Table Of Content

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 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