Blood Money

It's great to "meet" Jane Whitefield again even if she is supposed to be retired from her vocation of "disappearing" people now that she's married. In this case, disappearing doesn't refer to the normal meaning of whacking someone but arranging a new anonymous life for someone in big trouble. Jane "lives" in Tonawanda which is just across the river in NY state from us!

While, as normal, enormously enjoyable and an addictive read and story it seemed somewhat different than earlier Jane books. She was up against the mafia, pretty well all of them, and the book spent a lot of time with the families and their machinations. There didn't seem to be as much time spent with her two charges in helping them stay low. There's an audacious inventive show more scam that she pulls off on the mafia which is a large part of the book,

As always a Perry read is enjoyable and it's great to meet Jane again after a year or so sojourn! @TPerryauthor show less

Wow. If you ever want to learn how to move money around and hide it and then disappear, this is your textbook. Not having much money, nor having a need to disappear, I was intrigued by the detail, and enthralled by the plot, but sometimes a bit burdened by the detail. The scene in the bus with all the mobsters wondering where their money was disappearing to, was masterfully handled by Joyce Bean. How she managed to keep everyone straight is a wonder.

That Bernie could keep the details of thousands of money transactions all in his head, was a bit implausible, but for the life of me I could never understand why the mob or anyone would think that was a good idea to begin with. Geez, a trip on the stairs and it's all gone.

What bugs me about show more this book and others in the Jane series is that each is basically the same plot over and over with just different characters. What makes this one unusual is that it has the same plot repeated several times. Jane gets tasked with hiding someone from bad people; she adopts different identities (from an apparently inexhaustible supply of birth certificates and drivers licenses and passports in a Chicago safe deposit box); almost gets caught numerous times; uses her wits to escape; rinse and repeat with interludes examining the bad guy's thinking.

The dream scene was ridiculous, but I hate dream scenes in general, but I also found the activity in the corn field ridiculous. If you've ever worked on a farm in a corn field, you'll agree.

Still, Thomas Perry always delivers and it was a great book to listen to while doing dishes and walking the dog. show less

A teen age girl comes to Jane Whitfield. She needs to disappear from the Mafia, which given their reach, proves to be no easy task for Jane. The girl has with her an older man the Mafia is looking for. Thus begins a cross country chase to not only keep her two runners alive, but once the Mafia finds out that Jane is helping the runners keep one step ahead of the them, Jane becomes wanted by the Mafia as well. There is also billions of dollars of Mafia money they want recovered. This is a fast paced thriller that keeps the pages turning.

PLOT OR PREMISE:
Jane Whitefield is happy in her new life as a suburban housewife. But then someone shows up at her door on the reservation, knowing she used to be the-woman-who-makes-people-disappear. And this one needs to disappear -- a young woman who worked for the mob, taking care of the house for an old man who was the mob's moneyman with a photographic memory, keeping it all in his head. When the man escapes, and then gets whacked, Rita knows she needs help to disappear before the mafia finds her and wants her to tell the moneyman's secrets -- secrets only he knew. Jane doesn't want to help, having left that life behind, but she has no real choice -- the girl has come to her door, her real door, in her new life.
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WHAT I LIKED:
The show more plot deals with the mafia's money, and their search for Jane. There is a strong sub-plot about the money, and while it is initially a little far-fetched, it takes the premise and breaks it down into manageable chunks that make it seem almost plausible.
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WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
Some of the story is pretty predictable -- Rita is flaky, and you know she's going to flake out on the group long before Jane realizes it, or at least, long before she admits it to herself. As well, there is a trigger for the initial premise that I figured out in the first few pages, and yet no one else ever figures it out in the book, leading to a surprise for certain people for no real apparent reason. Finally, there is a long series of circumstances that are either Jane simply driving around the country or a series of near-misses for the mafia spotting her that never feel particularly tense.
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BOTTOM-LINE:
Good book in a great series
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DISCLOSURE:
I received no compensation, not even a free copy, in exchange for this review. I am not personal friends with the author, nor do I follow him on social media. show less

Somehow I missed this installment in the captivating Jane Whitefield series. A teenager turns up on Jane's doorway and soon she is caught up in hiding both mafia people and mafia money. This one does not disappoint at all. This is one of my favorite series.

My ultimate wish fulfillment novel where mob money is stolen and given away to charity. Excellent number in the Jane Whitefield series.

Jane Whitefield, who makes people "disappear", takes on the Mafia. Bernie "the elephant" has billions of dollars stashed away for the "families"' the only record is in his memory. When Jane heps a young girl, she becomes involved with him and the Mafia. Exciting!