The Grifters
Jim Thompson

Hachette Audio
November 1, 2011 /ASBN: B0061YWDZ4
Mystery/Noir / Audiobook / Unabridged / Run Time: 5 hours and 43 minutes
Amazon

Reviewed by Jo Rogers

Jim Thompson brings us again to the dark side of human nature with The Grifters. Roy Dillon seemed an honest, kind man who would help anyone who needed it. Little did they know they know they were in the presence of a grifter, a con artist. He·d just pulled a twenty dollar scam when the son of the proprietor punched him in the stomach. That punch almost cost Dillon his life. Fortunately, his mother showed up and got him to the hospital, where, he underwent extensive surgery to repair the internal injury that almost led him to bleed to death.

While he was down, his legitimate job as a salesman went on hold. He fell in love with the private duty nurse his mother hired to care for him after he left the hospital, but, when he felt good enough to ask for sex, she quit and left the house. Since she refused to talk to him, there was no chance of making things right with Carol. So when his mistress, Moira Langley, showed up, he wasn·t sorry to see her. He was so bored without Carol, he began to get up and out of his mother·s apartment. One place he went was to the company where he worked. He was offered a job as a supervisor for all the salesmen. He was to make sure all salesmen were working, not goofing off.

The story continues, and I didn·t want to put it down. The characters are a slice of the lower side of life. Carol is the only one that has always been honest and redeemable. The plot twists and turns as the story changes its point of view from Lily to Roy to Moira. The end is definitely not what I expected. Be sure to give this one a listen.