The Russian Pink

A Novel

Matthew Hart

An explosive debut featuring renowned diamond expert caught in a web of deception and malice while trying to uncover the secrets behind the most expensive diamond in the world.

When "The Russian Pink"—a stunningly large rose-hued diamond—makes a surprise appearance around the neck of Honey Li, the wife of surging presidential candidate Harry Nash, Alex Turner, an investigator for the Treasury Department’s diamond division and former C.I.A. agent, finds himself spiraling down a seemingly endless rabbit hole. A diamond like that always carries secrets, but the web of mystery behind "The Pink" is more complex than Alex could ever image.

Starting with the trail of damage from botched sting operation, Alex wavers between legal and illegal tactics, friends, family, and foes to find out why a mysterious Russian double agent betrayed him and the diamond ended up on a potential path to the White House. For wherever the Russian Pink goes, secrecy, deception, and death surely follow.

With echos of both John Le Carre and Jason Matthews, The Russian Pink is a stylish and fresh page-turner that catapults the reader into the world of blood diamond trading, a world that Matthew Hart, the author of the critically acclaimed Diamond, navigates with authoritative authenticity and wit.

Matthew Hart is the award-winning author of the nonfiction books Diamond: The History of a Cold-Blooded Love Affair, translated into six languages and adapted into a dramatic miniseries starring Sir Derek Jacobi and Judy Davis, and Gold: The Race for the World's Most Seductive Metal, made into a National Geographic television special. Matthew has written about diamonds for Vanity Fair, The Atlantic Monthly, Air Mail, and the London Times. He was a contributing editor of the New York trade journal Rapaport Diamond Report, and his expertise has been showcased on 60 Minutes and CNN. A trip into the heart of Angola’s lush and war-torn diamond rivers inspired his first thriller, The Russian Pink, also available from Pegasus Crime. He lives in New York City.

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Endorsements & Reviews

"A rare gem, punning aside. The Russian Pink will enthrall fans for Jack Reacher and Jason Bourne, and leave them hoping for more Alex Turner." Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

"A diamond is no one’s best friend in this fast-paced debut novel filled with greed, violence, and politics. Hart writes with skill, wit, and evident knowledge about the diamond industry—who knew there were such things as diamond pipes? The Russian Pink is top-quality storytelling." Kirkus Review, STARRED REVIEW

"The Russian Pink is a deft, fast-paced thriller that shines its light on a fascinating and dangerous world few of us know about: diamonds and how they get from dinosaur days to glistening around beautiful necks and promised fingers. MatthewHart creates a saga that hurtles through mind-snapping twists at breakneck speed, with killers, con men, cops, and billionaires, all seeking to control a giant, ultra-rare pink diamond. If you want to know the real story that such treasures tell, this is the novel for you."

James Grady, New York Times bestselling author of Six Days of the Condor

“Intriguing, with an original premise and assured prose.” Publishers Weekly

“Already an authority on the ways blood diamonds are formed, bought, and sold, Matthew Hart’s expertise shines in his first thriller, featuring a rose-colored heavyweight that lies around the neck of the presumptive First Lady. An exhilarating read, The Russian Pink has more facets than even the world’s biggest diamond.”— Mitch Silver, author of the recent thriller, The Apollo Deception and The Bookworm

"Hart writes passionately about diamonds and the people who chase them, but he also has a strong handle on the personal dynamics and obsessions that drive this mysterious world." Dwyer Murphy CrimeReads