This brilliant debut thriller follows David Spandau, a former stuntman and now PI, as he attempts to protect A-list actor Bobby Dye from both a ruthless criminal network and himself. This is the dark side of Hollywood, made all the more vivid because author Daniel, 55, is the screenwriting half-brother of Johnny Depp, to whom the book is dedicated. Daniel gave The Ticket the inside track on his new book.

Where did the idea for David Spandau come from?

I’ve met a lot of stunt people who tend to be no bull, straightforward types. They do crazy things like rodeo in their spare time. The contrast between this no-nonsense cowboy-type PI trying to do his job and all the Hollywood foolishness seemed perfect.

So are you a bit of a macho ranch hand type?

I grew up in Kentucky where people are always plopping you on a horse, so that part was inescapable. I’ve never been crazy enough to rodeo, although I’ve had multiple concussions from boxing, broke my shoulder playing American football, crushed a disc in my neck rock climbing, and snapped my leg in half on a motorcycle. Does this mean I’m macho? I suspect all it really means is that I should take up needlepoint.

Why does LA make such a great backdrop for crime fiction?

LA may be the logical conclusion of the American Dream. There’s no place left to go but into the drink. It’s a weird concentration of almost mythic ugliness and beauty.

What makes a great crime story? Plot or characters?

Oh, the characters. I suspect this is true for most American detective writers.

Which is easier – writing movie scripts or novels?

Movie scripts are technically easier, but are a faster road to the madhouse. You never write one movie script, but endless drafts. You learn to develop a hide like a rhino or die. But you often get to work with very talented people, and you eat very well. When you write a novel, you sit in a room day in, day out going a little nuts from loneliness.

Are all Hollywood actors as disturbed as Bobby Dye?

More than a few might be called disturbed. But you can’t dump people into such a public fishbowl and expect them to behave as if they’re back home on the farm. Even pandas get a little weird when you expect them to mate in front of a hundred people.

How much of a help, or hindrance, is it being Johnny’s brother?

It’s always opened some doors, of course, but frequently the wrong ones. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve shown up in a producer’s office to pitch a script only to find out they were trying to get to John. This certainly isn’t John’s fault, and it would be hard to think of anybody more supportive of my work. When the book got bought, he was probably happier than I was.

What next?

I’m now finishing the second Spandau novel, called Babylon Nights. It’s about an actress of a certain age who gets stalked by a psycho from LA all the way to the Cannes Film Festival. Cannes is like placing a Roman orgy at Disneyland, so it’s fun to write about.