Books On Sale

Books on Sale: Cats and Boneses, Dresses and Australian Sleuths

Book Halfway to the Grave - Cat the heroine is sitting on a grave in a thin strapped neglige and thigh high boots, her leg bent and next to her, with her arm behind her knee, and a knife stabbed into the ground in front of her ankle

RECOMMENDED: Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost is .99c right now. This is the first book in the Cat & Bones/Night Huntress series, and I reviewed it back when it came out in 2007. I really liked this book, especially the heroine. The final book in the series, Up From the Grave, comes out Jan 24.

Half-vampire Catherine Crawfield is going after the undead with a vengeance, hoping that one of these deadbeats is her father—the one responsible for ruining her mother's life.

Then she's captured by Bones, a vampire bounty hunter, and is forced into an unholy partnership. In exchange for finding her father, Cat agrees to train with the sexy night stalker until her battle reflexes are as sharp as his fangs. She's amazed she doesn't end up as his dinner—are there actually good vampires? Pretty soon Bones will have her convinced that being half-dead doesn't have to be all bad.

But before she can enjoy her newfound status as kick-ass demon hunter, Cat and Bones are pursued by a group of killers. Now Cat will have to choose a side . . . and Bones is turning out to be as tempting as any man with a heartbeat. 

Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo

 

 

 

Book The Wedding Dress - a soft focus picture of a short sleeved wedding dress hanging in a closet

The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck is $1.99 today as a KDD. This book was nominated for a RITA® in 2013 for Best Inspirational Romance. Celia, our RITA Reader Challenge reviewer, didn't love it, mostly because of the ending.

Four brides. One Dress.

A tale of faith, redemption, and timeless love.

Charlotte owns a chic Birmingham bridal boutique. Dressing brides for their big day is her gift . . . and her passion. But with her own wedding day approaching, why can’t she find the perfect dress…or feel certain she should marry Tim?

Then Charlotte discovers a vintage dress in a battered trunk at an estate sale. It looks brand-new—shimmering with pearls and satin, hand-stitched and  timeless in its design. But where did it come from? Who wore it? Who welded the lock shut and tucked the dog tags in that little sachet? Who left it in the basement for a ten-year-old girl? And what about the mysterious man in the purple vest who insists the dress had been “redeemed.”

Charlotte’s search for the gown’s history—and its new bride—begins as a distraction from her sputtering love life. But it takes on a life of its own as she comes to know the women who have worn the dress. Emily from 1912. Mary Grace from 1939. Hillary from 1968. Each with her own story of promise, pain, and destiny. And each with something unique to share. For woven within the threads of the beautiful hundred-year-old gown is the truth about Charlotte’s heritage, the power of courage and faith, and the timeless beauty of finding true love.

Goodreads | Amazon

Book Cocaine Blues

 A few months ago, this book was recommended as part of my Buy Your Mother a Book recommendation round up, and when I went to link to it, I saw that it was .99c in some retailers, and free at Amazon. Then Loni left this comment

The Phrynne Fischer Mysteries are AMAZING!

I highly recommend them. I’m Australian and I can tell you they are really quite accurate about a lot of Australian bits and pieces, the history is good the writing is beautiful and they flow really well and the mysteries are well done too as are the clues. And while there’s no actual romance per se she does have romantic relationships which are well done and fit beautifully with the series and her character.

The characters are great and a lot of fun. Some of the places in the book such as the Victoria markets and the Ballarat Hotel are still around. There’s even a TV series done by the ABC here which is great and rather well done. But you should really read the books first.

Highly, highly recommend these. Though some of the Australian jokes may fly right over your head if you’re not from Australia but I don’t think you’ll notice the writing is just too good and the history is really well researched.

Since then, MANY people in my Twitter feed have been talking about how much they've enjoyed the tv series Miss Fisher Mysteries series on Netflix, which is streaming free for subscribers. The first Phryne book is on sale – as are books two and three. You could gift all three, or start watching them tonight. (I think I will!)

The London season is in full fling at the end of the 1920s, but the Honorable Phryne Fisher–she of the green-grey eyes, diamant garters and outfits that should not be sprung suddenly on those of nervous dispositions–is rapidly tiring of the tedium of arranging flowers, making polite conversations with retired colonels, and dancing with weak-chinned men. Instead, Phryne decides it might be rather amusing to try her hand at being a lady detective in Melbourne, Australia. 

Almost immediately from the time she books into the Windsor Hotel, Phryne is embroiled in mystery: poisoned wives, cocaine smuggling rings, corrupt cops and communism–not to mention erotic encounters with the beautiful Russian dancer, Sasha de Lisse–until her adventure reaches its steamy end in the Turkish baths of Little Lonsdale Street.

The first book is free for Kindle and .99c elsewhere right now. Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Kobo | iBooks

 

 

 

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This is Phryne Fisher #2, and it's on sale for $2.99. If you know of a mystery or historical fan (or both!), this would make a lovely gift.

Walking the wings of a Tiger Moth biplane in flight is excitement-enough for most people, but not Phryne Fisher, aviatrix, socialite, and private investigator.

Whether she's seducing beautiful young men, foiling nefarious kidnappers, or simply deciding what to wear to dinner, Phryne handles everything with inimitable panache and flair.

In this, the second Phryne Fisher mystery, Australia's most glamorous detective flies even higher, handling murder, a kidnapping and the usual array of beaus—all before adjourning to the Queenscliff Hotel for breakfast. 

Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Murder on the Ballarat Train

This is the third Phryne mystery, and it's also on sale for $2.99. I cannot wait to read these.

When the 1920s' most glamorous lady detective, the Honourable Miss Phryne Fisher, arranges to go to Ballarat for the week, she eschews the excitement of her red Hispano-Suiza racing car for the sedate safety of the train.

The last thing she expects is to have to use her trusty Beretta .32 to save lives.

As the passengers sleep, they are poisoned with chloroform. Phryne is left to piece together the clues after this restful country sojourn turns into the stuff of nightmares: a young girl who can't remember anything, rumors of white slavery and black magic, and the body of an old woman missing her emerald rings.

Then there is the rowing team and the choristers, all deliciously engaging young men. At first they seem like a pleasant diversion….

Goodreads | Amazon | BN | Sony | Kobo

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General Bitching...

Comments are Closed

  1. Monique says:

    Awesome ! And the prices are valid for Canada as well for Amazon anyway. Happy New Year ! Oh and there’s an Elizabeth Camden for free at Amazon.

  2. Carrie C says:

    I first got into the Phryne Fisher series because of the initial sale mentioned here and words cannot express how utterly I adore it. I’ve read every book in the series, pretty much picking up one immediately after finishing the previous, and HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who loves a really fabulous badass heroine, excellent atmosphere that does justice to the era without ignoring all the things that were not great about the time (which I found very refreshing), and some of the most inclusive writing I’ve seen from a series that’s not explicitly LGBT. The first Phryne Fisher book came out in 1989 I believe, and even then featured a wonderfully equalizing view of alternate sexuality that was decades ahead of its time. There was no judgment, no patronizing, no ‘very special episode’-ness about it, and subsequent novels have an even wider variety of inclusiveness and basically I love and esteem Kerry Greenwood forever for it.  Highly, HIGHLY recommended.

    The tv series doesn’t live up to the books in my opinion, though I love the books so much it would be hard for even a really flawless show to do that. There’s so much that’s been changed, but more damningly Phryne gets the helpless damsel treatment and needs to be saved way more often. Still, the author at least likes it and it does capture the air of 1920’s Australia very well.

  3. Elspeth says:

    Kerry Greenwood also writes the Corinna Chapman series, about a baker in modern day Melbourne, starting with Earthly Delights. I adore Phryne, but Corinna is also very good – funnier and with an ongoing love interest.

  4. Jennifer says:

    I also recommend the Corrina Chapman series (as well as the Phryne Fisher series). I live in Melbourne, and Kerry Greenwood does a great job of getting the ‘feel’ of the city.

  5. Jessica says:

    The only thing better than reading the Phryne books is listening to Stephanie Daniels narrate the audiobooks.  They’ve been on several best of the year lists and are consistently some of the best audiobooks I listen to.  Bonus: you can usually get the audio version from Audible before the print book is released in the US.  Which is why I’m listening to the 20th Phryne right now, Murder and Mendelsson

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