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Kindle Mystery Books – Santa Was Good!

I am so excited! Santa DID bring me what I asked for! I am now the owner of a Kindle. >>> I was so sure about Santa bringing my new Kindle, that I also asked for the black cover. Some of you probably remember that I wrote about my Wish List in early November. Well, it’s now late December, and apparently Santa thought that I had been a very good girl, ’cause he brought exactly what I wanted.

Today I spent some time on Amazon finding out which mysteries – by which of my favorite authors – are currently in Kindle format. In the past, I have gotten letters asking for me to list mystery books that are available in Kindle form. I haven’t done that because it seems like every day more and more books by more and more authors are added into the Kindle format. And, since the Kindle books appear on any given book’s Amazon page, why bother to make a separate list?

I also went through my husband’s library of Kindle books and picked out a few that I transferred to my Kindle. He had a few mysteries by Ellery Queen and Patricia Wentworth that I haven’t yet read. Also, I bought a Monica Ferris and Miranda James.

How about you all? Was Santa good to you this year?

Comments

  1. Santa always knows what to bring me. Thanks to your site, I looked at Lorna Barrett’s Booktown Series and purchased the first in the series, MURDER IS BINDING. I really did enjoy it, a very easy read, likable characters and set in New Hampshire (I love my New England Cozies). So Santa brought the rest of the series. Also, THE VIRAGO BOOK OF GHOST STORIES, a collection released in 2009 (Edith Wharton, Antonia Fraser, Charlotte Bronte, etc). I love a good Ghost Story, especially a good Victorian Ghost Story, as much as I love my Cozy Mysteries. And Laura Childs’ SCONES AND BONES. I should be busy for a while.

    Reply

    • Margaret, it does sound like Santa knows you quite well>>> Laura Childs’ latest Tea Shop mystery is certainly is a great pick and very specific!

      I love New England Cozies, also. I think that’s why I am so partial to Kate Borden’s Peggy Jean Turner holiday series. I only wish it was a longer series!

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      • Danna, I had looked at Kate Borden’s short series here on your site. I would love to find more Halloween and Thanksgiving mysteries. I was wondering how they were. I think I will look into getting the three books to save for the Fall. Thanks for mentioning them, even tho I am always game to try a new series without recomendations, I do like to hear from others opinions. Have a Happy New Year!

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        • Margaret, Kate Borden’s Death of a Tart isn’t actually a holiday theme mystery. I hadn’t planned on reading it, but since I like the 2nd and 3rd books so much, I went back and read the 1st.

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    • Readerdiane, your daughter’s boyfriend certainly has great taste in gifts… and of course, choosing your daughter!

      Reply

  4. Santa brought me a Kindle too and like you I am already searching for my favorite authors. My library has books available in Kindle format too which is great. I’m actually thinking about re-reading an old series in the new format. I’m excited too and looking forward to this new experience.

    Reply

    • Sharon, I spent some time yesterday looking at all the Kindle books that are available, and started a list of the “Free and Near Free” Kindle mystery books. I am going to try to post the entry today, and will be asking for Kindle owners to help us find more. There’s nothing like a freebie mystery!

      Reply

  5. Santa was very good to me, too! I got a NOOK Tablet. (Santa got my “old” NOOK Color). I already had some Sherlock Holmes and some Peter Wimsey (both by Dorothy Sayers and by Jill Paton Walsh), and I’ll certainly be adding to those! I also love apps like Sudoku and Crosswords. It’s just amazing what you can hold in the palm of your hand these days.

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    • Deb, sounds like Santa got a better deal that just a plate of cookies at your house! And, it sounds like you are a lot more technologically adept that I am! When I hear about “apps” >>> I simply glaze over. Of course, I still use a cell phone that doesn’t close! Oh, and forget a blue-tooth>>> when I can plug an earphone into the jack!

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    • Dru, I didn’t even know you could watch movies on the Kindle Fires.

      (I got the stripped-down Kindle because all I want it to read.)

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  7. I also received what I wanted for Christmas a Keurig coffee maker , but it did not come from Santa. It came from my oldest daughter. It is great. I also got a gift card from Barnes and Noble which I too promptly bought books for my Nook. I just finished Mary Daheim’s latest Alpine mystery story and I have decided to reread her earlier ones, so I have begun to download them. My CO grandkids have grown so much in 6 months but they are still wonderful !!!!

    Reply

    • Regina, I wrote about our Keurig coffee maker a while back. My husband is the one who wanted it, but I am now the one who uses it most. I buy the coffee and tea pods for my husband, but I actually use the refillable ekobrew pods for my coffee. Since I drink four cups of decaf coffee each day, I just go ahead and buy the Folgers at the grocery store and refill my four ekobrews each night… saves me money…

      It sounds like you had a lovely Christmas with your daughter and grandchildren.

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  8. Yes, Santa was good to me, too! My son knew I would use a kindle, even though I fought against it, and got me one, which I love! And I also spent boxing day searching amazon for hard-to-find British authors. One thing that is annoying about libraries is that they have part of an author’s series, but are missing some books, usually the last two or three. This way, I can read the missing ones. Very happy’

    Reply

    • Marla, I fought against the Kindle, also. My husband kept asking me if I wanted to look at his Kindle, but I simply wasn’t interested in another gizmo. I finally let him show me his Kindle, saw the font size, and decided I might be able to handle yet one more gadget.

      It sounds like Santa made a lot of Kindle deliveries this year!

      Reply

  9. Santa was good to me in August for my birthday when I got my Kindle. You. Will. Love. It. I hope you got a cover too as you don’t want to drop it or spill anything on it. Happy reading!

    Reply

    • Susan, my Wish List had the exact cover I wanted… which I am really pleased with. My husband’s cover has an added-on light, but my cover has the light built right into a little arm thingy.

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  10. Santa was good to me as well. No new books but I did get a gift card for Barnes.

    I’m still fighting against the e-readers but I just recently found out one of my favorite authors is releasing a kindle only novella as part of the series I read. That kinda makes me mad and at the same time makes me think I should probably get a dang reader, ugh!

    Danna, maybe that’s the list you should start, I think more and more authors are doing these digital only releases and they might be easy for people to miss if they aren’t looking for them (or like me are still fighting the digital book age).
    I’m glad Santa did right by you. I think you deserve it!

    Reply

    • Angela, I know that Deb Baker released a Gertie Johnson Christmas novella (Murder Trims the Tree) on the Kindle. I wonder if it isn’t a sign of where we might be going with e-readers.

      Also, Angela, once you are on an author’s particular book’s Amazon page, you can see right away if the book you’re looking for is available in Kindle form. So there isn’t a real need of a list of just Kindle books…

      Reply

      • Oh I was thinking more of the ones that are only available as Kindles/digital format and not as paper books at all. I suppose looking at an author’s page works for that as well. I was just wondering how many people would know to look for them, of course I’m probably now in the minority as far as digital formats go since I still don’t have an e-reader.

        I’m sure that it is a sign of the times which is probably what bothers me most…I’m gonna miss books when they are gone 🙁

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  11. Santa brought me an Amazon gift card (among other things) so I can feed my Kindle…color me happy Danna, if you like classic mysteries, make sure you check out the free books available on Kindles – I picked up a few Agatha Christies, several Mary Roberts Rhineharts, a couple of Edgar Wallaces, all for free. And then for prices like 99 cents or 1.99 I picked up some Dorothy Sayers and S.S. Van Dines from the same lists. Plus lots of classic childrens’ books I remember reading when I was little are free as well, ones you would still have to pay for in paperback.

    Reply

    • Julia, I just finished the Free or Near Free Kindle Books entry, and I must say I was quite surprised at how many books are available for less than $3.00 >>> and there were even more that were going for less than $5.00!

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  12. I am with Angela, i get all my books from the library, if I go Kindle or Nook then I would start paying for books that I borrow. I am in a quandry about this. I like to hold a book and turn a REAL page, oh my does that mean I am OLD. I am also fighting it also, but I think I am going to have to suck it up and get one. Which is better Kindle or Nook? Annette

    Reply

    • The best thing you can do is go to a store like Best Buy (a big multimedia chain store) and try them both out. They are both good machines, but even within the brands there are differences so it all comes down to preferences. Which one is more comfortable to hold, which one is easier to navigate, which one is easier to adjust settings? Do you read outdoors a lot or indoors (this makes a difference between e-ink and LCD)? Are you going to want to read magazines on it as well, or just books (magazines, needless to say, work better with color)?
      I have a Kindle and I love it. I bought it because it weighed less than the Nook, I don’t happen to like touch screens and the e-ink is supposed to be better for your eyes than LCD (which is what the color e-readers used). Now there is a baby Nook that looks just like the classic Kindle but weighs even less, and there are color Kindles with e-ink, so I’m not sure what I would buy now…except that (sadly) I feel Amazon has a greater chance of still being in business 10 years from now than Barnes & Noble.

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      • Annette and Julia, I just called my library and found out that they carry Kindle books. I’m excited about that!

        I went with the Kindle because my husband did a lot of research on the different e-readers and he thought it was the best for reading.

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  13. My son gave me a Kindle for Christmas and I just love it! However, I have not been able to sit down and read in so long I’ve forgotten most of my favorite ‘cozy’ writers.. Thanks to my daughter I found your Cozy-Mystery.com site and may I just say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! 🙂 You are now in my favorites for reference :)… Now that I am retired I can catch up on my faves and find some new authors…my Amazon wish list growing as we speak. LOL
    Kind Regards a fellow ‘cozy’ lover.

    Reply

    • Welcome to the site, Karen. When I first started the site I could vouch for every author on it. However, I have added so many authors who have come recommended by Cozy Mystery site readers, so now there are many who I have not read yet. I have added several authors to my list of favorite authors from some of these recommended author additions. I hope you are able to find a few who you really enjoy!

      Reply

  14. That Santa Clause is a good ole guy. isn’t he? it’s no wonder so many people all over the world have loved him for so many centuries!

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  15. Congratulations on getting your Kindle, Danna! I hope you love it as much as I do mine.

    I was kind of like Angela in that I didn’t want an e-reader until I was preparing to visit my daughter in Germany and had no choice if I wanted to read while there – and my daughter and I are both avid readers. Now I rarely read a paper book because the Kindle is so much easier on my eyes.

    My family gave me a Roku box for my TV so I can stream free movies & TV shows from Amazon. Lots of British mystery series are free for Amazon Prime members (all the Midsomer mysteries, for example), so now I might drop my Netflix subscription.

    Reply

    • Carole, I am thinking of going to visit my mother, and have already started loading my Kindle up with all sorts of Cozy Mysteries!

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  16. I had a great Christmas spending time with my grand kids at our daughter’s house. My husband bought me perfume and pearl earrings. I’m looking forward to a great year in 2012 with two new books coming out and meeting more new readers. Happy New Year everyone!

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  17. I received my first Kindle in September 2010. Due to medical issues, I had to retire…..closing my very active practice as a family psychotherapist. Little Windel, as I named it, saved my life! I have since read some 80 books! Fell in love with Jonathan Kellerman’s mysteries, set in my field……..he was a child therapist. I am happy to have discovered this blog, hope I don’t lose you.

    Reply

    • Welcome to the Cozy Mystery site, J Alex. It sounds like your Kindle is getting a great workout! I’ve read the first several of Jonathan Kellerman’s Alex Delaware mysteries and enjoyed them a lot.

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  18. I got the Kindle fire for Christmas this year and I already had the Kindle for over a year. I use your list every time I order books. I depend on finding the best cozies via this list. I too, always seemed to buy more than one of the same book until I started using your list.

    Have a safe New Year and I love your website. Thank you.

    Reply

    • Janet, I don’t buy any books anymore without consulting my favorite authors list. (Thank you for the kind words about the site.)

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  19. Annette, I know what you mean about library books! But with my NOOK (and I think it works with Kindle, too) I can download ebooks from the library through my computer and download them to the NOOK. When they’re due, they don’t work on your reader any more.
    I bought the NOOK because it seemed to me less proprietary than the Kindle. I can read any ebook except Kindle books on the NOOK. I like the fact that I can use it in my Barnes & Noble store and read any book or books for up to an hour total reading time. That way I can either keep going back until I finish the book, or I can try it out to see if I want to spend money on it. And there are plenty of free and very cheap books available. Every Friday there’s a new free book available for download, too.
    The other trick I use my NOOK for is to request real books from the public library. I go to my B&N store and look at the new books. Since they have wi-fi, I can connect to my library account and request the books I like right from the store! Then I just wait till a bunch of books are ready for pickup at the library and I’m good to go.

    Reply

  20. Hello, all

    I have a kindle question. There is a home page of a lot of birds that comes up as a screen saver. Is there any way to just have that as my screen saver or do you have to have all these adds each time you turn it on? Thanks.

    Reply

    • Alfred, you can turn off the ads, but you have to pay to do so. (Whoever bought the kindle got a discount for accepting the ads.) To turn them off costs about 30 dollars (the equivalent of the discount.)

      Go to your Manage Kindle from you computer. There should be a selection to turn off the ads. I don’t think you get to select the screensaver, but the ads will go away if you pay the fee. You can turn them back on again, in the same place.

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      • Alfred, sorry I can’t help with this problem… I just don’t know enough about the Kindle yet. I think that Maria is correct about this, though. When we bought my Kindle, I paid 40 dollars extra so that I wouldn’t get those ads.

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  21. Alfred, I remember reading somewhere that there is a way to change the screensaver on the kindle. But if the screensaver is changed that it voids the kindle warranty. I think it was on the Amazon discussions.

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  22. If anyone has a Kindle Fire (the new tablet, as opposed to the e-reader), there is apparently an app you can download to read Nook books on it. I’m not sure how long the app is going to be available, or when they’re going to close the hold in the Kindle programming on new Fires, so you might want to check it out soon.

    Reply

    • Julia, that Kindle Fire sounds like a great way to go if you want to have access to both of the e-readers.

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  23. I got my Kindle (keyboard) at Hallowe’en. Having had a stroke last Dec. I missed being able to read in bed at night.
    The Kindle is lighter to hold and lets me turn pages easily. I now have 75-80 books on mine. Santa brought me a case and a light and my girls gave me a lovely gift cert. for Amazon so while they cooked the traditional dinner I read. I have enjoyed the Joanna Fluke books as well as a few Joan Hess and a couple of Leslie Meier. I tried a Brandy Alexander but was very unimpressed. I hope you continue to list free or almost free kindle books on your blog. I have been a cozy fan since my teens. Ngaio Marsh is still a favourite and the Peter Wimseys are a nice read every couple of years. I was never a Hercule Poirot fan but enjoyed “And Then There None” again during the holidays.

    Reply

    • Nancy, it sounds like you are well on your way in your recovery. Your girls and Santa are making sure you can get back to the things you enjoy doing.

      I will try to list the free Kindle books in the future, and hope that when other Cozy Mystery readers find out about them, they will let us all know.

      Reply

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