COTTON MALONE

Full Name:	Harold 'Cotton' Malone
Nationality:	American
Organization:	Magellan Billet
Occupation	Agent

Creator:	Steve Berry
Time Span:	2006 - 2024

ABOUT THE SERIES

Cotton Malone is an agent with the Magellan Billet.

The Billet is a division inside the Justice Department that concentrates on international investigations. It is described as "twelve lawyers the Justice Department put together to do some very specialized things." While not spies per se, their assignments are world-wide, varied, exotic, and highly dangerous. Legal skills are by no means the only abilities Malone had to possess to last as long as he did. The cases these twelve are assigned take them into the most dangerous parts of the world, usually alone and relying only on their training and their wits. Knowing how to shoot and how and when to duck were required skills as well.

As the series begins, Malone is a retired agent, having left the Billet at least a year before after over a dozen years working for it. Tired of the travelling and tired of people taking shots at him, he had moved to Copenhagen, a city he fell in love with during his travels. Using the good graces of a Danish billionaire who feels indebted to him, Malone has opened a rare book store. He had expected his exciting days, which cost him his marriage and for a while his son, were behind him. He was wrong.

Malone is in his early 40s, having been a Navy JAG officer for several years when the offer to join the Billet came. He remains a tall, muscular man with full wavy hair of a light sienna color. He does not show outwardly the abuse his body has taken from his former profession but he feels it nevertheless.

Whether it is continued friendship with his former boss or his association with the influential billionaire or his new closeness to a beautiful, rich, and deadly young woman with an exotic past, Malone is never at a loss of adventure even if he truly wants to stay in his book store and take things easy.

BOOKS

Number of Books:	18
First Appearance:	2007
Last Appearance:	2024


1			The Templar Legacy Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2007 When Cotton Malone sees a purse-snatcher through himself off a roof to escape capture, he is understandably curious. That inquisitiveness takes him deep into the world of the secret Knights Templar and a plot to change the course of history.

2			The Alexandria Link Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2007 A wealthy mastermind believes Cotton Malone has something he wants and he kidnaps Malone's son to force the return. Unfortunately, Malone doesn't have it and isn't sure what it is.

3			The Venetian Betrayal Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2007 The supreme minister of the Central Asian Federation has a plan to further his expansion goals by using a bioweapon to destroy Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, even if it plunges the world into WWIII. Cotton Malone plans to stop him.

4			The Charlemagne Pursuit Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2008 Cotton Malone learns his father's death in a sub accident years before was related to a search beneath Antartica for the same item hunted by Nazis during WWII. Now he wants to know what it was.

5			The Paris Vendetta Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2009 An American Secret Service operative turns to Cotton Malone for help when he is pursued by assassins hired by a group called the Paris Club, a secret cabal of wealthy businessmen out to manipulate the world's economy.

6			The Emperor's Tomb Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2010 When Cassiopeia Vitt asks Malone to help on a mission to recover a priceless Chinese lamp, he is willing but neither know that two high ranking Chinese ministers, each vying for the top leadership spot, want the lamp and will do anything to get it.

7			The Jefferson Key Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2011 A special code created by Jefferson two centuries before holds the answer to a conspiracy being unhatched by several powerful families in a plan to take over the country and run it the way they see as correct. Malone is determined to stop them.

8			The King's Deception Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2013 Cotton Malone's son, Gary, finds himself in the middle of a conflict between the US and UK governments and ripe for the picking of a man who has his own agenda, one very deadly for the young Malone. As Cotton gets involved he comes across a mystery dating back to Elizabethan times.

9			The Lincoln Myth Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2014 A secret passed from President to President can destroy the nation if revealed. When it comes to President Lincoln, his decision about it is even harder. A century later, the facts are starting to come out.

10			The Patriot Threat Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2015 There might be some issues with the legality of the 16th Amendment, legalizing income tax. North Korea gets involved in a scheme to cause considerable trouble for America and Cotton Malone's old boss asks for his help.

11			The 14th Colony Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2016 Learning that a Russian long hating the U.S. for the end of the U.S.S.R. is heading to Washington to use a flaw in the Constitution to bring down America, Cotton Malone is determined to chase him down and stop him.

12			The Lost Order Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2017 "The Knights of the Golden Circle was the largest and most dangerous clandestine organization in American history. It amassed billions in stolen gold and silver, all buried in hidden caches across the United States." Malone discovers he has a connection to the group and is thrust into a fight between two remaining factions with radically different plans for the wealth.

13			The Bishop's Pawn Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2018 Fifty years after James Earl Ray assassinated Martin Luther King, jr., Cotton Malone must deal with some facts that put a different spin on that event and it involves something that happened to Malone the first time he did an assignment for his old boss, Stephanie.

14			The Malta Exchange Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2019 While looking for letters supposedly between Churchill and Mussolini, Cotton Malone gets entangled with a different search by a Catholic Cardinal seeking a document from the 4th century and the legendary Knights of Malta. The latter is a humanitarian organization but inside it is the Secreti, a small group with its own agenda.

15			The Warsaw Protocol Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2020 Cotton Malone witnesses a priceless relic of the Arma Christi being stolen. He investigates and learns from his former boss that other relics from the same period have also been stolen and are being used as the price of admittance to an auction for some very incriminating intel on the Polish President. The leaders of both the U.S. and Russian want that intel so Malone is asked to steal another relic and join the bidding.

16			The Kaiser's Web Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2021 As Germany prepares for a new election, two candidates are neck and neck; one is a person with nearly two decades of patriotic service and the other is a newcomer with rhetoric of nationalistic fervor. When a dossier from a Soviet spy during WWII surfaces, it points to questions about what happened during the final day of Hitler's life, and also what happened to the billions in Nazi gold that vanished.

17			The Last Kingdom Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2023 "King Ludwig II of Bavaria was an enigmatic figure who was deposed in 1886, mysteriously drowning three days later. Eccentric to the point of madness, history tells us that in the years before he died Ludwig engaged in a worldwide search for a new kingdom, one separate, apart, and in lieu of Bavaria. A place he could retreat into and rule as he wished. But a question remains: did he succeed? Enter Cotton Malone. After many months, Malone’s protégé, Luke Daniels, has managed to infiltrate a renegade group intent on winning Bavarian independence from Germany. Daniels has also managed to gain the trust of the prince of Bavaria, a frustrated second son intent on eliminating his brother, the duke, and restoring the Wittelsbach monarchy, only now with him as king."

18			The Atlas Maneuver Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2024 "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?"

NOVELLAS AND SHORT STORIES

Number of Stories:	8
First Appearance:	2006
Last Appearance:	2017


1			The Devils' Due short story Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2006 First published in the anthology Thriller, this tells of an early mission in Cotton Malone's career with the Magellan Billet which sends him to a small Asian nation to bring in the world's most infamous criminal who has had enough and wants to surrender.

2			The Balkan Escape novella Copyright: 2010 As a favor to an old friend, Cassiopeia Vitt is in Bulgaria searching the mountains for a tomb of an ancient Thracian king. When she comes upon a mining operation run by Russians, though, she knows old artifacts are not the goal but she cannot just walk away without knowing the truth

3			The Devil's Gold Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2011 He was called the Sphinx and he was an intelligence officer as hard to read as his namesake. Then his career fell apart and years later he blames two men, a man named Combs and Cotton Malone. He is out to destroy both.

4			The Admiral's Mark novella Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2012 Though Cotton Malone never had much use for his ex-father-in-law, the death of the man while scuba-diving gets the man's daughters certain foul play the cause and they pressure Malone into checking it out. The mystery leads to the hunt for the wreckage of the Santa Maria.

5			The Tudor Plot Written by Steve Berry Copyright: 2013 While working for the Justice Department, Cotton Malone is in London when he gets invited to meet with the Queen, learning that her son and grandson have been threatened and the man doing it may have been murdered. Malone is asked to find the truth.

6			The Devil's Bones Written by James Rollins, Steve Berry Copyright: 2014 First published as a story in Face-Off, this tells of a mad botanist with a new orchid hybrid that has toxins deadly to man. Both Guy Pierce and Cotton Malone are after him.

7			Extenuating Circumstances Written by M. J. Rose, Steve Berry Copyright: 2014 Contained in the collection In Session: In [this story] with Steve Berry's Cotton Malone, a woman seeks help for her lover, and sends Dr. Snow overseas on a most unusual house call...."

8			Past Prologue Written by Diana Gabaldon, Steve Berry Copyright: 2017 [plot unknown] Contained in the anthology MatchUp.

MY COMMENTS

Mr. Berry had already published several exciting thrillers when he tried his hand at a recurring character and I, for one, am glad he did. I love a good globe-trotting adventure and this terrific author has been kind enough to give me several.

I like the character of Cotton Malone. I like his former boss. I REALLY like his female protege.

I love the plots. I love the locales. I REALLY love the bad guys who have the indecency to be really good bad guys.

I like this series. You probably figured that out.

Oh, I also liked reading a tip-of-the-hat in one book to James Rollins' series Sigma Force. And I liked another tip in Brad Thor's Scot Harvath series to this one. You made me grin, fellas. Thanks.

GRADE

My Grade: A

Your Average Grade: B

YOUR OPINIONS

A	2018-09-17

C	2018-12-05	Just started on series with The 14th Colony. At times too much verbiage that makes you want to skip the lengthy portions of such. Will read others and again have an opinion.

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