Customer Reviews

West 47th

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This book is well worth reading. It has the usual jewel background which I love. It has very interesting characters, particularly Maddie.It has the terrific language usage that Browne does well as well as some interesting plot twists. You may have to suspend your belief during the scene with the mob guys but that is the only thing wrong with this novel. There is much interesting gem lore and allusion. It is not as good as Stone 588 or 11 Harrowhouse but it is a lot better than 18mm. Blues, or Hot Siberian. Give it a try!!! By the way. Does anyone know where I can buy or borrow a copy of Green Ice? I keep hearing how great it is but am unable to find it.

This is the first book I have read by the author. It was a little too detailed at times and other times there needed to be a clearer explanation of events. All in all the characters Mitch and Maddie were a romantic couple in a suspense situation. It was enjoyable to read and a sequel to their lives in a follow up book would be a winner!

A $6 million jewel heist in a New Jersey suburb leads to death, intrigue, a $25 million dollar reward offer, and a double cross. Mitch is a freelance insurance investigator for jewelry related losses. His wife, Maddie, is a beautiful, blind, talented musician who inherited a significant amount of money. Mitch is uncomfortable being the lesser financial partner in their relationship. When he sees a chance to narrow that financial gap, he jumps at it. While, in my opinion, this is not the best of Gerald Browne's books, it is not a terrible book. It moves along at a reasonable pace and the characters -- at least Mitch and Maddie -- are people you can enjoy meeting.

Browne may not know his guns but he knows the diamond trade and the book is about an aspect of the diamond trade, not about guns. While I agree with the reviewer who mentioned how irritating it is for an author to describe a character as putting a revolver on safety or releasing the safety on a revolver, over the years I have developed my own strategy for dealing with that statement without stressing. I automatically think "Oh, he must have a Webley-Fosbery" and I move on. I suspect there is scarcely a novel extant that does not include at least one factual error, whether tiny or tremendous. It is called fiction for a reason.

Browne's 1996 gem thriller opens with the bloody $6 million jewel robbery of an Iranian couple. The insurance company hires gem expert Mitch Laughton, husband of the fabulously wealthy, beautiful, and blind Maddie, to recover the jewels.

Mitch is a conflicted man. He revels in the intrigue and glamor of the 47th Street jewel trade and savors the adrenalin rush of the hunt. But he hates being beholden to the insurance companies he has despised since the day his jeweler father was robbed twice ? first by armed thieves, then by Columbia Insurance, which seized on fine print to avoid meeting policy terms.

In a "Nick and Nora Charles" (one of Mitch and Maddie's favorite entertainments) parallel, Browne involves Maddie in the hunt, which seems to be arousing more interest than usual ? even for $6 million. Maddie's blindness ? explained by no physical cause ? has given rise to uncanny perceptions and the relationship between them involves elements of voyeurism and vicarious excitement on both sides.

The caper itself is driven almost entirely by greed, giving rise to frenzied and darkly comic events which plunge headlong to an explosive ending which loses none of its excitement to a strong element of slapstick. A couple of noticeable thin spots in the plot are minor distractions, easily overcome by Browne's likable Mitch and Maddie.

swifts,swag,emeralds and pearls,all add up to a interesting learning experience into the precious stone world. With a slightly street type background and a love affair attached it made for a pretty good read. I will try some of his other books to get a better feel of the author. All in all I would recommend it.

One of those books that reads as if it was intended to be made into a movie.Readable. Some interesting background onsleazy New York jewelry dealers. The climax comes when the hero realizes a team of Mafia killers is out to get him. He goes to a few hardware stores and picks up a long list of items--plywood, a professional stapler, a cassette recorder, three six-ounce jars of red poster paint, etc. Over the next few chapters we get to see how he fashions these humble items into a diabolically clever, intricate booby trap which, of course, functions almost perfectly and allows him and his girlfriend to kill all six Mafia thugs...

I've read other novels by this author and enjoyed them, but this one is a loser. Browne attempts to use a vocabulary he apparently does not fully understand, he goes into stultifying detail in the most inappropriate parts of the story, and he is one of those poorly-informed crime writers who write about guns without knowing much about them. (I was slogging thrugh the novel until I got to the part where the protagonist "put the revolver on safety." Hey, wake up! Autoloaders and long guns have safeties; revolvers do not.) If you come across an abandoned copy of this book in an airport, go ahead and pick it up--it can keep your eyes busy if the crossword puzzle in the in-flight magazine has already been filled in, and you won't mind if somebody swipes the book before you finish it.

Having read all of Gerald A. Browne's previous books, this one really let me down. There were all kinds of unanswered questions and some totally unbelievable scenerios. I sure hope he gets back on track with his next book....

I think G.B. should quit writing. He's already dried up. The whole book was just a redone copy of HOT SIBERIAN. And since Hot Siberian, Browne has been downhill fast. Don't read others but 11 HARROWHOUSE, 19 PURCHASE STREET, and GREEN ICE. These 3 were the greatest books that should be recorded in human culture. 18mm Blue and STONE 588 both were OK but not too excited. WEST 47TH? The worst!!! Just writing it for some extra peddi cash, that's all