Buried Diamonds

Claire Montrose #4

by April Henry

From the back - When former vanity license plate inspector Claire Montrose finds a valuable diamond ring embedded in an old stone wall, she's uncovered more than lost jewelry - she's just unwittingly exposed a fifty-year-old murder. Claire's octogenarian housemate, Charlie, recognizes the ring with shock. It belonged to Elizabeth Ellsworth, a woman who broke off her engagement fifty years earlier, then killed herself. All the "old gang" believed Elizabeth had returned the ring, so how did it get buried inside a stone wall? As half-century-old questions resurface about the incident, Claire discovers more about the terrible secrets Elizabeth kept -- and why someone wanted her dead. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more Claire realizes that someone believes old crimes must stayburied...at all cost. "Cozy trappings...effectively contrast with chilling glimpses of Charlie's concentration camp days...(and) a vivid cast of elderly characters." Publishers Weekly

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery

267 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published December 8, 2003

About the author

I write mysteries and thrillers. I live in Portland, Oregon with my family.

If you've read one of my books, I would love to hear from you. Hearing from readers makes me eager to keep writing.

When I was 12, I sent a short story about a six-foot tall frog who loved peanut butter to Roald Dahl, the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He liked it so much he arranged to have it published in an international children's magazine.

My dream of writing went dormant until I was in my 30s, working at a corporate job, and started writing books on the side. Those first few years are now thankfully a blur. Now I'm very lucky to make a living doing what I love. I have written31 novels for adults and teens, with more on the way. My books have been on the New York Times bestseller list, translated into twelve languages, and won the Edgar, Anthony, and Oregon Book awards.

Reviews

[Dale Harcombe · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a little bit to get into this book but once I did I enjoyed it. Not gripping but enjoyable.

While out jogging Clair Montrose finds a diamond ring in the crevice of a fifty year old stone wall.Her elderly housmate Charlie is astounded when she shows her the ring as it had belonged to Elizabeth a friend of hers from the past and who was engaged to the man still living in the house behind the stone wall.Claire senses there is more to the story than a woman who committed suicide and a ring that everyone thought she had given back at the end of the engagement. Between Claire and Charlie they seek to uncover the truth.

Action switches between the past and the present and provides insight into conditions and hardships for Charlie in a concentration camp.

For those who like puzzles there are individual license plate headings to some chapters.Some were easier than others to figure out. But if you're interested there's a list at the back of the book so you can see how well you did.

[Francie Shoemaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having lived in Portland, I found myself preoccupied with trying to figure out exactly where this wall was so I could go find some diamonds.

[Carol Snow]

Didn't care for all the dead animals at the first. The sex. But stopped reading with the "f" word on p. 21.

[Shayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading a couple of April Henry’s YA/middle grade mysteries, I thought this adult mystery would have more action and excitement in it. It’s definitely more of a cozy mystery than anything suspenseful or thrilling. I liked the characters of Charlie and Tom. The little chapters about Charlie being in the concentration camps were good. The mystery with Elizabeth was decently interesting though they should have guessed who impregnated her a while ago but the over all conclusions was surprising. The mystery with the vandalism and skin heads was easy to figure out too and I’m not sure why she threw that on except because of Charlie’s past. The issue with Daunte and the paintings I thought was boring and could have been left out, but this is the first book I read in the series so I didn’t really connect with Daunte at all. Even though it was third in the series, I didn’t feel like I missed much background. It’s the only book the library had from the series so I’ll probably stop and not read anymore. Definitely an adult book with lots of references to sex.

[Linda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Here it is---the minority report. I was unfamiliar with the author and didn't know this was part of a series when I picked it up. Personally, I found the writing clunky. I didn't really like the main character and gave up reading about 40 pages in.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

4/10

[Keyanna Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buried Diamond written by April Henry, was a very enjoyable mystery/historical novel. The plot surrounds a woman named Clair Montrose who encounters a 50 year old diamond ring within a old stone wall of a house one day while out jogging. She shows the ring to her elderly housemate Charlie who recognizes the ring as belonging to an old friend Elizabeth, a woman who broke off her engagement and committed suicide many decades ago. It was believed that Elizabeth returned the ring after she broke off the engagement but, Clair suspects there is more to the story and is determined to uncover the truth behind the ring in the stone wall. More and more of secrets from Elizabeth's life begin to resurface and Clair soon learns of more people who would want Elizabeth dead, Clair soon realizes that someone out there believes that old murders must stay hidden... at all cost. I enjoyed this novel for many reasons, one being that although it does not encompass seat gripping suspense it still grabs your attention and is mystery packed. It was also very interesting because the author adds flashbacks allowing for the setting to shift from present day to the past such as the early 1950s making the novel slightly historical. The amount of physical detail and the nice pace of action made the novel feel very realistic and believable. I would recommend this novel to those who enjoy a great mystery you will surely not be disappointed.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Buried Diamonds" is a mystery with a historical element since there were flashbacks to events that occurred in 1952 and 1944. While the mystery was interesting and the solution not obvious, the clues weren't as subtle as they could have been. However, it felt realistic that Claire and the others didn't figure it out sooner. Like real people, the guilty person let slip things they shouldn't have yet Claire and the other characters "heard" what they assumed was meant rather than what was actually said.

The characters were varied and sometimes quirky. The suspense was created by tension in personal relationships and from physical danger. The setting details did a good job of bringing the story alive in my imagination.

There was a very minor amount of bad language. It was implied that most of the characters were having unmarried sex, but there were no sex scenes. Overall, it was an interesting mystery.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick read that kept my interest through most of the book. The setting is Portland, Oregon, a city I live close to and know well. I always enjoy reading books set in a real location that's familiar, as I can picture all the places mentioned very clearly in my mind.

So, like I said, I enjoyed most of the book. There was a puzzling mystery to be solved dealing with a group of friends, as the story moved back and forth between events that took place in 1952 and present day. The mystery is solved and the killer found in the final pages, but with some very obvious details missing. It's great that I found out who did what and why, but if you don't give me any explanation as to how they actually pulled it off, because believe me this one is rather far-fetched, then the ending and most of the story leading up to it just falls flat.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series! I really wish there were more books, I'm not ready to say goodbye to Claire and Charlie yet.

This particular book included flashbacks to Charlie in the concentration camp and they were horrific. Kudos to the author for including them, because they really fleshed out Charlie's character.

I really like that I don't solve the mysteries in these books right away. I had figured out part of who was doing the beatings, but had not figured out the Elizabeth mystery quite yet. I usually solve mysteries in books before the end, and it's nice to not do so with these.

I feel like the ending was very open-ended, and I really, really wish there was another book.

[Nights · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favorite of this series, but a cute little cozy. Too much of "kind of" history aspect and not as much history as I like.

[Judy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for a library winter reading challenge

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buried Diamonds is full of unexpected twists and surprsises. It makes for a good afternoon's reading.