Sweetie's
Diamonds
(Five
Star; 2006)
WINNER OF THE "LOVEY" (READERS' CHOICE AWARD) FOR BEST THRILLER OF 2006 FROM THE LOVE IS MURDER CONFERENCE FOR AUTHORS AND READERS OF MYSTERIES, THRILLERS, HORROR, AND ROMANCE FICTION!
"Raymond Benson...has produced an original thriller whose results are as exciting as any of 007's adventures. SWEETIE'S DIAMONDS tells the story of a suburban Chicago schoolteacher and her teenage son whose quiet lives are roiled just under the surface by a strong current of dark secrets. Mom may or may not have been a porn star in her younger days, and when a tabloid magazine gets hold of the story, all hell breaks loose. What's certain is that she stole a few million in diamonds from the mob and the wiseguys want them back. Benson turns the screws on mother and son unmercifully, giving the story lots of tension and suspense. SWEETIE'S DIAMONDS is a gem."
--David J. Montgomery, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
"When
a teenage boy discovers that his mother once starred
in pornographic films, he is, predictably, shocked.
This is a side of his mom he'd never suspected,
but the truth is far more complicated than even
your David can possibly imagine. Benson, best known
for his popular James Bond novels, proves here that
he is equally adept at more realistic thrillers.
This ever-more-intricate story (which involves a
two-decade-old murder and several buried secrets)
may remind some readers of the novels of James Grippando,
who tends to structure his high-octane thrillers
on families with closets full of secrets. The relationship
between David and his mother, Diane (aka Lucy Luv),
is key to the drama, and Benson layers enough twists
and turns to keep mother and son, not to mention
the reader, searching desperately for the truth."
--David Pitt, BOOKLIST
"On the surface, Diane Boston appears to be maintaining a placid life despite difficult circumstances. She is successfully weathering a recent divorce, while caught up with her teaching duties and the raising of her teen-age son, who is afflicted with Marfan’s syndrome. Beneath the surface, however, something is radically wrong, and that something suddenly breaks to the surface. Old porno tapes begin circulating that show Diane as one of their prime performers. At first, she simply denies that it is her, only later insisting that the actor is, in fact, a long-dead twin sister. As her world begins to crumble around her, the producer of the movies discovers her existence and sends out a hit man to find her and to recover diamonds which were stolen from him and which he suspects she has in her possession. SWEETIE’S DIAMONDS contains about everything that a suspense novel could or should contain. Bodies, past and present, are strewn over the landscape; hair's-breath escapes are the rule; and a first-class car chase roars through crowded Los Angeles streets. Best of all are the twists, turns and convolutions which Benson scatters throughout the narrative. It will take an astute reader, indeed, to anticipate the real story of Diane Boston’s early life."
--John A. Broussard, I LOVE A MYSTERY NEWSLETTER
"Benson starts off 2006 with SWEETIE'S DIAMONDS, a gem of a thriller one might have expected to come from the pen of someone like James Patterson rather than this spymaster... a multi-layered tale... Benson keeps the story moving along at a smooth pace, but he doesn't let readers just sit back and take it easy. Just as the reader begins to feel comfortable with Diane's story, Benson tosses a new twist into the mix, shaking things up just enough to cause doubt to reappear. Fans of James Patterson's HONEYMOON should be pleased with Benson's handling of similar material. Benson's existing fans will be happy to see that he is as good at Hitchockian-style thrillers as he is at international intrigue."
--Neal Alhadeff, THE STRAND MAGAZINE
"...novelist Benson steadily winds us up in buried secrets, questionable identities, and multiple murders. His character-based thriller sustains momentum without a wasted word all the way to a wrenching, twisty finish."
--Jules Brenner, MYSTERY SCENE MAGAZINE
"With a climax set at a posh...Hollywood party more reminiscent of a Roman bacchanal, and mortal danger facing each and every character, Raymond Benson's new thriller delivers with speed and agility. The breezy screenplay pace hits all the right high notes, telling the kind of story that seems destined for celluloid. The author of the most recent Bond adventures flexes his non-Bond muscles with a winner, and may just have a new series character on his hands."
--W. D. Gagliani, CHIZINE.COM
"Exciting thriller -- In Lincoln Grove, Illinois popular highly regarded high school teacher Diane Boston lives with her Marfan syndrome inflicted teenage son David. Her former spouse Greg detests her for hiding secrets from him and for coddling their son, who he wants custody over. David's best friend Billy Davis finds a stash of his father's hard core porn movies from the late 1970s. The two young teens recognize the star Lucy Luv as David's mom. Billy's dad catches his son watching and recognizes her as Diane too. He gleefully informs the tabloids as a way of avenging her beating him out for a job at the school and her rejecting his sexual advances. California porn producer Aaron Valentine learns that Lucy Luv is in Illinois and sees this as the break in a two decade old betrayal that he plans to correct. He sends his muscle Emo Tuff to take care of business. Corpses begin appearing in the diamond centers of New York and Chicago and in Lincoln Grove until Emo abducts David. The past comes back to haunt Diane as her secrets become public. Besides her concern for her son, she needs to worry that Aaron will demand the gems taken from him. The story line is at its best as a deep character study of an ethical middle class paragon suddenly held in contempt by those who named her teacher of the year. The Aaron-Emo spin adds action and excitement, but takes away from the choices that Diane has to make as the lioness instead must go after her cub. Still Raymond Benson provides a fine tale starring an ethical individual who has enough on her plate without Aaron and Emo seeking to break her bones one at a time."
-- Harriet Klausner, THE BEST REVIEWS
"...a corker--at once a mystery, a family drama, an epic crime saga, and a hard-boiled thriller exploring one woman's buried past...clean, lean prose has a knife-edged efficiency. Engrossing, creepy, and exhilarating, the story gets its hooks into the reader early on, and won't let go. Incredibly entertaining...and highly recommended."
-- Jay Bonansinga, bestselling author of FROZEN, THE SINKING OF THE EASTLAND, and THE KILLER'S GAME
"...plays out like a Hitchcock film; long buried secrets, icy blondes, startling twists, cold-blooded killers, steamy sex, stolen jewels, and a mind-blowing finale. Benson has raised the bar in the thriller genre. These DIAMONDS are priceless."
-- J. A. Konrath, author of BLOODY MARY
"...a masterful storyteller at work, blending a multi-layered, multiple point of view suspense tale into a satisfying and terrific train ride."
-- Robert W. Walker, author of CITY FOR RANSOM and ABSOLUTE INSTINCT
"Raymond Benson, the man who brought Ian Fleming's James Bond so successfully to life, has renewed his license to thrill--don't miss this new novel!"
-- Max Allan Collins, author of ROAD TO PERDITION
"...a cross between a Harlan Coben novel and a Quentin Tarantino movie. Mobsters, killers, and porn stars weave in and out of a fast-paced thriller with the usual wit, wisdom, and plot twists you expect from a pro like Raymond Benson."
-- David Ellis, author of IN THE COMPANY OF LIARS
"A pulse-pounding edge-of-your-seat thriller with more twists and turns than a roller coaster. You won't figure it out, but you'll be glad you tried."
-- Parnell Hall, author of STALKING THE PUZZLE LADY
