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pm Fiction $15.95 US —$17.95 CAN rec sb so o John B. k s “Robinson ignites the senses in a mad charge through ROBINSON the underbelly of sweltering, perilous Madagascar . . . a J briskly paced and gripping read.” o —Publishers Weekly h n “Rich in exotic local color and gem lore . . . an action- B packed tale.” —Library Journal . R “A masterpiece worthy of the highest praise.” O —Winston-Salem Journal B I N S Gem expert Lonny Cushman flees to the lawless O sapphire fields of Madagascar to escape a bitter divorce and an overbearing father. Homesick and lonely, he dreams of the per- N fect stone that will fuel an independent career as a gem dealer back in New York. But when he finally unearths the greatest sapphire discovered in the last hundred years, the power brokers of t h Diego Suarez want the stone for themselves, and Lonny must e call on all his ingenuity and cunning to escape with his life. S a p p John B. Robinson graduated from Harvard University h Sapphire and headed straight to Africa to pursue writing. Along the way the sea i r he worked as a guide on Mount Kilimanjaro; bought, sold, and e traded rare gems; and taught English in out-of-the-way places. s He lives in Portland, Maine. e a ISBN: 978-1-59013-149-7 McBooks Press 51595 a www.mcbooks.com gemstone thriller a gemstone thriller 9 781590 131497 The Sapphire Sea a gemstone thriller also by John B. Robinson A Fistful of Diamonds The Sapphire Sea a gemstone thriller John B. Robinson McBooks Press, Inc. www.mcbooks.com Ithaca, NY Published by McBooks Press, Inc. 2008 Copyright © 2003 by John B. Robinson First published in the U.S.A. by William Morrow, New York 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. Cover and book design by Panda Musgrove. Cover illustration composited by Panda Musgrove. The following images used under license of Shutterstock.com: Cover images copyright 2007, Cheryl Casey, Charles Taylor, Thomas Pozzo Di Borgo, and Ovidiu Iordachi. Page 10, map of Africa and Madagascar copyright 2007, Mirec. ISBN: 978-1-59013-149-7 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Robinson, John B., 1968- The sapphire sea : a gemstone thriller / by John B. Robinson. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-59013-149-7 (trade pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Sapphire mines and mining—Fiction. 2. Madagascar—Fiction. I. Title. PS3618.O327S27 2008 813’.6—dc22 2007047472 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 This book is dedicated to Narcisse Randriamirado, for his courage, and Jean Phillippe François Truong Huu Khâ (aka Mamy Kha), for his warm heart, beautiful music and wandering spirit Sapphires—The gem of the soul and autumn, the natal stone for September, was said to preserve the wearer from envy and attract divine favour. Fraud was banished from its presence and necromancers honoured it more than any other stone, for it en- abled them to hear and understand the most obscure oracles. The ancients thought sapphire to be endowed with the power to influence spirits, to be a charm against carnality, to be capable of making peace between foes and to protect its owner against captivity. The Sinhalese respect the star sapphire as a protection against witchcraft. —Gems: Their Sources, Descriptions and Identification, Fifth Edition, Robert Webster 1 Happy Bull 15 2 Diego, Mon Amour 27 3 Angel from Antananarivo 37 4 Friends 47 5 Ramena Beach 59 6 Paradise North 73 7 Last Conversations 89 8 The Great Gatsby 99 9 The King, the Colonel, the Consul and the Knave 113 10 At the Vo Vo 129 11 The Docks 137 12 The Ocean Like a River 141 13 The Further Dark 149 14 Into the Desert 159 15 Donia 175 16 Beyond the Lighthouse 193 17 The Swahili 199 18 Off Madagascar 207 19 Rounding the Cape 219