I’m a longtime fan of Kimberly Belle — the author writes page-turning thrillers that often take us to fun new locations.

In The Expat Affair, two strong women expats in Amsterdam get caught up in a series of crimes and betrayals they didn’t see coming.

With twists and turns, it kept me guessing and rooting for both characters.
I enjoyed visiting a new city through the author's eyes. I've rarely visited Amsterdam — this novel gave me the sensation of being right there!

Plus, it’s set in the high-flying diamond industry, which made me feel even more like I was entering another world.

A page-turning thriller and a visit to Amsterdam – what more could a reader want?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was a pretty fun read - it was very fast paced and was easy to get lost in the atmosphere of the book pretty quickly. Rayna woke up in this absolutely dreamy penthouse, in Amsterdam, after a night with Xander - a guy she met on tinder. Though, she thinks he's just left for whatever reason - she's seriously unaware that he's laying dead in the next room.

This book is told in dual POV - Rayna's and Willow who is a wife of a guy running a diamond house? I never really felt connected to Willow - she just didn't make sense to me. The Amsterdam living and the diamond industry as a whole, which was pretty fascinating.

Then the book just dragged - I forgot that it was a thriller and had to go back at one point to remind myself of Xander's name. The ending was twisty and engaging but the middle of the book just dragged far too much. I'll round this one up from a 2.75 to a 3 stars simply due to how much I loved it at first, but I wish it had been a bit heavier on the thriller side!

I am so glad I got to read Belle’s newest novel, as her books are always a favorite of mine. I found myself interested in both story lines of the two main characters and unable to guess how it would end!

The Expat Affair is an awesome thriller, delving into very dark and mysterious territory. The plot is exceptionally well-crafted, keeping the reader guessing until the very end. The characters are complex and believable, adding another layer of intrigue to the story. The author skillfully creates suspense, making it a truly captivating read.

In Kimberly Belle’s newest upcoming novel, the setting is Amsterdam, and the plot involves diamonds. As I always say, I enjoy a new plot I haven’t seen a million times before and this book gave me exactly that. I loved all the details of Amsterdam, especially the mention of the delicious Dutch pancakes.

Chapters alternate between Rayna, a young writer in Amsterdam, escaping something from her past in America, and Willow who is married to one heir of the Prins Diamond company. The careful pacing slowly reveals the deep secrets of both women.

When Rayna meets Xander at a bar and goes back to his fancy apartment, she has no idea what is about to unfold. Waking up to find him brutally murdered sets in motion the entire story, which features lab grown diamonds, shady deals, secrets, wealth, and choices made during difficult times.

I read this one slowly and appreciated Kimberly’s masterful storytelling. I wasn’t sure where the book was going to go, who we could trust (I didn’t trust either narrator) and how it would ultimately end.

This one gets four stars for the excellent writing (as usual, the author’s books are always great), setting, pacing and characters. I loved it.

In The Expat Affair, Kimberly Belle delivers a twisty, high-stakes thriller set against the glimmering yet treacherous backdrop of Amsterdam’s elite diamond world. The story kicks off with Rayna Dumont, newly divorced and determined to rebuild her life abroad. What begins as a spontaneous night with the charming and successful Xander quickly spirals into a nightmare—by morning, he’s dead, and his safe has been emptied of millions in diamonds.

Across the city, Willow Prins—living in luxury yet trapped in a crumbling marriage to the heir of a prestigious diamond empire—is shaken by the scandal. Xander was once her husband’s protégé, and his violent death sends shockwaves through their already fragile relationship. As media attention swirls and the family business comes under fire, Willow can’t help but question Rayna’s role—and her own.

As the two women’s lives collide, they’re pulled deep into a dangerous world of secrets, betrayal, and criminal intrigue. Belle deftly unspools a narrative filled with suspicion, shifting alliances, and moral gray zones, forcing Rayna and Willow to question everyone around them—including each other.

The Expat Affair is a fast-paced, glamorous, and gritty tale of reinvention, trust, and survival in a city full of shadows. With its sleek international setting and sharp twists, this is a suspense novel that keeps you guessing until the final page.

Holy crap! This was so freaking good. Never did I guess the plot twist correct. Not even once. Small inklings and Easter eggs here and there, but DAMN!!!!! Kimberly said “FULL SEND” on this thriller/suspense novel.

Set in Amsterdam. A heavily affluent and well known family in the diamond biz. Two American girls who know they don’t belong. A murder. Or two.

This was just a chefs kiss book all around.

Many thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for this arc. I received this book in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts are entirely my own.


In this book we are following Willow and Rayna. Rayna wakes up after a date to Xander in the shower and talks on the phone with her roommate. Rayna goes into the bathroom to find Xander dead with a zip tie around his neck and his thumb missing and his safe empty. Rayna finds out that Xander is a gemologist with the House of Prinz. Willow is the wife of Thomas Prinz who is the CEO of House of Prinz. Willow considers Xander a friend and after Rayna is confirmed to be the last person to see her after she posted a instagram photo of her in a diamond necklace that Xander put on her neck that has fake diamonds in it. Willow finds out that Thomas is having an affair with his secretary Celine. Willow and Rayna team up and are able to figure out who killed Xander and who stole the house diamonds that only a Prinz has access to it. Thomas’s father had two people steal the diamonds and he hid them in mirrors that he gifted Thomas and his sister Fleur. This book was so interesting and I loved it

Diamonds are not a girls best friend in this take of two women who find their lives intertwined. Rayna comes to Amsterdam to escape her cheating husband and start a new life. Willow married into diamond royalty but is miserable and only cares about her son. Murder brings out the corruption behind the diamond business. Will there be a happy ending for these two Americans

The first half of this book was so boring. I almost put it down. I don't know what it was that kept me reading but I'm glad I did. The second half of the book picked up considerably, so I'm glad I stuck with it.

Rayna was a freelance writer of travels, and she was an American living in Amsterdam. She left America after several run-ins with her cheating ex-husband. Her roommate, Ingrid, encouraged her to go on the dating website, Tinder, and to select a man named Xander. Although he doesn't tell her in the beginning, he's a millionaire gemologist working for the House of Prins. On their date, they go out for dinner and drinks and return to his penthouse. They retired to his bedroom where he has blackout drapes. She sleeps with him, and when she wakes up he's not next to her, but she hears the shower running and she decides maybe she'll join him. So she went into the bathroom and in there he's lying on the floor dead with one of his fingers amputated. She grabbed all of her belongings except for her phone and flees. She goes to a nearby cafe and from there she phones the police to report the murder. Detective Boomsba is the officer in charge of the investigation and he goes to the cafe and finds Rayna there. She tells him everything she can which is very little because she slept through the murder. Apparently, the murderer escaped without seeing her in bed. Before Xander died, he allowed Rayna to try on a very expensive necklace, which she photographed herself in and put it on tic toc. That was her undoing because the post went viral and everyone assumed that she still had the necklace, which of course, she didn't.

The next day she went out for a run where she met Willow who was married to Thomas Prins. Also, there was a guy wearing a baseball cap who'd been following her. She reported this to the detective. When she got home there was a note in her mailbox threatening her, and this too, she reported to the detective. Rayna went to Xander's funeral where Willow approached her. At this point, she knows that Willow is a Prins, and she deduces that Willow has been following her and that she is the one in fact, who left the note.

It was a proven fact that Xander had been stealing diamonds and that he had invented lab-grown diamonds. They were the spitting image of mine grown diamonds and could only be detected by a very advanced machine. 12 of the most expensive diamonds, the Cullinans, had disappeared from the plant and it was assumed that Xander stolen them. The thief who broke into his penthouse had used his finger to open his safe, and had taken all of his diamonds.

At the funeral, Willow confessed to Rayna that she knew Xander and that he had promised to make her 12 diamonds that she was going to sell on the black market. She also admitted to leaving the note, which Rayna had already figured out.

Rayna had found a tracker that had been slipped into her purse, which she assumed was placed there by the guy in the baseball cap. Six more were found among her clothes and in her flat. She immediately reported this to the detective. Her flat had been broken into and her roommate reported that a large amount of money had been taken from her.

Rayna decided that she was not going to stay in the flat so she escaped through the back and down an alley until she came upon a main thoroughfare where she found a bar that she went into. There, she met Lars. He seemed like a like a decent enough person so she sort of attached herself to him. Eventually she told him that she needed to stay away from her flat. She had found a hostel that she was going to stay in. Also, the guy with the baseball cap was there with a friend. She pointed him out to Lars who called the police to have them arrested. Lars bought her a drink and she told him all about the guy in the baseball cap. After a while, Rayna started feeling dizzy and became incapacitated. Lars helped her out of the bar and into his car where he took to her flat. When she came too, she was in her clothes under her comforter and large was sitting there in her room. It was clear to her that he had roofied her.

The first thing he did was to ask her where the diamonds were. She told him she didn't have them but he didn't believe her. He had her phone and it buzzed with a text message from Willow. He asked her why Willow was texting her and she made up some excuse. The truth of the matter was, Willow had agreed to find a gun for her. She had given Rayna an address of where she was and asked her to call the police. It turns out that her sister-in-law, Fleur, had told her to meet her at that address which she gave to Rayna. Her sister-in-law had kidnapped her son, Sem and had taken him there. When Willow arrived, Fleur told her that she knew Sem was not Thomas's. She had had a DNA test done. At any rate, Ingrid has shown up and Lars pulled a gun on them and made them go outside to his car where he was going to take them to the address Willow had sent her.

When they got there, they went inside and all hell broke loose. It turns out Willow knew Lars. She had hired him to break into Xander's penthouse and steal the diamonds from the safe for which she gave him the PIN code. But when he got there the safe had already been broken into and all the diamonds were gone. Also, Ingrid had been complicit in this whole setup. Xander had been using her to ferry diamonds to the black market. They had set Rayna up. Xander was supposed to put diamonds in Rayna's purse so that she would bring them back to the flat where Ingrid would get them. Ingrid also knew Lars. And the guy in the baseball cap was working in cahoots with them. They had all been watching Rayna and following her. Lars had been the one who had broken into their flat and it placed all of the trackers.

One of the things I loved about this story was that it had lots of twists and turns. The characters were extremely well developed and, in spite of the roller coaster ride, it was still quite easy to follow. I thought the author did an exquisite job telling this tale. I loved the way it held my attention and there was never a dull moment. It kept me on the edge of my seat just waiting for the plot to thicken. when all's been said and done, I gave it five stars. I only wish I could have given it. 10.

The Expat Affair was a fast paced, thrilling book that had me turning the pages way past my bedtime. Kimberly is an amazing author and can do no wrong in my eyes.

This was an excellent audio. Dual narrators made this audio even better. Jennifer Jill Araya and Marni Penning were the perfect choices for Willow and Reyna.

The International diamond trade in Amersterdam is savage. Reyna, an American expat living in Amsterdam, meets a handsome diamond broker named Xander. Xander works for the famous house of Prins, known for their diamonds going back decades. Reyna wakes up in Xander's bed one morning and shortly thereafter she finds Xander murdered in his own bathroom while she was sleeping. Diamonds are missing and Reyna is in danger. The only one who can help her is Willow. Another American expat married to one of the Prins.

I recommend this title in audio form if you have the choice. Thank you @netgalley and @harlequinaudio for a copy of this title.

Diamonds are not forever… it could end up in tragedy.
That is basically the premise of the story. Two expats were caught in the middle of a known [diamond] businessman’s death.
The first part of the novel really dragged too slow. But it kept up.
I liked the way the author writes the setting/locations it is as if i am also there too.

A compelling novel with a unique plot line, filled with surprising twists and sinister characters. It takes place in Holland and is told from dual perspectives, enhancing the story. The 3D printer and jewelry technology was both intriguing and unsettling.
I would have preferred a different voice for the audiobook, so I chose to read while listening.
Thank you to the publisher/author for the opportunity to read/listen to this complimentary advanced copy. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thank you to Harlequin Audio for an advance listen of The Expat Affair.

Rayna came to Amsterdam to reinvent herself, and find herself again after a bad divorce that left her devastated. She’s determined to try new things and hopefully make a new home away from America. One of those new things is a one night stand with Xander. But when morning comes and Rayna finds Xander dead in his apartment, she realizes that she’s got herself involved with a powerful stranger and who knows what will happen if they discover who the woman sleeping in Xander’s bed was.

There’s definitely more to the plot, but I’m going to leave it with just this main snippet. If you’re curious in the rest you can find the full synopsis on Goodreads, Amazon, etc.

I enjoyed this one. I do have romantic suspense listed as one of the genres, and it’s not quite but that, but if you enjoy romantic suspense then you’ll enjoy this one. A romantic encounter is the catalyst and there are undertones of relationships throughout.

Be prepared to leave your belief at the door, this is a wild & farfetched ride - but it’s worth it. We’ve got a story that starts with a bang, and takes us on a slow burn, plot-setting first half where we meet a couple of enigmatic women who then take us on a wild ride until the end. I say all the time, a toxic relationship will pique my interest every time, and there is definitely a toxic family in this one!

One thing I really enjoyed was the Amsterdam setting. You can tell that Kimberly really loves her chosen location, it bleeds through in her writing. I wanted to visit before, but now I REALLY want to visit.

The Expat Affair
By Kimberly Belle
Publish Date July 03, 2025

Description:

Following a nasty divorce, Rayna Dumont came to Amsterdam for a fresh start. She’s never been the type for a one-night stand, but this move is all about adventure, and Xander is handsome and successful and more than willing to go along for the ride. Until the morning after, when Rayna finds him dead on the shower floor and millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds missing from his safe.

From her lavish home in the heart of the city, Willow Prins is captivated by the news. Her husband is Xander’s former boss and heir to a diamond house, and the scandal strains their already-rocky marriage. As the house comes under scrutiny, Willow wonders if her life is about to implode—and how much of the blame she can place on Rayna. Soon, Willow and Rayna are dragged into the dark and dangerous underbelly of the diamond market, where they’ll have to uncover the truth to survive. Who killed Xander? Where are the missing diamonds? And who can you trust in a strange and unfamiliar city thousands of miles from home?

Review:

First, lets point out how great the cover looks. If I was walking by in a bookstore this would get me to stop to see what it is.

Second, be careful reading this close to your bedtime because you will not put it down.

And finally, a great thriller! I have read others from Kimberly Belle before and this is right on point!

Thank you NetGalley and Park Row for the advance reader.

I loved this. The setting was very well written and I liked the jewelry industry/family business angle.

Summary:

Rayna goes to Amsterdam for a fresh start and ends up entwined in a criminal investigation after a one night stand goes very wrong. The wealthy young man, Xander, is dead and diamonds are missing from his apartment, and she didn’t hear a thing! Rayna makes an unlikely alliance with Willow, whose husband was Xander’s boss.

My Thoughts:

I love Kimberly Belle’s books. The details about Europe just set the stage again like her last book. I was hooked from page one!

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced reader’s copy!

I could not imagine waking up and finding my one night stand dead but somehow the killer didn't know I was in the bed! Omg the emotions. I'd need counseling! I would feel like the luckiest person on the planet. I would live each day like it was my last always afraid that the person would be out there waiting to strike. Having this mentality while reading the book helped make me a little more anxious which in turn made me like the book more.

I really enjoyed the first half of the story. I wasn't sure, but I thought that the detective was in on the heist. The ending was good. I was surprised by Thomas’ reaction but so happy for the child, Sem. All in all, the story/book was good!

Rayna moves to Amsterdam after her divorce and is struggling but determined to make a life as an expat. She gets unknowingly sucked into a diamond fraud with a famous family and suddenly her life is in danger. Willow, who married into the family befriends Reyna, but what is her real story? Moral of the story is don’t get in trouble abroad!