5-STAR REVIEW: DIAMOND CUT by Thomas B. Cavanagh

Gemstone Series: Book 1
Publication Date: July 2, 2024

To find a missing girl, Sandy must return to the insidious places she once worked tirelessly to escape

Sandy Corrigan used to be called Diamond. She used to live in an apartment with other girls like her, though she rarely slept there, instead spending her evenings in hotel rooms around Orlando with lonely, unfaithful men. That is, until the incident.

But despite the personal hell she endured, the nightmarish crisis saved her from a life spent in strangers’ beds. Sandy now spends her evenings reading to her six-year-old son, Tyler, and her days working for her brother’ s private investigation business.
Despite severing all ties to her former life, a girl from her past reappears and asks Sandy to investigate the disappearance of a young call girl. Unsure of whether or not the girl is alive, and wary of the past traumas the investigation could bring to the surface, Sandy takes the case. What she doesn’t expect to discover is a sordid web of corruption, sex, and murder, and she soon grows more entangled with each step she takes. Can she survive the horrors she thought she escaped years ago?

Perfect for fans of Sue Grafton and Lisa Gardner!

A woman determined to confront her past finds herself revisiting familiar territory while solving a missing person’s case.

Author Thomas B. Cavanagh delivers a captivating story in Diamond Cut. The fast-paced story, told through the main character’s perspective, oozes with suspense. Rather than highlighting the tourist attractions in Orlando, it’s the seedy underbelly that catches the spotlight.

After escaping from a life where she was known as Diamond, Sandy Corrigan focuses on her young son and a job at a private investigator business. However, when a voice from the past seeks help finding a missing call girl, Sandy must re-enter a world full of danger.

From the first pages, Sandy’s character shines as she demonstrates a good sense of humor in light of her past. Readers will cheer for her as she takes on a sex trafficking ring and tries to make it out alive.

Diamond Cut delivers a multi-layered story involving a former call girl who leverages her experience to seek justice for sex trade workers.

Thomas B. Cavanagh is an award-winning crime fiction author whose prior works include Head Games, Prodigal Son, and Murderland. Cavanagh holds a PhD in Texts & Technology from the University of Central Florida and is a graduate of the University of Miami Creative Writing program, where he has been named a distinguished alumnus. Though he now works in higher education, Cavanagh spent many years writing popular children’s television shows for Nickelodeon, The Disney Channel, and elsewhere before teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate level at a number of colleges and universities. Cavanagh is a recipient of the Florida Book Award Gold Medal for popular fiction and was named a Best Novel finalist for the Shamus Award. He lives in Central Florida with his family and two quirky cats.

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