Dirty Diamonds (Hawkman Series) (Hawkman, Bk 4) [Paperback]

Betty Sullivan La Pierre (Author)

Book Description

Series: Hawkman, Bk 4 | Publication Date: August 21, 2002

Meet Jamey Gray-Schyler, a shrewd, conniving, sexy young woman who can take you down a path of robbery and murder.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Betty Sullivan La Pierre attended the Oklahoma College for Women and the University of Oklahoma, graduating with her BS degree in Speech Therapy with a Specialty in the Deaf. Once married, she moved to California with her husband. When her husband was killed in an automobile accident, she was left with two young boys to raise. She is now remarried and has had another son through that marriage. Ms. La Pierre has lived in the Silicon Valley (California) for many years. At one time, she owned a Mail Order Used Book business dealing mainly in signed and rare books, but phased it out because it took up too much of her writing time. She’s an avid reader, belongs to the Wednesday Writers’ Society, and periodically attends functions of other writing organizations. She writes Mystery/Suspense/Thriller novels, which are published in digital format and print. Her Hawkman Mystery Series is developing quite a fan base. She’s also written two stand-alone mystery/thrillers and plans to continue writing. ‘BLACKOUT,’ Betty’s story about a bingo hall (of the Hawkman Series), ranked in the top ten of the P&E Reader’s Poll, and won the 2003 BLOODY DAGGER AWARD for best Mystery/Suspense. EuroReviews recently picked ‘THE DEADLY THORN’ (One of Betty’s stand alone thrillers) for their 2005 May Book of the Month. Betty Sullivan La Pierre’s work is a testament to how much she enjoys the challenge of plotting an exciting story. Visit her personal site at: http://bettysullivanlapierre.com

Product Details

• Paperback: 211 pages
• Publisher: BookSurge Publishing (August 21, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591093643
• ISBN-13: 978-1591093640
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,653,252 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born and raised in Oklahoma, Betty Sullivan La Pierre attended the Oklahoma College for Women and the University of Oklahoma, graduating with her BS degree in Speech Therapy with a Specialty in the Deaf.

Once married, she moved to California with her husband. When her husband was killed in an automobile accident, she was left with two young boys to raise. She is now remarried and has had another son through that marriage.

Ms. La Pierre has lived in the Silicon Valley (California) for many years. At one time, she owned a Mail Order Used Book business dealing mainly in signed and rare books, but phased it out because it took up too much of her writing time. She's an avid reader, belongs to the Wednesday Writers' Society, and periodically attends functions of other writing organizations.

She writes Mystery/Suspense/Thriller novels, which are published in digital format and print. Her Hawkman Mystery Series is developing quite a fan base. She's also written two stand-alone mystery/thrillers and plans to continue writing. 'BLACKOUT,' Betty's story about a bingo hall (of the Hawkman Series), ranked in the top ten of the P&E Reader's Poll, and won the 2003 BLOODY DAGGER AWARD for best Mystery/Suspense. EuroReviews picked 'THE DEADLY THORN' (One of Betty's stand alone thrillers) for their 2005 May Book of the Month.

Betty Sullivan La Pierre's work is a testament to how much she enjoys the challenge of plotting an exciting story.
Visit her personal site at: http://bettysullivanlapierre.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DIRTY DIAMONDS - Wanted, September 20, 2002

By 

Shirley Truax (San Diego, California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dirty Diamonds (Hawkman Series) (Hawkman, Bk 4) (Paperback)

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 cigaretter,setc. 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.

4.0 out of 5 stars 4 Flags from euroreviews.funpic.de, March 28, 2006

By 

Eveline "Eveline" (Brussels, Belgium) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dirty Diamonds (Hawkman Series) (Hawkman, Bk 4) (Paperback)

I liked reading Dirty Diamonds because it's a book that'll keep you up and going until it's finished. I read it in one day; I just couldn't stop reading, kept on wondering "what's coming next?" Betty Sullivan La Pierre has written a book with a good story line and this with a few unexpected happenings here and there... Dirty Diamonds is the 4th book in the Hawkman series and I can recommend it to everyone who loves to read a thrilling story!

- reviewed by Sylvie for Euro-Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars an easy and fun read, September 27, 2004

By 

D. Woollard - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dirty Diamonds (Hawkman Series) (Hawkman, Bk 4) (Paperback)

Dirty Diamonds begins with a heart-pounding action scene. The lead character, Jamey absconds with a fortune in diamonds. Jamey is both beautiful and resourceful, a Pam Anderson type with MacGyver-like skills. She manages to elude captors and make her way to a remote town in Oregon. The tension develops as Jamey is unaware that she is being stalked by those who have figured out that she may have the diamonds. When Jamey feels that she is being watched she enlists the help of Tom Casey, alias Hawkman, a hard-boiled private eye, whose past as a federal agent makes him more aware than most in the sleepy little town. Although she decides not to hire Hawkman he ends up being intrigued by the pretty girl with the spitfire temper and decides to conduct his own investigations.

This book offers many of the standard mystery novel features, a beautiful girl in peril, a tough private detective and a set of glittering diamonds that everyone wants to get their hands on. The difference is that it takes place in a small town. While the book could have benefited from more description of the town, author Betty Sullivan La Pierre deserves credit for placing a standard story in a non-traditional setting. Also in the character of Jamey she has taken the step of creating a character who, while not always likable, is compelling to read about. Her greatest creation is Hawkman, an affable, fast-thinking private investigator in the great tradition of others like Robert Parker's Spenser.

The book does suffer from a bit of a pacing problem. The reader often is aware of what will happen next before it does. The set-up for the action scenes can get a bit tedious and there is not enough of a subplot to ensnare readers. Jamey seems to be able to easily stump most of the people she comes across. One wonders why Hawkman would go to the lengths he does to protect her, especially since he is a happily married man and Jamey is involved with another man. But Medford seems to be the type of town where the people look after their own.

Sullivan La Pierre does have a knack for ending a chapter on a tense note. But she often follows up these moments of anticipation with unrelated chapter, which can end up frustrating the reader. Her writing is at its best when she is getting Jamey into and out of tricky situations. The character of Jamey, who usually seems relatively innocuous suddenly turns into a woman capable of fast thinking and daring acts.

This book provides plenty of suspense in its beginning and ending scenes. The reader comes away with a grudging respect for Jamey and a lot of love for Hawkman, the likable investigator who hopefully catches Jamey in the next book in the series!