Stone 588

This “dazzling” New York Times bestseller about a flawed diamond with healing power that drives people to theft and murder is “an ingenious thriller” (Daily News, New York). Phillip Springer has been grading diamonds since he was eight years old. His eyes are as sharp as any magnifying glass, and he has used them to turn the family diamond business into a global concern. Besides their love of diamonds, the Springers have another interest: the occult, ESP, and the mystical power of gems. Phillip has never fully believed in such superstition, but a sudden death in his family forces him to contemplate things he thought impossible.   Among Phillip’s inheritance is Stone 588, a flawed diamond that the family was never able to sell but that his sister claims has the power to heal—and the power to save Phillip’s dying son. But before the boy can be cured, the stone is stolen. To save his child, Phillip must recover the rock, and he will kill to get it back.

From Publishers Weekly

No ordinary thriller this (by the author of the bestselling 19 Purchase Street and 11 Harrowhouse, but a story as scintillating as the octahedron crystal on which it focuses. A puzzle to gemologists, too flawed to interest top diamond dealers, Stone 588 has, nevertheless, remarkable healing power, a fact only gradually understood by its owner, New York diamond dealer Springerand then others. Springer, who wants to use it on his sick son, refuses fabulous sums for the Stone. When it's stolen, he organizes a heist of almost military proportions in an attempt to retrieve it. The magic gem comes into the hand of a depraved, multimillionaire female socialite, and the swirl of murder and trickery in which it involves its possessors or would-be possessors culminates in a frightening chase across the roof of St. Patrick's Cathedral. The story provides an intriguing inside view of the world's diamond trade, and a tingle for the spine on every page, while Browne uses his fine-cut prose to reveal the connections between greed and sexuality with what seems like uncanny precision. 75,000 first printing; $75,000 ad/promo; first serial to Cosmopolitan; Literary Guild dual main selection. Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

A stone that heals and a caper to retrieve it from a Fifth Avenue vault form the plot of a thriller by the author of 19 Purchase Street. Phillip Springer, a dealer in gems, learns that a lucky stone that had belonged to his late father has special powers. Stolen from Springer's safe, the stone is thought to be in the vault of a competitor. An ingenious caper to retrieve it is planned by Springer, his lover Audrey, and two professionals. They get away with millions of dollars worth of precious stones, but not the healing onewhich Springer wants for his cancer-ridden son. Murders, double and triple crosses, a chase across the roof of St. Patrick's Cathedral, and a confrontation involving the State Department ensue. The dialogue is lively, and the author keeps things moving, especially during the caper, but the healing stone factor may turn off some readers. Literary Guild dual main selection. Robert H. Donahugh, Youngstown & Mahoning Cty. P.L., OhioCopyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The Houston Post

“One of the most suspenseful thrillers of this year . . . This fast-paced story will keep you hanging and wanting to know more about the fascinating business of precious stones. . . . A difficult book to put down.”

Orlando Sentinel

“Entertaining suspense . . . Heart-stopping . . . Browne details both the glitter and grime of the diamond market, high society and the underworld. . . . A gem of a thriller.”

The San Diego Union-Tribune

“Mesmerizing . . . Sex, violence, money and the Mafia.”

Publishers Weekly

“No ordinary thriller . . . An intriguing inside view of the world’s diamond trade, and a tingle for the spine on every page.”

Daily News (New York)

“Dazzling . . . An ingenious thriller.”

About the Author

Gerald A. Browne is the New York Times–bestselling author of ten novels including 11 Harrowhouse, 19 Purchase Street, and Stone 588. His books have been translated into more than twenty languages, and several have been made into films. He attended the University of Mexico, Columbia University, and the Sorbonne, and has worked as a fashion photographer, an advertising executive, and a screenwriter. He lives in Southern California.

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