Fall Mystery Thriller Giveaway

Load up your reading device with FREE eBooks during the Mystery Thriller Fall Giveaway. Choose from 52 different mystery/thrillers from 52 different authors. Versions available for all reading devices.

https://books.bookfunnel.com/fallreaders/27rzl0f80c

A High-Octane First Person Crime Thiller: Overkill by Vanda Symon

$8.99 on Amazon

First published in 2007 in New Zealand by Penguin Books, a re-edited and updated version of Vanda Symon's Overkill, the first Sam Shephard series novel is now available to U.S. crime thriller fans.

Vanda Symon is a full-time mystery/thriller writer and mother from Dunedin, New Zealand. She hosts a  monthly books-focused radio show "Write On" on the second Wednesday of each month, and serves as the Chair of the Otago Southland Branch of the New Zealand Society of Authors.

The first thing you notice when reading Overkill is the vivid, convincing, and near cinematographic descriptions of South Island New Zealand, the backdrop for the story. The story details a murder case dressed up to look like a suicide. Readers start out a little ahead of the cops here knowing the suicide was staged because Symon let's us in on it with the prologue. But, that advantage doesn't least long when Sam Shephard, a sole-charge police constable in Mataura starts digging into the case.

The story does feature a well-used trope, a cop gets thrown off a case after becoming a suspect, and has to continue investigating alone. But, that doesn't detract a bit from the well-plotted, high-octane tale. Best of all, Overkill provides one of the best character growth stories I've read in a long while. Symon gives us plenty of insight into the thoughts and fears of the protagonist, Sam Shephard, a hard-charging and endearing character with plenty of spirit and pluck to spare. She’s capable and bright and caring, but not a bit arrogant. We watch Sam run the gamut of emotions as you tries to solve the case almost single-handedly to clear her name and to bring justice to the victim.

"I couldn't put it down" has become a cliche in book review circles, but certainly applies to this brilliant thriller. Symon hits the gas from the get go and the pace doesn't slow until we reach the exciting climax.

Overkill gets a five-star rating from Best Crime Thriller Books. If you enjoy spending a few entertaining hours on a white-knuckle ride with a likable, gutsy female protagonist, it won't disappoint. If you're interested, read the full review here.

Orenda Books will be publishing a re-edited and updated version of Ringmaster, the second Sam Shephard series novel this April. Until then, U.S. crime thriller fans can find Overkill on Amazon.

Classic Noir Police Procedural: An Ace and a Pair

FREE on Amazon

NYPD Detective John Stone has the best arrest record in the 43rd precinct, but in the opinion of his supervisor, Captain Jennifer Cuevas, he’s a dinosaur who belongs to another age. Cuevas decides to kill two birds with one stone by consigning Stone and another out of favor detective she wants to get rid of, Carmen Dehan, to a newly created cold cases unit, investigating cases nobody in NYPD gives a damn about. But, Cuevas has no idea just how hot a cold case can get.

Spending the majority of your time reading self-published crime thriller books in the hopes of discovering a new great author as I do, means many wasted hours struggling through books with stereotypical cardboard characters, bad writing, and poor or nonexistent plots. But, occasionally you are rewarded when you stumble onto a rare hidden gem which is exactly the description that fits An Ace And A Pair by Blake Banner.

It surprises me that I'd never come across Blake Banner before reading this first book in his Dead Cold Mysteries series. After all, Blake is a USA TODAY and Amazon #1 bestselling author of another popular series. Frankly, I only read An Ace And  A Pair because I discovered it listed in the top 20 police procedurals on the Amazon Top 100 Free Kindle books list.

As a fanatical devotee of the books written by the classic noir greats like Hammet, Chandler, Macdonald, and Robert B. Parker, I'm very particular when it comes to what I expect from a novel in that genre. But, I was suitably impressed with Blake Banner's writing in this amazing crime thriller.

While accurate comparisons between Banner's protagonist NYPD Detective John Stone and Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch could be made, I found Stone to be more in the mold of Chandler's Marlowe. In fact, I found Banner's writing style delightfully similar to that of Raymond Chandler's. While Stone is a modern-day NYPD detective instead of a private eye and hails from the opposite coast, Stone and Chandler are quite similar characters.

The strength of the fully developed characters in An Ace And A Pair is but one facet of this excellent novel. There is not only a compelling plot that hooks the reader almost immediately but an interesting subplot that dovetails perfectly. The pacing is near perfect, making it difficult to put the book down. And, there are so many twists and turns, it is impossible to work out the ending until the very final pages of the book.

I recommend An Ace And A Pair to any serious fan of crime thriller books and rate it five out of five stars. This book is a pleasure to read, so much so that I've already downloaded the second book in the series. At the time of this writing, An Ace And A Pair is available free on Amazon, and that goes for everyone - no Kindle Unlimited subscription required. Do yourself a favor crime thriller fans and download this entertaining read today.

 

Last Week: Mega Thrillers That Thrill eBook Giveway

Just a Sample of the Available Books

If you haven't already filled your reading device with all the free thrillers available from the mega Thrillers That Thrill promo, don't delay. The promotion is in its final week, and ends May 31, 2018.

There are still 49 books by forty-nine different authors available. Don't miss out on this mega giveaway. Books are delivered by BookFunnel and versions are available for all reading devices. BookFunnel will even walk you through how to put the books on your own reader.

Here's the link in case you missed it:   https://books.bookfunnel.com/thrillersthatthrill/srb6848bv4https://books.bookfunnel.com/thrillersthatthrill/srb6848bv4

Thrillers That Thrill Summer Giveaway

Thrillers That Thrill

Browse these 50 Thrillers That Thrill titles today - download any or ALL of them absolutely FREE

In our continued commitment to providing value to our cherished readers, we're sharing with you today a very special deal. This is an amazing opportunity to load your eBook reading device with enough free thriller titles to last all summer.  Yes that's right. Fifty eBooks. Get any of them or all of them absolutely FREE.

Fifty thriller and suspense authors have joined forces to bring Best Crime Thriller Books readers one of the most amazing deals in reading that you will find this summer.

These books are all available from BookFunnel for super-easy downloading. The eBooks are available for any reading device.

Here is just a small sample of the titles included in Thrillers That Thrill...

SEE THEM ALL

The Thrillers That Thrill giant giveaway starts tomorrow, May 15. It ends May 31. I hope you will find many of these titles perfect for your to read list that will keep you reading crime thrillers all summer long.