Devil's Dance

November 3, 2014
David Spandau has a lot on his plate in Depp’s welcome third outing for the L.A. PI (after 2010’s Babylon Nights). Spandau’s relationship with lover Anna Mayhew is at a tipping point, and his absent boss, Walter Coren, has left him to run Coren Security and Investigations. Spandau agrees to take on a job for an old enemy of his, producer Frank Jurado: discovering who is trying to smear comeback director Jerry Margashack. Meanwhile, Spandau’s ex-wife, Dee, wants him to find her husband, Charlie, whose gambling debts have caught up with him. In addition, Spandau must deal with Hollywood moguls like Mel Rosenthal and mobsters like crazy Atom Baldessarian, whose three inept enforcers are known as the Chipmunks. In Depp’s capable hands, Spandau has plenty of time to ponder philosophical questions as he attempts to sort out the tangled lives and lies of others. Agent: Meg Davis, Ki Agency (U.K.).

December 1, 2014
Jacket copy describes Devil's Dance as a tour through Hollywood's dark side, meaning that the characters seem to have crawled out from under rocks. Sure enough, early on we get toenail clippings and projectile . . . never mind. But don't go away. Right after the toenails and the projectiles, the novel becomes a goulash of delightful scenes. The hero's helper quotes movie lines. He debates Jake Barnes' emasculation with a teenage vixen. A priest enlightens him on the meaning of the biblical Judge not. . . . Such moments seem meant to spice a fairly conventional plot. Hollywood gumshoe David Spandau is hired to trace the villains behind a smear campaign aimed at a director whose film looks to make major money. Following the noir convention, Spandau is a man of constant sorrow. The woman who dumped him hires him now to locate her new husband, a gambling addict who's disappeared with their savings. Leg breakers are after him, and there are some grisly moments, but they aren't the heart of the novel. The smart exchanges are, turning this into a treat for bookworms and book reviewers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)