Kindle Daily Deals 6/14

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Invitation to Die ($1.99), by Helen Smith [Thomas & Mercer].

Book Description
Twenty-six-year-old Emily Castles is out of work… again. So when famous romance author Morgana Blakely offers her a job helping out at a conference in London, Emily accepts. Just as eagerly, American blogger Winnie Kraster accepts an invitation from Morgana to attend as a guest, not realizing she has, in effect, accepted an invitation to die.

As a cast of oddball characters assembles at the conference hotel, grievances, differences, and secrets begin to emerge. When Winnie goes missing, and then is found murdered nearby, Emily begins to suspect that someone involved with the conference is responsible. Could it be one of the organizers, one of the authors, a member of the hotel staff, or even the supplier of the chocolates for the conference gift bags? Emily teams up with guest speaker and eccentric philosophy professor Dr. Muriel to find out.

Offbeat and engaging, this entertaining comic mystery is the first full-length novel featuring amateur British sleuth Emily Castles.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is The Invasion of Falgannon Isle ($0.99), by Deborah MacGillivray [Montlake Romance].

Book Description
213 SINGLE SCOTSMEN

There was something about the Brigadoon-like Falgannon, something that kept most of its male inhabitants unwed. From Michael the Story to Callum the Bicycle--and we mustn't forget The Cat Dudley, the slyest poker-playing moggie in the Outer Hebrides--every male of the Isle had happiness dependent upon that of its Lady. So things had been since Pictish times, and so they would be long after the present day.

Despite her machinations, to this point B.A. Montgomerie had been unable to make her men happy. Her first marriage had been against their advice; her husband had been an Irishman, true, but he had failed to meet other necessary requirements...and things had ended badly. Now, another Irishman had come--and was making the natives restless. Yes, the men of Falgannon could sense Desmond Mershan's conquering Viking spirit and his desire for B.A.--which B.A. could sense herself. And while her men would never let anything happen that she didn't want, this Irishman had come to pillage and loot, and nothing was going to stop him. Staring into his vibrant green eyes, B.A. anticipated the battles to come.

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is The Galactic Mage ($1.99), the first book in The Galactic Mage series by John Daulton [indie/Daulton Books]. In the bookstore, I'd buy this one on the strength of the cover alone (come on, admit it - you've done the same), as it has a dragon, a spaceship and a girl with a gun! How can it fail?

The series continues with Rift in the Races and Hostiles, both now available, with a fourth title underway and expected in 2014.

Book Description
Altin Meade is a sorcerer with a curse. Seeking to avoid a looming doom, he sets his magical sights on the stars--a quest that will likely bring about the very consequence he's seeking to escape.

Far across the galaxy, Ensign Orli Pewter of planet Earth has a looming doom of her own--one of loneliness, depression and, worse, a race of genocidal aliens known as "Hostiles" seeking to destroy humanity. Trapped aboard a spaceship she never asked to be upon, Orli is in a fight for both her life and her sanity.

Worlds apart, Altin and Orli share a destiny, but neither knows the other is alive. The Hostiles know. And they have other plans.

Today's Kindle Teen Daily Deal is Revenge of the Cheerleaders ($1.99), by Janette Rallison [Walker Childrens].

Book Description
Chelsea's school year has taken a turn for the worse. After being dumped by her boyfriend and humiliated at the pep assembly by her younger sister's boyfriend, Rick, she's just concentrating on avoiding any other major embarrassments.That's when Rick and his band debut their new album, complete with a whole set of songs bashing cheerleaders. Chelsea's humiliation has reached a whole new level now that everyone is walking down the halls singing the words to "Dangerously Blonde." It's time to make Rick pay. All he wants is to win the High School Idol audition, so he can be on his way to rock star fame and fortune. But with the help of her best friends, Aubrie and Samantha, Chelsea is going to steal his victory right out from under him. The characters from All's Fair in Love, War and High School are back, only this time it's payback.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 6/14

The Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK is six titles in the Agatha Raisin series by MC Beaton for £0.99 each (~80% off) [Robinson].

Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage (Main/UK; US edition $6.83) - Agatha Raisin #5

The morning of Agatha's marriage to James Lacey dawns bright and clear. But her luck runs out in the church when Jimmy, the husband she had believed long dead, turns up large as life and twice as ugly. Agatha has a go at strangling him. James breaks off the engagement. So when Jimmy is found murdered next day, Agatha and James are both the prime suspects. And they'll have to work together in order to clear their names . . .

Agatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist (Main/UK; US edition $6.83) - Agatha Raisin #6

In this sixth entertaining outing Agatha leaves the sleepy Cotswold village of Carsely to pursue love - and finds a murderer. Spurned at the altar, she follows her fleeing fiancé James Lacey to north Cyprus, where, instead of enjoying the honeymoon they'd planned, they witness the killing of an obnoxious tourist in a disco. Intrigue and a string of murders surround the unlikely couple, in a plot as scorching as the Greek sun!

Agatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death (Main/UK; US edition $6.83) - Agatha Raisin #7

Agatha Raisin's neighbouring village of Ancombe is usually the epitome of quiet rural charm, but the arrival of a new mineral-water company - which intends to tap into the village spring - sends tempers flaring and divides the parish council into two stubborn camps. When Agatha, who just happens to be handling the PR for the water company, finds the council chairman murdered at the basin of the spring, tongues start wagging. Could one of the council members have polished off the chairman before he could cast the deciding vote? Poor Agatha, still nursing a bruised heart from one of her unsuccessful romantic encounters, must get cracking, investigate the councillors and solve the crime.

Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham (Main/UK; US edition $8.89) - Agatha Raisin #8

The local ladies all deem Mr John a wizard, so when Agatha finds a few grey hairs on her head - and the rinse she tries at home turns her hair purple - she makes a beeline for the handsome Evesham hairdresser. And as well as sorting out her hair it soon becomes clear the charming man also has designs on her heart - but their future together is cut short when Mr John is fatally poisoned in his salon. Once again Agatha finds herself embroiled in a murder case. Was it one of Mr John's many customers, all of whom divulged to him their darkest secrets?

Agatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam (Main/UK; US edition $7.59) - Agatha Raisin #10

Feeling jilted and cross, Agatha follows a fortune-teller's advice and rents a cottage in the pretty village of Fryfam, where she hopes good fortune and true love will come chasing after her for a change. Unfortunately, her romantic notions are soon dispelled by the strange goings-on in the village. What exactly are those strange lights in Agatha's back garden? Who is stealing paintings and pottery? Where are her beloved cats? And who murdered the local squire…Agatha's nose for trouble leads her into a maelstrom of jealousy, blackmail and dangerous liaisons - and a murderer who plans to keep irrepressible Agatha permanently in Fryfam - as a resident corpse.

Agatha Raisin and the Love from Hell (Main/UK; US edition $8.89) - Agatha Raisin #11

Recently married to James Lacey, Agatha quickly finds out that love is not all its cracked up to be - the newly weds are living in separate cottages and accusing each other of infidelity. After a fight down the local pub James vanishes - a bloodstain the only clue to his fate - and Agatha is the prime suspect. Determined to clear her name and find her husband, Agatha begins her investigation - and promptly finds a murdered mistress...

Fireblood (£0.99 UK), by Jeff Wheeler [47North], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for for Science Fiction & Fantasy Fans in the UK (the US edition is $4.99; companion audiobook $1.99).

Book Description
Tyrus of Kenatos has made it his life’s work to banish the plagues that ravage the kingdoms. He believes the answer to ending the devastation lies in the Scourgelands. Yet, Tyrus’s first expedition into the cursed woods failed after being defeated by mysterious minions who stalked and killed most of his band.

Now a prisoner in his own tower, Tyrus has summoned his nephew Annon—a Druidecht possessing innate magic called the fireblood—on the guise of finding a hidden treasure with which to purchase his twin sister Hettie’s freedom. But in reality, Tyrus is using his niece and nephew, and their magic, as an opportunity to escape and resume his desperate mission. And to aid them, he has enlisted the warrior-monk Paedrin—who is almost as green as the siblings when it comes to traveling these troubled lands. The trio is determined, and along the way they grow to trust each other—and new additions to the group—in order to accomplish their missions…whether or not those missions are one and the same.

But the Arch-Rike—ruthless ruler of Kenatos—has learned of these plans, and has sent the fearsome Kishion to destroy all those that oppose him. Now Tyrus and his unwitting allies must face down not only the plague, but this new enemy—and fulfill their quest before a fresh horror is unleashed on the world…

Nook Daily Find 6/14

Confessions of a Murder Suspect ($8.89 Kindle, $2.99 B&N), by James Patterson [Little, Brown and Company/Hachette], is the Nook Daily Find. It should drop in price by late morning on Kindle.

Book Description
James Patterson returns to the genre that made him famous with a thrilling teen detective series about the mysterious and magnificently wealthy Angel family . . . and the dark secrets they're keeping from one another.

On the night Malcolm and Maud Angel are murdered, Tandy Angel knows just three things: 1) She was the last person to see her parents alive. 2) The police have no suspects besides Tandy and her three siblings. 3) She can't trust anyone--maybe not even herself. Having grown up under Malcolm and Maud's intense perfectionist demands, no child comes away undamaged. Tandy decides that she will have to clear the family name, but digging deeper into her powerful parents' affairs is a dangerous-and revealing-game. Who knows what the Angels are truly capable of?

Free Audiobook - Riders of the Purple Sage

Get a free audiobook download of Riders of the Purple Sage: The Restored Edition ($19.95 Audible or $0.99 companion priced with this Kindle edition at $3.82), by Zane Grey, narrated by Mark Bramhall, from Downpour (Blackstone Audio's retail site), as part of their June is Audiobook Month celebration (but, only thru June 19) and AudioFile Magazine's Western Adventures promotion.

Book Description
Now, for the first time in a century, Zane Grey's best-known novel is presented in its original form exactly as he wrote it.

When in the early 1900s Zane Grey took his manuscript to two publishing companies, they rejected it because of the theme of Mormon polygamy, fearing it would offend their readers and subscribers. Then Grey made a special plea to Frederick Duneka, who was vice-president of Harper & Bros. and who had been Mark Twain's editor at that company. Duneka and his wife read the novel and liked it but feared it would offend some readers. Harper & Bros. agreed to publish a changed version of the novel and purchased both the book and magazine-serial rights. Given the task of executing the necessary editorial changes, a senior editor of the company made changes in tone, diction, and style as well as content. The novel first appeared in nineteen installments in the monthly magazine Field & Stream from January 1912 to July 1913.

Blackstone Audio here presents the original, uncensored, unabridged novel Riders of the Purple Sage, obtained through the Golden West Literary Agency with the cooperation of Zane Grey's son, Loren Grey, and the Ohio State Historical Society.

In Cottonwoods, Utah, in 1871, a woman stands accused and a man is sentenced to whipping. Into this travesty of small-town justice rides the one man whom the town elders fear. His name is Lassiter, and he is a notorious gunman who's come to avenge his sister's death. It doesn't take Lassiter long to see that this once peaceful Mormon community is controlled by the corrupt Deacon Tull, a powerful elder who's trying to take the woman's land by forcing her to marry him, branding her foreman as a dangerous 'outsider'. Lassiter vows to help them. But when the ranch is attacked by horse thieves, cattle rustlers, and a mysterious masked rider, he realizes that they're up against something bigger, and more brutal, than the land itself.

Get the free audiobook from Downpour. Use Promo code FREERIDERS during checkout (and make sure you see a $0.00 total before continuing). If you are a member there, be sure to log in first - otherwise, the code gets stripped during checkout and you may end up using one of your credits (if you do, contact support and they'll put the credit back on your acct).

Daily Deal - Beyond the Doors of Death

Beyond the Doors of Death, by Robert Silverberg and Damien Broderick [Phoenix Pick], is on sale, today only, for $0.99 on Kindle (regularly $7.99). I've been waiting several days for the price to drop (and, needless today, pounced on it when it did). For those without a Kindle, this is DRM-Free, so download and convert to the format of your choice.

Book Description
Born With the Dead (the novella) was nominated for every major science fiction award when it was originally published in 1974, winning the Nebula and Locus awards.

The author now revisits the classic story with Australian author Damien Broderick. Broderick uses Robert Silverberg s original novella as a starting point for a brilliant leap into the far future, widening the scope and tenor of the original story by revisiting some of the subtler implications of the original story.