Blood Count

by Robert Goddard

There's no such thing as easy money. As surgeon Edward Hammond is about to find out. Thirteen years ago he performed a life saving operation on a Serbian gangster, Dragan Gazi. Gazi is now standing trial for war crimes in the international court in The Hague. After his life was saved, his men went on to slaughter thousands in the Balkan civil wars.

Now Gazi's family want more from in exchange for keeping Hammond's dirty little secret, they want him to find for them the man who holds the key to all the money Gazi squirreled away before he was locked up. But Italian financier, Marco Piravani, doesn't want to be found, not by Hammond, not by anyone. No sooner has Hammond tracked him down, than Piravani has disappeared again.

His pursuit will take him first to the Hague, and then to Milan to find the Italian, and then finally back to the scene of his crime, Belgrade, where he must confront the decisions he once so easily took. Only then will he be able to lay the past to rest.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook

416 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2010

About the author

In a writing career spanning more than twenty years, Robert Goddard's novels have been described in many different ways - mystery, thriller, crime, even historical romance. He is the master of the plot twist, a compelling and engrossing storyteller and one of the best known advocates for the traditional virtues of pace, plot and narrative drive.

Reviews

[Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was fine!
I have read loads of Robert Goddard's books over the years. I don't know if it is because I am older or that he has become a bit of a book factory; but it was JUST fine. Well written, plot holds together, not too predictable, believable reactions from the characters. It just didn't do anything. Decent holiday reading.

[Noella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dokter Edward Hammond heeft 13 jaar geleden een levertransplantatie uitgevoerd bij Dragan Gazi, een Servische oorlogsmisdadiger. Nu is Gazi opgepakt, en moet voor het oorlogstribunaal in Den Haag verschijnen.
Hammond wordt benaderd door Ingrid, de dochter van Gazi, om het grote kapitaal van haar vader in handen te krijgen. Daarvoor moet hij 'de boekhouder' zien te vinden, en hem weten te overhalen het geld te storten op een rekening op de Kaaiman eilanden. Hammond wil natuurlijk eerst niet meewerken, maar dan vertelt Ingrid hem dat Gazi bewijs heeft dat Hammond de opdracht gegeven heeft om zijn (Hammond's) ex-vrouw te vermoorden, een paar jaar geleden. Hammond had daar niets mee te maken, het was Gazi zelf die Kate had laten vermoorden, waarschijnlijk om iets achter de hand te hebben om Hammond onder controle te houden en zijn stilzwijgen over de transplantatie te verzekeren. En nu zegt Ingrid dat Gazi tijdens zijn proces deze (valse) informatie vrij zal geven als de dokter er niet voor zorgt dat het familiekapitaal in handen van zijn dochter komt.
Dit is het begin van een spannend avontuur, waarbij het ene naar het andere leidt, en eigenlijk niets is wat het lijkt, en vele mensen niet zijn wie ze beweren te zijn.
Tamelijk ingewikkeld dus, en als je denkt, nu is het opgelost, gebeurt er toch weer iets anders, het is een zaak die vele lagen beslaat. Eigenlijk, volgens mij, zo veel, dat het na een tijd echt wel genoeg is, en ik enkel verder wilde lezen omdat ik toch al zo ver in het boek was en nu eindelijk wel eens wilde weten wanneer en waarmee het zou stoppen.
En het einde is wel heel passend, vond ik. Maar niets zal ooit weer worden zoals voorheen, voor niemand van de betrokkenen....
Ik ben toch blij dat ik het boek helemaal uitgelezen heb, ondanks de bijna overdaad aan twists and turns.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of twists and turns in the plot, however, the fact that I didn't like the main character influenced my rating

[Bruce Hatton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is just the second Robert Goddard book I’ve read and, already, I’m becoming a big fan. Like Simon Kernick, he is highly adept at creating unusual well-plotted, fast-paced thrillers with a memorable cast of heroes and villains.
Edward Hammond is a respected surgeon, specialising in liver transplants. In 1996, he successfully operated upon Serbian warlord Dragan Gazi, now on trial in the Hague for war crimes. An operation that, 13 years later, comes back to haunt him as Gazi’s daughter wants to claim his ill-gotten gains and blackmails Hammond into helping her.
What follows is a race across Europe, including the one place Hammond least wished to revisit: Belgrade – where all his troubles began. Although the blistering pace of the novel doesn’t let up for a second, we still get a wonderful portrayal of Edward Hammond. A basically decent man, forever haunted by unwise decisions of his past.
Up until the finale in Buenos Aires, we are treated to a veritable emotional roller-coaster of a literary ride. This is the work of a talented thriller writer at the top of his game.

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had forgotten how much I enjoy Robert Goddard’s books until I started this audiobook read very well by David Rintoul. Goddard seems to specialize in ordinary people finding themselves in difficult situations and usually involving some kind of multi-continent chase.

In this one, the past of a liver transplant surgeon, Edward Hammond, comes back to haunt him. Several years before he had been offered a considerable amount of money to save the life of Dragan Gazi, a man now on trial in the Hague for war crimes, with a liver transplant. Gazi’s daughter, Ingrid, has approached and tasked him with retrieving Gazi’s millions which are hidden away in bank accounts somewhere. If he refuses, Ingrid will reveal evidence that Hammond had had his wife Katie killed because she was about to divorce him and marry someone else.

The man holding the key to the location of the money, Gazi’s accountant, Marco Piravani, doesn’t want to be found, however, let alone release the money to Ingrid. To detail more of the plot would be to drive spoiler police over the edge.Let’s just say the situation he finds himself in is very complicated and one that Hammond himself does not recognize or understand.

It’s a story of revenge, responsibility, medical ethics, corruption, and family and tribal loyalty. An interesting story diminished only by an overabundance of coincidence.

[Mark Harrison · Rating 1 out of 5]

The nicest thing about this book is that it is over. Thoroughly dislikable hero, with an apparent PHD in being an idiot and getting captured every five minutes, a ludicrous plot, a snails pace and a disappointing ending. Give this one a miss. Dreadful.

[Alan Goswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book by Robert Goddard I have read and was therefore unfamiliar with his style of writing. I suspect that having read Blood Count I would encounter familiarities and be less impressed by future books, but I really enjoyed this one. An unlikely hero, a surgeon takes easy money and saves the life of a man who would become a notorious war criminal. However the criminal has a hold over the surgeon and pulls him into an unfamiliar world setting him a challenging task which he is blackmailed into performing. You soon realise that the surgeon, who is obviously and intelligent man, is not such a star when it comes to common sense. You can't help but cringe at his decisions as you hold your breath whilst moving towards the consequences. Despite the tale progressing along what you feel is a strong trail of logic, nothing is ever quite what it seems. A good read that keeps you engaged to the final page.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like so many of Goddard's books, this starts off with an interesting idea, runs well for it for quite a while, and then gets a bit bogged down, not helped by new and important characters appearing late in the piece. Nevertheless, it's very readable, and even if the characters never seem to have the slightest problem catching the next plane to one place or another, it's fairly probable, not requiring the hero to indulge in too many skills out of his pay grade.

[Rebecca Hock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book by Robert Goddard that I have read in many, many years. I enjoyed it but parts of it seemed quite unrealistic or far-fetched. But still enjoyable.

[Anke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mooi verhaal, soms wat gewelddadig.
Het speelt zich af in een tijd waar je niet veel over leest, de oorlog in Joegoslavië.

[Tim Swift · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading through a number of different detective and thriller authors at the moment, I've been starting to contrast different approaches. Some of them - like Ian Rankin with Rebus, or Peter Robinson with Banks, build a strong series around one core character. Others, such as Grisham, focus on particular settings.

Robert Goddard, it seems to me, is one who rather has a blueprint or a framework that they keep applying to different settings. There is a particular type of hero, a complex and continuously unravelling story, usually a deeply conflicted and potentially treacherous romantic interest.....

Perhaps I'm being unfair and its just my perception, but that's certainly how some of his recent books have read to me and to be honest, I've got a bit jaded by them. When its done well, it can be very good - "Past Caring", his first novel, ranks as a personal favourite, and one I can envisage reading again. " In Pale Battalions" , "Set in Stone", and "Caught in the Light" are also solid and detailed books, well researched, challenging, intricate but still about believable.

"Blood Count" is frustrating. Better than some recent ones, with a stronger who realises sooner than most that initial poor choices have left him trapped, I'm afraid I still found myself skim reading in the middle section - engaged enough to want to find out what happens, but not to want to take in and appreciate the detail of the story.

There are some nice twists right at the end, but the problem with choosing a hero who is loss of a drifter than previous ones is that it's also hard to believe he could be taken in quite as many times as he is in the course of the plot - I hoe that's not too much of a spoiler, but if you've read Robert Goddard before you'll know what to expect!

[Biogeek · Rating 2 out of 5]

Goddard provides dependable holiday reading. But unlike some of his earlier work, this one is oddly devoid of strong characters and emotions. The opening pages hook you in ('Dr Hammond, we know you will help us because we know you had your wife killed") but then what follows is a series of chases (car, wild-goose ...any kind) in which the pattern goes something like this. Our protagonist agrees to do task X for the villains, but the only way he can do that is if he first does task B for someone else, who agrees to help him with task X if he also does task C, which of course our villains don't want him to do, so he now has to do task D ...and this goes on for many pages with the war crimes of Bosnia as backdrop. Goddard has better books.

[Joe Stamber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goddard regulars will know that his novels generally have a pattern. A character's present is affected by something that happened in the past. Nothing is what it seems. No one is who they seem. Almost everything the main character is told is a lie. The main character trusts people that shouldn't be trusted and makes poor decisions that make the situation worse. Goddard uses these devices to create conflict and tension and this works up to a point. His writing is of a very good standard and Blood Count is a pleasant enough read, following his usual blueprint without being his best or worst work.

[Nada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blood Count is a very apt name for this novel. It held my attention from start to finish. I can now better appreciate the thought processes of people who have had to endure such conflict as that described and have had to live under particular regimes. I am lucky to not be constantly thinking about what conspiracy theories are plausible or even probable and who I can or cannot trust. What an eye opener to say the least!

[Under Milkwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like all his namesakes before and after him, Jean-Luc , Brendan, Lisa et al, Bob has his failings and this was not one of his best, yet far from his worst. But, despite the overly convenient outcomes and suspended credibility, the novel still rolls through at a cracking pace amidst numerous twists and turns. A convenient time killer as opposed to time-waster, then.

[Ann Tonks · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is what used to be called (is it still called?) a cracking good thriller. It doesn't matter that you don't quite believe in the behaviour or interaction of the main characters. It's just a well crafted story that keeps twisting and turning and entertaining. As a previous reviewer said, a great holiday read.

[Sandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've read seven or eight books by this author in total, and remember most had a flatness which dissuaded me from wanting to re-read, but this felt even flatter. Dialogue worthy of cartoon characters, four times as many coincidences and sudden 'aha, but ... ' moments as could readily be supported and a whizzing past plot holes at the speed of light.

Time to clear more space on my bookshelves.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just ok. It started quite slow and uses very basic language and writing style throughout. More action takes place in the second half of the book but the story is not very thrilling and the “twists” are predictable. I rushed through the book so I could finish it and move on to something else.

[Crt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome. A new author for me and I enjoyed the book immensely. Liver transplant surgeon Dr Edward Hammond gets involved in an escape plan for a Serbian war lord whose liver he transplanted many years ago for a hefty fee.

[Gayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robert Goddard always does a good page-turner - this one was about Serbian war criminals, of which I know very little. Again, this was a random choice from the library but certainly enjoyable.

[Dawn Bates · Rating 5 out of 5]

My response at the end of this book?

"WHAT!?!??! NO!!! YOU CAN'T DO THAT!!! GRRRR!!"

It is very rare that a crime thriller has me enthralled like this one, and desperately wanting to read the next book, or keeps me up until 3am in the morning reading, but this one?

3 nights to read it, 7 hours in total, because there were moments when I just had tonstop and process what I was reading, and just say "wow" in a moment of respect, reflection or wonder.

The moral dilemmas within this book appealed to me on a very deep level, as a parent, a humanitarian, as a political activist and as an author myself.

Goddard is simply brilliant, and his descriptions of Luxembourg and Buenos Aries took me back to my time living in both countries.

With short fast paced sentences, detailed but no overbearing 'try hard' descriptive narratives, this book had me walking alongside Hammond as his shadow, his cheerleader and his conscience.

The internal debates I had the day after reading each segment at night have distracted me beyond measure, because what would you do if you were Hammond?

Who could you trust, when you were not even sure how to process the actions, consequences and information that just kept lining up to haunt you?

Brilliant book. Just brilliant!

Well done, Robert, bloody well done!

[Wayne Jordaan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting twist in the tail to end this thriller. My knowledge of Balkan history is much too limited to comment on what comes across as a one-sided fingering of Serbian atrocities during the break-up of Yugoslavia post-Tito, but the charmed life lead by our naive anti-hero, Edward Hammond, in nearly extricating himself from the guile and manipulations of the much-better qualified bad characters, certainly drew me in. The book also raises a number of ethical questions, of which the biggest is whether the perpetrators of heinous crimes deserve life-sustaining surgery, whether those who administer such services should be concerned about who they safe, and finally whether the "saviours" then inadvertently become complicit in subsequent crimes of recovered patients. A good read.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's no such thing as easy money. As surgeon Edward Hammond is about to find out. Thirteen years ago he performed a life saving operation on a Serbian gangster, Dragan Gazi. Gazi is now standing trial for war crimes in the international court in The Hague. After his life was saved, his men went on to slaughter thousands in the Balkan civil wars.





Now Gazi's family want more from him: in exchange for keeping Hammond's dirty little secret, they want him to find for them the man who holds the key to all the money Gazi squirreled away before he was locked up. But Italian financier, Marco Piravani, doesn't want to be found, not by Hammond, not by anyone. No sooner has Hammond tracked him down, than Piravani has disappeared again.

[Malcolm Schaffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Third book I have read of Robert Goddard .Enjoyed first two , this one less so . There is a pattern to the books I have read so far - a past historical event , in this book the Serbian attrocities , a link to the present time, the involvement of a lead character only weakly connected with the past events-in this case a heart surgeon Edward Hammond, the transformation of the lead character to a mixture of Sherlock Holmes and James Bond , and a travelogue of scenes in a number of European countries and even South America in this book . The plot and main character do not convince but it is an easily read page turner good for reading on an airplane

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a blind date with a book and not my usual genre, that was overall ok for me. It was an unusual story that took place across Europe, containing criminals, bloodshed and twists and turns-a-many. Noone can be trusted, which led to some very frustrating parts of the book to read. I liked the writing style, but sometimes found the characters hard to keep track of, particularly towards the last few chapters when new characters were introduced last minute. Overall I was glad to have read this book, that I probably would not have chosen off the shelf, but don't think I'll rush out to buy more of Goddard's work just yet

[Sheila · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am still wondering how Dr.Edward Hammond could be so naive. Presumably a man with brains and integrity (although the latter could be suspect since he gave a mass murderer a new liver) could be taken in by events that multiplied one on top of the other. And that the police in London had never got to the bottom of his wife’s cold blooded murder. I read it to the end and found it had many unsuspecting twists and turns but I am still skeptical as to why he just didn’t go to the police when he was first blackmailed by Dragan Gazi’s daughter Ingrid. A little far fetched. 21/2 to 3 stars.

[Anil Dhingra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book in which a Serbian warlord is operated upon by Hammond--a leading British liver surgeon for a life saving liver transplant. 11 years down the line the much hated criminal is facing the court at Hague.
Dr Hammond is contracted by the daughter threatening him with exposure of having requested the warlord to kill his wife as payment for the liver surgery. Dr Hammond is now driven to save his reputation and we have a story of fast changing events where nothing is what it appears.
Action is all over the Balkan states and Europe. A lot of history revisited.

[UtBitsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hoe een specialist in levertransplantatie (Hammond)in het web verstrikt raakt van een voormalig massamoordenaar (genocide)
Redelijk realistisch geschreven wanneer Hammond zich telkens afvraagt: had ik een andere keus?
Ingrid, dochter van Gazi, chanteert Hammond, zet hem onder druk om grote sommen geld op te sporen en over te laten boeken naar Gazi’s familie . Dat velen in dit boek een dubbelrol spelen waar Hammond te laat achter komt houdt het boek spannend en verrassend. Een tamelijk abrupt einde maar daardoor geen slecht einde!

[Glenis Cassidy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Converted

My first impression of this book was that the characters and plot were ludicrous and couldn’t be bothered to read it after the first few chapters. With nothing else to read on my Kindle a week or so later, I gave it another try and am glad that I did. While still feeling that it was a bit far fetched, I nevertheless enjoyed it and will try other books by this author in future

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't the first book I've listed as a cultural mystery even though it takes place in the United States. It has takes place in the days after Barak Obama won the presidential election, and involves people who were involved in his campaign, but is situated in Harlem and focuses on the relationships among the Russian and Black residents of an aging apartment building. It's very well written with complex believable characters and an engrossing plot.