Loser's Town: A David Spandau Novel

By Joey Karni

In Hollywood, you're not made until you've made a movie.First-time author Daniel Depp introduces private investigator David Spandau, an ex-stuntman familiar with the ins and outs of Hollywood -- a smart, tough, and wickedly funny observer ofla vie L.A.-- whose patience is almost sapped when he's hired to protect actor Bobby Dye from a blackmailing scheme gone wrong. Dye -- young, brash, and on the verge of becoming a major star -- has been set up by gangster Richie Stella, a nightclub owner and drug dealer with dreams of becoming a Hollywood producer. And he has a movie perfect for Bobby; problem is, it's the worst script anyone's ever read. But Richie is not easy to say no to, and when he retaliates, the game gets a little more deadly for more than a few of its players.A Hollywood insider himself, Depp is no stranger to the temptations and illusions of the City of Angels and its ambitious, cutthroat denizens.Loser's Townis charged with the elements of all great L.A. noir -- crackling dialogue, fast-paced plot, and seedy, jaded characters -- and Depp brings a few new tricks to the genre with sadistic talent agents, washed-up actors looking for their second coming, and small-time hustlers just trying to make a modest living outside the limelight.Loser's Townis a deftly written thriller -- a gruesomely hilarious, occasionally wistful depiction of what goes on beneath those white letters on the mountainside.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1439101434
• ISBN13: 9781439101438
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.4" x 1.1" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

engaging invigorating thriller

David Spandau left the movies when his body failed to recover from the stunts he performed. Instead the stuntman becomes a private investigator as he assumes that has to be a much softer job than bouncing out of moving vehicles that are ablaze; and besides he does know Hollywood. David is hired to protect movie star Bobby Dye from the threats of Mafioso Richie Stella. The drug dealing club owner has told the actor her will...

Terrific Debut Novel

Newcomer Daniel Depp hits it out of the park with his debut novel "Loser's Town". The story introduces David Spandau, the PI Hollywood A-Listers turn to when they have problems that need solving. Heartthrob Bobby Dye finds himself hip-deep in trouble because of his association with a shady nightclub operator who is, himself, trying to make it big in the movie industry and hoping to use Dye to pave the way. Spandau finds himself...

Enjoyable hard-boiled mystery with a Hollywood twist

In many ways, "Loser's Town" is a classic hard-boiled detective novel: the protagonist is a private investigator with a tough guy attitude (and the characteristic snappy dialogue) and a willingness to engage in violence to accomplish his goals. And he smokes too much and has a lousy love life. But there are differences that keep the book from being clichéd. David Spandau is a loner but he works for an agency that caters...

Simply Superb

This story opens with a couple sorryassed souls named Squires and Potts going up to a big house on Wonderland Avenue in Laurel Canyon. Their job, dispose of a young hotty who Potts finds on the potty with a needle in her arm. They take her out to the desert and bury her in the sand. Move now to book collecting, rodeo riding, ex-stunt man turned private eye David Spandau who has been asked to check into a death threat received...

Wonderful debut novel, definitely going to be a new favorite author!

I just LOVE this book! By page 6 I had laughed (yes, trite as the saying is nowadays, it was out loud) 4 times. I kept laughing throughout the book - until the last few chapters when things got real serious in a real hurry. This story is a real page turner - it is obvious that Daniel Depp has written screen plays and that he has, in fact, written this novel with an eye toward making it into a movie. The dialogue between...