Ross H. Spencer
Ross H. Spencer was an American author born in 1921 in Hughart, West Virginia. He had a diverse career, working in various fields including trucking, railroad, steel mills, and aircraft maintenance, while also serving in the Army during World War II and as an Air Force communications chief in the Korean War. Spencer was a dedicated family man, marrying Shirley Rita Alshanski in 1952 and raising three daughters. He began his literary career with the publication of his first mystery novel, *The Dada Caper*, in 1978, introducing readers to his protagonist Chance Purdue, a parody of the hard-boiled detective archetype. Spencer wrote over a dozen novels, known for their fast-paced plots and witty dialogue, although some critics noted a formulaic quality in his later works. His storytelling often included complex character relationships, as exemplified in *The Devereaux File*, where themes of intrigue involving the CIA and the KGB unfold. A lover of literature, Spencer was inspired by authors such as Ring Lardner and Robert Service, which influenced his own writing style. He passed away in 1988, leaving behind a legacy of engaging mystery novels.
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Subject Terms
Ross H. Spencer
Writer
- Born: August 21, 1921
- Birthplace: Hughart, West Virginia
- Died: July 25, 1998
- Place of death: Youngstown, Ohio
Biography
Ross Harrison Spencer, the son of Ross Clinton Spencer, a timekeeper, and Virginia Susan Spencer, an office manager, was born in 1921 in Hughart, West Virginia, and received most of his early education in Ohio. In 1952, he married Shirley Rita Alshanski, with whom he had three daughters. In his early years, he worked as a truck driver and on the railroad, in a steel mill, and in aircraft maintenance. During World War II, Spencer served in the army field artillery, and he was an air force communications chief during the Korean War.
Spencer loved to read mysteries and humorous poetry, particularly enjoying the writing of Ring Lardner, Robert Service, Damon Runyon, and Stephen Leacock. He often pondered his relationship to the universe. He copied and carried in his wallet for many years the statement, “Out of this brief, perishable Me I will have made something concrete, something that will preserve my thought within its dusty covers long after I am dead and dust.” This sentiment guided him in much of his writing, which is pervaded with references, often oblique, to the place of humankind in life’s overall scheme. Through the years, Spencer moved from being a staunch liberal to being an equally staunch conservative.
In 1978, his first mystery novel, The Dada Caper, was published and introduced readers to Chance Purdue, a parody of the hard-boiled detective. Spencer eventually wrote more than a dozen mystery and detective novels, including five featuring Purdue and another three featuring Lacy Lockington, a former Chicago police officer turned private investigator. Spencer’s thrillers are fast-paced. Critics praised his amusing dialogue, although some complained that his later books were too similar to his earlier ones and that the humor in them had become hackneyed.
In The Devereaux File, a typical example of the complex relationships Spencer built in his novels, Lockington tails the criminals responsible for the death of his drinking companion, Rufe Devereaux, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative. While Lockington is following suspects, he is at the same time being tailed himself. He is questioned by the CIA, the Soviet secret police (KGB), the Mafia, and a rabid evangelist, a hate-monger with presidential ambitions. The evangelist, who attempts to kill Lockington, is himself being tailed. Such are the twists and turns of a typical Spencer mystery. The dialogue in this books is infused with humor, and his physical descriptions are accurately observed and realistically presented, enabling readers to feel they are actually riding in Lockington’s aging Pontiac or joining him in one of the smoke-filled bars he frequents.
Spencer died in 1988.