Willowtree - Mike Bove, Author

Friday, September 24. Exactly three weeks ago Keely and I found a dead body near the golf course. How did that discovery affect my life? It became one-major third of my life. My wife, Genevive, and my golf game, were the other two thirds. I tried to keep them in order, Genny first. These damn murders kept intruding into my consciousness. I didn’t know how the police measured their progress in solving the cases. It seemed I found out information as fast as they did, not fast enough. I was sure the three deaths were related. And the La Banda, and jimsonweed connected them. I had to get over this obsession. I was more resolved than ever to do what I could to put these cases to rest. I wished to get back to my life with two major halves, not thirds.

In the town of Willowtree, a man was killed. It appeared he had fallen off a cliff. Did he fall by accident or was he murdered? Years later Bruce and his dog Keely find another body. It too had fallen off a cliff, or had it been pushed? Within days another body is found. This one has been stabbed leaving no doubt that his death was murder. The connection between these three deaths – the La Banda club that had been formed when all of its members were still in school and a plant called jimsonweed, better known by the Indians as ‘loco weed.’

Bruce is a retired postman. He tired of the working world and retired with the aspect of doing his favorite pastime – playing golf. He and his friend Ben, who was also the brother of the first man to take a plunge over the cliff, spent most of their days trying to outdo each other on the course and thoroughly enjoying this new aspect in his life. That was until he found the body of the second cliff jumper. That is also when Bruce took up a new profession. He became an amateur detective decided to help speed up the progress of the police as they tried to solve the deaths of what soon became three murders.

This is one of the most light-hearted suspense/murder mysteries I’ve read in a long time. The camaraderie between Bruce, Ben and Bruce’s wife Genny is priceless. And the ending – well I’ll just say that I didn’t see that coming. I hope this will be just the first of many more books to come from Author Mike Bove and his team of Bruce, Ben and Genny.