S.J. Rozan tops today’s Buffet with Mandarin Plaid, a novel set in the world of high fashion and narrated by private investigator Lydia Chin. This book first appeared as a St. Martin’s hardcover in 1996,
S.J. was born and raised in the Bronx, New York, and spent over twenty years as an architect in New York City. Now she writes and teaches. She’s published 10 books in the Lydia Chin/Bill Smith series, two stand-alone novels, and three dozen short stories. Her work has won the Edgar, Anthony, Shamus, Nero and Macavity Awards, and she’s a recipient of the Japanese Maltese Falcon.
As usual, each book listed here has gone FREE within the past 24 hours (except for the “Bargain Books” at the bottom of this page). Warning: Kindle book promotions can end without notice, so before downloading click the link “See Kindle price at Amazon” to verify that the book is still free. (Prices and availability may differ outside USA.)
MANDARIN PLAID (Lydia Chin/Bill Smith series)
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Author: S.J. Rozan
Lydia Chin, Rozan’s sharp, funny and sexy detective who operates out of New York’s Chinatown, is back in action in this lively story about the fashion industry — from the glamorous designer studios to the sweatshops where illegal immigrants do the dirty work. Lydia knows the sweatshop scene well: her mother worked in one while she was growing up. Now she and her sometimes dangerous partner, Bill Smith, have to find out who will do anything — including murder — to keep a young designer from launching her new company.
It Had to Be You (Christiansen Family)
Christian Fiction > Romance > Contemporary
Author: Susan May Warren
Eden Christiansen never imagined her role as her younger brother Owen’s cheerleader would keep her on the sidelines of her own life. Sure, it feels good to be needed, but looking after the reckless NHL rookie leaves little time for Eden to focus on her own career. She dreamed of making a name for herself as a reporter, but is stuck writing obits—and starting to fear she doesn’t have the chops to land a major story. If only someone would step up to mentor Owen . . . but she knows better than to expect help from team veteran and bad-boy enforcer Jace Jacobsen.
Jace has built his career on the infamous reputation of his aggressive behavior—on and off the ice. Now at a crossroads about his future in hockey, that reputation has him trapped. And the guilt-trip he’s getting from Eden Christiansen isn’t making things any easier. But when Owen’s carelessness leads to a career-threatening injury and Eden stumbles upon a story that could be her big break, she and Jace are thrown together . . . and begin to wonder if they belong on the same team after all.
Winter Song
Romance > Paranormal
Author: Jennifer McMurrain
Sage McKennan never expected she’d have to go at it alone. Cooper Davis had always been by her side as they worked to fulfill their dream of owning a bed and breakfast named, Winter Song. One cold Wyoming night, Sage is brought to her knees by the news of Cooper’s death. She has never felt so alone. Little does she know Cooper hasn’t gone anywhere. His spirit is determined to stay with Sage, so she’s never alone again.
Noah Finnley is down on his luck. He can’t find work and now he’s being evicted. Things start looking up when the beautiful Sage offers him a partnership at Winter Song. Just one problem, she has a ghost attached to her and Noah’s no Ghost Whisperer. He knows taking the job at Winter Song is a bad idea, but with his landlord threatening to confiscated his belongings and throw him out on the street; he feels he has no other choice, ghost or no ghost.
The two men must work together when Sage stumbles upon a mad man’s secret. If Noah and Cooper don’t find a way to settle their differences, Sage could join Cooper on the other side, permanently.
FATE BOOK
Romantic Comedy
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff
Ugly duckling Dakota Dane has a new boyfriend. He’s male-model gorgeous, built to perfection, wealthy, and smart. He is also a lie. As in, 100% fabricated. Does it matter that Dakota has a perfectly good reason for making him up? Not really. Not when Dakota’s made-up boyfriend shows up in the flesh.
So is she crazy? All signs point to maybe. But the walking, talking enigma with the deadly vibe isn’t about to give her any answers or let her out of his sight. And with college just around the corner, Dakota fears her dreams of a bright future have just collided with a dark rabbit hole…
Fate.
Such a simple word, isn’t it? But there’s nothing simple about it. Not for me, anyway. Not when it comes to this man. I have no idea who the hell he is, where he came from, or what he wants, but his dangerous vibe tells me I should run away and never look back.
Both Sides Now (A True Love Story)
Romance > Contemporary
Author: Shawn Inmon, Dawn Inmon
Do you remember your first love?
When Dawn moved from Southern California to rainy, rural, Washington state in 1976, love took a backseat to worries about fitting in at her new school. Over time, her friendship with the boy next door grew until she realized she had found her first love without ever looking for it. Their sweet romance turned sour in 1979, and she said good-bye to that first love, apparently forever.
Twenty seven years later, a chance run-in led Dawn to question whether or not first love can really last and if she can find her own happily ever after. If you remember your first love, what it was like growing up in a small town where everyone knew your secrets, or the simpler times growing up in the seventies, you will find much to relate to in Both Sides Now.
Both Sides Now is a standalone true story that is a companion piece to the best-selling memoir Feels Like the First Time. They can be read separately or in any order.
This is her story.
Demon’s Bluff – A World War II Espionage Thriller
Thrillers > Espionage
Author: Chuck Driskell
In World War II Panama, Rollie Donahue, an agent with the U.S. War Department, is thrust into a desperate chase surrounding the world’s deadliest secret…the atomic bomb. Against the steamy Panamanian backdrop, Rollie clashes with a ruthless adversary while negotiating a shadowy assemblage of spies, double agents, and alluring personalities. In a classic race against time, Rollie scrambles to prevent the secret from falling into enemy hands while trying desperately to discern friend from foe. The world, and his life, hangs in the balance.
An action thriller rich in espionage, intrigue and romance, DEMON’S BLUFF rides a cracking plot all the way to an explosive climax.
Masked Encounters (Intoxicating Passion #1)
Romance > New Adult & College
Author: Felicia Tatum
Korah Daniels has been through a lot in her nineteen years. Broken hearts, abusive relationships, and horrid dates have caused her to doubt love. When her friend talks her into attending the local frat house’s Halloween party, will she find the one person who can change her outlook on life?
Dane Davidson is the worst kind of playboy. The ultimate frat boy, drinking and ending up with a different girl every night. When his frat house throws a masked Halloween party, a certain angel catches his attention and may just turn his life upside down.
Masked Encounters is the first in a five part novelette series.
Frost Arch (Book 1: The Fire Mage Trilogy)
Science Fiction > Dystopian
Author: Kate Bloomfield
In a future where ignorance has destroyed the world that we know, humans are slaves and Mages – advanced beings with abilities beyond everyday reach – rule the land.
Avalon is one such Mage. Barely eighteen years of age, she wields the gift of fire yet she is unable to control it. She leaves her family in the dead of night and heads to the city of Frost Arch, her future seemingly grim. Will Avalon be able to overcome the trials that befall her? Will she be able to save the ones she loves and stay strong within herself? Time will tell.
TODAY’S BARGAINS……………What’s this?
The Unwanted Wife (The Unwanted Series)
Romance > Contemporary
Author: Natasha Anders
Regularly $3.99, Today $1.99
No one had ever looked at her and seen perfection—until now.
Delicate, titian-haired Theresa Noble has met her father’s associates in the past, but the gorgeous, Italian-born Sandro De Lucci leaves her speechless. Eighteen months into their marriage, however, Sandro has turned to ice. Desperate to escape a relationship that has proven to be as stubbornly passionate as it is cold and hateful, Theresa summons up the courage to ask for a divorce. But before he’ll grant her request, Sandro demands something from Theresa: a son.
The stalemate sickens her. Never mind that Sandro has yet to introduce Theresa to the large family that means so much to him. Or that Theresa overhears her husband on the phone with a mystery woman. Most damning is that Theresa senses, in Sandro’s treatment of her, the behind-the-scenes machinations of Jackson Noble, her cruel father. From the depths of her anxiety, Theresa must seek an empowering truth about the husband who calls her, with such cold affection, his cara, his beloved.
The Perfect Game (Game Series, Book 1)
Romance > Contemporary
Author: J. Sterling
Regularly $3.99, Today $1.99
He’s a game she never intended to play. And she’s the game changer he never knew he needed.
The Perfect Game tells the story of college juniors, Cassie Andrews and Jack Carter. When Cassie meets rising baseball hopeful Jack, she is determined to steer clear of him and his typical cocky attitude. But Jack has other things on his mind…like getting Cassie to give him the time of day.
They are damaged, filled with mistrust and guarded before they find one another (and themselves) in this emotional journey about love and forgiveness. Strap yourselves for a ride that will not only break your heart, but put it back together.
Sometimes life gets ugly before it gets beautiful…
Moms Who Drink and Swear: True Tales of Loving My Kids While Losing My Mind
Humor > Parenting & Families
Author: Nicole Knepper
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
If you feel like your kids are killing you, you’ve come to the right place.
Attention all potty-mouthed, cheap-wine-drinking mothers: Prepare to meet your match. Any bad thought you’ve had about your kids, Nicole Knepper has had worse. Much worse. It’s not that she doesn’t love her kids. It’s that she understands what a mind-f*?% it can be to try to civilize those wild little beasts.
Based on her hugely popular Facebook page, “Moms Who Drink and Swear,” this book reveals why family dinners are like herpes, how to avoid smashing toys that are being fought over, and the joy of hearing that your son has murdered his imaginary friend. As Nicole rants and raves about caring for children (without crushing their souls), family togetherness (without too many tears), the saving grace of girlfriends (and vodka), and love and marriage (and all the baggage that goes with them), she gets to the heart of what every exasperated mom is thinking, just much funnier.
The Sirens of Titan (Kurt Vonnegut Series)
Science Fiction > Classics
Author: Kurt Vonnegut
Regularly $8.99, Today $1.99
The Sirens of Titan (1959) is Vonnegut’s second novel and was on the Hugo ballot with Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers but lost in what Harlan Ellison has called a monumental injustice. Sirens of Titan is a picaresque novel which almost defies being synposized; it is an interplanetary Candide (lacking perhaps Voltaire’s utter bitterness), the book follows lead character Malachi Constant, a feckless but kind-hearted millionaire as he moves through the solar system on his quest for the meaning of all existence.
Constant is aided by another tycoon, Winston Rumfoord, who with the help of aliens has actually discovered the fundamental meaning of life (the retrieval of an alien artifact with an inscribed message of greetings). With the assistance of Salo, an alien root and overseeing the alien race, the Tralmafadorians (who also feature in Slaughterhouse-Five), Constant attempts to find some cosmic sense and order in the face of universal malevolence. Together Constant and Rumfoord deal with the metaphysics of “chrono-synclastic infundibula”, they deal with the interference of the Tralmafadorians; the novel is pervaded by a goofy, episodic charm which barely shields the readers (or the characters) from the sense of a large and indifferent universe.
The Girl Who Came Home: A Novel of the Titanic (P.S.)
Literary Fiction > Historical
Author: Hazel Gaynor
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
Inspired by true events, The Girl Who Came Home is the poignant story of a group of Irish emigrants aboard RMS Titanic—a seamless blend of fact and fiction that explores the tragedy’s impact and its lasting repercussions on survivors and their descendants.
Ireland, 1912. Fourteen members of a small village set sail on RMS Titanic, hoping to find a better life in America. For seventeen-year-old Maggie Murphy, the journey is bittersweet. Though her future lies in an unknown new place, her heart remains in Ireland with Séamus, the sweetheart she left behind. When disaster strikes, Maggie is one of the lucky few passengers in steerage who survives. Waking up alone in a New York hospital, she vows never to speak of the terror and panic of that terrible night ever again.
Chicago, 1982. Adrift after the death of her father, Grace Butler struggles to decide what comes next. When her Great Nana Maggie shares the painful secret she harbored for almost a lifetime about the Titanic, the revelation gives Grace new direction—and leads her and Maggie to unexpected reunions with those they thought lost long ago.
… See the rest of today’s Editor’s Picks here on page 2