#LumeBooks Archives - Mostly Mysteries

Three Genevieve Planché mysteries by Nancy Bilyeau are on sale in the US and UK right now

Nancy Bilyeau’s three Genevieve Planché historical mysteries, two older and one not-yet-out, are all on sale for $0.99/£0.99 right now in the US/UK. The email I got from Joffe books with the sale info indicates the prices will be good for this week only… The Blue, #1 Buy at Kindle US | Kindle UK […]

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All of the books in Deryn Lake’s John Rawlings series are on sale in two omnibuses right now

Leave a Comment / Price Drops / By Sue

If you want to read ALL the books in Deryn Lake’s John Rawlings series, now is your chance. They are all gathered into two omnibuses, which are on sale right now for $1.99/£1.99 each. They are Kindle Countdown Deals, good for a bit more than three days. I’m not going to re-type a list of

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Joffe free books for September 2024

12 Comments / Price Drops / By Sue

This thread will post relevant Joffe (and Lume) daily free books for September 2024 – and other Joffe freebies that might come up… And starting it off, for September 1, the Joffe free book is Rollover, which is the first in James Raven’s Detective Jeff Temple series. Kindle US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YYJ5CGB Kindle UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07YYJ5CGB

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Sue for Mercy by Veronica Heley is free right now

Leave a Comment / Price Drops / By Sue

Another Joffe Books freebie – this time from their imprint, Lume Books… Sue for Mercy, by Veronica Heley, is, per the author’s website, a re-release in e-book of a 1974 stand-alone mystery/thriller. I haven’t read this one, but have liked some of Heley’s other books. Free at Kindle US | Kindle UK

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The Fifth Column by James García Woods is free right now at Kindle US and UK

Leave a Comment / Price Drops / By Sue

I haven’t read any of the Inspector Ruiz books by James García Woods, but it turns out that James García Woods is a pen name for Alan Rustage, who mostly wrote mysteries under yet another pen name, Sally Spencer. (If this seems complicated, here’s a link to Rustage’s SYKM page, which explains all…) And I

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Murder in Abbot’s Folly by Amy Myers is free right now at Kindle US and UK

Leave a Comment / Price Drops / By Sue

Murder in Abbot’s Folly is the eighth in the Marsh and Daughter series by Amy Myers. It’s free right now at Kindle US and UK. Free at Kindle US | Kindle UK And, if you prefer to start with the first book in the series, The Wickenham Murders seems to be semi-permanently at $0.99/£0.99, with

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An omnibus of all six Augustus Maltravers books by Robert Richardson is on sale right now

2 Comments / Price Drops / By Sue

I have fond, although somewhat hazy, memories of liking several of the books in Robert Richardson’s Augustus Maltravers series back in “real-paper book” days. And per SYKM, the first in the series, The Latimer Mercy, won the 1985 New Blood Dagger, and per the Kindle blurb it also won the 1985 CWA John Creasey Memorial award. Now

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About Mostly Mysteries

Whether you are a non-stop reader looking for your next series to binge-read, or someone without much spare time, wanting to make sure the next book you read is great, I hope my reviews will help you out. I hate reading reviews that just say “five stars” or “I loved the book, it was great”, and I’m sure you do too. So you won’t find any of those here! Instead, I take the time to read and think about a book, and then write a review that (1) doesn’t just parrot the blurb, (2) talks about what I liked and didn’t like, and (3) has some additional info to help you decide if the book might be right for you.

I’ve been a huge fan of mysteries since my earliest days of reading, cutting my teeth on Encyclopedia Brown and Nancy Drew, and quickly moving on to Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie. From there, I bounced around a bit, trying some thrillers, like Alistair MacLean, and some romantic suspense, mainly Mary Stewart. And then I started branching out. I discovered historical mysteries, and British mysteries (Sarah Caudwell is my idol), and cozy mysteries, and police procedurals, and mysteries set in foreign climes, and noir, and…well, you get the idea! Just about the only mysteries I’ve never quite gotten into are psychological thrillers.

This blog reflects my own personal tastes, so, as you might guess, you’ll mostly find reviews of mysteries here. But, over the decades, I’ve also picked up some other reading habits. I read a fair amount of history, especially books about the Great Game rivalry between Britain and Russia. I’ve gone through all the Asterix comics (a big thank-you to my middle-school French teacher), and I even read a bunch of them out loud to my son when he was young. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read and re-read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and those books have led me into a little bit of fantasy and science fiction as well. Oh yeah, and recently, I’ve been reading some social and political science books too. So check out the Science Fiction/Fantasy, Nonfiction, Romance and Other Stuff tabs up in the menu as well!

Finally I’d love to hear from you too, so please make use of the comments sections available for most of my posts, or use the contact form, down at the bottom of the page.

Reviewing and Rating Info

I rate books on a scale from 1 to 5 stars, with occasional half-stars when a full star just won’t do.

Many of the books I review are provided to me by the publisher or author as a reading copy – in other words, at no cost to me. In other cases, usually for older books, I’m reviewing books I borrowed from the library or bought myself. My rating and review do not depend on whether I was provided a free reading copy. However if I did receive a free reading copy, I will disclose this in the review.

I do not post reviews of every book I read – not even close. It takes a lot of time and effort to craft a good review, and so I tend to be biased towards reviewing books that I enjoy or that excite me. As a result, you’ll find mostly 4- and 5-star reviews on my blog. Also, I do not post 1- or 2-star reviews on my blog unless the author or publisher asks me to.