Book Review and Giveaway: The King's Deception by Steve Berry

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge, from Media Muscle/Meryl L. Moss Media Relations/Book Trib,com , for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it

Synopsis: Cotton Malone is back! Steve Berry’s new international adventure blends gripping contemporary political intrigue, Tudor treachery, and high-octane thrills into one riveting novel of suspense.

Cotton Malone and his fifteen-year-old son, Gary, are headed to Europe. As a favor to his former boss at the Justice Department, Malone agrees to escort a teenage fugitive back to England. But after he is greeted at gunpoint in London, both the fugitive and Gary disappear, and Malone learns that he’s stumbled into a high-stakes diplomatic showdown—an international incident fueled by geopolitical gamesmanship and shocking Tudor secrets.

At its heart is the Libyan terrorist convicted of bombing Pan Am Flight 103, who is set to be released by Scottish authorities for “humanitarian reasons.” An outraged American government objects, but nothing can persuade the British to intervene.

Except, perhaps, Operation King’s Deception.

Run by the CIA, the operation aims to solve a centuries-old mystery, one that could rock Great Britain to its royal foundations.

Blake Antrim, the CIA operative in charge of King’s Deception, is hunting for the spark that could rekindle a most dangerous fire, the one thing that every Irish national has sought for generations: a legal reason why the English must leave Northern Ireland. The answer is a long-buried secret that calls into question the legitimacy of the entire forty-five-year reign of Elizabeth I, the last Tudor monarch, who completed the conquest of Ireland and seized much of its land. But Antrim also has a more personal agenda, a twisted game of revenge in which Gary is a pawn. 

With assassins, traitors, spies, and dangerous disciples of a secret society closing in, Malone is caught in a lethal bind. To save Gary he must play one treacherous player against another—and only by uncovering the incredible truth can he hope to prevent the shattering consequences of the King’s Deception: Was the 45-year reign of Queen Elizabeth I a lie? An astonishing theory about “The Virgin Queen,” that could forever change British history forever! 

Review: Normally I RACE thru a new Cotton Malone book (this is the 8th book in the series), but this one took me 4 sittings to get through. It just didn't grab and hold me like normal.The historical premise kept my attention (and usual I kept checking the internet to see what was fact and what was fiction), but the plot just didn't have it's usual frentic pace- I'm not sure if it was because there was the focus on the teens in the beginning that threw it off its normal pacing (it did pick up by mid book though) , or if it just wasn't as character driven as previous Cotton novels. I really can't put my finger on it- it's not a bad read, and certainly you don't have to have read the previous books to like it. I think I've just presumed a higher bar (5 star read), with every new Malone book better than the previous one, and this one just wasn't better than The Columbus Affair to me. It's a decent Summer read, and one that will keep you turning pages. 

About the Author: Steve Berry is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author, his books have been translated into 40 languages with more than 15,000,000 printed copies in 51 countries.

 
History lies at the heart of every Steve Berry novel. It’s this passion, one he shares with his wife, Elizabeth, that led them to create History Matters, a foundation dedicated to historic preservation. Since 2009 Steve and Elizabeth have traveled across the country to save endangered historic treasures, raising money via lectures, receptions, galas, luncheons, dinners, and their popular writers’ workshops. To date, nearly 2,000 students have attended those workshops. In 2012 their work was recognized by the American Library Association, which named Steve the first spokesman for National Preservation Week. He was also appointed by the Smithsonian Board of Regents to serve on the Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board to help promote and support the libraries in their mission to provide information in all forms to scientists, curators, scholars, students and the public at large. 
 
Steve Berry was born and raised in Georgia, graduating from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. He was a trial lawyer for 30 years and held elective office for 14 of those years. He is a founding member of International Thriller Writers—a group of more than 2,000 thriller writers from around the world—and served three years as its co-president. Steve is also this year’s Silver Bullet Award Recipient at ThrillerFest VIII taking place this week (July 10-13)! Check out Steve's website for more http://steveberry.org/ 

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