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Jake Scarne Thrillers #1
SOUND OF BLOOD: A Jake Scarne Thriller
It’s always important to kill the right person.
That’s a mistake two corporate hit men make, setting off a chain reaction of revenge that threatens both a billion-dollar empire built on fraud and murder -- and the lives of two lovers on opposite sides of the law.
That’s a mistake two corporate hit men make, setting off a chain reaction of revenge that threatens both a billion-dollar empire built on fraud and murder -- and the lives of two lovers on opposite sides of the law.
481 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 15, 2011
368 people are currently reading
407 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 4, 2025
Language
Another person who is willing to profane that which many worship by using their names as vulgar exclamations. In addition, this person has no better grasp of language than to flip out f-bombs and profanity as common terms. There are better authors available elsewhere.
Another person who is willing to profane that which many worship by using their names as vulgar exclamations. In addition, this person has no better grasp of language than to flip out f-bombs and profanity as common terms. There are better authors available elsewhere.
January 3, 2024
Improbable Crime Thriller
The author was a reporter and editor. I did not see any of that in this book. There were many missing words, grammar and punctuation errors. For a guy that had his occupation how could he put this out. The characters and basic story were great. He ruined it with some way out there situations and the awful lack of editing.
The author was a reporter and editor. I did not see any of that in this book. There were many missing words, grammar and punctuation errors. For a guy that had his occupation how could he put this out. The characters and basic story were great. He ruined it with some way out there situations and the awful lack of editing.
August 20, 2018
A Spectacular Thriller!
I loved this book from the very start. I loved the characters and how they related to each other. There was a lot of backstabbing, killing, and excitement. The emotions were so really. the author is just wonderful! I am so glad to have found this author and book.
I loved this book from the very start. I loved the characters and how they related to each other. There was a lot of backstabbing, killing, and excitement. The emotions were so really. the author is just wonderful! I am so glad to have found this author and book.
February 17, 2019
Another winner
I love all of the books in this series. Started off with a freebie and it was no. 6 of the series. Then bought book no.1 and loved it. So, bought books 3thru 5 and know they also will be good. Don’t need to read in order but it does help
I love all of the books in this series. Started off with a freebie and it was no. 6 of the series. Then bought book no.1 and loved it. So, bought books 3thru 5 and know they also will be good. Don’t need to read in order but it does help
November 19, 2024
very good thriller
Book starts and ends really well. Middle could have been tighter and moved along a little faster. However, this is a gripping page turner with a good story and well developed characters.
Book starts and ends really well. Middle could have been tighter and moved along a little faster. However, this is a gripping page turner with a good story and well developed characters.
October 15, 2017
Maybe a decent story, but stilted language turned me off.
September 12, 2021
Enjoyed
I liked some of this book the ending was fantastic but I skipped thru parts of the book because it was fluff.
I liked some of this book the ending was fantastic but I skipped thru parts of the book because it was fluff.
Want to read
February 5, 2024jjj
November 5, 2011
This richly satisfying thriller by Lawrence De Maria is not for the reader in a hurry for a quick crime fix. De Maria, a former New York Times journalist who now lives in Florida, wants you to savor New York and Florida in their full glory and seediness as he tells his tale.
There is a murder, a fiendishly clever one, at the outset, and there is suspense as private investigator Jake Scarne tries to unravel the financial and criminal skulduggery behind it. His nemesis is Victor Ballantrae, who shares traits of financier Allen Stanford and Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch, though not even the entire family of his client, the father of the murder victim, is on his side. Scarne's biggest problem is Alana Loeb, Ballantrae's second in command and an alluring woman with a mysterious past.
These are not cardboard characters. De Maria fleshes them out with quirks and flaws and endearing characteristics -- even the two psychopathic hit men employed by Ballantrae. The action flows easily from Manhattan to Miami to Antigua as the author glides smoothly from billionaire magnates to homicide detectives to slick financial manipulators and to bona fide mobsters.
De Maria takes us to a Florida we know from John D. MacDonald and Elmore Leonard, but his Jake Scarne has as much of the hard-bitten Bogie of "The Maltese Falcon" and "The Big Sleep" as he does of the easygoing Travis McGee. Scarne doesn't want to play the sap, either, but the flesh is weak and Alana's allures are often overpowering.
Sound of Blood has many fresh ingredients as well. The author masterfully weaves in financial fraud ripped from the headlines of the past two years. Ballantrae's jack-of-all-trades assassins are a gay couple. There is little room for a happy Hollywood ending as the plot moves with the inexorability of a tragedy toward its climax.
The author savors some things too much. A key golf match between Scarne and Ballantrae skillfully captures the conflict between the two but runs a bit too long for the non-golf aficionado. There are a few too many random characters running in and out of the plot.
But none of this really slows the reader down. With compelling plot and characters and an authority in depicting worlds at once exotic and familiar, De Maria carries us along on a ride that is thrilling and even cathartic as Jake Scarne battles evil that is not found only in fiction.
There is a murder, a fiendishly clever one, at the outset, and there is suspense as private investigator Jake Scarne tries to unravel the financial and criminal skulduggery behind it. His nemesis is Victor Ballantrae, who shares traits of financier Allen Stanford and Australian media mogul Rupert Murdoch, though not even the entire family of his client, the father of the murder victim, is on his side. Scarne's biggest problem is Alana Loeb, Ballantrae's second in command and an alluring woman with a mysterious past.
These are not cardboard characters. De Maria fleshes them out with quirks and flaws and endearing characteristics -- even the two psychopathic hit men employed by Ballantrae. The action flows easily from Manhattan to Miami to Antigua as the author glides smoothly from billionaire magnates to homicide detectives to slick financial manipulators and to bona fide mobsters.
De Maria takes us to a Florida we know from John D. MacDonald and Elmore Leonard, but his Jake Scarne has as much of the hard-bitten Bogie of "The Maltese Falcon" and "The Big Sleep" as he does of the easygoing Travis McGee. Scarne doesn't want to play the sap, either, but the flesh is weak and Alana's allures are often overpowering.
Sound of Blood has many fresh ingredients as well. The author masterfully weaves in financial fraud ripped from the headlines of the past two years. Ballantrae's jack-of-all-trades assassins are a gay couple. There is little room for a happy Hollywood ending as the plot moves with the inexorability of a tragedy toward its climax.
The author savors some things too much. A key golf match between Scarne and Ballantrae skillfully captures the conflict between the two but runs a bit too long for the non-golf aficionado. There are a few too many random characters running in and out of the plot.
But none of this really slows the reader down. With compelling plot and characters and an authority in depicting worlds at once exotic and familiar, De Maria carries us along on a ride that is thrilling and even cathartic as Jake Scarne battles evil that is not found only in fiction.
November 22, 2014
3.50 Stars!
Surprisingly better than I expected!!
What I liked: Usually when nothing else appeals to my reading mood, I fall back to thrillers/suspense novels. Sound of Blood was a free e-book and although the rating on Goodreads gave me pause, it was free, right? I've been trying to wean myself from picking up too many not so good freebies. I took a chance and for me, it paid off.
I liked the star, Jake Scarne. He's a little bit bad but has good intentions, most of the time. He's connected to a lot of different people in New York City and again, not all of them are law abiding citizens, but some are. The circumstance of the story is almost a comedy of errors that keeps getting worse. You know the bad guys pretty much but how Mr. De Maria connects them is some pretty fancy writing.
Jake is a pretty tough, smart guy but he's not above getting into some pretty hairy situations. In other words, he's portrayed as pretty much human, with no super duper skills. I really found myself liking some of the secondary characters very much. The pacing of Sound of Blood is good, the characters believable and the research or knowledge of the author on financial matters comes shining through.
What I didn't like: While enjoying the story, they were several editing mistakes that annoyed me. I say annoyed because they weren't on every other page but every time I came across a misspelling, it stopped my progress. Nothing major but it's there!
A fan of suspense, then Sound of Blood is a decent read.
Recommend!!!
Surprisingly better than I expected!!
What I liked: Usually when nothing else appeals to my reading mood, I fall back to thrillers/suspense novels. Sound of Blood was a free e-book and although the rating on Goodreads gave me pause, it was free, right? I've been trying to wean myself from picking up too many not so good freebies. I took a chance and for me, it paid off.
I liked the star, Jake Scarne. He's a little bit bad but has good intentions, most of the time. He's connected to a lot of different people in New York City and again, not all of them are law abiding citizens, but some are. The circumstance of the story is almost a comedy of errors that keeps getting worse. You know the bad guys pretty much but how Mr. De Maria connects them is some pretty fancy writing.
Jake is a pretty tough, smart guy but he's not above getting into some pretty hairy situations. In other words, he's portrayed as pretty much human, with no super duper skills. I really found myself liking some of the secondary characters very much. The pacing of Sound of Blood is good, the characters believable and the research or knowledge of the author on financial matters comes shining through.
What I didn't like: While enjoying the story, they were several editing mistakes that annoyed me. I say annoyed because they weren't on every other page but every time I came across a misspelling, it stopped my progress. Nothing major but it's there!
A fan of suspense, then Sound of Blood is a decent read.
Recommend!!!
October 4, 2013
There's so much going on, in so many venues, I made sure to read Sound of Blood in large blocks so the threads wouldn't get lost. Scarne is a believable detective, fleshed out by genuine sounding cop-speak dialogue. De Maria also appears to have a deep awareness of police work and the political realities that sometimes affect outcomes.
Like a Columbo story, the reader learns facts at the outset that Scarne has to unearth. Unlike Columbo, however, the building suspense in Scarne's quest comes not just from the progress of the investigation, but also from the increasing peril he confronts with each discovery. Basing the book around a corrupt financial empire gives it a timely feel, and the author's creation of quirky hit men, employing unique methods of dispatching victims, also helped tie me to the story.
I would have given Sound of Blood 5 stars, but the love interest felt like a stretch, and the text would have benefited from an editor's scalpel in a few spots. Still, the pace rarely flags, and the tie-up of the details is very well done. A very satisfying read.
Like a Columbo story, the reader learns facts at the outset that Scarne has to unearth. Unlike Columbo, however, the building suspense in Scarne's quest comes not just from the progress of the investigation, but also from the increasing peril he confronts with each discovery. Basing the book around a corrupt financial empire gives it a timely feel, and the author's creation of quirky hit men, employing unique methods of dispatching victims, also helped tie me to the story.
I would have given Sound of Blood 5 stars, but the love interest felt like a stretch, and the text would have benefited from an editor's scalpel in a few spots. Still, the pace rarely flags, and the tie-up of the details is very well done. A very satisfying read.
June 15, 2012
This was a pretty decent book. The private detective ( ex-cop,ex-marine,ex-lawyer-all this and good-looking, too !) in the story is smart,strong, and sarcastic.Of course, the smart part completely goes away when he meets a girl ( any girl, apparently causes enough blood loss to the brain to turn him back into a hormone-driven teenaged boy, not just the lady criminal he is investigating but falls in love with).If there is a pretty girl around, his cop training goes out the window ( at one time he was followed by the Russian mafia, the Italian mafia,two hitmen, and the FBI all around Miami and he had NO CLUE), even though he knows - or should know- that he is in a dangerous situation and needs to think with the BIG brain on his shoulders, NOT the one behind his zipper. got kind of annoying actually as he stumbled around mooning over his lover, surviving multiple attempts on his life just by sheer luck.
October 11, 2012
Good, solid P.I. mystery, fast moving and a number of interesting twists within the plot although some of them did require some suspension of belief on the part of the reader.
I personally found some of the murder scenes a little more graphic than I prefer and also a bit more noir than I like as well. The overall relationship/ending reminded me very vaguely of some of the Travis McGee novels, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Well developed main characters, some of the minor characters were a bit sketchy and good action scenes.
I did wonder about the 'big business' plotline as I find many of those to be more about following the paperwork than action. This was based on financial chicanery but it focused more on the people involved than the actual details of the issue.
Very readable, better than just okay but if there were several in the series, not something I would read consecutively.
I personally found some of the murder scenes a little more graphic than I prefer and also a bit more noir than I like as well. The overall relationship/ending reminded me very vaguely of some of the Travis McGee novels, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Well developed main characters, some of the minor characters were a bit sketchy and good action scenes.
I did wonder about the 'big business' plotline as I find many of those to be more about following the paperwork than action. This was based on financial chicanery but it focused more on the people involved than the actual details of the issue.
Very readable, better than just okay but if there were several in the series, not something I would read consecutively.
June 8, 2013
Let's start off with some good stuff. I liked the book. It was exciting, the characters were well developed, the plot moved along at a great pace. Negatives? Some typos were scattered throughout the book, but not enough to discourage me. Now to the hard part. Sometimes I read a book where I like the story but don't like the protagonist. How should that affect my rating? It's tough, but I tend to give the story more weight. Not every person in the world is good, and you can do great things even as an average person. That said, I'm not a big fan of Scarne, but I thought the read was enjoyable. Plenty of times I snuck off with my kindle to get one more chapter read. You like a good thriller, here's your book. After posting this I'll be adding book two of the Scarne books to my TBR list.
January 14, 2017
After the last book I read, I needed something a little more fun. I found this to be a fast-paced read dealing with corrupt international banking and money laundering schemes, the mob, murder (sometimes in rather creative and disturbing ways), and yes, even a bit of sex. Jake Scarne, the protagonist, is a private investigator who reminded me somewhat of James Bond. His background has given him the skills to deal with all the predicaments he finds himself in. His close friends are a bit shady in their personal dealings and they come in handy at certain points in the book. While Jake finds himself in a number of intense situations; there is an abundance dialog between characters that adds a great deal of humor to the book.
January 6, 2020
I can’t be the only one who thought of Michael Scott from The Office when I saw this was about a Jake “Scarne” 😛 But it’s a really cool story!
Private investigator Jake takes a case from an uncle who doesn’t think his reporter nephew committed suicide, but he didn’t expect to lose his heart to the beautiful Alana while trying to prove her boss is behind all the shady dealings. It’s a pretty long book with lots of twists but it kept my attention the whole way. Those 2 assassins Keitel and Garza were terrible but also entertaining.
Private investigator Jake takes a case from an uncle who doesn’t think his reporter nephew committed suicide, but he didn’t expect to lose his heart to the beautiful Alana while trying to prove her boss is behind all the shady dealings. It’s a pretty long book with lots of twists but it kept my attention the whole way. Those 2 assassins Keitel and Garza were terrible but also entertaining.
October 13, 2014
Good story with a lot of action, but in need of a good editor.
I read the Kindle version of this story. The author has done a good job of putting the story together and the character development was well done. It is bothersome, however, to find so many typos in a story that should have been caught. Had it not been for the poor editing, this story would have been worthy of a four or five star rating.
I read the Kindle version of this story. The author has done a good job of putting the story together and the character development was well done. It is bothersome, however, to find so many typos in a story that should have been caught. Had it not been for the poor editing, this story would have been worthy of a four or five star rating.
March 2, 2013
Another over due review—I read the book months ago in 2012 and enjoyed it. The leading character may be able to handle his liquor but he certainly can’t handle his women, but then what’s new about that–we guys are all suckers when it comes to a beautiful woman. Sound of Blood is graphic—a good private detective story.
January 9, 2013
While I liked the concept of the book and the humor, Jake Scarne is an idiot who gets everything he deserves. He's a womanizer who tries to fall in love with a horrible woman. He uses the wrong head to make decisions and gets himself into too much irritating trouble. I much prefer De Maria's other character, Alton Rhode. He has many redeeming qualities and is much more likable.
August 19, 2015
Good.
I enjoyed the majority of this book except for the long drawn out unnecessary descriptive sections. The 18 hole golf game seemed to last forever. I was also hoping for a more exciting conclusion.
I enjoyed the majority of this book except for the long drawn out unnecessary descriptive sections. The 18 hole golf game seemed to last forever. I was also hoping for a more exciting conclusion.
October 1, 2019
Jake Scarne is a Private Investigator hired to investigate a death that had been ruled suicide. Big business, the mob and financial interests are involved in a giant ponzi scheme. Good twist on romantic interest. I rate this book a 4.8.
July 24, 2012
Good plot line. Love British humor (or is it humour).
November 8, 2012
A fun read with memorable bad guys and a tight plot; also has great asides on Florida restaurants ( and GA fruitcakes!)
October 27, 2015
4.5 stars
June 19, 2013
I tried hard to get into this book but it just didn't make much sense, I usually like this kind book but I just couldn't get into it
December 12, 2016
c2011. Kindle freebie. A very inventive murder but it then descends into a bit of a mish-mash. Unable to recommend to the normal crew.
January 18, 2017
Really exciting, and somewhat unexpected. Enjoyed the writing style, as well as the story. A real page turner.
A few typos which were a little irritating!
A few typos which were a little irritating!
April 17, 2012
wasn't a bad book until he got distracted by a girl!! then it got a bit annoying....
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews