Just a quick note.
If you know someone who’d like to try the Travelers series, The Traveling Man eBook is currently free and The Computer Heist eBook is $.99 through January 25. Here are the universal links:
The Traveling Man https://books2read.com/u/bzoz6n
The Computer Heist https://books2read.com/u/bP9Vzz
That’s all for now. Happy reading!
Back in the day—you know, back when you wandered through bookstores just checking things out—I used to spend some time at the remainder table. (The table of deeply discounted books at the front of the store.) I’d sometimes find a book at that table that seemed interesting enough to take a chance on. If I liked it and it was in a series, I’d probably go to the library, check out the first one or two of the series and give them a read. Then if I was hooked, I’d start buying the rest. You’ve probably done something similar.
With eBooks, my pattern is pretty much the same. Lots of eBooks are occasionally free or discounted, so I’m always on the lookout for an opportunity to check out a series I think might be fun. One way I do this is by subscribing to eBook promotion sites, such as Bookbub or Early Bird Books, where I can check out discounted or free books just like I’m at the remainder table.
Last month, I picked up two books this way: Palm Beach Nasty by Tom Turner and A Dangerous Man by Robert Crais. Got a chance to read them both last week.
Palm Beach Nasty is the first book in Tom Turner’s series featuring police detective Charlie Crawford. I’d read Palm Beach Bedlam (book 8) previously, so I was interested in seeing how the series opened. Palm Beach Nasty did not disappoint. It was a fun read and effectively develops the key characters and overall ambiance of the series. So if you like straight-ahead, fast-paced thrillers with a Florida vibe, you might want to give this series a look.
A Dangerous Man is Robert Crais’s new Elvis Cole/Joe Pike book. (I was surprised to find it discounted.) I’ve read a lot of these books, but it’s been a while, so I’d forgotten just how much I enjoy them, particularly the ones that mainly focus on Joe Pike, who plays Hawk to Elvis Cole’s Spenser (If you catch the Robert B. Parker analogy). Pike is a hard-charging, take-no-prisoners kind of guy, and it’s always a pleasure to see Crais run him through his paces.
One last note. If you know someone who’d like to try the Travelers series, The Traveling Man eBook is currently free and The Computer Heist eBook will be $.99 for a few days later this month. I’ll send a short email when the dates are set.
That’s all for now. Happy reading!
It’s the official release day for The Dark Web Scam: The Travelers Book 9 eBook version!
To celebrate the release, the eBook is $2.99 through December 16. Then the price goes up to $4.99. Here’s the universal link so you can choose your store:
https://books2read.com/u/bw7rjZ
There are some other special promos to celebrate the book 9 release. So if you know someone who’d like to try the Travelers series, now is their chance.
The Traveling Man: The Travelers Book One—Free. https://books2read.com/u/bzoz6n
The Computer Heist: The Travelers Book Two–$0.99. https://books2read.com/u/bP9Vzz
The Blackmail Photos: The Travelers Book Three–$0.99. https://books2read.com/u/3LDZd5
The book 9 description:
How could a little murder-for-hire scam go so wrong?
The Travelers and a computer hacker are operating a dark web con, taking cash from suckers who think they’re hiring contract killers. Easy money. And no one to complain to the police. But when an actual killer comes after them, they’re on the hunt for payback.
Who sent the assassin who killed their partner? And why is he stalking a newspaper reporter?
Once the Travelers figure out who they’re up against, they set a plan in motion to rob him and take revenge, but as the cat-and-mouse game progresses, and the police get involved, the Travelers find they’re moving through a quagmire of drugs, sex trafficking, and greed where any misstep could lead to the morgue.
The Dark Web Scam is a hard-charging crime thriller. If you like criminal machinations, fast-paced action, and devious plot twists, you’ll love the ninth novel in the Travelers series.
***
Hope you enjoy the new book! (Can’t wait to hear what you think.)
Woo hoo! It’s the winter holidays. No matter what you’re celebrating, I wish you and yours a fabulous holiday and a wonderful new year.
Great news. The Dark Web Scam: The Travelers Book 9 eBook version will be released this month. Because of Covid, people working from home, etc., getting the eBook distributed is taking longer than usual, so I’m not quite sure of the official release date. But as soon as I know, you’ll know. Hope it’s going to be a great addition to the Travelers series. Can’t wait to hear what you think.
How could a little murder-for-hire scam go so wrong? The Travelers and a computer hacker are operating a dark web con, taking cash from suckers who think they’ve hired contract killers. Easy money. And no one to complain to the police. But after their partner is murdered, they’re on the hunt for payback.
I’ll send a reminder when the official release date is certain, so you’ll know that The Dark Web Scam is available at your preferred vendor and about any special pricing to celebrate the release.
In the meantime, I’ve been reading a few old Perry Mason mysteries. I knew about them, of course, and I’ve seen some of the original TV shows on Amazon Prime, as well as the new HBO show, which made me want to have a look at the original books.
I read The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom and The Case of the Lonely Heiress. These are real pre-Miranda period pieces, so the police have a lot more leeway and Perry Mason isn’t afraid to push the law right to the edge. The writing is serviceable, and the storytelling is first rate. So if you haven’t read any of them, you might want to give them a try.That’s all for now. Happy reading!
Bought a gas fire pit for the back porch so we can extend our outside time farther into the fall. So far, it’s been a great place to drink Saturday morning coffee and watch the birds at the feeder.
The Dark Web Scam: The Travelers Book 9 is still being edited. Hope it’s going to be a great addition to the Travelers series.
How could a little murder-for-hire scam go so wrong? The Travelers and a computer hacker are operating a dark web con, taking cash from suckers who think they’ve hired contract killers. Easy money. And no one to complain to the police. But after their partner is murdered, they’re on the hunt for payback.
I just read Breakout, the 21st Parker novel. This one involves a prison breakout and subsequent caper. As you might recall, I’m a big fan of these books and they’re an inspiration for the Travelers series. Donald Westlake, writing as Richard Stark, wrote 24 Parker books, the first 16 from 1962-1974, the last 8 from 1997-2008. The latter ones have to deal with technologies that didn’t exist when the series began. But every one of these books that I’ve read (twenty, perhaps?) has been a riveting page turner.
While on the subject of fun reads, Grosse Ponte Pulp: John Rockne Mystery Series books 1-3 by Dan Ames is free today. I picked up a copy. Here’s the link if you want to check it out. (There’s nothing in this for me. Just though you might like to know.)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I5RZD2E
That’s all for now. Happy reading!
Here’s another in the series of emails about the thinking behind a Travelers book. This time, Thicker Than Thieves.
Often, in a Travelers book, the Traveling Man’s wife does the key seduction, while the Traveling Man is more focused on manipulating the other pieces of the puzzle. (Like in The Blackmail Photos.) So in Thicker Than Thieves, I thought it would be fun to put him in the role of primary seducer.
To that, I wanted to add a scam we haven’t seen before in a Travelers book (always looking for something new!), which led to the idea of the Travelers robbing smugglers.
From there, one choice lead to another. The smuggled item to be stolen? Mob diamonds from India. The smugglers to steal from? Iranian Americans. And so it goes until we’re dealing with white nationalists and Middle Eastern jihadis.
It was a little more research than usual, but lots of fun to write. Getting all the pieces to fall together was a complicated challenge. I hope you enjoyed it.
If you haven’t yet read Thicker Than Thieves, you can check it out here:
https://books2read.com/u/megY8g
Happy reading!
The days are getting shorter, the leaves are falling, and we had to bring the plants in off the porch. (Yes, it’s Iowa and winter is coming. Just not for a while we hope.)
The Dark Web Scam: The Travelers Book 9 is off with the copyeditor. When a murder-for-hire scam goes wrong, the Travelers find themselves up against sex traffickers and drug dealers, with a newspaper reporter and the cops thrown into the mix for good measure. Getting even has never been easy, but does it have to be this hard?
Meanwhile, from the “you can’t make this up” file, here’s an article from the Atlantic Magazine about a woman who helped a prisoner escape from prison in a dog crate. Really. Not kidding.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/10/toby-dorrs-great-escape/615487/
Also, I was just turned on to Joseph Kanon. He writes thriller and spy novels set at the end of World War II. I’m reading his first novel, Los Alamos, which involves a murder investigation that takes place in 1945 during the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. Thus far, an excellent read.
Finally, if you’re into free eBook promos, here are two I’m participating in: The October First-in-Series Crime Promotion and the “Fifty Free” Thrillers promotion. As usual, you get a free eBook for an email list signup. Hope you find something you like! Here’re the links:
https://books.bookfunnel.com/crimeseriespromo/c7izpftc57
https://books.bookfunnel.com/free_action_adventure_thrillers/6jrgchuv4n
That’s all for now. Happy reading!
Here’s another in the series of emails about the thinking behind a Travelers book.
Always looking for a fresh angle to add that extra oomph to a Travelers thriller, that little extra something to make a particular book special. The Casino Switcheroo was no different.
Back in the prequel, The Double Cross, we found out about how the Travelers came to be, and something about the backstory of the young woman who will chose to become, by story’s end, the female half of the team. But we’ve never touched on who the Traveling Man was or what he did before the action that takes place in The Double Cross.
Who trained him? How did his first mentor find him? How does the Traveling Man feel about this mentor? Those are the questions that led to the creation of Alexander Koenig, the master thief who manipulates and cheats everyone, even his own partners.
And what if Koenig had ulterior motives for pulling the Travelers into a high-stakes scam, and the Traveling Man saw this scam as an opportunity to outmaneuver Koenig and steal the score?
That’s how we ended up with the casino heist that isn’t what it appears to be, and the cast of devious players frantically trying to outfox each other so that they can end up with the score and make their escape before the cops close in. It was lots of fun to write, and I hope you enjoyed reading it.
If you haven’t had a chance to dip into The Casino Switcheroo, you can check it out here:
https://books2read.com/u/3nvrGP
Happy reading!
As promised, here’s the info on the $0.99 eBook deals.
The $0.99 eBook deals on the first 3 books of the Travelers series start today and end on September 15. So if you know someone who’s been thinking about reading The Traveling Man, The Computer Heist, or The Blackmail Photos, but hasn’t gotten started, now’s their chance to give the series a try.
Here are the links:
The Traveling Man: https://books2read.com/u/bzoz6n
The Computer Heist: https://books2read.com/u/bP9Vzz
The Blackmail Photos: https://books2read.com/u/3LDZd5
Happy reading!
Just a short note this time.
Made it through the Derecho (land hurricane) with only a few large limbs down in our yard. And our power was only out for 28 hours. Pure luck! We got everything cleared up just in time for all the college students to reappear for the fall. Exciting times in central Iowa.
Making good progress on the Travelers book 9, tentative titled The Dark Web Scam. It involves the shenanigans that take place after a murder-for-hire scam goes wrong. Been having a lot of fun pulling all the pieces together. Hope you enjoy reading it! Planning to release it later this fall.
In the meantime, there’re $0.99 eBook deals on the first 3 books of the Travelers series next week. So if you know someone who hasn’t read The Traveling Man, The Computer Heist, or The Blackmail Photos, now’s their chance to give the series a try. I’ll send out a reminder with the book links on the day the deals start.
That’s all for now. Happy reading!