Books priced $1.99 or less
that I think are worth at least that much*

____________________________________________

 (*Worth based on a  completely biased, non-scientific, non-clinical survey of my own taste and all books are ebooks because shipping costs are not a value.)

 Genres

FICTION

Mysteries/Suspense

Another Grave Matter by Anita Higman (Book 3 in series, Christian fiction, cozy mystery, for all ages)
Volstead Manor has caught on fire, and the last of its murderous secrets flare hot enough to drive Bailey back to her sleuthing. A villain, who remains shrouded in darkness until the end, threatens to destroy Bailey, and once again, the mansion ignites with malevolent mischief. Whileshe unearths a family secret from Prohibition that’s hidden deep within the cellar, she becomes entangled in a ticking-clock race to save her own life. Will the foul surprises never end at Volstead Manor, and will Bailey’s burning desire to marry Max go up in smoke?
Buy on Amazon

Another Hour to Kill by Anita Higman (Book 2 in series, Christian fiction, cozy mystery, for all ages)
Bailey has survived the mysteries of Volstead Manor, but her latest threats are more ominous than ever. Did her neighbor B.J. die of natural causes? Or was he murdered? And why does the new neighbor, Vlad Tepes, always seem to be watching her? While searching for a lost treasure and planning a wedding the size of an amusement park, Bailey must discover what monster is still lurking in the neighborhood.
Buy on Amazon      Buy on Smashwords

Another Stab at Life by Anita Higman (Book 1 in series, Christian fiction, cozy mystery, for all ages)
Bailey Walker has just lost everything. She has nowhere to go except the dilapidated mansion she’s just inherited from her granny Minna. Unfortunately, the house has a history as shadowy as its hidden passages and finds the neighborhood overflowing with some rather quirky folks—as well as one particularly appealing bachelor. To honor her grandmother’s wishes and stay at Volstead Manor, Bailey must unravel a string of secrets which all seem determined to stay happily ever buried.
Buy on Amazon     Buy on Smashwords

Band Room Bash by Candice Speare Prentice (Book 2 in series, Christian fiction, cozy mystery, for all ages)
This murderer is playing for keeps. When Trish Cunningham and her oldest stepson, Tommy, find Georgia Winters, the English teacher at Four Oaks High School, dead in the band room, the suspect list is lengthy. The teacher had a number of enemies—including Tommy Cunningham.Once again Trish pulls out her notebook to collect clues. Detective Eric Scott, suffering from unrequited love for Trish’s best friend, Abbie, pointedly asks Trish to butt out. But despite the detective’s warnings, she jumps in as usual and finds herself embroiled in a mystery that has its roots in thwarted love and revenge. The finale could be Trish’s swan song.
Buy on Amazon     Buy on Smashwords

Died in the Wool by Elizabeth Ludwig and Janelle Mowery (Book 1 in series, Christian fiction, cozy mystery, for all ages)
Hone you investigative skills with Died in the Wool, a mystery filled with humor, suspense, and romance. Monah Trenary is battling for city funds for her beloved library. When a rival for the much-needed monies winds up dead, Monah is considered one of the prime suspects. When a second corpse weighs in, police detective Mike Brockman discovers that, according to the evidence, Monah and monkshood are a lethal combination. Can Monah and proven sleuth Casey Alexander find the real killer before this librarian is booked for murder?
Buy on Amazon     Buy on Smashwords

George Washington Stepped Here by K.D. Hays (Book 1 in series, Christian fiction, cozy mystery, contemporary, for all ages)
Karen Maxwell, a divorced mother of two, is struggling to balance her life as a soccer mom with her need to have a life of her own. After working as a bookkeeper in her brother’s private investigation firm for years, she finally gets the chance to go undercover and handle a case on her own. Her first assignment is to find out who has stolen the local historical society’s greatest treasure. Along the way she makes some new friends, one of whom is very attractive, unmarried, and unfortunately a prime suspect in the case.
Buy on Amazon       Buy on Smashwords

Gone with the Groom by Janice Hanna (Book 2 in series, Christian fiction, cozy mystery, contemporary, for all ages)
The best laid plans of brides and men go awry when Annie Peterson’s future son-in-law Scott disappears. Have pre-wedding jitters caused Brandi’s fiance to take flight, or are more sinister forces at work? Surely Annie can solve the riddle. But who could be behind this apparent kidnapping caper? Maybe the drug company Scott works for has hidden motives. Perhaps it’s the handiwork of Otis, Scott’s deceitful dad. But then again it could be the shady wedding photographer, or the “political enemies” of Scott’s mother. Will Annie solve the mystery and recover the missing groom, or will she suffer “regrets only”?!
Buy on Amazon     Buy on Smashwords

Homicide at Blue Heron Lake by Susan Page Davis and Megan Elaine Davis (Book 1 in series, Christian fiction, cozy mystery, contemporary, for all ages)
Emily Gray returns to the lakeside community of Baxter, Maine, expecting a peaceful week in her family’s island cottage. Instead, she and her high school crush, Nate Holman, discover the body of Henry Derbin, an elderly island resident. Amid rekindling her old friendship with Nate and trying to make sense of the murder, Emily shares her faith with an old schoolmate. When a second body turns up, the cottagers on Grand Cat Island are frightened and baffled. Is this why Mr. Derbin forbade everyone from going on his land? Can Emily and Nate overcome past hindrances to their romance long enough to dig up clues that will help solve both murders?
Buy on Amazon     Buy on Smashwords

Inn Plain Sight by Elizabeth Ludwig and Janelle Mowery (Book 2 in series, Christian fiction, cozy mystery, contemporary, for all ages)
Come along as bride-to-be Casey Alexander works to solve the murder that hijacked her shower. She’ll find that the victim’s propensity for blackmail, gossip, and downright meanness has created a long list of suspects. Unfortunately, Casey’s fiancé is at the top of the list. Armed with her ever present Post-It Notes and the help of her best friend, Casey follows the clues to a killer hiding in plain sight.
Buy on Amazon     Buy on Smashwords

Kitty Litter Killer by Candice Speare Prentice (Book 3 in series, Christian fiction, cozy mystery, for all ages) 
Trish Cunningham is pussyfooting with a murderer. Amateur sleuth Trish has retired from her short-lived crime-solving foray. No more walking deliberately into danger. Now her short-term goal is to see her best friend, Abbie, marry fiancé, Eric Scott, in three weeks.But the brutal murder of Abbie’s ex-husband could ruin the nuptials, especially since Abbie was the last one seen with him—when they had a hostile argument at the local convenience store.With evidence pointing at Abbie and the possibility of jail looming in her best friend’s future, Trish comes out of her self-imposed sleuth retirement. And as the clock ticks down to the wedding date, Trish once again puts herself in reach of a murderer’s claws—this time to protect her best friend.
Buy on Amazon     Buy on Smashwords

Murder in the Milk Case by Candice Speare Prentice (Book 1 in series, Christian fiction, cozy mystery, for all ages)
Will Trish Cunningham’s discovery sour her on milk forever?When mommy and wife Trish Cunningham finds the body of pharmacist Jim Bob Jenkins behind the two-percent milk, she know she’s having a bad day. Worse, she’s a suspect in the murder. Sleuthing to exonerate herself from criminal charges, she shakes up a murderer who has nothing to lose by killing anyone in the way—including Trish.
Buy on Amazon     Buy on Smashwords

Nipped in the Bud by Susan Sleeman (Christian fiction, cozy mystery, contemporary, for all ages)
Landscape designer Paige Turner scores her first contract to spruce up the park, her radio talk show shoots to number one, and her retail shop is simply blossoming. Yes, her life is a bed of roses. But the thorns come out when she finds City Manager Bud Picklemann served up on the blade of her favorite shovel mere hours after she’s threatened to have his head on a platter. And there is none thornier than the local police chief declaring Paige the one and only suspect and threatening to plow her under.
Buy on Amazon

A Suspicion of Strawberries by Lynette Sowell (Christian fiction, cozy mystery, contemporary, for all ages)
The heartbreaker diva of Greenburg, Tennessee is dead. Andromeda Clark knows that her cherry facial scrub didn’t accidentally kill Charla Rae Thacker from anaphylactic shock. But Andi’s soap business is in trouble and tongues are a-waggin’. To save her business, she searches for the one who tampered with her product. And now Andi’s long-time, long-haul trucker boyfriend Ben decides it’s time to settle down and stay in Greenburg for good. How can a woman breathe?
Buy on Amazon     Buy on Smashwords

 Worth Its Weight in Old by K.D. Hays (Book 2 in series, Christian fiction, cozy mystery, contemporary, for all ages)
Someone is wreaking havoc at the Blue Moon Art & Antiques Gallery. Fledgling private investigator Karen Maxwell goes undercover as a salesclerk to find out who’s behind the vandalism, while at the same time dealing with her daughter’s pre-teen angst, making school lunches and trying to hang onto some semblance of a love life.
Buy on Amazon     Buy on Smashwords

Romance, Classic (Not necessarily a love story, written in the past)

Cecilia by Frances Burney (Georgian, for all ages)
An heiress thrown into the world meets all the wrong people and has a tremendously hard time getting away from them all. When she does find the right guy, things get even worse.
Free on Amazon (this is a link to the first of several volumes)

Emma by Jane Austen (Regency, for all ages)
Scheming matchmaker Emma knows what everyone in the neighborhood should do, and she doesn’t hesitate to take matters into her own hands to make sure things go the way she’s planned. Of course, they don’t. And while she may think she knows what’s best for everyone else, she has no idea how to handle herself.
Free on Amazon

Evelina by Frances Burney (Georgian, for all ages)
Sheltered Evelina comes to town for the season, finds herself surrounded by idiots and makes some embarrassing mistakes.
Free on Amazon

Frances Burney, the Complete Novels (Georgian &Regency, for all ages)
This collection includes Camilla, Cecilia, Evelina and The Wanderer, all with fabulous characters, humorous situations, biting observations about society, and plots full of twists and turns.
Buy on Amazon

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (Regency, for all ages)
Catherine has been reading too many gothic novels, and it goes to her head when she visits her boyfriend’s family and starts looking for bodies in the attic.
Free on Amazon

Persuasion by Jane Austen (Regency, for all ages)
Anne said “no” to the one man she loved and has had years to regret her decision. Meanwhile, the rejected suitor, Captain Wentworth, has grown rich capturing prizes at sea and has forgotten all about her. He comes back to England ready to marry anyone but her.
Free on Amazon

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Regency, for all ages)
Two smart, capable people fall in love against their own better judgement, while the people around them make a series of bad choices.
Free on Amazon

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (Victorian, for all ages)
Like most of his tales, this one starts out slowly as he introduces his characters and lays the groundwork for how their lives will become intertwined. In this case, it becomes a life or death (lots of death) struggle. When I first read the book 25 years ago, I found a lot of humor. This time around, I found an inspiring story of redemption. The character of Sydney Carton is quite fascinating–if he were in a modern story he would have probably been prescribed anti-depressants and not turned out nearly as interesting, humorous or pathetic.
Free on Amazon     Free through Project Gutenberg

Romance, Historical (by a modern author in a historical setting)

A Certain Want of Reason by Kate Dolan (Traditional Regency, romantic comedy, for all ages)
After years of caring for her “eccentric” younger brother and sister in the country, Lucia Wright accepts a friend’s invitation to spend a few weeks enjoying the season in London only to find that life among the city’s elite may be even crazier than at home. Thrown together by chance with a man feigning madness to avoid a childhood betrothal, Lucia becomes fascinated by the gentleman who seems rational to no one but her.
Buy from Publisher     Buy on Amazon

The Malorie Phoenix by Janet Mullany (Regency set historical, contains sex scenes)
Janet Mullany writes wonderful stories with characters that are fresh and memorable and yet still very true to life.  She has a fun eye for historical detail and really makes the past come to life in an immensely entertaining way. This story of an unlikely con shows that everybody can be bought for the right price, but only some choose to acknowledge the fact. And in the midst of this all the lack of trust, there is still a love story. An amazing piece of work.
Buy on Amazon

Winning the Wallflower by Eloisa James (Regency-set historical, contains sex scenes)
This is a novella with excerpts from other books. The premise is that when the wallflower suddenly becomes an heiress, her family urges her to break off her engagement to seek a better match. And then she falls in love with guy she was supposed to marry in the first place. The first half is reputed to be very good, but the second half gets a fair amount of criticism for being abrupt and having too much sex. It’s probably worth the money to fans of modern Regency-set romance but not to fans of traditional or historically accurate Regency stories.
Buy on Amazon

Science Fiction

Metered Space by M.D. Benoit (Book 1 of series, adult language and situations)
A very original set up – hardboiled detective bent on drinking himself to death ends up working for aliens on another planet. Just when it seems like it’s going to cross the line into cliche, something fresh appears to bring up a laugh. A fun, original story.
Free on Scribd

NONFICTION

History*

* (includes books that were not necessarily historical accounts when written but are now valued more by historians than other researchers)

Daemonologie by King James I of England (Three volume guide to witchcraft, first published 1597)
King James explains that despite what some people think, the practice of witchcraft is alive and well in the seventeenth century and so it is important to recongize it and be ready to take action. The first volume of his (not very lengthy) treatise covers sorcery, the second discusses witches and the third is devoted to ghosts and similar phenonmena. Each volume is disussed in my blog, Living History, at the end of October, 2011.
Free through Project Gutenberg

Directions to Servants in General by Jonathan Swift (satire, first published 1745)
Very amusing advice to servants about how to perform their duties with as little trouble to themselves as possible. As a bonus, he includes excuses they can use when they happen to be absent for a brief (2, 4, 8 hours or so) time.
Free through Google Books

More listings coming soon!

If you’d like to submit a book for inclusion on this list, please contact me at email@katedolan.com. Thank you!