The Amber Room - Steve Berry

I just finished reading Steve Berry’s The Amber Room. Finally! After more than one month of forcing myself to finish it (which seemed almost near to eternity), thankfully, it has come to an end.

Karol Borya survived the world war with one painfully unforgettable memory – the death of four German soldiers who kept their mouths shut to protect the location of the Amber Room. Regarded as one of the most priceless and exquisite treasures of the world, it has been sought by various world powers, resulting to a number of deaths. The Amber Room, believed to be cursed, produced a high death toll; the people involved were those who came close to finding it. Borya, the last link to its whereabouts, was closer than expected.

Borya’s daughter, Rachel Cutler, a seasoned Atlanta judge, found the death of his father odd. Holding onto the correspondence between her father and a certain Chapaev from Germany, Rachel decided to search for this man who may have information why his father was so into the Amber Room. Her ex-husband, Paul Cutler, worried about the possible consequences, followed close behind. Soon, they found themselves locked between the battle of 2 wealthy, powerful men who were also looking for the Amber Room.

This book is thick. I waited for the climax to sink in, but this book has no sustainability factor. The climax, wherever it was, fell short of what I expected. Probably because there were 4 major characters in this novel – the Cutlers and 2 other professional killers: Christian Knoll and Suzanne Danzer. As I flipped the pages, I found the battle between Knoll and Danzer more interesting than the protagonists -- the chase factor between the 2 antagonists is more adventurous and entertaining than the Cutler’s.

The book, in my opinion, is well-studied and researched. The author mentioned loads of famous art treasures from different eras. Basic knowledge with the Humanities would surely be helpful in browsing through the pages. But of course you could always google anything you find interesting in this book. That would add up to a better picture-image of the scenes in every chapter.

Steve Berry’s style as a story teller is not very far from other authors of his genre. In this book, he told the perception of each character involved in a particular scene as it happened. The thrill was there, but somewhere along the way,the plot fell short. The build-up of a certain scene was good, but it lacked a dynamic resolution. Nothing really spectacular about his craft, and as I have said, it got really dragging as I flipped to the end.

I am not recommending this book. 2 stars. Toink.