The Patriot Threat: A Novel

Written by Steve Berry

Narrated by Scott Brick

Featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes commentary from Steve Berry.

The 16th Amendment to the Constitution legalized federal income tax, but what if there were problems with the 1913 ratification of that amendment? Problems that call into question decades of tax collecting, and could even bring down the US economy. There is a surprising truth to this possibility - a truth wholly entertained by Steve Berry, a top-ten New York Times bestselling writer, in his new thriller, The Patriot Threat.

His protagonist, Cotton Malone, once a member of an elite intelligence division within the Justice Department known as the Magellan Billet, is now retired. But when his former-boss, Stephanie Nelle, asks him to track a rogue North Korean who may have acquired some top secret Treasury Department files - the kind that could bring the United States to its knees. Malone is vaulted into a harrowing twenty-four-hour chase that begins on the water in Venice and ends in the remote highlands of Croatia.

With appearances by Franklin Roosevelt, Andrew Mellon, and a curious painting that still hangs in the National Gallery of Art, Steve Berry's trademark mix of history and suspense is 90% fact and 10% exciting speculation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hachette UK Audio
• Release date: Apr 9, 2015
• ISBN: 9781473622302

Steve Berry

Steve Berry is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of The Patriot Threat, The Lincoln Myth, The King’s Deception, The Columbus Affair, The Jefferson Key, The Emperor’s Tomb, The Paris Vendetta, The Charlemagne Pursuit, The Venetian Betrayal, The Alexandria Link, The Templar Legacy, The Third Secret, The Romanov Prophecy, and The Amber Room. His books have been translated into forty languages with 19,000,000 copies in fifty-one countries. For more information, visit SteveBerry.org.

Reviews for The Patriot Threat

[the_literary_jedi · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Not one of my favorite installments. Very formulaic and anyone who has read the previous books gets the plot twist very early on. I wasn't interested in this story past the 1/3 point. Not one for me but hopefully others enjoy it.*All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

[andy_dimartino · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very appropriate read with Tax day just around the corner. Love his commentaries at the end showing the facts behind the fiction. This one has alot of relevance. Couple redundancies but otherwise another one that makes him the great writer that he is.

[carol420 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I can not even begin to imagine the amount of research that Steve Berry must do before even begins to write. History fans will love his books as he intertwines actual historical events and characters with his fictional plot... and he does so in a very convincing manner. In this one he attacks the dreaded income tax that was enacted due to the 16th Amendment. He brings in the North Koreans and the Chinese just to make life more difficult for Cotton Malone and Stephanie. The 3.5 stars came about not because the book wasn't interesting but because there was just too much information to absorb. Still a worthwhile read.

[jeffv_19 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

In the audiobook version, Berry chimes in on occasion to add anecdotes and factoids while the story is read by a professional reader. This really added to the book -- I've always enjoyed Berry's appendices when he separates fact from fiction -- he still does this, but this is more. I hope he continues this in future recordings.This is Cotton Malone's 10th book. The government agent turned bookseller can't seem to stay retired. After losing his girlfriend, Cassiopeia, because he killed her former lover, a psycho Mormon in the last book, Malone is on his own. Kim Yong Jin is the shamed exile of the notorious North Korean Kim family. Plotting to overthrow his half-brother's regime, the disinherited Kim rescues his daughter from a labor camp, training her to be a killer. Kim has information that he believes will destabilize western countries and make way for his glorious return as leader of a new Korean world power. Malone is seeking this information too so it can be buried. An international chase ensues.

[coku-2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Another novel with Cotton Malone. I like his character but there was a bit too much politics involved as with Berry's last few books. The line between right and wrong in this book is a bit shady which I don't like that much, but all in all it's an enjoyable read.

[labdaddy4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Steve Berry writes a good historically based thriller. He incorporates a blend of action, intrigue, plot twists, comfortably familiar characters, and enough historical fact - and mysteries - to keep his novels entertaining, faced paced, and interesting. "The Patriot Threat" is no exception.

[jfe16 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Kim Yong Jin is determined to achieve the one thing he has been denied, the leadership of his homeland. Disinherited by his father, he relocated to Macao in disgrace and his half-brother assumed the place Kim believed to be rightfully his. When he comes into possession of some top secret files, Kim sees a way to parlay that information into finally achieving his true heritage as the leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.Cotton Malone, retired from Magellan Billet, the elite intelligence organization within the Justice Department, has taken on the retrieval of these files as a temporary assignment; readers will first find him observing the transfer of twenty million American dollars to North Korean agents. This clandestine payment is but the tip of an iceberg in the unfolding drama; ensuing events will involve Malone in a cat-and-mouse chase from Venice to Croatia with other players seeking to obtain the secret files for themselves. As the devious doings unfold, Malone and his associates are thrown into a mystery harking back to the nation's Founding Fathers . . . and the revelation of its secrets could well spell the destruction of the United States.This page-turner is an inventive mix of fact and fiction with more than enough plot twists and suspense to keep readers enthralled. The interweaving of historical fact with the ingenious fictional plot is masterful and readers will find themselves engaged in the narrative from the very first page. “The Patriot Threat” is the tenth outing for Cotton Malone, but readers coming to the series for the first time will have no problem sorting out the who’s who and what’s what from previous stories as this enthralling thriller spins out it tantalizing tale.Highly recommended.

[nneylon-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Thank you to the Goodreads First Reads program for a copy of Steve Berry’s latest thriller, “The Patriot Threat”. I admit to being a huge fan of Berry’s early work, but I have passed on the last couple installments due to issues that are almost entirely absent in this latest book. Berry weaves a fascinating, detailed and well-written tale, occasionally utilizing original source materials, to connect the present day United States with its Revolutionary and Gilded Age past. Secret documents stolen by former Treasury Secretary, Andrew Mellon, and presented in code to his nemesis, President Franklin Roosevelt, threaten to surface and destroy the modern American economy. Berry calls on reliable Cotton Malone, Stephanie Nelle, and an assorted cast of characters to thwart attempts by a North Korean exile and the Chinese government to reach the secret first.I was particularly drawn to the stories of the Haym Solomon debt and potential problems with the ratification of the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I found myself putting the book down repeatedly to Google these topics as they were developed, and was shocked to learn how real these issues were, or maybe still are!Berry also excels when discussing the oppressive nature of North Korea, specifically the infamous prison camps designed to eliminate enemies and opposition for multiple generations. Tragic beyond words.The greatest difficulty for many authors is the ability to provide a satisfactory ending to a book. I can enjoy the first ninety percent of a Steve Berry book, totally enveloped by his narrative, and then want to throw the book across the room after reading the last few chapters. In this case, the never-ending fight/chase scenes at the conclusion were mercifully brief. I believe people are drawn to these books because of the connection to real historical events and the often convincing alternate realities presented by Berry. No one wants to read forty pages of silly chase scenes contrived to provide us a “thrilling” finale. STICK TO THE STORY!!!All that said, I could not put this book down and absolutely loved it. This is the best Steve Berry book in a while, and I highly recommend it to other readers. Five stars in its genre.