Get my favorite thrillers up to 80% off

Read the opening paragraphs and find out what the scrappy underdogs in these thrillers all have in common

I had a far different post in mind for this edition of the newsletter, but then my publisher put the ebook versions of many of my favorite thrillers on sale all at the same time. I figured you’d want to know about the big savings — they’re up to 80% off.

These novels have more in common than just the sale price though. That’s because all the main characters are underdogs.

I’ve always been intrigued by the in-between worlds in a story, where the main character is caught between a rock and a hard place with little control over what they need to achieve.

On top of that, my underdogs are usually not professional or even proficient in what they attempt to do, so they rely on whatever crossover skills they have to make a dent in a sometimes screwed-up world.

Let’s start with the Kaspar Brothers series.

The Kaspar Brothers

In these historical thrillers, German American brothers Max and Harry Kaspar are separated by World War II but united in the Cold War.

Max spent more of his life in Germany than Harry yet he’s ironically more carefree and would be a cosmopolitan fellow if he wasn’t so naive—at first. Harry is more like the stereotypical stern and focused German even though he mostly grew up in America. When they finally reunite, they’re the odd couple.

You get Max’s origin story in the first book, The Losing Role, and Harry’s in the second, Liberated. The brothers team up in the books after those. My recent release Lines of Deception is the fourth one. Each book can be read as a standalone, by the way.

The Losing Role (#1)

Here’s the story:

A German actor conscripted into WWII will play the role of his life as he makes a daring escape in this espionage thriller inspired by true events.

Here’s the first paragraph:

October 1944

Max lay flat on his back, in the mud. The mud was cold and seeping through his wool corporal’s uniform. Why were his arms above his head? Someone must have been dragging him. Was he hit? He moved his legs. They worked, thank God — he’d still dance again one day. Fingers? All there. He could still play piano. He felt at his stomach and chest, fingering the tin buttons, dry leather straps and coarse worn tunic, and found no blood. Lucky man.

Here’s more about the story:

When the SS orders banned entertainer Max Kaspar to impersonate a US officer during the Battle of the Bulge, Max devises his own secret mission to escape the war and flee to America. With his career in Germany over, this plan is his big break — and his last chance.

But Max’s mission is doomed from the start. Trapped between the lines in the freezing Ardennes Forest, he must summon all of his acting talents and newfound courage to evade perilous traps laid by both sides. Inspired by a real-life 1944 operation, this gripping wartime thriller is the first book in the Kaspar Brothers series.

Want to read on? You can read a sample here.

The deal: The Losing Role is on sale for Amazon Kindle in the US and Canada at 2.99, that’s 80% off. But only until September 30th.

Liberated (#2)

An American captain in post-WWII Germany must stop a criminal conspiracy by his fellow officers.

Here’s the first paragraph:

I should’ve been more scared, but the truth was I had never felt more ready and raring to go. I was heading deeper into the heartland of our bitter enemy. I drove this country route all alone, my jeep so new I could smell the tires. The sun rose above the birch trees lining the road, so I dropped the canvas top. I blitzed on past farms and villages. On the way I saw no German locals, no stray soldiers looking to surrender. They would see me soon enough. Within minutes, I’d be running a whole Bavarian town on my own.

Here’s the story:

Germany, May 1945. With the war just over, Capt. Harry Kaspar is about to take a new posting in the US occupation — running a Bavarian town named Heimgau. When Harry loses the command to a rival, he’ll do almost anything to win the job back.

Then Harry discovers a horrific scene: three German men tortured and murdered. Solving the crime could teach the locals about American justice — and help him reclaim his posting. But as Harry’s quest for the killer leads him back to American officers, he uncovers a criminal network plundering the war-torn land for all its worth. Now, for justice to mean anything at all, Harry must fight back.

Read the full sample here.

Liberated is also on sale for Amazon Kindle in the US and Canada at 2.99 — 80% off. Only until September 30th.

Lines of Deception (#4)

A West German nightclub owner goes behind the Iron Curtain on a desperate mission to save his brother in this Cold War thriller.

First paragraph:

MUNICH
Tuesday, May 17, 1949
12:01 a.m.

Max Kaspar learned about his brother, Harry, from the little man who brought him the severed ear. The nasty fellow even had the gall to bring it to the Kuckoo Nightclub, keeping it in a small purple box on his table along the wall.

The story:

West Germany, 1949. Former actor Max Kaspar suffered greatly in the Second World War. Now he owns a nightclub in Munich — and occasionally lends a hand to the newly formed CIA. Meanwhile, his brother Harry has ventured beyond the Iron Curtain to rescue an American scientist. When Harry is also taken captive, Max resolves to locate his brother at all costs. The last thing he expects is for Harry to go rogue.

Max’s treacherous quest takes him to Vienna and Prague to Soviet East Germany and Communist Poland. Along the way, dangerous operators from Harry’s past join the pursuit: his former lover Katarina, who’s working for the Israelis, and former Nazi Hartmut Dietz, now an agent of East German intelligence. But can anyone be trusted? Even the American scientist Stanley Samaras may not be the hero Harry had believed him to be.

Read a sample here.

On sale for Amazon Kindle in the US and Canada at 2.99 — another 80% off. This one’s only until September 27th.

The third book in the series, Lost Kin, isn’t currently on sale, but you never know. Here’s more about that book here.

For the next ebook on sale, let’s go to a completely different world: Portland, Oregon in 2009. That said, you can follow the adventures of another underdog who’s going it alone out of moral need and making it up as they go along.

Rain Down: A Crime Novella

A man with no name is out to find a labor activist friend who disappeared on the streets of Portland in this noir crime novella.

First paragraph:

The Fall of 2009

Oscar Alvarez is missing. Vanished. Without my friend Oscar, I got nothing. Oscar is the only one who believes in me. He believes in me more than I do myself. The fact that he’s gone missing makes me worry. It eats away at me and it makes me start imagining, like I used to so much, what it would be like to climb up onto the Steel Bridge and never have to climb back down.

The storyline:

It’s 2009, and the economy’s falling apart. Formerly homeless, our nameless hero owes what little he has to his friend Oscar. As a fellow day laborer, Oscar always stood up for their rights, even if it meant trouble. But now the cops are looking for Oscar — but he’s nowhere to be found.

The man with no name needs to find Oscar and soon, or he just might take the rap himself. He dodges the cops, tries to save his drug-addicted ex, and discovers a criminal coverup protecting some of Portland’s richest and most powerful. To get at the whole truth, he’ll have to finally face his past, and accept who his friend Oscar really was. Only then can he reclaim his name and place in a harsh world.

Read the sample.

On sale for Amazon Kindle in the US and Canada at 2.99 — 80% off. Deal lasts through September 30th.

More on sale?

It’s tough to know when all the books go on sale everywhere, but as of this writing I’ve noticed that a few more deals are running. I don’t know how long these will last:

• The Wendell Lett novels at all ebook retailers for only 2.99 for a limited time. Here are sale links for Under False Flags and for The Preserve.

• In the UK, my latest release Show Game is only 1.99 for Kindle through September 27.

---

I hope you’ll take advantage of these killer deals, pass the word, and give my books a review or rating if you liked the read.

And don’t forget: All my books are also available in paperback and some in audiobook.

That’s it. I hope you’re enjoying the fall. It’s probably my favorite season.

Happy reading,
Steve