Mark Branson is a young gem trader, specifically emeralds. He spends most of his time on the “Continent” in Zambia searching for that one elusive emerald that will set him up for life. This is not an easy task, however, because everyone else is also after that one emerald and will do anything to eliminate the competition. Mark must elude the military on a daily basis in order to make the best deals he can with the local tribes to mine for the emeralds. When a young lady at a mission commits suicide, her brother, an officer in the Zambian military, sets his sights on revenge and Mark is his first target. Mark must try to escape back to England with his emeralds or his next breath may be his last.

The Gem Merchants by Ray Ferguson is about the profitable and often bloody precious gem trade. At one time and perhaps still, so-called “blood diamonds” were a huge problem that few knew about until the feature film of the same name. I was hoping that this book would be similar to the movie-it was not. Unfortunately, at times the story simply drifted from page to page. While the book does demonstrate the author’s obvious expertise on the subject of precious gems, it lacks focus toward a specific goal. Whereas in a murder mystery the goal is to solve the murder and apprehend the criminal, this book offers few clear clues as to how it might end. I was expecting a much better book than it turned out to be.  I encourage this author to try again but I cannot in good conscience this book more than 2 out of 5 stars.