The Amber Knight

by Katherine John

This fast-paced action thriller is a multi-layered story that spans eight centuries, from medieval Germany and Prussia to present day Poland and USA cen tred on the legend of the Amber Knight – a beloved relic that inspired generations until the Nazis stole it. Created in 1232 during The Teutonic Crusade when the heroic knight, Helmut von Mau, dies in battle at Elblag. When the town is burned and the amber in the treasury melts an d is poured into Helmut’s sarcophagus, covering his body and creating the Amber Knight. Present day Gdansk. Adam Salen, director of a museum trust receives photographs of the Amber Knight which disappeared in 1945, and a demand for 15 million dollars. His assistant, Magda, believes that, given a corpse, amber and armour the knight could be recreated. Adam and Magda want the knight for the museum, but when a mafia h it man is found dead on Adam’s doorstep and more corpses are discovered in woods near Hitler’s Wolf’s lair, it seems like there may b e truth behind the myth that death awaits every unbeliever who looks upon Helmut’s face.

Genres: Mystery

260 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2007

About the author

Katherine John is a pen name of the author Catrin Collier. She was born and brought up in Pontypridd and worked for a while in Europe and America before returning to her native Wales. She now lives on the Gower Peninsula near Swansea, with her family.

Reviews

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, complex, but not entirely convincing mystery with a rich American hero in Poland.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mystery/thriller aspect of this book was decent, although a few more hints here and there might have made me feel better about the identity of the ultimate villains and the relationship to the rest of the plot. The personal life of the main character was almost enough to make me put the book down a dozen times -- he slept with every female he encountered except the one living with his friend who was trying to seduce him and he seemed to be constantly on the edge of dropping over from intoxication. The conclusion was decent and the characters somewhat redeemed themselves.

I found myself wondering if this was part of a series, and not the first one at that, maybe involving others in the Salen family, because a lot of the back story was hinted at and glossed over, but sounded like an interesting story to pursue.

Also, I now find myself really interested in visiting Gdansk, which I had never even thought of in passing before. I would read more by this author if I came across them, but probably not go out of my to procure them.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mostly, a really enjoyable, engaging mystery, and clearly well-researched. The author does seem to struggle with keeping track of what she's told the audience, because quite a few times throughout the story I found myself brought up short by the feeling of pages missing, or a scene or conversation cut out entirely. This isn't a deal-breaker, though, and I could successfully ignore that and the author's extremely clumsy treatment of analogies enough to enjoy the story. I'd read her work again.

[Itchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fabulous book by Katherine John.

[Diana H · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the WWII history/mystery. Great Read. I think it would make a great film!

[William Eichler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good storyline

Good mixing of history and fiction. Kept me interested to the very end. However, I didn't like the inference that most of the Police were corrupt.