Buster ‘Red’ Lobster thinks he is doing the right thing by intervening on a film set when he suspects that a gun has been loaded with live ammunition rather than blanks. Turns out that he may been better off keeping his concerns to himself. Aside from causing Red to be ostracised from the movie industry, other shady individuals are caught up in the maelstrom, including an aging porn star with a party trick that would not go down well in polite company. Then there is the director of the film, a gangster and his cohorts, the owner of a taxi company and no small number of Hollywood hanger ons.

The dialogue is both the saving grace of this very lengthy book and its sticking point. There are some genuinely funny lines and exchanges but the style of writing can be very frustrating. Questions are answered with questions, there are heaps of non-sequiturs and conversations don’t play out as you would expect them to. The LA settings play nicely with the lowlifes that inhabit the book and imbue an aura of sleaze and despair.