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The Back Door Man (affiliate link)

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Author: Buschi, Dave
FREE
Conspiracy Thrillers

All credit cards have stopped working. Today. This morning.

What cash you have in your wallet is it. ATMs and bank systems are down. You can’t get gas, groceries … Commerce has essentially come to a halt. Such is the backdrop of THE BACK DOOR MAN.

Our society is computercentric. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. We’re plugged in. Managing our finances online. Downloading apps for our iPhone. Reading the WSJ on our Kindle.

There are things out there on the cutting edge we don’t even know we need to fear. THE BACK DOOR MAN takes us there.

We see it through the eyes of James Kolinsky, a simple family man who works in information security. His day goes from bad to worse when he discovers that his greatest fear is his fault and what’s happened to him has happened to millions of others.

He’s been set up. His family—make that the world—has been taken hostage. The next twenty-four hours we find out what James Kolinsky is really made of.

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Author: Bratt, Kay
FREE
Suspense

In the quaint town of Hart’s Ridge, Deputy Taylor Gray is a force to be reckoned with. From clawing her way out of poverty and foster care, to achieving her dream of being in law enforcement, Taylor is determined to make a difference in her community. But when a five-year-old girl named Molly walks into a gas station alone and barely speaking, Taylor’s determination is put to the test.

As she delves deeper into the investigation, Taylor discovers that even the most idyllic towns have their secrets. But this time, the stakes are higher than ever before. With a true crime element woven into the narrative, the search for Molly’s missing mother becomes a race against time to stop a predator before it’s too late.

As Taylor navigates the twists and turns of the case, she also grapples with her role as the unofficial caretaker of her fractured family. With a heavy burden on her shoulders, she’ll stop at nothing to piece them back together and find justice for those who can’t speak for themselves.

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Author: Diede, Kimberly
FREE
Saga Fiction

Welcome to Whispering Pines, a quaint resort on the serene shores in Minnesota lake country, and a heartwarming saga that beautifully weaves together the complexities of modern family life with the unexpected gifts of midlife reinvention.

Two weeks ahead of Christmas, a jarring layoff from a twenty-year career sends single mother Renee Clements back to life’s crossroads. She’s been here before. Reluctant but resilient, she prepares to dive into the job hunt. Or is it finally time to focus on her own dreams instead of building someone else’s? While the idea is tempting, she’s still responsible for raising two teenagers.

Frustrated, Renee pushes pause. She’ll wait until after the holidays to make any life-altering decisions. A serendipitous trip to Fiji and a chance encounter with a handsome stranger offers a glimmer of romance, but now isn’t the time to add yet another complication to her already messy world.

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Author: Faricy, Mike
FREE
Private Investigator Mysteries
“Revenge is best served cold…”
Especially when two large, canvas, cargo bags are filled with cash and locked in a vault.
Apparently, crime lord Tubby Gustafson has a habit of not paying small contractors.
But everyone desterves legal representation, and Hubert Holly, Tubby’s lawyer, goes to bat for his client.
Meanwhile, Dev Haskell picks up a side job with one of the largest investigative firms in the region.
What could possibly go wrong?!
Someone is about to pay… big time.
Just who is thisMystery Man?
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Author: Poole, Jeffrey
FREE
Cozy Animal Mystery

Zack and Jillian rush home from their previous case at the distressing news that her kitchen shop, Cookbook Nook, has been broken into and ransacked. It’s a puzzle indeed, when it appears the only thing the thief took were some tubs of ice cream from the café section of the store. Luckily, her security cameras caught the thief in the act. Now they just have to locate him. But things get complicated when the thief is found murdered. And so is his next of kin, and that’s when the police pretty much hit a dead end.

Two jurisdictions are involved—it’s Pomme Valley versus Medford. A bet takes place between the two police chiefs, as each races to put their best detectives on the case to figure out why anyone would steal very specific flavors of ice cream, leaving others behind. More ice cream stores are targeted, and the stakes ramp up.

Sherlock and Watson and Zack are on the case (for the Pomme Valley team, of course). Zack has a lot riding on the hope that the dogs can spot enough clues to put the whole story together.

Forgiven (affiliate link)

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Author: Lawson, Geoff
FREE
New Zealand historical novel

Rachel is a socialite, while Richard is only a humble farm labourer; but they yearn for a future together. Unfortunately, they face an insurmountable obstacle in Rachel’s father, who refuses to grant his blessing.

Rising to this challenge, Richard embarks on a daring plan to win Rachels hand. He sees an opportunity to serve his Queen and Country, and joins the prestigious New Zealand Mounted Rifles, by volunteering to fight in the tumultuous landscape of South Africa.

War is a grueling test of Richards resilience, and as he endures hunger and exhaustion, he unexpectantly encounters Lady Sarah, an aristocratic noblewoman. Then, he becomes her protector, and is thrust into a world of stark cultural differences, but when captivity binds them together, they must unite and trust one another; their survival dependent on a fragile alliance.

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Author: McKenney, Sally
Regularly $26.00, Today $4.99
Dessert & Sweets Cooking

In Sally’s Cookie Addiction, Sally will tell you how to make each and every cookie in the book ahead of time. So, if you want to start preparing for the holidays, or if you just like keeping cookie dough in your freezer for those critical cookie emergencies, this is your source for:

Family favorites, including Crispy-Edged Chocolate Chip Cookies, Giant M&M’s Cookies, and Cookie Cutter Sugar Cookies
Holiday cookies, including Gingerbread Cookies, Cranberry Spice Rugelach, and Easy Cinnamon Snowballs
Shortbread and slice-and-bakes, including Shortbread Jam Thumbprints and Maple Walnut Slice-and-Bake Cookies
A host of sprinkle-topped and sprinkle-filled delights, including Pinata Cookie Surprises and Giant Funfetti Cookie Pizza
Enticing recipes to satisfy every craving, whether for rich chocolate, satisfying nuts, chewy oatmeal, or fun flavors

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Author: Edwards, Hailey
Regularly $3.99, Today $0.99
Romantic Fantasy

Her beginning may be our end . . .

Deep in the humid Mississippi bayou, a half-wild child is dragged from the murky waters. She has no memories, no family and is covered in mysterious markings. Adopted by the policeman who rescued her, Luce Boudreau follows him onto the force, determined to prove herself in the eyes of those who are still suspicious.

However, there’s more of a battle ahead than Luce could possibly imagine. She may be an orphan without a past, but no one – including Luce herself – could ever be prepared for the truth of her dark, powerful destiny . . .

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Author: Eoin Dempsey
Historical Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Regularly $4.99, Today $2.49

Ireland, 1879.

Maura Doyle has always felt she was meant for more than her life as a poverty-stricken farmer’s daughter in County Laois could provide. Her father has arranged for her to marry into a wealthier local family, but she has more interest in her neighbor, Joseph O’Malley. Forced to leave school at age 16, she takes a full-time job as a maid in the local landlord’s mansion after a family tragedy. But the arrival of the lord’s son upends her role in the house and the equilibrium of the entire community.

Joseph and some of his friends, under the influence of an old rebel in the area, hatch a plan to strike back at the landlords and fire the first shot in the upcoming land war that will soon consume Ireland. But when their scheme fails, the new lord will exact revenge on the community and order a round of evictions that will devastate the local population.

Joseph, Maura, and their friends will take a stand against the forces of the English Crown but will pay a devastating price. It will be up to Maura, with the help of the new rising star of the Irish political scene, Charles Stewart Parnell, to save her neighbors from the hangman’s noose and take actions that will change not only her life but those of her family and community forever.

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Author: Patchen, Robin
Regularly $4.99, Today $2.49
Contemporary Christian Fiction

When doing what’s right goes terribly wrong…
From her deathbed, Carly Garcia’s mother asked Carly to look after her stepfather and stepsisters. Carly is trying to keep that promise, but now she has a new life to protect, this one innocent and vulnerable. She visits her ex to tell him a truth he doesn’t deserve to know… and witnesses his murder. Now, Carly’s on the run from killers whose faces she never saw.

Braden Reilly is building a career in Coventry, New Hampshire, happy to put the drama of his crime-ridden Boston neighborhood behind him. When a woman he’s spent years trying to forget shows up on his doorstep, his first instinct is to turn her away. But the wounds on her arms and the fear in her eyes have him offering sanctuary. The story she tells makes his blood curdle.

Join Carly and Braden as they seek to discover who’s behind a murder nobody believes occurred before the killers catch up to Carly and her unborn child.

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Author: King, DB, Bloom, Trent
Regularly $4.99, Today $2.49
Dragons & Mythical Creatures Fantasy

When Basch encountered an injured creature outside his town, he hadn’t expected it to be a dragon. Nor had he expected its hunter to be a fire-wielding mage. But the very last thing he expected was to bond with this injured dragon and defeat the fire mage with his very own magic.

Now, after learning that he is a mage bonded to the legendary Ur-Dragon, Basch ventures to the Valhadria Academy. Dragon riders are trained and cultivated within its walls, where danger comes from both the other students and the dragons themselves.

But Basch has more enemies than most, given his special gifts. There are those who would seek to use his dragon for evil, and others who see Basch as a threat to the status quo.

If Basch and the Ur-Dragon are to survive, they will have to grow together in power, acquiring new draconic forms, elemental powers, and ways of manipulating the very fabric of magic.

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Author: Bardot, Lisa
Regularly $24.99, Today $4.99
Digital Art

Learn how to draw digitally and get the most use out of your tablet with this book full of helpful tips, creative inspiration, and 12 step-by-step drawing and painting projects.

In Drawing Digital, artist and teacher Lisa Bardot, the expert behind @Bardot Brush, introduces the art of digital drawing. Using your tablet and Procreate, or another favorite drawing app, you can leave behind your pencil and paper and make art anywhere and at any time.

Lisa gets you started with a range of easy-to-follow projects, including:

A still life
A snake plant
Cacti in the desert
Flowers
A dog
A school of fish
Self-portraits
Characters
City scenes
And more!

Accompanying each project are complete step-by-step instructions and Lisa Bardot’s signature, vibrant artwork.

… See the rest of today ‘s Book Picks here on page 2Page 2