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.