Cotton Malone is once again drawn out of his comfortable retirement as a bookseller in Copenhagen to investigate another historical mystery based on real life events from the annals of the past and connected to real life current events.

Steve Berry always breaks down, in his afterword, what is known history, what is speculation, and what he has invented himself. The many true historical connections between the ruling Medici family of Florence and the Popes in Rome (some of them Medici themselves) are Berry's starting point in this book.

The McGuffin is Berry's speculation of some deeper connections that may reverberate to present-day Italian politics as well as papal politics in the Vatican. Cotton is initially drawn in merely to double check an allegation against a German Cardinal in a financial scandal. But he get more deeply involved as the layers of the onion are peeled back on the Medici mystery.

A McGuffin, to review for those who are unfamiliar with the term coined by Alfred Hitchcock, is the thing that everyone covets in a classic double chase thriller. The good guys are on the run from both the bad guys and the authorities while they try to learn the truth behind the McGuffin.

Hitchcock believed the McGuffin itself was unimportant as long as the audience believed it to be strong enough motivation for the bad guys to drive the plot. But the mechanics of a double chase have become so predictable that (for me at least) the McGuffin is the main attraction -- yeah the bad guys are interested in the McGuffin, but more importantly, am I interested in the McGuffin?

Steve Berry has always centered his thrillers around highly interesting McGuffins, which is why I've read every one of his 19 Cotton Malone books, most of the Malone-Cassiopeia Vitt short stories, both Luke Daniels books co-written with Grant Blackwood, and all the standalone novels. So yes, I'm a fan, and it is the McGuffin -- and the puzzles he crafts for his protagonists to solve -- that draw me in.

This time, the McGuffin is only of mild interest to me -- maybe others will find it more interesting. For one thing, the Medici had their own TV series, so the history has been presented in detail before. Then there's that pesky Dan Brown (who in my estimation takes a back seat to Mr. Berry) who has already written extensively about the Vatican and Renaissance Florence.

But if that is a slight drawback, there is something really awesome to counterbalance it. In addition to his well-researched history, Berry always sets his stories in places he has recently visited -- what a great gig, having to travel all over the world to visit places you want to write about!

In this case, the centerpiece of the book, which Berry experienced firsthand, is the running of the Palio in Siena -- a horse race like no other. Cotton gets deeply involved in the Palio, and we get a detailed look at every aspect of the spectacle -- not just the race itself, although that is presented spectacularly, even if you have to suspend your disbelief quite a bit to imagine an aging Cotton participating in it.

Not quite as detailed but more of a new experience for me is the Calcio Storico of Florence, an early form of rugby or American football that has been played for over 500 years. Similar to Siena's Palio in its overall cultural structure, it centers on a competition so violent that it makes rugby look like the Ballet Russe. After reading about it here, I watched some it on YouTube.

So maybe a 3 1/2 star read based on plot and McGuffin and an historical background that is already well-known, but I elevate it to four stars because of its compelling setting, the Palio in Siena plus the Calcio Storico in Florence.

Steve Berry has been my favorite author for over a decade and the Cotton Malone series holds a special place in my heart. This newest edition to the series was not my favorite but I think it was a solid book. Berry sticks to his recipe and delivers action and mystery in a way that never got boring (for me).

This book definitely feels like book 20 in the series. At times there were info dumps and refreshes from earlier books that are helpful but (as with all books) can slow the pace down.

I look forward to every book Steve Berry writes, he is an auto-buy author for me and one I always recommend!

I love Steve Berry's installments of the Cotton Malone series. I have read every single one. This one fell sort of flat for me. Maybe it's because they mostly follow the same formula. I love the setting (Florence) and the topics (the Medici family). The story just seemed to get too bogged down in the historical fiction aspect this time for me. There was a lot more political storyline also. Overall, Steve Berry is always a solid read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advance copy for my honest review.

The Medici Return
By Steve Berry

This book is the latest in the Cotton Malone series of thrillers. Malone is a man of many parts: he has been in the Navy, been a JAG lawyer, worked as a field agent for a secret intelligence agency under the Justice
Department, and now owns a rare book shop in Copenhagen since his retirement. He is now pushing 50 and only works clandestinely occasionally, as a favor to his old boss, Stephanie Nelle.

If you have read previous books, this one will feel very familiar. There are always multiple "bad guys" whom Malone must outwit. And, as in previous books, some of them are straight out of the Vatican. Corruption in the hierarchy of the Catholic church seems to be a recurring theme.

If you are a Cotton Malone fan, Mr. Berry does not disappoint here.

On Steve Berry's Facebook page:
Karen Smith Hildebrand
Just finished the NetGalley DRC. I have always been fascinated with the Medicis. Having visited Tuscany, this book is like revisiting the area with an intriguing mystery to guide you. Great story. Loved the historical detail.

This book was pretty good, I would definitely recommend

~This was given by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

A possible Medici heir, a long ago papal pledge to repay a loan from the Medici’s, and Church politics weaves history and current events together. Cotton Malone is once again called into action, but soon realizes that he was used to frame an innocent man. Unfortunately, some of the papal hierarchy are willing to do anything to protect the Church.
The story didn’t capture my interest as others in this series have done, but the Medicis are a fascinating story in themselves.
Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC.

This continues the author’s Cotton Malone series. Unlike several of the most recent ones, it does bring in a cast of supporting characters, but focuses on Malone. It is an interesting and engaging read which also makes it a fairly quick read. Fans of the Cotton Malone character will definitely enjoy this book.

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

Cotton Malone certainly isn't getting any younger - nor am I, one who's been following his adventures for some time now (this is the 19th installment in the series). We've both long since retired - but we're both keeping our hats in the employment ring to a certain degree. Cotton has a main squeeze, and he's happy he's got her and a rare-books store to run. But when his old boss and friend, Stephanie Nelle calls, he's usually willing and able to take on whatever task she has in mind.

This one ventures into the territory of another of my favorite authors, Dan Brown, heavily - and I do mean heavily - laced with the history of the Catholic church, Italy, the famous (infamous??) Medici family and all the ties therein going back to the 1400s. The focus, in fact, is on an IOU of note - one made by the church back then, when the Medicis saved the Papal hides from bankruptcy (or whatever they did back then when they ran out of money) by way of a huge loan that's worth billions today.

By this time, though, the Medici family is extinct and that IOU exists only in the minds of a few people who still believe it exists and are determined to locate a copy of it. That includes a powerful current Cardinal and Pope wannabe, a man who wants to use the IOU to blackmail the church into adopting a new political stance and a man who always believed he's a legitimate Medici heir and is desperate to prove it.

The story follows all these factions and people, as well as characters and history related to each; needless to say, this isn't an easy book to follow. I lost count of the times I needed to backtrack a page or two (or three) to figure out which person I'm reading about, and more than once I skimmed over some of the historical paragraphs, well, just because.

Some of it was a bit implausible - like the happenings at the annual horse race in Sienna, I believe (at your age, Cotton? Seriously?), but it also added to the intrigue and overall impact. As always, the loose ends are pretty neatly tied up by the end, and the whole thing is another winner. Just know it's not one of those books you can read with one eye while keeping the other on a TV show you don't want to miss. As for me, I heartily thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

With any Cotton Malone book, you know exactly what to expect: fast-paced action, moments that might stretch your suspension of disbelief, well-researched plots, and incredible settings you'd love to explore (if you haven't already). It’s not literary gold—but it’s guaranteed fun!

This time, Cotton takes us to Florence, one of the first places I ever visited in Italy. My wife, if given the choice, would retire to Italy—so you can see why we have a special fondness for the setting. Perhaps that connection made me enjoy this story a touch more than other Steve Berry titles.

That said, one downside is Berry's apparent anti-religious tone, which I’ve noticed in other books in the series, like The Templar Legacy. It might alienate some readers. However, for everyone else, this is an engaging and entertaining thriller.

I will always read a Cotton Malone story, or any story by Steve Berry. However, I just didn’t feel it with this one. It felt like Cotton was pushing himself to do something, like he was trying to prove himself. It is only in the last chapter that the bombshell from the previous book is mentioned. And that’s why I believe I felt that Cotton was trying to prove something.

I hope the author brings Cassiopeia back into the series. While I know that things have to end somehow, someway, Cassiopeia brings a certain roundness to Cotton. There also wasn’t much of Stephanie Nelle. I will say I was very happy that the author did not go on about Cotton’s ex-wife and how rough their past was. The brief mention of Cotton’s personal life was nice, like an “oh by the way”, but it wasn’t a distraction.

I do wish the espionage had more puzzles like in the beginning of the series.

Overall, I rate this novel 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Medici Might Not Return in This Novel…

Steve Berry is a “former attorney”… I’m not sure if this means he was disbarred or he stopped lawyering to write… He founded International Thriller Writers. His first historical thriller was published in 2003. He has sold over 25 million books. He has written dozens of novels, and regularly writes introductions to others’ novels.
“…The latest installment in his… Cotton Malone series—now in development as a streaming series.” This series is about a bookseller and spy for the fictitious covert US intelligence agency Magellan Billet. There are 18 parts, and several half-parts to this series. The announcement of Amazon creating a streaming series based on this novel series was made a month ago, in November, so it will be a while before it is released.
The cover of this new novel reflects the money this series has made its publishers. The title is made in gilded thick-paint texture. There is a tablet map combined with a re-colored photo of Italy. It’s just a nicely polished artistic composition.
In this novel, Cotton goes “to Italy to solve a five hundred year-old mystery.” It is a growingly absurd trope that these investigators keep going abroad to solve antique mysteries. I mean, at least if a private-investigator stays in their own neighborhood, they know the players better than some impersonal agencies. But going to a foreign country, where you can’t be fluent in the language can’t be a realistic thing that has ever happened. “Cotton Malone is on the hunt for a forgotten 16th century Pledge of Christ—a sworn promise made by Pope Julius II that evidences a monetary debt owed by the Vatican, still valid after five centuries—now worth in the trillions of dollars. But collecting that debt centers around what happened to the famed Medici of Florence—a family that history says died out, without heirs, centuries ago. Who will become the next prime minister of Italy, and who will be the next pope? Finding answers proves difficult until Cotton realizes that everything hinges on when, and if, the Medici return.” The issue of just how the Medici might return is addressed when Eric Casaburi confesses that he has “Medici roots”, as proven with “DNA evidence”. This guy is hoping to cash in on this heritage claim by using the quote in the myth of the worth of the relic to argue that the “ten million florins” was “loaned” to the Catholic church, and so the church now owns a descendant of the Medici “2.3 billion euros.” The investigator is concerned a success might bankrupt Catholicism. Well, it is a curious idea. Though too much is left vague for the reader to be serious interested in just how this can be probable.
The “Prologue” starts this story on the right foot as it clarifies who the Medici were, offering the details that are relevant to the central story. When knowledge of such histories is assumed in a historical novel, it tends to proceed without any actual history, defeating the genre’s presets. And it ends with a rival offering “the best collateral on this earth”, “what few in history have ever possessed”, in exchange for “ten million gold florins”: “The Pledge of Christ.” This plotline sounds familiar. Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code (2003) described a search for evidence that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had a child. Though it might have been another novel where Jusus’ mother’s cloth or the like was the goal of the hunt. Though searching for a mythical object is as old as Apollonius of Rhodes’ Argonautica’s description of the search for the Golden Fleece. At least this is an ambitious and theologically complex idea… Though in this novel’s case, it’s puzzling what this “pledge” is: perhaps its referring to a relic of the cross that Christ was hung on? While there are some interesting sections, once the setup is revealed, the story fractures into abstractions. Chapter 5 starts with a description of a guy who tortured animals as a child. There is no immediately given connection between this guy and the search for the artifact etc. that this book is supposed to be about. By the middle of the book, there are just vague back-and-forth chats, such as: “Sadly, it is true…” “…But it is a lie…” There are many ways to have handled this story to make it interesting, but the author seems to have tried a bit, but then given in to abstractions.
—Pennsylvania Literary Journal, Fall 2024: https://anaphoraliterary.com/journals/plj/plj-excerpts/book-reviews-fall-2024

What a complex, riveting historical thriller!
I loved the deep dive into the history of the Medicis.
And, the history of the papacy, with all its warts and intrigue.

This was a complex puzzle, and story of deceit and deception at its highest levels.
A great reading adventur3.

I always like reading the Cotton Malone series by Steve Berry. They are quick reading fiction with an emphasis on historical conspiracy theories, in the vein of a Dan Brown novel. I like this novels spin on the Medici's of Florence and the Roman Catholic Church, a fun, exciting read.

Berry has a talent for pulling me into another Cotton Malone adventure loaded with historical fiction. Once again, the author takes us down a convoluted path and yet manages to weave it all together for a solid conclusion. And I like how Berry includes an Author's Note separating fiction from fact, and I always appreciate the fascinating data he includes in these notes. Overall, The Medici Return is an entertaining story with well-developed characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #TheMediciReturn #CottonMalone #SteveBerry

I have read every Cotton Malone series book that comes out and is one that I look forward to reading. I love the historical aspect alongside the “spy”/ops kind of feel Cotton. However this one, although with some great moments, didn’t live up to it for me. Loved the horse race. But ultimately felt like two books forming one. Overall loved the history and had some fun but not my favorite in the series!

I received a free advanced copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Medici Return is the 19th book in the Cotton Malone Series by Steve Berry. When a politician goes to the Vatican to look for the church's support for his political party in the upcoming election he is denied. He counters by questioning the cardinal about a Pledge of Christ that was made between Pope Julius the II and the Medici back in the 16th century, and what if he has proof of said Pledge and he is a blood relative to the Medici and can lay claim to the debt that is owed. This leads Cotton to work with the church to try to track down this written Pledge before it can be used as blackmail or cause damage/bankruptcy to the church.

I have read several of the books in the Cotton Malone series. I love how Steve Berry weaves in historical information to this series. You typically get an adventure and a history lesson at the same time. At the end of each book he even separates the facts from the fiction. This book started off rather slow and Cotton Malone was hardly involved in the first approximately 20-25% of the story. It eventually picks up, but this isn't one of the stronger in the series. One of the main highlights in the novel is an annual horse race that takes place in Italy that Malone gets involved in. I have found that these novels work best when Malone is working with Cassiopea Vitt or Luke Daniels. This novel was front loaded with history and focusing on multiple characters within and working for the church. It was also hard to keep track of the multiple characters throughout the novel. Overall this novel was alright and held my interest mainly because of the investment that I've put into the series.

Thank you NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

#NetGalley #TheMediciReturn #CottonMalone #SteveBerry

First, I thank NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for allowing me the pleasure of reading this ARC. I have been a fan of, and reading, the Cotton Malone series since its inception. There have been good installments and not so good installments but reading "The Medici Return" took me back to the good old days of this series. Cotton back working with elements of the Vatican, a story bringing to life the rich history of some of Italy's greatest people and events, this book had it all. as with all of the Cotton Malone books, once i started reading it, it was very hard to put down. The books pacing is a perfect blend of suspense and action.

Steve Berry has done it again with a novel that is so good, it should be criminal;.

Cotton Malone is again away from his bookstore helping out old friends. The Catholic Church is involved, but only certain factions. As is usual in these books there is a lot of information that people don’t want others to know. Horse races, hidden agendas and lost identities are all parts of this story. Great book!

4 and 1 / 2 stars

The thing I love the most about Steve Berry’s novels are the historical aspects of them. I love all things historical and get a real charge reading and learning about historical figures and events.

Cotton Malone is a good character. I feel like I know him pretty well by now. I enjoy his adventures and the variety of settings in which they occur.

In this novel, we are reintroduced to the infamous Medici family. It is discovered that the Medici family loaned the Vatican money that was never paid back. Oooooh, imagine the interest by now on that debt. What a juicy premise for a book.

I loved it. The writing is great and the pacing of the story kept me riveted to the pages. The character development is beyond fine.

I want to thank NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for forwarding to me a copy of this wonderful book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.