Tropic of Night

Starred review from January 27, 2003
Gruber's intricate thriller ignites in the very first chapter as anthropologist heroine Jane Doe employs the theories of Claude Levi-Strauss, quotes W. H. Auden, kills a drunken woman using advanced aikido techniques and rescues an abused child whom she raises as her own. The story moves seamlessly between Miami, Long Island and West Africa. Jane Doe's husband, DeWitt Moore, an African-American poet and playwright, accompanies Jane to Nigeria, where she visits the Olo, a tribe of spiritual practitioners. There he falls under the influence of a malevolent witch and becomes a sorcerer. Fearing that her husband will try to kill her, Jane fakes suicide and flees to Miami. Moore, intent on wreaking vengeance on white America, follows and begins murdering pregnant women and stealing their unborn babies for use in a rite that will give him unstoppable powers. Investigating the murders is Cuban exile Iago "Jimmy" Paz and his Bible-spouting partner, Cletis Barlow. As Moore terrorizes Miami, Jane bows to the inevitable, comes out of hiding and gathers a tiny band of courageous accomplices to battle her ex-husband and his shuffling band of the undead. First-time novelist Gruber keeps his far-flung locations, complicated characters and anthropological information perfectly balanced in this finely crafted, intelligent and original work. While readying herself for battle, Jane's commentary on cleaning her rare Mauser pistol could read equally well as a description of Gruber's meticulous plotting: "Each part pops free with a precisely directed pressure and snaps in with a satisfying click, just where it belongs." How readers categorize this book will depend on their acceptance or rejection of Gruber's underlying thesis: "The point is, there's no supernatural. It's all part of the universe, although the universe is queerer than we suppose." (Mar.)Forecast:Some readers may find the wealth of anthropological detail off-putting, but those who loved Peter Hoeg's quirky
Smilla's Sense of Snow and Norman Rush's demanding
Mating could push this book on to the bestseller list. National advertising; eight-city author tour.

November 15, 2002
A woman who calls herself Jane Doe hides out in Miami, where Detective Jimmy Paz tracks a serial killer witnesses say looks like Detective Jimmy Paz.

Copyright 2002 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2003
This first novel is being launched with a considerable amount of publisher hype. So, of course, reviewers' first question is, Does the book live up to all the publicity fuss? In this case, the answer is an unhesitating yes. This intelligent thriller builds tension from the first page. The protagonist, who bears the real but unlikely name of Jane Doe, is living in Miami under an assumed name because she's on the run--from Africa, where, with her husband, she had been doing anthropological research. Something happened over there that she could not have foreseen and did not bargain for. When Jane learns of the ritualistic murder of a pregnant woman in Miami's Overtown neighborhood, her heart skips a beat. Is the horror she hoped she left behind in Africa tracking her here to Florida? Gruber's understanding of African witchcraft stands fully behind an exciting narrative populated by distinctly drawn characters such as Jane, who is also haunted by the awful murder of her sister and now finds herself confronting a shaman up to his bloody elbows in ritual murder. This book has movie potential written all over it, which is no criticism of its depth--simply a compliment to its strong and colorful story line.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2003, American Library Association.)