The Lost Diamond
With its dual timeline, this fast-moving love story is an easy read, and it is clear that the author has done careful research into post-WW2 India and the dawn of independence. The two main protagonists are Lisa, living in London in the here and now, having recently broken up with a controlling boyfriend, and Celia, a headstrong teenager living in India with her widowed father during the last days of the Raj. What connects them across the years is Lisa’s discovery of a fabulous diamond brooch and her efforts to return it to its rightful owner. In doing so, she teams up with Ben, whose ancestors originally stole the diamond from the family of a maharaja, and they work together to research its history. In doing so they uncover a shocking story of intrigue, a touching unopened letter from father to daughter, and a legend that the diamond is cursed. The pace never slows and races towards the final denouement, making this book one to read at a gulp.
I did find that I had to suspend disbelief in some parts of the story. Although the author explains that there was a real-life event in which a melting glacier revealed possessions of a crashed plane, it still seemed unlikely that Lisa and her friend would find the diamond on their Alpine hike. I also found it hard to believe that Ben was too honourable to take his relationship with Lisa further because of a legendary curse!
There is quite a bit of over-explanation in the piece, and some of the dialogue is rather stilted and unnatural, but by and large, a very enjoyable read.
