Customer Reviews

Gypsy in Amber

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I enjoyed this early Martin Cruz Smith mystery. The main character, Roman Grey is fascinating in many of the same ways Smith's later heroes are... quiet, humble, competent, quick, enigmatic. As with his later novels, Smith gives some interesting information about a group of people that the mainstream U.S. doesn't usually think or know much about; in this case, gypsies in the U.S. in the 70's, v.s. later novels inhabited by Native Americans, or Russians, or miners. In this case, I think the circumstances of the Gypsy are sometimes more interesting than the story itself. Not that the story is dull. But I found some of the plot to be a bit stretched.

Martin Cruz Smith is a fantastic writer, and I'd like to hear more of Roman Grey, though I don't really expect we will.

Martin Cruz Smith has a real knack for rooting his stories within really fascinating backgroups. The Russian police in GORKY PARK, bats in NIGHTWING, the development of the Bomb in STALLION GATE, etc. etc. This very early novel of his is no exception. We get to delve into the life of an American Gypsy, something few of us have any background in. And we learn a lot about antique furniture, which I never thought I'd be interested in, but it was so well done, I found myself quite drawn in.

But the actual plot, the mystery, if you will, is pretty thin, and quite frankly, the "final showdown" is really not very good. There's a lot of stuff with "hippies" that seems painfully dated today. The book is a must for people who read Smith avidly, as I do, but I wouldn't recommend it as a starting point for delving into Smith (just plunge right in to GORKY PARK for that), nor would I recommend it to the casual mystery reader, because the mystery itself is not much.

Cruz smith's stories are always interesting for the journey not the destination. Many people know of his popular renko detective series that came after these books. Those are his strongest books and they immerses us in the melancholy atmosphere of russia. This one immerses us in the underworld of gypsy culture in the US. As usual the hero's motivations are an interanl need for righteousness not societies need. One can see the beginnings of Smiths s ironic touches and eye catching metaphor emerging here. It's a solid read and has extra interest for MCS fans who have just read his later works.

Martin Cruz Smith is literally my favorite author. So, when I found an copy of this at a flea market I was overjoyed. However, after reading it, I'm kind of wishing I wasn't so lucky. The book has a quirky sarcastic lead, like Arkady Renko, but beyond that there are little to no similarity to the Renko series which is utter gold. This is a just a writer learning and perfecting his craft. Just part of the process but sadly, a part I could have skipped.