The Marijuana Murders: A Nostalgia City Mystery

A death at the garage complex of Nostalgia City, an Arizona theme park that simulates an American town in the year 1975, propels Bacon’s charming third Nostalgia City mystery (after Desert Kill Switch). Kate Sorensen, the park’s PR representative, is there when the automobile hoist holding a 1975 sedan rises to reveal the flattened body of a mechanic. It appears to be an accident—but is it murder? Either way, the publicity could be bad for Nostalgia City’s bottom line. Kate joins forces with Lyle Deming, a former cop, to find out the truth. A subplot involving the efforts of the directors of Nostalgia City to push for cannabis legalization raises the stakes. The pace picks up as Lyle and Kate get on the trail of a drug smuggling operation that takes them to Mexico. Bacon at times has trouble balancing the novel’s various elements—the mystery, social commentary, and romance between Kate and Lyle—but readers looking for escapist reading will be satisfied. (Self-published.)