The King of Diamonds
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4.3 • 16 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
In this expertly crafted follow-up to his acclaimed novel The Inheritance, Simon Tolkien has once again written a gripping and nuanced thriller laced with historical detail, treachery, and his signature writing style—a uniquely suspenseful blend that the Los Angeles Times called "half Christie and half Grisham."
It's 1960, and David Swain is two years into his life sentence for murdering the lover of his ex-girlfriend, Katya Osman. In the dead of night, David escapes from prison, and that same night Katya is found murdered in her uncle's home, Blackwater Hall.
Inspector Trave of the Oxford Police, last seen in The Inheritance, heads the manhunt for David, whom he first brought to justice two years earlier. But Trave's suspicions lead him to Katya's uncle Titus Osman, a rich diamond dealer, and his sinister brother-in-law, Franz Claes, who has gone to great lengths to hide his former ties with the Nazis.
However, Trave's motives are suspect - Osman is having an affair with Trave's estranged wife, Vanessa, and a newcomer to the Oxford Police, Inspector Macrae, is eager to exploit Trave's weaknesses to further his own ambition. Caught up in his superiors' rivalry, Trave's young assistant, Adam Clayton, finds himself uncertain who is right and which side to choose.
Once David is captured and put on trial for his life, Trave is willing to risk everything that is dear to him—professionally and personally—to pursue his obsessive belief in Osman's guilt.
The King of Diamonds is a Kirkus Reviews Best of 2011 Mysteries title.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
J.R.R. Tolkien's grandson continues to burnish his credentials as a solid writer in his own right with his second suspense novel featuring Oxford Det. Insp. William Trave (after The Inheritance). In 1958 at London's Old Bailey, David Swain is on trial for the murder of Ethan Mendel, the man who he believed horned in on his relationship with Katya Osman. Thanks to Trave's testimony, Swain is convicted and sentenced to a life term, but Trave is unable to rid himself of nagging doubts about the case. Two years later, Trave's marriage has fallen apart. His wife, Vanessa, finds support in the unlikely person of Titus Osman, Katya's uncle, unaware that Titus is keeping Katya a virtual prisoner in her own home. Meanwhile, an embittered Swain plots an escape from prison to get his revenge on his former girlfriend, a plan that results in yet another murder. While some of the twists strain credulity, everything comes together at the end.
Customer Reviews
The King of Diamonds
Well written. Spell binding from start to finish.
It shows that there is always someone who believes in the truth
Sadly Unreadable
I'm not sure if I even read 20% of this book. Not a character in the book is likable or realistic. It had many of the qualities of a soap opera. The plot might have been ok if I could have survived the dreck and gotten to the story.