Simply Angela : The Tudor Plot: A Cotton Malone Novella by Steve Berry

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

The Tudor Plot: A Cotton Malone Novella by Steve Berry

In this original eBook novella by the New York Times bestselling author of The King’s Deception, globetrotting intelligence agent Cotton Malone is lured into dangerous intrigue surrounding the world’s most famous royals—and uncovers a murderous conspiracy of terrorists and traitors, all born from an ancient tale of Saxon history.

In England to participate in the trial of suspected international terrorists, Justice Department agent Cotton Malone is mysteriously summoned to an audience with the Queen of England. A cryptic call has warned of looming danger to the ailing queen’s son and grandson—the next two heirs in line for the throne. And when the source of that ominous information, a notorious tabloid publisher, dies mysteriously, the royal family has reason to fear a genuine conspiracy. But they also suspect that the enemy lies within—and no one at Buckingham Palace, or even the nation’s own Secret Intelligence Service, can be trusted. Now it’s up to Malone to discover the truth. Matching wits with a power-mad politician and a vicious royal blue blood, he must race against time through the streets of London to the forbidden reaches of Iceland, all to stop a monstrous plot to seize the monarchy—one that stretches back to the time of Arthur.

I purchased The Tudor Plot after read The King's Deception and I’m glad I didn’t read it before because I’m not sure that I would have given The King's Deception a chance and it would have been a shame because TKD was an amazing book.

The Tudor Plot felt a bit weaker, I’m not sure if it was due to it being a novella or if it just wasn’t riveting. The events take place while Cotton Malone is still part of the Magellan Billet and while on assignment in London he is summoned to Buckingham Palace to aid the royal family. It was interesting to see Cotton functioning as part of the Magellan Billet.

Although the book combines history (this one dealing with the myth of King Arthur) and suspense, I found the novel a bit dry. The book just didn’t appeal to me. It could have been that he used a fictional royal family (the queen in the book is Victoria II) but the book didn’t really gel with me.

Overall, I’m glad I read The Tudor Plot after The King's Deception . It wasn’t enough to put me off of Steve Berry, but I think I will pass on the novellas for a while.

Read My Review of THE KING'S DECEPTION