Green Ice

by Gerald A. Browne

Cynical, ne'er-do-well New Yorker John Wiley, seeking to get away from it all, meets up with a self-destructive young heiress and earns the disfavor of the South American syndicate which controls the black market in Colombian emeralds.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Gerald Austin Browne (born 1924, in Connecticut, USA) is an American author and editor.
Browne was raised in Litchfield County, Connecticut. He attended the University of New Mexico, The Sorbonne and Columbia University, where he won several literary awards. His first novel, It's All Zoo, was written while he was living in Paris and working as a fashion photographer. His bestselling novels include 11 Harrowhouse, Green Ice, 19 Purchase Street, Stone 588, and Hot Siberian, several of which have been made into films. He lives in New York with his wife, Merle, a model and actress, as well as the co-author of a novel entitled The Ravishers.

Reviews

[Robert Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

What Gerald Browne did for diamonds in 11 Harrowhouse he does even more brilliantly for emeralds in Green Ice. There are similarities between the 2 books, but Browne weaves an engaging plot and cast of characters, exotic locales, jewel heist and exciting climax. I was thoroughly engrossed from the very beginning and enjoyed the fun ride.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written, interesting thriller, less about the heist than probably the film adaptation (I can’t recall having seen it) – here the heist only takes up about 1/8 of the book and more about an immersion into the illicit emerald trade on the seventies. Entry character is “loser” who is nevertheless a star boxer, electronics whiz and lived near Central Park West. He’s fine, but the Lillian Holbrook character MAKES the book (and not only because it was easy to envisage a young Anne Archer in the character) – she’s fascinating, and awfully cool. Lots of aspirational ‘lifestyles of the rich and famous’ power fantasy here, but also enough good character stuff to make it more than a worthwhile read. I would’ve picked up the ex-BCC library hardback in the mid-80s (partly because it was a heist based thriller, partly because it was a movie), and I finally got around to reading in in 2019. It’s not a keeper, but it was certainly worth lugging back and forth in various boxes of books for a few decades.

8/10

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

You forget how much people used to smoke - and smoke indoors - until you read a book published in 1978.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anything by this author rocks!

[Nancy Brady · Rating 4 out of 5]

What Browne does in 11 Harrowhouse for diamonds, he does for emeralds. Another suspenseful thriller.