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THE FINAL CUT
by Catherine Coulter and JT Ellison
Putnam, September 2013
464 pages
$26.95
ISBN: 0399164731


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

In the first of a new mystery series featuring US-born, UK-raised Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Nicholas Drummond, nothing less than the Crown Jewels are at stake. In particular, the Fox (a renowned jewel

thief) has stolen the Koh-i-Noor diamond, the largest jewel in the Queen's crown.

However, this isn't discovered until Drummond's friend and romantic interest Elaine York, another Scotland Yard officer, turns up dead near the East River in New York. She's been working as a minder for the Crown Jewels while they're on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art as part of the Queen's Jubilee celebration. Drummond (a modern-day James Bond figure) is soon on the first plane out of London to work the case, much to his superiors' disapproval.

When the curator of the Jewel of the Lion exhibit at the Met recognizes that the Koh-i-Noor diamond has been replaced by a fake, all fingers point to the dead York, along with a Russian mobster who was working at the museum as well. Evidence piles up against her, but Drummond is sure York is innocent, and he soon goes to work with FBI Special Agent Michela ("Mike") Caine to track down the missing diamond and York's killer.

Also making an appearance to help are Coulter characters, FBI Special Agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich, from another series of mysteries. There's lots of fascinating FBI sleuthing techniques at

play in this storyline.

Eventually the team discovers that the Fox (not York) is involved in the heist, and the action moves from New York to Europe where things really heat up. Part of the real enjoyment of this story, however, comes from figuring out just how the Fox carried off this caper. There's also plenty of interesting information about the real diamond and its history. All together, it's a promising start for a new joint task force series, in which the FBI and Scotland Yard forge a meeting of the minds to solve crimes.

§ Christine Zibas is a freelance writer and former director of publications for a Chicago nonprofit.

Reviewed by Christine Zibas, September 2013

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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