The Jefferson Key

A Novel

By: Steve Berry

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Four United States presidents have been assassinated - in 1865, 1881, 1901, and 1963 - each murder seemingly unrelated and separated by time.

But what if those presidents were all killed for the same reason: a clause in the United States Constitution - contained within Article 1, Section 8 - that would shock Americans?

This question is what faces former Justice Department operative Cotton Malone in his latest adventure. When a bold assassination attempt is made against President Danny Daniels in the heart of Manhattan, Malone risks his life to foil the killing—only to find himself at dangerous odds with the Commonwealth, a secret society of pirates first assembled during the American Revolution. In their most perilous exploit yet, Malone and Cassiopeia Vitt race across the nation and take to the high seas. Along the way they break a secret cipher originally possessed by Thomas Jefferson, unravel a mystery concocted by Andrew Jackson, and unearth a centuries-old document forged by the Founding Fathers themselves, one powerful enough - thanks to that clause in the Constitution - to make the Commonwealth unstoppable.

©2011 Steve Berry (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“One of the most spellbinding and ingenious openings in all of thrillerdom. The cast of characters is huge but every one of them is memorable. The action is intense and masterfully choreographed. As always with Steve Berry, you’re educated about significant things while your knuckles are turning white and the pages are flying. Easily Cotton Malone’s most epic, swashbuckling adventure.” (David Baldacci)

"The Constitution. . . secret codes . . . loads of history. . . AND pirates! What else does anyone need? The Jefferson Key won't just haunt your nights - it'll haunt your life. Cotton Malone is coming back to the scariest place of all: Home." (Brad Meltzer)

" The Jefferson Key starts with a bang and holds the reader in its grip until the last page. Fascinating American history, up-to-the-minute politics, pulse-pounding action. This is a story Mitch Rapp would love." (Vince Flynn)

Terrible

I made the mistake of buying this audible book early on because it was on the "most downloaded" list and needed a book for my travel. This was before their were any audible customer reviews. Something I never do and learned a lesson! The book was terrible and had I read the reviews that now exist I would never have purchased it. The comments about how the author kept flipping from one scene to another constantly made it incoherent and the plot so disjointed it became impossible to follow.. I agree the Scott Brick did a great job and one of the reasons I purchased it....however the plot was so discombobulated ...even with his great reading ability...I couldn't finish it.

A silly piece of fluff

Not even Scott Brick can make dramatic a story as silly as this. Skip this one.

Possibly the silliest thing I've ever read

It begins with two devices that would require an expert in computer programming, ballistics, metallurgy, networking and covert ops that assumes everyone working at a major NYC hotel is an idiot. It continues with two characters (Cotton Malone and Danny Daniels) that have southern drawls so similar as to be indecipherable. We are introduced to a document still intact and readable 200 years after being secreted in an underground grotto that floods on a regular basis. And finally, 3 female characters, at least 2 of whom have lead relatively sedentary lives, have the ability to leap into the open ocean from a sinking ship and be picked up from rocket firing helicopters ill-equipped to deal with air-sea rescue. Absolutely preposterous. Get it it if you wish to sacrifice 12-15 hours of your life that you will never get back.

Not a spellbinder

It was very predictable if you have read a Cotton Malone. Passed my time but didnt hold my interest

Ugh!

This is my first time to write a review of an audio-book. I listen to three or four books a month and this one was one of the worst. I was very disappointed in both the story and the narration. I felt the story was difficult to follow and the dialogue was so banal. Brick's narration almost seemed to emphasize the banality. The narration lacked the energy one would find in Dick Hill's Jack Reacher. I like Brick's work with the Mitch Rapp series but this was awful.
I did appreciate the historical effort Berry made and I liked the endnotes the best.

Not as good as advertised

Not even the audio performance by Scott Brick could save this one for me. I found it very boring. It was hard to follow and just not real good, IMHO. Lots better stuff out there to listen to.

Snoozer

Couldn't even get to the 2nd file. In addition to being just not very interesting this thing jumped around so much I couldn't tell who the characters were.

Worst Book I Have Ever Read or Listened To

This book is hard to follow, this author skips from topic to topic in sentence to sentence with no transition whatsoever. The ending is anticlimatic and not worth continuing to listen as I did to get to the end. It was painful and I quit listening several times, but kept coming back because I wanted to find the ending. Do not waste your time or money!!!!

Failed to hook me

Could not engage with this story it had so much promise but I kept getting lost in the movement between time periods.

Don't do it!

Tough listen. I'm not sure if it was the narrarator or the storyline or both, but everytime I tried to listen to it, my thoughts would wonder off. The characters were confusing and it was hard to imagine who was who and where they were. Way too much detail and a stupid ending for all the storyline. Doesn't make me want to get another book by this author.