Monday, June 13, 2022

Leonard Goldberg: The Blue Diamond

 By Kelly Bridgewater

The fate of the allied forces lies in the hands of Joanna and the Watsons in the next Daughter of Sherlock Holmes mystery from USA Today bestselling author Leonard Goldberg.

During a critical stage in World War One, the Governor-General of South Africa journeys to London for a meeting of The Imperial War Conference. Days prior to the conference, the Governor-General is scheduled to have an audience at Buckingham Palace at which time a most precious blue diamond will be presented to King Edward as a symbolic gesture of the colonies’ resolute and never-ending allegiance to England.

The flawless blue diamond, with its magnificent luster, weighs nearly 3000 carats which renders it one of the world’s largest and most valuable gems. On the Governor-General’s arrival, he is ensconced at the fashionable Windsor Hotel under the tightest security, with his entire entourage and formidable security team occupying the entire penthouse floor. All entrances and exits are locked down and closely guarded, and no one is allowed entrance after 6 PM.

Despite the extreme precautions, the famous diamond is stolen from the Governor-General’s suite in the middle of the night, with no clues left behind. With Scotland Yard baffled, Joanna and the Watsons are called in to investigate the theft and it becomes clear that the crime is not simply the work of a master thief, but one that could greatly aid the Germans and turn the tide of war in their favor. Time is of the essence and the blue diamond must be recovered before it begins its travels which could cause irreparable damage to the allied war plans.



My Thoughts:

The Blue Diamond by Leonard Goldberg is a continuing story of the Daughter of Sherlock Holmes series. The story begins right away with a missing diamond and a man who is on hurt severely at the hospital for the attack to his head. The plot features many thoughts from Jon Watson Jr. as he watches his wife, Joanna, try to solve the missing diamond and how they entered and exited the hotel unseen. Throughout the entire story, more elements of the mystery keep popping up and Joanna and Watson Jr. travel to various places trying to solve the mounting problems. There were moments where Joanna would watch and explain, and I, personally, felt like it did not need to be there. It was the same thing over and over. Readers might find this a little boring and want more action. I sure did. When it came to the end of the story, I do not know who stole the diamond and did the deed. I do not know if the story being so repetitive that I was not fully vested in the plot, and I did not catch who the villain was. I even flipped back through the ending of the story and had a tough time trying to figure out who did it. Overall, The Blue Diamond by Leonard Goldberg was not as exciting as past novels in this series. I needed more action. Not head hopping for chapters about a certain discovery.

I received a complimentary copy of The Blue Diamond by Leonard Goldberg from Minotaur Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

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