Undercover agents. Evil tyrants. Conspiracy theories. Geopolitics. Historical artifacts. Exotic destinations. These are the stuff that tickles my fancy.

Even at a very young age I have always been a voracious reader and whenever I would find an author I liked I would immediately go out and buy all of their books, devouring them one after another. While I used to enjoy reading the deep intellectual stuff, I have to admit that with less free time on my hands these days between juggling work and motherhood I prefer books that are fast paced and entertaining. While they can be fun, I have never been a fan of “Chick Lit”. I have always loved a little more masculine novels that deal with spies, geopolitics and conspiracy theories or historical fiction. Then I discovered an author who managed to enjoyably marry the two!

After exhausting all of Dan Brown’s novels I needed to find a replacement and while browsing through Fully Booked a few months into my pregnancy right next to Brown was Steve Berry. Inviting titles like “The Venetian Betrayal” or “The Templar Legacy” lured me into reading the synopsis on the cover. I caved an bought one not realizing they were in fact a series.

When you get past the strange convoluted names of the main characters (Cotton Malone? Cassiopeia Vitt? Seriously?!) Berry’s novels are extremely exciting, expertly wielding through history and current affairs, world politics and ancient artifacts. The dialogue and prose is well written, witty without being cliché and the attention to detail when he describes situations will really make you feel you are alongside Alexander the Great in his conquests of Asia or crisscrossing alleyways, dodging bullets in modern day Copenhagen.

From wealthy businessmen looking to control financial markets and searching for Napoleon’s lost treasure to crazy, Central Asian tyrants and Alexander the Great’s cute for AIDS; plus secret elite clubs of the most powerful men in the world and the lost library of Alexandria in the Sinai desert and a power struggle for control of China and abiotic inexhaustible oil discovered by the the First Emperor… Each page is full of action, historical and geopolitical reference… each novel is a great, indulgent and entertaining read!

Love and Light, Stephanie

PS – the wonderful thing is that they are written in such a way that even if you don’t start the Cotton Malone series from the beginning (The Templar Legacy) each book stands on its own and briefly explains things that had happened before and establishes each character well without being long winded… Also always read the author’s note after the story where he separates fact from fiction.