greezers is the latest and perhaps the best satirical novel by Simon Plaster featuring the memorable character, Henrietta, named after a town in Oklahoma, Henryetta, who, before Greezers, had a desire to further her journalism career and someday win a Pulitzer Prize. In Greezers, a story of a chain of lube stores, fast food and succession, Henrietta seeks a change in her life and lands a job as an assistant to Leroy (“Lero”) O’Rourke, a private detective. She thinks that as a journalist, she has done a fair amount of deductive reasoning, and that will keep her afloat in her new career. But how far will she go in her quest for truth, justice and the American way? let’s say in greezersPacked with pop culture and music references that fans of the series have come to expect, Simon Plaster has Henrietta putting her “assets” on stage for all to see, even briefly working at a strip club in her efforts to keep an eye on a subject. , Harry DeGrasso, who is a potential heir to the Trinita Coal Oil & Tar Company.
you may wonder why greezers It’s called Greezers. It’s because the book is about the plots and schemes of the potential successors of Trinita Coal Oil & Tar Company’s Greezers chain of lube stores to one day take control of it from the Company’s 95-year-old matriarch. , Nanette GeGrasso. While her son, Charles, being the executive vice president of the company, seems like he would be the obvious choice as heir apparent, he has fallen out of favor with his mother and has family rivals who would also like to dethrone Nanette, such as his nephew, Joe DeGrasso, who he is also executive vice president. Nanette acts dismissive of all potential successors, with the exception of Harry, who is her grandson and a junior executive in the Company, under the watchful eye and thumb of Charles. Charles, however, does not believe that Harry is skilled enough or as experienced and worthy as he is, and believes that he, rather than Harry, should be the one to take over after his mother dies.
It is also called Greezers because another of the possible successors, Hunter DeGrasso, “an enterprising lawyer” and son of Joe, has the idea that combining the lubricants business with a fast food operation would make great business sense and increase profits. of the company. significantly. The particular type of fast food is salo, or strips of pork fat, also known as “Lardo di Colonnata”, and he engages in a joint venture with a group of corrupt Ukrainians who want to introduce the product to the United States. Hunter knows that Aunt Nanette loved to eat Lardo di Colonnata when he was younger. However, she is not in favor of thinly sliced pork being served fried, even though her brother-turned-monk, Brother Bernardo, agrees with the proposal.
Henrietta finds herself increasingly involved in unraveling the complex web of plots and schemes of the various potential heirs. Eventually, she realizes that her employer, O’Rourke, has her own dog in the fight, since Charles DeGrasso hired him, through one of the men who works for him, Evans. O’Rourke also sees his involvement in the case as a way to become more famous and perhaps help propel him politically, possibly all the way to the White House. Charles would like nothing more than for O’Rourke to find out information about Harry that he would cause his mother, Nanette, to dismiss Harry as his successor and favor him instead.
Humorous characters, satirical humour, and references to popular culture and Simon Plaster’s lyrics are some of the hallmarks of his gripping series starring Henrietta, and his latest novel, Greezers, is no exception. For example, Plaster cites lyrics from AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” (although he attributes it to Steven Tyler), from “Somebody Got Murdered” and “I’m So Bored With the USA,” from The Clash, and “Paradise City” by Guns ‘N’ Roses. He even references Shakespeare’s MacBeth, which also deals, in part, with the issue of who is best suited to be a successor, comparing Charles to his character, Banquo, a man who “will get kings” but who it’s not meant to be. a.
Can the heroine of greezers, Henrietta, successfully change careers from being a reporter to being a private investigator? Which of the possible successors to Trinita Coal Oil & Tar Company and the Greezers chain of lube shops and fast food joints will inherit Nanette DeGrasso’s throne?
Without revealing any other spoilers, I’ll just add that greezers is an entertaining satirical game that I highly recommend. Like all books by author Simon Plaster, it can be read and enjoyed independently. However, reading the others in the Henrietta series will provide readers with useful information about her and other characters, and they are all fun reads worth checking out! Stay safe and healthy, now, as always!