cover image Heart of Diamonds: A Novel of Scandal, Love and Death in the Congo

Heart of Diamonds: A Novel of Scandal, Love and Death in the Congo

Dave Donelson, . . Knati, $14.95 (338pp) ISBN 978-1-60164-157-1

The ongoing tragedy of the Congo serves as the backdrop for this tepid thriller, Donelson's first novel. After TV newscaster Valerie Grey gets passed over for an evening anchor job at the MBS network, she tries to lose herself in Africa, where she stumbles on a diamond-smuggling scheme involving not only a sleazy American televangelist but also the George W. Bush–like U.S. president. Valerie quickly becomes the target of the conspiracy's members and, predictably, finds herself falling for the hunky idealistic doctor who runs a local clinic. Readers should be prepared for some clunky prose (“Valerie's brown eyes flashed a warning, the green flecks in the irises dancing with anger”). Those seeking a novel that explores human exploitation in 21st-century Africa on the level of, say, John le Carré's The Mission Song will be disappointed. (Sept.)