The Venetian Betrayal

by: Steve Berry

Published by: Ballantine Books

Reviewed by Jeff Foster

In Steve Berry’s latest thriller The Venetian Betrayal, former special agent of the United States Justice department, Cotton Malone is back for one more globetrotting expedition to uncover yet another mystery from the past.

In what was once known as the Soviet Union, a conglomeration of former communist states has banded together to form the Central Asian Federation. Headed by the ruthless Irina Zovastina, the federation has brought prosperity to lands that had previously been so thoroughly abused by their masters in Moscow that Zovastina has been rewarded with near dictatorial powers by her people and the West.

Enter Enrico Vincente, an American pharmaceutical magnate living in Venice, and member of a shadowy group of the world’s most wealthiest and most powerful men and women, whose main aim in life is to extend their influence and pad the coffers of their respective multinational corporations.

What brings Malone into conflict with these two apparently disparate groups is a chance encounter with two of Zovastina’s “Sacred Band” hand-picked mercenaries that are on a mission to root out eight medallions minted by Ptolemy of Egypt after the death of his mentor, Alexander the Great. The medallions are said to hold the key to the long-lost body and final burial place of the greatest world conqueror the world has ever known.

Malone is drawn into the quest when Cassiopeia Vitt rescues him from the flaming remains of a Copenhagen museum. Vitt is once again operating in Copenhagen in concert with his old friend Henrik Thorvaldson. It so happens that Thorvaldson is in possession of one of the rare medallions, and he has set a trap for Zovastina’s henchmen in order to identify why the Dictator desires the entire inventory of the ancient coins.

Throw in secretly manufactured viruses from hidden labs in China, an a desire by Zovastina to use these viral strains to recreate Alexander’s empire–and you have a gut-wrenching thriller that is sure to rank as one of Berry’s best.

The story line, characters and locations are exotic. The possibilities that history presents enable Berry to weave into your mind the slightest possibilities that there might still be some unsolved mysteries from our ancient past, which remain to be solved.

Armchair Interviews says: If you like a thriller paced at light speed, this one will not disappoint you.

Author’s Web site: http://www.SteveBerry.org