A murder threatens to force the police into a confrontation with New York's gypsy community. The cops are determined to pin the blame on a gypsy. But Roman Grey knows there is more to the case than the convenient closing of a crime file, and vows to bring the truly guilty to justice.When you are a gypsy who was raised by non-gypsies, you have an identity problem. When you are a gypsy, an antique dealer, and you've been entrusted with a very old highboy in which a dead body is discovered, you have a major problem. From the inside flap
Sorcery, folklore, and black magic are at the dark heart of a grisly murder forcing a confrontation between Gypsies and police that neither side—nor the reader—will be able to forget. When a Gypsy dies in a two-car collision that scatters a woman's dismembered body on the George Washington Bridge, the dead Gypsy driver, Nanoosh, is the Police Department's prime murder suspect. But Roman Grey, Gypsy antique dealer and owner of the car, is outraged that the authorities are trying to pin yet another crime on the Gypsy community. Knowing that although his people have little respect for non-Gypsy laws they are not murderers, Roman begins his own investigation, realizing that there is more than a rational explanation behind the killing. Armed only with Gypsy intuition and his knowledge of sorcery, he sets out to meet an unknown and deadly foe in a spellbinding climax. Reviews
"'Gypsy in Amber'" is an unusual book, and an awfully good one. It builds relentlessly to a concentration of evil, and is full of sharp observations.... 'Gypsy in Amber' is one of the year's best."—New York Times
"A delightful digression from the mystery pattern.... Gypsy lore and customs are woven into the background, adding exotic embroidery to a good story."—Publishers Weekly
"'Gypsy in Amber' by Martin Smith is a fascinating murder mystery with a gypsy background and easily proves itself one of the most engrossing and original whodunits of the year... a suspenseful and exciting climax to a most unusual story."—Chapel Hill (N.C.) Weekly
"'Gypsy in Amber' is one of the better detective stories around this season.... The reader is left hoping that this will not be the only appearance of a new and very different detective."—Long Beach (Calif.) Independent Press-Telegram
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