Friday, June 10, 2011

The Secret Life of Damian Spinelli by Carolyn Hennesy

From the deck of the Smilin' Lila to the halls of General Hospital, from the Case of the Vamping Valkyrie to the Case of the Contrived Contralto, here are Spinelli's tales of intrigue, kidnapping, murder, and more. The office of Spinelli/McCall, P.I., has never been busier. Spinelli may be a gumshoe like no other, but he will save, defend, and protect the citizens of Port Charles until the bitter end!
General Hospital fans are familiar with the imaginary exploits of the Jackal.  Also known as Damian Spinelli, the gangly, awkward computer genius fancies himself a private eye in the tradition of Sam Spade or Mike Hammer.  At any random moment, he fades into daydreams of himself as the hero, saving the damsel (or would that be "broad"?).  The publication of this collection of his fanciful escapades was part of the storyline on the show and then was released in the "real world".  

I have been a GH fan for about thirty years.  In fact, I can't remember exactly when I started watching, but I know it was before we got married in 1982.  While I love the character of Spinelli, these daydream sequences have not really been my cup of tea (cup of joe?).  I'm not sure what made me think I would like them more in print.  This collection holds some appeal to hard-core General Hospital fans and is, at points, quite funny.  I get that these are Spinelli's over-the-top fantasies, but at times they take the familiar characters so far outside their usual personalities that it becomes annoying.  For someone with no background on the characters, it would make no sense at all.

While I can't give this book my full recommendation, GH followers - and especially Spinelli groupies - will get a chuckle and some extra time with their favorite Port Charles-ites.  

2 comments:

  1. I've been a GH fan forever too, but have to think that I wouldn't really enjoy this one. I only hope GH can survive ABC's soap axe!

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  2. I can honestly say that I've never watched GH or a soap opera ever. It cracks me up that there is a book based on the exploits of a GH detective though!

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