Former intelligence agent Cotton Malone is called away from his bookshop in Copenhagen to do a contract job for his ex-boss Stephanie Nelle in Steve Berry's 11th thriller in the series. Malone is shot down flying reconnaissance over Lake Baikal, Russia, and Nelle needs help getting him out, so she calls the agent's former love interest, Cassiopeia Vitt, in France.
In Russia, Malone comes face-to-face with Aleksandr Zorin, the ex-KGB agent he was sent to scout, and learns that Zorin is planning to strike the United States--as retribution for the Soviet Union's downfall. Zorin intends to uncover old nuclear suitcase bombs hidden in the U.S. by the Soviets during the Cold War. He plans to detonate them during the upcoming presidential inauguration and kill the newly elected president and vice president, a scenario that would wreak political havoc due to deep legal flaws in the Presidential Succession Act.
Zorin sets off on his mission believing that his people killed Malone. But with the help of an old Soviet archivist and Vitt, Malone escapes. He has to find Zorin and the bombs before the ex-spy can blow the U.S. into unprecedented political turmoil.
The reality of Berry's inauguration scenario heightens the intensity and suspense of The 14th Colony, while offering the reader fascinating, little-known tidbits about U.S. history and politics. Rapid, plot-driven action keeps the momentum of this adventure at a pulse-thumping speed. Long-time Malone fans and new readers alike should find much to satisfy their thriller cravings. --Jen Forbus of Jen's Book Thoughts