The Jefferson Key (Cotton Malone, #7)

The Jefferson Key (Cotton Malone #7)

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3.83 of 5 stars 3.83  ·  rating details  ·  6,440 ratings  ·  740 reviews
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Four presidents of the United States have been assassinated—in 1865, 1881, 1901, and 1963—each murder seemingly unrelated. But what if those presidents were all killed for the shocking same reason: a clause contained in the United States Constitution? This is the question faced by former Justice Department operative Cotton Malone. When President Da...more
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Published May 17th 2011 by Ballantine Books
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Michael
Steve Berry's "The Jefferson Key," mixes history and fiction to produce a story that is interesting and intriguing.

Cotton Malone, former Justice Dept. operative, is summoned to New York only to be caught up in an attempt on the President's life. He manages to stop the assassination and realizes that he had been set up to take the blame if it succeeded.

The story begins with an attempt on Andrew Jackson's life after he informed a group of pirates or privateers, that their services were no longer d...more
Kristen
As always, Steve Berry spins one hell of a yarn!

For this book, Berry has set his story inside the U.S. and involves the earliest years of the country, when there was no military. Instead the founding fathers offered letters of mark to four individuals - either privateers or pirates, depending who you talk to - who could bedevil the young America's enemies on behalf of the government. In return, they are promised immunity from any prosecution, and the right to keep most of the spoils they acquire...more
Kim
The latest in the Cotton Malone series, in this one Steve Berry has taken a slight departure from the norm and, to me, not for the better.

For the first time in the series the book is set wholly in the USA. I don't have an issue with this as, being an Australian, the US is as foreign as Europe or Asia. The locations were well researched although it would have been nice to have more interesting ones. Monticello was good as was Pamlico Sound and the treasure resting place which I won't give away. O...more
Jeanette
Steve Berry is a bright guy who writes thrillers that are great for people with attention deficit. You get to change location and subject every couple of paragraphs. Wild global ping-pong kinda stuff. When you get to the end, you think well, that was sure a nice ride, but I have no idea what I just read.
Speaking of rides, best damn scene in the whole book is the motorcycle ride down the stairway of a fancy hotel!
Kim
This book was definitely different than previous Cotton Malone books, in that it takes place in the United States. I like it just as much if not more than the previous books. I think that Steve Berry has taken Cotton in a different direction in this book and it works! Stephanie Nelle is not as evident and while I miss Henrik Thorvaldsen, his absence is not noticeable.

This book is a quick, quick summer read - perfect for traveling or the beach. The action is fast paced and is happening simultaneo...more
Candace Salima
Mar 03, 2013 Candace Salima rated it 5 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: Ages 14 and Up
Recommended to Candace by: Steve Berry
The Jefferson Key by Steve Berry is another “must read.” I’m sure I’ll review a book soon that I don’t care for, but it’s not this book, and it’s not this day.

“Cotton Malone is known for his overseas exploits. A former-Justice Department operative, who can’t stay out of trouble, he’s found adventures in all parts of Europe (The Templar Legacy, The Paris Vendetta), Central Asia (The Venetian Betrayal), Antarctica (The Charlemagne Pursuit), the Middle East (The Alexandria Link), and China (The Emp...more
Cinderella3653
Cotton is at it again and I LOVED this book. It was completely inhailed in about 2 days. Steve does an excellent job of finding some sort of historic event and weaving a tale based on a theory around it. He makes it believeable. He makes it enjoyable. And he leaves you hungry for more. I love how in this one he conitnues to build into the personalities of previous books. We are beginning to really know some of these characters, and understand them. Even as each book could stand alone, the weavin...more
Dlora
This is one of those political thrillers with chases and clues and spies and secrets. However, I was annoyed throughout by the narration changing so quickly from location and character--several story lines all playing at the same time that eventually coalesce but not until the end. Was it supposed to heighten suspense? Every time a climax or key turning point was reached, the story changed settings. And I mean like every five pages. You get used to it, but I didn't like it. I found the history o...more
Robin Carter
So... one review for and one review against... so where do i come in!??

For of course... Its like the old arguments about adventure films... oh that was rubbish the plot had no substance it was all flashy effects, boobs and bangs...SO! that's what is to be expected of certain types of films.

and in the case of These books its what you should be expecting, they are fast paced action novels that stretch the bounds of reality past breaking point to take the reader on a ride that is so far from realit...more
Bob Corrigan
Ugh. I sometimes (often!) wonder how my opinion of a particular book differs so radically from the mainstream view. ? Different tastes, I guess. Anyway, no - I really didn't like this book at all. It irritated me no end. This is one of those 'DaVinci' genre books, complete with all the trimmings: a dark historical secret, a secret group of men that exists to this day, a coded message that no one can break, droppings of historical interest here and there (in this case, the history of piracy - whi...more
Wordsmith
I love Steve Berry's books. Have read them all, with great pleasure. I love his character Cotton Malone. But I have to be honest & say this was not my favorite. Usually he has me hook, line & sinker no later than chapter 2, but with "The Jefferson Key" it took a lot longer than that. I was a little more into it around Chapter 8 and was finally engaged around Chapter 14. That took too much time Mr. Berry!

The pacing is fast enough & all the usual suspects are here. Stephanie Nelle, st...more
Jim
As with previous Cotton Malone outings by Berry, this one does a nice job of blending fact and fiction in an interesting thriller. Also like previous outings (and many thrillers in general), the reader has to accept certain unrealistic rules and stereotypes, including good guys who are expert marksmen while the bad guys can't hit the side of a barn, bad guys who have a chance to simply shoot and kill good guys but don't (for whatever reason), and government good guy types who don't seem to be co...more
Vic
The premise of Cotton Malone investigating a possible conspiracy in our American history had me wanting to read this book as soon as it was released. Previous novels in the Cotton series were fantastic and I was going into this without any care in the world only to find myself disappointed in the long run. I was definitely drawn into the book at the beginning but then was thrown in as many different directions as possible. From dealing with the President one moment to quickly being shifted to co...more
Tony
Berry, Steve. THE JEFFERSON KEY. (2011). ***.
This is another thriller from this author, this time set in America. The series protagonist remains Cotton Malone, a former Justice Department operative. In this adventure we meet the members of the Commonwealth, an association that has been in existence since the days of the Revolution. Membership in the Commonwealth is hereditary, passed down from father to selected son or daughter – whomever will best carry out the purpose of the group. The Common...more
Cheryl
Cotton Malone finds himself in the deadly cross hairs of a political game of cat and mouse, where the stakes are high. When Cotton receives an invitation to meet his old boss, Stephanie Nelle, Cotton accepts. Cotton enters the hotel room where he is to meet Stephanie but she is not there. When Cotton realizes that he has walked into a trap it is too late. Cotton is than captured and charged temporary for the attempted assassination of President Danny Daniels. Once President Daniels learns that C...more
Elizabeth
The Jefferson Key by Steve Barry (pp. 480)

Steve Barry apparently read the feedback of his last novel and righted the course. This time ex-Magillen Billet operative, Cotton Malone is on US soil for the duration of the book. An assassination attempt against President Daniels turns into a treasure hunt involving a cipher message left by Andrew Jackson using an encoding scheme created by Thomas Jefferson to locate documents signed by George Washington that have the ability to takedown some very powe...more
Jcmattson
Okay, I have to preface this review with the fact that I don't normally read thrillers. I was interested in this book because of the history included. I did enjoy learning more about the history of piracy and privateering and it actually came in handy while playing a game of pirate minature golf with the kids one day. That said, I really had a hard time with all the guns and killing, especially the graphic details of acts of torture from the pirates, and no I don't normally squirm from gore, it...more
Steven Belanger
Well, not my thing, usually. Kept me compulsively reading in much the same way your gaze has to follow the hit tennis ball. Potboiling cliffhanger in its most base form, but that's what works, right? Characters are essentially just names; you root for the good guys because they're the good guys--and so on. Again, like following a hit ball. You hate yourself for reading, but it's a "I wonder what happens next?" connect-the-dots. But you rate it for what it is, for what it attempts to be, not beca...more
Kelly
Another fantastic Cotton Malone novel by Steve Berry. At this point, fans of the series should know what they're going to get: an interesting mystery based on historical fact woven in with bits of Cotton's own history. Joining in the pirate craze, Berry starts us out with privateers and manages to connect them to not one but all four presidential assassinations - and Cotton makes sure that they cannot be tied to a fifth.

But the plot goes beyond pirates, presidents, and assassinations, and includ...more
Gail Cooke

There are a few voice performers so admired that just their name on an audio book causes it to be purchased - one of those names is Scott Brick. He’s a top favorite among audiobook aficionados and with good reason. As has been said of him, “” He seems to have an intuitive ear for the authorial voice, an uncanny ability to portray the personality of the author as well as those of his characters.” Treat yourself to this stellar reading of THE JEFFERSON KEY.

Now, just as Brick is an outstanding na...more
Jared
I was excited to receive and review this book. The cover was a hook and I was interested as I have read another book by Mr. Berry and it was great.

1) My advanced edition had three blurbs from authors David Baldacci, Vince Flynn and Brad Meltzer. I have read everything they have written and they raved about this book so I was ready to start.

2) The opening was interesting and hooked me. It had everything you would need. Two assassination attempts on President's, letters of Marque, and a cipher. T...more
Susan Johnson
Cotton Malone has taken me on some exciting adventures from the secrets of the Alexandria Library, to a lost fortune of Napoleon's and to an undiscovered tomb of terra cotta warriors in China. This time there are no visits to his bookstore in Denmark because the action takes place in America. The plots involves American pirates, the link between the four presidents assassinated while in office and missing pages from the "Congressional Reacord".
There are a lot of people involved in this book. Th...more
Daniel Audet
In this latest effort from Mastercraftsman - Steve Berry - is clearly at the top of his game. This book is another amazing example of micro detail, historical fact amd imagery weaved into a tale that explodes from the get-go and doesn't let you get up off the floor. Cotton Malone becomes aware of a plot to assassinate the President of the U.S. He is called upon, with Ms.Vitt, to uncover just what is going on and who is behind it. What he discovers may cost him his life. A secret group whose orig...more
Pamela
When it comes to the Cotton Malone books, I'm somewhat of a glutton for punishment. One of the earlier ones was actually rather enjoyable--I think it was The Romanov Prophecy--but I guess I read them because I like to see what sort of crazy has been cooked up this time. At least it seems that as time goes one, Berry gets better editors. I'll never forget him referring to the "Palais des Popes" in Avignon. Because "popes" is totally how you say "pope" in French.

The Jefferson Key starts off intere...more
Kathryn
This is the first Steve Berry book I have read and I am definitely hooked! This book is so fast paced and often has action happening in two or more locations at once. I love Casseopeia and Cotton - they make a great couple and one thing I love about Steve Berry is no gratuitous sex! That would definitely spoil it for me.

Put this on your "to-read" list for summer and add some more Steve Berry books. You will love them.
Elizabeth
This book started out good. I was really enjoying it and planned to read the rest of the series, then...

The action middle of the book has too many characters doing too many things at once. The text skips around so fast you can't follow what is going on with any one character for very long. Even in the center of the character's story, there are single sentences that don't fit with the narrative just popped in.

Then...it seems like there is some challenge out there for writers to write the most dem...more
Bob
Cotton Malone and Cassiopeia become embroiled in a plot to assassinate the President and this is only the beginning of a much more involved situation which has the Head of the NIA plotting against the administration, other intelligence agencies and the Commonwealth, a group of families that came into existence at the beginning of the country in the 1700’s when the were awarded letters of Marque as privateers to make war on enemy shipping. The Commonwealth continued throughout the years some time...more
Samantha
I really enjoyed Steve Berry's first book set in America. I loved all the history that he wraps into this book. It starts off with Andrew Jackson's assignation attempt and weaves it into Thomas Jefferson and Monticello along with some other historical figures too. Thrown in some pirates and their different definitions of pirating and you have a very fast paced novel. I enjoyed how it kept me on my toes trying to figure out the next move of the different players of the book. This book is part of...more
Lani
Apparently I've read another Cotton Malone book by Steve Berry, and I have to say I don't see why he hasn't received all the acclaim the critics rain down on Dan Brown. I'm not really into the 'pop thriller' genre that these books fit into, but at least Berry manages to keep twists twisty and can wrap up a book without making me angry.

This book is set in the US, a bit unusual for the Cotton Malone books I guess? But I'm a fan of Jefferson and he seems a good fit for strange riddles and puzzles,...more
Tamara
I enjoyed this book a great deal, as always with Steve Berry's books. Having said that, i must once again find some fault, minor but also consistent with berry's writing. First, he always has to have that one last fight, that one last chase scene with that one last twist that is anticlimatic or sometimes unnecessary. I find that there comes a point in the story where I feel completely satisfied and entertained and things could wrap up. Instead the reader must get through another 75-100 pages of...more
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Historical Fictio...: Has anyone read The Jefferson Key? 3 27 Apr 06, 2012 11:20am  
The Jefferson Key (Cotton Malone, #7)
The Jefferson Key (Cotton Malone, #7)
The Jefferson Key (Cotton Malone, #7)
The Jefferson Key (Cotton Malone, #7)
The Jefferson Key (Cotton Malone, #7)

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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Steve Berry is the New York Times bestselling author of the Cotton Malone series featuring The Jefferson Key, The Emperor's Tomb, The Paris Vendetta, The Charlemagne Pursuit, The Venetian Betrayal, The Alexandria Link, and The Templar Legacy. He also has three stand-alone t...more
More about Steve Berry...
The Alexandria Link (Cotton Malone, #2) The Templar Legacy (Cotton Malone, #1) The Romanov Prophecy The Venetian Betrayal (Cotton Malone, #3) The Amber Room

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