Mark Branson is an Emerald buyer in Zambia working for a Gem Firm in London. He risks life in prison, death only to get screwed by his employers back in London. Emerald buying is against the law in Zambia but Mark returns to find his fortune with the help of some liberal minded priests, black marketeers and trusty friends. The book lags a bit in the middle but picks up again and moves. Enerything seems to fall into place too easily also and that's why only 4 stars. It's a great first book from a promising author. ( )

In Ray Ferguson's exciting new novel The Gem Merchants, the young protagonist Mark Branson has achieved what every gem dealer dreams of. He is on the scene at the time and place of a major gem strike. In this case, the place is Zambia just as a major cache of emeralds has been unearthed.

Branson, the gem buyer for a small London firm, manages to purchase a king's ransom in rough emerald crystals, but to hold on to them and get them out of the country, Branson must navigate his way through a series of obstacles including greedy politicians, sadistic military men and a grasping Indian gem dealer .

The book is realistic and well paced. Ferguson show an adept hand in character development and a good sense of place. No mere cardboard cutouts, his characters live , breath and are quite believable. Along the way, the author, himself a gem dealer currently living in Madagascar, teaches us a good bit about the gem trade and how it operates across the world. I highly recommend The Gem Merchants to anyone who is interested in a fast paced, entirely believable and authentic account of the adventurous side of the international gem trade ( )