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.
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Possibly the most assured crime debut since The Big Sleep (which wasn't really a debut). I have no idea what exactly Daniel Depp has been doing before this, or what is the nature of his relationship with his famous actor brother Johnny, but he has arrived on the LA crime scene with a big bang. Looking forward to the sequel. ( )

http://radiergummi.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/daniel-depp-stadt-der-verlierer/ ( )

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. ( )

Looks like Johnny isn’t the only talent in the Depp family...

I guess when you’re the half-brother of an A-list actor and your debut novel is an LA noir/Hollywood satire, you open the book with an author’s note that starts:

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

Daniel Depp has written a sharp and stylish mystery. It opens with thugs Potts and Squiers running an errand for their boss, Ritchie Stella. Stella’s a night club owner, drug dealer, organized criminal, and wanna-be motion picture producer. He’s sent Potts and Squiers to remove a body from the home of newly-minted film star Bobby Dye. Just in case Bobby doesn’t realize that he owes Stella big time, some highly incriminating photos are taken at the scene.

Armed with these, Stella asks Bobby to star in a film he wants to produce. The script’s a stinker, and if he knows anything, Bobby knows that doing Stella’s film will kill his burgeoning career. He needs help.

It is at this point that we meet our protagonist, David Spandau, a private eye we’ve been promised to see in future novels. Spandau’s a former Hollywood stuntman and a part-time rodeo performer. He wears Armani suits with cowboy boots. His philosophy: “When all else fails, just be taller.” What else do you need to know about the guy? He’s good at his job, still hung up on his ex, and doesn’t suffer fools gladly. Spandau decides he’s going to solve the Stella problem, despite being hired, fired, and quitting the job any number of times throughout the book.

There’s nothing really special or unusual about the plot of the novel, and I don’t know that plotting is Depp’s strength. I’m torn when it comes to the characters. Spandau’s entertaining enough. And Potts turned out to be a pretty interesting character. A thug with a rich internal life, he’s a good guy at heart, but he does some very bad things. Then there’s Terry McGuinn, an associate of Spandau’s. He’s five foot six, a martial arts genius, catnip for the ladies, and has an Irish brogue you could cut with a knife. I guess that’s it. Depp has gone a bit overboard making all of his characters… characters. They’re all so special and idiosyncratic. It’s a bit much, but they really are entertaining.

Where Depp really shines is with his prose and his dialog, both of which are wonderfully witty and fun to read aloud. The banter is fast-paced and humorous, and yes, the language is salty. I find myself amazed by how many people are deeply offended by a little cussing. The irony is, even Spandau doesn’t appreciate the language, repeatedly telling other characters, “I’ve got better things to do… than sit around and be verbally abused.” Anyway, if you’re easily offended, you probably won’t appreciate the dialog--but I enjoyed the hell out of it.

Depp’s other strength is just knowing the world he’s writing about. Insights into the privileges and pitfalls of fame ring true. His working knowledge of the film industry and the characters therein provide plenty of material for his satirical eye. Depp’s got a fine sense of humor, but not everything in this novel is a joke, and there’s a good blend of comic and more serious elements. I didn’t have tremendous expectations going into this novel, but I liked it enough that I’ll definitely be checking out the next in the series. ( )