Having read another book in the Cotton Malone series, and being interested in the Knights Templar and other Medieval organizations, I was really intrigued that there would be discussion of the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights of Malta, and even letters between Churchill and Mussolini. What fun!

Unfortunately, this book was a bit too disjointed. Yes, there was discussion about the structure of the Knights Hospitaller and the mysterious documents case held by Benito Mussolini at the time of his death, but the latter sort of fizzled out on Malta and the former was a bit eclipsed by a cast of characters that were in, then out, then trying to be mysteriously involved.

While I can appreciate multiple chapters with multiple points of view, this one jumped from Cotton Malone to Luke to the mysterious Knight to other events, and all those jumps made following the plot just way too hard. So, while I enjoy this genre, I was left without that wonderful conspiracy puzzle that I had expected. ( )

In the beginning of the book the pope has died, and His Eminence Kastor Cardinal Gallo schemes to get the job. The chances of this happening, he knows is slim since he is “persona non-grata" in the church and has been proclaimed a "threat to all the faithful” which is true since he only fakes his religious belief. Power is what he wants, and he is willing kill for it. He has an identical twin brother, Pollux, who is a Knight of Malta but he's not a priest and certainly not his brother's 'baby-sitter". Meanwhile, Cotton Malone is on a special assignment from Britain’s MI6, looking for a rumored secret correspondence between Winston Churchill and Mussolini. Former Army Ranger Luke Daniels trails Kastor, who is from Malta, where much of the story takes place. Cotton finds a mysterious ring engraved with a Maltese cross and a five-word palindrome that’s spelled out a bit too often. Maybe there is a secret in the engraved words. He also uncovers documents hidden by Mussolini and looks for what’s hidden in Rome. The intrigue is intense as Kastor, and a few others will stop at nothing short of murder to assure his rise to the most powerful post in the Roman Catholic Church. Thriller fans will eat this up! We also learn more than we probably ever needed or wanted to know about the inner workings of the church, its history dating all the way back to Constantine, and the very troubled past of Malta. A word of warning...Cynicism about Christianity is very strong here; Simon Wiesenthal, the Nazi Hunter, once said "the Vatican has the best spy service in the world". Cotton Malone and his little band of "Merry Men"...and women, is more than capable of righting any wrong...“Failure is not his style” ...but Kastor and Pollux are the conniving characters that really stand out in this one. The books do not necessarily need to be read in order but "in order" will allow the reader to see how Cotton and his group evolved. ( )

Ex-Justice Department operative, Cotton Malone has traveled to Lake Como, Italy in the hunt for some legendary letters between Winston Churchill and Benito Mussolini that disappeared at Mussolini's death. It is said that these letters could re-write history if they were ever found. However, for Malone will this little treasure hunt quickly lead to something bigger when he gets involved in a hunt for a document that dates back to the 4th century. A document that could change history for the Roman Church and not everyone wants the document to be found.

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION! ( )

There’s just something so easy about reading a book with characters you are very familiar with and you know exactly what you are getting into. I’ve been reading Berry’s Cotton Malone series for more than 7 years now and these spy thrillers/action adventure novels have become my comfort reads. So, when I got approved for this advance copy (which I wasn’t exactly expecting), I was so so happy I can’t describe the feeling. And the book definitely lived up to all my expectations.

Cotton and even Stephanie are well established characters and there’s hardly anything that they can do now that will surprise me. Cotton is resourceful and brave and despite being a retired spy and current rare bookseller, nothing ever keeps him away from a mission. I love how much he trusts his instincts and never takes anyone at their word unless he can prove it himself. The other thing I really liked in this book was that Luke is given an equally important part to play. His storyline happens parallel to that of Cotton and it gave me a good chance to get to know him better. He maybe young and slightly brash, always struggling to live up to the legend that is Cotton Malone, but he also respects the older man and is always remembering his mentor’s words while trying to get out of tricky situations. He also seems to get into such situations too easily but it was amusing to watch him figure his way out. I have a feeling that we might be seeing more of Luke in the upcoming books.

Though I really like the characters of the series, that’s not why I read a Steve Berry book – it’s for the extensive history lesson I know I am going to get. In this installment, we get to know more about the history of the Catholic Church – the role that Constantine played in cementing the church as a power player in the world, the Nicaen Creed, the evolution of the Hospitallers, Napoleon’s siege of Malta, the role of the popes during the rise of Fascism and Mussolini in Italy and so much more. Knights of Malta play an important role in this story and it was very interesting to know more about their history and also that they exist to this day, as one of the smallest sovereign nations in the world. The island of Malta is also described beautifully in detail and I couldn’t resist looking up google for the pictures. As always, Steve Berry succeeds in adding one more place to the list of unending places I would love to visit in my lifetime.

The story takes place just a day before the Conclave is about to begin in the Vatican and that time constraint makes sure that the plot is very fast paced. We are also introduced to two new characters – twin brothers one of whom wants to be the next pope and is ready to resort to all sorts of cunning machinations to achieve his goal. I was very invested in the mystery right from the get go and did not see any of the twists coming, which was a pleasant surprise. The ending is not as explosive as I would have liked, but I also kinda saw it coming because it was happening at the Vatican.

If you love Steve Berry and Cotton Malone, you already know that you are going to read this one and I assure you that it’s thrilling and interesting and a lot of fun. If you are new to the series, it might work as a standalone because the mystery and history elements are very fascinating and the author gives us just enough backstory to be able to understand where the characters come from, but I also feel you might miss the experience of actually getting to know them from the beginning. ( )

Every once in a while, I wonder if I have read the same book as other reviewers. This book was SO BORING. And I rounded the rating up from the 1.5 stars it really deserved. There are two basic plots: (1) retired Cotton Malone is working freelance to find a lost document last possessed by Benito Mussolini, with a deep dark secret of the Catholic Church that is supposed to have cataclysmic consequences. He is being pursued by two different adversaries, the Church's secret police and the Knights of Malta. (2) Magellan Billet's Luke Daniels is on Malta tracking a cardinal scheming to become the next Pope, with a thumb drive of evidence to blackmail his peers once cloistered in the upcoming Conclave. The cardinal's identical twin seems opposed to this elevation. I am not a big Luke Daniels fan, and Berry is now giving him equal billing with Cotton. Too little plot bulked up with too much unnecessary history, especially Mussolini. ( )