R.E. McDermott tops today’s Buffet with his action-adventure novel Deadly Straits. It’s a non-stop thrill ride, from London streets, to the dry docks of Singapore, to the decks of the tankers that feed the world’s thirst for oil, with stops along the way in Panama, Langley, Virginia, and Teheran. Richly spiced with detail from the author’s 30 years sailing, building, and repairing ships worldwide, it is, in the words of one reviewer, “fast-paced, multilayered and gripping.”
McDermott writes the type of stories he likes to read himself. That means ordinary people forced by circumstances into extraordinary situations. “I dislike stories in which the hero is some combination of brain surgeon/nuclear physicist (or who has some equally far-fetched skill set) and who just coincidentally happens to be an ace helicopter pilot and a fifth degree black belt in several different martial arts,” he says.
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.)
Deadly Straits (A Tom Dugan Novel)
When very part-time spook Tom Dugan becomes collateral damage in the War on Terror, he’s not about to take it lying down.
Falsely implicated in a hijacking, he’s offered a chance to clear himself by helping the CIA snare their real prey, Dugan’s best friend, London ship owner Alex Kairouz. Reluctantly, Dugan agrees to go undercover in Alex’s company, despite doubts about his friend’s guilt. Once undercover, Dugan’s steadfast refusal to accept Alex’s guilt puts him at odds not only with his CIA superiors, but also with a beautiful British agent with whom he’s romantically involved.
When a tanker is found adrift near Singapore with a dead crew, and another explodes in Panama as Alex lies near death after a suspicious suicide attempt, Dugan is framed for the attacks. Out of options, and convinced the attacks are prelude to an even more devastating assault, Dugan eludes capture to follow his last lead to Russia, only to be shanghaied as an ‘advisor’ to a Russian Spetsnaz unit on a suicide mission.
The Tiger’s Lady
A rajah’s prize or a dark entrapment?
In the shadowy pall of gaslit London streets, Barrett Winslow is stalked by a ruthless enemy in search of a confidence she can never reveal. When fate tosses her into the arms of an exotic stranger, she’s swept away to a steamy paradise that hides deadly secrets and forbidden passions.
Fierce protector or dark betrayer? To London’s rich and powerful he is Deveril Pagan, Viscount St. Cyr, envied by all men and desired by all women. But in the mist-covered emerald hills of Ceylon, he is called the Tiger Sahib, and he is haunted by the curse of a priceless, fabled ruby — whose blood-red facets pulse with a savage power that drives men to unquenchable greed and women to unspeakable desire.
Lovers bound by darkest destiny. From the glittering corridors of London’s elite to the wind-swept shores of colonial Ceylon, Barrett and Pagan flee their fierce fate that throbs in the crimson heart of the legendary jewel … driving them to stolen passion and unthinkable evil in the sultry, tropical nights. Only one man stands between Barrett and the darkness … and he might be the greatest threat of all…
Donners of the Dead
Jake McGraw was unlike anyone I’d ever known. He was brash, rude, unapologetic and arrogant; chauvinistic, close-minded, and terribly stubborn. He was built like a tree, tall with a hard chest and wide shoulders and hands that looked like they could wrestle a bear. He was a cigar-chomping, scruffy-faced, beast of a man. I was pretty sure I hated him. And I know he hated me. But among the flesh-eating monsters in these snow-capped mountains, he was the only thing keeping me alive.~~~
The year is 1851 and pioneers in search of California gold are still afraid to travel on the same route as the tragic Donner party did years before. When the last wagon train to go into the Sierra Nevada mountains fails to arrive at their destination, Eve Smith, an 18-year old half-native girl with immense tracking skills is brought along with the search party, headed by an enigmatic former Texas Ranger, Jake McGraw.
What they find deep in the dangerous snow-covered terrain is a terrifying consequence of cannibalism, giving new meaning to the term “monster.” While the search party is slowly picked off, one by one, Eve must learn to trust Jake, who harbors more than a few secrets of his own, in order to survive and prevent the monstrosities from reaching civilization.
101 Questions To Ask Before You Invest In A Franchise
You know that you want to be in business for yourself, but you can’t make that move until you feel confident that it’s right for you, and you won’t feel confident until you get answers to your questions.
Making matters worse, you don’t know what questions to ask, or who to ask. But now comes 101 Questions To Ask Before You Invest In A Franchise… and here’s the tool you need to begin your franchise exploration. Franchise authority, Dr. John P. Hayes, author of best-selling Buy “Hot” Franchises Without Getting Burned, now presents categorized lists of questions that you can ask anchisors, franchisees, professional advisors and others.
Read 101 Questions To Ask Before You Invest In A Franchise to know what to ask and who to ask, and that’s the best way for you to gather franchise information that you can trust. Chances are pretty good that you will buy a franchise if you feel confident about doing so, and 101 Questions To Ask Before You Invest In A Franchise is your first step towards franchise confidence.
Of Light and Darkness: The Vampire’s Daughter
Abandoned as an infant in Prague, naive and strong-willed Charlotte Ruzikova was raised by one of the last Vampires left alive. As a human, she knows no other home than the one nestled deep in the woods of Eastern Europe, where Witches drew spells of enchantment, Phasers threw tea parties, and Elves are the closest in kin. Charlotte has lived her life in the dark with her Guardian, content to having him to herself and reveling in his attention, until she’s realizes she wants more…
Resident medical doctor and Vampire, Valek Ruzik fears the day his ward would come of age and blossom into a fine woman, and he is forced to confront his own motives as time is of the essence once his past catches up to him, and their lives become endangered…
As genocide and war threatens their secret society, the dictator in power is ready to wipe out Valek’s race, but Charlotte will not allow that to happen.
The 21-Day Publishing Plan: From First Draft to First Sale in Three Weeks or Less!
You’ve finished the manuscript. Now what? Do you get an ISBN? Ask your cousin to read it? Hire someone to sketch a cover? Before you spend a ridiculous amount of time, energy, and money trying to figure out the next steps, you must read this book!
There’s a ton of information about independent e-publishing on the Internet. It can be hard to separate the junk from the gems and even more difficult to know whom to trust. Let’s face it: many people/companies will share just enough “free” information to convince us to sign up for an UNfree service. Not so here! The 21-Day Publishing Plan is a straightforward, no-nonsense plan for learning the industry, contracting with professionals, preparing your manuscript for publishing, and setting up your book’s promotional plan.
Written by a full-time novelist who has experienced success as a traditionally and independently published writer, this book gives insider tips through the eyes of one who has weighed the options and seen the best of both worlds. With Michelle’s tried and true plan, you’ll go from first draft to first sale in three weeks or less!
The Backsliders Guide to Weight Loss
Have you bought every fat-loss DVD, workout equipment, supplement, and diet book on the shelf and yet still struggling to lose your unwanted weight?
The Backsliders Guide to Weight Loss helps rewire the body/mind connection so that losing weight becomes effortless. This book is all about gaining clarity, taking massive action, and finding joy in the process. Losing weight does not need to be a struggle; being more kind, forgiving, and gentle on ourselves will make all the difference!
Armageddon, Oil, and Terror: What the Bible Says about the Future
Updating the work of renowned biblical scholar John F. Walvoord, who famously predicted current world events, Armageddon, Oil, and Terror offers shocking predictions on the future of terrorism, oil-based economics, and nuclear war in the Middle East. In all, Armageddon, Oil, and Terror sheds light on 12 events related to end-time prophecies that seem eerily close to coming true. Includes materials from lectures and discussions after 9/11 and incorporates vital, updated material from other Walvoord classics. It is as current as today’s news . . . and every prediction rings true.
Dog on It: A Chet and Bernie Mystery (The Chet and Bernie Mystery Series Book 1)
The first book of the New York Times bestselling Chet and Bernie mystery series, an “enchanting one-of-a-kind novel” (Stephen King) that is “nothing short of masterful” (Los Angeles Times).
Chet, the wise and lovable canine narrator of Dog on It, and Bernie, a down-on-his-luck private investigator, are quick to take a new case involving a frantic mother searching for her teenage daughter. This well-behaved and gifted student may or may not have been kidnapped, but she has definitely gotten mixed up with some very unsavory characters. With Chet’s highly trained nose leading the way, their hunt for clues takes them into the desert to biker bars and other exotic locales—until the bad guys try to turn the tables and the resourceful duo lands in the paws of peril. Spencer Quinn’s irresistible mystery kicks off a delightful new series that will have readers panting for more.
As Luck Would Have It
A WOMAN OF THE WORLD…
After years of wild adventures overseas, Miss Sophie Everton is in no hurry to return home to the boring strictures of the ton. But she’s determined to reclaim her family’s fortune—even if she has to become a spy for the Prince Regent to do it.
A MAN ON A MISSION…
Before she can get her first assignment, she lands right in the lap of the dark and dashing Duke of Rockeforte. She’s faced hungry tigers that didn’t look nearly as predatory. Somehow the blasted man manages to foil her at every turn—and make her pulse thrum with something more than just the thrill of danger.
AND THE FICKLE FINGER OF FATE
Both are caught in a daring dance of espionage and desire. But to make a true love match, they’ll have to learn to trust in each other…and, of course, a little bit of luck.
Edgar Allan Poe: The Fever Called Living (Icons)
Looming large in the popular imagination as a serious poet and lively drunk who died in penury, Edgar Allan Poe was also the most celebrated and notorious writer of his day. He died broke and alone at the age of forty, but not before he had written some of the greatest works in the English language, from the chilling “The Tell-Tale Heart” to “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”—the first modern detective story—to the iconic poem “The Raven.”
Poe’s life was one of unremitting hardship. His father abandoned the family, and his mother died when he was three. Poe was thrown out of West Point, and married his beloved thirteen-year-old cousin, who died of tuberculosis at twenty-four. He was so poor that he burned furniture to stay warm. He was a scourge to other poets, but more so to himself.
In the hands of Paul Collins, one of our liveliest historians, this mysteriously conflicted figure emerges as a genius both driven and undone by his artistic ambitions.
Outside the Lines: A Novel
A gripping novel about a woman who sets out to find the father who left her years ago, and ends up discovering herself.
When Eden was ten years old she found her father, David, bleeding on the bathroom floor. The suicide attempt led to her parents’ divorce, and David all but vanished from Eden’s life.
Twenty years later, Eden runs a successful catering company and dreams of opening a restaurant. Since childhood, she has heard from her father only rarely, just enough to know that he’s been living on the streets and struggling with mental illness. But lately there has been no word at all. After a series of failed romantic relationships and a health scare from her mother, Eden decides it’s time to find her father, to forgive him at last, and move forward with her own life. Her search takes her to a downtown Seattle homeless shelter, and to Jack Baker, its handsome and charming director. Jack convinces Eden to volunteer her skills as a professional chef with the shelter. In return, he helps her in her quest.
Kindness of Strangers (Skip Langdon Mystery #6)
Politics makes the strangest bedfellows of all and in New Orleans, a psychopath’s running for mayor. Not just the usual harmless megalomaniac—a murderer and a monster. His supporters and a good proportion of would-be voters think he’s just a kindly preacher-man and handily crucify anyone who says otherwise. Enter Detective Skip Langdon, who met the Rev. Errol Jacomine on a case, finds him pretty much the personification of evil, and can point to a pile of corpses to prove it.
But Langdon’s fresh out of street cred. On administrative leave after shooting someone, she’s become the Cassandra of the police department—everything she says gets put down to paranoia. So finding the proof to discredit Jacomine becomes her obsession until he kidnaps a couple of kids she cares about—and then it turns into a mission from hell.
Langdon has to bull her way through a hurricane to find the small army of Jacomine’s thugs who’ve got 15-year-old Sheila, the closest thing she has to a niece, and Sheila’s friend, who’s having the mother of inappropriate love affairs—with someone dangerously close to Jacomine.
… See the rest of today’s Editor’s Picks here on page 2