The Marijuana Murders
by Mark
S. Bacon
GENRE: Mystery
BLURB:
Nostalgia City executive Kate Sorensen finds the body of a
mechanic crushed under an automobile hoist in the theme park’s garage. Accident
or murder? Will it impact Kate’s decision to become an advisor for one of two
competing campaigns to legalize marijuana in Arizona?
When the death is ruled a homicide and the DEA stages a surprise
raid, park cab driver Lyle Deming is recruited to help solve the murder and find
out if the park’s garage is being used to smuggle drugs. The anxiety-ridden
ex-cop is soon poking around a Mexican border town looking for a park
contractor who might be a drug mule. Or he might be dead.
Meanwhile, Kate, a 6-2 former college basketball star, is in the
middle of a heated clash between potential corporate control of pot marketing
and a laid-back, grow-your-own approach. As Kate wonders whether she should
mediate or advocate, she’s forced to dash for her life. Amid setbacks and
threats, she and Lyle must sort through interwoven crimes, a tangle of
evidence, and dark suspects.
Then there’s another murder.
The Marijuana Murders is the third novel in this mystery series
set in Nostalgia City, a theme park that re-creates—in every detail—a small
town from the 1970s.
Excerpt:
From
Chapter 6
“Legalization’s
a good idea,” Lyle said. “Not what you might expect to hear from an ex-cop, but
I think you can guess how successful our war on drugs has been. That’s one
reason. But listen, I need to tell you what happened. It’s why I came over. At
the garage last night—”
“I
know all about the accident, Lyle,” Kate said. “I was there this morning when
someone found the body. Then Channel Nine arrived and—”
“It
was no accident. At least that’s pretty much what Rey Martinez thinks. ”
Kate’s
eyes grew large. “Crap. What then?”
“Murder.
As soon as I found out, I knew you’d need to know.”
“Murder?”
Kate remembered the garage scene that morning and felt a shiver. She would not
soon forget the gruesome image. She leaned back in her chair. “It was awful.
Horrible. And now…” She imagined getting a flood of excited media calls as soon
as the word murder got out. “Who knows about it? Is the sheriff going to
announce something? Does security know it was murder? Who killed him?”
When
Lyle opened his mouth to speak, Kate interrupted.
“Sorry.
One question at a time, right?”
After
a year of working with Lyle, off and on, Kate knew the solid, professional side
of their relationship. She trusted his judgment—most of the time. He did wear a
rubber band on his wrist for his anxiety issues. But she could always rely on
his support and counsel, particularly in situations like this when the priorities
of law enforcement and park security might differ from Kate’s responsibility to
maintain NC’s public image. Personally, she and Lyle were also close, but their
nascent relationship moved ahead slowly—as a result of reticence on both sides,
for a collection of reasons.
My Review:
Bodies are popping up in Nostalgia City one is a mechanic
that works at the theme park's garage another murder is the store owner. Who
would want to harm anyone at the park? Why would they want to harm them?
Ex-police officer Lyle is asked to look into the murders.
Lyle drives a cab for the park now. A tip is sent in that drugs may be
involved. The DEA comes to the park and rips apart a classic car looking for
drugs with no luck in finding drugs.
The Marijuana Murders is riddled with action and suspense
that will keep the pages turning. With all the mystery and secrets it will keep
you hooked with guessing and trying to figure out whodunit. A fast paced read
that will keep you wanting more with a very surprising ending to whodunit.
If you are into mystery and suspense then I highly recommend
you give The Marijuana Murders a try.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Mark S. Bacon began his career as a Southern
California newspaper police reporter, one of his crime stories becoming key
evidence in a murder case that spanned decades.
After working for two newspapers, he moved to
advertising and marketing when he became a copywriter for Knott’s Berry Farm,
the large theme park down the road from Disneyland. Experience working at Knott’s formed part of
the inspiration for his creation of Nostalgia City theme park.
Before turning to fiction, Bacon wrote
business books including Do-It-Yourself Direct Marketing, printed in four
languages and three editions, named best business book of the year by the
Library Journal, and selected by the Book of the Month Club and two other book
clubs. His articles have appeared in the
Washington Post, Cleveland Plain Dealer, San Antonio Express News, Orange
County (Calif.) Register, and many other publications. Most recently he was a correspondent for the
San Francisco Chronicle.
The Marijuana Murders is the third book in the
Nostalgia City mystery series that began with Death in Nostalgia City. The first book introduced ex-cop turned cab
driver Lyle Deming and PR executive Kate Sorensen, a former college basketball
star. Death in Nostalgia City was
recommended in February for book clubs by the American Library Association.
Bacon is the author of flash fiction mystery
books including, Cops, Crooks and Other Stories in 100 Words. He taught journalism as a member of the adjunct
faculty at Cal Poly University – Pomona, the University of Nevada – Reno, and
the University of Redlands. He earned an
MA in mass media from UNLV and a BA in journalism from Fresno State. He gets many of his ideas while walking his
golden retriever, Willow.
Buy Links:
Giveaway:
$25 Amazon/BN GC
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8 comments:
Thanks for hosting!
Congrats on this tour and thank for the opportunity to read about another great book out there to read. It helps out so I can find books I know my family will enjoy reading. Thanks as well for the giveaway.
Are any of the people in this book based off of people that you know?
Great review - Sounds like a book I'll enjoy reading!
The question is: Are any of the people in the book based on people I know?
I have to answer this carefully as some of the folks are nasty criminals. In a sense all characters are based on people I have seen, heard, read about, talked with.
My protagonist Kate is a compilation of women I've known and worked with. In addition, my younger daughter was a D-1 college basketball star. She's not tall, however. At 5-6 she was a guard and a point guard. But many of the influences of being an athlete are the same regardless of your size. In addition, I knew some of her teammates who were over 6 feet. Lyle has a good bit of me in him, plus some people I've known and admired.
Good evening, Mark. My question for you today is, which type of character do you enjoy writing the most? The hero, the villain or someone who is a little bit of both?
Happy Friday! Do you have any specific reading or writing plans for the weekend?
sounds like a fun one
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