I had read the non-fiction Amber Room before I read this and I'm glad I did. I was thrilled how acurate Steve Berry kept the details. If you like stories with some truth to it, then I would recommend you read this one. ( )

In this suspenseful novel, several sets of people are racing to uncover the Amber Room, which has been lost since World War II. The book manages to impart quite a lot of factual information about the Amber Room while also being a readable, fictional, thriller. The amber itself has still not been found, but the series of events laid out in this imagining seem, at least to a layperson like me, quite plausible. The one complaint I have is that there were several "mini-climaxes" in the book, a couple of which were quite a bit more suspenseful than the final one...it was kind of like a roller coaster. Besides that it was an entertaining and informative book with decent characters and an engaging plot. Recommended to any reader of the mystery/thriller genre. ( )

This is probably Steve Berry's best book so far and it makes for fascinating reading regarding lost / pillaged art / treasure by the Nazis at the end of the war. The action in this book is non-stop and to use a tired / well-used idiom, it keeps you "on the edge of your seat".

Atlanta judge Rachel Cutler is facing re-election but she finds her father dead at the bottom of his stairs. The cops write it off as an accident but we know (because we read it) that he was thrown down the stairs by a German professional killer who wants to know about the legendary Russian Amber Room which was stolen from Russia during the war by the Nazis and never recovered after the war.

Rachel and her ex-husband (has to be ex-husband doesn't it?) take off for Germany to find the Amber Room and avenge her father's death. Meanwhile the professional killer is being chased by another professional killer. The two of them are employed by rival art dealers who want the Amber Room for themselves and things are heating up. With the Cutlers about to inject themselves into the equation, things are going to get interesting. Also throw in a North Carolina entrepreneur who is going to blast his way into the Harz mountains because he is convinced that the Amber Room is concealed in there and things are going to get DEADLY. ( )

I've read all of Steve Berry's books, and loved them all....except for this one. There was just too, too much courtroom/lawyer stuff in it. Really glad that he quickly got away from that. ( )

The Amber Room is of course based on the famous room built under the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm for his wife and then later gifted the room to Peter the Great. During ww2 the room was stripped, taken apart and moved to Germany. Unfortunately t...more The Amber Room is of course based on the famous room built under the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm for his wife and then later gifted the room to Peter the Great. During ww2 the room was stripped, taken apart and moved to Germany. Unfortunately the room was already falling apart and in the packing process some of the pieces were ruined.
As ww2 came to an end we all know that the Germans hid massive amounts of treasures, looted from museums they invaded, and buried them inside the Czech/ Polish mountain range. This is of course where a lot of people believe the amber room might still be today. Some have other theories.
In the story a woman and her ex-husband go to Germany after her father's strange death to learn more about the Amber Room, believing that his death is tied to the room.
Is it bad when you cheer for the bad guys? This book is compared to Dan Brown's bks and I have to say, it doesn't even come close. Dan has this great way of merging art, history, conspiracy, with action and mystery. The only bad thing about Dan is sometimes the mystery is not so mysterious. The art and history very mysterious. Present characters and situations not so. I guess it also depends on how well you pay attention to what is being said. If you pay attention you can tell what is going to happen. ( )