The Cactus Club Killings [Paperback]

Nathan Walpow (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Delta (1980)
• ASIN: B000N775CG
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Falling in love with cacti, October 17, 2000

By 

Linda P. Anderson (Bloomsburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Cactus Club Killings (Mass Market Paperback)

I do read the reader reviews on Amazon but never thought I would be writing one of my own. This book was so good I thought it needed some more help reaching book buyers, so here goes:

Joe Portugal is a 40 something actor in commercials in Los Angeles who belongs to a club devoted to cacti and succulents. He has the good fortune to be somewhat successful in his career, live in a paid-for house courtesy of his father, and have a best friend (who happens to be female). He has the bad fortune to be be house, plant and bird sitting for the club president when he discovers her dead in the shower with a broken euphorbia stuffed down her throat. Police detective Casillas seems to think Joe knows a bit too much about the victim and type of murder weapon (the euphorbia sap is quite poisonous) and follows Joe about as more murders are committed. It doesn't help Joe's case that the rest of the euphorbia shows up in his greenhouse while the detective is interviewing him the next day.

What I liked most about the book was that no one was phony- even in Los Angeles, people can be normal. Joe wasn't a caricature, neither was Gina (the female friend), nor the police. They weren't supermen- able to take a pounding and then pop up fresh as a daisy ready to run up Mt Everest. Joe's dad is a retired (due to prison time) enforcer who worries about Joe and asks a friend to "watch over" him as Joe continues to investigate the killings. The interactions between characters was lively, funny and true. The situations that develop aren't forced- the coincidences aren't too far out. Maybe it's because I've been suffering thru some really bad fiction recently, I don't know; but this book is a prime example of really good writing, fascinating real characters you get to care about (oh that phrase!) and a story that plain sucks you in until you *have* to know what happens next and who did it. And, for the record, I didn't guess who did it before it was revealed. My guess died second in the book <G>

You will learn a great deal about cacti, euphorbias and poinsettias while reading the book. A wonderful botanical guide to the plants mentioned is included in the back of the book.

Is this a cozy? hmmm, maybe. No animals die in the book- unless you include some wasps. <G>

I heartily recommend this book to anyone whoever tried to get a cactus to grow and hates wasps; and to anyone looking for a great read period!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable first entry to a new detective series., June 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cactus Club Killings (Mass Market Paperback)

Nathan Walpow has a winner with his Joe Portugal series. Set in contemporary L.A., the book provides an enjoyable view a group of succulent enthusiasts and the world they inhabit. Solving one major problem with many amateur detective mysteries, Mr. Walpow succeeds in providing his hero with a believable lifestyle that allows him time to search for a murderer - he's a totally-lacking-in-ambition actor in commercials living in a house owned, but not inhabited, by his father. In fact, the father and his friends are vibrant minor characters I look forward to learning more about in future titles. Congratulations to Nathan on a promising mystery debut!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste thyme. Buy it now., August 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cactus Club Killings (Mass Market Paperback)

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!