Double the fun continues with our $7 or Better list this week. You’ll find two great mysteries or thrillers below by highly rated authors who’ve reached the USA Today and New York Times bestsellers list. Along with Mae Clair’s Hode’s Hill and Graham Smith’s Cumbrian Major Crimes Bureau, the other standout is the graphic novel series Breakneck by Duane Swierczynski. The image for Issue 2 got me; I laughed out loud. Definitely a case of judging the book by the cover. Lots to enjoy below. Take a look!
| No. | Book | Desc. | Store |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  | All Necessary Force (Pike Logan Thriller Book 2) by Brad Taylor Pike Logan and the Taskforce remain on the trail of the leader of an ideological organization bent on destroying what remains of western peace and prosperity. With his partner Jennifer Cahill, Pike is confronted with increasingly blurry moral lines. As there actions become harder to justify and as the safety of the Us slips further from his control, Pike must make serious choices that affect him, his team, and indirectly, the world. |  $5.99 |
| 2. |  | Slay in Character (Cat Latimer Book 4) by Lynn Cahoon The latest entry in the Cat Latimer mystery series. Cat takes members of her writer's retreat to an old-west simulation in Outlaw, Colorado for a bit of atmosphere and inspiration. Town inhabitants aid the endeavor by dressing up as famous figures from western history. But when one of the players (a barmaid) is killed, Cat must unhorse the real culprit before a real-life ghost story is given a killer twist. |  $5.99 |
| 3. |  | A Story to Kill by Lynn Cahoon The first in the Cat Latimer series. Former English professor Cat Latimer is back in Colorado, hosting writers’ retreats in the big blue Victorian she’s inherited from her carousing ex-husband. When one of her guests, best-selling author Tom Cook, is found dead in his room, Cat must work with her father, the local police chief, to find the killer and clear the name of her business. | $5.99 |
| 4. |  | Breakneck Issue 1 by Duane Swierczynski Every now and then, Google's Play site pings me an illustrated story with an intriguing synopsis, but which is not really Manga. Such is Breakneck, which falls into the mystery and thriller theme of this week's $7 or Better and also happens to be in a series, which lends well to the two-fer theme as well. Joe Hayward, simple guy, finds his wife cheating with the government agent and then stumbles onto a terrorist plot which he and the agent get roped into defeating. How will this standard every-man navigate his new world of danger and emotional distress? |  $4.99 |
| 5. |  | Nevermore (Crossbreed Series Book 6) by Dannika Dark Dark Magic Mystery. Change of pace novel for the series as Raven Black heads home, looking for a break. No luck, though, as her dad's financial troubles unearth a potential peril, not just for her dad, but for Raven, her relationship with Christian, and the rest of the Black family. | $3.99 |
| 6. |  | Breakneck Issue 2 by Duane Swierczynski K, gotta admit that the cover is what got me on this one. My man with the briefcase is totally surprised by the knife-wielding bathing suit babe. You can't tell if they're at the beach or not. It could be Detroit and 25 degrees outside for all we know. And yet he's obviously like "Whoa! What did I do?" Not what you'd traditionally expect to see in a list of the latest mysteries and thrillers, but Google took a shot, so I will reward them with a hit. The first issue is in this list as well, since we are doubling down this week. For the price, it is worth a read. | $3.99 |
| 7. |  | End of Day (Hode's Hill Book 2) by Mae Clair The second book of the Hode's Hill saga focuses on Jillian Cley, empath and faithful tender or Gabriel Vane's grave, the first plot dug in the town cemetery. She is the latest in her family tasked with this strange duty. She continues with the tradition until one Halloween when the body is seeming stolen. Or at least it is missing. Soon, descendants of other families buried in the cemetery experience unexplainable ""mishaps"", forcing Jillian and her friend Dante into a race to find and stop the vengeful spirit. | $3.99 |
| 8. |  | One Rough Man: A Spy Thriller (Pike Logan Thriller Book 1) by Brad Taylor Government operative Pike Logan is at the top of his game in the elite covert Taskforce. But personal tragedy changes his outlook. Convinced that the real enemy isn't what the government wants the world to believe, Pike strikes out on his own, outside the bounds of the law to thwart the plans of one ideological man and the powerful weapon he commands. | $2.99 |
| 9. |  | Cusp of Night (Hode's Hill Book 1) by Mae Clair The author, Mae Clair, is a member of Thriller Writer's International. Her Hode's Hill series is basically a set of thrilling, extended ghost stories set in a small Pennsylvania town. This first book follows Maya Sinclair as she tracks down the killer of Leland Hode, patriarch of the town's powerful founding family. Is the killer a disgruntled enemy of the Hodes or actually the mythical Fiend, resurrected monster from town folklore? | $2.99 |
| 10. |  | Death in the Lakes by Graham Smith Author Graham Smith returns to the Cumbrian major crimes team in this thriller, shifting the focus to new detective Beth Young. A body is found posed in a ritualistic manner – arms spread and graceful wings attached – at a crumbling castle in the hills of the Lake District. The rest of the police force is baffled, but Beth sees clues the others don't and soon feels that only she can solve this mystery. | $2.99 |
| 11. |  | Snatched from Home by Graham Smith The first of British crime writer Graham Smith's novels set in the Cumbrian major crimes bureau. The premier outing follows Harry Evans, a recently bereaved detective on the verge of retirement. He's hot on the heels of a married crime duo, convinced that this case is a big and likely his last. But the husband and wife are no ordinary criminals. Deeply in debt from gambling debts, their children have been kidnapped and they can't pay the ransom. They've turned to crime to raise the money. While Harry strives to catch them, can they elude him long enough to get the cash they need to save their kids? | $2.99 |
| 12. |  | Keystone (Crossbreed Series Book 1) by Dannika Dark Dark Magic Mysteries Begin! If you're new to the Crossbreed series and want to know how it all started, you're in luck. The first book is available for the Amazon unicorn price of a buck. In Keystone, half-vampire, half-mage Raven Black is still a freelance vigilante. When a Russian Shifter offers her a chance at legitimacy with his covert outlaw-hunting agency, she takes the plunge, but soon finds the bounds of legitimacy might be too constricting and her smug partner too annoying. Is it worth it? | $0.99 |
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