The Jefferson Key

A Novel

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.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“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

Jefferson Key

One of the really good books by Steve Berry
I have been going through all of my Audible books and have enjoyed listening to them during my travels

Cotton Malone delves into American history

To be fair, I thought this book started out with a bang and became a tiny bit overwhelming with the number of characters and rapidly shifting locations and perspectives. However, a little diligence was soon rewarded with a fascinating tale, well entwined through early American history. Pirates, presidential assassinations, lost treasures, revenge, betrayals, and spy vs spy shenanigans. There is a lot here.

To his credit, the author balances all of this and still manages to develop our cast of characters, (and it's not a small cast). There is even some bits left over for future books. This was a job well done. I recommend this book. And I typically am not that fond of early American history stories.

Not much swearing, sex is implied only, but do expect lots of violence, naturally.

Love that Cotton and history

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. You learn about Jefferson and other Founding Father stuff while you get a good story and a lot of action.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Wrinkles around every corner. Never knew quite what to expect.

Have you listened to any of Scott Brick’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Scott's always good and we like everything he does.

As Usual, No Dissapointment

I thought Berry did a fantastic job again in this continuing saga. If you have read the Cotton Malone series from the first installment, The Templars Legacy, then you will see that the character construction happens from the very beginning. If this is your first book with Malone in it then the character development might seem a bit lacking. I would encourage you to start over in the beginning. I enjoy his use of facts and actual places (for the most part) in his books. This one in particular was interesting to me as it is the first book in the series that stays within the confines of North America. Rich in history. I enjoyed it thoroughly!

Not his best story

I am a Cotton Malone fan and was looking forward to this book. It had all the makings of an excellent read - a story that ties in all the assassinations of US Presidents in history; pirates, and political rivalries between government intelligence agencies. However, somewhere in the execution the story became bogged down in affairs between secondary characters, frantic jumping from one story line to another. It was also one of those stories like the old James Bond stories where the villain would rig up some elaborate trap or machine to kill Bond rather than just shoot him...in this book, only secondary characters get shot or killed directly - all the main characters escape again and again.

Also we are led to believe that there are shootings from North Carolina to DC to Nova Scotia that doesn't seem to attract anyone's attention...the characters occasionally mention news coverage, but it never comes into play. Private sailing vessels are also blown out of the water by military helicopters without any apparent reperussions.

The book even starts a bit oddly..Cotton gets drawn into the story because of a forged email from a government agent, Stephanie Nell that requests his help. I thought it odd that you can get a super agent to fly across the ocean on a moments notice if you just happen to have his email address...no verification?

Berry spends some time at the end of the book separating fact from fiction. His depiction of pirates is apparently accurate, but he certainly chose the most cruel aspects of their history to present.

I know this review sounds negative, but these are the reasons I didn't give it the 4 or 5 stars I have given to all of the other Berry books I have read. It is worth a read, but you might have to suspend your expectations a bit...