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Blood and Money Hardcover – January 1, 1976

by Thomas Thompson (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 2,972 ratings
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Sheds light upon crime and punishment among the rich in Houston while probing the circumstances of the sudden death of Joan Hill, the trial for murder of her husband, and subsequent events
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  1. Print length
    450 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Doubleday
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1976
  5. ISBN-10
    0385096852
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0385096850
  7. See all details
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  1. “The law is fairly clear on this. If you owe a duty to a person and if you fail to perform it, and death results, then you are guilty of homicide.”
    Highlighted by 117 Kindle readers
  2. If you tell yourself something long enough and hard enough, then it becomes impossible to distinguish between what really happened and what should have happened.
    Highlighted by 115 Kindle readers
  3. Any lawyer who knows his way to the courthouse also knows that the system is majestic and at the same time maddening, corrupt, and pliable to the whims of politics, influence, and money.
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Doubleday; First Edition (January 1, 1976)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 450 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0385096852
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0385096850
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 2,972 ratings

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Thomas Thompson

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
2,972 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Stefanie
5.0 out of 5 stars Better than a John Grisham novel!
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2023
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If you enjoy true crime, courtroom dramas, suspense novels, or plain good writing, this book is for you! Reads like excellent fiction. Engaging from the beginning to the very last page. A couple parts reflect the time in which it was written, and just have to be overlooked. The other 99% of it feels like it was written today.
Very highly recommend to everyone!
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Admiralu
4.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing Story Dull Narration
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2019
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This was a page turned about the death of a socialite, her husband who was accused of her murder and those who conspired to kill her husband. It's a sad tale with no happy ending. I feel for Ash Robinson, a self made man who loved his daughter Joan and would do anything for her. Unfortunately, her taste in men was less than ideal. Her third husband, a doctor, was an awful man who killed her in a brutal and agonizing way and got away with it. He was later killed himself, as was his killer. The first section covers Joan, the second Jon Hill and the third covers the three conspirators who plotted to kill Jon Hill. Only one was convicted. A thrilling, page turner, including the trial at the end, I was sad not to see a footnote to find out what happened to the remaining participants. Bios of all involved, from doctors, to lawyers, police officers and more enhance the narrative and illuminate the story. I read this book using immersion reading while listening to the audio book. The narrator read the book with a dry voice that took a while to get used to. It was done in a monotone and would've been better with a more animated personality. A fantastic book nine the less.
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Loretta Dillon
5.0 out of 5 stars The Greatest True Crime Book Ever Written
Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2010
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Perhaps on a handful of occasions, you come across a story that can paradoxically alter and reinforce your understanding of the human condition. A story so rich in complex and interesting characters, their lives narrated with such vivid detail and telling dialogue, they have to be real people and not the imagined composites of a novelist. A story set so perfectly in a place and time in history that you come away believing for a while that you lived there, traveled the streets, overheard conversations or had supper with the denizens.

Of the hundreds of books I have enjoyed reading, like an endless buffet of delicious meals, there are few and far between the luscious delicacies found in Thomas Thompson's book, Blood and Money. This sumptuous feast requires slow, deliberate relish in order to luxuriate in every chapter like exquisitely prepared courses served in the finest restaurant. Before I had finished the first chapter of the book, I began to pace myself to allow the rare beauty and satisfying depth of this engrossing experience to linger.

Thompson's masterpiece made him famous, along with introducing the Robinson family to a worldwide audience. He tragically died at age 49 from an illness he acquired while researching another superb work, Serpentine, a riveting and bizarre true story about a serial killer who preyed on tourists in multiple continents. Were not Thompson's career cut short, I would be happily standing in line for his next offering. As it is, I have read and enjoyed every one of his books. His thorough understanding of human nature, exhaustive research and attention to detail, and his virtuoso ear for vernacular, anecdote and irony vaults his work far above the usual pulp suspense or crime genre into the category of great literature, along the lines of William Faulkner, James Joyce, or Dostoevsky. None of the reviews, dust cover blurbs, or quotes from publishers do justice to this book; there are no superlatives that can overstate its brilliance.

Blood and Money is set in Houston, Texas, from its beginnings as an uninhabitable swamp to its colorful and extraordinary ascension as a major power metropolis in America. Every influential player in the story is traced from childhood to his or her participation in the intricate drama, which at its core is a familiar tale of love, betrayal, murder, money, and revenge. Ash Robinson, a rags to riches hero, indulges his talented and popular daughter, Joan, to virtually anything her heart desires, including private education, champion horses, and three deadbeat husbands, the last of whom, plastic surgeon Dr. John Hill, probably murders her with a mysterious concoction of bacteria. I don't want to spoil the story, but suffice it to say I believe John Hill facilitated Joan's demise, if not precipitated it out of greed and expedience. Hill is a portrait of narcissism: self-serving ambition, reckless indulgence, cold and calculating cruelty, and with an overly protective, self-righteous mother who defends him to the bitter end. Some of you, like me, may despise Hill so intensely by the first half of the book, you begin rooting for the "bad guys" to escape punishment.

As in the Shakespearian tragedy, Macbeth, there are quite a few dead bodies before the end of the saga, and by now most of the survivors have passed on to the big oil rig in the sky. Unlike in most crime books, however, the reader is privy to an energetic biographical history of the lawyers, judges, prostitutes, pimps, gamblers, ruffians, cops, oil men, socialites, and even some famous Texan politicians, which could only be accomplished through massive research, countless interviews, and dissecting court transcripts and newspaper reports in an investigative fervor unmatched by many writers. Thompson was a journalist with obvious connections and charisma, in whom nearly everyone confided like a priest at the last rites.

Joan Robinson Hill is the most ambivalent character in the book, followed in a close second by her father, Ash, whose relationship with her was akin to worship. Unlucky in love, Joan is nevertheless adored by her family and friends, if not most of Houston, and represents the quintessential independent woman: talented, passionate, strong-willed, temperamental, philanthropic, and a devoted mother to her only child, a son she shared with the wretched Hill. Joan is no saint, but her failings and flaws are so endearing, she is someone with whom you can imagine being good friends or at least a doting admirer. Her death is only the beginning of a complex series of relationships, crime and murder.

If I tell you anything else, it will ruin the suspense. Buy a copy of Blood and Money. You will want to own this book, and savor every piquant page.
6 people found this helpful
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Eve S.
3.0 out of 5 stars Starts to drone on, too long
Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2019
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This was an interesting true crime novel that has all the elements: a glamorous rich beautiful woman, a possessive controlling father and his arch enemy a manipulative, greedy dishonest husband. I enjoyed reading about Joan Robinson Hill, Ash Robinson, John Hill, and the development of Houston in the early oil years. Here is where the book went wrong for me: I felt as if the author was reaching desperately to make the book longer, so he threw in page after page of information that was irrelevant and not interesting. If he had streamlined the investigation, organized his thoughts about the murderous trio and written about the trial in a more concise fashion, this book would have been 4 to 4.5 stars. Unfortunately, since I found the book 35% 'skimmable" it is a 3 star book for me.
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Werner Thomas
5.0 out of 5 stars Better than fiction
Reviewed in Germany on February 24, 2019
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A RICH AND HEAVY TALE ! And it's true ! You will forget everything around you !
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L.J.R.esq
5.0 out of 5 stars For true, true crime affectionados A MUST READ!
Reviewed in Canada on April 25, 2017
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A truly great read. An older book, thus a long read........... thank goodness. So, so well written, a story that twists and turns, I loved every minute of it. Much to convoluted to go into plot specifics, it has all the ingredients us TRUE true crime readers need. I have found some of the newer books to be to short, moreover some of the great authors have gone down hill. The only criticism I have is, on my Kindle read, no photographs! I would have loved to see each and every character in this book.
One person found this helpful
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weewummin
5.0 out of 5 stars one of the best true crime
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 22, 2017
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first read this in the 80s. and so began my love of true crime books. the early ann rule books are some of my favourites and often reread. this book is such a great read. very "meaty" and well written. was thrilled to find in kindle store.
2 people found this helpful
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Pop culture man
5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliantly written classic
Reviewed in Australia on January 30, 2017
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This is the story of some sensational events, including murder, in Houston in the late 1960s. It is brilliantly told by the author.

It is a long book, as Thompson takes time to draw in-depth portraits of all the many key players.
In these portraits, he tells the person's life history, building layer by layer a picture of their character which enables the reader to understand why that person behaves the way they do. These portraits are fully rounded, whether the person in question is rich and powerful or from lower social and economic echelons. For Thompson, this is a study of character more than anything else.

The narrative never drags, so crisp and instructive is Thompson's prose.

He covers the complex trial processes and tactics with clarity and conciseness.

So startling is the story it would be a good read in the hands of even a pedestrian writer. In the hands of Thompson, it is a classic.
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KIERAN
4.0 out of 5 stars Great
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 9, 2023
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Really enjoyed this book. A little long and confusing towards the end but a magnificently told and tragic story of love and loss.
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