Robert Goddard: Blood Count (UK 2011)

From the Publisher:
Thirteen years ago, surgeon Edward Hammond performed a life-saving operation on Serbian gangster Dragan Gazi. Now Gazi is standing trial for war crimes at the international court in The Hague. After Hammond saved his life, Gazi's men went on to slaughter thousands in the Balkan civil wars.

Now, in exchange for keeping Hammond's dirty little secret, Gazi's family want a small favour: to find the man who knows what happened to Gazi's money. But Italian financier Marco Piravani doesn't want to be found. And no sooner has Hammond tracked him down than he disappears again. Hammond has no choice but to set off across Europe in pursuit.

In Blood Count, every action has a consequence and every question must have an answer. Only then might Hammond be able to lay the past to rest...

Robert Goddard: Blood Count. There's no such thing as easy money... Corgi Books, ISBN: 9780552161305 (September, 2011), 458 p., £7.99.

Robert Goddard: Blood Count (UK 2011)

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

Gazi's family have a favour to ask: in exchange for keeping Hammond's dirty little secret - and a bigger secret he hadn't even realized he was implicated in - they want him to find the man who holds the key to al the money Gazi squirrel ed away before his arrest. 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 he disappears again. Hammond has no choice but to set off in pursuit.

The trail leads first to The Hague, where he makes an unlikely al y of Gazi's former mistress, Zineta Perovíc. They head for Italy, in search of Piravani, then Switzerland, where the money may be hidden, before Hammond is forced to return to Belgrade. There he must confront the bloody legacy of Gazi's career - and his share of the blame for it.

Blood Count is not only a bril iant, race-against-time thril er but also a penetrating examination of cause and effect. In this novel, every action has a consequence and every question must have an answer. Only then wil Hammond be able to lay the past to rest...

Robert Goddard: Blood Count. Bantam Books, ISBN: 9780593065082 (March, 2011), 328 p., £14.99.