I purchased this book and audiobook for my own collection.
Publisher: Mysterious Press / Highbridge Audio
Published: May 7, 2024
Summary:
Rune Sarasin is about to learn just how quickly the life of a jewel thief can spiral out of control.… Seven days are all it takes for Rune Sarasin’s life to completely derail. It starts with a typical lifting a pouch of rubies from the Bangkok hotel room of wealthy smuggler Charles Lemaire. Rune nearly gets caught and Lemaire’s goons give chase, but they are no match for the clever motorbike maneuvers of Rune and her boyfriend Kit. As the high of the chase wears off, Kit delivers some terrifying his teenage sister Madee has gone missing. They track her cell phone to the dangerous Khlong Toei slum, but the trail ends there. The night gets even worse when Rune realizes she lost the pouch of gems somewhere in the slum while searching for Madee.
Charles Lemaire is the wrong man to mess with. He is a perfectionist when it comes to both his attire and his crimes, and he isn’t afraid to kill to get what he wants. When he catches up to Rune and Kit, he gives Rune an ultimatum: return his rubies or she will never see her boyfriend again. Now Rune must race against time to either recover the lost gems or find something even more valuable with which to ransom Kit back from Lemaire. But she also still needs to find out what happened to Madee. As Rune investigates deeper into the shadows of the Khlong Toei slum, she uncovers a web of crime with consequences far more insidious than just one missing girl and a handful of stolen rubies.
Hurtling from the back alleys of Bangkok, Thailand, to the glamorous auction houses of New York City, Mailan Doquang’s heart-pounding debut will leave readers questioning just how far they would go for the ones they love.
My thoughts:
I picked this book up after meeting the author at another author’s book event…isn’t it funny how books find us sometimes? But when I heard Mailan talking about her book, a debut at that, I just knew I wanted to read it and I’m so glad I did because I really enjoyed it and just knowing it was the start of a series was icing on the cake!
This is a fast-paced, action-packed thriller that kept me fully engaged from start to finish! I had such a hard time putting it down once I started. A jewel-heist gone wrong, I loved the globe-trotting that we find ourselves enmeshed in as we follow along with Rune from NYC to Bangkok. The pictures that Mailan paints with her words made this book really come to life – it was almost as if I was watching a movie – that’s how vivid the imagery was!
I loved Rune’s character – her rashness and resourcefulness seem to balance each other out, making her a true adversary when push comes to shove. Seeing her in different scenarios, we see how she handles everything, and I know I would much rather have her on my side than against me.
This was a great debut and I am looking forward to picking up the next book in the series, Ceylon Sapphires, which is due out next month!
Audio thoughts:
This was the type of book I love to listen to because it is so binge-worthy! The narrator, Cindy Kay, did a fantastic job bringing the story to life. Her timing and pacing were spot on and she gave each of the characters their own unique voices. I hope she is back to narrate the second book…if so, I’ll definitely be listening!
Books in this series:
- Blood Rubies
- Ceylon Sapphires – due out June 3, 2025
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