Customer Reviews

Blood Money (Jane Whitefield)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Jane Whitefield, the last hope of persons on the run, has promised herself to remain home as a housewife to her doctor husband, but gets caught up in another hide-the-person-on-the-run situation. The title of the book refers to an awful lot of the Mafia's money which Jane must help dipose of while helping a septugenarian and a teenager elude a manhunt consisting of almost everyone in the USA with an Italian surname. Although some of the plot points are a little hard to believe, e.g., a nation of Mafia families working as efficiently as the FBI to find Jane and her runners, and Jane's almost unlimited reserve of financial resources, Perry keeps the reader's interest as Jane and company race around country trying to turn dirty money into clean charitable donations.

I have read all of the books in this series, and Blood Money will definately not dissappoint. First, the characters, and they are just that, are more than typical cardboard cutouts. A rarity in so many novels in this genre. Second, the book has a great plot, plenty of surprises, twists and turns, yet doesn't stretch credulity. Finally, the action, and there is plenty is really well paced. Jane Whitefield is one of the best "guides" through a suspense mystery around. Keep bringing her back for more.

A) Read this and all the Jane Whitefield novels.

B) Track down the earlier Perrys, especially Metzger's Dog, Butcher's Boy, Island, and the others. Read them too.

C) Convince a publisher to re-realease them all in a nice uniform edition.

D) Coerce some Hollywood studio to make faithful versions of these books-- they're ready to film and will spread Perry's fame even more widely.

E) Canonize Perry

I have read all the books in the series and this is my second favorite. The first of course was my all time favorite.Thomas Perry is brilliant. I would love to see Jane in the movies. I can't get enough of her.You will love it.Jane is a heroine a girl can be proud of. Shes tough without being callous and I love that he shows her spiritual side.

This is my first Thomas Perry novel and I really enjoyed it, but to think that the mob would trust one man, or one man's memory, to control all of their money is stretching it a little too much. I would like to read all of the prior Jane Whitefield novels to get to know her a little more (why she does this, where she and her husband met, etc.). Near the end, I just wanted the book to end - the last leg of their trip seemed to go on forever. I will read more of Thomas Perry's books.

Although based upon a faulty premise ... a bunch of mafioso entrusting their spoils to one man's memory (duh, what happens when he dies?) ... who cares! I LOVE Jane Whitefield, I want to be Jane Whitefield ... or at least have her as my best friend. It's a treat just to follow her thought processes, "know" her and inhabit her world for a few moments. Jane Whitefield offers us a very entertaining primer on how to come and go as a chameleon and live as a woman of unique principle. More, please!

While this is my first book by this author, I was immediately caught up in the first chapter and could not put it down. Very suspensful and there is enough background within the novel that I did not feel lost by not having read the previous books. I look forward to reading the first books now and recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thriller/mystery/suspense stories

Jane Whitefield returns in what may be her last adventure. I will be sorry to see her go but I can understand what the author wants to accomplish. In this latest adventure, Jane is retired from the guide business and just wants to be a happy housewife with her husband, Dr. Carey McKinnon. She is a one-woman witness protection program who knows how to hide people permanently and lead them to work new lives. She is `retired' but just like in the Godfather movies just as she gets out she gets dragged back in. In this case it involves Rita Shelford, a former hotel cleaning lady who is now running from the mob.

Bernie "The Elephant" Lupus has just died. He worked as a mob banker who does not use paper. He relies on his expansive photographic and eidetic memory to remember bank accounts and passwords. The mob is panicky because the only person Bernie ever trusted was Rita and they want to know what she knows and try to get some of their money back. After some false starts, Rita finds Jane and asks for her help. Unfortunately so does Bernie. News of his demise was greatly exaggerated.

Jane travels all over the country trying to hide Bernie and Rita. They also came up with the plan to take all of the mob's money and give everything away to charity. Once the mob finds out they will do whatever it takes to protect their interests. There is a lot of suspense and action in this story. You do not have to read previous novels to understand this one but I guarantee that once you read BLOOD MONEY you will try to find her other adventures. Thomas Perry's other novels are just as good and I suggest you give them a shot.

I started reading Thomas Perry's novels with Sleeping Dogs. On the strength of that novel,I ordered and read all of the remaining Perry novels, all of which deal with Jane Whitefield.

This one was the most complicated and presented by far the biggest challange to her talents and abilities. I decided to give it four stars, only because I felt that this novel caused me to suspend belief just a few too many times. Having Jane get married a book or so earlier, Mr. Perry also deals hardly at all, with the ease that Jane leaves her husband to go about the very dangerous business of making people disappear.

In this book, she takes on an additional burden. One of her charges, "Bernie the Elephant" knows where all of the Mafia's ill gotten gains are and a scheme is devised to make all of that money disappear as well. I give credit to the way that this is to happen, but it is really hard to believe that when all of the Mafia familes in the United States are looking for you and even have a rather accurate picture of what you look like, that a woman, an elderly man and a teenager are going to be able to elude these forces and remain safe while they travel about the United States and impoverish the Mafia. I also have some trouble with Jane's never ending source of money to buy cars, houses, clothing, etc. for herself and for those she is helping. How she came by that wealth is never really adressed in any of Mr. Perry's books. Having said all that, I really enjoyed the book. Its quite a tale and worth your time to read it.

One of the things I've found so interesting about this series is that this is not a woman whose exploits seem contrived for political correctness. Her confidence, ability and compassion have had the effect on me that I would follow her directions implicitly, and never interfere with her decisions.

Written by a man, many women authors could take some cues about how to present a believable and competent woman character.