Part of Cotton Malone, book 10
First published 2015
Cotton Malone runs a quiet bookshop in Denmark, his days as a Justice Department intelligence operative behind him. Then his former boss Stephanie Nelle calls with an urgent mission. A rogue North Korean has stolen classified Treasury Department documents that could destroy the American economy. The files contain secrets about the 16th Amendment and decades of income tax collection. Malone plunges into a twenty-four hour pursuit that takes him from the waterways of Venice to the mountains of Croatia. The chase reveals connections to Franklin Roosevelt, Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon, and hidden meanings in a National Gallery painting. Even the dollar bill holds clues to a conspiracy that questions whether federal income tax collection is legal. Malone must recover the stolen files before they expose a constitutional crisis that could bring down the government.
Genres: historical-fiction, adventure, mystery, action, espionage, political-thriller
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: conspiracy, government-corruption, international-intrigue
Setting: Croatia, Denmark, Venice
Period: 16th Amendment, Decades, Modern
386 pages · Hardcover · Minotaur Books