The Diamond Hunter
Spanning some 25 years at the latter end of the 19th century, this excellently competent story opens with two fevers. One takes the life of Louisa Grant in a tent by a South African river in which husband James is panning for gold, while the other infects him and prospectors worldwide with news of diamond finds at a nearby location that will eventually become Kimberley town. Sot James, six-year-old daughter Clementine and Zulu digger friend Zenzele join the frenzied rush to live grubby hand to hungry mouth in searing heat and shanty squalor, digging relentlessly in search of the “big conker.” Enter Reggie, Clementines’s uncle, half-brother to Louisa who, having heard of her death, has voyaged from England to return the child home where, at age 30, she will inherit the family wealth. But before leaving, at the mine, Reggie has an altercation with James who falls to his death—or was he pushed? Years later “Clem” is an independent, altruistic, and visionary woman whose deeply buried memories begin to surface, nagging her to resolve the constant doubts about Reggie’s sincerity—so she contrives a situation to discover if he is really the scoundrel he sometimes presents, precipitating an emotional denouement cleverly twisting what we thought we knew.
McIntosh’s measured prose tells a fine tale that skilfully reveals all necessary hooks while still guarding the anticipated secret and its slant. She adroitly covers love, interracial friendships and racism, mendacity, greed, trust and doubt meanwhile exploring whether one should forgive bad deeds done with good intentions. A great read.
