Four heart-stopping, hard-boiled mysteries at a sizzling price! Deuce Mora’s one tough cookie—a female sleuth with a conscience and an attitude, fiery, tough, athletic, and a dirty fighter when she has to be. The scrappy lead columnist for the Chicago Journal normally writes about politics, and rather than shying away from fights, she tends to pick them. But every once in a while, Deuce’s search for a good story brings her face to face with more trouble than she was really looking for. 📰
In award-winning journalist Jean Heller’s first action-packed mystery, Deuce learns in short order that if you mess with organized crime, you have to be tough—and you’d better be as much detective as reporter. The second volume finds Deuce on the wrong side of the NSA, the FBI, and the CIA—at a minimum. Exhausted by these two white-knuckle investigations in one year, Deuce is content to focus on her column until she gains information that could help catch the relentless arsonist whose Burning Rage is consuming Chicago. 🔥
The Ill Wind sweeping Chicago threatens to blow in a bloody mob war, and once again Deuce finds herself in the crosshairs. Fans of hard-boiled female protagonists should hang onto their fedoras—this four-book collection is an action-packed extravaganza featuring a columnist who refuses to back down from organized crime, federal agencies, arsonists, or anyone else who threatens her city. When the story matters, Deuce Mora will risk everything to expose the truth. 🕵️
What makes this unmissable: Four complete hard-boiled mysteries in one collection, tough Chicago journalist taking on organized crime and federal agencies, award-winning author Jean Heller’s gritty noir style, female protagonist who’s as much detective as reporter, and action-packed investigations from mob wars to serial arsonists threatening the Windy City.
For this cyborg, power is just an upgrade away. Emmett was used to being caught between college and his engineering internship, but when he gets caught between a powerful hero and an even stronger villain, he becomes collateral damage. Instead of dying, he wakes up a cyborg—a melding of flesh and machine. Turns out his boss wasn’t just an eccentric inventor, and the old man just gave him a shining opportunity to be a hero. Except that’s just the beginning, and things are about to get a lot more complicated. 🤖
His boss has his own agenda. The boss’s daughter has her own power armor. His roommate works for an evil corporation. And Emmett is just a Class 1 hero starting from the bottom. Superheroes aren’t just masks in this world—some work for corporations, for the government and military, and even as mercenaries in wars. Shadowy cabals pull the strings of hero and villain alike. The city of Belport might be peaceful for now, but most of the world is in turmoil. ⚡
If Emmett is going to have any chance at making a difference, he needs to get stronger—a lot stronger. But every upgrade brings him closer to a fundamental question: how much of his humanity will he hold onto and how much will he trade away? Between corporate conspiracies, global conflicts, and the ever-present temptation of more power through mechanical enhancement, Emmett must navigate a world where being a hero is far more complex than he ever imagined. 🦾
What makes this thrilling: College student becomes cyborg after hero-villain battle, progression fantasy where power comes through upgrades, superheroes working for corporations and governments, boss with secret agenda and daughter with power armor, and existential question of how much humanity to sacrifice for strength in a morally complex world.
A quaint seaside New England town, a historic library, and a mystery to solve. Elly Hockette returns to her hometown of Garden Cove, Massachusetts, just in time to help her librarian grandmother with last-minute preparations for the historic library’s Halloween festivities. Determined to forget her recent past and start anew, she spends the rest of her free time doing something that always brought her joy—gardening. But when she makes a grisly discovery while digging, her world is flipped upside down. 📚
It isn’t until the local authorities point to her grandma as their number-one suspect that Elly realizes how serious the situation has become. She needs her old friends—and some new furry ones—to help her crack the case before her beloved grandmother is arrested for a crime she didn’t commit. Between tending the gardens, helping at the library, and conducting her own investigation, Elly is racing against time. 🌸
Can Elly solve the mystery and clear her grandma’s good name? Or will she go too far and put her own life in jeopardy? With the historic library’s reputation on the line, her grandmother facing arrest, and danger lurking in the shadows of this supposedly peaceful seaside town, Elly must navigate small-town secrets and uncover the truth before it’s too late. 🔍
What makes this charming: Woman returning home to quaint Massachusetts seaside town, helping librarian grandmother with historic library Halloween event, grisly gardening discovery leads to murder investigation, grandmother becomes prime suspect, and amateur sleuth with furry helpers racing to clear her grandma’s name in cozy New England setting.
Red Star Hustle / Apprehension (Saga Doubles)
Two expertly crafted crime stories set in a far-future science fiction universe from two award-winning authors known for their gripping plots and unforgettable characters—a short novel and a long novella that will thrill fans of space adventures, mystery, and intergalactic intrigue in this Saga Double. 🚀
Red Star Hustle by Nebula Award–winning author Sam J. Miller: Aran, a happy-go-lucky high-class escort, is on the run after he’s framed for the assassination of his famous filmmaker client. The last thing he needs is to fall for the studly and noble clone of a murderous puppet monarch while trying to stay one step ahead of an ace bounty hunter who’s trying to keep a fatal secret from her toxic boss/mom. Set in a universe of epic mech battles and billions of human-made wormholes that make traveling to distant stars as easy as walking through a door, this science fiction thriller is a crisscross of heartbreak, addiction struggles, queer messiness, and resisting evil empires, coming together in a space-hopping fight with the whole damn galaxy. 💫
Apprehension by Hugo Award–winning author Mary Robinette Kowal: A family vacation arranged by grieving mother Bonnyjean, her son-in-law Jax, and six-year-old grandson Tristan quickly becomes disastrous when Tristan is kidnapped by terrorists hoping to affect the planet’s upcoming elections. They believe Bonnyjean was given a secret by the double agent who died in her arms—a deadly misunderstanding. Bonnyjean was last on planet Nahatanau over thirty years ago as a special forces operative, but she won’t let the years or her bad hip stop her from rescuing her grandson in this intricate mystery of mistaken identity. 🔫
What makes this unmissable: Two award-winning authors deliver space noir and political thriller, framed escort falling for puppet monarch’s clone, grandmother special operative coming out of retirement, and two complete stories exploring crime and intrigue across the galaxy.
One speaks to the dead, the other talks to everyone else. Both have hearts that are whispering to each other’s. Archimedes Kee has always had the gift—from his youngest days, he’s been able to communicate with the dearly departed. Most of the time, they seek him to correct wrongs or for help moving to the next plane. Some just want to complain about badly written books. Generally, he does his best to aid stranded spirits while juggling work at his grandfather’s beloved bookstore with attending local college. 📚
Stuck in the grind of day-to-day life, Archie is totally unprepared for the arrival of Phil Kestrel, who blows into the shop like a hurricane with his blond hair, blue eyes, and unparalleled exuberance. For the first time in forever, Archie can’t pull back into the protective shell he’s learned to keep up. Phil is not only charmingly sweet and sexy, but he’s also slowly winning Archie’s heart one 80’s song at a time. 💕
After witnessing an unearthly book club meeting late one night, the football star slash film major discovers Archie’s secret and proposes a plan: they make a ghost hunter show for extra credit and to bring much-needed foot traffic to the old bookstore. The plan has merit, so they seek out a local legend and face off against an anguished soul who puts their new bond to the test. Between investigating paranormal mysteries and falling deeper for each other, Archie and Phil discover that the most haunting thing might be the possibility of losing what they’ve found. 👻
What makes this charming: College student who speaks to the dead meets exuberant football player, bookstore setting with ghostly book clubs, paranormal investigation show for extra credit, LGBTQ+ romance with 80’s soundtrack, and supernatural mystery testing their growing connection.
In Hollister, there is peace. In Hollister, South Dakota, where the vast ranching terrain meets the sky, Tegan Wells loves his job as manager of the town’s bustling stockyard. His life, rooted in the rhythms of this small town, is about to be upended by the return of Dr. Kate Johnson, an Army veterinarian who left Hollister for the far-flung corners of the world years ago. 🏔️
Returning to Hollister, there is heartache. Kate, leaving the Army and the profession she loves, returns with a heart heavy with loss. Her new assignment is to mend the broken pieces of her family, reeling from the tragic loss of her sister-in-law. Stepping into the role of surrogate mother for her niece and nephew, Kate finds the familiar faces and people of Hollister both comforting and filled with echoes of her past. A friend at the Atlanta USO gave her advice she desperately needed as she navigates this unexpected new life. 💔
Life in Hollister is so much more than expected. Tegan and Kate’s paths cross, reigniting a spark that had lain dormant since their high school days. Romance blossoms in the most unexpected of places. But not all is calm in Hollister—a series of unexplained events at the stockyard casts a shadow over the town. Missing livestock, mysterious footprints, and whispered suspicions begin to disturb the peace and threaten to unravel the fabric of this close-knit community. In this tale of love, loss, and suspense, their story captures small-town life, the strength of coming home, and the power of a love that can weather any storm. 🌾
What makes this compelling: Army vet returning to small-town South Dakota, high school sweethearts reuniting after years apart, woman becoming surrogate mother to orphaned niece and nephew, mysterious stockyard incidents threatening the town, and romance reigniting amid suspense and heartache.
… See the rest of today ‘s Book Picks here on page 3Page 3