Author: Kiva Wolfe

ISBN: 1933157062

The following review was contributed by: Paul Lappen: CLICK TO VIEW Paul Lappen's Reviews

Dominick Stanovic is a handsome former triathlete who is part of the family gem
business in present-day Colorado. He learns that his young nephew was killed by
the Russian Mafia, and stumbles upon a smuggling operation involving his family,
the Russians and the Brazilian Mafia.

Older brother Serg Stanovic is head of the family gem business, built with help
from the Russian Mafia. The insurance company is asking unpleasant questions,
which makes the Russians nervous. If the growing tension between Serg, and their
mother, Berta, and her pet ocelot, isn't bad enough (the phrase "gasoline plus
lit match" comes to mind), an extra complication to Dominick's life is Mala
Cole, Serg's woman. She is a Brazilian beauty in her early 20s, and Dominick has
fallen for her, very hard. Mala has a past of her own, unbeknownst to the
Stanovic family, a past which involves never going back to Brazil, because she
killed an Important Person.

A shipment of very rare Brazilian colored diamonds has gone missing, so Dominick
convinces Serg that he (Dominick) should go to the Brazilian Amazon to
straighten things out. Maybe this will convince Serg that Dominick should be
given more responsibility in the family business. Serg doesn't suggest or ask
that Mala go with him as translator, Serg tells Mala to go with him as
translator. Mala thinks that if she got her hands on the diamonds, it would go a
long way toward smoothing things over with the people in Brazil who want her
dead.

This is an excellent thriller. It has all the required elements: international
intrigue, murder, sex, the Mafia, obsession, betrayal and large amounts of
money. It would also make a really good movie. This is well worth reading.