Blood Work (novel)

Blood Work is a 1998 mystery thriller novel written by Michael Connelly which marks the first appearance of Terry McCaleb. The character McCaleb later returns in A Darkness More Than Night (2000).

The book Blood Work was used as the basis for the 2002 movie of the same name, starring Clint Eastwood. Connelly was inspired to write the story by a friend who received an organ transplant.

Plot summary
Retired FBI profiler Terrell "Terry" McCaleb, the recent recipient of a heart transplant, is contacted by Graciela Rivers, the sister of his donor Gloria, and asked to investigate her death in an unsolved convenience store robbery. Terry had become a minor celebrity for his work chasing the "Code Killer", a Los Angeles-based serial killer signed his notes with the code "903 472 568". He reluctantly agrees to help Graciela but finds the police handling the case to be extremely hostile. However, he is able to match the style of another killing to Gloria's and gets a copy of the files for both cases from Jaye Winston, the sheriff's deputy on that case. He surprisingly discovers that the call reporting Gloria's shooting was placed slightly prior to the actual shooting, leading him to suspect that she was targeted for murder. He interviews the only witness to the second crime, a man called James Noone, but fails to learn much.

As he continues to investigate, against the wishes of his doctor, Terry discovers that the two cases, as well as a third, are linked through the use of a common gun and a common line said by the killer referencing The Godfather. He also learns that the first two victims had Terry's blood types and were on a list of people who had previously donated blood; if the victims died, Terry would benefit from their death as a potential organ recipient. Because of this, the police on Gloria's case focus on Terry as the possible killer and get a warrant to search the fishing boat where he lives. The real killer plants evidence on the boat implicating Terry, but he finds and conceals it. Examining the facts again, Terry realizes that the distinctive attribute of the "Code Killer" was that the nine-digit code did not include a one, and that "James Noone" ("no one") is actually the Code Killer.

By following "Noone's" contact information, Terry and Jaye find the Code Killer's files, which prove that he had deliberately killed three people to get Terry a new heart. Although Terry is thus cleared, the fact that Gloria's death was directly due to his illness creates a rift in his increasingly personal relationship with Graciela and her nephew Raymond, Gloria's son. Terry secretly traces the Code Killer to a location in Baja California that matches one "Noone" described. He then finds and is overpowered by the Code Killer, who tells him that he has kidnapped Graciela and Raymond and buried them alive. Despite serious medical problems from so much activity, Terry is able to kill the Code Killer and then uses the little information he has to locate and rescue Graciela and Raymond. Among the law enforcement officials, only Jaye figures out what really happened.

Adaptations

 * Blood Work (2002), film directed by Clint Eastwood