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Blood Money
A stunning new historical thriller set during the Wall Street Crash of 1929.
New York, 1929, a city of speakeasies, swells and hoodlums at the fag end of the roaring twenties. It’s a hell of a time and place for a young cop to be trying to make his way in the world.
Joe Quinn has been given a shot at the NYPD’s main headquarters squad and his first case is one that could put his name up in lights; a banker flops onto Wall Street and all the signs point to murder. Pretty soon, the dead man is not alone; a group of old buddies is being eliminated, in a particularly gruesome manner. The men have connections to Lucky Luciano and other denizens of the organized crime world. Their leader’s identity is a closely guarded secret; he is known simply as “the bag man,” once the name given to a top cop on the take.
The days of such naked corruption are supposed to be over, but nothing in prohibition era Manhattan is that simple. For Joe Quinn, a case that starts as an opportunity swiftly becomes a nightmare from which there is no escape. The path seems to lead inexorably towards his own father, once New York’s foremost celebrity cop. And at the heart of the investigation lies a woman whose love he has fought to deny for nearly a quarter of a century.
She was adopted by his mother. She is about to marry his brother. And now, through her, he’s about to find out just how painful being an honest cop can be.
New York, 1929, a city of speakeasies, swells and hoodlums at the fag end of the roaring twenties. It’s a hell of a time and place for a young cop to be trying to make his way in the world.
Joe Quinn has been given a shot at the NYPD’s main headquarters squad and his first case is one that could put his name up in lights; a banker flops onto Wall Street and all the signs point to murder. Pretty soon, the dead man is not alone; a group of old buddies is being eliminated, in a particularly gruesome manner. The men have connections to Lucky Luciano and other denizens of the organized crime world. Their leader’s identity is a closely guarded secret; he is known simply as “the bag man,” once the name given to a top cop on the take.
The days of such naked corruption are supposed to be over, but nothing in prohibition era Manhattan is that simple. For Joe Quinn, a case that starts as an opportunity swiftly becomes a nightmare from which there is no escape. The path seems to lead inexorably towards his own father, once New York’s foremost celebrity cop. And at the heart of the investigation lies a woman whose love he has fought to deny for nearly a quarter of a century.
She was adopted by his mother. She is about to marry his brother. And now, through her, he’s about to find out just how painful being an honest cop can be.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
63 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Tom Bradby
19 books293 followersTom Bradby is a British journalist and novelist. He has been political editor for ITV News since July 2005.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 30, 2024
Blood Money by Tom Bradby is a highly atmospheric noir set against the backdrop of the New York on the verge the 1929 Wall Street crash and of tense - read dirty - mayoral elections.
Political and financial intrigue, the omnipresent shadow of organised crime and widespread corruption are the scene on which detective John Quinn finds himself investigating the death of a shady broker. Quinn is a complex character, a young NYPD rising star, with a couple of chips on his shoulders, a few ghosts from a problematic family past, the figure of a cumbersome father looming over him. Idealistic young Quinn likes to go lighting match after match around the powder keg that is the city in those days.
This is the same John Quinn we'll find 20 years later in Cairo in The God Of Chaos, another excellent noir; so, though the two books' stories are not connected, this will provide some background to the other.
After reading all of Mr. Bradby's books, I can say he's an author guaranteeing a pretty stable and high level of quality. Mr Bradby uses a well functioning formula without becoming formulaic (quite the sweet spot): an ordinary crime is committed, a smart and earnest detective scratches beyond the surface and keeps digging; so the ordinary crime unravel a much wider and more complex plot. "Noir" atmosphere (bordering the "hard-boiled"), finely chiseled characters, a dash a romance, all interwoven into a thick historical backdrop; this is the formula of most of Bradby's books. The first 6 are mainly historical fiction while in the last 4 the author has redirected his focus to the world of espionage.
For potential new readers of this author, here's my two cents:
Outstanding
Blood Money
Very Good
The God Of Chaos
Yesterday's Spy
Good
Secret Service trilogy (includes Double Agent and Triple Cross)
The White Russian
The Master Of Rain
So-So
Shadow Dancer
Bad
The Sleep Of The Dead
Political and financial intrigue, the omnipresent shadow of organised crime and widespread corruption are the scene on which detective John Quinn finds himself investigating the death of a shady broker. Quinn is a complex character, a young NYPD rising star, with a couple of chips on his shoulders, a few ghosts from a problematic family past, the figure of a cumbersome father looming over him. Idealistic young Quinn likes to go lighting match after match around the powder keg that is the city in those days.
This is the same John Quinn we'll find 20 years later in Cairo in The God Of Chaos, another excellent noir; so, though the two books' stories are not connected, this will provide some background to the other.
After reading all of Mr. Bradby's books, I can say he's an author guaranteeing a pretty stable and high level of quality. Mr Bradby uses a well functioning formula without becoming formulaic (quite the sweet spot): an ordinary crime is committed, a smart and earnest detective scratches beyond the surface and keeps digging; so the ordinary crime unravel a much wider and more complex plot. "Noir" atmosphere (bordering the "hard-boiled"), finely chiseled characters, a dash a romance, all interwoven into a thick historical backdrop; this is the formula of most of Bradby's books. The first 6 are mainly historical fiction while in the last 4 the author has redirected his focus to the world of espionage.
For potential new readers of this author, here's my two cents:
Outstanding
Blood Money
Very Good
The God Of Chaos
Yesterday's Spy
Good
Secret Service trilogy (includes Double Agent and Triple Cross)
The White Russian
The Master Of Rain
So-So
Shadow Dancer
Bad
The Sleep Of The Dead
November 18, 2016
Another excellent novel by Tom Bradby. I read several others of his books and there were all well written.
Blood Money is about corruption in New York City Hall, NYPD, money laundering, teen kidnapping, rape and abuse of a corpse in New York City in 1929 with a twist of Wallstreet stock market. Good story line. Characters well written. Good plot. Fast read and a page turner!
What I did notice about the novel it is written in Britsh English about a city in The United States of America. The editors didn't catch that and it seemed unusual to be reading about New York City in British English and not American English but that is Tom Bradby writings.
If you are not familiar with stock market terms this book will help educate you with them.
Overall a good read with a good ending.
I've always enjoyed reading Tom Bradby's novels. Always interesting and intriguing.
Blood Money is about corruption in New York City Hall, NYPD, money laundering, teen kidnapping, rape and abuse of a corpse in New York City in 1929 with a twist of Wallstreet stock market. Good story line. Characters well written. Good plot. Fast read and a page turner!
What I did notice about the novel it is written in Britsh English about a city in The United States of America. The editors didn't catch that and it seemed unusual to be reading about New York City in British English and not American English but that is Tom Bradby writings.
If you are not familiar with stock market terms this book will help educate you with them.
Overall a good read with a good ending.
I've always enjoyed reading Tom Bradby's novels. Always interesting and intriguing.
July 29, 2024
Having read most of what I call Bradby's "historical" works (set in past times), this was one of my favourites. We meet Joe Quinn, much younger than when first introduced in God of Chaos, which does not require reading prior to this. Quinn has just been promoted as a cop in NYC to the HQ, where all the big time detectives are.
With his father a police legend, Quinn has big boots to fill. He is tasked with a suicide he deems to be murder, but finds his bosses are suppressing him at every turn. When more dead bodies appear, Quinn finds more questions than answers.
Not necessarily fast-paced, but a very good book, Bradby takes us inside the corruption of the NYPD, the criminal underbelly surrounding specifically the Irish immigrant community and the 1929 Wall Street crash. And a nice Easter Egg: Quinn's partner is a Caprisi: the brother of Field's partner Caprisi from The Master of Rain.
I hope readers enjoy this one as much as I did.
With his father a police legend, Quinn has big boots to fill. He is tasked with a suicide he deems to be murder, but finds his bosses are suppressing him at every turn. When more dead bodies appear, Quinn finds more questions than answers.
Not necessarily fast-paced, but a very good book, Bradby takes us inside the corruption of the NYPD, the criminal underbelly surrounding specifically the Irish immigrant community and the 1929 Wall Street crash. And a nice Easter Egg: Quinn's partner is a Caprisi: the brother of Field's partner Caprisi from The Master of Rain.
I hope readers enjoy this one as much as I did.
February 10, 2023
Set in New York in 1929, Detective Joe Quinn is tasked with solving the murder of a Wall Street banker, originally thought to have committed suicide, until a group of his pals suffer the same gruesome fate. Recession and depression abound- sounds pretty familiar.
Connections to organised crime denizen, Lucky Luciano develop and, of course, there's a woman involved - Quinn's sweetheart, adopted by his mother, is about to marry his brother. Follow that, did you, at the back? As the case develops, the path seems to lead Quinn towards his own father, once New York's best-known cop.
Bradby spins a web of intrigue that Quinn must entangle himself in to find answers. ‘Blood Money’ is a clever murder mystery, inspired by tradition, but hardboiled at the same time. Noir, maybe not. Thriller? No not really, but it's a quietly decent piece of crime fiction, with a satisfying conclusion.
Connections to organised crime denizen, Lucky Luciano develop and, of course, there's a woman involved - Quinn's sweetheart, adopted by his mother, is about to marry his brother. Follow that, did you, at the back? As the case develops, the path seems to lead Quinn towards his own father, once New York's best-known cop.
Bradby spins a web of intrigue that Quinn must entangle himself in to find answers. ‘Blood Money’ is a clever murder mystery, inspired by tradition, but hardboiled at the same time. Noir, maybe not. Thriller? No not really, but it's a quietly decent piece of crime fiction, with a satisfying conclusion.
April 21, 2024
I found this book very difficult to follow. Although I completed it I found it very hard going a times. Set in New York in 1929 during prohibition and the Wall Street crash, Joe Quinn is assigned to investigate the death of a man who falls off a roof. Was he pushed or did he fall. The investigation gets complicated and the disappearance of a young girl is linked to this death. Going back through records Joe uncovers another girl who went missing in 1919. We get to the answer to the mystery eventually, but it takes a little time. The story is good, but a little long winded for me.
January 27, 2021
The story was a bit confusing on the first part, it’s that kind of book that doesn’t hook you down so easily. I’ve thought of dropping the book but I have a habit of finishing a book once I’ve started reading it no matter how bad it was or else it’ll just haunt me down. That said, it’s not that bad, the other half of the book somewhat made it up for the disorienting first chapters, which made it still a satisfying read for me.
February 18, 2021
Not just another US police novel.
A longish detective book gripping from the start with a twisting and turning plot and a well concealed ending. I defy any fan of the genre not to enjoy this one.
A longish detective book gripping from the start with a twisting and turning plot and a well concealed ending. I defy any fan of the genre not to enjoy this one.
April 7, 2021
Another book and a very different setting - he details everything really well but it doesn’t flow or pull you into the tale he’s telling, you are very much on the outside observing rather than being ‘in it’.
October 29, 2025
An absolute belter!
I have a real soft spot for these kind of early 20th century / noir(ish) feint thrillers, and this ranks right up there. I’ve read a few of Tom Brady’s books, and this is the best so far.
I have a real soft spot for these kind of early 20th century / noir(ish) feint thrillers, and this ranks right up there. I’ve read a few of Tom Brady’s books, and this is the best so far.
March 20, 2019
The story of Joe Quinn and his family on the eve of the 1929 Wall Street crash. Serial murders lead to a vendetta and the discovery of family secrets better kept secret.
May 5, 2023
Corruption is everywhere...
May 22, 2023
With it
Slow read at first but picks up speed to an interesting whirlwind finish . An interesting story line set during the Wall street crash.
Slow read at first but picks up speed to an interesting whirlwind finish . An interesting story line set during the Wall street crash.
December 30, 2023
Captures the era brilliantly
I'm a fan of Tom Bradby and,although this captures the 1930's very well, I found the story confusing and not one of his best.
I'm a fan of Tom Bradby and,although this captures the 1930's very well, I found the story confusing and not one of his best.
April 26, 2010
I found this book a disappointment. Not that I had read much about it, but I have enjoyed others by Bradby and expected better.
I liked the attempt at hard-boiled dialogue and the pulp plot, but it was too long for that sort of thing.
His stock characters and hackneyed plotting just didn't pull it off.
His Master of Rain is a favourite of mine for atmosphere and sence of place. This just did not have either of those.
I liked the attempt at hard-boiled dialogue and the pulp plot, but it was too long for that sort of thing.
His stock characters and hackneyed plotting just didn't pull it off.
His Master of Rain is a favourite of mine for atmosphere and sence of place. This just did not have either of those.
December 25, 2014
Average. If you are going to write a book with New York as a backdrop, you need to get your facts straight. For example, there was no Bank of America in 1929 and there is no "Red Rock" section of Brooklyn...
August 8, 2021
Bradby’s detective stories, set at major historic junctures, are among my favorites, and this one did not disappoint. Bradby knows how to tell a story, revealing it in tantalizing bits and pieces as history unfolds and influences in the background.
abandoned
April 17, 2010I'm abandoning this one. I've given it a fair shot but it's not doing much for me and it's very long.
September 24, 2014
Dissapointed, compared to the other Tom Bradby books!!
December 17, 2015
After reading the Master of Rain, I was looking forward to reading this. It was an Ok read, but not up to his earlier book
June 12, 2009
My least fav of the Bradby books
July 21, 2016
You can always rely upon Tom Bradby to give you a good tale....
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews