I received a copy of this title from the publisher; all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. A long-time Cotton Malone fan, this book definitely didn't disappoint. The Atlas Maneuver weaves a fantastic story that ties to WWII and gold stolen by the Japanese that has been lost to time and merges it with "modern gold" in bitcoin and digital wallets. I don't want to ruin the plot, but an unexpected appearance by someone from Cotton's past dramatically complicates matters for both Cotton and Cassiopeia. I literally could not put this down and blew through the book; nobody takes a historical event and weaves a believable alternate version better than Steve Berry and this title is no exception. I wasn't familiar with lost Japanese gold or the creation of bitcoin, so I definitely learned something reading this book. Cotton continues to be a favorite of mine and the series shows no signs of slowing down. The explosive conclusion sets up the next book and takes Cotton into a new phase of his life.

Book #18 in Steve Berry's Cotton Malone series. Each book can be read as a stand alone. Berry throws Malone into the middle of a tense situation and expects him to fight his way through. This is a great series of thrillers that never fails to keep me reading long after "just one more chapter" has passed. The characters form a great team that is always willing to take the fight to the bad guys. The fight this time is an international one that started with the Japanese theft of valuables during WWII and will end with Malone's crew fighting to reclaim them before they can be used to finance strikes against the financial markets of the world.

Berry has created in Cotton Malone and Cassiopeia Vitt the smartest, bravest agents in history-based thrillers, and I was not disappointed in their problem-solving and ingenuity as they faced numerous dangers this go round. I was a bit uninterested in the protracted explanations of theories around bitcoin and post-WWII/CIA management of looted gold, but then, economics is NOT my wheelhouse. Nonetheless, I was drawn into the story immediately and enjoyed the ride.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing, Netgalley, and the author for early access to this intriguing and timely thriller.

Steve Berry has given us another great Cotton Malone thriller. This series has always had great characters, non-stop action, and well researched historical settings. This one, the eighteenth in the series is no exception. Although this can be easily read as a stand alone, I highly recommend reading the whole series from the beginning starting with "The Templar Legacy" Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced reader copy.

I have enjoyed the Cotton Malone books for years. Often, long series can go through some dry spells, but the interweaving of bitcoin into The Atlas Maneuver makes it very current and fresh.

Thank you to Net Galley and Hachette Book Group for an early copy of The Atlas Maneuver by Steve Berry

When Cotton Malone is contacted to handle a small undercover job in Luxembourg, little does he know that he will become part of an international plot with many arms that threaten the balance of finance around the world. The CIA, the Japanese and the Bank of St. George in Luxembourg are all players and have a hand in retrieving, hiding or stealing the riches the Japanese had supposedly moved from Asia at the end of the World War II and hidden in the Philippines.

Added to the complications are a number of very strong, capable and dangerous women, each with a mission and a goal. A particular woman from Malone's past complicates matters as Cotton and his true love Cassiopeia Vitt work different angles in the little-understood world of bitcoin.

In the style of author Steve Berry, fact and fiction blend beautifully together, and Berry presents an explanation at the conclusion of the novel of what is fact, what is fiction and what could be true.

All fans of Cotton Malone will welcome this newest adventure.

Cotton Malone responds to a friend’s request for help – and finds himself in the middle of a battle with far-reaching consequences. At the center of it all are the cryptocurrency called Bitcoin and a reported treasure hidden by the Japanese at the end of World War II. First he must figure out exactly what is going on... then he must somehow stop the Atlas Maneuver.

This is book #18 in this series, which may be my favorite of all the series I read. I love Cotton’s character, with his sense of loyalty and responsibility, his quick thinking, his skills and knowledge, his patience when necessary, and so much more. I was thrilled that Cassiopeia played such a big part in this book, as it seems she has had mere cameo appearances in the last several books, and I like her character almost as much as Cotton’s. The action in this book takes the reader from Luxembourg to Switzerland to Morocco, places I enjoyed reading and learning about.

A good deal of the story focuses on Bitcoin, and although it was explained in detail, I’m still not sure I understand it, except that there’s a limited supply of it, its ownership is secret, its value can go up or down like stocks, and if you own any, you’d better pray that you never lose your password. Trying to make sense of it all was confusing and took me out of the story more than once, something that rarely ever happens with books in this series.

We know almost from the start who the bad guys are, although we’re left unsure about some of them until later in the book. I enjoyed watching the various plot threads start to untangle, and had a very hard time putting the book down. As usual in a Cotton Malone book, the confrontation scene was dangerous and made my heart race until it was over.

I can’t wait to read the next book in this series, and to see what new history lessons it will teach me.

Steve Berry is at the top of his game, blending history and fiction into a propulsive thriller that is sure to win him even more fans.

In the waning months of World War II, Japan hid vast quantities of gold and other stolen valuables in boobytrapped underground caches all across the Philippines. By 1947 some of that loot was recovered, not by treasure hunters, but by the United States government, which told no one about the find. Instead, those assets were stamped classified, shipped to Europe, and secretly assimilated into something called the Black Eagle Trust.

Present day: Retired Justice Department operative, Cotton Malone, is in Switzerland doing a favor for a friend. But what was supposed to be a simple operation turns violent and Cotton is thrust into a war between the world’s oldest bank and the CIA, a battle that directly involves the Black Eagle Trust. He quickly discovers that everything hinges on a woman from his past, who suddenly reappears harboring a host of explosive secrets centering around bitcoin. The cryptocurrency is being quietly weaponized, readied for an assault on the world’s financial systems, a calculated move that will have devastating consequences. Cotton has no choice. He has to act. But at what cost?

Highly recommended! #TheAtlasManeuver #NetGalley #SaltMarshAuthorSeries

In 1945 it is said that Japan hid gold and other valuable pieces across the Philippines in boobytrapped areas. After the war some of this treasure had been found, but much more stayed hidden. What was recovered was said to be by the United States in secret and shipped to Europe where it was again hidden in the world's oldest bank and only the bank and the CIA controlled it. The head of the bank is planning to drop the CIA and take control of the gold for their own plot along with a plan for controlling the world's Bitcoin use, and the CIA is not going to let that happen and has plans of their own to rid the world of anyone and everyone who can expose their secrets or gets in their way.

Thanks to Netgalley and Grand Central for the pre-release copy. Below is my honest review.

I have a few things to praise about this one: I learned a lot about bitcoin and blockchain from this one, which was kinda cool as it's not something I knew much about. We also got more Cassiopeia Vitt, along with the return of Koger and TOO from recent previous stories. More Vitt = happy me. We also got a bit of backstory about Cotton's not-so-good history, meeting an old flame from the past, which was interesting.

I do have a few complaints as well. First, there wasn't enough Stephanie Nelle. I miss her! Second, Vitt and Cotton were separated the whole book, which sucked. Third, there were SO MANY SENTENCE FRAGMENTS, and so many of them starting with "which." Seriously, I don't recall Berry's work being this poor level of grammar before. Maybe there were lots of sentence fragments in previous books and my mind blocked them out, but this time there were so many that it took me out of the story over and over, making it hard to binge.

3.5 stars rounded up. Definitely still recommend for fans of the series.

Ah, what a tangled web! In this case, tangling the old with the new: old gold, new Bitcoin. Two cases, two sets of investigators and several possible outcomes - almost all not for the good of the country or retired Justice Department operative Cotton Malone and his small cadre of close friends and colleagues. I feel compelled to say that while both scenarios are extremely intriguing and entertaining - and I've been chomping at the bit for a long time to understand why everyone is so hot to trot (or not!) over Bitcoin - much of the very detailed explanations were way above my intellectual pay grade (that said, I know quite a bit more now than I did when I started the book).

But even if I couldn't quite grasp the complexities of something I can't see, touch or feel (a condition, I believe, called acatalepsy), there's plenty here that kept me fingering through my e-reader pages of this, the 18th book in one of my favorite series. And the ending - for which I'll provide no clues whatsoever - leaves a door wide open for the next installment. Mind you, I'm not totally sure how I feel about the specifics (regular readers of the books, I think, will understand what I mean when they finish this one).

The first (old) situation involves Yamashita's Gold, a stash reportedly worth billions of dollars that was hidden underground in the Philippines near the end of World War II. Some was recovered secretely by the U.S. government and has remained a secret known to only a few ever since; whether there is more - and where it is hidden - is a matter of conjecture. On the newer side, high-level employees at a Swiss bank have gained control of the aforementioned Bitcoin - also secretely - and are planning to wreak havoc on the world economy. Complicating the situation is that a woman who once was, shall we say, close to Cotton is a high-stakes player.

Working on the gold side is Cotton's old friend Derrick Koger, a European CIA operative who's tuned into the reports of buried treasure. He ends up working alongside Cassiopeia Witt, who now is, shall we say, close to Cotton. That in and of itself makes for an interesting situation, to say the least; but it is the action-packed goings-on (and danger) of the two scenarios - and how they end up coming together - that made me not want to put this one down. It's another exciting adventure, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

In 1945 as WWII is coming to an end, Japan scrambles to hide its cache of ill-gotten gold before the Allies close in. Despite extreme secrecy surrounding the various hiding places, the United States manages to covertly uncover a portion of the treasure. Thinking they knew best how to use these funds, the U.S. government secreted the gold to Black Eagle Trust in a Swiss bank.

Fast forward to present day and almost everyone has forgotten about the lost gold. But as our intrepid hero Cotton Malone is about to discover, there are a few dangerous people who not only remember the stash but also know about Black Eagle Trust – and these people plan to use that knowledge to manipulate the world market. Along with Cassiopeia Vitt, Cotton will traverse Europe on a mission to not only uncover the gold but also stop a high-tech conspiracy. He’s no stranger to covert ops, but when a woman from his past is revealed to be an integral part of the problem Cotton will find that even more hinges on his success than ever before.

Another fast-paced, educational, exciting adventure from Mr. Berry! This story features lots of information about bitcoin. As an inherently risk-adverse person I can’t wrap my head around putting money into this electronic currency. As an auditor, I can’t imagine what a nightmare it would be to test valuation on bitcoin. Berry does a great job weaving together fact and fiction to create an imaginary scenario that feels like an eerily real possibility. A great read for all thriller and mystery fans!

A really entertaining read from Steve Berry, as Cotton Malone helps a friend out. Great storytelling, action, and you learn about Bitcoin. The only problem I had was there were a few too many female characters, which got confusing....you had to pay attention!
Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC. I do recommend this book for the adventure and
historical value.

Cotton Malone finds himself facing someone from his past as he's doing a favor for a friend. An employee of the Bank of St. George's is taken and as Malone works to rescue the employee, he realizes there's a bigger plot to manipulate the global economy that ties into Bitcoin and an old story of a lost treasure from WWII. Overall, another great adventure in the Cotton Malone series, this time featuring the very relevant concept of cryptocurrency.

The Atlas Maneuver involves stolen gold hidden by the Japanese at the end of WWII, bitcoin, and conspiracies. Steve Berry always brings in historical fact, woven with fiction, to create a fascinating story. Cotton, a retired operative, is doing a favor for a CIA friend. His friend, Cassiopeia, is also involved, in a different location, but it is all intertwined. The favor returns an old lover from Cotton’s youth. A banking conglomerate is planning to control world governments through their use of bitcoin. Berry does a good job of explaining bitcoin. The story is skillfully built and has lots of exciting moments. If you enjoy a good thriller, be sure to read The Atlas Maneuver.
Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC.

As always, Berry takes Cotton Malone and his associates on an epic adventure. He always has a historical element to his stories and this one deals with World War II. The modern element in this one is very relevant to issues we hear about frequently. I love how he weaves it all together. I also love his descriptions of the settings, he always makes me add to my travel list. Can’t wait to read the next in the series.

Great story! A ruthless investment banking firm tumbles across a scheme to take control of bitcoin and, with it, the world economic system. As a thriller and crypto enthusiast, it was refreshing to read a thriller that got the crypto aspect right and the ending is absolutely perfect. This is a great read!

Cotton Malone is back in the 18th book in this series, The Atlas Maneuver. At the end of WW2, the Japanese had supposedly hid millions in stolen gold in the hills of the Philippines. Some of that gold was recovered by the US and deposited in a Swiss bank, to be used for clandestine operations by the CIA, as well as other political purposes. Cotton is asked for a favor from an old CIA friend regarding that gold deposit, and Malone is soon involved in a battle between a Swiss bank and the CIA. There are several side plots told simultaneously here, which adds to the tension and suspense, all working towards a single end. As usual with a Steve Berry book, the reader is treated to a bit of history, in this case currency, from the Stone Ages to cryptocurrency, as Bitcoin plays a major role in the story, and most will be glad for the primer. The book still comes down to Malone and his cohorts, and there’s no shortage of action in this one, and there’s an enticing cliffhanger that will have fans eager for the next installment. In short, this is another solid Malone adventure. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Atlas Maneuver is a riveting espionage thriller written by the renowned author Steve Berry. The novel takes the reader on a fast-paced adventure through clandestine operations, international intrigue, and high-stakes action. Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, the story delves into the world of covert intelligence and the political maneuverings of powerful nations.
Berry's meticulous attention to historical detail and his skillful portrayal of complex characters make The Atlas Maneuver a compelling read for upperclass students. The novel not only entertains but also provides a thought-provoking exploration of moral dilemmas and the consequences of espionage in a volatile geopolitical landscape.

I really enjoyed the historical aspects of this story. I felt like the author did a great job researching. I love the character, Cotton, and enjoy his adventures. This one kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't wait to see how it ended!