Rough Diamonds

Tommy Fox #7

by Graham Ison

The shooting of a man in a taxi at Hyde Park Corner appeared to be just another event in the bizarre catalogue of crimes with which London’s detectives are painfully familiar.


But when Detective Chief Superintendent Tommy Fox, raffish head of the Flying Squad, is obliged to take an interest, he finds that the victim was a well-known iceman – criminal jargon for a thief who steals diamonds. A second murder, which terminates the career of another iceman, leads Fox to enquire more thoroughly into the activities of this particular group of villains – and its sole survivor – who specialise in relieving rich widows and divorcées of their jewellery.


A separate crime – a murder which took place five years previously – assumes increasing importance in the investigation and before long Fox is convinced there is a link between the killings.


Using his current girlfriend as bait, Fox attempts to trap the killer, but the plan goes disastrously wrong and Fox is left to face one of the most difficult problems of his career.


But throughout the investigation, Fox treats police regulations – and the law – with his usual disdain in successfully wrapping up the case, although this time not quite in the way he wanted...

246 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

During Graham Ison's thirty-year career in Scotland Yard's Special Branch he was involved in several espionage cases and the investigation into the escape of the spy George Blake. He spent four years at 10 Downing Street as Protection Officer to two Prime Ministers and also served as second-in-command of the Diplomatic Protection Group.

Reviews

[Bonnye Reed]

Endeavour Media

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 – 3.5 Stars

Rough Diamonds is the seventh book in the Tommy Fox Series by Graham Ison. I had this pop up as a recommendation and as I love a good British Detective story, I snapped up the series (as a box set) and set off to investigate.
This is a crime and investigation mystery series, with suspense, cops & robbers, conmen, villains, killers, forgers & fraudsters, heists, intrigue, crime rings, drug smuggling rings, a whodunnit feel, old school gangsters, obstacles, challenges, humour, banter, colourful quirky characters, action, drama, and more.
There are a LOT of characters to keep track of in each book, so that somewhat confuses things... And the stories are a little dated in the portrayal of cultural issues, societal norms, and the available technologies (or lack thereof) etc- as the books were written in the early 1990’s and a LOT has changed since then. But the crimes, and the subsequent investigations still made for a good read, but definitely not as ‘thrilling’ as I was hoping for.
We follow Scotland Yard Detective Chief Superintendent Tommy Fox in all his unorthodox, witty, sharp, cynical, contrary ways — as throughout all the investigations he treats police procedure, regulations, and the law with his usual disdain- getting the job done (his way) nonetheless...…
Happy Reading…

Thank you, Graham Ison!

[P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

While there's a definite edge to the fairly fast paced Rough Diamonds, with Tommy's love interest still interested, the book is darker and lighter at the same time. A good read.

[Alan Main · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just Keeps getting better and BETTER. Write faster Graham please.