The Charlemagne Pursuit

i thoroughly enjoyed reading the Charlemagne Pursuit by steve berry, as i've enjoyed all of his books! after his novel the third secret, the C.P. is my second favorite! i'm looking forward to the next cotton malone thriller!

Steve Berry is a meticulous and exciting writer. If you like Dan Brown's DaVinci Code and other mysteries of history, you will love Steve Berry as well. His books are a series featuring a former US agent-turned bookseller, Cotton Malone, who gets involved with mysteries surrounding real historical mysteries. This latest one involves the Nazi search for the original "Aryan" people and where they came from; fascinating tours of real, ancient churches and historical places are the background of murder and mayhem. A fantastical ending in Antartica is absolutely visual and stunning. Best of all, at the end of every book, Berry includes an author's note about what is real, and what he made up! I love that I can go research "Aachen Church, Charlemagne" and get photos and information about the fiction I'm reading; then I come away knowing more than I when I started.

Picked this one up and couldn't put it down. Other than a few Navy related gaffs (rank and insignia) his description of Antarctica was on point. Brought closure to Malone and his mother. Descriptions of Antarctica brought back memories of living on the ice. Wondering what comes next; cryptic ending leading to Berry's next book. Definitely would recommend.

I think that this book may be the best that Mr. Berry has written to date. Even though the plot is rather incredible (but who cares, it's fiction after all!) it certainly speeds along quite quickly and on parallel tracks. In one paragraph you're following Cotton Malone, in another a nasty Navy admiral with high ambitions, and in another Cotton's former boss and an aide to the President. Everything eventually comes together and the quest is ended, but the ending is quite enigmatic and appears to be preparing the reader for the next book in this series. I, for one, will be eagerly awaiting it!

In this fourth novel featuring the one-time top operative for the U.S. Justice Department, Cotton Malone, Cotton sets out to discover the full story behind his father's death thirty-eight years ago. Cashing in a favor with his ex-boss Stephanie Nelle, Cotton learns a shocking the shocking secret that the Navy covered up. His father died in a top-secret submarine mission beneath the ice shelves of Antarctica. Within minutes of receiving the highly classified file Cotton finds himself in danger. In order to save himself and learn the truth behind the cover-up he teams up with twin sisters Dorothea Lindauer and Christl Falk whose father also died on the submarine. Filled with unease about working with the twins Cotton cautiously embarks on a perilous journey by solving clues left in a diary found in Charlemagne's tomb. Filled with non-stop action, The Charlemagne Pursuit kept me on the edge of my seat the entire book. Berry threw curve balls left and right that kept me second guessing who was a good guy and who was just plain up to no good. I actually cried at the end and even though the book is 528 pages I wished it would have gone on for 500 more. Having read all three of the previous Cotton Malone books I can honestly say that this book is the best one yet but if you've haven't read the previous three this one does stand alone. I HIGHLY recommend this book to all thriller and suspense lovers.