Death Benefits

by Thomas Perry

A careful, methodical young data analyst for a California insurance company, John Walker knows when people will marry, at what age they will most likely have children, and when they will die. All signs point to a long successful career—until Max Stillman, a gruff security consultant, appears without warning at the office. It seems a colleague with whom Walker once had an affair has disappeared after paying a very large death benefit to an impostor. Stillman wants to find and convict her; Walker is convinced the woman is innocent. Now Walker teams up with Stillman on an urgent north-by-northeast race—relentlessly leading to a pay-off that just might shock the life out of him. . . .

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

384 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 13, 2001

About the author

Thomas Perry was the author of 25 novels. He was born in Tonawanda, New York in 1947. He received a B.A. from Cornell University in 1969 and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Rochester in 1974. He had worked as a park maintenance man, factory laborer, commercial fisherman, university administrator and teacher, and as a writer and producer of prime time network television shows.

Thomas Perry lived in Southern California.

Reviews

[Vicki Herbert - Vacation until Jan 2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

High Octane Tension and Suspense...

DEATH BENEFITS by Thomas Perry

No spoilers. 5 stars. This suspenseful, high octane story begins with Ellen Snyder, agent for McClaren Life & Casualty Insurance Company...

... taking a taxi to an appointment with Alan Werfel, son of the recently deceased Andrew Werfel, to get Alan's signature for payout on his father's life insurance policy...

But...

The man she met with was an impostor, and now Ellen is on the run along with 12 million dollars...

Enter...

Max Stillman, ex-cop and private investigator...

... who singles out cubicle dweller John Walker, lowly actuary statistician for McClaren Life & Casualty, to assist him in solving the crime...

... which is looking more and more like an inside job... with Ellen working with others on the insurance fraud...

Immediately following the crime...

Ellen is on the move, switching to a new name in each new town. The thieves had begun moving the money straight away...

Within a week...

The dynamic duo if Stillman and Walker discover Ellen buried in a field on an abandoned farm...

... She had already made the odd transformation from the living to the dead...

Now...

Stillman and Walker must look elsewhere for their inside connection to the crime...

This story was tense and suspenseful right up to the last 10%. The team of Stillman and Walker was brilliant and personable, leaving this reader wanting more crime solving stories featuring them. An excellent read!

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perry's characters are always excellent, but he managed to make an even better set this time. Instead of one main character, there are 2 with a third coming in halfway through. The premise was a bit far out, but very cool. Who knew something as mundane as insurance fraud could spawn such a great book?

While Metzger's Dog is still probably my favorite of all his standalones, this isn't far behind.

[Robert Rosenthal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The overall idea for this novel was great. It immerses us in unusual world, that of the insurance industry, and delivers an unusual caper to be unravelled. The pacing was fast with some decent action sequences, though none of them stellar, like in Barry Eisler's Rain series. Unfortunately, Walker, the protagonist, is a drab, rather uninteresting guy. Not unlikeable, but nothing there to root for either. Yes, this is in keeping with his job as an insurance analyst, but that's no excuse for a lifeless protag. Fortunately, the secondary characters, Stillman and Serena are wonderful, and it's their energy and charisma that drive the plot forward. The author should bring them back in future novels; perhaps he already has.

My biggest problem with the book, however, was that the author needlessly telegraphed his big twist ending, and did so in a scene that added little in the way of plot and nothing in the way of suspense. Had he eliminated this one scene, he could have let his characters walk blindly into jeopardy with the reader innocently following along. As it was, I saw the twist coming from a mile off and it made me think the characters stupid, especially the savvy and experienced Stillman, for not seeing it too.

That said, the last 100 pages or so are a real thrill-ride. They recreate a scene more familiar to the Sci-Fi and Horror genres, but make it fully believable. Bravo! For this reason alone, the novel would be a worthwhile read.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story ! The team of Stillman, Walker, and Mary Catherine was a blast to read. Incredibly hard book to put down, I enjoyed thoroughly. Can't wait to read second book in Walker series. Perry is master story teller whose books are chock full of suspense . Perry's books always deliver in the mystery and thriller genre. 5 Star yarn to be sure. Be sure to pick this one up and enjoy the ride.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are several Thomas Perry books that I’ve found intriguing but this was a miss, it was too long, I thought the plot was muddled and it had many unlikely scenarios, behaviors and escapes. I’ll keep reading books by Perry because the good ones are very good, I just didn’t connect with this.

[Zora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perry is a solid writer, though I like some of his thrillers a lot and some I'm rather meh about. I liked this one, and really, it's amazing he made the life insurance industry interesting here! Stillman is a great character.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

The central scheme of this book is insurance scam. It starts with a $12 million life insurance collected by an imposter and goes from there.
A security specialist and an analyst from the insurance company are traveling tracking down the scammers.
A good book but the big surprise towards the end for the main characters I saw coming a mile away

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

First half was interesting. I liked it a lot. A so-so last half gets it three stars overall.

[Dan Banana · Rating 5 out of 5]

overall a good action and suspense thriller, very good characters. wish it wasn't a stand alone novel, would like more of the characters. a bit over the top a few times but enjoyable and a very good pace.

[Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-½ Stars. Not quite a 4, but very well-written with a clever plot. Reminded me of a Jack Reacher novel.

[Karen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Audio. DNF

Not believable. Too long. Drags. Boring. 🥱 I “fast forwarded” to ending. Glad I didn’t bother w/ the “in between”.

Do not recommend

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about insurance fraud and claims analysis. Yawning yet? Be in for a surprise as Thomas Perry weaves a terrific investigative tale built around precisely those seemingly soporific plot elements. Max Stillman, a new character for Perry, and John Walker, an insurance analyst who's really good with numbers, team up to discover how a man could impersonate another to make off with millions in death benefits. What they uncover has much larger ramifications and leads them to a town in New Hampshire with a rather sordid past. Mix in Serena, a.k.a Mary Katherine, a delightfully vampish hacker, and all the ingredients are there for a fun read.

Listened to as an audio book that had me sitting in the driveway much too much to hear what was next. Read by a favorite reader, Michael Kramer.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this were a movie, the last act would play like gangbusters, but it's exceptionally rare to find a thriller in the form of a novel that can make the final confrontations and unraveling as exciting and compelling as the slow build-up of tension and the mystery/investigation part. I've seen Perry pull it off (with Vanishing Act, my favorite of his so far) and so I'll keep reading him to see if he ever pulls it off again. While this was unusually compelling for most of its length, the last quarter felt weirdly skippable. In terms of women characters, he's only got two, one's dead and one's alive, and he does better with the dead one than the alive one.

[Pat Harmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed. The first book I read by this author was the old man and I really enjoyed it. I have read others but not with the same enjoyment, they seem forgettable. This one was ok to start, I had the audio and print versions and switched back and forth. Obviously my mind was wandering with the audio version as I sometimes wondered how they ended up where they were. Towards the end it was getting better, much more tension. I knew I was coming to the end and wondered how they were going to wrap this up in so few pages. Huh, they wrapped it up in a few words!! Very unsatisfactory to my mind. Could have taken out the fluff and fleshed up the denouement. 3 books in and not overly impressed. About to start the second in the butcher boy series. Let’s see where that goes!

[Johnnie Gee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thank goodness this book finally had an ending. It went on and on and on. The two main characters (and the third that came in later) got into and out of situations that stretched the imagination. However, the clues they found that led them to one place after another and FINALLY to the conclusion stretched it even more.

[Jonn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read, classic Perry...

The writing style is fantastic and definately made me think of The Butcher's Boy. Worth your time.

[Cory Emerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was the only novel in English at the resort. Crushed it in a day. #PageTurner #DidTheJob

[Loy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third time for me to read this book since it came out.
Just as good.

Great. Book.

[Todd · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. Felt slow and character development was flat. First Thomas Perry book I dnf’d

[Craig Pittman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thomas Perry has written some brilliant thrillers ("Butcher's Boy," "Metzger's Dog") and some fascinating misfires ("Strip") and so I approach each of his novels wondering which one this next one will be. I think this one falls into the misfire category because the ending is somewhat dissatisfying. That said, it's still fascinating, primarily because of the three main characters that Perry creates.

One is an insurance data analyst named John Walker. We see and hear everything from his point of view, although it's a third-person narration. Second is Max Stillman, one of the more vivid depictions of a detective ever put in a book. Stillman is a 50ish ex-cop, thrice married, full of opinions and observations about life and crime. He's been hired by Walker's company to figure out a scam that ripped off the company for $12 million, and he winds up dragging Walker along with him on a cross-country search for the perpetrators because he once had a love affair with an employee who may be part of the scam and has disappeared. The third character, who joins the search perhaps halfway through, is an interesting addition to the crew. I won't give away this person's identity, but will just say that I was glad to see this character tag along.

As usual, Perry's plot doesn't go where you expect it to go, and there's a section involving a Florida hurricane that's a pretty accurate depiction of what those are like. The book, which came out in 2001, also features what may be the first use of geneology to solve a crime -- a tactic that's become pretty common these days but was unheard of then.

In addition to being let down by the ending, I also am disappointed that Max Stillman apparently doesn't show up in any subsequent Perry thrillers. Such a vivid and get-it-done character is one I wouldn't mind spending time with again some day.

[Joel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've become a big fan of Thomas Perry. His writing brings the best of the unusual & the quirky in plot and characters to the crime genre that I've found. I started out reading his Buther's Boy and Jane Whitefield series and have now started to go back and work my way through his stand along novels in chronological order. I find that once I get into each story I'm compelled to keep reading until I get to the end of his stories that are always unique. I must admit that he brings a little whimsey to the genre that you just don't often find...in fact, it takes someone of unusual talent to pull it off. He does it every time.

This one involves an insurance analyst that gets assigned to assist a consulting investigator/fixer to investigate an apparent fraud involved with a claim. From that premise the story bobs and weaves in unusual directions that will surprise and delight as the young analyst learns to appreciate adventure.

I'm sure I'll work my through his entire collection of novels in short order.

[Linda Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story begins at a respected old insurance company in San Francisco. John Walker leads an uneventful life as a data analyst. That all changes when he is introduced to security consultant Max Stillman. Stillman has been retained to investigate a major fraud. One of their wealthy insured clients had died and an imposter collected on the $12,000,000 insurance policy. The agent who approved the payout has disappeared. Since Walker had had a brief relationship with this young woman, he is recruited to help track her down. The two men follow a confusing trail across the country. She is traveling with two men and using a different identity in each city. However, this case goes much deeper than anyone expected. Stillman and Walker repeatedly find themselves in life threatening situations. It all culminates in a small town in New Hampshire. The conclusion of this book was so terrifying that I had trouble sleeping after finishing it at one in the morning. Thomas Perry is a master of his craft. You might want to read this one during the day.

[Richard Gullickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Janie and I listened to this as an audiobook on our way back from Minnesota and on trips to and from NVA. This is another great thriller by Thomas Perry, author of the excellent Jane Whitfield series, who is even better with his individual books such as my previous favorite “The Old Man.” An insurance investigator teams with a young insurance company actuarial researcher whose former girl friend is murdered in an insurance fraud scheme. This leads to the unraveling of a small town in Maine composed entirely of swindlers who make their living from insurance fraud by posing as the heir to a rich decedent or rushing in after a hurricane in Florida to make false insurance claims. This is another great read only marred by the typical author overreach of making the hero, the young insurance bureaucrat, into a superman as he helps the investigator to track down the bad guys. A more bumbling protagonist would be more believable and interesting.

[Givemore · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last four chapters really made me curious. They ruined the story. i just didnt enjoy them .however Death Benefits is a great novel by Thomas Perry about systematic insurance fraud involving million of dollars.

Analyzing this novel in a didactic fashion wont help,it has its share of spoilers, anyway Thomas Perry work is officially among the 100 Favorite Mysteries of the Century by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.

Walker, a data analyst is chosen by company President of McClaren Life and Casualty, to assist Max Stillman , a tough freelance investigator after the disappearance of Ellen Snyder, a hard working and ambitious assistant branch manager who purported authorized issuance of a twelve million fraudulent claim. The fact that the underlying basis of this story is insurance fraud inveigles a not so avid reader to look forward for more information to navigate the moras of insurance business.

[Penrod · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.9 stars rounded up

I didn't think this was nearly as good as PURSUIT, which I also just read. Not nearly as much killing, which isn't the reason. It's actually kind of refreshing that our protagonists don't kill many people.

One of the things I don't like about the book is actually something that TP does fairly frequently: introduces a character, gives some backstory so that we start to get interested, then kills the character off.

This belongs to the genre of books that introduces an ordinary person, puts him in danger (he is a guy in this case), and then shows how he gets drawn into the mystery and rises to the occasion. There's nothing wrong with this. It's just that our hero is kind of vaguely drawn and not all that interesting. My take anyhow.

Recommended with some reservations.

[Mizloo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas Perry is a terrific writer. This book was a nail-biter and page-turner for me. The prologue and set-up in the first half of the book got my attention early on and held it completely; I was interested in even the totally strange character of the security specialist, since both the victim and her ex-boyfriend were smart, unusual lead characters. But I found the last quarter of the book a lot less engaging, since the premise just didn't hold up, with melodramatic events and explanations. While I was engaged by and interested in the character of Serena, still I lost faith in the story even though the quality of the writing kept me reading.

Not up to other Perry books I've read, but still a good read.

[Barbara White]

Perry is one of my favourite authors and Death Benefits one of my favourite Perrys. I wish he would write more about Stillman and Walker. Walker's a rather stolid young man, but he comes on by leaps and bounds when teamed up with the rather louche and pragmatic Stillman, and this plot is a whole lot more interesting than you would think from reading the synopsis. All of Perry's books have a lot of turns and developments and they make for interesting reading, with some unexpected twists. There are some very striking descriptions, often encapsulating a big idea in just a few words, which is always impressive. I cannot recommend this too highly.

[Glen Leavens · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thriller about life insurance almost appears to be a contradiction. Thomas Perry makes it exciting. A mysterious agent and an analyst at a large San Francisco insurance company. A security consultant, Stillman, who just happens to invite John Walker to lunch. A book that drew me into the story from the first page. It seems a colleague with whom Walker once had an affair has disappeared after paying a very large death benefit to an impostor. Stillman wants to find and convict her; Walker is convinced the woman is innocent. Now Walker teams up with Stillman on an urgent north-by-northeast race—relentlessly leading to a pay-off that just might shock the life out of him

[Ronnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Off beat but good picaresque crime thriller

I recently read Perry's Silence and didn't think much of it. It was formulaic and parts were difficult to believe. Death benefits is the opposite. Quirky, fast paced a surprise around every corner. The insurance analyst gets involved in an insurance conspiracy scam. He transforms from a Clark Kent almost into a man of steel. There is lots of action, a little sex and romance and some unlikely but skilful plot twists. I recommend this book and rank it as one of Perry's best.

[Elly Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4* How does he do it? This is another very suspenseful novel with a great cast of characters I want to see again, preferably in a series.
I’m on a Thomas Perry binge right now, and it amazes me how each novel offers not only the expected thriller material but also different settings and situations. Very rich stuff.
I started with the Jane Whitefield books which I devour, partly because I enjoy their settings. But he has all these other groups of people to show us, just as intriguing.
Mr. Perry has definitely become one of my favourite authors.
Good one!