Blood Diamonds (Ben Kamal and Danielle Barnea Novels) (Hardcover)

by Jon Land (Author) "The ancient truck rumbled down the street toward the open warehouse..." (more)
Key Phrases: blood diamonds, eyeglass case, Latisse Matabu, Sierra Leone, Black Death (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Land packs a load of information and action into his fifth thriller (after 2001's Keepers of the Gate), in which Palestinian-American detective Ben Kamal and his unlikely partner and lover, Israeli detective Danielle Barnea, battle a female Sierra Leone rebel leader with global designs. On the plus side are Kamal and Barnea, both touching and accessible characters with enough backstory to make them interesting, but not too much to overexplain them (although in Kamal's case it becomes a near thing, especially in flashback scenes from his father's life). There are also some sharp political insights into how prospects in the Middle East have deteriorated since the series began; as Kamal's friend and mentor Colonel al-Asi grimly recalls, "The cooperative ventures you and Barnea worked on were symbols of peace when it still seemed possible." The action scenes are as plentiful and professionally rendered as ever, ranging this time from Israel's West Bank and a doomed Russian town to a bloody Sierra Leone landscape where the rebel leader (known as the Dragon) trades her country's uncut diamonds for weapons of supreme terror. But Land interrupts the flow of his narrative by constantly cutting from one set of players to another each cut is soon predictable by its length and by the cliff-hanging clich‚s that end most chapters. There's also an impossible-to-kill villain, whose near-magic reappearances will irk readers. Established fans will probably overlook the flaws, but newcomers might wonder what the previous fuss was all about.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
The fifth Ben Kamal-Danielle Barnea novel begins with the partnership between the Palestinian and Israeli detectives in disarray. Danielle is in jail, accused of murdering a superior officer. Can Ben help her clear her name? And can Kamal and Barnea defeat an evil warlord before she destroys the governments of the Western world? As usual, the story's plot is somewhat James Bondish--the villain, who calls herself the Dragon, plans to finance her evil plans with "blood diamonds," unfinished stones smuggled into Israel from Africa--but the author never lets it go too far over the top. Similarly, the narrative gets a bit cartoony ("The Dragon gnashed her teeth and waited"), but Land always pulls it back from the brink of disaster. Kamal and Barnea, the Palestinian cop and the Israeli pakad (chief inspector), make a good team, and the author peppers the novel with insights into Middle Eastern culture. Despite its flaws, this is a solid entry in a series that consistently uses setting as an integral part of the story. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (April 20, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765302268
• ISBN-13: 978-0765302267
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #655,374 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 5 in The Ben Kamal and Danielle Barnea Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best thriller this year, April 10, 2002

By	Konrad Kern (OFallon, MO United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

International thrillers do not get any better than this.

The main plot of this suspenseful novel involves the rebel leader of a group known as the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). They call her the Dragon. This group is trying to overrun the Sierra Leone government. The Dragon's subsequent plan is then to destroy the USA with a secret weapon known as the Black Death (not the Black Death you're familiar with either). Ben Kamal and Danielle Barnea, in a most unusual way, get back together in an effort to stop the Dragon and her secret weapon. Of course this is just one of their problems. Old enemies also return.

The story also has numerous subplots that each come together to make this one of the most satisfying thrillers I've read in some time. From the civil war in Sierra Leone to the secret weapons factory in Russia, this novel carries you non-stop from beginning to end. The timely subject of the Middle East also plays a prominent role.

Quote: You do this out of hate for the enemy, not love of the people.

Highly recommended!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best ever from Jon Land!, April 6, 2002

By	"brenlee1" (Blackstone, MA United States) - See all my reviews

Jon Land has topped himself in his latest novel, Blood Diamonds.
This book works on a lot of levels: it has the tight action and political intrigue we've come to expect from Land. Addtionally, the characters have been much more developed than in any of his previous novels, including the character of the Dragon.
The book also touches on the literary themes of love and loss, as well as how children related to the legacy of their fathers.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars timely and believable political thriller, April 11, 2002

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

It is over a year since the events in New York and it appears that the relationship between detectives Palestinian-American Ben Kamal and Israeli Danielle Barnea is at an end. He is returning to America while she tries to reconcile with the National Police. On an undercover assignment for her old boss, a trap is sprung and Danielle is arrested supposedly for killing her immediate supervisor.

When Ben hears about this, he helps her escape from jail. The pair learns that African diamonds are exchanged for weapons using corrupt Israeli officers as well as Palestinians and the Internet. The United Revolutionary Front in Sierra Leone led by the fanatical Latisse Matabu is determined to unleash weapons of mass destruction on their own people and the United States unless the Palestinian and the Israeli can work together to stop her.

Jon Land authors a timely and believable political thriller that reflects the complexities of the global social and military infrastructure. His characters reflect the times and culture that they live in so when they intermingle, there is always a lot of action. BLOOD DIAMONDS is one of the author's best works to date and it will be interesting to see what will happen to Ben and Danielle in the next installment of the series.

Harriet Klausner