black Company

Darkness wars with darkness as the hard-bitten men of the Black Company take their pay and do what they must. They bury their doubts with their dead.

Then comes the prophecy: The White Rose has been reborn, somewhere, to embody good once more…

This omnibus edition comprises The Black Company, Shadows Linger, and The White Rose—the first three novels in Glen Cook's bestselling fantasy series.

The Books of the South: Tales of the Black Company

Marching south after the ghastly battle at the Tower of Charm, the Black Company is hounded by shadowy figures every inch of the way.

The game is on: the Company versus the Shadowmasters, deadly creatures that deal in darkness and sorrow.

When hope dies, there's still survival. And there's still the Black Company.

The Book of the South is the second omnibus of novels from one of the greatest fantasy epics of our age, Glen Cook’s Black Company series—collecting Shadow Games, Dreams of Steel, and The Silver Spike.

The Abundant Community ($2.99 Kindle), by John McKnight and Peter Block [Berrett-Koehler Publishers]

Book Description
We need our neighbors and community to stay healthy, produce jobs, raise our children, and care for those on the margin. Institutions and professional services have reached their limit of their ability to help us.

The consumer society tells us that we are insufficient and that we must purchase what we need from specialists and systems outside the community. We have become consumers and clients, not citizens and neighbors. John McKnight and Peter Block show that we have the capacity to find real and sustainable satisfaction right in our neighborhood and community.

This book reports on voluntary, self-organizing structures that focus on gifts and value hospitality, the welcoming of strangers. It shows how to reweave our social fabric, especially in our neighborhoods. In this way we collectively have enough to create a future that works for all.

About the Authors
For nearly three decades, John McKnight has conducted research on social service delivery systems, health policy, community organizations, neighborhood policy, and institutional racism. He currently directs research projects focused on asset-based neighborhood development and methods of community building by incorporating marginalized people. John serves on the Board of Directors of numerous community organizations including the Gamaliel Foundation and The National Training and Information Center. McKnight is a professor of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University.

Peter Block is an author, consultant. His work is about empowerment, stewardship, chosen accountability, and the reconciliation of community. He’s the author of Flawless Consulting, Stewardship, The Answer to How is Yes, and Community