Daniel Depp

Spandau is an ex-stunt man and cowboy (if you can define cowboy as someone who ropes steers coming out of a chute) who is currently working as a P.I. The plot is rather ordinary, but the characters have a certain appeal and the dialog is fun. Spandau is hired to protect an actor, r Bobby Dye, who is being blackmailed by a local thug, Ritchie, who did him a favor by getting a dead body out of his bathroom. Ritchie wants to use Dye in a second-rate movie and Dee wants desperately to get out of doing it fearing it will ruin his career.

Depp (I believe I read somewhere Daniel is Johnny’s brother) has an eye for the Hollywood scene with all its foibles and bizarre fetishes which help to make this book quite entertaining.

For those in Hollywood who might wonder, the author begins with the following:

They are not They.
He, She, or It, is not You.

I listened to this as an audiobook and one Amazon reviewer who read the paper copy remarked how much she thought the dialogue sparkled when read aloud. Certainly Don Leslie, the reader in this case, does a great job with the characters and narration.
… (more)

Anna Mayhew, an almost “has been” in Hollywood, is planning her suicide. Vincent Perec, a razor wielding fan, is planning her murder. Then along comes private investigator David Spandau to put a hitch in both their plans.

Babylon Nights is Daniel Depp’s follow up to 2009’s Loser’s Town, which introduced readers to the cut-throat, seedy underbelly of the film industry through the eyes of former rodeo rider turned movie stuntman turned private investigator, David Spandau. With Babylon Nights, Depp has written a tight and well told story using his background in the film industry to craft a true noir crime novel.

The story opens with a twisted Perec standing over nude photos of the former Hollywood hottie, Anna Mayhew. After spending months on the internet tracking down the rare old photos, he traded two thousand dollars to a guy in San Diego to get them. Now the photos are his, and he’s slashing himself with his father’s razor, sending blood droplets onto Anna’s photographs. All the time, he knows his controlling Maman would take them from him if she knew they existed.

The action then cuts to the top parking tier of the trendy Beverly Center as Mayhew trades seven thousand dollars to student and neurotoxin peddler Kenny Kingston for enough poison to end her sagging career and her life. But while leaving a charity luncheon, someone gets too close to Mayhew and she realizes that her scarf has been slashed. Add in a stack of over-the-top, obsessed fan letters and it’s no surprise that Spandau gets called in to meet with her.

We are quickly immersed in Mayhew’s world as she heads off to the glittering Cannes Film Festival to serve as a panel judge, with Spandau along for ride. As the story unfolds, loose ends involving a few of Spandau’s former associates and clients are neatly tied up. In a quirky but ingenious “wrong place at the wrong time” situation, Perec encounters a hooker named Chantarelle, a pimp named Special, and a bag full of the mob’s loot. Of course, in the end, all roads lead to Cannes, with Anna being the hunter’s prey.

Depp’s stand-out talent is his ever-so-snappy dialogue. This is the stuff that makes old detective stories so darn much fun, and clearly Depp knows it and runs with it. With Babylon Nights, the story flows easily with well defined characters and more than enough intrigue to make you turn the page, or hit the “next page” bar on your e-reader. This time, Depp has done away with the non-essentials and sticks to a solid storyline while still including an interesting and somewhat satirical secondary plot with intriguing characters. Depp has wisely used his insider knowledge to enhance the story and has kept his tongue firmly planted in his cheek as the threads weave together for an I- never-saw-it coming ending.

This is a David Spandau book I’d buy and I would happily line up to see a movie version. I hope there’s a next installment so we can find out what happens after “the end.”

Source-review copy, this book was provided to me by the publisher at my request and in no way affected by review.… (more)

As the first novel by a Hollywood insider, Loser's Town is full of satirical glimpses of life in the public eye and what goes on behind closed doors. Dave Spandau, ex-stuntman turned private eye is an intelligent and gruff hero that you can't help but warm to, and let's hope that Depp (yes, half-brother of the more famous Johnny) has plans for more outings for him.

I really enjoyed this book, but it did feel overall like a slightly sub-par Elmore Leonard with added raunch for me. The characters were all parodies of types we all know, but most worked well during their lifespans in the book. I did think naming the drunken old Brit Lord Sir Ian, (as would using any other existing Sir's name like Ben or Anthony etc), was rather distracting though. A competent debut - hope for more.… (more)