The Paris Vendetta covers a lot of ground, from London to Paris, the United States to Copenhagen. There is a serious quest to find Napoleon’s missing treasure, and there are those who are willing to destroy anyone in their way during the hunt for the inestimable fortune. The U.S. Treasury Department and others are just as adamant about bringing down an international terrorist and stopping further bloodshed, as well as preventing an international financial collapse. Cotton Malone and his cohorts drive themselves beyond their limit doing whatever they can to stop the catastrophic events that have been set in motion.

Cotton has retired and runs a used book store in Copenhagen. Suddenly one night he meets Sam Collins when Collins crashes into the book store with two thugs close behind. After a shootout and escape, Cotton and Sam visit Cotton’s friend Henrik Thorvaldsen in search of answers.

Thorvaldsen lost his son when Cai was collateral damage in an attack in Mexico, and Henrik is out for revenge. As Cotton attempts to help his friend, he also must team up with other agencies to take down a hired assassin, thwart a catastrophic attack on the Eiffel Tower, and help prevent an international financial crisis.

Mr. Berry has written a compelling thriller that culminates among the landmarks of Paris. The author has done his research. The detailed scenes place the reader amid the dangerous scenarios that take place throughout the book.

The Paris Vendetta was my introduction to Cotton Malone, and Steve Berry. As I began reading the first couple of chapters, I started to get confused about all the characters and the interactions between them. I started taking notes. Within the next couple of chapters, the notes were set aside as I got caught up in a compelling tale of the past (Napoleon and his treasure) and the present (those who were hunting for the missing treasure).

To say this novel is a page-turner is an understatement. I literally could not put it down after about a third of the way through. I appreciated the way Mr. Berry moved back and forth between scenes portraying the action in real time so that the reader could understand the multiple situations taking place during the same time period. I also enjoyed his way with words and the way he turns a phrase. Very enjoyable read!

This may have been my first novel by this author, but it is not my last.

A special thank you goes to Ballantine Books for providing a complimentary review copy of The Paris Vendetta.

If you would like to purchase this book, or any other Steve Berry novel, you can follow this link to Amazon.com.