I practically spent my entire Sunday trying to get through Steve Berry's latest Cotton Malone historical thriller. In the interest of full disclosure, I'm usually Berry's biggest fan. I always look forward to reading the adventures of the least retired, retired Magellan Billet recruit than the next person. The Malone series is always packed full of thrills, close calls, double crosses, and pure excitement.
The Lost Order on the other hand, I sadly must admit, was not my favorite Berry read. Where do I start? Cotton Malone is roped into a mystery that dates back to the Civil War and could lead to millions in buried treasure. Of course, his efforts are thwarted and he ends up coming between a secret group that's sole purpose is to protect the treasure and mercenaries who only want the gold.
We're introduced to all the players, good and bad, early in the The Lost Order which isn't entirely unexpected. Berry's novels can get a little crowded if you're not familiar with his writing style. He has multiple plots going that all seem thinly connected. Where he excels is in how the individual stories come together. This formula works for him. I'm not ragging on that.
What makes this my least favorite in the Malone series is the fact that there wasn't much to the main plot to keep me invested. Yes, Danny Daniels efforts to investigate his good friends' death and evil widow just weren't that interesting. I felt that everyone was running in circles for so long. And each story was halted by some sort of inescapable moment that ended up being brief and not worth the two chapters in between that held that plot line in suspense.
The problem is mostly me. I expect more from one of my favorite author Steve Berry. Instead, I got a lackluster plot line, with even more lackluster subplots as fluff. I believe that fans of the Cotton Malone series will still read this one and may even enjoy it a lot more than I did. Cheers to those who don't want to search far and wide for a buried treasure of a better read than The Lost Order. ***
Copy provided by St. Martin's Press via Netgalley
No comments:
Post a Comment