What do you think?
Rate this book
Bad Actors
Actor and fun, middle-aged psychopath Matt Spiller has finally made it to Hollywood. With a big movie under his belt, his life as a provincial English taxi driver is firmly in the past. As are the drug dealers he was forced to kill.
He’s landed the lead role in a TV series called Veteran Avenue, and he’s got a new girlfriend.
Life is improbably peachy.
Then people start arriving in LA.
His ex-wife is the least of his worries; she just wants to send him on a guilt trip.
His ex-agent, on the other hand, wants a chunk of his new-found wealth, and will use blackmail to get it, while a dogged detective wants to jail him for a spate of unsolved murders.
And when Spiller stumbles upon a secret that could destroy Hollywood, a hell of a lot of people want him dead.
He’s landed the lead role in a TV series called Veteran Avenue, and he’s got a new girlfriend.
Life is improbably peachy.
Then people start arriving in LA.
His ex-wife is the least of his worries; she just wants to send him on a guilt trip.
His ex-agent, on the other hand, wants a chunk of his new-found wealth, and will use blackmail to get it, while a dogged detective wants to jail him for a spate of unsolved murders.
And when Spiller stumbles upon a secret that could destroy Hollywood, a hell of a lot of people want him dead.
433 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 19, 2024
3 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 18, 2024
Having been a fan of Mark Pepper’s books now for many years, I was so excited to learn he’d written a new novel - “Bad Actors” and even more excited to learn it was a follow up to ‘Man Down’ and ‘Veteran Avenue’, with a connection to ‘Man on a Murder Cycle’. All books I adored reading and I’ve spent many a fantastic hour, lost in the exceptionally talented (but very twisted) mind of Mark’s dark imagination.
“Bad Actors” is an exceedingly well plotted thriller, with twists and turns that caught me out on a couple of occasions and especially one that had me shocked to the core. Despite it being dark and quite wacky at times, Matt Spiller - taxi driver turned actor, is one remarkable character - not someone you meet everyday (nor even want to) but I liked him and his dry humour. He’s a quick thinker and problem solver in the unique situations he finds himself in but always manages to evade the tireless detective, who is never far from his heels. There is a subject theme that was distressing but handled with care, and sadly probably not far from being a realistic issue, in the nefarious side of Hollywood life. Not a novel you’ll forget and although you don’t ‘need’ to read the previous novels that predate this one, I personally feel it would be beneficial for character development to do so, even if it’s just to get a feel for how Mark Pepper’s eccentric humour and imagination conveys into readable and addictive writing. Incidentally, the cover for this book is just brilliant and perfect for the theme of this Hollywood thriller.
Actor, intelligence analyst and author, Mark Pepper is a writer that deserves high praise for his incredibly defined, detailed and descriptive thrillers and I do hope he continues to use his talent in writing more books. It would be such a waste not to meet more of Mark’s crazy but likeable characters and read his ingenious plot ideas.
#BadActors - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Bad Actors” is an exceedingly well plotted thriller, with twists and turns that caught me out on a couple of occasions and especially one that had me shocked to the core. Despite it being dark and quite wacky at times, Matt Spiller - taxi driver turned actor, is one remarkable character - not someone you meet everyday (nor even want to) but I liked him and his dry humour. He’s a quick thinker and problem solver in the unique situations he finds himself in but always manages to evade the tireless detective, who is never far from his heels. There is a subject theme that was distressing but handled with care, and sadly probably not far from being a realistic issue, in the nefarious side of Hollywood life. Not a novel you’ll forget and although you don’t ‘need’ to read the previous novels that predate this one, I personally feel it would be beneficial for character development to do so, even if it’s just to get a feel for how Mark Pepper’s eccentric humour and imagination conveys into readable and addictive writing. Incidentally, the cover for this book is just brilliant and perfect for the theme of this Hollywood thriller.
Actor, intelligence analyst and author, Mark Pepper is a writer that deserves high praise for his incredibly defined, detailed and descriptive thrillers and I do hope he continues to use his talent in writing more books. It would be such a waste not to meet more of Mark’s crazy but likeable characters and read his ingenious plot ideas.
#BadActors - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
August 22, 2024
★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
WHAT'S BAD ACTORS ABOUT?
Matt Spiller, Man Down 's actor turned cab driver turned vigilante made it to Hollywood. His first feature film is about to drop, he's on the verge of starring in a premier TV show—all his dreams have come true.
And then his agent from England drops in unannounced—blackmailing Spiller for a significant amount of his earnings.
Then the detective who couldn't quite put him away in England shows up, wanting to pin the murder of another action star to him.
And a would-be up-and-coming actor starts acting aggressively toward him.
His ex-wife and her new flame are coming to town.
Maybe some of his nightmares are coming true, too.
Spiller being Spiller, there's really only way way for him to react—and that's violently.
But before it's over, there's going to be a lot more going on than Spiller trying to keep his career and money going on. He's going to make some powerful enemies and may stop some horrible people from doing some horrible things. But he's not going to be able to lie down with these pigs and not get dirty himself.
A MANIFEST ON THE MOVIES
In between the mayhem and hijinks—several people from various backgrounds sound off on the state of movies today. I think they speak for a lot of us when it comes to complaining about violence, spectacle, shallow characters, and more at the cost of story, plot, and craft.
These complaints—coming from Pepper's characters, and any number of people in the real world—aren't going to change things. But it's sure nice to read. Choir members do appreciate being preached to.
FROM EVERYMAN TO...?
So, in Man Down, Matt Spiller was kind of an everyman who found himself in a situation beyond his control and reacted in ways that...well, few everymen would.
In Bad Actors, Spiller is on the verge of a Hollywood career. His first movie is about to be released, and the buzz is pretty strong (particularly after a memorable appearance on a late-night show). He has more money than he knows what to do with.
It's harder to root for him this time—partially because of his success, but only minimally really. Actually, Spiller doing well after everything he endured is vicariously encouraging. But it's everything that he does to maintain his new position in life that makes it difficult. Things go up and down—so your estimation of his actions and motivations fluxuate as well (as they may have during Man Down).
This has no effect on the entertainment value of the novel—just your perspective on Spiller.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT BAD ACTORS?
This is a sequel to Man Down, but there's also an aspect that makes it more—if you've read Pepper's Veteran Avenue or Man on a Murder Cycle
Do you need to have read Man Down before this? Nope. You learn everything you need to know about Spiller and the rest here. Would it add to the experience? Sure. And I enjoyed Man Down more, so it wouldn't be the worst idea to pick it up.
As for Bad Actors? It was a heckuva ride. I was less than satisfied with the way that several aspects of the storylines wrapped up—and not merely due to the outlandish nature of them. I still recommend it.
I'm a little unsure how to wrap this up beyond that—so I'm just going to borrow my conclusion from my Man Down post—Bad Actors is a good sequel in that way.
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
---
WHAT'S BAD ACTORS ABOUT?
Matt Spiller, Man Down 's actor turned cab driver turned vigilante made it to Hollywood. His first feature film is about to drop, he's on the verge of starring in a premier TV show—all his dreams have come true.
And then his agent from England drops in unannounced—blackmailing Spiller for a significant amount of his earnings.
Then the detective who couldn't quite put him away in England shows up, wanting to pin the murder of another action star to him.
And a would-be up-and-coming actor starts acting aggressively toward him.
His ex-wife and her new flame are coming to town.
Maybe some of his nightmares are coming true, too.
Spiller being Spiller, there's really only way way for him to react—and that's violently.
But before it's over, there's going to be a lot more going on than Spiller trying to keep his career and money going on. He's going to make some powerful enemies and may stop some horrible people from doing some horrible things. But he's not going to be able to lie down with these pigs and not get dirty himself.
A MANIFEST ON THE MOVIES
In between the mayhem and hijinks—several people from various backgrounds sound off on the state of movies today. I think they speak for a lot of us when it comes to complaining about violence, spectacle, shallow characters, and more at the cost of story, plot, and craft.
These complaints—coming from Pepper's characters, and any number of people in the real world—aren't going to change things. But it's sure nice to read. Choir members do appreciate being preached to.
FROM EVERYMAN TO...?
So, in Man Down, Matt Spiller was kind of an everyman who found himself in a situation beyond his control and reacted in ways that...well, few everymen would.
In Bad Actors, Spiller is on the verge of a Hollywood career. His first movie is about to be released, and the buzz is pretty strong (particularly after a memorable appearance on a late-night show). He has more money than he knows what to do with.
It's harder to root for him this time—partially because of his success, but only minimally really. Actually, Spiller doing well after everything he endured is vicariously encouraging. But it's everything that he does to maintain his new position in life that makes it difficult. Things go up and down—so your estimation of his actions and motivations fluxuate as well (as they may have during Man Down).
This has no effect on the entertainment value of the novel—just your perspective on Spiller.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT BAD ACTORS?
This is a sequel to Man Down, but there's also an aspect that makes it more—if you've read Pepper's Veteran Avenue or Man on a Murder Cycle
Do you need to have read Man Down before this? Nope. You learn everything you need to know about Spiller and the rest here. Would it add to the experience? Sure. And I enjoyed Man Down more, so it wouldn't be the worst idea to pick it up.
As for Bad Actors? It was a heckuva ride. I was less than satisfied with the way that several aspects of the storylines wrapped up—and not merely due to the outlandish nature of them. I still recommend it.
I'm a little unsure how to wrap this up beyond that—so I'm just going to borrow my conclusion from my Man Down post—Bad Actors is a good sequel in that way.
This was a bonkers read—that’s a compliment, in case that wasn’t clear. On the one hand, it’s impossible to predict how Pepper is going to start at Point A and end up anywhere near Point Z, but he does, and when you look back at it, the logic is clear and sound.
I can’t tell you how many times he pulled the rug out from under me (he does the same to Matt almost as often)—sometimes eliciting a laugh, sometimes shock and dismay, sometimes I was so dumbfounded as not to know how to react. [deleted because of the stuff I talked about in the above section]
The humor is dark, the action is frequent and dynamic, with [many] characters that you want to get to know better and see more of. I’m not sure what else to say at this point without giving away everything, so let’s just go with if you’re in the mood for a Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride of a thriller, get your mitts on this one pronto.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews