The Warsaw Protocol is a quite interesting tale of intrigue involving efforts to blackmail the president of Poland into accepting US missiles in his country. The characters are interesting, as is the setting in beautiful old Poland and Slovakia. Castles, cathedrals, and a tremendous salt mine are artfully explored. Naturally, there are bad guys for protagonist Cotton Malone to deal with. These bad guys can't even trust each other as author Steve Berry creates conflicts, betrayals, and murders to add action. Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

Our family is a big fan of the Steve Berry books. We typically get a copy and then argue over who gets to read it first. They're chock full of history, adventure, mystery, and intellectual banter. This book continues the epic of Cotton Malone, off on another unsanctioned adventure, this time to Poland. Truthfully, the subject matter didn't really hold my attention. That's not an era of history that I'm particularly into (Communist Poland), so it was difficult to get into it. I was probably halfway through the book before getting into it, which is rare. You don't need to have read any other books to read this one, but there will be a few allusions to backstory that might go over your head. It's ok though...if you haven't read the others, you won't need the updates on it anyway. :)

Berry has written another winner with Cotton Malone as the hero again. The book is non stop action and the plot never lets up. I enjoyed all the characters. I could not put the book down.

Make sure you place a hold on this title as this is a ‘classic’ Steve Berry work with our favourite hero Cotton Malone. Expectations of adventure, history, intrigue, politics, architecture, culture and more will be fulfilled on a journey.. At the end of a work by Steve Berry my fingers are sore from googling to see pictures of landmarks, architecture: and my mind wanders to the next book.

Once again, Steve Berry has written a fast paced "thriller" that pulled me in from page one. The writing felt a bit different (not in a bad way, more action/starts of a bit gruesome), yet did not distract from Cotton Malone's mission.
To find an artifact, attend a secret meeting with a useless agent from the current President, all while trying to determine what was really happening, made for an engaging story line. Readers should note that Cassiopia is not a part of this mission, but is mentioned. Of course, the ending left me wanting the next book to be available now!
Huge thanks to Danielle at St. Martins and Net Galley for the chance to read & review Mr. Berry's new book. Always appreciated!

Another exciting and entertaining chapter in the Cotton Malone saga. I felt like this book was slightly different than past books, in that there was less focus on the history, and more focus on the action. I don’t think it made the final product any less enjoyable either. I love how in later chapters of the book the vantage points changes quickly from character to character leaving the reader on the edge on their seat. Adds to the intrigue and excitement! Can’t wait for the next book in the series.

Thanks to Netgalley, Steve Berry, and Minotaur Books for providing me with an advanced reading copy.

4 stars

This is yet another great entry into the Cotton Malone historical/political/archeological series. In this episode Cotton is on a book buying mission for some of his customers in Bruges, Belgium when a priceless artifact is stolen from a church Cotton is visiting. After a wild chase, a boat crash and jail time, Cotton is released to Stephanie Nelle's (his old Justice Department boss), supervision.

What follows is a wild romp through several countries in search of a relic that could get Cotton into a private auction of the remaining relics that have been stolen all over the world. But more importantly, on auction is devastating information about the President of Poland. This could have serious ramifications for the current political climate, especially between the United States and Russia.

This book has actual history combined with Mr. Berry's fantastic imagination and talent for story telling. It has political tension between the major superpowers and a race to find the missing relics and obtain the secret information before it all disappears – or the other guy gets it.

This book is very well written and plotted with only a few minor grammatical errors. It moves along quickly and smoothly. Mr. Berry has a talent for using colorful descriptions to illustrate not only the action but the scenery of the story. The reader is there with Cotton, taking the risks, running and scheming right along with him. He comes up with fascinating situations for Cotton to try to wriggle his way out. While the books always contain his historical/contemporary outlook, the stories are so varied and provide a constant source of entertainment. I really appreciate the obvious research that goes into his novels. And oh, by the way, I love the author's portrayal of the current leader (cough), of the United States.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for forwarding to me a copy of this great book for me to read, enjoy and review.

Steve Berry's newest novel featuring Cotton Malone and Stephanie Nelle newest and perhaps last adventure. The plot takes plaace in Poland and centers around the political actions of the United States president, Russian agents and several other countries. They are all biding for information that canbe used to blackmail Poland's president and other countries. The US wants to force Poland's president to allow them to build missiles in his counry.

First of all I want to thank Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for my eARC and my honest review. Steve Barry continues to write smart, fact based, fast paced thrillers. This being his fifteenth Cotton Malone novel. He continues to add real time political tensions, and I will assume he is not a fan of the current American President. If you enjoy separating fact from fiction along with a thoroughly enjoyable read? This is it.

International intrigue, alliances, ancient artifacts, and politics have always been key ingredients throughout the Cotton Malone series. Readers will not be disappointed in this addition to the series a as Cotton, once again, must put his unique talents to work as he first must find/secure one of seven ancient artifacts that is the admission ticket to an auction of valuable information. Berry’s research is once again on display in addition to plot development that adds to the excitement that comes from reading this novel when a great cast of characters make that job more difficult.