Reviews for
Dirty Diamonds
by Betty Sullivan La Pierre

Jasmine Gray, aka Jamey Schyler, gets herself into deep trouble when she double crosses her thieving boyfriend Carl and runs off with a bag of priceless gems. She believes she's left a cold trail behind her as she flees Oklahoma to a cabin she inherited in the forested area of southern Oregon. She makes a grave mistake, however, when she drops in on Tina, a longtime friend in LA, figuring she can feed her a phony line and divert attention from her real destination. She logs onto a couple of websites while visiting her old classmate, forgetting that a computer user with even minor sophistication can track your online movements and cough up valuable clues as to where you've been - and just maybe where you're going.

Tina's abusive boyfriend discovers these clues and follows Jamey to Medford, where he starts making demands. That's when Jamey turns to PI Tom Casey, nickname Hawkman, rogue good guy sporting an eye patch, for help. With her background, however, she cannot afford to tell him the whole truth, so he tries to help her without having all the facts at his disposal. But Jamey quickly changes her mind, deciding he's too nosey. She tries to disengage him and his attentions, which only makes him more curious. He teams up with his wife Jennifer to tail this peculiar blond looker.

Meanwhile, boyfriend Carl, having recovered from injuries sustained in the jewel heist, takes out after his partner in crime. But Jamey, a veteran dissembler and an incorrigible varlet, manipulates men with a wiggle of her hips. Thereby, she succeeds in enlisting the help of several of the smitten. Hawkman has met a worthy opponent in DIRTY DIAMONDS.

Long-time fans will recognize Richard, the deaf lead character from THE SILENT SCREAM, and of course the falcon Pretty Girl, Hawkman's namesake, and various other citizens of Medford. Reading DIRTY DIAMONDS feels like catching up on the news from home.

As with other of Ms. LaPierre's Hawkman novels, the book is filled with nonstop action. Jamey and her shenanigans will keep you guessing. And there's a nice twist at the end.

~Kate Ayers

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They may be Dirty Diamonds but everyone wants to get their hands on them. So what is it that makes the diamonds so dirty, yet so desirable? In Oklahoma Carl Hopkins learns that a diamond courier is registered in the same hotel in which he and Jamey Cray are staying. Well, what's a respectable thief to do when he knows all those jewels are so close? Naturally, in order to maintain his reputation he's going to rob the courier, in spite of Jamey's trepidations. But things didn't go quite as smoothly as Carl expected. He knew he had given the courier a good, solid hit on the jaw with his brass knuckles, but the courier had a gun and on his way down from the blow managed to get off a shot that ripped through Carl's shoulder. Carl staggers back to his hotel room, shoves the little velvet bags at Jamey and tells her to get out, that he will be alright and will meet her at Rusty's Bar in Amamrillo, Texas, when this all blows over.

Jamey packs up and heads out of Oklahoma. She arrives in Amarillo and checks into a motel with her Visa card. She knows Carl is a computer expert and can track her trip easily on the computer through her use of the card. But wait. The next day she drives through Texas and heads straight for Los Angeles, California, to visit a high-school girl friend, Tina Randolph, with whom she has stayed in touch over the years. Wow, so long Carl, you've been taken, and not for a ride, just left, dropped, with nothing, nada, zilch, and in the hospital with a bullet wound. Jamey is not exactly honest with her lover.

When she arrives at Tina's in Los Angeles, she discovers that things are not all strawberries and cream with Tima either. Tina has a rather nasty tempered boy friend, Nick Albergetti. Jamey didn't stay at Tina's long enough to meet Nick so had no idea what he looked like. But she was there long enough to use his computer to plot out her next travel route. Her next stop is to be Medford, Oregon where she has a little house she inherited from her foster parents, the Schyler's. Mistake one, she should not have planned her route on Nick's computer.

In Medford she quickly becomes Jamey Louise Schyler, a name she knows Carl will not recognize. No one knows about her foster parents, nor does anyone know their name in connection with her. It is not something she talks about, even to her closest friends, nor to her lovers. She finds the house in Medford has been trashed by youths who have left remnants of their pot smoking all over the premises. While she is assessing the damage to the property a man approaches giving his name as Tom Casey, a private investigator who has been keeping an eye on the property. She, of course, informs him in no uncertain terms that he did a lousy job, and shows him all the roach clips and remnants of cigarettes, etc. that the kids had left in the house. Tom is very surprised to hear of the intrusion on her property and gives her his card and tells her to call him if she ever needs help.

After a couple of weeks Jamey is settled in, but is becoming bored, as well as discovering that she need some money. Someone told her about Curly's Bar & Grill. After a talk with Curly she is hired as a waitress, and is happier now that she is becoming acquainted with the town's people. This includes Tom Casey, otherwise known as Hawkman. Curly has a son named Mark with whom Jamey becomes involved. At least that what Mark thinks.

Jamey is a very clever adversary, and quite adept at using people. And Mark makes a perfect victim and lover for her purposes. But Jamey runs into trouble when she tries to outsmart Nick Albergetti. He is one tough enemy that will not be wooed by her charms.

In this, the fourth Hawkman book of the series, Ms. La Pierre has written a smooth flowing suspense story in which Hawkman meets his cleverest adversary. And to make matters worse for Hawkman's ego it is a woman who seems to be outsmarting everyone. This does not set well with him, but he does hang in there to the end.

This is one of the best thought-out, cleverly-executed plots this reviewer has had the pleasure of reading in a long time. The writing flows perfectly, and the characters are alive and moving. One does associate with them. Ms. La Pierre's talent of coming up with superb plotting is one not to be rivaled. You will miss an excellent suspense story if you pass this one up.

~ Shirley Truax from San Diego, California USA

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Diamonds! Picture it . . . bright, sparkling, beautiful diamonds. In Betty Sullivan LaPierre's new book, Dirty Diamonds, the gems are stolen, hot, and just possibly lethal. Jamey Gray is a beautiful young woman. She's also calculating, cold and determined. After her part in a diamond robbery in Oklahoma, Jamey drives to the safety of a cottage in Oregon. Along the way, she sheds her boyfriend (now the sole robbery suspect), changes her name, and begins a new life, complete with a fortune in stolen diamonds.

Fearful for her (and the diamonds') safety, she decides to hire a bodyguard: Tom Casey, a.k.a. Hawkman. As she vaguely describes her fears, Hawkman is sure that she's hiding more than she's telling. He's so sure that he refuses to take the case. After an incensed Jamey flounces off, he finds that he can't get her or her worries out of his mind. Not sure exactly why, he decides to quietly find out why Jamey's really afraid. Hawkman slowly puts the pieces together and realizes Jamey was involved in the robbery, she is in danger and she's still hiding something!

As always, Betty Sullivan LaPierre quickly draws you into the story. We are well acquainted with Jamey and her trickery long before she plaintively tells Hawkman her story. We silently encourage him to keep digging and keep following so that he can catch up to us. And of course he does. The straight-as-an-arrow, kind-hearted Hawkman is a great contrast to the devious, manipulative Jamey. Their verbal fencing adds another dimension to an already strong and engrossing story. This is a great series. It has an interesting, realistic cast of characters (who are by now old friends), and the plots never disappoint. They have become even more complex and satisfying as the series goes on.

~Elaine Broome, Myshelf.com

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