Loser's Town (David Spandau #1) by Daniel Depp






A look at Hollywood from an insider's point of view

Published in 2009 by Simon & Schuster.
290 pages.

Daniel Depp knows his way around Hollywood - he is a screenwriter and his brother is famed actor Johnny Depp (a fact I did not know until after I read the book). Loser's Town features David Spandau, a former stuntman turned private detective. Spandau is jaded and definitely not impressed with the Hollywood movie scene.

Spandau is called back from vacation to take a case involving Bobby Dye, an up and coming new star on the verge of making it to the pinnacle of the Hollywood scene. But, he's receiving death threats and, more importantly, is being blackmailed. Spandau has to deal with greedy agents, flighty actors and an on again / off again relationship with his client throughout as he tracks clues through the ugly underbelly of the Hollywood scene.


The book's title comes from a Robert Mitchum quote: "I came out to Los Angeles in the 30s, during the Depression, because there was work here. LA is a loser's town. It always has been. You can make it here when you can't make it anywhere else." This quote sets the tone for the entire book. It is dark, cynical and nihilistic. For me, it was too much. This was not a particularly enjoyable book, although the behind-the-scenes of the movie business aspect was interesting - in the beginning. But, the relentless nature of the book comes off more as petty complaining and trying to air out showbiz's dirty laundry and less about trying to move the plot along.

I rate this book 2 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Loser's Town: A David Spandau Novel.

Reviewed on January 17, 2012.

Comments

Popular posts over the last 30 days

NIGHTSHADE (a Catalina novel book one)(audiobook) by Michael Connelly

OUR SUBWAY BABY (audiobook) by Peter Mercurio

IN the PRESENCE of MINE ENEMIES: SEVEN YEARS as a POW in NORTH VIETNAM by Howard and Phyllis Rutledge

SUPERMAN / WONDER WOMAN, Volume 1: Power Couple (graphic novel) by Charles Soule

SONGS of AMERICA: PATRIOTISM, PROTEST, and the MUSIC THAT MADE a NATION (audiobook) by Jon Meacham and Tim McGraw

BATMAN: ONE BAD DAY - MR. FREEZE (graphic novel) by Gerry Duggan

SLAPSTICK or LONESOME NO MORE! by Kurt Vonnegut

DOWN ALONG with THAT DEVIL'S BONES: A RECKONING with MONUMENTS, MEMORY, and the LEGACY of WHITE SUPREMACY (audiobook) by Connor Towne O'Neill

LIVE LONG and...WHAT I LEARNED ALONG the WAY (audiobook) by William Shatner and David Fisher

COMRADES in ARMS (kindle)(short story) by Kevin J. Anderson