What happens if both the president and vice-president-elect die before taking the oath of office? The answer is far from certain―in fact, what follows would be nothing short of total political chaos.
Shot down over Siberia, ex-Justice Department agent Cotton Malone is forced into a fight for survival against Aleksandr Zorin, a man whose loyalty to the former Soviet Union has festered for decades into an intense hatred of the United States.
Before escaping, Malone learns that Zorin and another ex-KGB officer, this one a sleeper still embedded in the West, are headed overseas to Washington D.C. Noon on January 20th―Inauguration Day―is only hours away. A flaw in the Constitution, and an even more flawed presidential succession act, have opened the door to disaster and Zorin intends to exploit both weaknesses to their fullest.
Armed with a weapon leftover from the Cold War, one long thought to be just a myth, Zorin plans to attack. He’s aided by a shocking secret hidden in the archives of America’s oldest fraternal organization―the Society of Cincinnati―a group that once lent out its military savvy to presidents, including helping to formulate three invasion plans of what was intended to be America’s 14th colony―Canada.
In a race against the clock that starts in the frozen extremes of Russia and ultimately ends at the White House itself, Malone must not only battle Zorin, he must also confront a crippling fear that he’s long denied, but which now jeopardizes everything. Steve Berry’s trademark mix of history and speculation is all here in this provocative new thriller.
Implausible scenarios/plot and characters made this “suspense” novel anything but suspenseful for me When the novel’s premise is that both a newly-elected president and vice president might be targeted for assassination by rogue former KGB types, taking advantage of flaws in our presidential succession act, that already requires a big, big leap of faith, even for a dedicated thriller reader. Add to that the need to accept the involvement of a secret society dating back to the foundation of the republic (sigh, yes another one of those), and all kinds of conspiracies stretching from the Cold War…
Back from the past ‘The 14th Colony’ is a good political thriller to read. You do have to get past the sigh that might emanate when yet another secret society is brought out.
A Well Written Historical Thriller With Some Unique Facts Included I have read several (If not all) of the Cotton Malone novels over the years, enjoying the depth that Steve Berry brings to his plot lines, the imaginative twists and turns that he deftly weaves into his stories, and the well-developed characters who are both likable and very proficient at their jobs. BUT, the last Cotton Malone novel I read was “The Lincoln Myth: A Novel”, a book that seemed to change each of the main characters’ assessments of their lives, interactions, and…