The Amber Room

THE AMBER ROOM is further proof that a great reader can improve the most pedestrian book. Steve Berry's latest novel focuses on the search for the eponymous room, which was supposedly hidden by the Germans in 1944. When Rachel Cutler's father dies, she suspects foul play, and the hunt begins, featuring clichéd personalities and slimy characters who kill almost everyone. With Scott Brick bringing life to characters ranging from wealthy Nazis to self-absorbed lawyers, the novel becomes a thriller that works well in audio. Brick reads with verve and a wry style that propels every moment of the book toward its exciting and improbable finish. Although not a gem, this is worth a listen. D.J.S. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

June 2, 2003
First-time novelist Berry weighs in with a hefty thriller that's long on interesting research but short on thrills. Atlanta judge Rachel Cutler and ex-husband Paul are divorced but still care for each other. Rachel's father, Karol Borya, knows secrets about the famed Amber Room, a massive set of intricately carved panels crafted from the precious substance and looted by Nazis during WWII from Russia's Catherine Palace. The disappearance of the panels, which together formed a room, remains one of the world's greatest unsolved art mysteries. Borya's secret gets him killed as two European industrialists/art collectors go head to head in a deadly race to find the fabled room. Searching for Borya's killer, Rachel and Paul bumble their way to Europe, where their naïveté triggers more deaths. Berry has obviously done his homework, and he seems determined to find a place for every fact he's unearthed. The plot slows for descriptions of various art pieces, lectures and long internal monologues in which characters examine their innermost feelings and motives in minute detail, while also packing in plenty of sex and an abundance of brutal killings. A final confrontation between all the principals ends in a looming Bavarian castle where Rachel is raped. All the right elements are in place, but the book is far too long and not as exciting as the ingredients suggest. Readers may end up wishing Berry had written a nonfiction account of the fascinating story of the Amber Room and skipped the fictional mayhem. Agent, Pam Ahearn. (Sept.)Forecast:The Amber Room has been in the news again lately (a long
New Yorker piece on its history ran earlier this year), because the panels are presently being re-created for the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg this year. The attention may spark interest in Berry's debut, but less-than-stellar word of mouth may cause sales to peak early.

A work of art cast in amber, not gold, differentiates Steve Berry's book from the typical Nazi treasure hunt novel. Just as important is narrator Scott Brick's performance, which makes the story a pleasure to hear. Brick's German and Russian accents sound authentic as they drip with sinister foreboding. Brick gets a further nod for correctly pronouncing "Belarus." Berry's plot revolves around the search for an entire room made of amber carved into wondrous shapes and forms. A divorced couple gets involved when the woman's father is murdered in an attempt to get information about the room, which he helped hide after WWII. Before you know it, the estranged couple is in Europe, tracking down a 65-year-old mystery. M.S. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine