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

I am biased here as Robert Goddard is one of my favourite authors. He writes so well and engagingly that I get hooked very early on. Having read over a dozen of his books I have come to accept the fact that some of his plots are a bit implausible and his protagonists a bit naive. They have to be to get hooked by untrustworthy people into doing stupid things. With Blood Count, the need to suspend belief was stronger than usual and I set it aside a few times before deciding to read past the first few pages. I was put off initially with the highly implausible threat to the protagonist that if he didn't help a Serbian war criminal, the criminal's family would claim that the protagonist asked them to murder his wife (which they did some years ago). Still, once you set that implausibility aside, the usual twists and turns keep you reading. In the end, I really enjoyed this book. The protagonist was a good person caught in a web of lies and deception, just trying to save his reputation. However, in the end he put that aside in the interest of bringing the war criminals to justice, only to be let down again by devious, self-interested parties. He is a somewhat pathetic character but it is not hard to empathise with his plight. Great suspense and unexpected twists right through the whole story. ( )

As always a well-researched plot where a British surgeon becomes unwittingly involved with those responsible for Serbian war crimes and the International Court in The Hague prosecuting them. Highly recommended. ( )

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. ( )

Goddard, as usual, tells a good story, a ripping yarn, keeping you wanting to turn the pages - so many twists and turns, an emotional ride. ( )