Novels

Joe Portugal’s experienced killing before. He‘s seen gunmen mow down a friend on little more than a whim. He’s known greed and ambition to drive his friends to murder. But now he’s face to face with a whole new degree of wickedness. A show business prodigy has been shot dead. Though no one—except perhaps the man’s father—will mourn him, his demise puts Joe in debt to a shadowy presence whose sway extends deep into Southern California industry, government, and law enforcement. And suddenly Joe begins to suspect that everyone he knows—his protégé, stunning television star Ronnie McKenzie; his new wife, Gina; and most disturbing of all, his prison vet father—is part of that clandestine coterie known as “the manipulated.”

Back in ’68 they made killer music … now their music is killing them. It’s been thirty years since Joe Portugal put his electric guitar away. Maybe that’s one reason he’s suffering a serious case of the mid-life doldrums. Then Joe stumbles upon a chance to put the band he was in as a teenager back together. And maybe his life too. All he has to do is find the lead guitarist, who hasn’t been seen since the 70s. But when he starts to look, it’s quickly clear that someone doesn’t want to see a reunion tour … someone who’s very handy with a gun.

L.A. actor Joe Portugal just wants to keep the mealybugs off his cacti, give a little boost to his love life, and maybe make a few commercials along the way. And with a small acting role nailed down, Joe has every reason to mind his own business. But he doesn’t. That’s because a man who loved orchids has been found dead. And so has a woman who asked for Joe’s help.

Joe Portugal likes people. But he likes plants better. That’s why the former theater actor turned small-time L.A. commercial star is a prominent member of the Culver City Cactus Club. Unfortunately, so is a killer. The club’s president is dead—a poison succulent lodged into her mouth. With a father who knows a thing or two about murder, and police breathing down his neck, Joe can recognize a jam when he sees one.

For the past decade, Joe Portugal has been working for Los Angeles mover and shaker John Santini, carrying out tasks on the edge of the law for the good of the city. Now he's involved with porn stars, a restroom murder, and a scheme to house all of L.A.'s homeless.