Blood and Money

This book, a non-fiction work, presents a tragic tale of dysfunctional marriage, obsessive love, untimely death, murder for hire, and intense courtroom drama. The story proves the adage that truth can be stranger than fiction. Thomas, a veteran journalist, renders a lucid, richly detailed account of each player, their virtues and flaws, deeds and misdeeds, relying on numerous interviews and court transcripts. Highly recommended.

Such a well-written true crime novel (although a bit on the long side). Thompson really looked at what made all of the players in the drama tick. He actually makes one of the bad guys very, very sympathetic. Many flawed human beings, many warped priorities and motivations, and subsequently, the concept of justice becomes blurred on many different levels. Aside from the story itself, the author's look a the wild and wooly days of Houston's emergence as a city of oil and new money is alone worth the price of admission.

This exhaustive (and exhausting) story of the death of Houston socialite, champion horsewoman, and heiress Joan Robinson Hill, and her husband's subsequent trail for murder and its aftermath (and the aftermath of the aftermath, and so on) is fascinating, but leaves one with a pretty dull empty feeling, like you have been wallowing in mud for several weeks. Thompson provides the life story of pretty much every character; these are well done, but boy does it go on and on. Your sympathies will shift as you read this, and you'll be a bit astounded by the police's lenient treatment of the man who pulled the trigger, but the courtroom scenes are highly memorable as is the character of Joan's loving father, Ash Robinson (incidentally played in show more the TV movie version by Andy Griffith!) This does serve well as a pretty good history of at least some aspects of Houston. But I'm not sure I'd want to read anything like it again. show less

Thompson delivers a true crime story that unfolded in Texas in the late 1960s early 1970s. His compelling writing makes the work read like a novel; all the while, the knowledge that these are real events add to the fascination. One of the few books I could hardly put down. I completed it in two sessions

On Sunday, November 25, 2007 I wrote:
9 out of 10

Well I finally read this classic True crime book and I do understand why this was such a hit.
The writing is so good. The author really lures you into the story.

Finished this on November 12 2007. 4.5