Member Reviews

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  • Rated 4 stars

  “The first of the Jimmy Paz novels, before he knows his mother is into Santeria. This concerns African "black magic," which an anthropologists describes as simply a deep understanding of a technology that early humans perfected, and that has been lost to "modern science," but is no less real. A brilliant black poet/dramatist, raised by white liberals, feels inauthentic until he goes to Africa and becomes a shaman. To get full powers, he must kill four pregnant women and eat their babies pineal glands. Yum!”

  Ron M wrote this review Thursday, July 31 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 3 stars

  “Interesting, but a little too "Stephen King" like for me.”

  Elizabeth E wrote this review Saturday, June 14 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 5 stars

  “Witch's Boy is the only book of Michael Gruber's I've not found to be compulsively readable. In Tropic of Night, as in Jaguar and Valley of Bones. Gruber's protagonist is Jimmy Paz, a Cuban-American homicide detective, who has a knack for getting himself involved in cases that involve the occult--and worse. Tropic of Night is the first in the trilogy, and is completely gripping. Gruber has a background in science and knows everything he needs to know about anthropology, dynamics of ethnic identity in the U.S. etc. Consider every Nice Thing I've said about Tropic of Night to be true of the other two as well. (It's too tiresome to write a different review for each). ”

  Roy G wrote this review Saturday, April 5 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 5 stars

  “I really enjoyed this book. The anthropological aspect mixed in with the Cuban cop was a great entertainment twist for me. ”

  Mara Deckter wrote this review Sunday, March 23 2008. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 0 stars

  “Odd blend of literary (Jane's sections) and formulaic homicide/detective fiction (Paz's sections) with heavy-duty research on African origins of Santeria. I keep seeing allusions to texts and scholars I *ought* to know but don't. ”

  pat n wrote this review Sunday, December 30 2007. ( reply | permalink )
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  • Rated 4 stars

  “There is an interesting story behind this book. Gruber once met a woman who claimed that her husband had cursed her. Her story was the inspiration behind this first book in the Jimmy Paz trilogy.”

  BeckyL wrote this review Monday, December 3 2007. ( reply | permalink )