The Mercenaries: Blood Diamonds

From jade to diamonds, some of the world's most beautiful gem stones arrive at the gem cutter's table or polisher's wheel tainted with the blood of many handlers. Just how bloody the journey can be from a pit in the ground to Antwerp or Jerusalem is determined by the gem's ultimate purpose. Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek financed an entire war with jade. So what can ten or twenty grams of high quality diamond rough do for a al-Qaida-backed terrorist leader on the Angolan border? Michael "Mad Dog" Hertzog and his highly skilled team of mercenaries is about to find out. Contracted by mining company owners to recover the stolen diamonds, Mad Dog and his team relentlessly pursue the gems through the Angolan jungle engaging shadowy, unknown forces in one fire-fight after another. Meanwhile a terrorist leader and his band is closing in from across the border to intercept the diamonds, finance a coup, and provide his al-Qaida masters with a new stronghold in Africa. A final battle at the river border separating Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo makes this cache of gem stones the bloodiest diamonds ever! Peter Telep, writing as P.W. Storm, goes into action with his opening sentence, setting the reader down in the middle of a fire fight in the Afghan mountains, alongside Staff Sgt. Michael "Mad Dog" Hertzog, USMC. Events in Afghanistan take on a life of their own through an incredible battlefield discovery, betrayal, and a new beginning for Hertzog-- a new start that takes Mad Dog and his team from the Philippines into Angola's unstable geopolitical climate and risky diamond industry. Blood Diamonds isn't for the faint-hearted. It's a gritty tale full of bloody action and tough language. Readers with prior military experience will appreciate the authenticity of Telep's writing plus catch a glimpse at some of the latest "big boy" toys used by today's military. Telep's at his best when he's out there shooting bad guys and blowing up stationary objects! Blood Diamonds, like Telep's other military action books, emphatically reflect his deep admiration for our men and women in uniform. Bravo!