The Cactus Club Killings

Not your garden-variety mystery. A succulent little book, with a down-to-earth detective, a thorny problem, good plot, and very good and believable characters. I've written a longer review for our website and am posting this one as a personal favor to Nathan; however, I am recommending this book, not as a personal favor to him but to mystery lovers everywhere, whether you like plants or not. Don't waste thyme. Buy this book now!

I was a bit hesitant to buy this book, since I'm not really a "plant person". However, I'm certainly not a "horse person", but I always enjoy Dick Francis. Knowledge or enjoyment of succulents is not necessary to enjoy Nathan Walpow's first mystery novel featuring commercial actor Joe Portugal. The book doesn't really fit into either the hard-boiled or cozy category: Joe Portugal may be an amateur sleuth, but there's lots of action to keep things moving. Wait until you have some spare time, because you won't want to stop reading until you find out whodunit.

I can't speak for the mystery folks...But, I do predict that other cactus and succulent folks are going to LOVE this book! The characters were quite believable -- similar to the other plant-obsessed people that I share this wonderfully strange hobby with. The story was credible as well -- though I hope that the folks that populate my Cactus Club never have adventures like Joe Portugal's.Looking forward to Nathan Walpow's next mystery.

Joe Portugal convinces his best friend Gina Vela to accompany him when he visits the home of noted UCLA botanist Dr. Brenda Belinski. Joe, renowned for his TV commercials, is the secretary of the Culver City Cactus Club. He promised Brenda, his former lover and president of the CCCC that he would take care of her canaries and her greenhouse while she traveled to Madagascar. After arriving at Brenda's home, Joe, who has a phobia when it comes to wasps, inadvertently soaks Gina with bug spray to avoid a stinging insect. Gina goes to take a shower, but finds the corpse of Brenda with a segment of the deadly abdelkure plant stuffed down her throat. LAPD Detective Casilles questions Joe, who swears he does not own an abdelkure. When the police find the remaining segment of the abdelkure in Joe's greenhouse, he becomes a prime suspect. When the vice president of the CCCC is murdered, Joe wonders if he could be next even as the police put him on top of their suspect list. With the help of Gina he begins to investigate Brenda's activities to ferret out a killer before he becomes the next victim. THE CACTUS CLUB KILLINGS is a very entertaining and humorous amateur sleuth tale. The story line is fun as readers get inside Joe's head as he conducts his inquiries. The characters turn this an enjoyable reading experience. Being inside Joe's head is amusing yet it does help propel the who-done-it forward. The support ensemble adds depth. In his debut novel, Nathan Walpow writes a lovable and believable tale that will leave sub-genre fans desiring sequels.Harriet Klausner