Fair-Skinned Brunette with the Porcelain Shine

"Fair-Skinned Brunette with the Porcelain Shine" is a gripping mystery story filled with unexpected twists and turns. The story begins as Lassie James sits in Pig Farm Tavern in Chapel Hill. He soon runs into his ex, Dr. Holly Pike. She electrifies the room, but all Lassie can think about is how she ran out on him when they were going to get married. Many years have gone by, and so much has changed. However, before Lassie can process his old feelings for her, Dr. Pike's reappearance in his life takes an unexpected turn. When an important figure at UNC is murdered and Lassie shockingly becomes a suspect, he must quickly work to connect the dots between the inside job, the murder, and Dr. Pike's company.

"Fair-Skinned Brunette with the Porcelain Shine" is a gripping mystery story filled with unexpected twists and turns. The story begins as Lassie James sits in Pig Farm Tavern in Chapel Hill. He soon runs into his ex, Dr. Holly Pike. She electrifies the room, but all Lassie can think about is how she ran out on him when they were going to get married. Many years have gone by, and so much has changed. However, before Lassie can process his old feelings for her, Dr. Pike's reappearance in his life takes an unexpected turn. When an important figure at UNC is murdered and Lassie shockingly becomes a suspect, he must quickly work to connect the dots between the inside job, the murder, and Dr. Pike's company. Dr. Pike explains that her billion-dollar company, Gimghoul Research Labs, has been the target of anonymous emails alleging fraud. Signs point to a disgruntled researcher. Suddenly propositioned by Dr. Pike with an inside job that Lassie can't turn down—an inside job that will pay him five million dollars to track down the source of the anonymous emails—Lassie soon uncovers a murderous web of corruption.

John Bare is a photographer, songwriter, and former journalist who has worked in the nonprofit sector for over two decades. With Don Dixon, John wrote songs for the 2019 album, Lassie James Songbook Vol. I, a collection of twelve original songs inspired by this novel. John was born in Winston-Salem and attended public schools in Garner, NC, where his parents were educators. He attended the University of North Carolina, where he studied film as an undergraduate, received a PhD in mass communication research, and developed an appreciation for biscuits, whiskey, and live music. John shares his house with his rescue dogs, Winston and Isadora.