The Manipulated: A Joe Portugal Mystery

Joe Portugal Mystery #4

by Nathan Walpow

The death of an entertainment icon prompts an investigation by amateur sleuth Joe Portugal, who finds himself drafting a suspect list that contains some of the people closest to him. By the author of One Last Hit.

331 pages, Hardcover

First published May 10, 2005

About the author

Nathan Walpow's most recent work recounts the exploits of Logan, who tracks down those who prey on women and children and sees that they pay the price. The novellas Logan’s Young Guns and Logan Shoots First, currently available as e-books, will soon be joined by a third in a trade paper volume from Down & Out Books.

Nathan’s Joe Portugal mystery series consists of four novels, with a fifth and final one in the works. His short fiction includes “Push Comes to Shove,” selected for the Best American Mystery Stories series, and “A Good Day’s Work,” optioned for a movie.

Nathan is a member of Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers, past president of the Southern California MWA chapter, and a five-time Jeopardy! champion. His website is at www.walpow.com.

Reviews

[unicorn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Before i start my review, I must admit that I read only the first 50 pages of this composition. I cant continue on. I honestly can not. More detail can be extracted from a Dr. Seuss book than from this piece of work. The author fails to use a wide range of vocabulary, thus making the writing even more horrible. The dialogue, well, I dare not get too much in explaining the bareness of it. Trying to comprehend the dialogue, I felt as if a child wrote it trying to show the conversation between two people rather than a professional writer. No tone or mood was presented within the conversing of people. Each scene seemed rushed and wasn't properly presented. They were very vague, to say the least. The main character, who I cant seem to remember the name, seemed to have a too-good-to-be-true life. Still, important aspects in his life are abruptly introduced out of nowhere in the wrong place and little is said about them. If I could rate this book any lower, I certainly would.