cover image Loser's Town: A David Spandau Novel

Loser's Town: A David Spandau Novel

Daniel Depp, , read by Don Leslie. . HighBridge, $29.95 (540pp) ISBN 978-1-59887-871-4

When David Spandau, a former stuntman turned private investigator, is hired to protect movie star Bobby Dye from mobster (and would be movie producer) Richie Stella, he finds himself embroiled in a world of drugs, blackmail and murder. Don Leslie's deep-voiced, matter-of-fact delivery fits perfect with the author's hard-boiled prose. Both writer and reader sparkle in the dialogue: the opening scene where two bickering thugs are charged with picking up a dead body is both morbid and laugh-out-loud funny. Leslie is adept in his characterizations of numerous Hollywood types, giving each their own distinctive voice. But it is his interpretation of Spandau, whose world-weariness seeps through his wisecracks, that reaches out to the listener. Depp has created a classic American PI, with a nice Tinseltown twist, and Leslie expertly brings him to life. A Simon & Schuster hardcover (Reviews, Jan. 19). (Mar.)