Cotton Malone, a supposedly retired U.S. Justice Department agent, deals in rare books, until he nearly dies in a particularly nasty fire in a local museum. Now, he and his friend, Cassiopia Vitt, are chasing villains across Europe trying to connect the dots among Irina Zovastina, president of the Central Asia Federation, President Daniels of the United States, and Enrico Vencenti of the Venetian League. The treasure appears to be Alexander the Great's tomb. Really, the truth involves biological weapons, billions in pharmaceuticals, and a medallion with the microscopic inscription for "life" in ancient Greek.
Like most spy thrillers, Venetian Betrayal throws characters at the reader at an intense pace, and then bounces from location to location and action scene to action scene. Initially, I was annoyed that the plot just didn't move forward efficiently in a more connected style. But, as the pace increases and the enemy encounters intensified to reach the ultimate conflict, I found myself envisioning the action on the big scree, and it was amazing.
Malone is a bit of a sap when it comes to Cassiopia, but he is also one brilliant and capable spy when it comes to solving the intricate puzzle Berry has created. Worth every word read, I enjoyed chasing Malone and Vitt across Europe and Central Asia. Of course, the historic connection to ancient Greece caught my historian's interest. The action, while plentiful and violent, really intensified a sense of reality that the story needed. Overall a solid addition to the spy thriller with overtones of ancient treasure hunting genre.
Originally published 4/14/2011
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