SEIZING AMBER

It's disappointing when a thriller equipped with a complex plot, international settings and a varied cast of intriguing characters never really comes to life on the page. Harris's debut involves the search for the legendary Amber Room, the $150-million lost treasure of the czars, which disappeared (and was presumed destroyed) during WWII. When young attorney Sarah Ridell offers information about the room (now a collection of amber panels) to Isaiah Hawkins and his team of agency operatives—it's never clear what agency, but presumably it's the CIA—Hawkins comes up with a scheme to use it to influence the upcoming Russian election. Ridell is thrown from a window and the hunt for the room becomes entangled with the hunt for her killer. Added to the mix are Ben Russo, an enterprising New York detective; Kathryn Blaine, Hawkins's violent and erratic operative; some long-lost letters of Lenin; and an even longer-lost branch of the Medici family—all of which should add up to the kind of fast-moving pulp thriller that Robert Ludlum could have created in his sleep. Unfortunately, Harris doesn't quite pull it off. The writing, halting and tentative, is frequently overwhelmed by useless detail. Secondary characters are developed instead of those who are more essential to the plot. Blaine, for instance, with her romantic entanglements and checkered past, is given short shrift compared to Hawkins's in-house blackmailer, Ivo Jenkins. Harris shows much promise, but in the future he'll need to generate more narrative heat to turn his ingredients into really satisfying fare. In any case, Sourcebooks is hoping to create buzz with the offer of a free e-book download for 30 days. (Oct.)