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When Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile in 1821, he took to the grave a powerful secret. As general and emperor, he had stolen immeasurable riches from palaces, national treasuries, and even the Knights of Malta and the Vatican. In his final days, his British captors hoped to learn where the loot lay hidden. But he told them nothing, and in his will he made no mention of the treasure. Or did he? Former Justice Department operative Cotton Malone isn't looking for trouble when it comes knocking at his Copenhagen bookshop. Actually, it breaks and enters in the form of an American Secret Service agent with a pair of assassins on his heels. Malone has his doubts about the anxious young man, but narrowly surviving a ferocious firefight convinces him to follow his unexpected new ally. Their first stop is the secluded estate of Malone's good friend, Henrik Thorvaldsen. The wily Danish tycoon has uncovered the insidious plans of the Paris Club, a cabal of multimillionaires bent on manipulating the global economy. Only by matching wits with a terrorist-for-hire, foiling a catastrophic attack, and plunging into a desperate hunt for Napoleon's legendary lost treasure can Malone hope to avert international financial anarchy. But Thorvaldsen's real objective is much more personal: to avenge the murder of his son by the larcenous aristocrat at the heart of the conspiracy. Thorvaldsen's vendetta places Malone in an impossible quandary-one that forces him to choose between friend and country, past and present. Starting in Denmark, moving to England, and ending up in the storied streets and cathedrals of Paris, Malone plays a breathless game of duplicity and death, all to claim a prize of untold value. But at what cost? From the Hardcover edition.

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Chapter One     copenhagen   sunday, december 23, the present 12:40 am   The bullet tore into Cotton Malone's left shoulder.   He fought to ignore the pain and focused on the plaza. People rushed in all directions. Horns blared. Tires squealed. Marines guarding the nearby American embassy reacted to the chaos, but were too far away to help. Bodies were strewn about. How many? Eight? Ten? No. More. A young man and woman lay at contorted angles on a nearby patch of oily asphalt, the man's eyes frozen open, alight with shock--the woman, facedown, gushing blood. Malone had spotted two gunmen and immediately shot them both, but never saw the third, who'd clipped him with a single round and was now trying to flee, using panicked bystanders for cover.   Dammit, the wound hurt. Fear struck his face like a wave of fire. His legs went limp as he fought to raise his right arm. The Beretta seemed to weigh tons, not ounces.  . Pain jarred his senses. He sucked deep breaths of sulfur-laced air and finally forced his finger to work the trigger, which only squeaked, and did not fire.   Strange.   More squeaks could be heard as he tried to fire again.   Then the world dissolved to black.   Malone awoke, cleared the dream from his mind--one that had recurred many times over the past two years--and studied the bedside clock.   12:43 am.   He was lying atop the bed in his apartment, the nightstand's lamp still on from when he'd plopped down two hours ago.   Something had roused him. A sound. Part of the dream from Mexico City, yet not.   He heard it again.   Three squeaks in quick succession.   His building was 17th century, completely remodeled a few months ago. From the second to the third floor the new wooden risers now announced themselves in a precise order, like keys on a piano. Which meant someone was there.   He reached beneath the bed and found the rucksack he always kept at the ready from his Magellan Billet days. Inside, his right hand gripped the Beretta, the same one from Mexico City, a round already chambered.   Another habit he was glad he hadn't shucked.   He crept from the bedroom.   His fourth-floor apartment was less than a thousand square feet. Besides the bedroom, there was a den, kitchen, bath, and several closets. Lights burned in the den, where a doorway opened to the stairway. His bookshop consumed the ground floor, and the second and third floors were used exclusively for storage and work space.   He found the doorway and hugged the inner jamb.   No sound had revealed his advance, as he'd kept his steps light and his shoes to the carpet runners. He still wore his clothes from yesterday. He'd worked late last night after a busy Saturday before Christmas. It was good to be a bookseller again. That was supposedly his profession now. So why was he holding a gun in the middle of the night, every one of his senses telling him danger was nearby?   He risked a glance through the doorway. Stairs led to a landing, then angled downward. He'd switched off the lights earlier before climbing up for the night, and there were no three-way switches. He cursed himself for not including some during the remodeling. One thing that had been added was a metal banister lining the stair's outer edge.   He fled the apartment and slid down the slick brass rail to the next landing. No sense announcing his presence with more creaks from other wooden risers.   Carefully, he glanced down into the void.   Dark and quiet.   He slid to the next landing and worked his way around to where he could spy the third floor. Amber lights from Høj Excerpted from The Paris Vendetta by Steve Berry All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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Library Journal Review

In Berry's latest page-turner after The Charlemagne Pursuit, Cotton Malone discovers a Secret Service agent breaking into his Copenhagen bookstore. The agent, Sam Collins, was sent by Cotton's friend Henrik Thorvaldsen to seek his help in getting revenge against the person Henrik has discovered to be responsible for his son's death. The guilty party has ties to a secret organization that plans to take down the global economy with help from a secret Napoleon carried to his grave. A race to solve historical riddles while staying alive ensues. Verdict Berry has written another amazing blend of suspense and history. Fans will love it, and for newcomers it's the perfect place to start. With the September release of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, savvy readers looking for more along those lines cannot go wrong with Cotton Malone. This will be Berry's biggest seller yet. [Library marketing campaign.]-Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly Review

Bestseller Berry deftly blends contemporary suspense and historical mystery in his fifth novel to feature former U.S. Justice Department operative Cotton Malone (after The Charlemagne Pursuit). Danish billionaire Henrik Thorvaldsen, a friend of Malone's, has become consumed with finding out who masterminded the slaughter outside a Mexico City courthouse two years earlier that killed seven people, including his young diplomat son. Once he learns that a wealthy British aristocrat was behind the outrage, Thorvaldsen gets entangled in a conspiracy that involves an elite group of ruthless financial experts planning to destabilize the global economy, a terrorist plot to destroy a European landmark, and a legendary cache hidden by Napoleon. Malone soon finds himself in a desperate struggle to save not only Thorvaldsen's life but the lives of countless innocents as well. While the plot takes a few predictable turns, this well-crafted thriller also offers plenty of surprises. 5-city author tour. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Booklist Review

Here's one of those cases where more of the same can be good, or it can be bad. If you're a fan of Berry's globe-trotting Cotton Malone thrillers, you'll probably be pleased to know that this one involves another conspiracy with a connection to a secret buried in the mists of history. The conspiracy this time is masterminded by the Paris Club, a group of powerful people who are determined to control the world's economy. To succeed, they will need to unleash the power of an ancient Coptic manuscript discovered in Egypt by Napoleon. But, as usual, Cotton Malone, the secret agent turned bookseller, is going to do everything he can to stop them. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this latest Malone adventure: Berry has turned out another action-packed adventure true to a winning formula. But the key word here is formulaic this Malone novel is pretty much the same as the ones that came before it, and readers who prefer their thrillers not to sound quite so much like they were produced by a writing machine may be well advised to steer clear. It's good to find a formula that works, but it's also good, every once in a while, to write outside the box. Still, Berry has a devoted following, and they like life inside the box just fine.--Pitt, David Copyright 2009 Booklist

Notas de autor provistas por Syndetics

Steve Berry was born in 1955. He is a graduate of Mercer University's Walter F. George School of Law. He was a practicing attorney when he started writing in 1990. His first book, The Amber Room, was published in 2003. His other works include The Romanov Prophecy, The Third Secret, The Columbus Affair, The Patriot Threat and the Cotton Malone series. He also writes e-book original short stories including The Balkan Escape, The Devil's Gold, and The Admiral's Mark. He and his wife founded History Matters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to aiding the preservation of our heritage. In 2015, The Patriot Threat made The New York Times Best Seller List.

(Bowker Author Biography)