Lyle Deming was
a policeman suffering from post-traumatic stress. He decides
to make a lifestyle change walking away from his life as a
cop and takes a job as a cab driver at a theme park located
in Arizona. Nostalgia City recreates the 1970s in every way,
from the muscle cars, era clothing and architecture to their
restriction on cell phones, laptops, tablets or any other
devices that were not available during that era.
Lyle and his daughter are enjoying a drive through the desert
when they see a vintage Pontiac Firebird parked on the side
of the road. This is just the type of car that would be available
to rent at the theme park. He gets out to take a look at the
car and finds a bullet-riddled body lying on the ground beside
the car. Lyle reports the situation to the local police and
here is where the whodunit kicks in. The police go out to
investigate but there is not crime scene because the car and
the dead body have disappeared. The police are well aware
that Deming’s mental health issues and want to believe
him, but without a crime scene there isn’t much that
they can do. Lyle decides to investigate on his own to prove
that he was not hallucinating and that the crime really occurred.
Kate Sorenson; an executive at Nostalgia City, is in Reno,
Nevada manning a booth at a Rockin’ Summer Days trade
show. There she meets Al Busick, a sleazy car dealer who is
hated by everyone who knows him. Al preys on low income buyers;
he installs a “kill switch” into the cars that
allows him to disable the vehicle if a payment is missed.
Kate gets into a nasty altercation with Al that is observed
by a number of attendees at the trade show. Things would have
died down if Al was not found dead the following day and of
course Kate is the prime suspect. Kate calls Lyle to help
her find the murderer before the police arrest her.
Kate and Lyle have been an “item” in the past
and he drops everything, including his own investigation,
to help her. They quickly learn that the list of people who
hated Busick is very long, making it real difficult to find
the killer in time.
Desert Kill Switch is the second book in the Nostalgia
City series. I found it easy to read this book without having
read the first one. Bacon has a knack for using his prose
to bring the desert and the 1970’s theme park to life
for the reader. The author guides the reader through the two
crimes in an effortless manner that is easy to follow and
full of suspense.
Desert Kill Switch is a well written whodunit that
was a blast to read. The author masterfully the 1970’s
to life again, laced with a wickedly suspenseful whodunit.
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