Gemma Halliday tops today’s Buffet with Spying in High Heels, Book 1 of her “High Heels” cozy mystery series. The book first appeared in paperback in 2006. The Chicago Tribune called it “a saucy combination of romance and suspense that is simply irresistible” and Publisher’s Weekly says it’s “guaranteed to keep chick lit and mystery fans happy.”
Before becoming a full-time writer, Gemma worked in such diverse jobs as a film and television actress, a teddy bear importer, a department store administrator, a preschool teacher, a temporary tattoo artist, and a 900 number psychic. Luckily, she sold her debut, Spying in High Heels, in 2005, ending her string of eclectic employment.
Since then, Gemma has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a National Reader’s Choice award and three RITA nominations. She now makes her home in the San Francisco Bay area, where she is hard at work on her next book.
As usual, each book listed here has gone FREE within the past 24 hours, except for the Bargain books in the yellow section below. 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.)
Spying in High Heels
Mystery > Cozy
Author: Gemma Halliday
L.A. shoe designer, Maddie Springer, lives her life by three rules: Fashion. Fashion. Fashion. But when she stumbles upon the work of a brutal killer, her life takes an unexpected turn from Manolos to murder. And things only get worse when her boyfriend disappears – along with $20 million in embezzled funds – and her every move is suddenly under scrutiny by the LAPD’s sexiest cop. With the help of her post-menopausal bridezilla of a mother, a 300 pound psychic and one seriously oversexed best friend, Maddie finds herself stepping out of her stilettos and onto the trail of a murderer. But can she catch a killer before the killer catches up to her…
Twelve Years a Slave: Plus Five American Slave Narratives: Frederick Douglass, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Life of Josiah Henson, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Up From Slavery
Biographies & Memoirs > Historical
Author: Frederick Douglass, Josiah Henson, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Solomon Northup, Harriet Jacobs, Booker T. Washington
This exciting new release includes the complete text of “Twelve Years a Slave.” Read the amazing story of Solomon Northup before (or after) you see the critically-acclaimed movie of 2013. But this collection doesn’t stop there. It also includes:
* Complete, unabridged texts of the five additional works listed below, all well-known works about slavery in America
* An active table of contents for easy navigation to any book or chapter
* The original illustrations for “Twelve Years a Slave”
* Easy-to-use links to download unabridged audiobooks of four of the works from Librivox
* Well-formatted text with adjustable font and size
“Twelve Years a Slave,” by Solomon Northup as told to David Wilson, is a memoir of a black man who was born free in New York state but kidnapped, sold into slavery and kept in bondage for 12 years in Louisiana before the American Civil War.”
The In-Between: Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing
Christian Living > Personal Growth
Author: Jeff Goins
We’re an “instant gratification” generation, but the trouble is, most change happens gradually.
Most of us spend our lives searching and longing for something more than what is in front of us. Whether it’s traveling abroad or chasing cheap (or expensive) thrills, we’re all looking for medicine to satisfy our restlessness. And, so often, we’re looking in the wrong place.
The In-Between is a call for all of us to accept the importance that waiting plays in our lives. In this spiritual memoir, Jeff Goins reveals the unexpected good that came from his times of waiting. And he encourages us to embrace the extraordinary nature of the ordinary and enjoy the daily mundane, what lies in between the “major” moments.
Moments of breakthrough are not where life’s greatest transformation happens; the stuff that God uses to shape us often lies in the in-between. It’s the bus stops and layovers and DMV lines and moments of unintentional pause that force us to become better people.
The Question That Never Goes Away
Religion & Spirituality
Author: Philip Yancey
Some days, the news seems too much to bear. Yet another tsunami or earthquake or flood or fire or war atrocity. One more gun-toting madman stalking young people in idyllic Norway or moviegoers in Colorado or schoolchildren in Newtown, Connecticut. We turn off the news only to get a phone call about expectant parents with a stillborn baby, or a loved one whose cancer has returned.
Really, God? we ask. This again?
If we have faith in God, it gets shaken to the core. What was God doing in the moment when that tragedy could have been prevented? If we can’t trust God to keep our children safe or our loved ones from dying in agony, what can we trust God for?
In his classic book “Where Is God When It Hurts,” Philip Yancey gave us permission to doubt, reasons not to abandon faith, and practical ways to reach out to hurting people. Now, with new perspectives and stories gathered across nearly twenty-five years, once again he tackles the hard questions head-on. His visits to three places in 2012 raised the old problems with new urgency.
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Hero of Her Heart
Romantic Comedy
Author: Lindsey Brookes
From the moment Bethany Warner was born, Sheriff Tanner Montgomery was on the run. And he was only four at the time. Their mothers’ matchmaking efforts finally ended when Bethany’s family moved away. Now, ten years later, she’s coming back to Ruby Creek and his mother is up to her old tricks again.
Tanner is happy with his life just the way it is. No emotional entanglements. No wife or child to worry about leaving behind if something should happen to him in the line of duty. Then Bethany returns, all grown up and sexier than sin. Now he’s on the run for a whole new reason.
Growing up, Bethany idolized Tanner. He was the HERO OF HER HEART. But to him she’d been nothing more than a tag-a-long little kid. Too tall, too thin, with unruly curls and teeth she could whistle through.
That was then. Now she’s coming back to Ruby Creek, a successful, confident businesswoman, and no longer the ugly duckling she had once been. Can Bethany convince Tanner to give love a chance? And if she does, will it be everything she had always dreamt it would be?
Alaska Traveler: Dispatches from America’s Last Frontier
Travel > Essays & Travelogues
Author: Dana Stabenow
Dana Stabenow was born in Alaska before Statehood, grew up on and around fishing boats, worked for an air taxi service, a cannery, and later, on the oilfields of the North Slope. Today, she’s an Edgar-award winning mystery writer with over 25 Alaska-based novels to her credit. Stabenow knows Alaska.
Writing for Alaska Magazine, she revisits old haunts and explores new ones to capture the vital pioneering spirit of her home state. From cruising the Inner Passage to hiking the Chilkoot Trail, bidding on bachelors at Talkeetna’s Winterfest, to a behind-the-scenes look at the Iditarod sled dog race, Alaska Traveler collects over 50 of Stabenow’s columns about life on America’s last frontier. It’s Alaska in all seasons—not just the summer months—and in all its quirky, iconoclastic glory.
Travelers planning a trip to Alaska will find much to inspire them, as will those just interested to read more about the state that residents call The Great Land.
Homemade Christmas Gifts
Crafts, Hobbies & Home
Author: Toni Anderson
Homemade Christmas gifts don’t have to look like they came out of your 3 year-old’s Sunday School class. There are some amazing homemade gift ideas that can be made by real-life moms on a real-life budget. In this book you’ll find step-by-step instructions for sixty gifts that you can make using easy to find items and you don’t have to be an expert crafter to do it.
Exercise Sucks! The Secret to Losing Weight Without Really Trying
Health, Fitness & Dieting
Author: Kent Burden
For many people, the title of this book sums up how they feel about working out: Exercise Sucks!
But the reality is that losing weight and keeping it off through diet alone is virtually impossible, which is why most of us fail. To lose the weight and get that lean body you dream about you have to eat well and be active on a regular basis. New research reveals that most of us sit an astounding 7-11 hours every day!
Exercise Sucks! is based on the new science of sedentary studies, which points to the startling conclusion that “exercise” as we know it may not even be the most effective way to lose weight. This sure-to-be-controversial book will show you how to:
•Change your habits and bring more regular activity to your day, allowing you to burn far more calories than you would “exercising.”
•Bring “real food” that is delicious and healthy back into your life easily!
•Learn movements that can be done at your desk or kitchen counter that will improve strength, flexibility, balance and energize you without breaking a sweat
•Choose foods that will help you lose weight without really trying
•De-stress your life to make weight loss easier and faster
•Make the most out of a short workout program to lose weight fast
Losing Faith
Romance > Contemporary
Author: Jeremy Asher
Seth Storm, a once famous musician from Nashville, is now nothing more than a fallen star. After climbing the music charts and making his dreams come true, his life took a turn that he’d never expected, causing him to lose it all. Now Seth is determined to do whatever it takes to turn his life around, even if that includes doing the one thing he swore he’d never do. After giving up music and the career he spent much of his life building, Seth embarks on a journey to get back what he cherishes the most: his daughter, Faith.
Trista Tilman, a single mother, finds shelter on the road as she and her daughter try to escape her abusive fiancé, Randall Tuck. As Trista struggles to repair her damaged relationship with her daughter, Tuck begins to close in on them.
Along the way, Seth and Trista encounter a storm that threatens their one chance at getting their lives back. Forced to travel together, they discover that success lies not just at the hands of fate but also within each other, two unlikely travelers fighting to survive not only the storm but also the demons of their past.
Between Friends
Romance > New Adult & College
Author: Amanda Cowen
The only way to have a friend is to be one…especially between the sheets…
When neurotically challenged and unlucky in love Megan Daniels is propositioned by her life-long friend Ben Romano with a coin toss (heads, they sleep together, tails, they don’t) the night before they are about to attend a destination wedding, she drunkenly accepts his challenge. But when Megan wakes up the next morning with a bad hang-over and Ben in her bed, she is more than mortified. It isn’t until the tropical heat begins to ignite emotions Megan never believed or thought she could possibly have, when she starts to question if risking their friendship is the answer to finding true love.
Casino Royale (James Bond)
Thrillers > Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue
Author: Ian Fleming
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
In the novel that introduced James Bond to the world, Ian Fleming’s agent 007 is dispatched to a French casino in Royale-les-Eaux. His mission? Bankrupt a ruthless Russian agent who’s been on a bad luck streak at the baccarat table.
One of SMERSH’s most deadly operatives, the man known only as “Le Chiffre,” has been a prime target of the British Secret Service for years. If Bond can wipe out his bankroll, Le Chiffre will likely be “retired” by his paymasters in Moscow. But what if the cards won’t cooperate? After a brutal night at the gaming tables, Bond soon finds himself dodging would-be assassins, fighting off brutal torturers, and going all-in to save the life of his beautiful female counterpart, Vesper Lynd.
Taut, tense, and effortlessly stylish, Ian Fleming’s inaugural James Bond adventure has all the hallmarks that made the series a touchstone for a generation of readers.
Moonraker (James Bond)
Thrillers > Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue
Author: Ian Fleming
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
As the super patriot and war veteran who’s bankrolling Britain’s top-secret Moonraker rocket program, Sir Hugo Drax should be above reproach. But there’s more to this enigmatic millionaire than he lets on. When M suspects Drax of cheating at cards in an exclusive gentleman’s club, he sends Bond in to investigate. But exposing the deception only enrages Drax—and now 007 must outwit an angry man with the power to loose a nuclear warhead on London.
The mysterious death of the head of security at Drax’s missile base gives Bond the perfect opportunity to go undercover to find out the secret agenda of the supposed British war hero. With the help of another agent, the lustrous Gala Brand, 007 learns the truth about Drax’s battle scars, his wartime allegiances—and his murderous plans for the deployment of Moonraker.
Octopussy and The Living Daylights (James Bond)
Thrillers > Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue
Author: Ian Fleming
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
The last collection of James Bond adventures from Ian Fleming, Octopussy and The Living Daylightsfeatures four tales of intrigue that push 007 to the limit and find the secret agent questioning where he can go from there…
In “Octopussy,” a former operative in the Second World War must face the consequences of past sins when James Bond knocks on the door of his Caribbean fortress, and in “The Property of a Lady” Bond deciphers the elaborate codes of a Sotheby’s bidding war in order to catch a KGB agent. “007 in New York” takes Bond to the titular city to warn an ex-agent of her boyfriend’s secret KGB affiliation. And “The Living Daylights” sends Bond to Berlin to protect a British agent before an assassin strikes.
Published posthumously, Octopussy and The Living Daylights marks Ian Fleming’s final contribution to the legacy of his iconic creation, 007 James Bond.
Goldfinger (James Bond)
Thrillers > Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue
Author: Ian Fleming
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
Auric Goldfinger is the richest man in England—though his wealth can’t be found in banks. He’s been hoarding vast stockpiles of his namesake metal, and it’s attracted the suspicion of 007’s superiors at MI6. Sent to investigate, Bond uncovers an ingenious gold-smuggling scheme, as well as Goldfinger’s most daring caper yet: Operation Grand Slam, a gold heist so audacious it could bring down the world economy and put the fate of the West in the hands of SMERSH. To stop Goldfinger, Bond will have to survive a showdown with the sinister millionaire’s henchman, Oddjob, a tenacious karate master who can kill with one well-aimed toss of his razor-rimmed bowler hat.
The Fort
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Police Procedurals
Author: Aric Davis
Regularly $9.99, Today $0.99
During the waning summer days of 1987, a deranged Vietnam vet stalks Grand Rapids, Michigan, abducting and murdering nameless victims from the streets, leaving no leads for police. That is, until he picks up sixteen-year-old Molly. From their treehouse fort in the woods, three neightborhood boys spy the killer holding a gun to Molly’s back, they go to the police—only to have their story disregarded. But the boys know evil lives in their midst. A growing sense of honor and urgency forces the boys to take action—to find Molly, to protect themselves, to stand guard for the last long days of summer.
At turns heartbreaking and breathtakingly thrilling, The Fort perfectly renders a coming-of-age story in the 1980s, in those final days of childhood independence, discovery, and paradise lost.
What Doesn’t Kill Her
Crime Fiction > Serial Killers
Author: Max Allan Collins
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
Jordan Rivera was an ordinary kid with an ordinary family. Until a vicious killer took it all away from her, sparing her and leaving her broken. The murders destroyed something inside her and she spent ten long, silent years in an institution. Catching a glimpse of a news report about another ordinary family slain, Jordan breaks her silence. Now she’s out, and she molds herself—body and mind—into an instrument of justice.
While a young detective pursues the case on his own, Jordan teams up with members of her Victims Support Group, people, like her, damaged by violent crime. They have their own stories of pain, heartache, and vengeance denied. With their help, Jordan will track down the killer before he can ravage any more lives. Her own life depends on it.
The Bubble Gum Thief (Dagny Gray)
Crime Fiction > Heist
Author: Jeff Miller
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
Special Agent Dagny Gray is smart, athletic, and fearless. She’s also fragile, depressed, and anorexic. If she doesn’t get healthy soon, the FBI will drop her–and she’ll never have a chance to end the crime spree of the so-called “bubble gum thief.”
It all started with the theft of a pack of gum, and the ominous note he left behind: THIS IS MY FIRST CRIME. MY NEXT WILL BE BIGGER. Every two weeks, he delivers on this pledge, committing a bigger crime, and promising that the next will be even worse. When petty theft gives way to bloody murder, the stakes become clear. He may have begun with the smallest crime possible, but he’s building toward the biggest crime imaginable.
There’s a method to the gum thief’s madness, and Special Agent Dagny Gray knows she can figure it out…if the Bureau will let her. But will it be in time to prevent the cataclysmic finale of his escalating spree?
… See the rest of today’s Editor’s Picks here on page 2