I've moved!

I've moved!

Thanks for stopping by, but it appears you are using a (very) old address for my blog. I've moved to a Wordpress site and you'll need to update your bookmarks for Books on the Knob

I've moved!

Custom Search

Friday, May 10, 2013

Bargain Book Roundup, Part II

Cursed ($3.79 Kindle), the twelfth novel in the Regan Reilly series by Carol Higgins Clark [Simon and Schuster]
Book Description
Private Investigator Regan Reilly moved from Los Angeles to New York City when she married her husband, Jack "no relation" Reilly, head of the NYPD Major Case Squad. To help a friend she ends up taking on a case that calls her back to her old stomping ground...

Cursed opens on a cold and gray January morning. Sleet and snow are swirling as Regan arrives at a warehouse in Long Island City with a trunk full of her old case files from Los Angeles. After carting all her boxes into a storage unit, she heads back out into the snow, and her cell phone rings.

Abigail Feeney, a young woman who had lived across the hall from Regan in an apartment complex in the Hollywood Hills, is on the line. Abigail believes her life has been cursed since birth. She was born on Friday the 13th of January, and her parents gave her a name with 13 letters. A hairdresser on movie sets, Abigail was recently injured at work when a piece of scaffolding fell and knocked her over, and her arm was broken in two places. But that isn't why she is calling. "Regan!" she exclaims. "The 'no good bum' has been spotted in town. I desperately need the money he owes me. Can you please come out here and help me find him?"

Regan immediately knows the identity of the "no good bum." From her L.A. apartment, Regan had often seen Abigail's ex, Cody Castle, sitting by the pool, bent over his cell phone, text messaging nonstop. Before he disappeared three months ago, he borrowed $100,000 from Abigail. He promised to pay her back in three months.

"Find him?" Regan asks.

"Yes! My grandmother is flying here tomorrow. There's a condo she wants to buy me. But we need that money. She can't find out I don't have it. Regan, can't you spend a few days with me?"

If Regan weren't freezing, she might have made an excuse. But Jack was away at a seminar, Regan had never liked the "no good bum," and Abigail had brought her chicken soup when she'd had the flu last winter. Within hours Regan is on a flight to Los Angeles where her adventure with Abigail will take her from the beaches of Malibu, to the mountains north of the city, to the renovated lofts of downtown L.A.

Regan starts to feel Abigail's curse is contagious as she encounters a cast of characters who aren't always welcoming. Some are downright dangerous. And there's one who is the most dangerous of all...

Mass Effect: Revelation ($0.99 Kindle), by Drew Karpyshyn [Del Rey]
Book Description
Every advanced society in the galaxy relies on the technology of the Protheans, an ancient species that vanished fifty thousand years ago. After discovering a cache of Prothean technology on Mars in 2148, humanity is spreading to the stars; the newest interstellar species, struggling to carve out its place in the greater galactic community.

On the edge of colonized space, ship commander and Alliance war hero David Anderson investigates the remains of a top secret military research station; smoking ruins littered with bodies and unanswered questions. Who attacked this post and for what purpose? And where is Kahlee Sanders, the young scientist who mysteriously vanished from the base–hours before her colleagues were slaughtered?

Sanders is now the prime suspect, but finding her creates more problems for Anderson than it solves. Partnered with a rogue alien agent he can’t trust and pursued by an assassin he can’t escape, Anderson battles impossible odds on uncharted worlds to uncover a sinister conspiracy . . . one he won’t live to tell about. Or so the enemy thinks.

Welcome Back to Pie Town ($1.99 Kindle), by Lynne Hinton [HarperCollins]
Book Description
Lynne Hinton of Friendship Cake fame delighted readers everywhere when she invited them to experience the simple joys and small triumphs of the endearing residents of Pie Town—a tiny New Mexico community once renowned for its unsurpassable baked desserts. And now, Welcome Back to Pie Town for a second slice of small-town life, as sweet and tasty as the first. The recently rejuvenated Pie Town is a tiny speck of heaven on earth for most of its inhabitants, but not for one recently returned veteran of the war in Afghanistan, who now feels ill at ease and out of place—and it will take the love of a good woman and the support of the whole town to truly bring him back home again. As an extra added treat, Welcome Back to Pie Town features recipes from the novel…for mouth-watering pies, of course.

A trio of books by Roxanne St. Claire [Simon and Schuster] have dropped in price (from the $15 range).

Tropical Getaway ($3.79 Kindle)
Roxanne St. Claire brings to life the beauty and danger of the Caribbean in her stunning debut novel, blending intrigue with white-hot passion for a suspenseful, sultry read.

Ava Santori is cooking up a storm in the family restaurant in Boston's North End when a call from the Coast Guard brings shattering news: her beloved brother was lost in a shipwreck. Determined to find out why the ship was steered into a hurricane, Ava packs her bags for the lush isle of St. Barts -- where she puts the blame squarely on the broad shoulders of the ship's owner.

Dane Erikson built the luxurious Utopia Adventures cruise line from the ground up and he's not about to let it sink. Enlisting Ava to help discover the truth about the doomed Paradisio, he finds himself unbearably tempted by this fiery, impetuous woman. And as their investigation causes danger to close in, he and Ava find their hearts leading them to the same place...straight into each other's arms.
French Twist ($3.79 Kindle)
Following her white-hot debut novel, Tropical Getaway, Roxanne St. Claire captures the passion and intrigue of France in a dazzling romantic suspense adventure.

Janine Coulter has just gotten her big chance to prove herself, managing a prestigious exhibit at the Palace of Versailles -- and Luc Tremont, the security specialist, is clearly trouble. He's making decisions without her, under-cutting her authority. He's also too smooth, too virile, too dangerously handsome, too...well...French! And Janine has the uneasy suspicion he's not all that he seems.

Luc resolutely ignores the powerful sizzle of attraction he feels when he meets Janine -- the quintessential California girl with her blond hair, blue eyes, and legs that seem to go on forever. But when thieves steal priceless treasures from the exhibit, and Luc and Janine give chase across the lush Burgundy countryside, their forced intimacy ignites the passion both have tried to ignore. Luc wonders what will happen when Janine learns his true identity -- but with dangerous men pursuing them, they may not live to find out....
Killer Curves ($3.99 Kindle)
He's fast. She's furious. They're in for the ride of their lives.

Rising star Roxanne St. Claire puts the pedal to the metal in a story of intrigue and passion that will get your heart racing!

When sexy NASCAR racer Beau Lansing tracks down high society debutante Celeste Bennett, it's a matter of life or death. Stunned at the secret Beau reveals, Celeste is forced to make a life-altering decision. But with her love life on the skids and her family life in a tailspin, escaping incognito into Beau's world is just what she needs -- especially if she can get answers about her past.

Beau needs Celeste to save a man's life -- he never expected a high-octane attraction that could wreck his well-protected heart. And when Celeste's life is threatened by someone who clearly knows her real identity, Beau has to risk everything -- including his own life -- to save her. With menacing forces in the driver's seat and time ticking too fast, the two must win the biggest race of all...the race for their lives and their love.

Not Your Mother's Midlife: A Ten-Step Guide to Fearless Aging ($3.82 Kindle), by Nancy Alspaugh and Marilyn Kentz [Andrews McMeel]
Book Description
Aging ain't what it used to be. For one thing, people are staying younger longer. For another, countless baby boomers are rising up against the notion that with age comes worthlessness.In fact, Not Your Mother's Mid-Life: A Ten-Step Guide to Fearless Aging is more than a book; it's a movement. This gloriously gutsy volume challenges society's worn-out perceptions that women become less valuable as they age. Instead, authors Nancy Alspaugh and Marilyn Kentz celebrate the fact that today's women can be more powerful, more efficient, more capable, and even more desirable as they age.In Not Your Mother's Mid-Life, readers will find 10 practical recommendations to help women face middle age with confidence and a positive attitude. From chapters like Let Go of What's Not Working, Shore Up Spiritually, and Find a New Passion, Not Your Mother's Mid-Life contains personal growth exercises, humorous and poignant stories, and questions and visualizations to inspire new ways of thinking.Not Your Mother's Mid-Life takes the crisis out of mid-life, replacing it with passion, fearlessness, and unlimited possibilities.

Hangman's Holiday ($3.49 Kindle), the ninth Peter Wimsey Mystery novel by Dorothy L. Sayers [Open Road Media], joins the three titles I previously reported (which are still on sale).
Book Description
A trove of short stories featuring two of the Jazz Age’s most famous sleuths

In the annals of mystery writing, Lord Peter Wimsey and Montague Egg are among the most memorable detectives. Lord Peter—noble by birth, brilliant by nature—is a fly in the ointment of criminals across Britain, turning up whenever the police ask him to lend his quick wit and keen eye to an investigation. Montague Egg is a free-spirited figure, a traveling wine salesman with an unfortunate habit of stumbling over murder scenes. Both are inimitably charming, and neither has ever failed to catch his man.

In this collection of stories, the two detectives confront cat killers, American zombies, and—most horrible of all—a poisoned bottle of fine old port. Several decades after their first publication, mystery maven Dorothy L. Sayers’s chilling puzzles remain as engaging as ever.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Dorothy L. Sayers including rare images from the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College.

The Stranger You Seek ($0.99 Kindle), by Amanda Kyle Williams [Random House]
Book Description
In the sweltering heat of an Atlanta summer, a killer is pushing the city to its breaking point, preying on the unsuspecting, writing taunting letters to the media, promising more death. Desperate to stop the Wishbone Killer, A.P.D. lieutenant Aaron Rauser turns to the one person he knows can penetrate a deranged mind: Keye Street, an ex–FBI profiler and former addict who now picks up jobs where she can get them. But the last thing Keye wants is to be pulled into the firestorm of Atlanta’s worst nightmare. And then it suddenly becomes clear that the hunter has become the hunted—and the stranger she seeks is far closer than she ever dared imagine.

Bread Alone ($1.99 Kindle), a novel by Judith R. Hendricks [William Morrow/ HarperCollins]
Book Description
The life of 31-year-old trophy wife Wynter Morrison suddenly changes course when her husband announces one evening that their marriage is over. Emotionally devastated and desperate for a change of scenery, Wyn moves to Seattle where she spends aimless hours at a local bakery, sipping coffee and inhaling the sweet aromas of freshly-made bread. These visits bring back memories of her long-ago apprenticeship at a French boulangerie, and when offered a position at the bakery, Wyn quickly accepts -- hoping that the rituals of baking will help her move on.

Working long hours among the bakery's cluster of eclectic women -- Linda, the irascible bread baker; earth mother Ellen and her partner Diane; and Tyler, the blue-haired barista -- Wyn awakens to the truths that she missed while living the good life in Hancock Park.

Soon Wyn discovers that making bread possesses an unexpected and wondrous healing power, helping her to rediscover that nothing stays the same... bread rises, pain fades, the heart heals, and the future beckons.

The Roots of the Olive Tree ($1.99 Kindle), by Courtney Miller Santo [William Morrow/ HarperCollins]
Book Description
An extraordinary new voice in contemporary woman’s fiction, Courtney Miller Santo makes her magnificent debut with The Roots of the Olive Tree, a novel that will delight fans of Sarah Blake’s The Postmistress, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, and the works of Kristin Hannah.

Set in a house on an olive grove in northern California, The Roots of the Olive Tree is a beautiful, touching story that brings to life five generations of women—including an unforgettable 112-year-old matriarch determined to break all Guinness longevity records—the secrets and lies that divide them and the love that ultimately ties them together.

Although you can pick up the self-published (in the US) Cooper & Fry Series Twin Pack - Books 1 & 2 , by Stephen Booth, for $5.99 on Kindle, you may instead want to grab the Avon/ HarperCollins pre-orders for the individual titles, Black Dog and Dancing with the Virgins, for $2.99 each (although if you do, you'll have to wait until October/November to read them). While you are ordering, you might as well grab the third in the series, Blood on the Tongue, also currently a $2.99 pre-order.

Meet young Derbyshire police detectives DC Ben Cooper and DS Diane Fry, who operate in England's beautfiul and atmospheric Peak District.
Black Dog
Winner of the Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel. Finalist for an Anthony Award for Best First Mystery

It's been a long, hot summer in England's beautiful Peak District national park. But summer comes to an end when the body of missing teenager Laura Vernon is found.

For young police detective Ben Cooper, the work has just begun. His community is hiding a young girl's killer, and a past as dark as the Derbyshire night. It seems Laura was the keeper of secrets beyond her years and, in a case where no-one is innocent, everyone is a suspect.

But Cooper's local knowledge and instincts are about to face an even greater challenge. The ambitious DC Diane Fry has been transferred from a nearby city, a woman as ruthless as she is attractive…
Dancing with the Virgins
Winner of the Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel. Finalist for the CWA Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel.

An award-winning psychological thriller, the sequel to Stephen Booth's debut Cooper & Fry novel BLACK DOG.

In a remote part of England's Peak District stand the Nine Virgins, a ring of stones overshadowed by a dark legend. Now, as winter closes in, a tenth figure is added to the circle - the body of Jenny Weston is discovered, her limbs arranged so she appears to be dancing.

Weeks earlier another woman had been attacked on the moors. Maggie Crew was found by a local farmer's wife, severely traumatized, her face savagely cut open. Is there a maniac on the loose, knifing women at random?

Unlocking the memories trapped in Maggie's mind is now a matter of utmost urgency for the detectives of Derbyshire 'E' Division. But while DS Diane Fry attempts to draw out the truth, DC Ben Cooper is left with too many lines of enquiry leading to too few answers.

As they struggle to make sense of a murder that seems motiveless, it becomes clear that the moors have witnessed more bloodshed than either Ben or Diane could imagine. And there is more to come before an answer can be found...
Blood on the Tongue
Guilt, sacrifice and redemption in a freezing Peak District winter all feature in this tense psychological thriller from the acclaimed author of BLACK DOG and DANCING WITH THE VIRGINS.

It wasn’t the easiest way to commit suicide. Marie Tennent seems to have curled up in the freezing snow on Irontongue Hill and stayed there until her body was frosted over like a supermarket chicken. And hers isn’t the only death the Derbyshire police have to contend with – not after the discovery of a baby in the wreckage of an old Airforce bomber, and the body of a man dumped by the roadside.

As if three bodies on her hands isn’t enough, snow and ice have left half of ‘E’ Division out of action, and Detective Sergeant Diane Fry is forced to partner with DC Gavin Murfin. She and Ben Cooper were never a match made in heaven - but, next to Murfin, working with Ben starts to look like a dream.
Cooper is on a trail of his own, though – and one as cold as the Peak District January.

In an equally bitter winter in 1945 an RAF bomber crashed on Irontongue Hill, killing everyone except the pilot, who walked away and disappeared. Now the pilot's grand-daughter is in Derbyshire desperate to clear his name, and Ben can’t help taking an interest.

But is a fifty-year-old mystery really the best use of police time? Or does a vicious attack in the dark Edendale back streets prove that the trail isn't quite so cold as he thought?

Could the past be the only clue to present violence as an icy winter looks set to get even chillier?

The Dragon's Path ($2.99 Kindle), the first novel in The Dagger and Coin series by Daniel Abraham [Orbit], has been on sale before; for those that missed it, you get two books in one, as this also includes an advance reading copy of Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey. If you already have it, the the companion audiobook is available for $3.99.
Book Description
All paths lead to war...

Marcus' hero days are behind him. He knows too well that even the smallest war still means somebody's death. When his men are impressed into a doomed army, staying out of a battle he wants no part of requires some unorthodox steps.

Cithrin is an orphan, ward of a banking house. Her job is to smuggle a nation's wealth across a war zone, hiding the gold from both sides. She knows the secret life of commerce like a second language, but the strategies of trade will not defend her from swords.

Geder, sole scion of a noble house, has more interest in philosophy than in swordplay. A poor excuse for a soldier, he is a pawn in these games. No one can predict what he will become.

Falling pebbles can start a landslide. A spat between the Free Cities and the Severed Throne is spiraling out of control. A new player rises from the depths of history, fanning the flames that will sweep the entire region onto The Dragon's Path-the path to war.

This e-book edition of The Dragon's Path includes an advance reading copy of Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey

Welcome to the future.

Humanity has colonized the solar system - Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond - but the stars are still out of our reach.

Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, The Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for - and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why.

Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to The Scopuli and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything.

Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations - and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe.

A Soldier of the Great War ($2.51 Kindle), by Mark Helprin [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt]
Book Description
For Alessandro Giullani, the young son of a prosperous Roman Lawyer, golden trees shimmer in the sun beneath a sky of perfect blue. At night the moon is amber and the city of Rome seethes with light. He races horses across the country to the sea, and in the Alps he practices the precise and sublime art of mountain climbing. At the ancient university in Bologna he is a student of painting and the science of beauty. And he falls in love. His is a world of adventure and dreams, of music, storm, and the spirit. Then the Great War intervenes.

Half a century later, in August of 1964, Alessandro, a white-haired professor, still tall and proud, finds himself unexpectedly on the road with an illiterate young factory worker. As they walk toward Monte Prato, a village seventy kilometers distant, the old man tells the story of his life. How he became a soldier. A hero. A prisoner. A deserter. A wanderer in the hell that claimed Europe. And how he tragically lost one family and gained another.

The boy is dazzled by the action and envious of the richness and color of the story, and realizes that the old man's magnificent tale of love and war is more than a tale: it is the recapitulation of his life, his reckoning with mortality, and above all, a love song for his family.

Bargain Book Roundup

For those reading online tonight, Amazon has finally price matched the Nook Daily Deal: The Sensualist: An Illustrated Novel by Barbara Hodgson ($1.99).

Left To Die ($0.99 Kindle), the first Selena Alvarez/Regan Pescoli novel by Lisa Jackson [Zebra Books], with the companion audiobook for $2.99. The fifth in the series, Ready To Die, can now be pre-ordered ($5.59).
Book Description
Nothing's More Terrifying....
One by one, the victims are carefully captured, toyed with, then subjected to a slow and agonizing death. Piece by piece, his exquisite plan takes shape. The police can't yet see the beauty in his work--but soon, very soon, they will. . .

Than Being Left Alone....
In the lonely woods around Grizzly Point, Montana, four bodies have been discovered. Detectives Selena Alvarez and Regan Pescoli have been hoping for a career-making case, but this is a nightmare. Even with the FBI involved, Selena and Regan have nothing to go on but a killer's cryptic notes, and the unsettling knowledge that there is much worse to come. . .

To Die....
When Jillian Rivers opens her eyes, she's trapped in a mangled car. Then a stranger, claiming to be a trail guide named Zane McGregor, pries her free. Though she's grateful, something about him sets Jillian on edge. And if she knew what lay out there in the woods of Montana, she'd be truly terrified. Because someone is waiting. . .watching. . .poised to strike and make Jillian the next victim....

Trust Me ($2.99 Kindle), by Jeff Abbot [Grand Central], is now available for pre-order. If you missed the pre-order for Fear, it's still $1.99 now that it has been released (the other two in the series are $4.74 now).
Book Description
Luke Dantry finds the bad guys. . .before they're bad guys. He works for a Washington, D.C. think tank as a minor academic who studies the online venting of would-be extremists, trying to identify those who will move from threatening words to deadly action. Anonymously typing from his computer as he monitors a loose collection of enraged loners, Luke thinks his identity is safe--but he is wrong.

Suddenly kidnapped and left for dead in an isolated cabin, Luke soon realizes that the people he's been watching and studying are more organized and dangerous than he ever imagined. And they aren't the only ones who've kept an eye on him. Now with his former targets-and the federal government--tracking every move he makes, Luke must decipher a murderous web of connections that reaches into his own broken past. Only Luke can stop a looming threat that may kill countless people--including himself.

One Reckless Summer ($0.99 Kindle), the first romance novel in the Destiny series by Toni Blake [HarperCollins]. The fourth in the series, Holly Lane, is also on sale ($3.79), as is The Red Diary ($3.99), a stand-alone novel.
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 . . .

Smart and Sexy ($1.99 Kindle), the first novel in the Sky High Air series by Jill Shalvis [Kensington Books], is one of four titles by this author currently on sale, from various publishers, one of which is a pre-order for Christmas.

Smart and Sexy
FLYING SOLO IS WAY OVERRATED

Noah Fisher has worked for months to make Sky High the most prestigious charter airline in California. He’s long overdue for a break—something involving ski slopes, cold beers, and hot ski bunny babes. The itinerary doesn’t include being hijacked by Bailey Sinclair, gorgeous widow of one of Sky High’s wealthiest (ex-) clients. But here they are, and being crammed in a cockpit with the scared, stubborn, unbelievably sexy former model could get Noah in serious trouble…
Simply Irresistible: A Lucky Harbor Novel ($2.99) [Hachette]
Maddie Moore's whole life needs a makeover.

In one fell swoop, Maddie loses her boyfriend (her decision) and her job (so not her decision). But rather than drowning her sorrows in bags of potato chips, Maddie leaves L.A. to claim the inheritance left by her free-spirited mother-a ramshackle inn nestled in the little coastal town of Lucky Harbor, Washington.

Starting over won't be easy. Yet Maddie sees the potential for a new home and a new career-if only she can convince her two half-sisters to join her in the adventure. But convincing Tara and Chloe will be difficult because the inn needs a big makeover too.

The contractor Maddie hires is a tall, dark-haired hottie whose eyes-and mouth-are making it hard for her to remember that she's sworn off men. Even harder will be Maddie's struggles to overcome the past, though she's about to discover that there's no better place to call home than Lucky Harbor.
Heating Up the Kitchen: Recipes with Love from Lucky Harbor ($0.99) [Hachette]
Hello Readers,

Thanks for coming to Lucky Harbor. I'm sure your presence has already been noted by Lucille and the rest of her blue-hair posse and will shortly be posted on their Facebook page. Hope you don't have toilet paper stuck to your shoe.

Or any secrets...

In these pages are recipes on how to catch a man, how to cope with sisters, and bunches of wisdom. Whoops, sorry. Wrong book. (See either Simply Irresistible, The Sweetest Thing, or Head Over Heels).

There are, however, some fantastic recipes from my very own kitchen, and in the cooking of these recipes, I can guarantee you a culinary experience that will make you forget your troubles.

Happy cooking, happy eating, and happy reading!

Tara Daniels
A Christmas to Remember ($1.99 pre-order) [Hachette]
Jill Shalvis, Kristen Ashley, Hope Ramsay, Molly Cannon, and Marilyn Pappano each contribute a short story to this anthology that celebrates true love at Christmastime.

Cloud Warrior ($1.99 Kindle), the first novel in The Amtrak Wars series by Patrick Tilley [Bloomsbury Reader]
Book Description
In 2015, nuclear war burns the cities of humanity to rubble, turns the air to poison, and grass to the color of blood: most of the world population dies. By the year is 2989, when THE AMTRAK WARS takes place, humanity is split into two groups - the Trackers, members of the Amtrak Federation who live in a complex of advanced underground cities, and the Mutes, who have survived on the surface, adapting to the radiation to become stronger through mutations. The Amtrak Federation is dedicated to reclaiming the surface world for humanity, and for centuries, the Amtrak Federation expands, and kills or enslaves Mutes in their path. But eventually the Mutes, with their magical powers, prove to be a match for even the Tracker’s advanced technology. Steve Brickman, a newly-trained Tracker wingman, joins an elite unit making an major strike against the Mutes. But when Steve is shot down and captured by Mutes, he falls in love with one of the ‘enemey’ and learns that there is more to these people than the Federation decrees. Cloud Warrior is the first in Patrick Tilley’s international bestselling futuristic epic, The Amtrak Wars. The film rights for the series have been optioned and are currently in development.

The Boy No One Loved: A Heartbreaking True Story of Abuse, Abandonment and Betrayal ($1.99 Kindle) and Crying for Help: The Shocking True Story of a Damaged Girl with a Dark Past ($1.99 Kindle), by Casey Watson [HarperCollins].

The Boy No One Loved
The first in a series of books from foster carer Casey Watson.

‘We’re hungry,’ his brother cried. ‘We’re hungry, Justin. Please find us some food.’

Justin was five years old; his brothers two and three. Their mother, a heroin addict, had left them alone again. Later that day, after trying to burn down the family home, Justin was taken into care.

Justin was taken into care at the age of five after deliberately burning down his family home. Six years on, after 20 failed placements, Justin arrives at Casey’s home. Casey and her husband Mike are specialist foster carers. They practice a new style of foster care that focuses on modifying the behaviour of profoundly damaged children. They are Justin’s last hope, and it quickly becomes clear that they are facing a big challenge.

Try as they might to make him welcome, he seems determined to strip his life of all the comforts they bring him, violently lashing out at schoolmates and family and throwing any affection they offer him back in their faces. After a childhood filled with hurt and rejection, Justin simply doesn’t want to know. But, as it soon emerges, this is only the tip of a chilling iceberg.

A visit to Justin’s mother on Boxing Day reveals that there are some very dark underlying problems that Justin has never spoken about. As the full picture becomes clearer, and the horrific truth of Justin’s early life is revealed, Casey and her family finally start to understand the pain he has suffered…
Crying for Help
The second book from Sunday Times bestselling author Casey Watson.

Two weeks after saying farewell to her first foster child, Casey is asked to look after Sophia, a troubled 12-year-old with a sad past. Sophia’s actions are disturbing and provocative and, before long, Casey and her family find themselves in a dark and dangerous situation.

Two years ago Sophia’s mother had a terrible accident. Sophia has been in care ever since.

Right away, Casey feels something isn’t right. Sophia’s a well-developed girl, who looks more like 18 than 12. She only seems to have eyes and ears for men, and treats all women with contempt and disgust. And she has everyone around her jumping through hoops.

Over time, as more details begin to emerge about Sophia’s past, it becomes clear that her behaviour is a front for an early life filled with pain and suffering. But although Casey feels she is gradually breaking through to Sophia and getting her to open up about things she has never spoken about before, her violence is threatening the safety of the whole family, forcing Casey to question whether she can really handle this lost and damaged girl.

Both shocking and inspiring, this true story will shed new light on the extreme and sometimes dangerous nature of foster care.

Morte d'Urban ($2.83 Kindle), by J.F. Powers [NYRB Classics], the winner of the 1963 National Book Award for Fiction.
Book Description
The hero of J.F. Powers’s comic masterpiece is Father Urban, a man of the cloth who is also a man of the world. Charming, with an expansive vision of the spiritual life and a high tolerance for moral ambiguity, Urban enjoys a national reputation as a speaker on the religious circuit and has big plans for the future. But then the provincial head of his dowdy religious order banishes him to a retreat house in the Minnesota hinterlands. Father Urban soon bounces back, carrying God’s word with undaunted enthusiasm through the golf courses, fishing lodges, and backyard barbecues of his new turf. Yet even as he triumphs his tribulations mount, and in the end his greatest success proves a setback from which he cannot recover.

First published in 1962, Morte D’Urban has been praised by writers as various as Gore Vidal, William Gass, Mary Gordon, and Philip Roth. This beautifully observed, often hilarious tale of a most unlikely Knight of Faith is among the finest achievements of an author whose singular vision assures him a permanent place in American literature.

Diesel Daily Deal - The Prophet (E)

The Prophet ($7.99 $6.15 Kindle), the third (and most recent) novel in The Graveyard Queen series by Amanda Stevens [Harlequin Romance], is today's Deal of the "Day" at Diesel E-Books, where it's discounted to $1.60 (9 copies left).

Wouldn't you know, it's also the only title in the series that I already have....

Book Description
My name is Amelia Gray.

I am the Graveyard Queen, a cemetery restorer who sees ghosts. My father passed down four rules to keep me safe and I've broken every last one. A door has opened and evil wants me back.

In order to protect myself, I've vowed to return to those rules. But the ghost of a murdered cop needs my help to find his killer. The clues lead me to the dark side of Charleston—where witchcraft, root doctors and black magic still flourish—and back to John Devlin, a haunted police detective I should only love from afar.

Now I'm faced with a terrible choice: follow the rules or follow my heart.
Get the book from Diesel; be sure to check the sales price, as the Deal of the Day often sells out.

Free Nook App - Connect Me Puzzle

Connect Me Puzzle ($0.99 Amazon), by Agile Fusion Corp, is this week's Free Friday App from Barnes & Noble.
App Description
Its often the games that seem most simple that keep us addicted to just five more minutes. Nothing could be truer when playing Connect Me Puzzle.

Your goal seems elementary: connect the like colored Flowers, but the challenge comes in negotiating your way around a grid with the know-how and grace to never cross two lines over one another. Pair all of the colored flowers to cover the flower bed and solve the puzzle, but if even one path crosses another, your game is over, making for a strategy laden last round. Should the pressure of creating connections without crossing lines seem like kid-stuff to your superior gaming skills, put yourself under the watchful gaze of a timer to get your heart racing and your brain in gear.
Get the free App from Barnes & Noble.

Kindle Daily Deals 5/10

Today's Gold Box at Amazon is "Friday Night Lights: The Complete Series" for $39.99.

At some RadioShacks, not only are what's left of their Nook Simple Touch stock on sale (although most are now sold out, it seems), but they've started clearancing out any remaining Kindle 3 3G+WiFi eReaders, with a sales price of $39.95. These aren't listed on their website, so the best way to find one is to call around and ask. Some people are having luck with getting a local Best Buy to match the price on the Nook Simple Touch ($19.97), though, since you can call up the ad on your smart phone and sometimes show "in stock" at a local store (even though they are actually sold out).

Today Only, 1saleaday.com has some Kobo Vox tablets on sale for $59.99. Comes in your choice of four colors and includes a case. These are the Kobo equivalent of the original Kindle Fire, but tied in to their bookstore, instead. Unlike the original Kindle Fire, though, these can be expanded with up to a 32G microSD Card and have access to the Google Play store.

Today's Kindle Teen Daily Deal is Getting Over Garrett Delaney ($1.99), by Abby McDonald [Candlewick].
Book Description
Can a twelve-step program help Sadie kick her unrequited crush for good? Abby McDonald serves up her trademark wit and wisdom in a hilarious new novel.

Seventeen-year-old Sadie is in love: epic, heartfelt, and utterly one-sided. The object of her obsession — ahem, affection — is her best friend, Garrett Delaney, who has been oblivious to Sadie’s feelings ever since he sauntered into her life and wowed her with his passion for Proust (not to mention his deep-blue eyes). For two long, painful years, Sadie has been Garrett’s constant companion, sharing his taste in everything from tragic Russian literature to art films to '80s indie rock — all to no avail. But when Garrett leaves for a summer literary retreat, Sadie is sure that the absence will make his heart grow fonder — until he calls to say he’s fallen in love. With some other girl! A heartbroken Sadie realizes that she’s finally had enough. It’s time for a total Garrett detox! Aided by a barista job, an eclectic crew of new friends (including the hunky chef, Josh), and a customized self-help guide, Sadie embarks on a summer of personal reinvention full of laughter, mortifying meltdowns, and a double shot of love.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is The House of Rumour ($1.99), by Jake Arnott, with the companion audiobook also $1.99. This is being published by Amazon's newest publishing imprint, Little A, which specializes in literary fiction and memoirs; Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s New Harvest imprint distributes the print editions.
Book Description
Mixing the invented and the real, The House of Rumour explores WWII spy intrigue (featuring Ian Fleming), occultism (Aleister Crowley), the West Coast science-fiction set (Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and Philip K. Dick all appear), and the new wave music scene of the ’80s. The decades-spanning, labyrinthine plot even weaves in The Jonestown Massacre and Rudolf Hess, UFO sightings and B-movies. Told through multiple narrators, what at first appears to be a constellation of random events begins to cohere as the work of a shadow organization—or is it just coincidence?

Tying the strands together is Larry Zagorski, an early pulp fiction writer turned U.S. fighter pilot turned “American gnostic,” who looks back on his long and eventful life, searching for connections between the seemingly disparate parts. The teeming network of interlaced secrets he uncovers has personal relevance—as it mirrors a book of 22 interconnected stories he once wrote, inspired by the major arcana cards in the tarot.

Hailed as an heir to Don DeLillo’s Underworld by The Guardian, The House of Rumour is a tour de force that sweeps the reader through a century’s worth of secret histories.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Strange Fits of Passion ($1.99), by Anita Shreve [Houghton Mifflin Harcourt].
Book Description
The reader is left to uncover the truth in this labryinth of a tale, a riveting story told within the framework of one reporter's notes and a woman's letters from prison. Everyone believes that Maureen and Harrold English, two successful New York City journalists, have a happy, stable marriage. It's the early '70s and no one discusses or even suspects domestic abuse. But after Maureen suffers another brutal beating, she flees New York with her infant daughter and seeks refuge in a small coastal town in Maine. The weeks pass slowly, and just as Maureen begins to heal physically and emotionally, Harrold finds her, bringing the story to a violent, unforgettable end.

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is Dante Valentine: The Complete Series ($1.99), by Lilith Saintcrow [Orbit/Hachette]. This is a good series, that I originally started reading on paper, long ago - it's a huge discount getting all 1300 pages of the series at this low a price. I'm almost tempted to buy it, despite having replaced my paper books back in a Fictionwise sale several years ago, just to have all the books in one place. I've been re-reading Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld series (while I wait for Thirteen to drop in price) and I always have to spend time at the end of a book, searching for which one comes next (since I seldom seem to finish reading in a place where it's handy to turn on the computer) and then finding it to start reading.
Book Description
Necromancer. Bounty hunter. Killer.

Dante Valentine has been all three in her life. But in the beginning, she was a Necromancer for hire. And while she was choosy about her jobs, there were just some she couldn't turn down. Like when the Devil showed up at the door and offered her a deal. Her life - in exchange for the capture and elimination of a renegade demon. But how do you kill something that can't die?

Dante Valentine, one of urban fantasy's hottest series, is compiled into one volume for the first time. Included in this omnibus edition are: Working for the Devil, Dead Man Rising, The Devil's Right Hand, Saint City Sinners, and To Hell and Back.