Thanks to Twitter, I learned that Penguin Canada was looking for bloggers who would be willing to write book reviews for their titles. I figured Penguin would be seeking out bloggers who had tons of readers, but I applied anyway because I can’t pass up an offer for free books. Within a few days I received an email asking for my mailing address and within about a week I had received my first two books. The package was addressed to Alison Fischer @ Now We Are Three. I love that.
I started with Loser’s Town by Daniel Depp. It’s a noir crime novel set in Hollywood, with an ex-stuntman private investigator as the lead character. The basic plot involves the PI, David Spandau, being hired as “protection” for Bobby Dye, a breakout movie star, and Dye’s interactions with the criminal underworld of Hollywood. The story has something for everyone who likes the genre: Death, murder, blackmail, drugs and sex. And big Hollywood glamour.
Spandau is a likeable character amidst a slew of less-than-likeable Hollywood agents, managers and criminals. There is some violence towards the end of the story that struck me as gratuitous, and at times the dialogue came across as stiff and forced. Overall, however, the pace and tone were good and the read was enjoyable. This is the type of book I would pick up at an airport shop to keep me entertained on a flight.