Kindle
$0.00
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Paperback
—
Kindle Price: $0.00

Save $0.99 (100%)

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Audiobook Price: $17.46

Save: $9.97 (57%)

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs

Follow the author

Hannah Howe
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Sam's Song: A Sam Smith Mystery Kindle Edition

by Hannah Howe (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 3,158 ratings
See all formats and editions
“If you like psychological detective stories with a touch of humour and romance, you will love Sam Smith.”

An audio book of Sam's Song, narrated by Suzan Lynn Lorraine, is now available from Amazon, Audible and iTunes.

Love Hurts. For Derwena de Caro, songstress, female icon, teenage dream, success brought drugs, alcohol and a philandering boyfriend. It also brought wealth, fame and a stalker, or so she claimed. And that’s where I came in, to investigate the identity of the stalker, little realising that the trail would lead to murder and a scandal that would make the newspaper headlines for months on end.

Love Hurts. For me, Samantha Smith, Enquiry Agent, love arrived at the end of a fist. First, I had to contend with an alcoholic mother, who took her frustrations out on me throughout my childhood, then my husband, Dan, who regarded domestic violence as an integral part of marriage. But I survived. I obtained a divorce, kept my sense of humour and retained an air of optimism. I established my business and gained the respect of my peers. However, I was not prepared for Dan when he re-entered my life, or for the affection showered on me by Dr Alan Storey, a compassionate and rather handsome psychologist.

Sam’s Song. This is the story of a week that changed my life forever.






Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 19
    A Sam Smith Mystery
  2. Print length
    260 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    November 5, 2014
  6. File size
    995 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
Next page
Add a debit or credit card to save time when you check out
Convenient and secure with 2 clicks. Add your card
Next 5 for you in this series See full series
Total Price: $3.96
By clicking on the above button, you agree to Amazon's Kindle Store Terms of Use
More like Sam's Song: A Sam Smith Mystery
Page 1 of 1Start overPage 1 of 1
Previous page
  5. The Sleeper
    Kindle Edition
    Just released
    $9.99
  14. Mysteries
    Kindle Edition
    $3.99
  16. GIORGIO
    Kindle Edition
    $9.99
  21. Corridor Man
    Kindle Edition
    $4.99
  25. The Car Thief
    Kindle Edition
    $4.99
  26. A Storm Does This Way Come
    Kindle Edition
    $4.99
Next page
Loading...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Hannah Howe is the author of the Sam Smith Mystery Series, a series that has reached #1 on the Amazon private investigator's chart on six separate occasions, plus the #1 position in Australia. Hannah also writes the Ann's War Mystery Series and stand-alone novels. Hannah's books are available in print, as eBooks and audio books from all major outlets, including iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Amazon, Kobo and Audible. Hannah lives in Glamorgan, Wales with her family. Her interests include reading, music, genealogy, chess and classic black and white movies.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00OHZ151W
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Goylake Publishing (November 5, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 5, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 995 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 260 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 3,158 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Hannah Howe

Hannah Howe

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Hannah’s Books

The Sam Smith Mystery Series - nineteen stand-alone novels. More to follow.

Eve’s War - twelve novellas, approximately 20,000 words each. Series complete.

Eve’s Peace - stand-alone sequel to Eve’s War, approximately 40,000 words.

Ann’s War - five novellas, approximately 15,000 words each. Series complete.

The Olive Tree: A Spanish Civil War Saga - five novellas, approximately 15,000 words each. Series complete.

The Golden Age of Hollywood

Tula, novel, approximately 78,000 words.

Sunshine, novel, approximately 55,000 words.

Dana, novel, word count to be determined.

The Ninety-Three: A Suffragette Mystery. Stand-alone novel, approximately 40,000 words.

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
3,158 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Luv2read
5.0 out of 5 stars Really good book
Reviewed in the United States on May 23, 2016
Verified Purchase
Sam’s Song (Book 1) by Hannah Howe is a delightfully infectious read that I started and finished in one day. I love the way Howe starts the book and from the first line I’m invested in the nail biting protagonist, Samantha Smith, with the refurbished computer and battered second-hand desk. When the cane & fedora carrying Milton Vaughn-Urquhart enters the scene on behalf of his client the writing is terrific. He’s there representing the pop diva Derwena de Caro (with a boyfriend named Woody), who is being stalked. Or is she? Vaughn-Urquhart and Sam are involved in introductions when another character enters the scene and here’s where I nearly spat my coffee onto my kindle. Marlow the ball-licking alley cat who gets nervous around shouting is too wonderfully written to not comment on. The quality of descriptions as the story continues is rich: lip twitching into an Elvis Presley smile and meows like a badly tuned violin; enhancing the enjoyment of the read. And although it starts out in a light-hearted classic style the themes aren’t all peaches and cream: Sam’s finances are in shambles and she’s hardly meeting the bills; she lives with the baggage of an alcoholic mother and wondering who her father is and if he’s even alive; and she’s got serious problems with an abusive (psychologically and physically) ex who won’t leave her alone. Sam’s real, she runs deep, and her joking comes across as a coping mechanism that reads sometimes funny but once the story deepens the jocular turns pathetic and we feel for our wounded, yet independent protagonist, the mark of great writing. Sam’s character exposes her underbelly when she goes to interview her client’s psychologist. It is there when he asks her how she became a detective that she opens up; and in doing so, so does my heart. I love Sam’s character and the others authentically interjected into the storyline to help propel the story along, involving a near drug overdose, murder, a surprise unexpected ending and death. Much of the details of what happens have been covered in other reviews and I don’t want to put any spoilers here. What’s important for me to add here is, on a day when I was in need of something interesting to occupy my mind this really good read kept me company. I couldn’t put it down right up to the clever and satisfying ending that has a nice twist that left me feeling hopeful. I look forward to more from the very talented Hannah Howe.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Ian
4.0 out of 5 stars YA Comedic Mystery
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2016
Verified Purchase
A fast moving, wise-cracking, largely to formula, Sam Spade-like detective story centered on the shenanigans and goings-on of the entertainment industry. Particularly one overwrought starlet who is being stalked. She is temperamental, high strung, often infantile, demanding, entitled, self-centered, often hysterical—the starlet, not our detective. In short, the off-the-rack Hollywood type. Sammy, who heads her own one-person detective agency is flat-broke and would hire her cat if her cat could pay her. In no position to turn down a case, even one as far removed from reality as this one, she soldiers on through a list of suspects, informants, and Hollywood types that will actually make you’re glad you’re NOT rich and successful. Through it all—she is hit on, practically mauled, disrespected, endangered—our heroine retains not only her sense of humor but possibly is the only one in the book with any sense of personal detachment from her own madness, and perhaps any enlightened self-awareness at all. I’ll say it: I like her.

I was between a 3 and a 4 on this one but ultimately rounded up to a 4, and here’s why. True, there were a few too many clichés like “beggars can’t be choosers.” And true, in a very competitive, overly-written genre, this book did not rise that far above the norm, or middle of the pack. But I factored in for the young narrative voice which I believe will go over well with the YA crowd (which is not me, in case you were wondering.) And also, if this is a first novel by a young novelist, it most definitely deserves a solid 4 just for what an accomplishment that reflects. Last but not least, while many of the jokes didn’t exactly land, some were hilarious, and once again, I imagine the brand of humor will go over better with the YA crowd. The characters are more often than not caricatures, and I would like to have seen them fleshed out better. That said, the craft of the writing itself is rather good, with a good sense of how much each element needs in a scene as far as weighting. With the possible exception of character descriptions, which often go on for several paragraphs. With the realization that the series will likely get better as it goes along and as the writer hits her stride, I would be willing to give other installments a try. Call me a sucker for comedic mysteries, but it’s one of my favorite sub-genres.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Bookzilla
3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining
Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2018
Verified Purchase
Domestic violence triggers

Entertaining. This stand-alone is easy to follow and difficult to put down. There is violence but no drag-you-down drama.

The storyline is intriguing with plenty of twists and different scenarios to keep the reader's interest.

Believable characters with distinct personalities and emotional baggage. Thought-provoking dialogue, especially with the domestic violence scenes.

One scene has Sam spitting out a tooth, but no one ever notices nor does she need to get it taken care of.

No desire to re-read this story. I am interested in other works by this author.
5 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

DonnyRover
5.0 out of 5 stars Sam's Song a really enjoyable read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2024
Verified Purchase
I liked the main character, she felt believable. I'm not usually keen on the first person narrative but I really enjoyed this book
Report
Janice J. Richardson
5.0 out of 5 stars Rooting for Sam
Reviewed in Canada on November 25, 2018
Verified Purchase
Initially, I had a bit of trouble getting into the book, probably because the premise was not something I was familiar with, i.e. a rock star with a problem. Not a fan of rock music, or the lifestyle, it was the protagonist, Sam, that drew me in.
Don't you just love it when a book grows on you? Three-quarters of the way into the story I forgot that it wasn't a likely scenario, I was routing for Sam and hoping she would make sound decisions.
It takes a good writer to draw one into a story that is hard to put down, especially if it isn't something you relate to.
One person found this helpful
 Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars This was the first kindle book of its kind that I read, and though I had misgivings at first (at all self publishing) I was delighted to learn that the quality of writing here is up to any ''normal' publishing standard. He book was a page turner and I liked the (not too) hard boiled style. Loved some of the characters... they grow on you.
Reviewed in India on April 25, 2019
Verified Purchase
Pacy and quite in the real world. Some of the tropes were tried ones, and I won't be a spoiler here, but - on the whole - it all held together and was a worthwhile read.
Report
Marty Langenberg
5.0 out of 5 stars Great story
Reviewed in Australia on May 10, 2022
Verified Purchase
Hannah knows what she's doing. Great characters all round with a very believable protagonist. She has a lot to prove, especially to herself. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. She's tough!
One person found this helpful
 Report
Anthony Randall
4.0 out of 5 stars Poignant and funny
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 1, 2018
Verified Purchase
You know what’s like, an author new to you, meeting character’s for the first time, you don’t know them yet, they’re not under your skin, you’re unsure whether you are going to like this book, it’s not your regular genre, but it’s piqued your interest so you persevere hoping for a hook, give it a few pages, you never know, the grammar’s impeccable, the edit’s excellent, the build up plausible… And then the cat licked his balls...
I was in, captured by M’s Howe’s sense of humour, her tongue in cheek slant on a Private detective escapade with a substantial difference, this dick didn’t have one.
The protagonist propagated with each turn of the page, blossoming into someone adorable. Sure there were some fantasy moments, it’s what we expect from a novel right, but Hannah writes with an authentic realism that brings it down to earth in a way that is both humbling and familiar. It wasn’t so much the murder investigation that embroiled me, but the parable of Sam Smith. Like most of us she’s a regular, bruised, battered, fragmented and confused individual, who has to enamel herself for the life she has chosen. She’s a lady on a mission, packing a Smith and Wesson and a bucket of wryly delivered Dad jokes, what’s not to love.
I’d like to read more of Miss Smith’s capers; I enjoyed the pathos, the gritty quotidian irony and the geography and history from a small part of Wales.
The only disappointment, we never get to hear Sam’s song.
Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report