Day 2: British Book Prime Day Sales (& Rev. Richard Coles)

July 09, 2025

From ‘80s synth-pop fame to the Church of England to crime fiction—Reverend Richard Coles has one of the most delightfully unexpected résumés in Britain. Best known for the hit “Don’t Leave Me This Way” with The Communards, he’s now the author of the bestselling Canon Clement Mystery series, which follows a village vicar with a knack for stumbling into murder.

It all began with Murder Before Evensong, and two more mysteries have followed—each blending Coles’s insider knowledge of parish life with a sharp eye for human nature. The series is now headed to TV, though Coles jokes that hitting No.1 as a crime writer in your 60s is a bit less glamorous than topping the charts: “no one rips your shirt off” at book events.

Sales for Readers on Prime Day

If you’ve ever thought about signing up for Audible (Amazon’s audiobook shop) or Kindle Unlimited (their all-you-can-read ebook borrowing membership), Prime Day is a great time to try - because both have extended free periods:

  • Kindle Unlimited - 3 months at $0.00, then it renews at $11.99/month until cancelled. You can borrow up to 20 books at one time, and some books also include the audio version, too. I like that because it makes it easy to switch from reading to listening, depending on what you’re doing.

  • Audible - Right now, they’re offering 3 months free (renews for $14.95/month if you don’t cancel). You can download the Audible app on your phone or tablet, and your membership gives you one premium/new release title each month, access to unlimited listens from a catalogue of thousands of audiobooks, and access to member-exclusive sales and discounts.

British eBooks on Sale: July 9th

As always, a short disclaimer on the sale listings - the overwhelming majority of our readers are US-based, so sale availability may vary outside of the US (it’s up to the publisher/author if they wish to coordinate sales internationally). Deals can disappear at any time, but all e-books were $2.99 or less at time of writing.

  • The Lamplighter’s Bookshop by Sophie Austin - In 19th-century York, Evelyn Seaton takes a job at a mysterious bookshop and forms a fragile bond with its secretive owner—uncovering hidden pasts and discovering whether two guarded hearts can write a new story together.

  • The Forgotten Book Club by Kate Storey - When recently widowed Grace joins her late husband's quiet, unconventional book club in hopes of feeling closer to him, she unexpectedly finds friendship, purpose, and a new beginning in the most unlikely of places.

  • Secrets at the Ambrose Cafe by Carryl Church - In 1925 Exeter, working-class Della and privileged Alice form a powerful bond that grows into a forbidden love—forcing them to choose between societal expectations and the chance to forge their own path in a world where one secret could ruin them both.

  • BOX SET: The Cotswold Village Mysteries by Rebecca Tope - This six-book box set follows sharp-witted house-sitter Thea Osborne and her cocker spaniel Hepzibah as they uncover murder and mystery across the idyllic but secret-filled villages of the Cotswolds.

  • Sleeping Dogs by William Paul - When disgraced investigator David Fyfe is pulled from Fraud Squad duty to look into missing church funds, he uncovers a tangled web linking corrupt priests, old lovers, a decade-old robbery, and a fresh trail of blood—forcing him to confront the past before it buries him for good.

  • Jane Austen’s England by Roy & Lesley Adkins - This vivid portrait of Regency-era life explores the customs, hardships, and eccentricities of the time—from courtship and childbirth to smuggling and superstition—offering a deeper understanding of the world behind Austen’s novels.

  • The Craftsman by Sharon Bolton - Thirty years after solving a chilling case of children buried alive, detective Florence Lovelady is forced to revisit the past when the murders begin again—and her own son disappears under eerily similar circumstances.

  • BOX SET: The Marsh & Daughter Murder Mysteries by Amy Myers - This five-book box set follows retired detective Peter Marsh and his daughter Georgia as they investigate cold cases across the English countryside—uncovering long-buried secrets, wartime mysteries, and artistic scandals in a series of atmospheric British cozy whodunnits.

  • Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney - Editor’s Note: I read this one shortly after it came out in the UK, and it was absolutely brilliant. It’s one of those with a strong voice and a great sense of place, so if it sounds like something you might like, I’d encourage you to take a chance on it. Fourteen-year-old Ava Bonney hides a fascination with death and decay—until she finds a classmate’s body and becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth behind a string of disappearances before she’s next.

  • Over the Sea to Skye by Sue Moorcroft - Newly single and seeking a fresh start, Valentina Taylor escapes to the Isle of Skye with her young son—where a chance meeting, the support of her sisters, and the island’s quiet magic lead her to confront her past and embrace the future she never expected.

  • Foul Play at Seal Bay by JR Leigh - When a businessman turns up dead on the beach with a bread knife in his back, 60-something librarian and wild swimmer Morwenna Mutton steps in where the local police flounder—determined to solve the mystery in her quirky Cornish village, no matter how many ghosts, school scandals, or suspects stand in her way.

  • Letters from the Dead by Jack Gatland - In this tense series opener, Detective Inspector Declan Walsh reopens a 20-year-old murder case after a long-lost letter reveals new suspects—including a disgraced MP, a celebrity preacher, and the current Home Secretary—thrusting him into a dangerous web of political secrets, scandal, and revenge.

A Few Print Book Deals…

For Prime Day, we’ve featured British-connected print books <$10.

  • The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles - When prickly London clerk Gareth inherits a title and a crumbling estate on the smuggler-ridden Romney Marsh, he’s reunited with Joss Doomsday—the charming outlaw who once broke his heart—and together they must navigate deadly secrets, rekindled desire, and the perilous cost of love in Regency England.

  • The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys - Set during World War II and perfect for younger readers, this gripping historical mystery follows teenage siblings Jakob and Lizzie as they uncover secrets at Britain's top-secret codebreaking centre, Bletchley Park—blending puzzles, espionage, and the search for their missing mother into one thrilling adventure.

  • SAS Survival Handbook by John Wiseman - The SAS Survival Handbook is the ultimate guide for campers, hikers, and adventurers, offering expert advice on everything from wilderness survival and disaster preparedness to urban safety and self-defense—now updated with over 100 pages of new material, including a chapter on urban survival.

  • The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna - When solitary witch Mika Moon is asked to break all the rules and teach magic to three young witches at a secretive English estate, she finds herself drawn into a quirky household, a guarded librarian, and the possibility of a found family she never expected.

“Boys had no need of peripheral vision or a sense for being observed. It must be nice being biologically programmed with such arrogance, to be kings of the world.”

Marie Tierney, Deadly Animals

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