Table Of Contentpm
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sb $21.95 US —$24.95 CAN
so
o John B.
k
s
Praise for The Sapphire Sea,
Book 1 of the Gemstone Thrillers— ROBINSON
J
o A suite of flawless green diamonds sur-
h
“Robinson ignites the senses in a mad charge through the un-
faces in Central Africa. Fast-talking gem
n
derbelly of sweltering, perilous Madagascar . . . a briskly paced
expert Lonny Cushman knows they’re
B
and gripping read.” —Publishers Weekly
worth a fortune; he just has to get them
.
R out of the killing fields of the Congo and
“Rich in exotic local color and gem lore . . . an action-packed
back to New York. As cover, he volunteers
O
tale.” —Library Journal
to chaperone the Episcopal Church’s star
John B. Robinson graduated B
seminarian, Alice Carpenter, to Rwanda
from Harvard University and headed
I
“[Robinson’s] dialogue is sharp, his characters appealing, his N
in search of her missing father. But
straight to Africa to pursue writing.
narrative style engagingly playful.” —Booklist
S nothing in the gem trade is ever simple.
Along the way he worked as a guide on
O Alice’s father wants the diamonds, too.
Mount Kilimanjaro; bought, sold, and
“A masterpiece worthy of the highest praise.”
traded rare gems; and taught English N So do the Rwandan military and var-
—Winston-Salem Journal
ious rogue militias. Survival depends
in out-of-the-way places. He lives in
on negotiating the bloody machinery
Portland, Maine.
“The action is frenzied and bloody and, as they say, nonstop a a fistful of
that benefits from the conflict dia-
. . . This debut thriller could be the beginning of a beautiful f
is mond trade— Islamic jihadis, corrupt
friendship.” —New York Daily News t
f African military officers, multi-national
u
l
con men, Israeli diamantaires, and
“[It] might remind you of a modern-day Patrick O’Brian o
f Ukrainian arms dealers. Lonny’s been
outing . . . [with] a large array of supporting characters who Diamonds
D
in tough situations before, but nothing
prove that Robinson has a natural eye for people as well as
i
a quite like this. Can he save himself, the
sapphires.” —Chicago Tribune
m
diamonds, and the egotistical seminar-
o ian from a terrible end?
n
d
s
McBooks Press
ISBN: 978-1-59013-150-3
52195
Ithaca, New York a
gemstone
thriller
www.mcbooks.com a gemstone thriller Dust jacket & interior designed by Panda Musgrove.
9 781590 131503
pm
r
ec
sb $21.95 US —$24.95 CAN
so
o John B.
k
s
Praise for The Sapphire Sea,
Book 1 of the Gemstone Thrillers— ROBINSON
J
o A suite of flawless green diamonds sur-
h
“Robinson ignites the senses in a mad charge through the un-
faces in Central Africa. Fast-talking gem
n
derbelly of sweltering, perilous Madagascar . . . a briskly paced
expert Lonny Cushman knows they’re
B
and gripping read.” —Publishers Weekly
worth a fortune; he just has to get them
.
R out of the killing fields of the Congo and
“Rich in exotic local color and gem lore . . . an action-packed
back to New York. As cover, he volunteers
O
tale.” —Library Journal
to chaperone the Episcopal Church’s star
John B. Robinson graduated B
seminarian, Alice Carpenter, to Rwanda
from Harvard University and headed
I
“[Robinson’s] dialogue is sharp, his characters appealing, his N
in search of her missing father. But
straight to Africa to pursue writing.
narrative style engagingly playful.” —Booklist
S nothing in the gem trade is ever simple.
Along the way he worked as a guide on
O Alice’s father wants the diamonds, too.
Mount Kilimanjaro; bought, sold, and
“A masterpiece worthy of the highest praise.”
traded rare gems; and taught English N So do the Rwandan military and var-
—Winston-Salem Journal
ious rogue militias. Survival depends
in out-of-the-way places. He lives in
on negotiating the bloody machinery
Portland, Maine.
“The action is frenzied and bloody and, as they say, nonstop a a fistful of
that benefits from the conflict dia-
. . . This debut thriller could be the beginning of a beautiful f
is mond trade— Islamic jihadis, corrupt
friendship.” —New York Daily News t
f African military officers, multi-national
u
l
con men, Israeli diamantaires, and
“[It] might remind you of a modern-day Patrick O’Brian o
f Ukrainian arms dealers. Lonny’s been
outing . . . [with] a large array of supporting characters who Diamonds
D
in tough situations before, but nothing
prove that Robinson has a natural eye for people as well as
i
a quite like this. Can he save himself, the
sapphires.” —Chicago Tribune
m
diamonds, and the egotistical seminar-
o ian from a terrible end?
n
d
s
McBooks Press
ISBN: 978-1-59013-150-3
52195
Ithaca, New York a
gemstone
thriller
www.mcbooks.com a gemstone thriller Dust jacket & interior designed by Panda Musgrove.
9 781590 131503
A Fistful of Diamonds
a gemstone thriller
Gemstone Thrillers by John B. Robinson
The Sapphire Sea
A Fistful of Diamonds
A Fistful of Diamonds
a gemstone thriller
John B. Robinson
McBooks Press, Inc.
www.mcbooks.com
Ithaca, NY
Published by McBooks Press, Inc. 2008
Copyright © 2008 by John B. Robinson
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or any portion thereof
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission
of the publisher. Requests for such permissions should be addressed to:
McBooks Press, Inc., ID Booth Building, 520 North Meadow St., Ithaca, NY 14850.
Dust jacket, cover and book design by Panda Musgrove.
Maps of Africa adapted from The 2008 World Fact Book, a publication of the U.S.
Government.
Cover images used under license of Shutterstock.com:
Copyright © 2007, Baloncici and Ovidiu Iordachi.
The hardcover edition of this title was cataloged as:
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Robinson, John B., 1968–
A fi stful of diamonds : a gemstone thriller / John B. Robinson.
p. cm.
Summary: “[Gem-expert Lonny Cushman travels to Rwanda in search of a price-
less suite of green diamonds]”—Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-1-59013-150-3 (alk. paper) — ISBN 978-1-59013-163-3 (trade pbk.:
alk. paper)
1. Americans—Rwanda—Fiction. 2. Diamond industry and trade—Fiction. 3.
Rwanda—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3618.O327F57 2008
813’.6—dc22
2008027193
All McBooks Press titles can be ordered by calling toll-free 1-888-BOOKS11
(1-888-266-5711). Please call to request a free catalog.
Visit the McBooks Press website at www.mcbooks.com.
Printed in the United States of America
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Thomas Kamilindi, a living light,
proof that the power of love sweeps away the darkness.
1 Back in the Game
13
2 Welcome to Kigali, Mr. Cushman
29
3 Congo Green
47
4 That’s Life, Sweetie
69
5 The Gorillas
89
6 Deals in the Night
101
7 Into the Congo
125
8 A Fistful of Diamonds
147
9 Annie’s Birthday
187
Rwanda
Democratic Rep. of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
