This comment from Joseph Grieco was on my blog this morning, on a post from last year in which I reran my 2008 review of this novel:
It was a pleasure and a surprise to find your review of The Fast Buck. Your observations about this novel and its author hit home. You asked if anyone knew more information about the author. The book was written by my uncle, Joseph Rositani, under the pseudonym Ross Laurence. He used other names in his poems, short stories, articles and essays for magazines; but TFB was the first (and I believe only) Ross Laurence novel. As you might have guessed, he grew up in the gritty, Italian neighborhoods of Chicago. Though formal education beyond high school was cut short by the Third Army infantry/Europe/WWII, he was an energized writer until his tragic death as a passenger in a Los Angeles auto accident when he was about 40...I think that was 1960? While big money as a writer wasn't in the cards, he was a big deal in our family: our first writer...inspiring several of us to enter careers in which writing is central to our professions and our generational success. Thanks for covering his book.
Thank you for commenting, Joseph! I'm very happy you found the post about your uncle's book and could tell us about him. I love making contact with the friends and relatives of writers who have entertained so many of us in years past. It's a shame he passed away at such a young age. I think he could have had a fine career as a mystery novelist.
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