Blood Money [Hardcover]

Rochelle Majer Krich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1999

When the body of an unidentified elderly man is found in a wooded area of the park, it first appears that the victim died of a heart attack. But L.A.P.D. homicide detective Jessica Drake notices the scar from old tattoo numbers on his forearm, and is compelled to follow the case. Driven by the recently acquired knowledge thai she too is descended from victims of the Nazis, she soon unravels a twisted plot that leads her to more mysterious deaths among Holocaust survivors -- and to a sick killer who is out to claim the stolen wealth of victims, hidden for more than half a century in Swiss banks.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

LAPD detective Jessica Drake isn't your usual cop. She's compassionate and sympathetic toward others, and in her third, compelling appearance (after Angel of Death, 1994), she uses a canny sixth sense and relentless investigatory drive to bring her latest case to an astonishing conclusion. The body of an elderly man has been found on a golf course, a vial of digitalis in his pocket. Did he die of a heart attack or was he murdered? Although pressed by other, high-profile crimes that need solving and not encouraged by a cost-conscious boss, after noticing concentration camp numbers on the victim's arm, Jessica painstakingly establishes his identity and retraces his steps over the past several days. By questioning several edgy and cautious managers of retirement and convalescent homes, she pieces together a horrifying scenario: someone is murdering Holocaust survivors. Worse, the Steele Foundation, a philanthropic organization founded by a Holocaust survivor and dedicated to helping survivors reclaim their assets, seems to be implicated. Is the foundation keeping some Swiss bank accounts for itself? Is the fabulous Steele art collection composed of stolen works? This is a richly textured, gripping and, at times, deeply moving novel, enhanced by Jessica's confrontation with her recently discovered Jewish identity. Admirers of mystery at its most provocative will thank the author for this book?and for bringing back one of the more intriguing detectives in the field. Agent, Sandra Dijkstra.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Jesse Drake isn't new to the ways of a cop. She knows personal involvement can compromise a case, but when an elderly man discovered murdered in the park is found to be a Holocaust survivor, she can't help but invest more of herself than usual in the investigation. Her own recently uncovered Jewish background helps forge her committment to the old man, whose life spins out before her on tapes he made about his wartime experiences. As she pieces together what she learns from the tapes with the activities of the man's last few days, she uncovers links to a frightened old woman and a philanthropic organization concerned with recovering property stolen from Jews by Nazis during the war. Greed is at the heart of this well-paced, low-key mystery, which offers plenty of twists and turns as it delivers an eye-opening look at some harrowing history and the evil ways men continue to exploit its victims. Stephanie Zvirin

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 341 pages
• Publisher: Twilight; 1st edition (February 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380973790
• ISBN-13: 978-0380973798
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,822,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars tightly woven plot with holocaust nucleus and real people!, October 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Blood Money (Hardcover)

a fabulous book with real characters and a deeply-woven plot based on a holocaust incident! even with reading the ending first i couldn't figure it out! one of the best and most interesting mysteries i have read!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jessie Drake is wonderful again, January 26, 1999

By 

[e-mail] Sandra Ribiat (Southfield,Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blood Money (Hardcover)

I enjoyed jessie Drake as the Detective determined to get to the bottom of an old man's death.Murder or Natural and she is the only one that persues it to find out.I laughed and I cried ,but most of all I loved the book with all the struggles that Jessie confronts.Rochelle Krich has become my favorite author and she did not disappoint me and I was glad to have Jessie back and I hope she returns again.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Drake story is as rich a police procedural to be found, December 31, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Blood Money (Hardcover)

When the senior citizen was found dead in a Los Angeles park, the brass decides to ignore the case because other more critical investigations were on going. Besides, the higher-ups rationalized that the deceased probably died of a heart attack. However, police detective Jessie Drake cannot let the case go unresolved after learning that the elderly man had concentration camp numbers engraved on his arm. Jessie has just learned about her own connection to the Nazi horrors.

Jessie soon learns the identity of the man and begins to follow his footsteps over the last few days of his life. This quickly leads her to conclude that a serial killer is on the loose, targeting holocaust survivors. Her path soon leads to the prestigious Steel Foundation, a philanthropic group dedicated to help the survivors regain the assets lost during WW II. However, Jessie begins to wonder if the organization has a more sinister, avaricious, and deadly reason for assisting Jews.

BLOOD MONEY is as deep of a police procedural as can be found on the market today. The non-stop story line is built around a fabulous who-done-it, but it is the historical questions that add savory flavor to the novel. Jessie remains a great person, who personalizes her investigation to the point of obsession, which in turn, provides readers with much insight and depth intoto a wonderful character. Fans of police procedurals will relish Rochelle Krich's BLOOD MONEY and clearly want to read the two previous Drake mysteries (FERTILE GROUND and ANGEL OF DEATH). - Harriet Klausner