Rating: 
Summary: Horror, Voodoo and Drama
Review: Tropic of Night is a hard book to describe. Is it an adventure novel? Well, the first half of it sure reads like it. Is it a horror novel? The second half reads like one. Mix in a lot of drama, great suspense and very interesting and odd characters and you end up with a book that has a little something for everyone. Michael Gruber's first novel is full of originality. In it, we find Jane Doe (yes, that is her real name), an anthropologist who is now living a life in hiding and constant fear. She is living with a little girl she has abducted and now treats as her own daughter. She is running away from her husband, who might now be back looking for her to finish something that he started a long, long time ago. Paz is a cop who is thrown into a murder investigation that seems just too extraordinary to be real. Pregnant women and their unborn child are being murdered in a rutualistic manner. And all the murders seem to be pointing to the same man; Jane's husband, a poet name De Witt, a sorcerer who is seeking revenge for his kind. Spells, dark magic, vodoo and some very intense moments fills the last half of this book. But the real magic here is Gruber's writing. Written in the first person (for Jane), third person (for Paz) and through diary entries that take through the African jungle and back, Gruber takes us through a very original world that is full of magic and originality. You never know what's real and what's not. You never know what to believe and what not to believe. And the fact that Paz and Jane are very original characters that you don't always like just adds to the story's mystic charms. You don't always agree with these two, but you nonetheless want to follow them until the very end. Tropic of Night is a very promising debut by a bright new voice. I can't wait to read Gruber's next. This is one man with a very promising career facing him.
Rating:
Summary: One of the strangest yet unputdownable books I've ever read
Review: This is one of those books that you want to read all at once. You cant stop thinking about it when you are not reading it. I even had dreams about the book! Michael Gruber does an amazing job telling this rich, imaginative story. I wont summarize the plot as it has already been done by other reviewers, but if you want to read a thriller/detective/murder story like you have never read before, this is the one. The reason why I didnt give it 5 stars was because I found the diary entries difficult to get through and the level of detail sometimes made it slow reading. I also wish that the glossary of terms was at the beginning of the book and not at the end. Other than that, its an unforgetable unputdownable read, one that you will think about long after you have put down the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Read..If you have time.
Review: For those of you who want a quick book fix...this is NOT the book for you. Tropic has a lot of characters, details and information packed into it. For recreational readers this is pretty heavy reading and the Glossary will most likely have to be used. The main character is developed well, but it does take several chapters to get a feel for her and the situations she finds herself in. The writer goes back and forth from past events - via main characters journal - to present events, and it is not always easy to follow or keep you interested. The ending is open and left no closure for the main character. If you have the time this book can be interesting, if you want a light easy read...this is not the book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: An intense, gripping, literary thriller
Review: Phew! I just finished Tropic of Night and found it absolutely unique and-- pardon the pun-- spellbinding. I should have started this book on a Friday, because while I was reading I didn't want to do anything else-- like go to work, eat meals, or sleep. I can't imagine why anyone would call this book overhyped. It's imaginative, well-written, and terrifying. I can't wait to read the next book Mr. Gruber writes, and I hope that he is planning a series of books about Jane Doe!
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Thriller
Review: This is one of the most unusal and brilliant thrillers I've encountered. And no, don't read it if you only like a simple straight narrative. The plot is quite decipherable, but the book weaves together the present stories of the two main protagonists Paz and Jane Doe, with the "past" via Jane's journal. I think the construction is almost flawless. The prose is gorgeous, but without sacrificing the suspense. The book lagged only the tiniest bit toward the end, then picked up again for a magnificent final confrontation. It also manages to be horrifying without ever feeling like sleazy horror, an amazing feat in itself. If you liked The Skull Mantra, or Smila's Sense of Snow, try this book, which also transport you out of the ordinary world. I did have some trouble with the morality of the twist at the end. There was something the author felt was more forgiveable than I did. Nonetheless, this is a knockout book and I eagerly await whatever the author does next.
Rating:
Summary: Lush!
Review: Jane Doe is dead, well ok not too much of a spoiler if I revel right here she faked her death in New York, moved to Miami. Jane Doe/Dolores is or was a respected anthropoligist that did field work with an ex-lover in Siberia(and almost died) and her husband in Africa(and almost died). Then she accidentally killed an abusive mother and unofficially adopted her daughter and fleed to Miami. Jane/Dolores live a pretty contented (if uncomplicated) life until a series of ritualistic murders reveals that her husband is on her tail.
Michael Gruber's prose is indeed very lush, ( I always wondered what reviewers meant when they said that until I read this debut thriller.) The descriptions of settings, the research into the Miami Cuban culture and various tribes in Africa and Siberia make this title hum with a vivid life that grips the reader until they turn the last page. Gruber is acclaimed as a fresh talent in the genre and after finishing this book in just over 24 hours I have to agree. His narration jumps from first person to third, which is smooth enough that it doesn't affect the overall story in a negative way, yet rather enhances it. He then add another narration within a narration by including excerpts of Jane Doe's anthropological journals. Phew as if this tale wouldn't be exciting enough without all these added touchs of flare. All I can say is I eagerly anticipate more fiction from this novelist.
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling but boring at the same time
Review: Ok, this is a clever story, and I cared what happened to the characters. But the intense detail about the actual witchcraft bogged down the interesting parts. The book would make me want to keep going, and then I'd hit a wall, either because it was Jane Doe's over-detailed, and frankly not very interesting, journals, or several pages straight of Jane's every action in preparing for a ritual. At times I'm thinking, wow, this is a compelling book, and the next minute, I'd put it down and go to bed, because it was so tedious. My theory? This needed a good editor to kindly tell the author, great story, but cut out the parts that are unnecessary and only seem like the author's showing off of his knowledge.
Rating:
Summary: Audacious indeed!
Review: I love the reviewer who gave this book only one star and used the word "audacious" negatively. If you don't know how to read in the first place, please don't write reviews of books. That's besides the point! Tropic of Night is quite ingenius. The cover art really is unfortunate, as it makes it seem like a run-of-the-mill pulp thriller, when it is more thriller meets sociological masterwork (an intertwining of the nature of magic, perception and racism). Buy and read this book immediately. And to the reviewer who thought this was only his first novel, a correction: It is popularly known that Gruber actually wrote the majority of Robert K. Tanenbaum's Ciampi-Karp legal thrillers (about fifteen of them I think), almost all of which are extremely good.
Rating: 
Summary: An almost indecipherable plot
Review: In Miami, a serial killer is stalking the streets. The murders appear to be ritualistic and are quite bloody. Detective Jimmy Paz is assigned the case. Jane Doe, a young black woman with a mysterious past, is drawn inexorably into the case as the murders appear directed to her. She is hiding from her past. Why?
TROPIC OF NIGHT is one of the most audacious and complicated books I have read in quite some time. The author is trying to write mainstream fiction under the guise of a serial killer novel. In my mind, the novel doesn't work on any level. The pace is meandering as the writer tries to exercise artistic freedom and perhaps to "rise" above the genre. The plot is almost indecipherable. Characters? Who really cares. Many say this is one of the year's best. I feel quite the opposite.
Rating:
Summary: do you believe in... magick!!?
Review: Absolutely! and reading this book was pure joy, as it enhanced and titillated my already compelling curiosity regards this topic. The plot (which can be found, in Amazon's amazing layout, above) moves at the speed of light. The co-protagonists (Jane and Paz) are both well-developed characters separately well before joining forces, but together create an intriguing combo. The foundation here is Sorcery and is handled in a very credible, intelligent and comprehensive manner, as is humanity's naive acceptance (my personal and varied spiritual belief system is undergoing a vast RE-examination, currently, after reading this book, thanks Mike! /bonk /hug) or, more important, rigid rejection thereof. This is a page turner! and has joined Nasaw, Connelly, J. King and Kadow on the top of my "omg, WRITE FAST, I can't wait" list.
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