Death In Nostalgia City
By Mark K. Bacon
ISBN# 9781626941748
Author’s Website: http://www.baconsmysteries.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Jerjen
Death In Nostalgia City is very aptly titled because while I was reading it I felt like I was taking a walk down memory lane. Not that I had experience with a murder but this book reminded me of the old police dramas that I enjoyed watching. Memories of shows like Starsky and Hutch and The Rockford Files came flooding back to me while I was reading this book. And that is a good thing.
Lyle Deming is a cab driver in a theme park and it is the perfect job for him. He is an ex-policeman who suffers from chronic anxiety attacks so the non-stress of being a cab driver is just what the doctor ordered. Until accidents start happening within the park and people start getting injured and dying. Lyle’s anxiety level begins climbing with each incident.
Knowing that Lyle is an ex-policeman, the owner of the resort asks Lyle to investigate the incidents and figure out what is happening and why. He reluctantly agrees and finds himself in more trouble than he could have imagined. Lucky for him, he enlists the help of the resort’s Public Relations director, Kate Sorenson. One of Kate’s jobs is to create positive publicity to counteract the bad press that the resort is experiencing. Kate is not sure which will be harder, catching a killer or spinning the incidents in a positive light.
There is so much to love about this book. The characters are well developed, well rounded and three dimensional. Both Lyle and Kate have very many human traits that we all have. Both Lyle and Kate come into each others lives and into the investigation with baggage. Kate has problems with commitments. Lyle left the police force under questionable circumstances and really struggles with his anxiety disorder. They seem very realistic to me and are very easy to start caring and worrying about.
The setting of the theme park is described so well that I wish that a place like that really existed. Everything from the early seventies is replicated, from the clothing, food, vehicles and music.
Being a teenager in the seventies, I could relate to all of these things and it brought back memories for me. This is one of the things I liked most about the book.
The book pulled me in from the very beginning and never let me go. There are so many twists and turns contained within this book that at times I almost felt dizzy. The suspense and tension are almost palpable and I had to keep turning pages as fast as I could to find out what was going to happen to Lyle and Kate.
I love the premise of the book and Nostalgia City. I found this to be unique and very enjoyable and this is a good thing. The writing style flows smoothly and the book is a quick easy read. The author is very descriptive in his writing and is able to evoke memories and create tension just with his written word.
I would recommend this well-crafted mystery suspense to anyone who enjoys this genre. If you have lived through the seventies, you will enjoy this book even more. Hopefully this is the start of a new series for Mark S. Bacon. I want to be able to learn more about Lyle and Kate and get to know them even better.
