The Heir Hunter

The Heir Hunter ($5.59 Kindle), by Chris Larsgaard, can be had for as little as 31 cents over at Fictionwise, with rebates and membership and the 25% coupon that expires after today (but typically keeps working for a few days afterwards). Before the coupon, the price is 50 cents after rebate for non-members and 43 cents for members. The only two formats available are both DRM secured: Mobipocket and eReader (so no deal for Kindle owners, unless you read on the computer).

Book Description
An unclaimed $22-million estate is up for grabs in first-time novelist Larsgaard's ingenious thriller. Sexy attorney Alex Moreno-the Albany, N.Y.-based partner to former cop Nick Merchant who now specializes in finding heirs to unsettled estates-slips a county deputy attorney a $10,000 bribe to get a sneak preview of four probate files 10 days before the official release date. One of the files contains the mind-boggling multimillion-dollar legacy of Gerald Jacobs, an 87-year-old Hudson, N.Y., recluse who died with no apparent heirs. Since Nick's customary finder's fee averages about 30%, this represents the proverbial jackpot. Unfortunately, there is absolutely no record of the deceased's life earlier than his final three years at the Hudson address, so leads for Nick and Alex are meager. Unaware of clandestine forces working to quash any probe into the dead man's background, the intrepid heir hunters stage a daylight burglary of Jacobs's residence, but are interrupted by a mysterious intruder who shoots a cop investigating the reported break-in. Accused of attempted murder, Nick follows sketchy clues obtained in the burglary and winds up in Germany, where he finds an old lover of Jacobs and learns that the mysterious retiree was part of the FBI's witness protection program. The plot thickens and the chase picks up speed as Nick investigates in Iowa and Geneva. Grim reminders of the Holocaust and Swiss bankers' collusion with the Nazis--plus a sobering look at federal agencies operating outside the law--are well drawn, as is an artful undercurrent of sexual tension. If one forgives a brief lapse in the middle of the story that gives a bit too much plot away, and sporadic missteps from the fledgling author's earnest tendency to overwrite, this fine debut oozes authenticity and provides a fascinating glimpse into the quixotic and dangerous realm of high-stakes "assets recovery."

Click HERE for the book listing and don't forget to use coupon code JK25 for the extra 25% off.

UPDATE: I've received a couple of reports that the book that downloads is not the book described with this one. Instead, it's an old, public domain classic. If you bought the book, check it, as you may have to ask for a refund.

Free Book (EPUB) - Unseen Academicals

Unseen Academicals ($9.99) Kindle, by Terry Pratchett, is free in (DRM'd) EPUB format over at Kobo Books (compatible with Sony or nook readers). Don't forget to add it to your Library, as well as download the EPUB, in case you want access to the book after the price goes back up.

This is Pratchett's latest book, released just this past October, and the thirty-second book in the Discworld series.

Book Description
The wizards at Ankh-Morpork's Unseen University are renowned for many things-wisdom, magic, and their love of teatime-but athletics is most assuredly not on the list. And so when Lord Ventinari, the city's benevolent tyrant, strongly suggests to Archchancellor Mustrum Ridcully that the university revive an erstwhile tradition and once again put forth a football team composed of faculty, students, and staff, the wizards of UU find themselves in a quandary. To begin with, they have to figure out just what it is that makes this sport-soccer with a bit of rugby thrown in-so popular with Ankh-Morporkians of all ages and social strata. Then they have to learn how to play it. Oh, and on top of that, they must win a football match without using magic. Meanwhile, Trev (a handsome street urchin and a right good kicker) falls hard for kitchen maid Juliet (beautiful, dim, and perhaps the greatest fashion model there ever was), and Juliet's best pal, UU night cook Glenda (homely, sensible, and a baker of jolly good pies) befriends the mysterious Mr. Nutt (about whom no one knows very much, including Mr. Nutt, which is worrisome . . .). As the big match approaches, these four lives are entangled and changed forever. Because the thing about football-the most important thing about football­-is that it is never just about football.

Click HERE for the free book.

Free Short Story (PDF) - Fated

Another free read from Simon and Schuster, Fated, by Shayla Black, a short story that fits into her Doomsday Brethren series.

This one expires today, but is an unsecured PDF, rather than an EPUB, so it should work fine as-is or converted on the Kindle, Sony or nook.

Click HERE for the download.

Free Book (EPUB) - Wake

Simon and Schuster is giving away the first book in the Wake Trilogy, Wake ($7.19 Kindle), by Lisa McMann. The download is only valid this week, December 26-31, and the book is a DRM'd EPUB - it won't work on the Kindle, but should be fine on your PC, Sony Reader or Nook (amongst others). Credit for this one goes to Staci, an alert reader that tipped me off to the download.

Book Description
For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can't tell anybody about what she does -- they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.

Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant....

Click HERE to sign up for the download. You can use a throw-away email address, as you'll get the download link immediately after submitting, rather than via email.

UPDATE: In addition to only being available for download for five days, it appears the DRM on this book will only allow you to read it for the next 30 days (like a library book). It's short, so it should be no problem to finish it quickly, but be sure to add it to the top of your TBR list.

The Harry Bosch Novels

I featured these same two books by Michael Connelly almost exactly a year ago (HERE), when both were being sold for $7.96 each. Since then, they have been $9.99, which isn't a bad deal for a three novel set, but today the second set is marked down to $4.50, dropping the cost for all six novels even lower than it was last year (and it's an especially good deal for anyone that picked up volume one then and waited before buying volume two).

The Harry Bosch Novels: The Black Echo, The Black Ice, The Concrete Blonde ($9.99)

Book Description
For the first time in one volume, the three novels that introduced Michael Connelly's great LAPD homicide detective, maverick Hieronymous (Harry) Bosch. The Black Echo (Winner of the Edgar Award for Best First Novel) For Harry Bosch-hero, loner, nighthawk-the body stuffed in a drainpipe off Mulholland Drive isn't just another statistic. This one is personal. Billy Meadows was a fellow Vietnam "tunnel rat," fighting the VC and the fear they used to call the Black Echo. Harry let Meadows down once. He won't do it again. The Black Ice The corpse in the hotel room seems to be that of a missing LAPD narcotics officer. Rumors abound that the cop had crossed over-selling a new drug called Black Ice. Now Harry's making some dangerous connections, leading from the cop to a string of bloody murders, and from Hollywood Boulevard's drug bazaar to Mexico's dusty back alleys. In this lethal game, Harry is likely to be the next victim. The Concrete Blonde When Harry Bosch shot and killed Norman Church, the police were convinced it marked the end of the hunt for the Dollmaker-L.A.'s most bizarre serial killer. But now Church's widow is accusing Harry of killing the wrong man-a charge that rings terrifyingly true when a new victim is discovered with the Dollmaker's macabre signature. For the second time, Harry must hunt the murderer down, before he strikes again. Together, these three novels are the perfect way to discover, or rediscover, the sleuth the New York Times Book Review called a "wonderful, old-fashioned hero who isn't afraid to walk through the flames."

Harry Bosch Novels, The: Volume 2: The Last Coyote, Trunk Music, Angels Flight ($4.50)

Book Description
The Last Coyote: LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch is suspended from the force for attacking his commanding officer. Unable to remain idle, he investigates the long-unsolved murder of a Hollywood prostitute. Trunk Music: Harry returns to the force to investigate the murder of a movie producer with Mafia ties. Up against both the LAPD's organized crime unit and the mob, Harry follows the money trail to Las Vegas, where the case becomes personal. Angels Flight: The murder of a prominent African-American attorney who made his career suing the police for racism and brutality means that Harry's friends and associates have become suspects; and he must work closely with longtime enemies suspicious of his maverick ways to investigate them.

Ebook Coupons / Free Books

Be sure to read to the end, for two coupons exclusively for readers of this blog...

First, Manning Publications has a coupon for $15 off of any purchase, today only, whether an ebook or printed book. The company publishes technical books, mostly computer programming in nature and most of their ebooks are PDF's. They are, however, in the process of moving to embrace both epub and mobi formats and they have already released a few books in those formats and are converting others. Best of all, if you buy the PDF, then when (if?) the book does get converted, you get all three formats. Here's a catalog of all their ebooks, while this page
shows the ones in mobi and epub formats.

For $15 off, enter coupon code dotd1228 before checkout (near the bottom of the checkout page, after the billing address). You can also get a 35% discount on any order (which can be more than one book) by downloading one of their green papers (in PDF form, most excerpts/condensations from books they sell, it appears). You'll get a download link and the coupon in email with these. The two cannot be stacked, but that's still a decent discount on technical books.

Next up, Kobo has a 25% discount on any one title, using coupon code BW25. The offer expires Jan 2, 2010, and all of their books are in either DRM'D EPUB or are only accessible via a mobile device or the web (always check the available formats there, before purchasing). That means no deals for the Kindle only readers, but a good discount for those who have a Sony or nook reader. I haven't tried this coupon, but the last one they did worked even on their $9.99 Bestseller titles, so you can snag one for $7.50, if their formats work for you.

These last two are exclusive coupons created just for readers of this blog. If you know of anyone that might want to read the books, just share the address of this blog post (booksontheknob.blogspot.com/2009/12/ebook-coupons-free-books.html) and have each person log in and "purchase" the books (with their own accounts) using the coupon codes below. I do ask that you don't post these two codes elsewhere on the internet (although you can post a link back to this post, if you wish and it's allowed on the forum/site where you wish to post). Remember, books at Smashwords are free of any DRM and the Mobi format there works fine on the Kindle (EPUB is the format of choice for the Sony or nook).

Molokai Reef ($3.95 Smashwords; $5.99 Kindle), by Dennis K. Biby. Use coupon code VW97A during checkout to get this book for free, through January 5, 2010.

Book Description
Molokai Reef weaves humor, travelogue, environmental issues, sailing, and social commentary into a page turning mystery. Follow Gybe with no last name and his wacky friends, including a doobie smoking scarlet macaw, as they solve a murder mystery on the island of Molokai in the Hawaiian Islands.

Thin Blood ($3.97 Smashwords), by Vicki Tyley. Use coupon code MF79L during checkout to get this book for free, through January 31, 2010.

Book Description
A stockbroker’s wife disappears. Blood on his hands and an adulterous affair with the missing woman’s younger sister sees him charged with murder. With no body and only circumstantial evidence he walks free. Ten years later, journalist Jacinta Deller decides to investigate, only to become embroiled in a warped game of delusion and murder.

One note about Smashwords - their site seems to be running quite slowly today (could it be all those new nooks being used at once? Or the million new Kindles that found homes over the holidays?), so you may need to be patient or hit refresh a time or two before the book pages pop up. I haven't had any problems downloading books from my library there, just getting book pages to display.

AudioFile Magazine Listener's Guide to Sherlock Holmes

AudioFile Magazine's Listener's Guide to Sherlock Holmes features a free download of three Sherlock Holmes stories: Silver Blaze, The Adventure of the Stock-Broker's Clerk, and The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans.

Guide Description

• Listen to our exclusive conversations with three Holmes narrators
• Download three Sherlock Holmes stories on audio for FREE! Available worldwide, December 16-29, courtesy of Naxos AudioBooks
• Discover AudioFile Editors' recommendations of the best Sherlock Holmes audiobooks and online resources

Sherlock Holmes is a perennial favorite, and the audio format offers a vast number of listening choices, with new releases appearing regularly. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s original stories are available in unabridged collections from several audio publishers. Adaptations of the stories are also plentiful--from the radio broadcasts of the 1940s to more restrained versions of the popular stories. Whatever the listener’s preference, Sherlock Holmes is a natural audio adventure.

Listen to our behind-the-scenes conversations with narrators David Timson, Simon Prebble, and Ralph Cosham, plus an interview with award-winning audio dramatist and AudioFile contributing editor Yuri Rasovsky. And, from December 16-29, AudioFile's daily SoundReviews will focus on Sherlock Holmes narrators and audiobook reviews. We also feature a video and two podcasts of David Timson speaking about Sherlock Holmes and his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle.

Click here to get for the downloads.