Carmichaels’ Diamonds is a hybrid of steamy romance and a thriller.
Jasper Carmichael, son of Colin Carmichael once head of a diamond theft group has grown up to understand that his deceased father’s murky dealings have left behind many disgruntled ex-employees. Colin Carmichaels’ diamond hoard has disappeared and his accomplices are incandescent that they never benefited from it. Jasper is trying to leave his past and build his own fortune in real estate. He has inherited certain ruthless traits from his father, but when he meets florist shop manager, Kate Reynolds, he is not prepared for the impact she will have on his life and the changes that he is prepared to make for her. There are many characters in this book. Most of the characters are linked to Colin Carmichael and the operation he undertook to illicitly procure uncut diamonds. They are desperate to find out what happened to the diamonds after Colin died, and believe that Colin’s son Jasper knows there whereabouts. When Jasper forms a relationship with Kate, Colin’s aggrieved ex-employees intimidate Kate in an effort to get information from Jasper as to what has happened to the diamonds. As the plot unfolds, this story had the potential to be a really good thriller, but sadly, I feel it fell short of achieving this as there was too many sex scenes in the book. Personally, I feel a clever thriller should not rely on an abundance of “rumpy pumpy” when telling a story. Carmichaels’ Diamonds is a hybrid of steamy romance and a thriller which I found it hard to engage with.
Kathryn Carruthers, A LoveReading Ambassador