Bargain eBooks #505:

The Sparrow Conundrum by Bill Kirton

Genre: Satirical Spoof Crime/, Mystery

Price: $2.99

Where to Get It:

Amazon (Kindle)
Amazon UK
Barnes and Noble
Sony
Smashwords
Omnilit


Winner of the Humor category in the 2011 Forward National Literature Awards.

Chris Machin isn’t his name, not to the bottom feeders in Aberdeen squabbling over North Sea oil and gas contracts. Chris has a code name, and when his garden explodes The Sparrow takes flight, plunging the power struggle into chaos and violence.

A sociopathic cop and an interfering ex-girlfriend don’t exactly make for clarity of thinking, not when the one fancies a bit of violence to add spice to an arrest. The ex adds other, more interesting dimensions to Chris’ already complicated life.

The bodies pile up—some whole, some in fragments—and two wrestlers join the fray. A road trip seems just the solution, but then so do Inverness, a fishing trawler and a Russian factory ship as the players face … The Sparrow Conundrum.


What they're saying about it:

The demon love child of Spike Milligan and John Le Carre. I absolutely adore this one—hysterically funny, with this weirdly tender wickedness.” (Maria Bustillos)

… combines the elements of the Tall Blond Man with the One Black Shoe with the Biederbecke Affair and thrown in Happer from Local Hero for good measure. It is killingly funny, and for those who love farce—from Scapin to Noises Off—this is utterly brilliant, divine, and classic, and couldn't be bettered.” (M.M. Bennetts)

One of those rare spoofs that made me laugh out loud. think Reservoir Dogs, only better … a fantastically written farce that will entertain and keep you laughing until the very end. A must-have for your collection. (Richard B. Wood)




The Figurehead by Bill Kirton

Genre: Historical Mystery, Romance

Price: $3.99

Where to Get It:

Amazon (Kindle)
Amazon UK
Barnes and Noble
Sony
Smashwords
Omnilit



Steam challenges sail for mastery of the seas, new continents open and the world brims with opportunities for people to be as good—or as evil—as they choose. But in Aberdeen Scotland, tall ships rule and greed by any other name is still commerce.

When the body of a local shipwright is found on the beach, no one, least of all the customers he cheated and the women he abused, seems at all surprised. When the constabulary fail to exercise due diligence it falls to wood-carver, John Grant, to ferret out the secrets and half-truths of the mysterious death. As John scrutinizes the events surrounding the apparent ‘accident’, his wood-carving skills catch the attention of William Anderson, a rich merchant—and his daughter Helen.

His commission to carve a figurehead combining the features of two women results in his discovering startling and interconnected chains of events that confirm his worst suspicions. Intertwined with the evolving tale of blackmail, intrigue and death, John’s relentless pursuit of the truth tests his relationship with everyone he knows and cares about as, simultaneously, he struggles to resist the pangs of unexpected love.


What they're saying about it:

The characters are well-rounded and the dialogue is perfectly judged … How well Kirton writes female characters; this is one of the great strengths of his writing … A rippingly good story. (Ruth Howell)

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you are looking for a book that truly entertains you, one of those that you will not hesitate to recommend to friends, do yourself a favor, grab this book. You will not regret it. 5/5, a must read. (Soooz Burke)

A splendid romance of … exquisite tenderness, The Figurehead satisfies on every level, giving the reader authenticity, characters to care about, a mystery, and a romance. (Diane Nelson)