The Amber Room

I’ve seen Steve Berry books on the shelves in the stores for a while now, thought I’d try one out. When I first started reading, I quickly learned that “The Amber Room” was an artifact from the WWII era, and the truth is, I wasn’t that excited. I’ve read quite a few books lately that involved seeking lost treasure and the like. So diving into another right away had left me unsure whether to continue on, or pick something else and save this gem for later. I decided to forge ahead, even though I stopped somewhere in the middle to read a book connected with my job. Once I picked back up and got into the action of the book, I got immersed in the story very quickly. The fact that the story is connected to WWII, and Germany made it that much more interesting.

The Amber Room is based on a true historical treasure that has never been recovered after disappearing in transport during WWII by the Nazi’s. That fact is what this story is built around. Rachel Cutler, who is an Atlanta judge, learns of the Amber Room from letters in her fathers safe deposit box following his death. Her father had spent time in a concentration camp during the war, and learned secrets surrounding the treasure during that time. Judge Cutler and her lawyer ex-husband, Paul, go to Germany in search of the missing amber panels. They quickly find themselves over their heads in death and professional killers. Instead of packing their suitcases and going home like any normal person, they declare that they’ve come this far, they should continue on in their search despite the danger. During all the near-death experiences, they find themselves falling back in love, which I would call the predictable part of the story. All in all, an interesting read.