Customer Reviews

Sweetie's Diamonds

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is one of the best thrillers I've read in years. The protagonist Diane and her son David (who has a rare disease) are vulnerable, yet likable and real. The villains are formidable and menacing. The supporting characters are memorable. The background (the pornography industry) makes for dark atmosphere, which the writer mines expertly. There are a number of plot twists, and as the story proceeds (at a brisk clip), the protagonist and her son are thrown into increasing peril. Once you start this one, you'll have difficulty putting it down. Highly recommended.

This is my third book by Raymond Benson and by far the best.

Everytime you think you have this book figured out, it changes gears on you, and you are led down a completely different path...then are left simply breathless in the end.

The main character and her son are tremdously strong characters, despite various medical and personal weaknesses. The supporting characters are fantastic and there is edge-of-your-seat action in several different locations.

After reading Sweetie's Diamonds, my only complaint is I don't know which of Benson's books to start on next!

--
Jackie Fiest

I was interested in this book when I learned that one of the characters (a teenage boy) has Marfan syndrome. I have Marfan syndrome, and you don't get too many novels with characters who have Marfan syndrome! I was pleasantly surprised. It's a fast-moving (I couldn't put it down) thriller that begins innocently enough but takes off like gangbusters. When the teenage boy finds out his mom was a porn star from way back, there's a domino effect of people finding out... and then the bad guys come in. Sort of a chase-thriller that begins in the Chicago suburbs and ends in Los Angeles... and a cool twist that makes you go "wow." Also liked the supporting character Belgrad, who should probably have his own series.

Great story! Lots of Bond-like excitement in an environment more familiar to average readers. A high school teacher in the Chicago suburbs and single mom, with a secret past in the porn business, has an adventure involving stolen diamonds, murder, kidnapping, and a few surprises. I had to complete it in two gulps!

Former James Bond author Raymond Benson scores mightily in this highly entertaining thriller about a teacher rumored to have a nasty past.

Benson's attention to detail is marvelous. You feel like you're eavesdropping on real-life private conversations, and each and every scene is worked out to its maximum entertainment potential.

It's the literary equivalent of a theme park ride; lots of thrills and chills - fast-paced, and, you won't want it to end! Great work.

Wow! My wife bought me this novel because she knew I liked The Man with the Red Tattoo. That was, of course, a James Bond novel. So, my childhood biases were there to make me buy it in the first place. Having this other R.B. novel in front of me, I decided to give it a read. I was not disappointed. The characters and story are well-developed, and you are drawn to them and the action of novel as soon as you pick it up. I really think that R.B. is a talented storyteller. You will not be disappointed.

Benson's crackling prose recalls the heyday of Harold Robbins and Sidney Sheldon. Like them, he mixes a potent cocktail of mystery, melodrama and action and spices it with enough sex and humor to keep you turning the pages breathlessly waiting to see what happens next. This book is perfect reading for the beach or a long plane flight. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down - the very definition of a fun read.

WOW, what a thrill ride. when you crack this one open don't bother keeping your book mark handy, you wont need it! this is one you will only reluctantly put down! It has a spectacular plot, Great characters, and is written BEAUTIFULLY! it has a twist so big you'll think your on a roller coaster. A+ from me Raymond!!!

An interesting cast of characters and a fun read. I am starting the authors second book in the series now and hope he continues with it.

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