The King's Deception (with bonus novella The Tudor Plot): A Novel (Cotton Malone Book 8)

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Love Steve Berry's Cotton Malone books. Trying to read them in order.Would like to know the long story attached to the name; Cotton

This is the second Cotton Malone book I have read by Steve Berry. Unlike his other novels, the Kings Deception begins essentially after everything in the story has pretty much already happened. Not only are these books entertaining, but meticulously researched as well. I felt educated as I was reading--unlike Dan Brown's Inferno, which felt only like I was being told interesting tid-bits of history revolving around Dante's Inferno. A lot less interesting in my opinion.The history revolving around the Throne of Britain is endlessly fascinating--not the least of which is also a bit disturbing, especially if true (and I suspect much of it is). At the heart of the story is an amazing tale of lost riches, but also, as the title implies, a deception, while if true, could be one of the biggest ever perpetrated by anyone, anywhere. I won't spoil the surprise, but lets just say its a doozy.Action on top of intrigue and lies, lies and really BIG lies make the Kings Deception a fun and fast read. I am by no means a quick reader, but I found myself wrapping up the last page a lot faster than I usually do. Cotton Malone, his son Gary, spies and Elizabeth the First all become carefully woven into a plot which, while intricate is never far from being in very good hands, regardless of how off topic you may think one chapter is from another.Essentially the Kings Deception is a tapestry of complex storylines which all come together with a LOAD of action thrown in for good measure. Some have said this story wasn't as action-packed as earlier Cotton Malone thrillers, and while that seems impossible to understand, I'm just going to have to purchase all the Cotton novels in order to gain a better understanding of it all...because IMO I felt the storyline was almost TOO frantically paced (well, actually that isn't true, you can't really be TOO frantic). I just felt it had more than enough action to suit my tastes, and I really like my novels to MOVE. I suppose everyone is different, right?All I can say is this: of the last 2 Steve Berry books I've read, I have loved them all and have absolute, concrete plans to pick up the earlier ones just as soon as I can get my hands on them. The Kings Deception was really awesome, if you ask me.

After a bit of a slump, Mr. Barry is now on a bit of a roll. His two novels before this were very enjoyable and now The King's Deception makes it three in a row.MIA in Mr. Berry's last novel, Cotton Malone, the spy-turned-bookseller is back for this one. In fact, The King's Deception spends much more time on Malone's backstory than we've gotten before. This time out, Malone is accompanied by Gary, the boy he always thought was his son until he learned that he was not Gary's biological father in a previous novel. Now, Gary's (and Malone's) search for the truth will run through this story.Of course, Malone would not put his son in danger on purpose; however, as seems to happen often to him, Malone is sucked into a mystery when he agrees to drop a young boy named Ian off with British authorities in London while flying to Europe with Gary. They are barely on the ground in England when Ian and Gary are kidnapped and Malone is off to the races.Mr. Berry is always at his best when he's got a somewhat vague historical mystery from which to work. This time he's got a nice one: a secret and a treasure left behind by the Tudor monarchs that some people want found and others want kept hidden. He unravels the mystery with care and takes us to various sites around London to add flavor.He's also added a number of solid new characters to this novel. In addition to fleshing out Gary a bit for the first time and introducing Ian, we have a CIA agent named Blake Antrim and a British law officer named Kathleen Richards, as well as a handful of well-developed minor characters that include an old bookstore owner and her twin sister as well as the head of MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service.Not surprisingly, Cotton works things out. The mystery is solved in the end and the people who should get their comeuppance. A satisfying thriller.

I've been a fan of Steve Berry and his main character Cotton Malone since I picked up his first novel while just browsing, not looking for anything particular to buy. Now I'm hooked and can't get enough from Steve Berry.I've always referred to Berry's books as "historical thrillers." Berry chooses a historical mystery and then builds his book around it. This book takes as its starting point the mystery of The Bisley Boy and is set in the UK. Cotton Malone and his son Gary are tasked with merely transporting a suspect from the United States back to the UK before they set off for Malone's home in Copenhagen. Of course things immediately go wrong and Malone is drawn in to a deepening mystery about Queen Elizabeth I that has come to interest the CIA and MI6. In a surprise, Malone's son Gary becomes a major character for the first time. I really enjoyed the character of Gary Malone and hope this isn't the last time he'll be a major character along with his father.As per usual, Berry's book takes place both in the present day and back when the historical mystery occurred. Berry uses many different real life people and places in all of his books and this one is no different. While the book is still fiction, sometimes I feel like I'm getting a historical education while reading. This book has actually spurred me in to reading much more about the legend of The Bisley Boy.As always, as soon as I finished this book I couldn't wait for more. For Kindle owners, before or after reading this book I highly recommend reading Steve Berry's recent novella  The Tudor Plot: A Cotton Malone Novella .

The King’s DeceptionThis is Steve Berry’s eighth book featuring retired American Justice agent Cotton Malone. I must admit to being uncertain about starting this latest book. The last two in the series had been good but not spectacular with almost a whiff of sameness about them. Was the theme becoming stale?The attraction for me in this book was it’s links to the Tudor period in English history which I have always enjoyed.Set in the time period between his second and third book adventures Malone is asked to assist MI6 by escorting a fugitive from Atlanta to London whilst he and his son are returning to Copenhagen. Naturally it does not go as smooth as he had hoped and they are subject to a kidnapping upon arriving in London.It appears that someone has been taking an interest in the events surrounding the deaths of Henry VIII and at a later date his daughter Elizabeth I. Secret encoded diaries from the period appear to indicate that Elizabeth’s reign may not have been legitimate and five hundred years later that has implications the British government does not want to consider.Malone is forced into investigating the matter further with agents of both MI6 and the CIA in close proximity. Nobody is working together and nobody trusts one another. The existence of an ancient medieval society committed to protecting the legacy of Elizabeth’s reign serves to complicate matters further.In a tale that continues across London and culminates in tunnels beneath the city the secret from Elizabeth’s reign is gradually revealed and its implications are clearly identified. Change is not an option and if people have to die to keep the status quo maintained then for some that is a price worth paying.

I very rarely abandon a book that I've paid for, but I'm afraid I did with this one. Eventually I got so frustrated with reading about supposedly English characters in places I know well, who sounded like American tourists on a 10 city coach trip, with minimal knowledge of England, the British language or culture. It felt like it had been written by someone who had only very superficial knowledge of where he was writing about. I don't mind at all reading about an American character in England calling pavements sidewalks, or even if the background description, written by an American author calls it a sidewalk, but when an English character does it sets my teeth on edge. I am using this as an example, and the specific may not have actually happened in this book, but it was a general feeling I got. I apologise to the author for writing a bad review, a thing I have only ever done once before, as I know how much work goes into writing a book. Usually I will just not write a review at all if I don't like it, but in this case I felt I had to.

I have read and enjoyed all the Cotton Malone stories and was looking forward to reading this one. Sadly it is certainly not up to Steve Berry's usual standard. I felt I was reading a history text book and found myself skipping pages of laborious text. The characters appeared weak and some lacked credibility. By the time I had read 40% I was thoroughly bored and deleted it from my kindle. Not something I make a habit of doing. If this is Mr Berry's new style of writing I will think twice before purchasing any future books. Maybe it is time to let "Cotton Malone" quietly enjoy his retirement with his books?

I've read all the Cotton Malone series and enjoyed them as "not to be taken too seriously" edge of the seat capers. Normally his sense of place and atmosphere is very well crafted. This book, however falls into a sub Dan Brown style of literally quoting verbatim visitor guides of famous places. I really thought Dan Brown had taken this appalling technique to the limit with "Inferno", but I think Steve Berry may well have outdone him here.Maybe it was because this was set in London, and Steve was in awe of actually standing in the place of history that is so relevant to Americans, but huge tracts read like a gushing tour guide, and were often repetitive.Then we have the "London" language used. I do not know who Steve spoke to when doing his research into how a teenage London street kid would speak, but honestly this character's language was hilarious. When was the last time a teenager brought up on the Streets would say "come a cropper" or refer to bad men as "B*ggers". I was waiting for someone to say "Cor luva Duck, Guvnor, it's a fair cop!" Perhaps Dick van Dyke could play the part if this was ever filmed.The other characters were so excessive as to be utterly unbelievable, especially the head of MI6 and the CIA agent. As I said at the beginning I like Steve Berry's work and I understand that there is a requirement to read this genre with a willing suspension of disbelief, but this pushed credibility too far. Peoples actions and motivations were just too far fetched.Finally how many times did we retrace the tired old ground of Malone's ex wife. I know it had relevance to the plot, but this particular plot device was about as subtle as a sledgehammer. All in all very disappointing, and if not improved upon dramatically in the next novel, Steve Berry will have lost a loyal reader and advocate.(You will have noticed that I have not even discussed the main subject of the plot. That is simply because Steve Berry writing this and expecting any readers (and his characters) to have not been aware of this historical nonsense beggars belief. Perhaps after returning to The U.S.A. he was telling everyone about this amazing Monster that lives in a Scottish loch and assuming it was news!)

Was Elizabeth 1st a man and an imposter? Does it really matter in the 21st Century?Follow this exciting story and see if your answer at the end is the same as your thoughts at the beginning. A fabulous romp through history to prevent a travesty of justice today. An exciting enjoyable thriller with a plot that twisTs and turns