Part of Cotton Malone, book 9
First published 2014
Cotton Malone sells books in his Copenhagen shop when a phone call from his former Justice Department boss pulls him back into action. He must rescue an informant carrying vital intelligence, but the mission goes wrong fast. Malone finds himself in a deadly boat chase, then plunged into a conspiracy that began with America's Founding Fathers over two centuries ago. The plot connects three dangerous situations: Mormon pioneer remains discovered in Utah, a political battle in Washington over a Mormon church elder under investigation, and a missing Justice Department agent captured by a religious zealot in Denmark. At the center lies a constitutional flaw and a shocking secret passed between presidents since 1861. Abraham Lincoln received this explosive knowledge as the Civil War began and faced an impossible choice: save thousands of American lives or prevent the nation from splitting apart forever. Now Malone races from Copenhagen streets to Salzburg catacombs to Utah mountains, risking everything he values most to uncover the truth about Lincoln while the country's fate hangs in the balance.
Genres: historical-fiction, adventure, mystery, action, american-history
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: conspiracy, government-cover-up, secret-history
Setting: Copenhagen, Denmark, Salzburg, Utah, Washington
Period: 19th-century, 21st-century
429 pages · Hardcover · Ballantine Books