Amethysts

by Frank Delaney

A psychological thriller - the spellbinding tale of modern murders that lead back fifty years to forgotten Nazi atrocities.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Crime

406 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Frank Delaney was an author, a broadcaster on both television and radio, journalist, screenwriter, playwright, lecturer, and a judge of many literary prizes. Delaney interviewed more than 3,500 of the world's most important writers. NPR called him 'The Most Eloquent Man in the World'. Delaney was born and raised in County Tipperary, Ireland, spent more than twenty-five years in England before moving to the United States in 2002. He lived in Litchfield County, Connecticut, with his wife, writer and marketer, Diane Meier.

Reviews

[Okenwillow · Rating 5 out of 5]

J’ai lu Delaney il y a … 16 ans (!) deux volumes consacrés aux Celtes (The Celts et The Legends of the Celts). Je n’ai fait le rapprochement qu’en lisant la biographie de l’auteur.
Grand moment d’émotion pour moi donc.
Et grand moment de lecture avec ce roman d’une profondeur psychologique rare. J’ai lu ça et là des traces d’une espèce de polémique étrange autour du sujet du livre, qui passe pour inspiré de faits réels. Je ne vais pas m’attarder dessus tellement elle me parait incongrue. L’intrigue se noue autour de plusieurs thèmes forts et potentiellement dérangeants, la manipulation mentale, le déni, les souvenirs enfouis, le fameux « lâcher-prise » souvent évoqué dans le livre.
La manipulation dont il s’agit ici atteint des sommets d’abomination. L’auteur en use dans une bien moindre mesure quand il fait passer son récit comme inspiré de faits réels. J’ai donc considéré la chose comme un habile petit tour destiné à semer le trouble chez le lecteur.
Au-delà cet inquiétante allusion, le récit nous est relaté par Nicholas Newman, dont le patronyme s’avère lourd de sens au fur et à mesure de la lecture, et l’emploi de la première personne nous immerge encore plus dans la personnalité de notre héros. Héros pas très reluisant, pour ne pas dire antipathique, mais on ne peut plus passionnant. Lâche, froid, affolé du slip, incapable d’attachement sentimental, Newman est un architecte renommé qui traîne ses traumatismes et ses deuils sans réussir à les surmonter.
Ce personnage est énorme de complexité, d’humanité, Delaney l’a traité avec finesse et réalisme. Le style employé est magnifique, noir, on assiste à l’éveil d’un homme qui va « sortir de lui-même » et se tourner vers autrui, dans des circonstances pas très réjouissantes.
Les faits abordés, s’ils sont fictifs, n’en sont pas moins directement inspirés des horreurs nazies et des expériences pseudo-médicales, et l’important n’est pas de savoir si ces faits précis ont existé, car on sait qu’ils auraient pu l’être. Ce qui décuple l’horreur des expériences évoquées par les documents auxquels Newman est confronté.
Le deuil d’un être aimé, le souvenir inconscient d’un passé innommable, le dépassement de soi malgré les traumatismes, tout cela contribue à une histoire touchante et douloureuse, une intrigue passionnante, une atmosphère pesante.
Une intrigue retorse et bien rythmée, un style parfait, le tout au service de personnages tourmentés, pas forcément sympathiques mais profondément intéressants et recherchés.
Un gros coup de cœur pour ce qui constitue le premier volume d’une tétralogie.
Un grand merci à Solenn du Cherche-Midi de nous avoir permis de proposer ce livre sur BOB.

[Exinfulo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Très bon roman. Beaucoup de suspense, de tension et de rebondissement

[Merry]

This book was fantastic. Really well written. A proper thriller.

[Hilary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gripping thriller, but very harrowing and disturbing.

[Graham Tapper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by this author and I only did so because I saw it in a pile that my wife was planning to give to a charity shop, and I thought, "Hang on, I don't think I've read that!"

So I did. And I'm glad I did. It isn't the best book I've ever read, far from it, but it was engaging.

Nicholas Newman has suffered a traumatic loss: the love of his life has been murdered in brutal circumstances. But, all that is missing from her home is an amethyst statuette. And so begins a quest to find out why she has been killed and by whom. Along the way he comes under attack by someone who appears not to want him to answer those questions.

The whole investigations appears to revolve around a secret WWII Nazi experiment into Jewish family life, conducted at a facility that has since the end of the war been wiped from the map. But, accounts of what went on exist and Newman is persuaded to read then, on the face of it to help him understand more about the case.

And then another, almost identical murder, takes place. What is the connection; is there a connection? Why does this new victim seem to have led such a similar life?

The book is quite a long one and a lot of the text comprises the text of the documents Newman is asked to read. In the end the pace of the book does speed up and becomes a race to elude the transgressors and bring justice.

I did enjoy it although, until the final chapters, I would not have called it a page-turner. In this basis I may read more from this author.

[Jérôme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michael Newman, architecte londonien renommé, a vécu une relation passionnelle avec Madeleine, une femme fragile et mystérieuse, de quinze ans son aînée, dont il ne connaissait rien, ni son histoire ni son passé. Sans doute était-elle la femme de sa vie, mais il l'a compris trop tard : Madeleine a été assassinée dans d'étranges circonstances.
Trois ans plus tard, Michael, qui ne s'est toujours pas remis de ce drame, prend quelques jours de repos dans un hôtel en Suisse. C'est là qu'il fait la connaissance d'un couple de riches hongrois, qui lui montrent quelques photos de la villa qu'ils sont en train de restaurer en Italie. Sur l'une d'entre elles, Michael reconnaît une tour Eiffel en améthyste, une pièce unique créée pour Madeleine, le seul objet dérobé par l'assassin après le meurtre.
Dès lors, Michael, devenu la proie d'une série d'agressions, décide de lever le voile sur les secrets de Madeleine et de reprendre l'enquête sur sa mort. C'est le début d'un ténébreux voyage qui, de Londres à Venise en passant par New-York et Athènes, le conduira au coeur d'un cauchemar nazi et de ses expériences les plus inhumaines.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

My thoughts reading this were that it would perhaps make a more compulsive and cohesive film than it does a book. It has a strong plot, but I found the characters weak, and didn't really care about their collective fate. Rather than sympathising with Nicholas for having to deal with the horrors of the present and past murders, I felt all he did was complain. Delaney didn't write much by way of humility into Nicholas Newman's character. His personal revelations towards the end are self-involved and hollow, as though the story had come full circle, but a few characters short.
There are two other novels with Newman as the main protagonist, and I probably will read them. I just hope Delaney doesn't waste such a good story on bland, unlikable characters and tedious narrative. I'd like to think that a film version would be more sympathetic to the story and hopefully true to Delaney's intentions.

[Diane Meier · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book that started the Amethyst Trilogy. Violent, without question - but equally thoughtful and dark.

This series was designed to explore the nature of evil in a civilized world. As Delaney's protagonist, architect Nicholas Newman, is almost too civilized to react to the violent death of his mistress; but he's drawn in to events that carry with them the spores of the atrocities of WW2. Terrifying and violent.

Very much "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" before it existed, these three books garnered huge attention, best-seller status and great respect in Europe in the 1990's but thought to be too violent for our sensibilities, they were never published in the USA.

If you are a fan of the genre, I think you'll find them sharp, wonderfully detailed thrillers -- full of tension and sophisticated drama.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing and disturbing, this novel pulled you into an exotic plot about psychology, murder and the Holocaust. Written with style and panache, the characters were interesting and uniquely drawn, from the detective to the mysterious foreign couple who insidiously wile their way into the storyteller's life. I've already ordered up the next two books in the series, but it would have helped if I hadn't left the bleeding book in a London Hotel when I was about three quarters of the way through! Needless to say I bought another copy to find out how it all ended.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frank Delaney is definitly a versatile writer. I initially read his first novella My Dark Rosaleen which is set in Ireland. This book is totally different - a thriller set with sinister crimes of the Holocaust as the backdrop. It has all the ingredients for a good thriller - well written, pace, intrigue, twists etc. I could not put it down.(except to check some words in the dictionary - but no the book is not heavy or too wordy)

[Henri Moreaux · Rating 3 out of 5]

The blurb on this book is not really that inspiring however I gave it a shot due to the whole Nazi element and everyone, including me, loves a good bit of Nazi intrigue.

It starts off slow, continues slow and sort of plods along till the end of the book comes which leaves you a little, well, let down. I don't entirely know how I envisaged things ending but when I reached the end I really felt no emotional involvement at all in the story or its resolution.

It's apparently a "psychological thriller of unremitting power"; I'm going to have to go ahead and say no, no it is not.

[Godzilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed ultimately. It was an interesting subject, but I felt it was poorly plotted, and with weak characters. The only one I felt any empathy for didn't surface until much later in the book.

I wanted to like the book more, but was ultimately left feeling unrewarded.

[James Marinero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hugely entertaining. A superb blend of mystery, suspense and writing style. I couldn't put it down.

How Delaney found the historical seed and developed such a plot idea, I'll never know. It's frightening that such events took place.

A sobering and exciting read for all thriller lovers.

[Jeseven · Rating 5 out of 5]

thoroughly disturbing.

[Katie Mcsweeney · Rating 3 out of 5]

A truly sick book in places. It is the sort of story which disturbs you but you cannot stop yourself from reading.

[Lefevre Serpault]

un livre extraordinaire dont on ne sort pas indemne ...

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thriller:
Pretty good for the genre. I was hooked on the plot and didn't work it out until the very end.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book, I read it awhile ago now, but was a good read.

[Lize-meré Van Schalkwyk · Rating 2 out of 5]

Starts out very intriguing, but then just becomes a bit too fictional...didn't love it

[Renate Van hintum · Rating 5 out of 5]

sorry for my bad English.

[Cocaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

It may be great but I found it ordinary. Perhaps I expected too much. Perhaps I should re-read it

[Pam Milburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange concept.

[Angie Swain · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intense and compelling plot which grips from start to finish. The story is haunting me still...