Nostalgia City Mysteries

Mark S. Bacon

2:35 pm - March 4, 2023 -

Reading group / book club guide

0
Dark Ride Deception – Questions for discussion
  1. What motivated Lyle to tell Rey that he searched Wyrick’s condo?
  1. How does the author use the senses in his description of the theme park trade show in Florida?
  1. Many murder mysteries begin with a body in the first chapter. Why do you think the author delayed exposing the first murder?
  1. Did you figure out the identity of Sarah Needham’s boyfriend before Lyle did?
  1. How are characters in the book identified or explained by other characters?
  1. Do you recognize the songs Lyle and others listen to? What other 1970’s reminders did you pick up in scenes at the Nostalgia City theme park?

Continue Reading →

Categories: book clubs, book groups, reading group Tags: , , ,
3:52 pm - February 13, 2023 -

Welcome back…..Kotter?

3

Do you remember Welcome Back Kotter, the late 1970s TV comedy starring Gabe Kaplan?  He portrayed a dedicated high school teacher who returned to the classroom at the same inner-city school he attended to teach seemingly the same class of students of which he was once a part.

This show and John Sebastian’s theme song is the essence of synchronicity for today’s episode of Nostalgia City Mysteries. Due to recent, somewhat lengthy absence from the blogosphere you might have forgotten you used to receive these posts in your email (or read it regularly online).  Explanations, exciting and otherwise, follow but the theme today is—wait for it—Welcome Back.

Thinking of this theme naturally reminded me of the show, but that’s simply coincidence or an obvious train of thought.  The real synchronicity is the show’s setting: the late 1970s.  It’s the same world represented at Nostalgia City, the present-day theme park that re-creates an entire small town from the 1970s—the setting for my themed mystery novels.

Let’s catch up
Every now and then you’re faced with a situation—a duty—for which you have no preparation or training. Such Continue Reading →

Category: New mystery book
9:02 am - March 28, 2022 -

Trivia quiz answers & a book giveaway

0

Register for a free copy

Death in Nostalgia City, the first book in the Nostalgia City mystery series, is available free, for a limited time, on Goodreads.com. The Goodreads giveaway will close on April 15. Now why did I pick that date?

Regardless, just mosey your mouse over to: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/343368?utm_medium=api&utm_source=giveaway_widget  and register to win a free copy.

Quiz answers:

Here are the answers to the 1970s trivia quiz.  To review the questions go here, or if you’re reading this on the website, just scroll down.

 1. B   2. C     3. B     4. D    5. A     6. C     7. A      8. D      9. C     10.  C     11. D     12. C

Notes:

No. 3.  The Vietnam War ended on April 30, 1975 with the fall of Saigon.

 No. 7.  Chia Pets were the big rage in the 1970s.  The Hula Hoop was introduced in 1958 by the Wham-O toy company. Beanie Babies came on the market in 1993, and Pokemon Go is only about seven years old.

No. 10.  The other seemingly difficult question was to name the event that did not occur in the 1970s. All of the listed events, such as the 55 MPH National Speed Limit Law (imposed in 1975 to help save gasoline) took place in the 1970s except the crash of the Pan Am jet over Scotland.  That happened in 1988.  BTW, it took Little League, founded in 1939, until 1974 to permit girls to play. The decision was the result of a lawsuit.  And, Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Eileen Brennan and others starred in The Sting which won the best picture Oscar in 1973.

Categories: 1970s events, 1970s trivia quiz, Book giveaway, New mystery book Tags: , , , , , , ,