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Simon and Ollie are two thugs who are always on the look-out for a quick way to fatten up the wallet. Ollie knows quite a bit about guns. Unfortunately, he's had direct experience with their impact, as he accidentally killed his younger brother with an air rifle when he was seven. One evening, as he and Simon are discussing weapons at a London pub, there's a man listening to their conversation with a lot of interest. J W Morgan is a bit of a nutter who's fixated on his ex-wife and wants to rid her of her second husband, Rolph Holzmann, who he derisively calls 'The German'. He's concocted a scenario in his head that connects Rolph, who is actually a perverted surveillance expert, with Adolf Hitler. Simon, who is 39 years old, is still living with his mother who is attempting to sell her house, which is very threatening to Simon. The estate agent is a Lothario by the name of Hugh who is messing around on his wife with two women. One of his lovers, Lucy, has a psychopathic brother who gives everyone, including Lucy, the creeps. One of the blurbs for this book was written by author George Pelecanos and says, "GRIEF is a speed-freak's cocktail, one part Leonard and one part Ellroy, that goes right to the head." If you add on another part Quentin Tarantino, that really describes the book very well. The narrative moves forward through dialogue which is very reminiscent of the style of Ellroy. The plot is a bit of a tangle. If all the characters were driving along and entered a roundabout at the same time, you would see each of them taking different side streets and going off in their own direction, only to ultimately meet once again in a dark alley on the wrong side of town. The book was a bit hard to follow. There are long passages where nothing much is happening other than a lot of conversation. There's a mix of humor and tragedy that works quite well overall, and pop culture references that give the book a cinematic feel. Unfortunately, there will be no further books from Spencer because he died in March of 2002, shortly after completing this book. Definitely an original piece of work, GRIEF may well keep him alive for a long time to come as the writer of a modern pulp classic.
Reviewed by Maddy Van Hertbruggen, September 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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