Mysteries

Mysteries

Looking to download free and discounted mystery ebooks? Well then, you sleuth, you’ve found the right place. Satisfy your crime solving needs in this category, and never pay more than what you should. We routinely feature the best authors of mystery ebooks, and they always promote their ebooks to you--for free or for a discount.

 

Definition of "Mystery Genre": Fiction in which a detective resolves a crime or series of crimes.  This genre can also be referred to as detective or crime novels.  The plot of a mystery ebook focuses on the crime that needs to be solved, and the detective that will solve it.  Typical elements include the detective being in danger, a host of suspects with their own motives, and clues, motives and alibis.  The genre can vary greatly dependent on the time in which the mystery is set, as that will drive what tools the detective has at his/her disposal.

 

Some examples of the best mysteries of all-time include Dashiell Hammett (The Maltese Falcon), Agatha Christie (Murder on the Orient Express), Caleb Carr (The Alienist), Lyndsay Faye (Dust and Shadow), James Cain (The Postman Always Rings Twice).  Of course, many of these are the best mystery ebooks of all time, as well as classics.  We try to bring you free and discounted mystery ebooks on their way to being the tops in their genre.

Cold Steele: A Hard-Boiled Police Procedural (The Jasmine Steele Mystery Series Book 4)

by Kimberly Amato

 

A SERIAL KILLER IS SAYING IT WITH FLOWERS...

In the fourth installment of Kimberly Amato’s chilling hard-boiled mystery series, badass detective Jasmine Steele is back -- and shockingly, to herself most of all -- she’s as happy as she’s ever been.

She and her brilliant psychologist partner Frankie are planning a wedding that’s been years in the making, and she’s settled into a new chapter of life with her nephew-turned-adopted son, Chase. But the good life turns out to be more fleeting than the detective’s caffeine withdrawals.

Jasmine, or Jazz, to her friends, gets a rude awakening when a 3-year-old cold case comes back hot. New York City’s “Carnation Killer,” a serial rapist and murderer, leaves his fifth calling card on a woman named Emilia Smith. The calling card? A heart-shaped carving into the woman’s chest and a single white carnation.

On the creep spectrum, Jazz puts this killer somewhere between Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer. And her veteran right hand man is on medical leave.

She’s joined instead by temporary partner Detective Sydney Locke, a welcome new character. Sydney’s pretty green but has a fiery determination and talent for the beat that Jazz recognizes within minutes. Soon enough, they’ve got a mentor/protégé thing going – which certainly comes in handy at their often patriarchal workplace.

And it turns out Jazz and Syd will need that and more when the military gets involved with the investigation-- because the victim is none other than the daughter of a high-ranking official, and the brass knows more than they’re saying.

What the team do know is that Emilia’s last night alive was spent at a college bar that sparks Jasmine’ least happy memory –the very same establishment that served as a backdrop to her own early adult years, a past defiled and traumatized by a dangerous man.Just as Jazz is finally ready to be happy, her bone-chilling trauma comes rushing back. And the Carnation Killer is still out there.

 

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Forget Me Not

by Claire Allan

 

‘AMAZING’ Marian Keyes

I disappeared on a Tuesday afternoon. I was there one minute and the next I was gone. They’ve never found my body…
 
It’s six in the morning during the hottest summer on record when Elizabeth O’Loughlin, out walking her dog, comes across Clare, a victim of a horrific knife attack, clinging onto life at the side of the road.
 
Clare dies minutes later, but not before whispering her haunting last words to Elizabeth.
  
When it becomes clear that Clare’s killer has more than one murder on his mind, Elizabeth has to take drastic action or face losing everything.
 
But what if she can’t stop a killer determined never to be forgotten?

 

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Defending Turquoise: A Legal Thriller (Thaddeus Murfee Legal Thriller Series Book 5)

by John Ellsworth


OVER 1,500,000 COPIES SOLD! AMAZON HAS SAID*, "WE ARE INSPIRED BY THIS WRITER AND HOW HE IS DELIGHTING READERS"--AMAZON PRESS RELEASE 10/15/18

What happens if you do all the right things for all the wrong reasons?

The dead body found in Flagstaff is not hard to identify - the District Attorney had been a well known figure. His wife admits that she pulled the trigger, but her attorney Thaddeus Murfee finds a confusing mess of evidence that tells a different story. When a beautiful teen girl arrives, Thad has to make a decision with terrifying consequences. The riveting story of one lawyer’s attempt to redeem himself, one wife’s attempt to free herself, and one young girl’s hope of a new life after years of unspeakable abuse.

Defending Turquoise is part of the Thaddeus Murfee Legal Thriller Series, which has more than 1.5 million readers and counting, and made John Ellsworth into a household name. If you love page-turning thrillers with mystery, clandestine plotting, and a dash of romance, dive into the world of Thaddeus Murfee today!

USA Today Bestselling Author John Ellsworth’s books are renowned for their twists and turns and surprise endings. See the politics and internal maneuvering that lurk behind criminal cases and discover how the strongest bonds can grow out of the strangest places.

Enjoy this Legal Thriller Series FREE as part of your Kindle Unlimited subscription. You can read these Kindle Unlimited books online via your Kindle device or any smartphone or tablet with the free Amazon Kindle app.

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*Amazon Shares a Selection of Customers’ Favorite Books from Indie Authors

Top Picks To Add Self-Published Books to Your End-of-Year Reading Lists
SEATTLE--Oct. 15, 2018- Hundreds of thousands of independent authors are finding their audiences through self-publishing with Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). More than ever before, authors are reaching new readers directly and cultivating communities as they grow their writing careers on KDP. On average, 20% of books on this year’s Amazon Charts Top 20 weekly lists are self-published. Included in the curated list of top-selling books:
John Ellsworth’s 30 Days of Justis (Michael Gresham Series) (Thriller). Overall rating: 4.6 stars. “I could hardly put this book down. First book I have read by John Ellsworth. I cannot wait to read more. Well written and holds your attention!” – Ann C
“We are inspired by the success of these writers and how they are delighting readers,” said Charles Kronbach, Director of Independent Publishing Worldwide for Amazon.

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Vineyard Vengeance (Raff Rafferty Mystery Series Book 8)

by Robert Joseph


WINE, WOMEN AND .....MURDER Vintner Patricio "Pat" Vega appeals to cop-turned-Catholic priest Raff Rafferty for help when his vineyard is threatened with destruction by a blackmailer. The threat is followed by a series of mysterious deaths of individuals close to Pat and his winery which are ruled 'accidental' by authorities. Raff, however, believes that they are cleverly disguised murders and a vicious killer is loose in California's wine country. VINEYARD VENGEANCE is a tense, taut thriller crammed with unexpected twists and turns that will keep you guessing from the first exciting page to its breath-taking surprise ending.

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Sam's Song: A Sam Smith Mystery (The Sam Smith Mystery Series Book 1)

by Hannah Howe


“If you like psychological detective stories with a touch of humour and romance, you will love Sam Smith.”

An audio book of Sam's Song, narrated by Suzan Lynn Lorraine, is now available from Amazon, Audible and iTunes.

Love Hurts. For Derwena de Caro, songstress, female icon, teenage dream, success brought drugs, alcohol and a philandering boyfriend. It also brought wealth, fame and a stalker, or so she claimed. And that’s where I came in, to investigate the identity of the stalker, little realising that the trail would lead to murder and a scandal that would make the newspaper headlines for months on end.

Love Hurts. For me, Samantha Smith, Enquiry Agent, love arrived at the end of a fist. First, I had to contend with an alcoholic mother, who took her frustrations out on me throughout my childhood, then my husband, Dan, who regarded domestic violence as an integral part of marriage. But I survived. I obtained a divorce, kept my sense of humour and retained an air of optimism. I established my business and gained the respect of my peers. However, I was not prepared for Dan when he re-entered my life, or for the affection showered on me by Dr Alan Storey, a compassionate and rather handsome psychologist.

Sam’s Song. This is the story of a week that changed my life forever.

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Louisiana Lament : A Humorous New Orleans Mystery; Talba Wallis PI Series 3

by Julie Smith


They’d be Queen Latifah and Danny DeVito if this were a movie. In Louisiana Lament, they’re P.I.s Talba Wallis and Eddie Valentino. Talba's young, African-American, computer-brilliant, bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and a noted poet by night; Eddie's pushing seventy, white, hopelessly tech-challenged, and pretty much burned out. Somehow, they make it work—with Talba’s tech-and-street smarts, and Eddie's old-school hard-earned savvy, they even complement each other.

One stormy day Talba gets an emergency call from Janessa, the sister she barely knows, and arrives to find a body floating in a swimming pool—the mortal husk of Allyson Brown, known in New Orleans literary circles as the Girl Gatsby. Like Gatsby, Allyson was one of those mysterious rich people who move to town, give amazing parties, and seem made of moonbeams.

Investigating, Talba finds the reality behind the Gatsby glamour. Allyson was a con artist who neglected her children, ignored her bills, and lied like a rug. But she wasn’t the only bad actor on the local literary scene. Fellow poet Rashad leads Talba a merry chase, leaving a trail of clues in the form of poetry, while novelists engage in fisticuffs, unseemly preening, and unforgivable arrogance.

Before it’s all over, Talba finds out just how seamy, petty, and downright murderous her fellow literati can be.

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Fishermen's Court

by Andrew Wolfendon

 

“An exciting, fresh new voice in a thoughtful crime thriller. Perfect for fans of Jessica Knoll and Liane Moriarty.” –Best Thrillers

Finn Carroll is a failed artist living a marginal existence in his dead parents’ home. So why would a team of killers want to murder him and frame it as a suicide? Finn survives the encounter to discover the killers have left behind a “suicide note” detailing a dark incident from Finn’s past no one could possibly know about.

Finn escapes to Musqasset Island, his former home, to seek refuge with an old friend, but soon realizes he has trapped himself on the small island with the very people who want him dead—and with old debts that need to be paid. His only hope for survival, and redemption, is to figure out who’s trying to kill him and why they’ve waited eighteen years to act—no easy task in a raging nor’easter, where communications are shaky and relationships (and Finn’s mental state) are even shakier.

 

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The Fixer, Season 1, Episode 1: (A JC Bannister Serial Thriller)

by Rex Carpenter


JC Bannister calls himself a solutionist. His clients call him a fixer. His enemies, a hitman for hire. For the right price, he’ll fix your problem.

A call comes in. A meeting in a bar. A contract is agreed upon. But when the contract is for killing a US Senator, Bannister’s problems are just beginning. Worst of all, JC thinks he’s being set up. But the why and the who is just out of his reach.

Bannister must find out who is behind the double-cross, complete the contract and satisfy his very powerful client before his solution changes the political future of the country. Or gets him and his entire team killed.

The Fixer is an explosive new thriller series by Rex Carpenter that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last body drops.
 

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Buried In a Bog (County Cork series Book 1)

by Sheila Connolly


New York Times bestselling author Sheila Connolly introduces the first novel in the County Cork mystery series—set in a small village in Ireland where buried secrets are about to rise to the surface...

Honoring the wish of her late grandmother, Maura Donovan visits the small Irish village where her Gran was born—though she never expected to get bogged down in a murder mystery. Nor had she planned to take a job in one of the local pubs, but she finds herself excited to get to know the people who knew her Gran.  

In the pub, she’s swamped with drink orders as everyone in town gathers to talk about the recent discovery of a nearly one-hundred-year-old body in a nearby bog. When Maura realizes she may know something about the dead man—and that the body’s connected to another, more recent, death—she fears she’s about to become mired in a homicide investigation. After she discovers the death is connected to another from almost a century earlier, Maura has a sinking feeling she may really be getting in over her head...

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A Terminal Agenda (The Severance Series Book 1)

by Mark McKay


When the only form of justice that counts is your own.

For fans of suspense thrillers – a tense tale of murder, conspiracy and revenge.

When a murder case lands on the desk of an experienced cop with an unblemished record, it looks like business as usual. But solving this one will test his principles right to the breaking point …

One sunny summer morning in the City of London, an archaeological researcher just back from India is gunned down as he leaves a coffee shop. Who did it, and why? That’s the question facing DCI Nick Severance as he investigates his latest murder case.

When the answers lead to a conspiracy that could endanger the lives of thousands of innocent people, Nick has his hands full. But when they also threaten to destroy the woman he loves, he makes a choice that changes his life forever.

If you like your thrillers with an international setting and a touch of the exotic, then this one is for you.

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Castle Cay (Julie O'Hara Mystery Series Book 1)

by Lee Hanson

When her best friend is murdered, Julie O'Hara, a body language expert, packs up her suspicion and flies to Boston for his funeral. Who could have killed rising artist Marc Solomon, and what does Castle Cay, the Solomon's mysterious Caribbean island, have to do with it? Before long, Julie's sixth-sense pulls a hidden string that unravels a deadly conspiracy...and her own troubled past.

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Dick Francis's Refusal (Sid Halley series Book 5)

by Felix Francis


Six years ago, private investigator Sid Halley retired. He’d been harassed, beaten, shot, even lost a hand—enough was enough. For the sake of his wife and new daughter, he gave up that life, and he thought nothing would ever lure him back into the game.

He thought wrong.

Sir Richard Stewart, chairman of the racing authority, begs Sid to investigate a series of dodgy races. Sid refuses. Then Sir Richard is found dead under suspicious circumstances. And then a man with an Irish accent contacts Sid, telling him to deliver a whitewashed report about the suspected race-fixing…or else.

At first Sid ignores these warnings. But as the intimidation tactics escalate—and his own family comes under threat—Sid realizes he must meet his enemy head-on…or he might pay the ultimate price for his refusal.

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Malevolent (Cases of Lieutenant Kane Series Book 1)

by E.H. Reinhard


Malevolent: Book 1 in the Cases of Lieutenant Kane Series of Police Procedural Novels

Tampa homicide lieutenant Carl Kane has a tough job. His day-to-day consists of decomposing dead bodies and removing murderers from the general public. But when two women’s bodies are found under similar circumstances, it quickly turns into more than your average case. The killer is clearly looking to make a name for himself, and his plans for these women go far beyond death.

When the media runs with the story, the killer’s moment in the spotlight arrives.

It’s up to Lieutenant Kane to bring the man the press has dubbed the Psycho Surgeon to justice. However, being the lead on the case has its drawbacks—like becoming the focus of the killer yourself.

As Lieutenant Kane closes in on his suspect, he soon realizes the case has become far more personal than he could have ever imagined.
 

Cases of Lieutenant Kane Series:


Note: All books are standalone stories. They are best enjoyed chronologically, but can be read out of order.
#1 Malevolent
#2 Requite
#3 Determinant
#4 Perilous
#5 Progeny
#6 Denouement

 

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Night of the Living Deed (A Haunted Guesthouse Mystery Book 1)

by E.J. Copperman


Home repair meets haunted happenings in the first charming, hilarious Haunted Guest House Mystery!

Newly divorced Alison Kerby wants a second chance for herself and her nine-year-old daughter, so she’s returned to her home town on the Jersey Shore to transform a fixer-upper into a charming—and hopefully profitable—guest house. But when a bump on the head leaves her seeing not only stars but spirits, Alison realizes the real challenge she’s facing is out of this world.
 
The two residing ghosts are Maxie Malone, the foul-tempered former owner of the house (who has definite opinions about Alison’s design plans), and Paul Harrison, a private eye who’d been working for Maxie—both died in the house on the same night. The official cause of death was suicide, but the ghosts insist they were murdered, and they need Alison to find out who killed them—or the next ghost in the guest house will be Alison herself...

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Summer Snoops Unleashed: 14 Furr-ocious Mysteries and Cozy Crimes

by Judith Lucci et al

 

Summertime Murders are RUFF

 

ALL BRAND NEW STORIES!



Looking for cool cozies for hot summer days? Then you'll love this purr-fectly paw-some cozy mystery boxed set from fourteen USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon best-selling authors.

We've pulled out all the stops with Summer Snoops Unleashed! Enjoy hours of fun sniffing out clues on sandy beaches, shimmering waterways, and at small-town celebrations in these brand-new stories full of wily sleuths, cagey plots, and un-fur-gettable tails!

Fetch your copy now to get these furr-ocious new cozy mysteries and woof it up with us!

They're howlingly good reads!

All preorders support best lives for pets!

Here’s a sampling of stories…
WSJ and USA Best Selling Author Judith Lucci – The Most Glittery Crime of the Year: The Jewel Heist – An Artzy Chicks Mystery
WSJ and USA Today Best Selling Author Anna Celeste Burke ¬- Radical Regatta! Corsario Cove Cozy Mystery #4
WSJ & USA Today Best Selling Author Colleen Mooney - Fireworks, Forensics & Felonies
USA Today Best Selling Author Fiona Quinn - YOURS. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
Amazon Best Selling Author Maria Grazia Swan - Pies, Lies and a Last Goodbye
USA Today Best Selling Author Kelly Hashway - You Can't Judge a Crime by its Aura
WSJ & USA Today Best Selling Author Kim Hunt Harris - Yankee Doodle Deadly: A Trailer Park Princess Novella
WSJ & USA Today Best Selling Author Susan Boles – Death in Mercy
Best Selling Author Amazon Lisa B. Thomas – Sharpe Pain: A Corpse in the Cabin
Amazon Best Selling Author Emily Selby - Death and Taxes on a Cloud
Amazon Best Selling Author Joanna Campbell Slan - Ruff Justice: Second Chance Adventure #5
WSJ and USA Today Best Selling Author Ava Mallory - High Heel Homicide: A Holly Woods Mystery Novella
Amazon Best Selling Author Chelsea Thomas - A Knead to Kill
WSJ and USA Today Best Selling Author Sam Cheever - Spunky Bumpkin

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Shutter Island

by Dennis Lehane

 

The basis for the blockbuster motion picture directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Shutter Island by New York Times bestselling author Dennis Lehane is a gripping and atmospheric psychological thriller where nothing is quite what it seems. The New York Times calls Shutter Island, “Startlingly original.” The Washington Post raves, “Brilliantly conceived and executed.” A masterwork of suspense and surprise from the author of Mystic River and Gone, Baby, Gone, Shutter Island carries the reader into a nightmare world of madness, mind control, and CIA Cold War paranoia and is unlike anything you’ve ever read before.

 

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The King Tides (Lancaster & Daniels Book 1)

by James Swain

 

Reality and illusion blur in this Washington Post bestseller that Michael Connelly calls “a hundred percent adrenaline rush disguised as a detective novel.”

Nicki Pearl is the perfect daughter—every parent’s dream. And that of strangers, too. Wherever she goes, she’s being watched. Each stalker is different from the last, except for one thing—their alarming obsession with Nicki.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Nicki’s father is turning to someone who can protect her: retired private detective and ex–Navy SEAL Jon Lancaster. Teaming up with FBI agent and former abduction victim Beth Daniels, Lancaster can help—his way. He’s spent most of his career dispatching creeps who get off on terrorizing the vulnerable. Unlicensed, and unrestricted, he plays dirty…But this case is unusual. Why so many men? Why this one girl? Does Nicki have something to hide? Or do her parents?

Trawling the darkest depths of southern Florida, Lancaster faces a growing tide of secrets and deception. And the deeper he digs, the more he realizes that finding the truth won’t be easy. Because there’s more to this case than meets the eye.

 

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Death Of a Temptress (Dave Slater Mystery Series Book 1)

by P.F. Ford


Made a scapegoat for someone else’s failings, who wouldn’t jump at the chance to put the record straight?

When DS Dave Slater is unjustly suspended from duty after a botched operation, he soon gets bored sitting at home waiting to hear his fate. Then his boss unexpectedly asks him to investigate a case “discreetly” and before long Slater realises he has a chance to redeem himself. 
Joined by fellow scapegoat DS Norman Norman, Slater is plunged into a tangled web of corruption, blackmail, deception, and probably one of the most cunning murders ever. But can he and Norman wade through the ever-widening pool of suspects to find the killer?

Death of A Temptress is the first book in P.F Ford’s Slater and Norman Mystery series. If you like British Detectives, you’ll love this classic blend of character, suspense and humour.

Buy this book now and enjoy an entertaining mix of mystery and humour that never takes itself too seriously.

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The Dry: A Novel

by Jane Harper

 

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“A breathless page-turner, driven by the many revelations Ms. Harper dreams up…You’ll love [her] sleight of hand…A secret on every page.” —The New York Times

“One of the most stunning debuts I've ever read… Every word is near perfect.” —David Baldacci

A small town hides big secrets in The Dry, an atmospheric, page-turning debut mystery by award-winning author Jane Harper.

After getting a note demanding his presence, Federal Agent Aaron Falk arrives in his hometown for the first time in decades to attend the funeral of his best friend, Luke. Twenty years ago when Falk was accused of murder, Luke was his alibi. Falk and his father fled under a cloud of suspicion, saved from prosecution only because of Luke’s steadfast claim that the boys had been together at the time of the crime. But now more than one person knows they didn’t tell the truth back then, and Luke is dead.

Amid the worst drought in a century, Falk and the local detective question what really happened to Luke. As Falk reluctantly investigates to see if there’s more to Luke’s death than there seems to be, long-buried mysteries resurface, as do the lies that have haunted them. And Falk will find that small towns have always hidden big secrets.

 

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The Dark Bones

by Loreth Anne White

 

She’s come back to solve the mystery of her father’s death and confront her own dark past.

When Detective Rebecca North left her rural hometown, she vowed never to return. Her father’s apparent suicide has changed that. The official report is that retired cop Noah North shot himself, knocked over a lantern, and set his isolated cabin ablaze. But Rebecca cannot believe he killed himself.

To prove it, she needs the help of Ash Haugen, the man she left behind. But Rebecca and Ash share more than broken hearts. Something darker lies between them, and the investigation is stirring it back to life. Clues lead them to the home of Olivia West and her deeply troubled twelve-year-old daughter, Tori. The child knows more about the murder than anyone can imagine, but she’s too terrified to say a word.

And as a cold-blooded killer resurfaces from the past, Rebecca and Ash begin to fear that their own secrets may be even harder to survive.

 

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