Instruct: Classify a given review as either positive or negative.
Query: Let down from the beginning.

This is the third Woods novel I have read, and I thoroughly enjoyed the first two. LA Dead misses the mark badly. It is almost as if the author is too caught up in painting the Hollywood jet set that he forgot there is supposed to be at least some mystery and suspense. This novel has niether of these attributes. The characterizations are overdone. I cannot recall an appealing female in the plot. The "non-ending" is a perfect fit for this most imperfect novel.