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The Yellow Diamond: A Crime of the Super-Rich
Detective Superintendent George Quinn - Mayfair resident and dandy with a razor-sharp brain - has set up a new police unit, dedicated to investigating the super-rich. When he is shot in mysterious circumstances, DI Blake Reynolds is charged with taking over. But Reynolds hadn't bargained for Quinn's personal assistant - the flinty Victoria Clifford - who knows more than she's prepared to reveal...The trail left by Quinn leads to a jewellery theft, a murderous conspiracy among some of the most glamorous (and richest) Russians in London - and the beautiful Anna, who challenges Reynolds' professional integrity. Reynolds and Clifford must learn to work together fast - or risk Quinn's fate.Set in the heart of twenty-first-century Mayfair, a world of champagne, Lamborghinis and Savile Row suits, The Yellow Diamond is a brilliant new venture from one of our best loved crime authors - meticulously plotted, wonderfully humane and hugely enjoyable.
- GenresMystery
314 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 3, 2015
5 people are currently reading
63 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Martin
191 books105 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Andrew Martin (born 6 July 1962) is an English novelist and journalist.
Martin was brought up in Yorkshire, studied at the University of Oxford and qualified as a barrister. He has since worked as a freelance journalist for a number of publications while writing novels, starting with Bilton, a comic novel about journalists, and The Bobby Dazzlers, a comic novel set in the North of England, for which he was named Spectator Young Writer of the Year. His series of detective novels about Jim Stringer, a railwayman reassigned to the North Eastern Railway Police in Edwardian England, includes The Necropolis Railway, The Blackpool Highflyer, The Lost Luggage Porter, Murder at Deviation Junction and Death on a Branch Line. He has also written the non-fiction book; How to Get Things Really Flat: A Man's Guide to Ironing, Dusting and Other Household Arts.
Andrew Martin (born 6 July 1962) is an English novelist and journalist.
Martin was brought up in Yorkshire, studied at the University of Oxford and qualified as a barrister. He has since worked as a freelance journalist for a number of publications while writing novels, starting with Bilton, a comic novel about journalists, and The Bobby Dazzlers, a comic novel set in the North of England, for which he was named Spectator Young Writer of the Year. His series of detective novels about Jim Stringer, a railwayman reassigned to the North Eastern Railway Police in Edwardian England, includes The Necropolis Railway, The Blackpool Highflyer, The Lost Luggage Porter, Murder at Deviation Junction and Death on a Branch Line. He has also written the non-fiction book; How to Get Things Really Flat: A Man's Guide to Ironing, Dusting and Other Household Arts.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
January 15, 2020
This opens with the murder of financial analyst, John-Paul Holden, outside his home in Hampstead Heath, but quickly moves to an assassination attempt in a London park on George Quinn, the debonair detective who runs a unit investigating crime among the über-rich, that sees him in hospital in an induced coma. The investigating officer, Yorkshire-born detective Blake Reynolds, tries to piece together the events leading to the attack, for clues to the perpetrator.
He is also called to a daring robbery on a jewelers in Mayfair in which an expensive yellow diamond was “switched” for a lesser stone. The theft is captured on CCTV - a man in disguise and a female accomplice to distract the shop owner, who Reynolds recognises as Anna Samarina, daughter of London-based Russian billionaire, Andrei Samarin. According to the society magazines, she was once engaged to John-Paul Holden.
Reynolds gains access to Quinn’s home in an exclusive apartment building in search for evidence, but Quinn’s Machiavellian personal assistance (and sometimes lover) Victoria Clifford gets there first. She takes him under her wing – clothes maketh the man - introducing Reynolds to the world of Mayfair’s uber-rich – houses, hotels, shops, nightclubs, restaurants, luxury cars - flaunted by the rich and famous, and especially the new rich of Russian billionaires.
This was a slow burner, with several threads at tangents: a magician turned jewel thief, a jeweler specializing in fake copies of real stones, a woman leading guided tours of a stately home, in the same family for generations, the new owner a Russian billionaire, Rostov, a business partner of Samarin. Did I mention the luxury yacht and private jet?
All rather dull, until Reynolds takes the train to Yorkshire to talk to Quinn’s elderly father, shadowed by Clifford, where he makes a breakthrough in deciphering the cryptic notes in George Quinn’s diary. As the Russians make a play for Reynolds he begins to unearth the truth about Quinn. Or does he?
I was in two minds about this one: a stylish mystery with some clever plotting, somewhat drowned in detail meant to deflect from the real ‘crime’. Reynolds is a man torn, his relationship breaking down in the stress of living in suburbia, while his job takes him into a world of privilege. I really didn’t warm to any of the characters.
This one may appeal to readers who savour stories of the rich, famous and minor aristocracy, but a lack of humour meant it wasn’t a book for me.
He is also called to a daring robbery on a jewelers in Mayfair in which an expensive yellow diamond was “switched” for a lesser stone. The theft is captured on CCTV - a man in disguise and a female accomplice to distract the shop owner, who Reynolds recognises as Anna Samarina, daughter of London-based Russian billionaire, Andrei Samarin. According to the society magazines, she was once engaged to John-Paul Holden.
Reynolds gains access to Quinn’s home in an exclusive apartment building in search for evidence, but Quinn’s Machiavellian personal assistance (and sometimes lover) Victoria Clifford gets there first. She takes him under her wing – clothes maketh the man - introducing Reynolds to the world of Mayfair’s uber-rich – houses, hotels, shops, nightclubs, restaurants, luxury cars - flaunted by the rich and famous, and especially the new rich of Russian billionaires.
This was a slow burner, with several threads at tangents: a magician turned jewel thief, a jeweler specializing in fake copies of real stones, a woman leading guided tours of a stately home, in the same family for generations, the new owner a Russian billionaire, Rostov, a business partner of Samarin. Did I mention the luxury yacht and private jet?
All rather dull, until Reynolds takes the train to Yorkshire to talk to Quinn’s elderly father, shadowed by Clifford, where he makes a breakthrough in deciphering the cryptic notes in George Quinn’s diary. As the Russians make a play for Reynolds he begins to unearth the truth about Quinn. Or does he?
I was in two minds about this one: a stylish mystery with some clever plotting, somewhat drowned in detail meant to deflect from the real ‘crime’. Reynolds is a man torn, his relationship breaking down in the stress of living in suburbia, while his job takes him into a world of privilege. I really didn’t warm to any of the characters.
This one may appeal to readers who savour stories of the rich, famous and minor aristocracy, but a lack of humour meant it wasn’t a book for me.
February 13, 2017
From an accomplished author, the writer of the Jim Stringer, Detective series, comes The Yellow Diamond, (A Crime of the Super Rich).
It is beautifully written, is well paced but lacks real menace and thrills. The most revealing threat comes through the captain of the yacht but this aspect is under played.
A new crime unit has been set up in Mayfair to investigate the crimes and activities of the rich and elite. when the head of the team is shot and critically injured with little chance of regaining consciousness a replacement is drafted in. Yet DCI Reynolds finds little help from Quinn's PA and has the distinct information is being deliberately withheld. As he follows the scant and almost undiscernible notes of his predecessors he feels although he is making progress all he is doing is following in their footsteps. With no clear break through it is as though he is destined to meet a similar fate unless he can crack open the case. He doesn't know who he can truly trust or if his investigations will be welcomed if they confront powerful men.
An interesting insight into a different world that perhaps lost direction when the author felt it moved into the clandestine world of foreign agents and tradecraft; as it remains rooted in normal police operations and the world of monthly expense sheets it never really takes off for me.
It is beautifully written, is well paced but lacks real menace and thrills. The most revealing threat comes through the captain of the yacht but this aspect is under played.
A new crime unit has been set up in Mayfair to investigate the crimes and activities of the rich and elite. when the head of the team is shot and critically injured with little chance of regaining consciousness a replacement is drafted in. Yet DCI Reynolds finds little help from Quinn's PA and has the distinct information is being deliberately withheld. As he follows the scant and almost undiscernible notes of his predecessors he feels although he is making progress all he is doing is following in their footsteps. With no clear break through it is as though he is destined to meet a similar fate unless he can crack open the case. He doesn't know who he can truly trust or if his investigations will be welcomed if they confront powerful men.
An interesting insight into a different world that perhaps lost direction when the author felt it moved into the clandestine world of foreign agents and tradecraft; as it remains rooted in normal police operations and the world of monthly expense sheets it never really takes off for me.
January 20, 2016
Easy going read but feel though not as good as the Jim stringer series. Felt the ending was a bit rushed though
June 6, 2021
I really wanted to enjoy this book, and in some parts I succeeded, but the overall impression I’m left with is one of frustration. There were too many points of view in the opening chapters, so I wasn’t really sure who was who or what was going on. Once it became clear who the main POV was, there wasn’t really enough characterisation for me to really care about him, or get to know him.
The story is complex and involves many other characters and incidents, which I just couldn’t keep track of. I really wanted it to be good because the premise is there, the idea is good, but the execution just left me annoyed that it wasn’t better.
Maybe a reader with more energy than I have at the moment would put more of the disparate parts together better than I did, perhaps I just wasn’t engaged enough to put the story together properly.
The story is complex and involves many other characters and incidents, which I just couldn’t keep track of. I really wanted it to be good because the premise is there, the idea is good, but the execution just left me annoyed that it wasn’t better.
Maybe a reader with more energy than I have at the moment would put more of the disparate parts together better than I did, perhaps I just wasn’t engaged enough to put the story together properly.
December 29, 2015
When the head of a police unit investigating high worth individuals is shot, Detective Inspector Blake Reynolds is assigned to take over the position. He inherits DI Quinn's small office and also his highly efficient assistant, Victoria Clifford. Quinn had been looking into the theft of a yellow diamond at the time of his death and as Reynolds picks up the investigation he realises that the theft is tied into the recent murder of a hedge fund trader and that potentially his own life may also be in danger.
I really enjoyed the author's writing style. The author has a sly sense of humour, reminiscent of Kate Atkinson or Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling). Reynolds is very much a simple Northerner and Clifford acts as his guide in the ways of the extremely rich. I enjoyed the insights into Mayfair which becomes almost another character in the book.
I started out thinking that this would become a favourite book, but it's missing something: that go-forward momentum that makes you want to keep reading. It becomes a mystery that you don't care enough about and then it gets wrapped up very abruptly with the penultimate chapter in particular feeling like a very clumsy way to explain and tie up all the lose ends. I liked elements of this book but ultimately it doesn't quite work.
I really enjoyed the author's writing style. The author has a sly sense of humour, reminiscent of Kate Atkinson or Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling). Reynolds is very much a simple Northerner and Clifford acts as his guide in the ways of the extremely rich. I enjoyed the insights into Mayfair which becomes almost another character in the book.
I started out thinking that this would become a favourite book, but it's missing something: that go-forward momentum that makes you want to keep reading. It becomes a mystery that you don't care enough about and then it gets wrapped up very abruptly with the penultimate chapter in particular feeling like a very clumsy way to explain and tie up all the lose ends. I liked elements of this book but ultimately it doesn't quite work.
August 15, 2017
I've read many of this author's books and thought that this new crime novel would be as interesting as his previous books, particularly the Stringer novels. Unfortunately I found this book to be an extremely slow burn; far too slow for my liking. The first three-quarters of the book doesn't progress the story and the plot, which is pretty thin and implausible for most of the time, drags interminably. All the characters lack any real substance, particularly the PA, Victoria Clifford, who lacks credibility as someone who, although not a member of the Metropolitan Police Force acts as if she's actually running the investigation. The main detective, Blake Reynolds (an Acting DCI), having inherited responsibility for a new unit which investigates the super-rich is forever one step behind Ms Clifford! It's not until the final quarter of the story that anything of real interest begins to happen. It's as if a light has been switched on and everything is revealed at once. There's a distinct air of 'rush to judgement' and, to be honest, not a lot of it makes much sense. Disappointing all round!
September 1, 2016
This book is about the 'super rich'.
Irritating point 1:
The super rich did not wear suits...instead they dressed in 'ssyoots', and were 'ssyooper rich'!
Irritating point 2:
English was not my best subject at school. Think of a criticism of written English and I'm sure the same comment was made about my essays. However, I'm sure my essays all made more sense than this book.
Of the 49 tracks, I listened to all but the last five. They were skimmed. I will note the author and narrators names...both to be avoided in future.
One star only...for Bolinda's courage in publishing this.
Irritating point 1:
The super rich did not wear suits...instead they dressed in 'ssyoots', and were 'ssyooper rich'!
Irritating point 2:
English was not my best subject at school. Think of a criticism of written English and I'm sure the same comment was made about my essays. However, I'm sure my essays all made more sense than this book.
Of the 49 tracks, I listened to all but the last five. They were skimmed. I will note the author and narrators names...both to be avoided in future.
One star only...for Bolinda's courage in publishing this.
February 19, 2017
Set in the world of the super-rich this story could almost have been set in the 1930's, were it not for the mentions of Range Rovers and mobile phones. (Which, of course, might be exactly what it's like to live in such a world.) It almost felt like reading a modern Bulldog Drummond or Sexton Blake - and since chief protagonist's name is Blake, that may well have been the author's intention.
The descriptive text seemed authentic and well-researched, but for me this came at the expense of the characters and plot - too many of the former and too little of the latter. I'm afraid it wasn't really my cup of darjeeling
The descriptive text seemed authentic and well-researched, but for me this came at the expense of the characters and plot - too many of the former and too little of the latter. I'm afraid it wasn't really my cup of darjeeling
April 27, 2019
Only picked this up because I miss the Jim Stringer books so badly now that I have read the last one (or at least the last one he has published - I still live in hope). So I have no interest in the super rich except in a political negative sense. Anyway it was well written although plotted a bit unevenly I thought. Another reviewer (excellent review) pointed out "The most revealing threat comes through the captain of the yacht but this aspect is under played." Indeed! I think he means the man overboard incident but it's never referred to again as far as I can tell........
October 8, 2018
It says a lot - and not good - when you're two-thirds through a mystery/thriller and don't care who did it or why. The writing is oblique and tedious in its references to all things related to the rich. Skip it. I find nothing to recommend about it.
April 27, 2019
I got this hardback book for $1.00, so I wasn't expecting much. The writing was a bit choppy, but I liked the "Englishness" of it, as well as the colorful characters. The ending really leaves you hanging though, very disappointing.
November 22, 2017
Audio book. Quite interesting crime novel. A few too many loose ends & plots to tie up, but kept me involved.
March 11, 2017
Read like a spy novel. Interesting plot with good characters
January 6, 2018
Excellent. Metropolitan. Cunning. Bordering on vintage Le Carre. Mostly well-developed characters, and some hoovering up of clues for the reader. I rattled through it.
September 11, 2018
I had trouble following the story, but I was listening to the audio, so that may have impacted my difficulty.
January 28, 2020
Fast paced read, different to the Jim Stringer books but a good read
January 4, 2025
Twisty detective story with some interesting insights into the lives of Russian oligarchs and policemen who are not what they seem!
August 31, 2025
I tried listening to the audiobook but it was too difficult to keep track of all the characters and follow the plot.
September 26, 2025
It is a easy read nothing special though n the ending seemed squashed into the last chapter
March 19, 2017
Well written and clever. 5 starts!
January 23, 2017
A book that is clearly the first of a series. I was looking forward to this new novel and the change to the modern day. The core of this mystery is about the super rich and an investigator brought in to find answers to the murder of a colleague. The book is interesting but I has the feeling the author was using the book to introduce us to this new series .I think the book is worth reading and is well researched. Allows us to see the world of the super rich and how wealth affects them. The power of money can be corrupting. In this book it is the ordinary police officers who have to find ways to impose the law and bring to justice those who can buy the best defense on offer.
December 5, 2015
Had high hopes that I'd found a crime author new to me but this was disappointing. Much descriptive stuff abut Mayfair and an unconvincing attempt to show readers that the author knew - or had researched in detail - this milieu, poor characterisation and a plot too complex to be gripping. Poor copy editing (flair misspelled as flare several times) which I could have forgiven in a better book. Won't be looking for more by this author. If you are looking for crime fiction set in London, read Christopher Fowler's Bryant and May books.
June 23, 2016
This was a reasonably enjoyable mystery to listen to but I found the narrator's representation of the woman detective (Clifford) voice really annoying. She was presented with a haughty, snotty timbre which made me want to fast forward every time she talked.
November 1, 2016
This was very difficult to follow, didn't really hold my interest and I struggled to finish it. I kept putting it aside and wasn't really interested. I only read it to the end to see if I could work out what the point was. I couldn't!
November 13, 2015
This is as good a read as any of the "Jim Stinger" novels. I hope it is the start of a new series. Great plot, nice twist good ending.
June 21, 2016
I quite enjoyed this book although not the usual type of storyline I would go for.
October 8, 2016
Martin evokes effortless noir and convincing characters to carry along a crime mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed.
April 9, 2017
DBF. Couldn't really get into it. Too much description and not enough action for my liking.
September 7, 2017
this was a fun book to read with an interesting slice of life about uber rich Londoners
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews