Review of Diamond in the Desert

Post by **Emily Meadows** » 06 Jan 2023, 12:04

[Following is a volunteer review of "Diamond in the Desert" by Karen Gilleland.]

5 out of 5 stars

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Diamond in the Desert by Karen Gilleland is a fictional book about a character named Hope Diamond. Hope is the owner of her own security company, called Diamond Security. She has traveled to a resort in the desert, located in the Navajo Nation, to provide security for a secret meeting of four billionaire women leaders. The purpose of their meeting, or even the fact they are meeting at all, is unknown to everyone except for the women themselves, their aides (they each brought one colleague with them), and select members of the Diamond Security team. Somehow, knowledge of their meeting appears on the dark web, which alerts Hope and her team to the fact that this may not be an easy security job.

Almost immediately, something goes wrong when one of the women’s aides is found dead in their hotel room. The FBI is called to investigate, and a new character, Matt Dennison, is introduced. Matt is a no-nonsense investigator who is not known for his manners. He drives to the resort and immediately ruffles feathers as he investigates the death and makes accusations against the meeting participants. Hope and Matt clash. Matt is scornful of Hope’s security detail, and Hope is frustrated with Matt’s icy demeanor. They both want to resolve the mystery surrounding the suspicious death before the meeting ends, but things continue to go wrong, making it challenging for them.

This was a fun book to read. It was very well edited, and the story flowed at a fast pace. I found it difficult to put the book down, and I blame the author for my lack of sleep! I appreciated how the author wove many characters into the storyline and built suspense as the mystery deepened. I also enjoyed the author’s knowledge of Navajo customs and Native American reservation etiquette. Each of the main characters was well-developed, and I found myself invested in their success. These details made the story feel original.

There wasn’t much that I didn’t like about this book. If I had anything constructive to say to the author, I’d recommend that she put a different cover on the book. A more catchy, professional-looking cover would accurately reflect the professionally written story inside. And a different cover would attract more readers; I passed over the book many times before reading it because of the cover.

I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. I rated it this way because the story was truly wonderful and well-written. And I didn’t find a single typo in the text. It is the first book in a series, and I will read book two when it’s published; I want to know what happens next! That said, this book stands alone as is. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading mysteries.

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Diamond in the Desert
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