Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50156 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 384 pages

Customer Reviews

a rattling good yarn
I found Thomas Perry late in his amazing career but had to search for his earlier titles that had gone out of print. (Luckily they are being reissued). "Death Benefits" is easily the favourite - partially because I think 'business' crimes are often more intriguing than the others. Perry introduces an amazing character called Stillman who is a complete mystery. He appears in the life of Walker - an executive 'suit' in insurance, by arriving to work in the same office alongside him. Stillman then selects him for dangerous undercover work Walker doesn't want to do. Stillman - who appears to be acquainted with his boss, then coaxes & shoves until Walker discovers he has been involved in the crime Stillman is investigating, from the start. The plot speeds up, & the mystery deepens - I've never read a book so fast - I couldn't have put it down if I'd tried. The solution is complex & the villains nasty - but it is such a satisfactory story that I read it all over again.

A clever plot with little support from the characters
I read and enjoyed Perry's earlier 'Shadow Woman' and ordered Death Benefits straight from Amazon when I got the chance. It was disappointing to say the least. What begins as a very clever plot is let down by poor characterisation and a very odd string of convenient plot diversions. I read a lot of thrillers and I take my hat off to any author who can get a book on the shelves, but Perry loses his way in this book, focusing too much effort on the plot and not on the characters. His hero, Walker, is quite believable, but his companion, Stillman, failed to get my imagination going and you’re left wondering exactly who he is and where he comes from.
The ending also fails to deliver, coming unexpectedly and very abruptly. After a lengthy and intriguing build up to the climax, it left a bad taste in my mouth.