There are two free book from Marie Force on my Squidoo Lens,
Today's Free Kindle Books. Pick up the second, which is indie-published, and you'll qualify for the
two $1 books by Debra Holland.
For Gamers, there is a special deal on
Rockstar Games Downloads through May 28 - Get both 50% off your purchase and a 5 Rockstar Games credit. Which means you could pick up
Manhunt for $4.99, then use the credit later to get
Manhunt 2 for $2.49 (don't try it the other way, around; the promo credit only works on items priced at $5 or more). There are other games in the sale, including at least one other at $4.99. Watch for this notice in the Special Offers section of the game before buying:
Purchase this product and receive a $5 credit towards other Rockstar Digital Downloads sold by Amazon Digital Video Games. Credit may be used on products priced greater than $5. Credit must be used by 5/28/2014
I also turned up a
Jazz sale at Amazon, which includes a number of CDs that are priced in the $3.99-$4.99 range and include the AutoRip MP3 CD dropped into your account immediately. If you are into classical, here are a few bargains from the MP3 store:
The Thief (
$2.09 Kindle), by Fuminori Nakamura [Soho Crime]; the
companion audiobook is $3.99.
Book Description
A literary crime masterpiece that follows a Japanese pickpocket lost to the machinations of fate. Bleak and oozing existential dread, The Thief is simply unforgettable.
The Thief is a seasoned pickpocket. Anonymous in his tailored suit, he weaves in and out of Tokyo crowds, stealing wallets from strangers so smoothly sometimes he doesn’t even remember the snatch. Most people are just a blur to him, nameless faces from whom he chooses his victims. He has no family, no friends, no connections.... But he does have a past, which finally catches up with him when Ishikawa, his first partner, reappears in his life, and offers him a job he can’t refuse. It’s an easy job: tie up an old rich man, steal the contents of the safe. No one gets hurt. Only the day after the job does he learn that the old man was a prominent politician, and that he was brutally killed after the robbery. And now the Thief is caught in a tangle even he might not be able to escape.
The first four novels in Richard Kadrey's
Sandman Slim series (Kindle;
B&N) are on sale for
$1.99 apiece [HarperCollins]; grab them now and you might get them finished by the time the fifth,
Kill City Blues, is released in July.
Sandman Slim (
companion audiobook $2.99)
Sandman Slim has arrived—a wild and weird, edge-of-your-seat supernatural roller-coaster rider that propels author Richard Kadrey to the forefront of the fantasy, thriller, and a host of other literary genres. This spellbinding, utterly remarkable tale of a vengeful magician/hitman’s return from hell is part H.P. Lovecraft, part Christopher Moore, part Jim Butcher, and totally, unabashedly dark, twisted, and hilarious.
Kill the Dead (
companion audiobook $3.99)
Sandman Slim is back from Hell. After wreaking unholy havoc in author Richard Kadrey’s resoundingly acclaimed Sandman Slim, the demon-slaying anti-hero and half-angel fugitive from the underworld returns in a brutally funny, eye-poppingly inventive, and totally addicting follow-up, Kill the Dead. If you’re a fan of Buffy and Jim Butcher, Christopher Moore, Neil Gaiman, and Warren Ellis, or you dig the dark urban fantasy vibe of Charlaine Harris, Kim Harrison, and Simon Green, you’ll cheer Lucifer’s onetime personal assassin as he signs on as his ex-boss’ Hollywood bodyguard…and takes on the zombie apocalypse almost single-handedly.
Aloha from Hell (
companion audiobook $2.99)
All hail Sandman Slim, author Richard Kadrey’s ultra-extreme anti-hero and recent escapee from Lucifer’s overheated Underworld playground. Legendary author William Gibson (Neuromancer) called Kadrey’s first deliciously twisted Slim adventure “an addictively satisfying, deeply amusing, dirty-ass masterpiece,” and in number three, Aloha from Hell, the ruthless avenger, a.k.a. Stark, finds himself trapped in the middle of a war between Heaven and Hell. With God on vacation, the Devil nosing around in Paradise, and an insane serial killer doing serious damage on Earth, Stark/Slim is ready to unleash some more adrenaline-surging, edgy and violent supernatural mayhem—and even pay another visit to Hell if necessary—which is great news for fans of Jim Butcher, Warren Ellis, Charlaine Harris, Kim Harrison, and Simon R. Green.
Devil Said Bang
Richard Kadrey’s Sandman Slim—aka James Stark—is, quite simply, one of the most outrageous uber-anti-heroes ever to kick serious butt on this or any other world or dimension.
In his previous three adventures—Sandman Slim, Kill the Dead, and Aloha from Hell—Stark has fled Hell for California, taken on angels, demons, outlaw bikers, zombies, covert government operatives, and all manner of monsters, while saving humankind from total annihilation on numerous occasions. But in Devil Said Bang, he finally assumes the role he was destined for: as the new Lucifer, ruler of the Underworld.
Combining outrageously edgy humor with a dark and truly twisted vision, Richard Kadrey has once again delivered a masterful amalgam of action novel, urban fantasy, and in-your-face horror that will delight a wide range of readers—from Christopher Moore and Warren Ellis fans to the devoted adherents of Jim Butcher, Charlaine Harris, Kim Harrison, and Simon Green.
Dead or Alive ($2.99 Kindle;
$0.99 B&N), the second novel in the
Outlaws and Heroes series by Mallory Rush [ePublishing Works!]; previously published as
Pistol in my Pocket.
Book Description
Alaska was a rough and tumble place in the 1800s when outlaw Noble Zhivago was forced to run for his life—only to be buried alive in an avalanche!
Now, a century later, Noble is discovered, frozen in time, by a policeman's young widow.
Lori Morgan can't resist the irrational desire to release the rugged hunk from his icy tomb. Nor can she explain why Noble ignites fiery passions she thought dead.
Then Lori discovers Nobel is a murderer, wanted Dead or Alive.
Imperfect Rebel ($3.99 Kindle;
$0.99 B&N), the second novel in
The Carolina Magnolia series by Patricia Rice [ePublishing Works!]; previously published as
Almost Perfect.
Book Description
Cleo Alyssum has a plan: stay sober, keep her job, and bite her tongue until Social Services relents and returns her little boy.
Then Jared McCloud, a celebrated cartoonist and bull-headed extrovert, shatters Cleo's carefully constructed serenity by demanding that they help their drug-dealing neighbor's neglected children.
Cleo knows Jared is right.
Risking everything they thought they wanted, the pair join forces to save the children and face a new realization: there's more to life and love than either of them ever planned or dreamed.
Zero Separation (
$3.99 Kindle), by Philip Donlay [Oceanview Publishing]; the
companion audiobook is $3.99.
Book Description
Donovan Nash has a secret he'll do anything to keep. But he's the prime suspect after someone steals a fifty million dollar executive jet, and FBI agent Veronica Montero put him squarely in the crosshairs. As she digs, she discovers Nash's secret -- a revelation that, if made public, would stun the world. Operating on her own agenda, Montero blackmails Nash into helping her hunt down a man she wants dead.Powerless against the information Montero holds, Nash is forced into a situation far deadlier than either of them could ever have imagined. The man they are after isn't the criminal they expect, he's a terrorist with a plan to use the stolen jet to carry out an unthinkable and devastating act that could plunge America into the most heinous conflict since World War II.When Nash and Montero are taken prisoner aboard the stolen jet, they will have only one opportunity to execute a daring midair attempt to stop the attack. Success could cost them their own lives, but failure could cost millions of innocent lives.
Devil in a Blue Dress: Featuring an Original Easy Rawlins Short Story (
$3.99 Kindle), by Walter Mosley [Simon and Schuster]; the
companion audiobook is $4.49.
Book Description
Los Angeles, 1948: Ezekiel "Easy Rawlins" is a black war veteran just fired from his job. Now he's drinking in a friend's bar, wondering how he'll meet his mortgage.
That's when De Witt Albright , a quietly vicious white man in a white linen suit, walks in and offers Easy good money if he'll just do a little job for him: find Miss Daphne Monet, a blonde beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs.
It seems simple enough, but Easy soon discovers that Albright isn't the only one looking for the lovely Miss Monet - isn't the only one who's ready to kill anyone, including Easy, who might get in the way.
The Smart One (
$4.99 Kindle), by Jennifer Close [Random House]
Book Description
With her best-selling debut, Girls in White Dresses (An “irresistible, pitch-perfect first novel” —Marie Claire), Jennifer Close captured friendship in those what-on-earth-am-I-going-to-do-with-my-life years of early adulthood. Now, with her sparkling new novel of parenthood and sibling rivalry, Close turns her gimlet eye to the only thing messier than friendship: family.
Weezy Coffey’s parents had always told her she was the smart one, while her sister was the pretty one. “Maureen will marry well,” their mother said, but instead it was Weezy who married well, to a kind man and good father. Weezy often wonders if she did this on purpose—thwarting expectations just to prove her parents wrong.
But now that Weezy’s own children are adults, they haven’t exactly been meeting her expectations either. Her oldest child, Martha, is thirty and living in her childhood bedroom after a spectacular career flameout. Martha now works at J.Crew, folding pants with whales embroidered on them and complaining bitterly about it. Weezy’s middle child, Claire, has broken up with her fiancé, canceled her wedding, and locked herself in her New York apartment—leaving Weezy to deal with the caterer and florist. And her youngest, Max, is dating a college classmate named Cleo, a girl so beautiful and confident she wears her swimsuit to family dinner, leaving other members of the Coffey household blushing and stammering into their plates.
As the Coffey children’s various missteps drive them back to their childhood home, Weezy suddenly finds her empty nest crowded and her children in full-scale regression. Martha is moping like a teenager, Claire is stumbling home drunk in the wee hours, and Max and Cleo are skulking around the basement, guarding a secret of their own. With radiant style and a generous spirit, The Smart One is a story about the ways in which we never really grow up, and the place where we return when things go drastically awry: home.
The Tudors: The Complete Story of England's Most Notorious Dynasty (
$2.99 Kindle), by G.J. Meyer [Random House]
Book Description
BONUS: This edition contains a The Tudors discussion guide.
Acclaimed historian G. J. Meyer provides a fresh look at the fabled Tudor dynasty—and some of the most enigmatic figures ever to rule a country. In 1485, Henry Tudor, whose claim to the English throne was so weak as to be almost laughable, nevertheless sailed from France with a ragtag army to take the crown from the family that had ruled England for almost four centuries. Fifty years later, his son, Henry VIII, aimed to seize even greater powers—ultimately leaving behind a brutal legacy that would blight the lives of his children and the destiny of his country. Edward VI, a fervent believer in reforming the English church, died before realizing his dream. Mary I, the disgraced daughter of Catherine of Aragon, tried and failed to reestablish the Catholic Church and produce an heir, while Elizabeth I sacrificed all chance of personal happiness in order to survive.
The Tudors presents the sinners and saints, the tragedies and triumphs, the high dreams and dark crimes, of this enthralling era.
An Expert in Murder (
$1.99 Kindle), the first novel in the
Josephine Tey series by Nicola Upson [HarperCollins]; the
companion audiobook is $3.99.
Book Description
March 1934. Revered mystery writer Josephine Tey is traveling from Scotland to London for the final week of her play Richard of Bordeaux, the surprise hit of the season, with pacifist themes that resonate in a world still haunted by war. But joy turns to horror when her arrival coincides with the murder of a young woman she had befriended on the train ride—and Tey is plunged into a mystery as puzzling as any in her own works.
Detective Inspector Archie Penrose is convinced that the killing is connected to the play, and that Tey herself is in danger of becoming a victim of her own success. In the aftermath of a second murder, the writer and the policeman must join together to stop a ruthless killer who will apparently stop at nothing.
The Black Company (
$2.99 Kindle), the first novel of
The Chronicles of The Black Company by Glen Cook [Macmillan], will get you started on a good series, but your best bang for the buck is to get
Chronicles of the Black Company omnibus instead, which contains the next two novels as well, with a total price equal to either of the bonus novels, alone. That leaves
The Silver Spike as the remaining novel in that series, but there is an omnibus you'll want instead of that one, as well:
The Books of the South: Tales of the Black Company, for only $1.30 extra.
At the publisher's request, these titles are being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.
The Black Company (
companion audiobook $3.99)
Some feel the Lady, newly risen from centuries in thrall, stands between humankind and evil. Some feel she is evil itself. The hardbitten men of the Black Company take their pay and do what they must, burying their doubts with their dead.
Until the prophesy: The White Rose has been reborn, somewhere, to embody good once more.
There must be a way for the Black Company to find her...
Chronicles of the Black Company
Darkness wars with darkness as the hard-bitten men of the Black Company take their pay and do what they must. They bury their doubts with their dead.
Then comes the prophecy: The White Rose has been reborn, somewhere, to embody good once more…
This omnibus edition comprises The Black Company, Shadows Linger, and The White Rose—the first three novels in Glen Cook's bestselling fantasy series.
The Books of the South: Tales of the Black Company
Marching south after the ghastly battle at the Tower of Charm, the Black Company is hounded by shadowy figures every inch of the way.
The game is on: the Company versus the Shadowmasters, deadly creatures that deal in darkness and sorrow.
When hope dies, there's still survival. And there's still the Black Company.
The Book of the South is the second omnibus of novels from one of the greatest fantasy epics of our age, Glen Cook’s Black Company series—collecting Shadow Games, Dreams of Steel, and The Silver Spike.
The Abundant Community (
$2.99 Kindle), by John McKnight and Peter Block [Berrett-Koehler Publishers]
Book Description
We need our neighbors and community to stay healthy, produce jobs, raise our children, and care for those on the margin. Institutions and professional services have reached their limit of their ability to help us.
The consumer society tells us that we are insufficient and that we must purchase what we need from specialists and systems outside the community. We have become consumers and clients, not citizens and neighbors. John McKnight and Peter Block show that we have the capacity to find real and sustainable satisfaction right in our neighborhood and community.
This book reports on voluntary, self-organizing structures that focus on gifts and value hospitality, the welcoming of strangers. It shows how to reweave our social fabric, especially in our neighborhoods. In this way we collectively have enough to create a future that works for all.
About the Authors
For nearly three decades, John McKnight has conducted research on social service delivery systems, health policy, community organizations, neighborhood policy, and institutional racism. He currently directs research projects focused on asset-based neighborhood development and methods of community building by incorporating marginalized people. John serves on the Board of Directors of numerous community organizations including the Gamaliel Foundation and The National Training and Information Center. McKnight is a professor of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University.
Peter Block is an author, consultant. His work is about empowerment, stewardship, chosen accountability, and the reconciliation of community. He’s the author of Flawless Consulting, Stewardship, The Answer to How is Yes, and Community
The Water Clock (£0.99 UK), by Jim Kelly, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (no US edition).
