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The Marijuana Murders: A Nostalgia City Mystery #3 (Nostalgia City Mysteries)
Mark S. Bacon
Publisher: Archer & Clark Publishing (June 17, 2019)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
ASIN: B07T94PKPM
https://www.amazon.com/Marijuana-Murders-Nostalgia-Mystery-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B07T94PKPM
Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton
It doesn't happen to me very often--in the first pages of The Marijuana Murders, I knew I was going to enjoy the ride. I was glad I stuck with it.
For one thing, much of the story is set in Nostalgia City--no, not the real museum in Myrtle Beach--but a fictional theme park in Arizona where everything is maintained in the state it was in the 1970s. Especially cars.
For another thing, the backdrop to the story is the competing interests of two movements wanting to legalize pot in Arizona; one wants to impose corporate control over pot sales and the other wants a looser, grow-your-own approach. Do their conflicting interests set the stage for murders in Nostalgia City? Toss in those opposed to legalizing pot at all and we get a number of competing perspectives. Everything is happening with major touches of the '70s mixed in with contemporary issues.
And right from the get-go, we are introduced to a stellar cast of characters revolving around the pivotal pair of Kate Sorenson, the Vice President of Public Relations for Nostalgia City walking around on alluring long legs, and Lyle Deming, former cop and now cab driver for visitors to the immense theme park. They assist official law enforcement when employees start dying in a refurbishing garage which turns out to be the center of a large-scale drug ring.
Mark S. Bacon unwinds his mystery with a light tone and often humorous touches as parallel investigations get underway as various potential criminals are checked out, ruled out, pulled to the top of the suspect lists, and put Kate, Lyle, and Arizona police in deadly danger for unclear and unknown motives. Through it all, Mark Bacon keeps the pace fast-moving, the descriptions vivid, the setting unusual, the lead players interesting, the plot intriguing, and the surprises coming. You want more in a murder mystery?
I admit, after completing the third volume in the Nostalgia City yarns, I plan on going back and diving into volumes one and two and hoping for another round down the road.
This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Sept. 11, 2019:
