The 14th Colony

January 25, 2016
Bestseller Berry’s 11th Cotton Malone thriller (after 2015’s The Patriot Threat) offers a clever variation on the theme of racing against the clock to avert national disaster. In 1982 in Vatican City, Ronald Reagan and John Paul II have a private meeting, in which they plot the end of the Soviet Union by concerted political, economic, and spiritual pressure. In the present day, the impending end of the administration of President Danny Daniels also signals the closing of the Magellan Billet, a covert intelligence unit within the Justice Department. Meanwhile, the unit’s leader and Malone’s old boss, Stephanie Nelle, sends him on what should be a simple reconnaissance mission to Russia, but, of course, it isn’t. The story line expands to include missing nukes, a society formed by U.S. army officers after the Revolutionary War, and a dying man’s cryptic reference to the “zero amendment.” Richer characterizations and more thoughtful suspense elevate this above similar 24-like stories. Author tour. Agent: Simon Lipskar, Writers House.

March 1, 2016

A new U.S. president is about to be inaugurated, and the incoming administration has disbanded the Magellan Billet agency and fired its head. But director Stephanie Nelle has one last mission for the unit and Cotton Malone: to track down a dangerous former KGB agent still clinging to the old ideals. What seems like a simple reconnaissance mission uncovers dormant secrets from the Cold War and a constitutional loophole that threaten the very foundation of the American government. VERDICT Once again, Berry (The Patriot Threat) mixes history and suspense in a high-energy, action-packed thriller. Fans will not be disappointed as he delivers another complex story highlighted by Malone's superhuman ability to survive anything and chase the bad guys to the ends of the earth. [See Prepub Alert, 10/19/15.]--Sandra Knowles, South Carolina State Lib., Columbia

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2016
There's a new president in the White House, and you know what they say about new brooms. The administration's housecleaning involves one particularly interesting initiative: closing down the Magellan Billet, the Justice Department unit that focuses on cases with an international element. But, first, Cotton Malone, the agency's top operative, has one final mission: to find a notoriousallegedly retiredKGB agent. Not a simple mission, to be sure, and soon it becomes vastly more complicated when Cotton uncovers a world-spanning conspiracy that reaches back into history. The Malone novels are formulaic, sure, but it's a solid formula that always delivers the goods: a resourceful hero, a modern-day story involving historical secrets, and plenty of action. Series fans won't be disappointed.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A major six-figure marketing campaign and the coveted national one-day laydown suggest that, come April, The 14th Colony will be a ubiquitous presence in the reading public's consciousness.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)