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    Blood Money
    Blood Money
    Blood Money
    Audiobook11 hours

    Blood Money

    Written by James Grippando

    Narrated by Jonathan Davis

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    New York Times bestselling author James Grippando delivers a powerful, nonstop thrill ride ripped from the headlines. Miami criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck is back in his most frightening case yet, and this time the price of victory is measured in blood.

    It is the most sensational murder trial since O. J. Simpson's. The nation is obsessed with Sydney Bennett, a sexy nightclub waitress and good-time girl accused of murdering her two-year-old daughter for cramping her party life. When he had agreed to defend Sydney, Jack Swyteck knew he'd be taking on the toughest and most controversial case of his career.

    Millions of ""TV jurors"" have convicted Sydney in the court of public opinion.

    When the shocking verdict of not guilty is announced, citizens across the country are outraged, and Jack is bombarded by the fallout: angry, profanity-laced phone calls and even outright threats. Media-fed rumors of ""blood money""—purported seven-figure book and movie deals—ratchet up the hysteria, putting Jack's client and everyone around her at risk.

    On the night of Sydney's release, an angry mob outside the jail has gathered to serve its own justice. In the frenzy, an innocent young woman bearing a striking resemblance to the reviled Sydney Bennett ends up in a coma. While the media blame Jack and his defense team, the victim's parents reach out to him, requesting his help. They don't believe the attack was the tragic result of random mob violence.

    Searching for the truth about what happened that night, Jack makes a frightening discovery. Larger and much more powerful forces are working in the shadows, and what happened outside the jail is a symptom of an evil that infected the show-stopping trial and media-spun phenomenon of Sydney Bennett.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateJan 8, 2013
    ISBN9780062239730
    Author

    James Grippando

    James Grippando is a New York Times bestselling author with more than thirty books to his credit, including those in his acclaimed series featuring Miami criminal defense attorney Jack Swyteck, and the winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. He is also a trial lawyer and teaches law and literature at the University of Miami School of Law. He lives and writes in South Florida.

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    Reviews for Blood Money

    4/5

    72 ratings9 reviews

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    • 1/5
      Incest is not entertaining. The last two chapters sucked big time
    • 5/5
      Excellent story one of the most captivating yet, Grippando surely knows how to get his audience captivated I loved it an awesome listen!!
    • 5/5
      Fantastic book I have started it on a Thursday morning and it was finished by Friday morning a captivating novel that sucks you in with every chapter highly recommended
    • 2/5
      The story plodded along at a snails pace. To similar to a real Florida case. Not the best James Grippando book I've read.
    • 5/5
      The best and last of the Jack Swyteck series, Jack defends Sydney Bennett of first degree murder of killing her three year old daughter, Emma. Tempers quickly flare when the jury gives their verdict, criminal events bring local and federal authorities out in force too confront the situation.
    • 3/5
      This is a story that seems like it could have been pulled from the newspaper headlines. A high profile case in Florida where a nightclub dancer is accused of murdering her two-and-a half year old daughter.Jack Swyteck thought that this would be a difficult case and is surprised when the jury brings in a 'not guilty' verdict.As the woman, Sydney Bennett is scheduled for release, there is a near riot and a woman dress like Sidney is injured and brought to the hospital in a coma.There are many twists to the story and one involves the father of the injured woman asking Jack to sue the TV station for their part in inciting a near riot. The father explains that he has no health insurance and fears the hospital costs.We also learn of a darker side where a serial killer is at work and manipulating many of the events.I enjoyed the story and Jack Swyteck. I also liked the messages about the fear that people have about health insurance costs and that the news media often incites violence and should be made to pay for it if it causes harm.
    • 4/5
      This is the 10th book featuring Jack Swyteck, a Miami based lawyer. In Blood Money, Jack reluctantly takes on the defense of Sydney Bennett, a party girl cocktail waitress accused of killing her two year old. Sounds just like the real life case of Casey Anthony, also a Florida woman accused of killing her two year old in 2008, doesn't it? And, like Anthony, Grippando's character is found not guilty. The resulting social media storm also mirrors that of Anthony's case, which Time magazine called "the social media trial of the century." Bennett comes to be known as 'shot mom', a reference to her selling of drinks at her cocktail waitress job, by TV host Faith Corso. Anthony was called 'tot mom' by television news host Nancy Grace. There are some other similarities I won't bother listing.So, part of me was disappointed in Grippando for simply fictionalizing a known case. But once things got underway, he did put his own spin on things with alternate scenarios. Lots of twists and turns kept me listening. I found the media frenzy surrounding the case a telling commentary on our society. I've always enjoyed the character of Jack - he's a likable, principled protagonist. Theo (whom Jack 'saved' from Death Row) is a solid sidekick, and the more physical of the duo. Their banter is often entertaining.The reader was award winning Jonathan Davis and he was excellent. His interpretation of Jack really matched the mental image I had created for this character. His voice is very expressive, and captured the action and tone of the story perfectly. His range of voices was very good - I was able to easily tell who was speaking. Davis has a voice that is truly easy on the ears!Blood Money was an entertaining listen for me
    • 5/5
      Blood Money – James GrippandoTake the horror of the Casey Anthony trial and acquittal, mix in a good dose of the O.J. Simpson trial then toss in some outrageous social media and a huge dose of sensationalistic TV and you have the basis for this astonishing book.Mr. Grippando has written 20 books to date and this is the first one I have ever read. It will not be my last one. The author has written this book as part of a series, but I guarantee you that you will not have had to read any of the other ones to follow this story. It has been written as if it were a stand-alone and it gives you just enough back story for many of the characters so that you will immediately feel like you have grown up with them.A brief summary of this book -- Jack Swyteck has defended one of the most seemingly despicable women that this country has seen in a while and he expects that her release from prison is not going to go well. However, nobody could have predicted just what exactly did happen that morning. Celeste Laramore who has a striking resemblance to Sydney Bennett (also known as Shot Mom) shows up at the jailhouse on the morning of Sydney’s release. The crowd has be driven to a frenzy by a certain TV reporter (who bears a startling resemblance to one of my least favorite TV personality/Attorney) from the BNN network – Breaking News Network. While this crowd is essentially, rioting, someone is trying to strangle the Sydney look-alike. To make a long story short, because of illegal technical maneuvering/tampering by BNN, crucial medical information does not get to the ambulance in time and Celeste slips into a coma. Not only all of that is going on, but also at the same time there is a murderer loose that is threatening all of the people that Jack loves…a real brilliant nut-job is doing his best to get to Sydney. Initially you think it is to exact some sort of retribution for her acquittal, but you would be wrong.Can Jack find a way to prosecute an entire TV station? Did Sydney really kill and hide the body of her own daughter? Was there extenuating circumstances to this murder? Is ANYTHING as it seems? This novel is filled with wonderfully tight writing. There is nothing extraneous in this novel. Nothing that will make you roll your eyes in frustration, because we all know that truth is stranger than fiction. The characters are interesting, dislikable, sympathetic, hateful, loveable and interesting. I could go on but I will not bore you with the characters attributes. The plot was so believable, that at times I had a difficult time separating fact from fiction.This is a fast-paced book and one that I could not out down until I finished it.Many thanks go out to the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book. I had a fantastic time with it and rest assured I will be buying this authors back-list.
    • 4/5
      The Casey Anthony case with a couple of twists. The story lines and the court case were very good but it is the characters of Jack Swytek, Cleo and especially his abuela that keeps me reading. I just love the parts with his abuela in them, they are just so much fun. I just hope Grippando keeps these stories coming.