Tuesday 25 November 2014

2 BY JOHN B SPENCER

Time Out described Spencer as 'the best kept secret in British noir fiction... seriously good and dreadfully underrated.'

This is something I have yet to put to the test. Before his death in 2002, Spencer had produced 7 novels with an eighth published posthumously. He was also a talented Blues musician.

His Guardian obituary is here.









He wrote four books concerning his character Charlie Case, the first two of which are quite difficult to find. I'm not sure if I have them or not, I expect I'll find out in the next year or so!

Not rushing headlong towards reading these just yet - I reckon I have had them on the pile for a good 10 years, so another few probably won't hurt. They do seem quite slim tomes when I get there, so that's a major plus point.



Perhaps She'll Die




A crime novel in which a businessman becomes involved in a dangerous relationship with a woman whose husband is known for his underworld activities.

The cover design is quite basic but it has a certain minimalist appeal. There's a lot not going on.


This one is 192 pages short, the other weighs in at 160. If all my books were this length I would be laughing!










Quake City

Charley Case is the hard-boiled investigator of the future. But of a future that follows the 'Big One of Ninety-Seven' - the quake that literally rips California apart and makes LA an island. A future where 'cred' status is everywhere and without it, you're a big fat zero. It begins when Charley is offered a simple job ... Apartment sitting. Simple. But before he's finished, Charley will have been embroiled in a trail of blood that leads directly to the steps of the Oval Office, and more sudden death than a popular abattoir sees in a wet Los Angeleno fortnight.


13 comments:

  1. Interesting - not sure whether I've heard of him before. But would need more of a recommendation to mess with futuristic crime - that's a step too far for me.

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    1. I think his posthumously published book Grief is possibly regarded as his best. The cover on his first The Elcetric Lullaby Meat Market looks like one you'd find over on Scott's blog - I'm sure you would have a thing or two to say about it.
      As far as futuristic crime goes, I'm not big on it myself but was happy to take a punt as the setting was only three of four years ahead of the publication date.....so 15 years in the past now!

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  2. Col - I don't think I've heard of him. To be frank, his work doesn't sound like my cuppa on the surface of it. But never let it be said I'm too narrow-minded. I'll be interested in seeing what you think of it...

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    1. Margot thanks. I'm not 100% sure he's my cup of tea either yet! I'm hoping so, if not I'm happy to take one for the team with this particular author. Glad you haven't totally dismissed him.

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  3. Col, the plot of "Perhaps She'll Die" sounds like a movie I saw though I can't remember which one (scratching head), probably REVENGE starring Kevin Costner, Anthony Quinn, and Madeleine Stowe.

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    1. I don't know that film Prashant, I'll check it out, thanks.

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  4. I'm embarrassed that I haven't read any of John's books. He helped me out on a piece of research many years ago and seemed to be an extraordinarily nice guy, so I intended to read some of his work by way of a thank you, as it were. I did, however, buy one of his blues/rock albums and played it quite a lot: his vocals take a bit of getting used to but, once you do, it's great stuff.

    Hm. Haven't played it in a while. Must dig it out . . .

    Anyway, thanks for the reminder about his fiction! I must see if I can track some down.

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    1. Listening to his music puts you one step ahead of me! That's a great story by the way. I'm not too tempted to track down any of his music - probably not my cuppa, but I might see if there is anything up on You Tube.

      I think most of his books are quite easy to locate in the second hand markets online. I think his first was more science fiction than crime from memory.
      Time to blow the dust off and read, I think!

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    2. I think his first was more science fiction than crime from memory.

      Yep. It was because of that book that I contacted him for info for the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, and we ended up nattering.

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    3. I have a copy of it somewhere, which I'll track down as I sort my books out. I've totally misquoted the title above,. I'm not big on sci-fiction in all honesty, but it's a short book!

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  5. Interesting. New author to me. Sounds like a very talented person. I will see what you think of his books when you review them.

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    1. fat fingers - I think we'll both be gone by then - maybe 2015!

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