Part of Cotton Malone, book 4
First published 2008
Cotton Malone believed his father perished in a North Atlantic submarine accident. When the former Justice Department agent asks his ex-boss Stephanie Nelle for the military records, he discovers his father commanded a classified nuclear submarine that vanished beneath Antarctic ice. Twin sisters Dorothea Lindauer and Christl Falk are also hunting for answers about their father, who died on the same vessel. Their mother has promised her fortune to whichever daughter uncovers the truth. The sisters reveal that Nazi expeditions reached Antarctica in 1938, guided by mysterious clues from Charlemagne's tomb. Malone finds himself caught between ancient puzzles written in cryptic language, historical riddles, and his father's final mission. Navy Admiral Langford Ramsey will kill to keep these secrets buried. Malone joins forces with the sisters on a perilous journey from German cathedrals to French fortresses to the frozen Antarctic wasteland, where he must face the reality of his father's fate.
Genres: historical-fiction, adventure, mystery, thriller
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Antarctica, France, Germany
Period: 1938, 20th-century
509 pages · Hardcover · Ballantine Books