I was listening to the audio book version that I checked out of my local library and got through about 3.5 cds before I called it quits and returned it. Really glad I did not waste $ on this one. I'm a big fan of the thriller / spy / mystery genre but this book was a real let-down. The strong anti-Israeli bias of the author left a really bad taste in my mouth. Not recommended!
If you're looking for a good book in the same vein try The Echelon Vendetta by David Stone or The Collectors by David Baldacci.

I might be a little bias since this man is my favorite writer, but I think that the Cotton Malone Series just keeps getting better and better. I personally loved this book. And can't wait to read the next one when it comes out in paperback in nov. It kept me very interested and I really hated putting it down. I actually had to force myself to put it down at night so I could get some sleep! I think some of the reviews are being way too hard on him. It is a great work of fiction, and I highly recommend this book or any of his books. They are all great and I hope he keeps up the great work!!!

way better than the templar legacy, imo!
looking forward to reading more in the cotton malone series!

Steve Berry delivers another globe-hopping thriller with retired US operative Cotton Malone attempting to live a quiet life running a bookshop in Copenhagen. Retirement comes to an abrupt halt when he escapes the assassins who burn down his bookshop and tell him they have kidnapped his son. Cotton is forced to join forces with his acerbic ex-wife Pam when it seems assassins may be on her tail, as well. They get their son back, but then they find themselves caught between ancient organizations: the Guardians of the Library at Alexandria, pledged to keep its secrets safe, and the Order of the Golden Fleece, a ruthless sect of the powerful who meet in secret and who have vowed to claim the Library for themselves. Accompanying Cotton and Pam is the Order's pet assassin, who has a few plans of his own regarding the library.

At the same time, treachery is afoot in the US government with the president, vice president, secretary of state, and the heads of several security departments all mistrusting each other as a web of secrets and lies is unraveled. Some find this kind of thriller gripping. Unfortunately, I find it a bit tiresome, and in this book, everything that was happening inside the government was not essential to the main plot of Cotton Malone following a quest to the lost Library of Alexandria. This is also the third Steve Berry book I've read starring an idiotic and unlikeable female lead. When Pam Malone, yet again acting stubborn and stupid, gets herself shot, I found myself wishing they'd put her down then and there. This author obviously has some issues with women. The author also seems way out of touch with children. Gary Malone was supposed to be 15 but came across as a 10-year-old in size, maturity, vocabulary, and deed.

I think they're a dime a dozen, but thrillers involving clueless protagonists doing a lot of chasing around the globe while unaware of the web of lies surrounding them as they follow a trail of clues in close proximity to the know-it-all bad guys are pretty popular. Some such books are sometimes a thrill to read, but often they miss the mark and fail to grab my interest. Since this book also contained one of my least favorite plot devices of all the characters knowing something that was kept from me until the very end, it failed to grab my interest.

With the phenomenal success of the Da Vinci Code, it is no surprise that more novels of such genre surface the market. I bought this book expected to find some aspects of the Alexandria Library history, as I learnt about Da Vinci's work from the Code. To my disappointment, nothing of such nature is found here. The name Alexandria Library is mentioned only as the reference point as the origin of the Link. No other history trial is covered. The majority of the book is dedicated to the hunt of such "treasure." The most boring part for me is when they are trying to decipher the clues, the way it was portrayed in the Code, but this time only ten percent as good. I stopped reading it after having covered about 3/4 of the book, didn't want to waste my time further.