The Lucifer Cut

In Hart’s exhilarating third adventure for U.S. Treasury agent Alex Turner (after Ice Angel), the former jewel thief goes on a globe-trotting quest to keep a powerful counterfeiting technology out of foreign hands. When prominent Upper East Side diamond merchant Lou Fine and his wife, Coco, are murdered in their home, the ensuing investigation reveals that Lou utilized a mysterious process to manufacture and sell undetectable fake diamonds. In the wake of that discovery, Alex’s cohorts at the Treasury call him in to discuss the partnership between his girlfriend, multimillionaire diamond thief Lily, and Xi Mei, a well-connected Chinese woman who operates a diamond mine. Evidence suggests that Mei—and, by extension, the Chinese—are attempting to harness the fake diamond technology to get a leg up in the global economy. Alex embarks on an international quest to locate the technology’s source, encountering double agents and hidden motives at every turn as the arms race expands to include ever more nations. While the action takes brief detours to check in with Alex’s father and fashion-designer daughter, for the most part, Hart puts the pedal to the metal and doesn’t let up. This is perfect poolside reading. (June)