Cotton Malone is on the hunt for a forgotten 16th century Pledge of Christ—a sworn promise made by Pope Julius II that evidences a monetary debt owed by the Vatican, still valid after five centuries—now worth in the trillions of dollars. But collecting that debt centers around what happened to the famed Medici of Florence—a family that history says died out, without heirs, centuries ago.
Who will become the next prime minister of Italy, and who will be the next pope? Finding answers proves difficult until Cotton realizes that everything hinges on when, and if, the Medici return.
I will always read a Cotton Malone story, or any story by Steve Berry. However, I just didn’t feel it with this one. It felt like Cotton was pushing himself to do something, like he was trying to prove himself. It is only in the last chapter that the bombshell from the previous book is mentioned. And that’s why I believe I felt that Cotton was trying to prove something.
I hope the author brings Cassiopeia back into the series. While I know that things have to end somehow, someway, Cassiopeia brings a certain roundness to Cotton. There also wasn’t much of Stephanie Nelle. I will say I was very happy that the author did not go on about Cotton’s ex-wife and how rough their past was. The brief mention of Cotton’s personal life was nice, like an “oh by the way”, but it wasn’t a distraction.
I do wish the espionage had more puzzles like in the beginning of the series.
Overall, I rate this novel 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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