Another case book from the Baker Street Bakers has surfaced! We at the Metaphysical Detective Agency have been vastly entertained by the antics of pie makers Val and Charlene, and this new mystery is set in a faux ghost town. So mysterious!
I have conducted background research on the history of the Bar X, and this is what I have learned:
• The Bar X ghost town is on the site of a ranch built in 1856 by Ebeneezer Wright. • Mr. Wright died in a riding accident in 1862, leaving the ranch to his wife. • That same year, the widow married one of the ranch hands, leading to rumors that the riding accident was no accident. • There are also rumors the ranch was built over a native American burial ground, though these have not been confirmed. • In the 1920s, then owner of the ranch, Willy Robinson, was arrested for bootlegging. The case was dismissed, and he ran for mayor of San Nicholas the next year and won. No further charges against Mr. Robinson were ever brought. • The ranch was finally torn down in 1968, and the property bought and turned into the Bar X in 2015.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play
Val's new pies are foolproof—but not bulletproof.
Old West ghost towns are as American as apple pie. So what better place to sponsor a pie-eating contest than the Bar X, a fake ghost town available for exclusive private events on the edge of Silicon Valley? Valentine Harris is providing the pies, hoping to boost business for her struggling Pie Town shop and become a regular supplier for the Bar X.
But no sooner does she arrive in town than a stray bullet explodes the cherry pie in her hands. And the delicious dessert is not the only victim. Val finds the Bar X bartender shot dead in an alley. Egged on by her flaky friend and pie crust specialist, Charlene, Val aims to draw out the shooter. But solving a real murder in a fake ghost town won't be easy as pie. And if Val doesn't watch her back, her pies won't be the only thing filled full of lead . . .