Nook Daily Find 6/27

No Mark upon Her ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), the fourteenth Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James series novel by three-time Macavity Award winner, an Edgar Award nominee, and a New York Times Notable author Deborah Crombie [HarperCollins], is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Not only is Leave the Grave Green, the third in the series, also still $1.99, there are five more in the series that are on sale under $5.

Book Description
New York Times Notable author Deborah Crombie is regularly named among the greats of British-set crime fiction (P.D. James, Ruth Rendell, Elizabeth George et al) for her riveting police procedurals featuring Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James, Scotland Yard partners as well as devoted life-mates.

A brilliantly conceived and executed, deeply atmospheric mystery, No Mark Upon Her embroils Kincaid and James in the case of the puzzling drowning of a rower, a Met detective, on the Thames. A finely-hued and twisting tale of psychological suspense—a story rich in deadly secrets, salacious lies, and unexpected betrayals—No Mark Upon Her is everything Crombie’s fans have come to expect from this exceptional writer…and more.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 6/27

The Chill of Night (£0.99 UK), the second Det. Michael McCabe Mystery by James Hayman [Penguin], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for those in the UK (the US edition is $7.59).

Book Description
A frozen corpse means a big headache for Detective Michael McCabe

Lainie Goff thinks she has it all. A glamorous young Portland attorney with the brains and looks to match her ambitions, she's on the fast-track to a partnership. Until one cold winter night she discovers that her belief in her ability to handle any situation was misplaced. Now she's just a frozen corpse in the boot of a car at the end of Portland Fish Pier.

And a problem for homicide detective Michael McCabe.

Luckily for McCabe, there's a witness. A mentally disturbed young woman named Abby Quinn saw what happened to Lainie. Unfortunately, Abby mysteriously goes missing the very same night. With a victim who'd known more than her share of bad guys, a list of suspects that seems to get longer and longer and his only witness missing, McCabe has got his work cut out.

But it's only a matter of time before the killer strikes again . . .

Following the success of the first instalment The Cutting, The Chill of Night continues to follow Detective McCabe as he solves Portland's crimes. Fans of Harlan Coben and Michael Connelly will be hooked.

Bound (£0.99 UK), by Michele Hauf and Alexis Morgan [Mills & Boon], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for for Romance Fans in the UK (no US edition).

Book Description
In a dangerous paranormal world, survival means making sacrifices...

The Devil to Pay

The Devil had claimed Ivan's soul, so the vampire must enforce His wicked rule. But when Ivan's sent to claim the Book of All Spells, he doesn't expect the protector, gorgeous witch Dez. The book could end the war between witches and vampires, but taking it will ensure Dez's death. Now Ivan must choose - his duty to the dark world or the woman who lights his soul on fire.

Vampire Vendetta

The last survivor of his vampire clan, Seamus lives only for revenge. And his chance has come. But when he rescues human-vampire hybrid Megan from certain death, their fates intertwine. Now, as evil closes in, Seamus must weigh how far he will go in the pursuit of vengeance...or love.

Nook Daily Find 6/26

The Cove ($7.99 $1.99 Kindle, B&N), the first novel in the FBI thriller series by Catherine Coulter [Penguin], is the Nook Daily Find; it should be price matched on Kindle later this morning.

Book Description
The hard-charging thriller that launched Catherine Coulter's bestselling FBI series-now in hardcover for the first time.

Sally St. John Brainerd is on the run from the authorities, who want to question her about her possible involvement in her father's murder. FBI Special Agent James Quinlan goes undercover in the picturesque town of The Cove-home of the World's Greatest Ice Cream-where Sally seeks sanctuary. But The Cove and its elderly residents harbor sinister secrets of their own. After Quinlan and Sally discover two dead bodies, Sally vanishes, and Quinlan turns to his partner Dillon Savich to rescue her from a place where no one should be held. Quinlan discovers she is indeed the key to a murder-but whose murder?

Daily Deal - Murder in Bloom

Murder in Bloom ($4.99 $2.99 Kindle), the seventh novel in the Libby Sarjeant murder mystery series by Lesley Cookman [Accent Press], is today's Deal of the Day at at Diesel E-Books, where it's discounted to $1.40 (8 copies left). At Amazon, the entire series is on sale for $2.99 per title, but I'm starting to think you'll be able to pick up the entire series at Diesel, with a little patience.

Book Description
New edition of this bestselling murder mystery series that includes a map of Steeple Martin, cast of characters and a bonus chapter of the next book in the series.

Middle-aged artist-come-investigator Libby Sarjeant’s son Adam has uncovered a body with his rotovator in Creekmarsh Place, where he is working as a gardener for TV personality Lewis Osbourne-Walker.

The police seem to think there is no connection with the current owner but Libby, naturally, can’t just leave it at that. With her psychic friend Fran’s mind on other things, Libby has to go it alone.

A murder in London inspires the police to dig deeper and Libby, determined to help her new friend Lewis, stirs up more mud than Adam’s rotovator.

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.

Daily Deal - Murder in the Green

Murder in the Green ($4.99 $2.99 Kindle), the sixth novel in the Libby Sarjeant murder mystery series by Lesley Cookman [Accent Press], is today's Deal of the Day at at Diesel E-Books, where it's discounted to $1.40 (9 copies left). At Amazon, the entire series is on sale for $2.99 per title.

Book Description
New edition of this bestselling Libby Sarjeant murder mystery series including a map of Steeple Martin, cast of characters and a bonus chapter of the next title in the series.

Amateur sleuth Libby Sarjeant and her psychic investigator friend Fran become involved when a member of a local Morris Dancing side is found dead on May Day. Driven in part by her interest in Morris lore, Libby leaves her comfort zone in Kent and travels to Cornwall where she sees the darker side of Morris and its links to Satanism.

Back home in Kent, she and Fran begin to unravel the facts behind the murder and the cleverness of a completely unsuspected killer.

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 6/24

Gods and Beasts ($11.04 Kindle, $2.99 B&N), the third Alex Morrow novel by Denise Mina [Hachette], is the Nook Daily Find.

Book Description
It's the week before Christmas when a lone robber bursts into a busy Glasgow post office carrying an AK-47. An elderly man suddenly hands his young grandson to a stranger and wordlessly helps the gunman fill bags with cash, then carries them to the door. He opens the door and bows his head; the robber fires off the AK-47, tearing the grandfather in two.

DS Alex Morrow arrives on the scene and finds that the alarm system had been disabled before the robbery. Yet upon investigation, none of the employees can be linked to the gunman. And the grandfather-a life-long campaigner for social justice-is above reproach. As Morrow searches for the killer, she discovers a hidden, sinister political network. Soon it is chillingly clear: no corner of the city is safe, and her involvement will go deeper than she could ever have imagined.

Nook Daily Find 6/22

Two to Mango ($8.49 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), the second novel in the Tiki Goddess Mystery series by Jill Marie Landis [Bell Bridge Books], is the Nook Daily Find.

Book Description
Forget the grass skirts. Some of the Island's top hula dancers are pushing up daisies.

Everyone at Em Johnson's famous North Shore Kauai hang-out, The Tiki Goddess Bar, knows that the bar's irrepressible Hula Maidens take their hula dancing seriously. So when famed hula instructors from a rival dance troop start dropping like over-ripe passion fruit, Em and the Hula Maidens go undercover at the Kukui Nut Festival Hula Competition to uncover the killer. Em is once again up to her okole in danger and mystery, not to mention the seductive challenge of working with hunky detective Roland Sharpe, who moonlights as one of the island's sexiest fire dancers.

The hula is lively, the luau is smoking, the mai tais are delicious, and a killer is looking to get away with murder in paradise.

New York Times Bestselling Author JILL MARIE LANDIS has written over twenty-five novels, which have earned awards and slots on such national bestseller lists as the USA TODAY Top 50 and the New York Times Best Sellers Plus. She is a seven-time finalist for Romance Writers of America's RITA Award in both Single Title and Contemporary Romance as well as a Golden Heart and RITA Award winner. She's written historical and contemporary romance as well as inspirational historical romance, and she is now penning The Tiki Goddess Mystery Series, which began with MAI TAI ONE ON.

New 99 cent Bargain Books (part II)

More 99 cent books from William Morrow (HarperCollins)

Green Girls ($0.99 Kindle), by Michael Kimball

Book Description
A writer, a father, a husband, the owner of a strictly ordered life, Jacob Winter is not a man prone to violence—until the day he walks in unexpectedly on his wife's affair. Awakening in a small-town Maine jail with no memory of his alleged rampage, he is bailed out by Alix Callahan, a mysterious ethnobotanist who claims to own a small piece of his past. Drawn into her obsessive relationship with July, an exotic Indian beauty from the rainforests of South America, Jacob is simultaneously mesmerized and unnerved by the two women's strange erotic dance as his meticulously controlled world slips even farther out of its orbit—leading him to a clandestine meeting at the top of a bridge, where he helplessly watches Alix plunge 250 feet into the raging waters below. A suicide, a murder, neither, or both pull Jacob Winter into a twisted game of dark deceptions and psychological terror, one that could destroy his sanity and his soul.

Body Language and Emotion of Cats ($0.99 Kindle), by Myrna Milani

Book Description
What does your cat really want when it rubs up against your leg?
Is it showing affection or aggression when it sucks a hole in your favorite sweater?
Why does it turn up its nose at the cat food you bought on sale, settling only for the most expensive meal?

Making use of the latest scientific evidence on animal consciousness, Dr. Milani shows how a thorough understanding of feline anatomy, physiology, and behavior can lead to a warm and lasting bond between cats and the people who love them. She also lets us know what our responses to feline behavior tell the cat about us and our emotions.

The Body Language and Emotion of Cats is a fascinating guide to understanding this enigmatic pet and provides a way to enrich and expand the bond between owner and cat.

The Witch Doctor's Wife with Bonus Material ($0.99 Kindle), by Tamar Myers (besides the starred reviews, my mother loved this).

Book Description
For a limited time at a special price, enjoy beloved mystery writer Tamar Myers' novel The Witch Doctor's Wife—an enthralling tale of duty, greed, danger, and miracles in equatorial Africa. As a bonus, you get an excerpt from The Headhunter's Daughter and The Boy Who Stole the Leopard's Spots, on sale May 8, 2012.

The Congo beckons to young Amanda Brown in 1958, as she follows her missionary calling to the mysterious "dark continent" far from her South Carolina home. But her enthusiasm cannot cushion her from the shock of a very foreign culture—where competing missionaries are as plentiful as flies, and oppressive European overlords are busy stripping the land of its most valuable resource: diamonds.

Little by little, Amanda is drawn into the lives of the villagers in tiny Belle Vue—and she is touched by the plight of the local witch doctor, a man known as Their Death, who has been forced to take a second job as a yardman to support his two wives. But when First Wife stumbles upon an impossibly enormous uncut gem, events are set in motion that threaten to devastate the lives of these people Amanda has come to admire and love—events that could lead to nothing less than murder.

The Gazebo: A Novel ($0.99 Kindle), by Emily Grayson

Book Description
The Gazebo is an elegantly written story of enduring love and loyalty, in the popular tradition of The Bridges of Madison County and The Notebook.

Once a year for half a century, a man and a woman have been meeting at the gazebo in the square of a small town in upstate New York. Martin Rayfiel and Claire Swift long ago married other people, yet they have remained faithful to their vow to love each other always. When Martin, now a handsome, elderly man, walks into the office of the town newspaper and tries to tell his tale to the young editor Abby Reston, she is too busy to listen. But the next day Abby finds herself drawn to the gazebo to watch for the annual arrival of Martin and Claire. She waits and waits, but they don't come. Puzzled and intrigued, Abby finds a briefcase that Martin left behind for her, and in it--in photographs, papers, tape recordings, and mementos--is the entire astonishing story of Martin and Claire, a love affair that spanned the globe and somehow survived for fifty years.

The only son of the town's wealthiest family, Martin dreamed of being a world-class chef, while Claire, born of poor parents, hoped to be a sculptor. Despite their disparate backgrounds, and in defiance of small-town morality, they left everything behind and traveled together through Europe, until family allegiances suddenly and unexpectedly called Claire home. Before they parted, they vowed that, no matter what, they would meet at the gazebo once a year. Now it's up to Abby to find out what drove these lovers apart, why they continued to meet over the decades, and where they are now.

From the picturesque square in the center of a small town to the hotels, restaurants, museums, and boulevards of Paris, Florence, and London, Martin and Claire's story offers a voyage of discovery that transforms Abby Reston's own life. The Gazebo is a haunting tale of love and faithfulness that no reader will ever forget.

Healthy Kids: Help Them Eat Smart and Stay Active--For Life ($0.99 Kindle), by Marilu Henner

Book Description
We all want our children to be fit and healthy, but the current invasion of fast food, sugary snacks, and oversize portions are creating an epidemic of overweight, inactive, and unhealthy kids. The powerful influences of the fast-food industry, omnipresent junk food advertising, and the vicious cycle of TV, computer games, and Internet addictions only make our children more susceptible to a sedentary lifestyle and a lifetime of bad habits and obesity. Now, health pioneer and dedicated mom Marilu Henner says it's time to say good-bye to sugarcoated cereals, artificially colored cheese puffs, oceans of sugary soft drinks, nutritionally deficient school lunches, and fastfood supermeals!

As Marilu explains, parents who want the best for their children need to feed them fresh, whole foods to grow by. In Healthy Kids she shows you how to create a healthy, balanced lifestyle for your kids and how to make the transition from dairy-, fat-, sugar-, and chemical-laden foods to the vibrant, natural, nourishing foods we were all meant to eat.

Healthy Kids offers a proven plan to help parents and kids alike learn to eat healthier and feel better.

Between Earth & Sky ($0.99 Kindle), by Karen Osborn; a quick check of the sample shows promise.

Book Description
Years ago, Abby Reynolds was given the letters written by her great-great-grandmother who traveled from Virginia to New Mexico in a covered wagon just after the Civil War. Now, at a crossroads in her life, Abby reads Abigail's letters and follows her ancestor's trail westward where she seeks to understand the other woman's life in a land that was so foreign to her family, they all but forgot her.

Between Earth and Sky records two journeys—Abby's search of New Mexico where she meets an old Hispanic woman whom she shares a strange kinship with, and Abigail's travels through Indian territory into a life filled with danger, forbidden love, children she could not have imagined, and always the wide arc of the sky and the strange but magical earth that lies beneath it. Part epistolary, part narrative, Between Earth and Sky forms a love letter to the land itself and to those who chose to people it.

The Heart of the Matter: The Three Key Breakthroughs to Preventing Heart Attacks ($0.99 Kindle), by Peter Salgo and Joe Layden

Book Description
By the head of the Open Heart ICU at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital––an incredibly persuasive and revolutionary approach for lowering the risks of heart disease –– this plan links high cholesterol and Chlamydia as risk factors and lays out a program to combat both.

We are on the cusp of an enormous breakthrough in preventing heart attacks – forever. We are in the same place we were just before penicillin revolutionized the treatment of infectious disease, before fluoride eradicated tooth decay, and just before the polio vaccine brought that disease under control in this country. In The Heart of the Matter, Dr. Peter Salgo, the associate director of the Open Heart ICU at New York Presbyterian Hospital, offers a simple formula to treat people before they get sick, which in turn will prevent heart attacks before they occur.

For the first time in history, we know what really causes heart attack. And that knowledge has led Dr. Salgo to this amazingly simple and straightforward program that will save millions of lives. Dr. Salgo recommends using statins, antibiotics, and aspirin to prevent coronary heart disease. This groundbreaking book also offers a self–test that readers can take to assess their own personal risk for heart disease.

The Heart of the Matter is the beginning of a change in the treatment of heart disease. It introduces a preventative program that includes traditional diet and exercise guidelines as well as a blanket recommendation that adults, even many young adults, incorporate medicines into the on–going pursuit for health and longevity – something that, until now, seemed impossible to many. Now, without using a lot of indecipherable medical jargon, this invaluable new guide will show you exactly how to attain that longer, healthier life that so many people wish for.

How Much Does Your Soul Weigh?: Diet-Free Solutions to Your Food, Weight, and Body Worries ($0.99 Kindle), by Dorie McCubbrey

Book Description
You hold in your hands a life-changing weight control revelation -- a holistic approach to help you overcome all eating and weight problems from anorexia to obesity. This innovative book will shed light on your unsuccessful attempts at dieting and help you begin to heal from the inside out, once and for all!

How many "miracle diets" have you tried? How many minutes and hours have you spent worrying about the numbers on the bathroom scale? How many times have you lost weight only to gain it back along with renewed disappointment and frustration? You've worried about how much your body weighs, but have you asked:

How Much Does Your Soul Weigh?

Dr. Doric McCubbrey, a weight-issues specialist whose practice boasts a 95 percent success rate, reveals that the weight of your soul may be preventing you from effecting the changes you want to see in your appearance and self-esteem. By starting Dr. Dorie's plan for "Intuitive Self-Care," you can begin to unburden your soul of all the "weighty attitudes" of the diet mentality -- rigid rules, negative self-talk, and unrealistic goals -- that lead to very real feelings of disappointment and hopelessness.

With empathy and insight, Dr. Doric explores and explains the importance of a soulful attitude toward your eating, exercise, and weight.

Child No More: A Memoir ($0.99 Kindle), by Xaviera Hollander

Book Description
In the bestselling The Happy Hooker and subsequent books, Xaviera Hollander became famous for her unforgettably candid and racy stories of life as a New York madam catering to a sophisticated international clientele during the 1960s and 70s. Yet this remarkable woman's sexual escapades form only a part of her own remarkable life story—a story she reveals for the first time in the pages of this literary memoir, Child No More. It was a life begun in terror: Two months after her birth, young Xaviera de Vries and her mother were confined in a prison camp during the WWII Japanese occupation of Indonesia; her father, a doctor, was imprisoned in another camp. Two years later, summoned to treat a sick child, he operated on his own daughter without realizing her identity. But that story is just the start of an extraordinary memoir in which she traces her own life—and sexuality—as it was influenced by the example of her parents: her father, a dapper and witty Jewish psychologist and intellectual, her mother the gorgeous daughter of conventional German parents, and a target of Nazi enmity for her association with a Jew. With breathtaking but entirely characteristic—frankness, Xaviera revisits how her parents' own tempestuous relationship (and her father's licentious lifestyle) shaped her own life story. As she chronicles her eventual departure for New York, her entree into the world of prostitution, and her years of international celebrity, she reveals for the first time how her parents' lives continued to entwine with her own, as she endured years of separation from her father, and even stood by her mother as she entered a fulfilling lesbian relationship in the last years of her life. Told in the utterly frank and unquenchably inquisitive voice that marks all her work—yet from an entirely new and ultimately more honest perspective—Child No More recounts a surprising and ultimately uplifting "voyage of discovery through three lives."

King of the City ($0.99 Kindle), by Michael Moorcock

Book Description
More than a decade ago, Michael Moorcock's extraordinary Mother London gave stunning new breath and style to contemporary literature. With Bruce Chatwin's Utz and Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, the novel was short-listed for Britain's prestigious Whitbread Prize. Now, with scathing wit and enthralling vision, the author whom the Washington Post has praised as "one of the most exciting discoveries in the contemporary English novel [in] 40 or so years" returns to a city transformed and transforming, and in peril of its life.

These are the times and trials of Dennis Dover, former rock guitarist, photojournalist, and paparazzo. Denny inhabits a world of vibrant color, smell, and sound, where novel experience and unpredictability are anchored by steadfast tradition and history. Mother London's many vagaries give Denny Dover joy and succor, always seducing him home from the Earth's terrible places, where the face of death is as common as the blood that stains the local dirt. And London is where Rosie Beck is, when she isn't off elsewhere combating the planet's great ills.

Denny's brilliant, beautiful, socially conscious cousin has always been an indispensable part of his being -- his soul mate and his soul. Since childhood they have been inseparable, delighting in the daily discoveries of a life with no limits. But now the metropolis that nurtured them is threatened by a powerful, unstoppable force that consumes the past indiscriminately and leaves nothing of substance in its wake.

The terminator is named John Barbican Begg. A hanger-on from Denny and Rosie's youth, he has become the morally corrupt center of their London and the richest, most rapacious creature in the Western Hemisphere. Now, as their cherished landmarks tumble, conspiracy, secrets, lies, and betrayal become the centerpieces of Rosie and Dennis's days. For Barbican has but one goal: to devour the entire world. And the only choice left is to join in, drop out ... or plot to destroy.

A sprawling work of incomparable invention, King of the City is eccentric and remarkable, a unique urban love story with a pit-bull bite that confirms the unparalleled literary genius of the amazing Michael Moorcock.

Red, White & Liberal: How Left Is Right & Right Is Wrong ($0.99 Kindle), by Alan Colmes

Book Description
As one of the foremost liberal voices in television and radio today, Alan Colmes has long been braving the wilds of controversial issues and conservative slander. The host of the talk-radio show Fox News Live with Alan Colmes and cohost of Fox News Channel's hit debate show Hannity & Colmes, Colmes now offers this witty, passionate wake-up call to America.

Colmes takes on the fundamental question: How can we protect our nation without diminishing our liberties, and regain our place in the world as an example of democracy? Colmes urges Americans to see past the government's manipulation of the War on Terror to silence critics; the lies we've been force-fed about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan; and the conservative smear campaign that has turned "liberal" into a four-letter word. From debunking the myth of the liberal media to exposing conservative hypocrisy, Colmes presents the issues with thoughtful, provocative arguments, hard facts and logic, and searing humor.

Certain to spark debate and cause readers to reevaluate and reaffirm their beliefs, Red, White & Liberal powerfully argues that despite our differences, we must extend our hands across party lines to find solutions, protect our shores, and preserve our freedoms.

Test Pattern: A Novel ($0.99 Kindle), by Marjorie Klein

Book Description
A dazzling and strikingly original fiction debut from an exciting new talent

From the moment a new TV set arrives at the Palmer household in 1954 in Newport News, Virginia, change is in the wind. Eleven-year-old Cassie glimpses snapshots of the future in the hypnotic test pattern. Mesmerized, Cassie sees snippets from Kennedy's assassination, the Beatles' debut, man's landing on the Moon, and the O. J. Simpson trial. Her starstruck mother, Lorena, delights in the magical images flickering on the screen too, and finds the strength to pursue her dreams of becoming a professional dancer. Lorena soon plunges into an affair with an old flame, whose cousin turns out to be a talent scout for Arthur Godfrey, and risks her marriage to Cassie's dad, an accident-prone, depressed construction worker. As Lorena learns that the path to fame and fortune is strewn with obstacles, Cassie's own eyes are being opened to the world outside of provincial Newport News-and to the even richer world within herself.

Brilliantly re-creating the innocence and energy of the '50s, Test Pattern is a tour de force of wit, spirit, and imagination. From the moment a new TV set arrives at the Palmer household in 1954 in Newport News, Virginia, change is in the wind. Eleven-year-old Cassie glimpses snapshots of the future in the hypnotic test pattern. Mesmerized, Cassie sees snippets from Kennedy's assassination, the Beatles' debut, man's landing on the Moon, and the O. J. Simpson trial. Her starstruck mother, Lorena, delights in the magical images flickering on the screen too, and finds the strength to pursue her dreams of becoming a professional dancer. Lorena soon plunges into an affair with an old flame, whose cousin turns out to be a talent scout for Arthur Godfrey, and risks her marriage to Cassie's dad, an accident-prone, depressed construction worker. As Lorena learns that the path to fame and fortune is strewn with obstacles, Cassie's own eyes are being opened to the world outside of provincial Newport News-and to the even richer world within herself.

Brilliantly re-creating the innocence and energy of the '50s, Test Pattern is a tour de force of wit, spirit, and imagination.

My Lucky Dog ($0.99 Kindle), by Mellon Tytell

Book Description
Hunter, my majestic eighty-six-pound mutt, was the love of my life for thirteen years. I was addicted to looking at him—every twitch of his ear was fascinating to me. I've taken thousands of photographs of him, dozens even in the same position. He was "my lucky dog."

I adopted Hunter when he was two. He came with that name, his former owner a fan of Hunter S. Thompson. I noticed Hunter's photo in the window of a pet store in Vermont and brought him home.

If I was the lucky break in his life, he was the transforming experience in mine. Before, I was a little wild. As a photographer, I traveled around the world, picking up and leaving on a dime. Life was exciting: photo shoots in Paris, Haiti, the Himalayas, the Andes, and even the Amazon.

Hunter tamed me. I couldn't be away from him for more than five hours at a time. I had no children of my own; Hunter taught me about responsibility, love, and devotion in a way that was inaccessible to me with "people."

—Mellon

Daily Deal - Murder by the Sea

Murder by the Sea ($4.99 $2.99 Kindle), the fourth novel in the Libby Sarjeant murder mystery series by Lesley Cookman [Accent Press], is today's Deal of the Day at at Diesel E-Books, where it's discounted to $1.40 (9 copies left). At Amazon, the entire series is on sale for $2.99 per title.

Book Description
This new edition contains a map of Steeple Martin, cast of characters and a bonus chapter from the next title in the series.

Psychic investigator Fran Castle gets a request from the police to help when a body is discovered on a rocky island in the middle of Nethergate Bay. Libby Sarjeant, Fran’s sleuthing partner, is on the case too, as they delve into the shameful world of the exploitation of illegal immigrants.

Libby’s partner Ben is concerned that her occasionally over-enthusiastic investigations might get her into trouble: his worries seem justified as Libby and Fran get on the trail of a war-time fascist spy and they become a nuisance to a killer.

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.

Bargain Book Roundup

For Audible subscription members with credits, Audible has their bi-annual Buy One Get One Free Sale going on right now (valid thru June 26).

A few I missed earlier from the HarperCollins 99 cent sale.

Romance/Women's Fiction:

• Flight Lessons, by Patricia Gaffney
• Homeplace, by Anne Rivers Siddons
• One Touch of Scandal, by Liz Carlyle
• Someone Irresistible, by Adele Ashworth
• Marry Me (Marrying Miss Bright), by Susan Kay Law
• The Bad Man's Bride, by Susan Kay Law

Plus, a couple of repeat bargains (prices noted):

• Mistborn: The Final Empire ($2.99), by Brandon Sanderson (Fantasy; new edition, DRM-Free)
• Gardens of the Moon ($2.99), by Steven Erikson (Fantasy)
• Twice Tempted: A Night Prince Novel ($2.99), by Jeaniene Frost (Urban Fantasy)
• Speaker for the Dead: Ender Wiggin #2 ($2.99), by Orson Scott Card (Science Fiction)
• Old Man's War ($2.99), by John Scalzi (Science Fiction)
• The Eye of the World: ook One of 'The Wheel of Time #1 ($2.99), by Robert Jordan (Fantasy)

The Meryl Streep Movie Club ($3.79 Kindle), by Mia March [Simon and Schuster]

Book Description
In the bestselling tradition of The Friday Night Knitting Club and The Jane Austen Book Club, three women find unexpected answers, happiness, and one another with Meryl Streep movies as their inspiration.

Two sisters and the cousin they grew up with after a tragedy are summoned home to their family matriarch's inn on the coast of Maine for a shocking announcement. Suddenly, Isabel, June, and Kat are sharing the attic bedroom--and barely speaking. But when innkeeper Lolly asks them to join her and the guests in the parlor for weekly Movie Night--it's Meryl Streep month--they find themselves sharing secrets, talking long into the night--and questioning everything they thought they knew about life, love, and one another.

Each woman sees her complicated life reflected through the magic of cinema: Isabel's husband is having an affair, and an old pact may keep her from what she wants most . . . June has promised her seven-year-old son that she'll somehow find his father, who he's never known . . . and Kat is ambivalent about accepting her lifelong best friend's marriage proposal. Through everything, Lolly has always been there for them, and now Isabel, June, Kat--and Meryl--must be there for her. Finding themselves. Finding each other. Finding a happy ending.

This Man ($0.99 Kindle) and Beneath This Man ($1.99 Kindle), the first two novels in the This Man Trilogy by Jodi Ellen Malpas [Hachette]

This Man

Young interior designer Ava O'Shea has no idea what awaits her at the Manor. A run-of-the-mill consultation with a stodgy country gent seems likely, but what Ava finds instead is Jesse Ward--a devastatingly handsome, utterly confident, pleasure-seeking playboy who knows no boundaries. Ava doesn't want to be attracted to this man, and yet she can't control the overwhelming desire that he stirs in her. She knows that her heart will never survive him and her instinct is telling her to run, but Jesse is not willing to let her go. He wants her and is determined to have her.

Beneath This Man

Jesse Ward drowned her with his intensity and blindsided her with his passion, but he kept her away from his dark secrets and broken soul. Leaving him was the only way Ava O'Shea could survive. She should have known that Jesse Ward is impossible to escape--and now he's back in her life, determined to remind her of the sensual pleasures they had shared. Ava is equally determined to get at the truth beneath this man's steely exterior. That means letting herself get close to the Lord of the Manor once more. And it's exactly where Jesse wants her--within touching distance...

Confessions of a Scary Mommy: An Honest and Irreverent Look at Motherhood: The Good, The Bad, and the Scary ($2.99 Kindle; $4.49 companion audiobook), by Jill Smokler [Simon and Schuster]

Book Description

Sometimes I just let my children fall asleep in front of the TV.

In a culture that idealizes motherhood, it’s scary to confess that, in your house, being a mother is beautiful and dirty and joyful and frustrating all at once. Admitting that it’s not easy doesn’t make you a bad mom; at least, it shouldn’t.

If I can’t survive my daughter as a toddler, how the hell am I going to get through the teenage years?

When Jill Smokler was first home with her small children, she thought her blog would be something to keep friends and family updated. To her surprise, she hit a chord in the hearts of mothers everywhere.

I end up doing my son’s homework. It’s wrong, but so much easier.

Total strangers were contributing their views on that strange reality called motherhood. As other women shared their stories, Jill realized she wasn’t alone in her feelings of exhaustion and imperfection.

My eighteen month old still can’t say “Mommy” but used the word “shit” in perfect context.

But she sensed her readers were still holding back, so decided to start an anonymous confessional, a place where real moms could leave their most honest thoughts without fearing condemnation.

I pretend to be happy but I cry every night in the shower.

The reactions were amazing: some sad, some pee-in-your-pants funny, some brutally honest. But they were real, not a commercial glamorization.

I clock out of motherhood at 8 P.M. and hide in the basement with my laptop and a beer.

If you’re already a fan, lock the bathroom door on your whining kids, run a bubble bath, and settle in. If you’ve not encountered Scary Mommy before, break out a glass of champagne as well, because you’ll be toasting your initiation into a select club.

I know why some animals eat their young.

In chapters that cover husbands (The Biggest Baby of Them All) to homework (Didn’t I Already Graduate?), Confessions of a Scary Mommy combines all-new essays from Jill with the best of the anonymous confessions.

Sometimes I wish my son was still little—then I hear kids screaming at the store.

As Jill says, “We like to paint motherhood as picture perfect. A newborn peacefully resting on his mother’s chest. A toddler taking tentative first steps into his mother’s loving arms. A mother fluffing her daughter’s prom dress. These moments are indeed miraculous and joyful; they can also be few and far between.” Of course you adore your kids. Of course you would lay down your life for them. But be honest now: Have you ever wondered what possessed you to sign up for the job of motherhood?

STOP! DO NOT OPEN THIS BOOK UNTIL YOU RECITE THESE VOWS!

I shall remember that no mother is perfect and my children will thrive because, and sometimes even in spite, of me.

I shall not preach to a fellow mother who has not asked my opinion. It’s none of my damn business.

I shall maintain a sense of humor about all things motherhood.

Irish Portraits ($2.99 Kindle), by Liam O'Flaherty [Bloomsbury Reader]

Book Description
From vicious rival brothers to desperate single mothers, frisky newlyweds to frigid life partners, Patrick McGinley covers all kinds of Irish (or simply human) relationship in this collection of short stories. In fourteen stories, some brief glimpses of an hour in the life, some longer explorations of years of growing animosity, McGinley explores the ties that bind us: the bond of family, unbreakable even when we wish it severed; the financial and emotional connections we make with our neighbours and colleagues; even the brief and tenuous link between a con artist and his prey. In turns hilarious and heart-wrenching, sweet and savage, Irish Portraits gives the reader a first-hand look at the lives of its characters, a handful of countrymen with one thing in common: their humanity.

Great Meadow ($2.51 Kindle), by Dirk Bogarde [Bloomsbury Reader]

Book Description
From 1927 to 1934 the young Dirk Bogarde lived in a remote cottage in the Sussex Downs with his sister Elizabeth and their strict nanny, Lally.For the children it was an idyllic time of joy and adventure: of gleaning at the end of summer, of oil lamps and wells, of harvests and harvest mice in the Great Meadow.This lost world, visited fleetingly in A Postillion Struck by Lightning, the first volume of Dirk Bogarde's autobiography, is seen here through the eyes of an innocent but shrewd eleven-year-old. With great sensitivity and poignancy it captures the sounds and scents, the love and gentleness that surrounded the young boy as the world outside prepared to go to war.

There are a number of titles in the Gideon Oliver and Chris Norgren series by Aaron Elkins [E-Reads] on sale for $3.03 right now:

• Fellowship of Fear Gideon Oliver #1
• The Dark Place Gideon Oliver #2
• Murder in the Queen's Armes Gideon Oliver #3
• Old Bones Gideon Oliver #4
• Curses! Gideon Oliver #5
• Icy Clutches Gideon Oliver #6
• Make No Bones Gideon Oliver #7
• Dead Men's Hearts Gideon Oliver #8
• Twenty Blue Devils Gideon Oliver #9
• Skeleton Dance Gideon Oliver #10
• A Deceptive Clarity Chris Norgren #1
• A Glancing Light Chris Norgren #2
• Old Scores Chris Norgren #3

Big in China: My Unlikely Adventure Raising a Family, Playing the Blues, and Reinventing Myself in Beijing ($1.99 Kindle), by Alan Paul [HarperCollins]

Book Description
Alan Paul, award–winning author of the Wall Street Journal’s online column “The Expat Life,” gives his engaging, inspiring, and unforgettable memoir of blues and new beginnings in Beijing. Paul’s three-and-a-half-year journey reinventing himself as an American expat—while raising a family and starting the revolutionary blues band Woodie Alan, voted Beijing Band of the Year in the 2008—is a must-read adventure for anyone who has lived abroad, and for everyone who dreams of rewriting the story of their own future.

Silent Tears: A Journey of Hope in a Chinese Orphanage ($3.00 Kindle), by Kay Bratt [AmazonEncore]

Book Description
Irrepressible memories. Vacant eyes. A child being dangled from a third story window. A boy tied to a chair. Children sleeping in layers of clothing to fight off the bitter cold. An infant dying from starvation. Some things your mind will never allow you to forget.

Silent Tears is the true story of the adversity and triumphs one woman faced as she fought against the Chinese bureaucracy to help that country’s orphaned children.

In 2003, Kay Bratt’s life changed dramatically. A wife and mother of two girls in South Carolina, Bratt relocated her family to rural China to support her husband as he took on a new management position for his American employer. Seeking a way to fill her days and overcome the isolation she experienced upon arriving in a foreign country, Bratt began volunteering at the local orphanage. Within months, her simple desire to make use of her time transformed into a heroic crusade to improve the living conditions and minimize the unnecessary deaths of Chinese orphans.

Silent Tears traces the emotional hurdles and daily frustrations faced by Ms. Bratt as she tried to change the social conditions for these marginalized children. The memoir vividly illustrates how she was able to pull from reservoirs of inner strength to pursue her mission day after day, leaving the reader with the resounding message that everyone really can make a difference.

Ghost Wave ($3.03 Kindle), by Chris Dixon [Chronicle Books]

Book Description
Rising from the depths of the North Pacific lies a fabled island, now submerged just 15 feet below the surface of the ocean. Rumors and warnings about Cortes Bank abound, but among big wave surfers, this legendary rock is famous for one simple (and massive) reason: this is the home of the biggest rideable wave on the face of the earth. In this dramatic work of narrative non-fiction, journalist Chris Dixon unlocks the secrets of Cortes Bank and pulls readers into the harrowing world of big wave surfing and high seas adventure above the most enigmatic and dangerous rock in the sea. The true story of this Everest of the sea will thrill anyone with an abiding curiosity of and respect for mother ocean.

The Bleiberg Project ($0.99 Kindle), by David Khara (Author), Simon John (Translator), winner of the Blue Moon Award for Best Thriller [Le French Book].

Book Description
An adrenaline-packed ride to save the world from a horrific conspiracy straight out of the darkest hours of history.

Are Hitler’s atrocities really over? For depressive Wall Street trader Jeremy Corbin, absolute truths become undeniable lies overnight. He finds out his long-lost father is dead, he discovers his boss's real identity, and he ends up boarding a plane to Zurich. He has a Nazi medallion in his pocket, a hot CIA bodyguard next to him, and a clearly dangerous Mossad agent on his tail. What was his father investigating? Why was his mother assassinated? Why are unknown sides fighting over him with automatic weapons? Can the conspiracy be stopped? This fast-paced thriller full of humor and humanity was an instant sensation in France. Think a dash of Robin Cook, a splash of John Grisham, and pinch of Clive Cussler with a very distinctive voice all it's own.

1984 ($2.99 Kindle; $3.99 companion audiobook), by George Orwell [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]; definitely recommended if you haven't read it (or read it in a while), it's one of the books I picked up the first time I saw it marked down (back at Fictionwise).

Book Description
In 1984, London is a grim city where Big Brother is always watching you and the Thought Police can practically read your mind. Winston is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that his memory still functions. Drawn into a forbidden love affair, Winston finds the courage to join a secret revolutionary organization called The Brotherhood, dedicated to the destruction of the Party. Together with his beloved Julia, he hazards his life in a deadly match against the powers that be.

Nook Daily Find 6/21

Truth Stained Lies ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), the first novel in the new Moonlighter series by Terri Blackstock [Zondervan], is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
When truth doesn't make sense, will lies prevail?

Cathy Cramer is a former lawyer and investigative blogger who writes commentary on high-profile homicides. When she finds a threatening note warning her that she's about to experience the same kind of judgment and speculation that she dishes out in her blog, Cathy writes it off as mischief . . . until her brother's wife is murdered and all the 'facts' point to him. The killer has staged the crime to make the truth too far-fetched to believe. Working to solve the murder and clear her brother's name, Cathy and her two sisters, Holly and Juliet, moonlight as part-time private investigators. Juliet, a stay-at-home mom of two boys, and Holly, a scattered ne'er-do-well who drives a taxi, put aside their fear to hunt down the real killer.

Stakes rise when their brother's grieving five-year-old son is kidnapped. As police focus on the wrong set of clues, the three sisters and their battered detective friend are the only hope for solving this bizarre crime, saving the child, and freeing their brother.

Books for a Buck (continued)

A few more ideas from the HarperCollins 99 cent sale. I'll be back later on with some other bargains I've turned up...

Science Fiction:

• Artifact, by Gregory Benford
• Metaplanetary, by Tony Daniel
• Superluminal: Metaplanetary #2, by Tony Daniel
• The X-Files: Antibodies, by Kevin J. Anderson
• The X-Files: Ground Zero, by Kevin J. Anderson
• Year's Best SF, edited by David G. Hartwell
• Year's Best SF 2, edited by David G. Hartwell
• Year's Best SF 3, edited by David G. Hartwell
• Year's Best SF 4, edited by David G. Hartwell
• Year's Best SF 5, edited by David G. Hartwell
• Year's Best SF 6, edited by David G. Hartwell
• Year's Best SF 7, edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
• Year's Best SF 8, edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
• Year's Best SF 9, edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
• Year's Best SF 11, edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer

Fantasy:

• Legacy: The Sharing Knife #2, by Lois McMaster Bujold
• Acorna, by Anne McCaffrey and Margaret Ball
• The One Kingdom: The Swan's War Trilogy #1, by Sean Russell
• The Isle of Battle: The Swan's War Trilogy #2, by Sean Russell
• The Shadow Roads: The Swan's War Trilogy #3, by Sean Russell
• The Family Tree, by Sheri S. Tepper
• The Visitor, by Sheri S. Tepper
• The Fresco, by Sheri S. Tepper
• Singer from the Sea, by Sheri S. Tepper
• Spiral Hunt: Evie Scelan #1, by Margaret Ronald
• The Amber Wizard: The Osserian Saga #1, by David Forbes
• Year's Best Fantasy, edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
• Year's Best Fantasy 2, edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
• Year's Best Fantasy 3, edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
• Year's Best Fantasy 4, edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer
• Year's Best Fantasy 5, edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer

Mystery/Suspense/Thrillers:

• Bitter Sugar (Lupe Solano Mysteries), by Carolina Garcia-Aguilera
• SOAR: A Black Ops Mission, by John Weisman
• The Death of an Irish Politician: A Peter Mcgarr Mystery #1, by Bartholomew Gill
• The Death of an Irish Consul: A Peter Mcgarr Mystery #2, by Bartholomew Gill
• The Death of an Irish Lass: A Peter Mcgarr Mystery #3, by Bartholomew Gill
• The Death of a Joyce Scholar: A Peter Mcgarr Mystery #8, by Bartholomew Gill
• The Death of Love: A Peter Mcgarr Mystery #9, by Bartholomew Gill
• The Death of an Irish Sea Wolf: A Peter Mcgarr Mystery #12, by Bartholomew Gill
• Death of an Irish Tinker: A Peter Mcgarr Mystery #13, by Bartholomew Gill
• Death of an Irish Lover: An Peter Mcgarr Mystery #14, by Bartholomew Gill
• The Death of an Irish Sinner: A Peter Mcgarr Mystery #15, by Bartholomew Gill
• Whirlwind, by oseph Garber

Non-Fiction:

• The Code of Man, by Waller R. Newell
• The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 1, by C.S. Lewis
• The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 3, by C.S. Lewis
• Learning To Love: Exploring Solitude and Freedom, by Thomas Merton
• Entering the Silence: Becoming a Monk and a Writer, by Thomas Merton
• Bistros of Paris, by Robert Hamburger and Barbara Hamburger
• Spirit of Service, by HarperCollins Publishers (daily reading format)
• Duty First: A Year in the Life of West Point, by Ed Ruggero
• Bingsop's Fables: Little Morals for Big Business, by Stanley Bing and Steve Brodner
• Business Is Combat: A Fighter Pilot's guide to Winning in Modern Warfare, by James D. Murphy
• Financial Security in Troubled Times, by Ric Edelman
• SAFE: Science and Technology in the Age of Terrorism, by Martha Baer, Katrina Heron, Oliver Morton and Evan Ratliff
• Inside Gitmo, by Gordon Cucullu

UK Kindle Daily Deal 6/18

Advent (£0.99 UK), by James Treadwell [Hodder], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for those in the UK (the US edition is $10.38).

Book Description
A drowning, a magician’s curse, and a centuries-old secret.

1537. A man hurries through city streets in a gathering snowstorm, clutching a box in one hand. He is Johann Faust, the greatest magician of his age. The box he carries contains a mirror safeguarding a portion of his soul and a small ring containing all the magic in the world. Together, they comprise something unimaginably dangerous.

London, the present day. Fifteen-year-old Gavin Stokes is boarding a train to the countryside to live with his aunt. His school and his parents can’t cope with him and the things he sees, things they tell him don’t really exist. At Pendurra, Gavin finds people who are like him, who see things too. They all make the same strange claim: magic exists, it’s leaking back into our world, and it’s bringing something terrible with it.

First in an astonishingly imaginative fantasy trilogy, Advent describes how magic was lost to humanity, and how a fifteen-year-old boy discovers that its return is his inheritance. It begins in a world recognizably our own, and ends an extraordinarily long way from where it started—somewhere much bigger, stranger, and richer.

A Mother's Wish (£0.99 UK), by Debbie Macomber [MIRA], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for for Romance Fans in the UK (no US edition).

Book Description
Finding a soul-mate for a mother who deserves to be loved! Meg’s teenage daughter, Lindsey, had the nerve to place a personal ad on her behalf – ‘Wanted: Perfect Partner. I’m dating-shy, divorced and seeking a man with marriage in mind.’ Worse, Steve Conlan, who answered the ad, was perfect, according to Lindsey. Did a teenage matchmaker get it right? Robin Masterton’s young son, Jeff, thinks he needs a dog more than anything in the world. And there just happens to be one next door! But the friendly black Lab belongs to Cole Camden, the unfriendliest man in the neighbourhood. Still, Jeff persists – and ropes his mum in as the persuader. Perhaps there’s a chance he’ll have a dog, and a dad in time for Father’s Day… Make time for friends. Make time for Debbie Macomber.

Books for a Buck, Part 2

More selection from the HarperCollins 99 cent sale. Although it's getting late and I don't have room to list them, there are also a number of very good Science Fiction and Fantasy titles on the sale.

The Bone Chamber, the second novel in the Sydney Fitzpatrick series by Robin Burcell

Book Description
“A very talented writer” (Lee Child), who is “smart, tough, and right on the mark” (Catherine Coulter), and “among the best writers of crime fiction” (Jan Burke), Anthony Award-winning author Robin Burcell broadens her canvas with The Bone Chamber—an electrifying thriller that recalls the best of James Rollins and Dan Brown as it races across the globe. An extraordinary adventure that combines C.S.I. forensic investigation with global conspiracy and ancient secrets of the Vatican and the Knights Templar, The Bone Chamber is a non-stop thrill ride that never slows down.

To Have and to Kill, the first Piper Donovan/Wedding Cake Mysteries novel by Mary Jane Clark

Book Description
New York Times bestselling author and mystery writer par excellence, Mary Jane Clark kicks off her delicious new Wedding Cake mystery series with To Have and To Kill. A tasty departure from her thrillers featuring KEY News television anchor Eliza Blake (Dying for Mercy, It Only Takes a Moment), To Have and To Kill introduces readers to actress-turned-wedding cake decorator Piper Donovan, who discovers that the heat in the pastry kitchen can be hotter—and deadlier—that she ever imagined…and that her creative new enterprise is anything but a piece of cake. Foodies and fans of cable TV’s Amazing Wedding Cakes, as well as Faye Kellerman, Jayne Anne Krentz, and Diana Mott Davidson readers are going to eat this one up!

Guys & Dogs by Elaine Fox (one of several of her titles in the sale)

Book Description
A GUY VS. A DOG

One of them is affectionate, loving, and eternally loyal –– a companion for life who lives only to make you happy...

Small–town veterinarian Megan Rose doesn't usually wake up next to strangers. But this morning she finds one sleeping in her bed. Unfortunately, "Baywatch" a stray puppy, doesn't belong at the address on her tags, either: the mansion of Sutter Foley, millionaire software mogul and six fabulous feet of gorgeous, eligible male.

Sutter doesn't even like dogs. He does, however, like the sexy, spunky vet who's trying to saddle him with a pooch. The animal magnetism they share is intense, but so is the spotlight in which Sutter lives. Can Megan stand the heat? Though her outspoken ways make a lot of waves in Sutter's goldfish–bowl world, he's never enjoyed life so much. Could she be the trustworthy companion he's been looking for . . . or should he stick with the dog?

It's the old story: girl meets dog . . . girl and dog meet guy . . . guy loses girl, gets dog . . . Or will there be a frisky new twist to this puppy's tale?

Cold Granite, Dying Light and Broken Skin, the first three Logan McRae novels by Stuart MacBride (several more in the series are on sale under $4).

Cold Granite

Stuart MacBride’s Number One bestselling crime series opens with this award-winning debut. DS Logan McRae and the police in Aberdeen hunt a child killer who stalks the frozen streets.

Winter in Aberdeen: murder, mayhem and terrible weather…

It’s DS Logan McRae’s first day back on the job after a year off on the sick, and it couldn’t get much worse. Three-year-old David Reid’s body is discovered in a ditch, strangled, mutilated and a long time dead. And he’s only the first. There’s a serial killer stalking the Granite City and the local media are baying for blood.

Soon the dead are piling up in the morgue almost as fast as the snow on the streets, and Logan knows time is running out. More children are going missing. More are going to die. And if Logan isn’t careful, he could end up joining them…

Dying Light

The Number One bestselling detective series from the award-winning Stuart MacBride continues in this second crime thriller. It’s summertime in Scotland: the sun is shining, the sky is blue and people are dying…

She’s just the first. How many more will die?

It starts with Rosie Williams, a prostitute, stripped naked and beaten to death down by the docks – the heart of Aberdeen’s red light district. For DS Logan McRae it’s a bad start to another bad day.

Rosie won’t be the only one making an unscheduled trip to the morgue. Across the city six people are burning to death in a petrol-soaked squat, the doors and windows screwed shut from the outside. And despite Logan’s best efforts, it’s not long before another prostitute turns up on the slab…

An unputdownable serial killer tale packed with mystery and suspense, as well as Stuart MacBride’s distinctive grittiness and dark humour.

Broken Skin

In this third DS Logan McRae thriller, The Granite City’s seedy side is about to be exposed…

A crime of passion, or cold-hearted murder?

A serial rapist is leaving a string of tortured women behind him, but while DS Logan McRae’s girlfriend, PC Jackie ‘Ball Breaker’ Watson, is out acting as bait, he’s trying to identify a blood-drenched body dumped outside Accident and Emergency.

Logan’s investigations suggest someone in the local bondage community has developed a taste for violent death, and he soon finds himself dragged into the twilight world of pornographers, sex-shops and S&M.

Meanwhile, the prime suspect in the rape case turns out to be Aberdeen Football Club’s star striker, and he has an alibi for every attack. Logan thinks they’ve got it horribly wrong, but can he get anyone to listen before the real rapist strikes again? Especially as Jackie is convinced the footballer’s guilty and she’s hell-bent on a conviction at any cost.

Plant Seed, Pull Weed by Geri Larkin

Book Description
Gardens have often been used as metaphors for spiritual nurturing and growth. Zen rock gardens, monastery rose gardens, even your grandmother's vegetable garden all have been described as places of refuge and reflection. Drawing on her experience working at Seattle's premier gardening center, Zen teacher Geri Larkin shows how the act of gardening can help you uncover your inner creativity, enthusiasm, vigilance, and joy. As your garden grows, so will your spirit.

Larkin takes you through the steps of planning, planting, nurturing, and maintaining a garden while offering funny stories and inspiring lessons on what plants can teach us about our lives. As soothing as a bowl of homemade vegetable soup, Plant Seed, Pull Weed will entertain, charm, and inspire you to get your hands dirty and dig deep to cultivate your inner self.

Mother of Purl by Edith Eig and Caroline Greeven

Book Description
The category–killing knitting guide from one of the major influences of the back–to–knit movement and the owner of La Knitterie Parisienne, a Hollywood hotspot (her in–store knitting circle has included Debra Messing, Sofia Coppola, Sarah Jessica Parker and Russell Crowe).

Mother of Purl, written in Edith's warm, humorous but no–nonsense voice, allows readers to feel as though she is there knitting alongside them. The book combines clear instructions that Edith has honed over 30 years of teaching with the refined Parisienne styling and sophistication that has drawn the elite of Hollywood and fashion stylists to rely on her. Packed with hundreds of Edith's Secret Tips, dozens of longer–format 'Tips from the Top' and multiple celebrity anecdotes, Mother of Purl will be to knitters what The Joy of Cooking is to chefs. This is an invaluable reference, warm and witty, packed with practical techniques, inspiring projects and the kind of insight that only comes from 30 years of teaching experience.

The Complete Angler: A Connecticut Yankee Follows in the Footsteps of Walton by James Prosek

Book Description
James Prosek has been called "the Audubon of the fishing world" by the New York Times. A passionate fisherman and talented artist from a young age, he published two illustrated books on fish and fishing while still an undergraduate at Yale. After winning a traveling fellowship to follow in the footsteps of Izaak Walton, The Compleat Angler became his obsession. He was fascinated by Walton, a humble man who won the friendship of kings, and he was intrigued by the book's philosophies concerning the timelessness and immortality that could be achieved by fishing. Although Walton was sixty when The Compleat Angler was published and Prosek only twenty when he set off to visit England, they each had traits in common: a love of fishing and an extraordinary ability to make friends.

This is the story of a young man's pilgrimage through England, fishing the waters that are now privately held. Along with wonderful stories about good times, great fishing, and fine eating, this trip becomes an exploration of Waltonian ideals: how to live with humor, wisdom, contentment, and simplicity.

The original watercolors complementing the text are wonderful. Like Walton's book, The Complete Angler is not about fishing but about life. Or rather, it is about fishing—but fishing is life.

The Geese of Beaver Bog by Bernd Heinrich

Book Description
When award-winning writer and biologist Bernd Heinrich became the unwitting -- but doting -- foster parent of an adorable gosling named Peep, he was drawn into her world. And so, with a scientist's training and a nature lover's boundless enthusiasm, he set out to understand the travails and triumphs of the Canada geese living in the beaver bog adjacent to his home. In The Geese of Beaver Bog, Heinrich takes his readers through mud, icy waters, and overgrown sedge hummocks to unravel the mysteries behind heated battles, suspicious nest raids, jealous outbursts, and more. With deft insight and infectious good humor, he sheds light on how geese live and why they behave as they do. Far from staid or predictable, the lives of geese are packed with adventure and full of surprises. Illustrated throughout with Heinrich's trademark sketches and featuring beautiful four-color photographs, The Geese of Beaver Bog is part love story, part science experiment, and wholly delightful.

The Fire Inside: Firefighters Talk About Their Lives by Steve Delsohn

Book Description
In the tradition of Mark Baker's Cops, more than 100 top firefighters describe the highs and lows of the world's most dangerous profession.

Fascinating and packed with emotion,The Fire Inside is a unique look at the unseen world of firefighters who risk their lives for strangers every day In their own words, these male and female heroes vividly describe how they cope with scorching flame, injuries, earthquakes, hazardous waste, and wildfire-and the rewards that keep them climbing back on the fire truck.

The Autobiography of Mark Twain by Charles Neider

Book Description
Due to copyright restrictions, this eBook may not contain all of the images available in the print edition.

"Mark Twain's autobiography is a classic of American letters, to be ranked with the autobiographies of Benjamin Franklin and Henry Adams.... It has the marks of greatness in it--style, scope, imagination, laughter, tragedy." --From the Introduction by Charles Neider

Mark Twain was a figure larger than fife: massive in talent, eruptive in temperament, unpredictable in his actions. He crafted stories of heroism, adventure, tragedy, and comedy that reflected the changing America of the time, and he tells his own story--which includes sixteen pages of photos--with the same flair he brought to his fiction. Writing this autobiography on his deathbed, Twain vowed to he "free and frank and unembarrassed" in the recounting of his life and his experiences.

Twain was more than a match for the expanding America of riverboats, gold rushes, and the vast westward movement, which provided the material for his novels and which served to inspire this beloved and uniquely American autobiography.

Walk Two Moons, a Newbery Trophy winner by Sharon Creech

Book Description
"How about a story? Spin us a yarn."
Instantly, Phoebe Winterbottom came to mind. "I could tell you an extensively strange story," I warned.
"Oh, good!" Gram said. "Delicious!"
And that is how I happened to tell them about Phoebe, her disappearing mother, and the lunatic.

As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe's outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold--the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.

In her own award-winning style, Sharon Creech intricately weaves together two tales, one funny, one bittersweet, to create a heartwarming, compelling, and utterly moving story of love, loss, and the complexity of human emotion.

Raise the Barre by Richard Giorla and Laurel House

Book Description
A comprehensive guide to the hottest new fitness program in the country-Cardio Barre-a dance-based workout that combines cardio, strength training and stretching, in one fast-paced, fat-burning, body-lengthening session. With a full nutrition program as well, you'll see life-changing results in only eight weeks.

While yoga, pilates, aerobics and weightlifting are all successful, popular fitness routines, each one of them is missing something that the others offer. And with our hectic lives that leave little time for sleep, let alone hours of daily exercise, the Cardio Barre workout is the perfect combination of cardio, strength training and stretching—achieving multiple desired results from one fast-paced workout.

Richard Giorla is a classically trained dancer who has learned from his decades of training that the key to strength and endurance is developing core muscle—the center of the body must be strong in order to support the other areas of the body. In Cardio Barre, you work from your core—maintaining your balance using a barre, a countertop, a chair, or even your own strength—then repeat low-resistance motions such as plies, arm extensions, and leg flexes. With no kicking, jumping, or punching, this effective and complete workout leaves participants with long, lean muscles, flexibility, and endurance.

With the success of the Cardio Barre workout in LA, where it has gained celebrity adherents and a long waiting list of others, as well as the recent launch of Cardio Barre in New York, this is poised to become the new "it" workout. And unlike past fitness fads, Cardio Barre sets realistic goals, including following a healthy eating program, and offers the desired results of both cardio health and strength in only eight weeks.