THE VENETIAN BETRAYAL
Steve Berry
Ballantine Books
Thriller
ISBN: 9780345485779

• About the Book
• Read an Excerpt
• Author Interview –– December 14, 2007

If the name “Cotton Malone” isn’t setting off bells on your Thriller alarm, then you need to jump on THE VENETIAN BETRAYAL, Steve Berry’s latest novel, and find out for yourself what all the excitement is about. Malone is Berry’s trademark creation, an ex-agent for a clandestine U.S. government agency who simply wants to live in quiet retirement as the proprietor of a rare book shop in Denmark. The only problem is that Malone’s past and his work-related talents will not let him rest. As a result, he is dragged reluctantly, if not kicking and screaming, back into The Life, usually at great risk.

There are actually two intertwined puzzles that keep Malone alternating between pursuing and being pursued in THE VENETIAN BETRAYAL. The first is the final resting place of Alexander the Great, a mystery whose solution has been lost in antiquity. Irena Zovastina, the reigning Prime Minister of the newly formed Central Asian Federation, is obsessed with Alexander and intends to use his remains as a symbolic rallying point as she attempts to duplicate his conquest across the Middle East and beyond. The lynchpin of her plan is to acquire a legendary draught that Alexander possessed, the administration of which would cure the worst of diseases, saving the afflicted even from the brink of death. To do this, she has formed an uneasy alliance with The Council of Ten, a shadowy organization that has wielded money and power in equal measure for hundreds of years.

Enrico Vincenti, who is near the end of his term on the Council, has been quietly plotting to both extend his stay and increase his already considerable wealth. And he sees a way to do both through Zovastina’s ruthless ambition. Malone, assisted by the extremely capable Cassiopeia Witt and the enigmatic Henrik Thorvaldsen, race against Zovastina and Vincenti to discover the secret behind Alexander’s grave and, even more importantly, his mysterious draught, which has the power --- depending upon who is first to discover its location ---  to save (or doom) literally millions of people.

Berry has gotten better and more ambitious with each of his books, and THE VENETIAN BETRAYAL continues this pattern. Ports of call for Malone on this adventure include such disparate locations as Denmark, Venice and Central Asia, with barely a pause for breath from page to page. The last 100 pages, in fact, are as fast-paced as you are likely to find in a novel this year. And with an ending that is nicely upbeat and softly open-ended, readers will not be able to help wanting more, and soon.

     --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Click here now to buy this book from Amazon.com.

© Copyright 1996-2008, Bookreporter.com. All rights reserved.

Back to top.