Gypsy in Amber -- Martin Cruz Smith

New York, 1970's. When a girl's body, neatly sliced into six individual pieces, is discovered at the scene of a car crash, the driver is posthumously accused of her murder. But Roman Grey, an expert in gypsy antiques and former friend to the driver, knows there is more to the case than the convenient closing of a crime file.

The police are determined to pin the blame on a gypsy. Desperate to avoid a confrontation between the police and New York's gypsy community, Roman vows to unearth the truth about the murder and clear his friend's name, no matter what the cost . .

'Makes tension rise through the page like a shark's fin - Independent

'One of those writers that anyone who is serious about their craft views with respect bordering on awe' - Val McDermid

Smith not only constructs grittily realistic plots, he also has a gift for characterisation of which most thriller writers can only dream' - Mail on Sunday

'Smith was among the first of a new generation of writers who made thrillers literary' - Guardian