Death in the Diamond Lane by Pete O’Donnell

Mrs DeLong is nowhere to be found on the world wide web. She’s been Bill’s client for the past four years. She’s never spoken to him all these years and just once, he saw what appeared to be a glimpse of a smile on her face. Now fine evening, when Bill is taking Mrs DeLong back from the airport, a skunk comes across his car. He gets down to note the damage and when he looks back at the car, Mrs DeLong has collapsed. Finding no pulse, Bill calls the emergency services and performs a CPR. She somehow manages to survive, only to die in the hospital a day or two later.

Bill learns Mrs DeLong has left him thousands of desert land. His best friend’s triplet sons discover a rare element that can power phones forever – a speck of it was found on Mrs DeLong. No charging required, like ever, ever. Soon, people start to harass Bill to give up the details of the mine where the rare element was found.

Death in the Diamond Lane is a debut mystery novel by Pete O’Donnell. A humorous mystery with a dash of spy thriller-ish feel to it, this book was an enjoyable read.

I appreciate the author’s hard work and creativity. Writing a techno-thriller with hints of humor is like saying ‘the code is not buggy.’ The techno details might go a little over the head, especially if the reader is not aware of the latest developments in the field of technology and/or has no idea how patents work. The fight to be the first and the best can get a little nasty sometimes…

The main reason for giving this book 3.5 stars lies in the way the plot and story were executed. I felt a little lost as the story began – I couldn’t understand why Bill’s life was a driver was on the spotlight. Mrs DeLong dies and Bill discovers notes written in invisible ink and this is when the actual game begins.

The chase, the nasty double-games and whatnots sounded exciting. But, I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. A little (more) information on their background could have worked well. Either this, or a better character introduction; one of the two would have worked well.

Also, the writing is good but it might not be up to everyone’s liking. As I have read a couple of books of similar writing style (quirky and dark humor), I did not have any issues with this. If you are a fan of quirky stories and quirky writings, you will find this book interesting. About the ending, I would say – expect the unexpected.

This story has a lot of potential and there is room for improvement. Having said that, Death in the Diamond Lane was a unique and refreshing read. I am looking forward to reading the author’s next book.

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I received an ARC from NetGalley and IBPA in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.

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