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Friday, October 6, 2017

Dear Reader, Love Mark S. Bacon

Dear Reader,

A life-and-death chase across the Nevada desert in the middle of August highlights the action in this complex mystery spread across the southwest.  Desert Kill Switch was written to appeal to both your head and your heart.

I love mystery/suspense books that have challenging plot twists and multiple suspects that keep me guessing until the end.  But I also like fast-moving stories that put the main characters in peril making me worry that something bad might happen to them.  I wrote this book to combine both elements of a mystery/suspense book.  I wrote this to appeal to your head and your heart.

Some suspense books are full of action, but you know whodunit without hardly thinking. Then there are mysteries with lots of clues and suspects that plod along almost free of excitement until the last few pages.  Raymond Chandler had disparaging words to say about mysteries that saved the best for last.  He thought a book should be exciting and engaging throughout.

Desert Kill Switch challenges your deductive powers and takes you on one fast-moving ride after another as the two amateur detectives struggle to unravel multiple murders.

The name of the book comes from insidious little devices that some car dealers put in automobiles they sell.  GPS trackers and kill switches are sometimes put in cars sold to people that dealers consider to be higher risk borrowers.  Miss a payment—sometimes by as little as a few days—and your car is dead.  In this novel, maybe you are, too.

My main characters are Lyle Deming, a stressed-out ex-cop now driving a cab in a northern Arizona theme park, Nostalgia City (yes, it’s that big) and Kate Sorensen, Nostalgia City’s director of public relations and a former college basketball star. 

The story travels from Nostalgia City to Reno to Las Vegas and back.  Blackmail, desert chases under the hot August sun, and a sprawling classic car - rock and roll street fair are some of the elements you’ll find in the story.

Kate and Lyle must exonerate Kate who is accused of murder, catch a blackmailer, save a witness’s life, and help find a missing corpse. 

Hope you enjoy it.

Mark S. Bacon

P.S. I forgot to tell you about the setting:   Nostalgia City theme park is a meticulous re-creation of a small town from the 1970s.  It’s complete with period cars, clothes, food, shops, rides, music, fads, hair styles, restaurants—the works.


 ABOUT THE AUTHOR


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 freeway 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  one for John Wiley & Sons Publishers that was printed in four languages and three editions, named best business book of the year by 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,Denver Post, and many other publications.  Most recently he was a correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Desert Kill Switch is the second book in the Nostalgia City mystery series that began with Death in Nostalgia City, an award winner at the 2015 San Francisco Book Festival. The third book in the series will be published soon.
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, University of Redlands, and the University of Nevada - Reno.  He earned an MA in mass media from UNLV and a BA in journalism from Fresno State.   
Find out more on Amazon    
Website and social media:
Twitter: @baconauthor




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