Another great Cotton Malone adventure that takes us from Switzerland to Luxembourg to Morocco to discover the secrets of a legendary lost WWII treasure and a mysterious figure from Cotton's life before he joined the Magellan Billet. At the heart of everything is bitcoin and how one bank hopes to covertly monopolize the market.

I love Cotton's adventures and this one didn't disappointment. I enjoyed learning more about bitcoin in this story - both its history and the potential positives and negatives of the cryptocurrency. A must read for fans of Cotton's adventures and Steve's books in general.

Thank you to Steve Berry, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

The story is about gold that was stolen and hidden during WWII. Some of the gold was found but the existence of it was kept hidden from all but a few. It also goes into detail how bitcoin works. There is a lot going on in this book and you have to pay attention. You aren’t sure who the good guys are because loyalty changes. Action starts from the begging and continues til the end. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

I wasn’t too impressed by this book. It felt like a knock-off of other stories I’ve read. I did like the historical elements, it was interesting. There isn’t much character development, I would have like to see more into them especially since there is a lot of personal and emotional past given. It just didn’t seem real, more like they were playing parts. I like the death scene with Suzy and Cotton, that’s intense. #TheAtlasManeuver #NetGalley

A triumphant return to form! Steve Berry has been an automatic buy ever since I bought THE TEMPLAR LEGACY my senior year of college. Since that time his novels have been some of my most anticipated every year. The previous couple Cotton Malone novels, while still entertaining, were not my favorite. That trend has ended with THE ATLAS MANEUVER. Cotton delves into the world of cryptocurrency at the behest of the FBI. In classic Berry style the underlying conspiracy is frighteningly practical. Fast paced, action packed, chocked full of tech; this Cotton Malone novel hits them all. Highly enjoyed and looking forward to not only the next Cotton Malone adventure, but Luke Daniels #2 as well!

If the weather starts getting chilly, you know that it’s time for Steve Berry to give us another Cotton Malone adventure, this time it’s “The Atlas Maneuver”.

We start (as usual with Mr. Berry) with a little bit of a history lesson, this time about the Japanese hiding gold in the closing days of World War II. The finding and disposition of this gold is one of the drivers of the story in the present.

On to the current day, where Cotton is doing a favor for a friend (which usually turns out pretty bad for him, BTW), keeping his eye on a woman who is being followed in Switzerland. Once guns are drawn, Cotton is forced to act and save the victim, who turns out to be an ex-lover from Cotton’s past, a relationship that ended badly. Meanwhile, Cassiopeia Vitt is also in Switzerland, following up on the location of the missing WWII gold, supposedly in a CIA-held vault which should be full, but not surprisingly it’s empty, and people aren’t happy with her poking around.

And off we go, into the world of bitcoin and cryptocurrency. It turns out that one of the oldest banks in Luxembourg is trying to control the world bitcoin market, secretly amassing a huge amount (by any means necessary) as it publicly is pushing for countries to adapt bitcoin as their reserves. Secret assassins, Russian bosses, ex-CIA agents with secrets, even some underwater adventures with a speargun! It all comes to a head in an explosive finale in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, but will Cotton be in time to save the world once again?

Another fine outing for Cotton, it is good to see Cassiopeia back in action after being missing in the last adventure in Bavaria. No Luke Daniels, but he is probably recovering from his last stand-alone venture. Unlike previous books, this chapter seems much more rooted in the present-day world, the historic Japanese gold is almost a side quest, a way to get the Japanese involved in the struggle. But still another great Christmas present from Mr. Berry.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Grand Central Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you!

Cotton brings us another action-packed adventure that teaches us a little bit about history, but also modern banking as well. I didn't really know anything about bitcoin before reading this, but feel like I got an education as well as being entertained. Cassiopeia is back, as well as an old girlfriend of Cotton's, and they are hunting a lot of gold that went missing at the end of WW2. One of the most difficult parts of this book is the shifting alliances, tracking who is on which side at any given time, and there is a surprise revelation that piques my interest about the subject of the next book in this series!

Another Cotton Malone thriller. The premise of the story deals with discovering the gold that was stockpiled by Japan during WWII. I liked the in depth detail on how bitcoin works and the possibility that it can be manipulated.

I’m a big Cotton Malone fan. Think his stories are great. Love the history built in. However. This story (Bitcoin) just didn’t do it for me. I thought the action was great as always. And the journey was fun. But the storyline driver was lacking. And a little confusing. And the ex-girlfriend, while intriguing, seemed to end too soon. I would have liked it to go on a few books to really build that backstory. That being said, I’m always a Cotton Malone fan and can’t wait for the next story!

Thank you Steve Berry, NetGalley, and Grand Central Publishing for providing me wi the an advanced reading copy.

This is an incredible story. One thing I love about Steve Berry is his ability to weave Cotton Malone and
Cassiopeia Vitt in, out and around factual historical threads, Government Agencies, foreign operators, and
in this story.< some interesting details concerning Cotton and a few of the characters that go back to early
in his career. This book revolves around missing gold bars stolen at the end of WW2 and the woman. who
claims to have invented / created cryptocurrency in the form of bit coin and from the block chain to
trying to convince the world to use crypto instead of the financial systems in place, Cotton is involved in
every kind of headache. We have heartache, very interesting murder, and a lot of unnecessary headaches
for a,guy no longer with the Agency..
You cannot go wrong with this book! I really enjoy all of the historical references, and the (mostly) accurate
locales and cultural references. There is a really great Authors Note with explanations and descriptions of’
lots of topics in the book.
My sincere thanks to Grand Central Publishing via NetGalley for the download of this book for review, purposes.
The book is expected 20 February, 2024

Who is stockpiling bitcoin, and what do they intend to do with it?

Cotton Malone, retired operative for an elite group within the DOJ, enjoys his new life as the owner of a Danish bookstore when he is asked by a CIA friend to do a favor. Keeping eyes on a woman who works for a Luxembourg bank and who is acting as an informant for the CIA seems like a simple enough way to introduce a little adrenaline into his life, and he asks his partner Cassiopeia to come along as well. When someone tries to kill the woman he’s watching he is able to abort the attempt, and so begins his latest escapade. When Cassiopeia is asked by Malone’s CIA friend to take a peek into a vault to verify that the cache of gold that should be there still is in fact there, she too is drawn into a complicated situation. All of the elements of a typical Cotton Malone are there…..an interesting bit of historical mystery (in this case, the huge quantities of gold and other valuables allegedly hidden by the Japanese in the final days of WWII, most of which have never resurfaced), skulduggery on the part of elements of the Intelligence community (the CIA and the PSIA, Japan’s intelligence agency), and people in power up to no good (the head of the bank and a certain group within the CIA). Weave in fact and speculation about bitcoin and what might happen if nations start adopting it as their “coin of the realm”, and it is another non-stop and thought-inducing thrill ride. When the woman whose life Cotton saves turns out to be someone from a part of his past about which he has regrets, there is some emotional baggage with which he must cope as well.
Reader of the Cotton Malone series will be sure to pick up a copy of this latest (18th) installment in the series, and well they should. Plenty of chases on land, by sea and underwater to be had here, along with bits of espionage and military history which are based at least to some degree on fact. Fans of Robert Ludlum, Raymond Khoury and Jack du Brul should also give this book and the series of which it is a part a try if they have not done so already. I thoroughly enjoyed, as I always do, the blend of history and adventure to be found within the pages of Mr Berry’s latest and couldn’t put it down. Many thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for allowing me access to an advanced reader’s copy of the book.

There is a lot going on in this intriguing novel — hidden gold from World War II, bitcoin, murders, bombs, an adopted child given up by the mother, etc. The action takes place in various places— Switzerland and Morocco to name a few. My only complaint is that there are are too many characters to keep track of and unless the book is read in one continuous period, it is difficult to remember who is who and who the “good guys” are. The very end of the novel leads me to believe that this may be the subject of Mr. Berry’s next novel.
I thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel prior to publication.

Another great book in this series. Ending leaves an opening for the next book. I can’t wait. The characters are interesting and have developed throughout the series. Good read.

The author continues the series his Cotton Malone series. It is an engaging and fairly quick read. It involves gold and bitcoin. He does a very good job of giving an overview of bitcoin and how it works and can potentially be abused.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Goodreads, NetGAlley, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog.

As it said in the description of this book, "Cotton has no choice. He has to act." Our action hero once again finds himself in a place where, seemingly, only he can solve the problem, Throw in long-ago past events with current events and players to get still another Steve Berry masterpiece.