Ring of Diamonds

About the Book

A successful architect living in London, Jessica Farrell has used her career to put her romantic past – and guilt about her parents’ deaths – behind her. But then a mysterious note arrives, and she is reluctantly drawn into intrigue, adventure, and the arms of Edward Drummond, her former lover. To rescue Edward’s kidnapped child they must solve the puzzle inscribed within Jessica’s diamond ring – a puzzle created by Edward’s late uncle as the ultimate snare for the diamond mining industrialist who ruined his life. Fast-paced action propels the story across England, Scotland and South Africa, as the pursuers become the pursued. One by one, the secrets of the past are unveiled, culminating in a nail-biting climax.

From the prologue of Ring of Diamonds:

The sun beat down on the roof of the Studebaker as Margaret Drummond drove her seven-year-old daughter Lilly along the mountain road from the school in Springbok. The Cape Town newspaper she’d picked up in town was a week old, and the news in it was even older. The American president, Kennedy, had been shot in a motorcade in Dallas. That all seemed very remote to her, here in South Africa. They said it was dangerous here, but she’d never felt particularly threatened, and couldn’t imagine such a barbarous act as an assassination happening in the regimented society of South Africa’s diamond mining communities. Of course things could be pretty rough if you were Coloured. But she and Charles had built a fairly nice life for themselves and Lilly, isolated from all that nastiness. It was a privileged existence they led, she knew.

She looked over at her daughter. It was two weeks before Christmas, and Lilly was full of excitement about the holidays. The child straightened the beret on her head, then scrambled onto her knees and reached over into the back seat for her school bag.

“Sit back down Lilly, this is a dangerous road,” cautioned Margaret. The child turned back and began rummaging through her papers.

Glancing into the rear-view mirror, Margaret noticed the large, black automobile behind them drawing closer. She slowed a little, and waved her hand out the window, indicating to the driver to pass. It was the only straight stretch on the treacherous road.

They had been behind her for several minutes, and she had begun to get worried. Charles had been concerned of late about Winston’s erratic behavior. He’d warned her to stay away from his unscrupulous partner. Not that she’d needed much urging. She’d never gotten along with the man. She’d never trusted him.

The driver of the other vehicle sped up, but instead of passing her, he suddenly rammed into the back of her car. Lilly screamed as she was hurled forward onto the dashboard of the car.

“Lilly, my God, are you alright?” said the frantic woman, attempting to gain control of the vehicle.

Before the child could answer the black automobile hit them again.

Margaret swerved out of control. The edge of the road came rushing up toward them. Beyond that edge was open air, and then a 500-foot drop, to the base of the mountain.

She was still spinning the wheel in a futile effort to regain control, as the vehicle plunged over the edge.

***

The orange South African sun was setting behind the scrub-covered hills of North Cape as Charles Drummond stood at the roadside, looking into the abyss. In his hand he clutched two pink roses, his daughter’s favorite color.

The car had been removed, and his wife and daughter laid to rest in the village cemetery. Still, he was drawn to the spot where it had happened.

Gouges in the dirt border of the road marked the place where the car had started its plunge. Bark was torn off the huge tree as the car had crashed past, leaving deep scratches in the trunk.

The police said that it wasn’t an accident. The car had been hit from behind, mo

About the Author

Steve Alcorn is the founder and president of Alcorn McBride Inc., a company that designs attractions for theme parks all over the world. Mr. Alcorn’s non-fiction work is read throughout the themed entertainment industry, and he is a speaker at conferences in both the US and Europe. He lives in Orlando, Florida, with his wife Linda and daughter Danielle, who is his frequent collaborator and most honest critic. Mr. Alcorn is the author of several novels, including A Matter Of Justice, a mystery set in Three Rivers, California during the summer of 1968, and Everything In Its Path, an adventure based upon the true story of the collapse of the St. Francis Dam.