The Marijuana Murders

Dueling pot campaigns create deadly mystery

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 recreational 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 1/2" former college basketball star, is in the middle of a heated clash between potential corporate control of pot marketing and the 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.

While they explore their nascent relationship, Kate and Lyle must move quickly through a tangle of motivations for legalizing pot until they can solve the murders.   

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.

"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?"
- Dr. Wesley Britton, author of Onscreen and Undercover &the Beta-Earth Chronicles, Bookpleasures

"I really enjoyed this delightful and well done mystery. The characters are alive and sparkling and bring you right into the action. The background and scenery are both well done. The murder and drug plots have twists and turns that will keep you guessing right into the final reveals. I highly recommend this mystery for anyone who enjoys a good mystery with lots of action and red herrings!"
 - Doward Wilson, Kings River Life

"Mark S. Bacon deftly blends nostalgia and crime.  If you're looking for a mystery that touches on today's issues while harking back to earlier eras, The Marijuana Mysteries does so in a fast pace with humor and style."
- Debbi Mack, New York Times bestselling author of the Sam McRae Mystery Series