The Venetian Betrayal (Cotton Malone Series #3) [NOOK Book]

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Overview

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Steve Berry’s The Emperor’s Tomb and a Cotton Malone dossier.

In 323 B.C.E, having conquered Persia, Alexander the Great set his sights on Arabia, then suddenly succumbed to a strange fever. Locating his final resting place–unknown to this day–remains a tantalizing goal for both archaeologists and treasure hunters. Now the quest for this coveted prize is about to heat up. And Cotton Malone–former U.S. Justice Department agent turned rare-book dealer–will be drawn into an intense geopolitical chess game.

After narrowly escaping ...
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More About This Book

Overview

BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Steve Berry’s The Emperor’s Tomb and a Cotton Malone dossier.

In 323 B.C.E, having conquered Persia, Alexander the Great set his sights on Arabia, then suddenly succumbed to a strange fever. Locating his final resting place–unknown to this day–remains a tantalizing goal for both archaeologists and treasure hunters. Now the quest for this coveted prize is about to heat up. And Cotton Malone–former U.S. Justice Department agent turned rare-book dealer–will be drawn into an intense geopolitical chess game.

After narrowly escaping incineration in a devastating fire that consumes a Danish museum, Cotton learns from his friend, the beguiling adventurer Cassiopeia Vitt, that the blaze was neither an accident nor an isolated incident. As part of campaign of arson intended to mask a far more diabolical design, buildings across Europe are being devoured by infernos of unnatural strength.

And from the ashes of the U.S.S.R., a new nation has arisen: Former Soviet republics have consolidated into the Central Asian Federation. At its helm is Supreme Minister Irina Zovastina, a cunning despot with a talent for politics, a taste for blood sport, and the single-minded desire to surpass Alexander the Great as history’s ultimate conqueror.
Backed by a secret cabal of powerbrokers, the Federation has amassed a harrowing arsenal of biological weapons. Equipped with the hellish power to decimate other nations at will, only one thing keeps Zovastina from setting in motion her death march of domination: a miraculous healing serum, kept secret by an ancient puzzle and buried with the mummified remains of Alexander the Great–in a tomb lost to the ages for more than 1,500 years.

Together, Cotton and Cassiopeia must outrun and outthink the forces allied against them. Their perilous quest will take them to the shores of Denmark, deep into the venerated monuments of Venice, and finally high inside the desolate Pamir mountains of Central Asia to unravel a riddle whose solution could destroy or save millions of people–depending on who finds the lost tomb first.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Scott Brick continues to bolster his status as one of the best narrators of international thrillers with his excellent reading of Berry's latest. Once again, Cotton Malone, a retired intelligence officer turned rare book dealer, is thrown into the middle of a diabolical plot for world domination. Irina Zovastina, the Supreme Minister of a powerful collective of old Soviet republics, has an insidious plan to use biological weapons, at the cost of millions of lives, in a maniacal attempt to conquer the world. For her stratagem to succeed, she must unearth a secret hidden within the final resting place of Alexander the Great, a burial site whose location has been shrouded in mystery for millennia years. Brick easily negotiates his way through this complex plot, his confident delivery keeps the suspense high while bringing a solid reality to a story that often walks a fine line between the believable and the improbable. Simultaneous release with the Ballantine hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 8). (Dec.)

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From The Critics

This is Berry's third work featuring rare book dealer Cotton Malone, a former Justice Department superagent, and sidekick Cassiopeia Vitt. The pair attempt to defeat the leader of a refurbished Soviet Union who is about to set loose a toxic viral agent whose only antidote lies buried with Alexander the Great. Although narrator Scott Brick provides subtle accents and interprets the action convincingly, his performance is unable to make this audiobook into an enjoyable listening experience. The plot is contrived, the characters are familiar, and the story is disappointing. Still, Berry has many fans, and his book (released in hardcover in December 2007) is a New York Times best seller, so librarians have a tough call on this one. Recommended with reservations. [Other best sellers in the series include The Alexandria Link and The Templar Legacy; The Venetian Betrayal is also available as downloadable audio from Audible.com.-Ed.]
—Ray Vignovich

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780345504456
  • Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
  • Publication date: 12/11/2007
  • Sold by: Random House
  • Format: eBook
  • Sales rank: 11,277
  • Series: Cotton Malone Series, #3
  • File size: 2 MB
  • Items ship to U.S, APO/FPO and U.S. Protectorate addresses.

Meet the Author

Steve Berry
Steve Berry
Steve Berry first burst on the scene in 2003 and 2004 with The Amber Room and The Romanov Prophecy, a pair of twisty, adrenaline-laced thrillers with intriguing historical mysteries at their heart. Since then, Berry's novels have gone on to gather international momentum, earning spots on The New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and BookSense bestseller lists.

Although his undergraduate degree was in political science and he actively practiced law for 29 years, it was his interest in history that led to Steve to writing international suspense thrillers. Simply put, the books he liked to read became the books he liked to write. He continues to wrap his novels in fascinating secrets, conspiracies, and mysteries from the past (religious prophecy, ancient manuscripts, lost treasure, Vatican intrigue, etc.), concocting dandy plots his readers love to unravel.

Berry credits the nuns who taught him in Catholic school with instilling the discipline needed both to craft a novel and to find a publisher. Indeed, he claims to be the poster child for stick-to-itiveness: It took him 12 years and 85 rejections to finally sell a manuscript to Ballantine Books. Clearly, his perseverance has paid off. Today, his novels appear in 50 countries and 37 languages worldwide. He lives in the historic city of St. Augustine, Florida. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have founded History Matters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving our heritage. To learn more about Steve and the foundation, visit steveberry.org .

Biography

Steve Berry first burst on the scene in 2003 and 2004 with The Amber Room and The Romanov Prophecy, a pair of twisty, adrenaline-laced thrillers with intriguing historical mysteries at their heart. Since then, Berry's novels have gone on to gather international momentum, earning spots on The New York Times, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and BookSense bestseller lists.

A practicing attorney, Berry has been writing since 1990. And although his undergraduate degree was in political science, it was his interest in history that led to him to writing international suspense thrillers. Simply put, the books he liked to read became the books he liked to write. He continues to wrap his novels in fascinating secrets, conspiracies, and mysteries from the past (religious prophecy, ancient manuscripts, lost treasure, Vatican intrigue, etc.), concocting dandy plots his readers love to unravel.

Berry credits the nuns who taught him in Catholic school with instilling the discipline needed both to craft a novel and to find a publisher. Indeed, he claims to be the poster child for stick-to-itiveness: It took him 12 years and 85 rejections to finally sell a manuscript to Ballantine Books! Clearly, his perseverance has paid off. Today, his novels appear in 43 countries and 41 languages worldwide.

Read an Excerpt

Copenhagen, Denmark
Saturday, April 18 , The Present
11:55 p.m.

The smell roused Cotton Malone to consciousness. Sharp, acrid, with a hint of sulfur. And something else. Sweet and sickening.

Like death.

He opened his eyes.

He lay prone on the floor, arms extended, palms to the hardwood, which he immediately noticed was sticky.

What happened?

He’d attended the April gathering of the Danish Antiquarian Booksellers Society a few blocks west of his bookshop, near the gaiety of Tivoli. He liked the monthly meetings and this one had been no exception. A few drinks, some friends, and lots of book chatter. Tomorrow morning he’d agreed to meet Cassiopeia Vitt. Her call yesterday to arrange the meeting had surprised him. He’d not heard from her since Christmas, when she’d spent a few days in Copenhagen. He’d been cruising back home on his bicycle, enjoying the comfortable spring night, when he’d decided to check out the unusual meeting location she’d chosen, the Museum of Greco-Roman Culture–a preparatory habit from his former profession. Cassiopeia rarely did anything on impulse, so a little advance preparation wasn’t a bad idea.

He’d found the address, which faced the Frederiksholms canal, and noticed a half-open door to the pitch-dark building–a door that should normally be closed and alarmed. He’d parked his bike. The least he could do was close the door and phone the police when he returned home.

But the last thing he remembered was grasping the doorknob.

He was now inside the museum.

In the ambient light that filtered in through two plate-glass windows, he saw a space decorated in typical Danish style–a sleek mixture of steel, wood, glass, and aluminum. The right side of his head throbbed and he caressed a tender knot.

He shook the fog from his brain and stood.

He’d visited this museum once and had been unimpressed with its collection of Greek and Roman artifacts. Just one of a hundred or more private collections throughout Copenhagen, their subject matter as varied as the city’s population.

He steadied himself against a glass display case. His fingertips again came away sticky and smelly, with the same nauseating odor.

He noticed that his shirt and trousers were damp, as was his hair, face, and arms. Whatever covered the museum’s interior coated him, too.

He stumbled toward the front entrance and tried the door. Locked. Double dead bolt. A key would be needed to open it from the inside.

He stared back into the interior. The ceiling soared thirty feet. A wood-and-chrome staircase led up to a second floor that dissolved into more darkness, the ground floor extending out beneath.

He found a light switch. Nothing. He lumbered over to a desk phone. No dial tone.

A noise disturbed the silence. Clicks and whines, like gears working. Coming from the second floor.
His training as a Justice Department agent cautioned him to keep quiet, but also urged him to investigate.

So he silently climbed the stairs.

The chrome banister was damp, as were each of the laminated risers. Fifteen steps up, more glass-and-chrome display cases dotted the hardwood floor. Marble reliefs and partial bronzes on pedestals loomed like ghosts. Movement caught his eye twenty feet away. An object rolling across the floor. Maybe two feet wide with rounded sides, pale in color, tight to the ground, like one of those robotic lawn mowers he’d once seen advertised. When a display case or statue was encountered, the thing stopped, retreated, then darted in a different direction. A nozzle extended from its top and every few seconds a burst of aerosol spewed out.

He stepped close.

All movement stopped. As if it sensed his presence. The nozzle swung to face him. A cloud of mist soaked his pants.

What was this?

The machine seemed to lose interest and scooted deeper into the darkness, more odorous mist expelling along the way. He stared down over the railing to the ground floor and spotted another of the contraptions parked beside a display case.

Nothing about this seemed good.

He needed to leave. The stench was beginning to turn his stomach.

The machine ceased its roaming and he heard a new sound.

Two years ago, before his divorce, his retirement from the government, and his abrupt move to Copenhagen, when he’d lived in Atlanta, he’d spent a few hundred dollars on a stainless-steel grill. The unit came with a red button that, when pumped, sparked a gas flame. He recalled the sound the igniter made with each pump of the button.

The same clicking he heard right now.

Sparks flashed.

The floor burst to life, first sun yellow, then burnt orange, finally settling on pale blue as flames radiated outward, consuming the hardwood. Flames simultaneously roared up the walls. The temperature rose swiftly and he raised an arm to shield his face. The ceiling joined the conflagration, and in less than fifteen seconds the second floor was totally ablaze.

Overhead sprinklers sprang to life.

He partially retreated down the staircase and waited for the fire to be doused.

But he noticed something.

The water simply aggravated the flames.

The machine that started the disaster suddenly disintegrated in a muted flash, flames rolling out in all directions, like waves searching for shore.

A fireball drifted to the ceiling and seemed to be welcomed by the spraying water. Steam thickened the air, not with smoke but with a chemical that made his head spin.

He leaped down the stairs two at a time. Another swoosh racked the second floor. Followed by two more. Glass shattered. Something crashed.

He darted to the front of the building.

The other gizmo that had sat dormant sprang to life and started skirting the ground-floor display cases.
More aerosol spewed into the scorching air.

He needed to get out. But the locked front door opened to the inside. Metal frame, thick wood. No way to kick it open. He watched as fire eased down the staircase, consuming each riser, like the devil descending to greet him. Even the chrome was being devoured with a vengeance.

His breaths became labored, thanks to the chemical fog and the rapidly vanishing oxygen. Surely someone would call the fire department, but they’d be no help to him. If a spark touched his soaked clothes . . .

The blaze found the bottom of the staircase.

Ten feet away.


From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating 4
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  • Posted December 21, 2011

    A good read as good as the other Cotton Malone Series

    A good series read, Almost as good as the Clive Cussler books,

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 11, 2011

    James rollins character painter crowe

    His character Painter Crowe is mentioned in the book, and it excites me knowing these two authors obviously know each other. They are both really good, and ive read all of Rollins books, so its fitting that i should read those of a friend of his.

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  • Posted September 27, 2011

    Another great Steve Berry page-turner!!

    In typical Berry style, thrilling twists, engaging characters and panoramic vista descriptions all wrapped up in an all-too-believable plot. And who doesn't love Cotton Malone?? Loved this entry that I could hardly put down! Would so enjoy this series on the big screen...

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  • Posted September 14, 2011

    Another great story!

    This is the first 'series' I have delved into beginning with Cotton Malone #1 and it just keeps getting better. Steve Berry spins a great tale and I find it difficult to put it down. A must read for adventure fans!

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  • Posted March 22, 2011

    Sliding toward comic book status?

    I previously read 4 of Steve Berry's books, inlcuding the first two Cotton Malone novels. Greatly enjoyed the historical threads/conspiracy plots. However, each book seems to be becoming more and more farcical, with the body count rising higher than those in the old 1960s Sgt Rock comic books. It's hard enough sometimes to maintain credibility with any kind of historical conspiracy, but when you have people killing people as often as one swats a fly, the whole premise rapidly collapses into absurdity. I think Steve Berry can do better.

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  • Posted December 25, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    Once again Malone gets pulled into some secret goverment plots

    Lots of twists and turns, great history of Alexandra the Great, a corrorupt goverening facility, and lots of action. Again, this was one I listened to and think you would get more out of reading it. There were times I got a little lost in the history and confused on people, but over not a bad story.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 9, 2010

    If you loved Dan Brown, you will love Steve Berry

    Loved it!

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  • Posted May 22, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    SPY THRILLER

    This book is basically a spy thriller. Most of the characters are rather shallow. It is not on the level of some of Steve Berry's earlier books (particularly "The Romanov Prophecy" and "The Templar Legacy"). Nevertheless, the geopolitics is plausible. The history of this area, both ancient and while under the heel of the Soviets, is interesting. Historical aspects of Alexander the Great, both real and imagined, are also interesting to include speculation on the disappearance of Alexander's mummified body.

    The setting is the Central Asian Confederation consisting of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. The plot revolves about the intent of the tough, nationalistic, megalomaniac, Irina Zovastina, Supreme Minister of the Central Asian Confederation, to inflict biological warfare on nearby countries (Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan) to create or restore a kingdom reminiscent of that of Alexander the Great. The characterization of Zovastina as an amoral monster on the one hand and a nationalist deeply sympathetic toward and proud of her people on the other hand gives this character some depth. Cotton Malone, the former State Department operative, must stop Zovastina and save a big chunk of the world, rescue an agent with whom he would like to have a romantic interest, and find the biological antigen (first discovered by Alexander the Great) by following clues left by Ptolemy. I'm a fan of Steve Berry. This isn't his best work but the geopolitics and ancient historical context made the read interesting and enjoyable.

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  • Posted May 1, 2010

    I LOVE HIS BOOKS

    This book was as good as the other books that Steve Berry has written. The plot was interesting especially about the diseases.

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  • Posted March 31, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    If only there was a cure!

    Pretty good read and the fact that it addresses a cure to a disease that plagues our society makes it even more interesting! This is my 3rd Berry book and he tends to get LONG WINDED but overall the stories are good. The main character is no Robert Langdon but not a dweeb either!

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  • Posted February 20, 2010

    great read

    as with most of his books interesting , fast reading and characters who you can identify with. Have read all of Cotton Malone series and enjoyed each one.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted September 22, 2009

    Quick pace.

    Chapters short. Quick pace. Didn't want to put the book down. Kept my interest. Will be checking out his other works. Recommended for those that need to escape from life's responsibilities for a few hours.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 1, 2009

    Just couldn't get through it

    I'm an avid reader. In all my years there have been only two books I simply couldn't finish; this was one of them. This read more like an encyclopedic recitation of questionable facts with a few poorly developed, unlikeable characters thrown in to add murder and excitement. It failed on excitement, on plot and on character development. Save yourself - avoid this book.

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  • Posted March 11, 2009

    Berry Scores Again

    In the relatively short time I have been reading Steve Berry's books, he has become one of my top five favorite authors. I enjoy the historical research and information included in them. I find them entertaining and difficult to set aside for other tasks.

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  • Posted March 9, 2009

    Enjoyed the story and historical items, even if they aren't all true, which I don't know for sure.

    Good read for historical type fiction.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 16, 2009

    Steve Berry keeps churning out winners!

    I was definitely not dissapointed with this offering. Berry has a great way of building up the action through to the end. He even provides for some nice clean-up after the climatic finally. I enjoy the humanistic sub-plots he injects in to the stories so that it is not just an action junkey novel. It is a book readers novel.

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  • Posted December 6, 2008

    I Also Recommend:

    The new Dirk Pitt

    Cotton Malone has become the next generation of Dirk Pitt. Steve Berry has become the successor of Clive Cussler. His hero is human and his storytelling is excellent.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 7, 2008

    Moves Quickly

    I really enjoyed this book - this is my first Steve Berry novel and will have to read more of, and I really enjoy a book where there's a puzzle to try to figure out to put things together - its a great read...

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  • Posted January 29, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Viktorious

    I am not a dumb person. Like the author, I am an attorney, but I found this book to be a confusing mess. The history of Alexander the Great fascinates me, as apparently it does Mr. Berry. I found the plotline hard to follow, the characters woefully unexplained,and in the end, I think Mr. Berry played one too many tricks on the reader to make his story come together. In that respect, I did not mispell the title of my review, but wanted to avoid any spoilers.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 15, 2008

    love his books

    I've read all of his books so far. Really enjoyed every single one of them. Anyone who likes a little bit of history mixed into the story lines will love these.

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