Bestselling author Steve Berry talks with Conversation Crossroad radio show hosts Betty-Lynn White and Garrison Leykam about his new book The Jefferson Key and his project History Matters.
Listen to the Conversation Crossroad interview with Steve Berry
THE JEFFERSON KEY By Steve Berry
Four United States presidents have been assassinated—in 1865, 1881, 1901, and 1963—each murder seemingly unrelated and separated by time. But what if those presidents were all killed for the same reason – a clause in the United States Constitution, contained within Article I, Section 8, which would shock Americans.
This is the premise of Steve Berry’s seventh thrill ride in the Cotton Malone series, THE JEFFERSON KEY (Ballantine Books, May 17, 2011). Berry, a New York Times bestselling author printed in 40 languages, has kept 12 million readers in 51 countries on the edge of their seats with the exploits of his former Justice Department operative. Those adventures have taken Malone to all parts of Europe (The Templar Legacy, The Paris Vendetta), Central Asia (The Venetian Betrayal), Antarctica (The Charlemagne Pursuit), the Middle East (The Alexandria Link), and China (The Emperor’s Tomb). But never before has there been an American adventure.
In THE JEFFERSON KEY, Berry brings Malone home from Denmark for his most daunting challenge, as he and Cassiopeia Vitt race across the nation and take to the high seas. Along the way they break a secret cipher originally possessed by Thomas Jefferson, unravel a mystery concocted by Andrew Jackson, and unearth a centuries-old document forged by the Founding Fathers themselves — one powerful enough, thanks to that clause in the Constitution, to make a stealthy group of modern day pirates, known as the Commonwealth, unstoppable. THE JEFFERSON KEY is a mach-speed journey of excitement told by a master storyteller.
Steve Berry is back and better than ever!
STEVE BERRY is the New York Times bestselling author of nine novels. His books have been translated into 40 languages and sold in 51 countries. He lives in the historic city of St. Augustine, Florida. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have founded History Matters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving our heritage. Find out more about Steve and his books
If Ian Fleming and Doris Kearns Goodwin had a lovechild, it would be Steve Berry, the bestselling author of The Emperor’s Tomb, The Paris Vendetta, The Charlemagne Pursuit, The Venetian Betrayal, The Alexandra Link, The Templar Legacy, The Third Secret, The Romanov Prophecy and The Amber Room. A fixture on the New York Times bestseller lists, Berry has been translated into 40 languages, and has more than 12,000,000 printed books in 51 countries, worldwide.
Steve Berry was raised in Georgia and graduated from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. His road to publication was a long one, a process that took him 12 years, 85 rejections, over five different manuscripts before he was able to sell a story. He credits the nuns who taught him in Catholic school with instilling the discipline needed to both craft a novel and find a publisher.
A devoted student of history, Berry is dedicated to researching his novels. In 2010 he and his wife, Elizabeth, founded History Matters — a nonprofit organization dedicated to aiding the preservation of the fragile reminders of our past. Since then, they have traveled the world raising much-needed funds for a wide range of historic preservation projects. Berry is also extremely active in the writing community and is a former president and founding member of International Thriller Writers.
His latest book is The Jefferson Key (Ballantine Books, May 2011). Beginning with the attempted assassination of President Andrew Jackson, Berry takes his readers on another slalom course of thrills as he deftly combines suspense with solid historical fact. Former Justice Department operative, now Copenhagen bookseller, Cotton Malone, returns to the United States for his first domestic adventure. Along the way he battles an obscure clause in the Constitution, Thomas Jefferson’s secret cipher, an old enemy out for revenge, and a cadre of modern day pirates firmly rooted in their buccaneer ways. North Carolina, Virginia, Washington D.C., New York City, and Nova Scotia form the backdrops for this continental adventure. The Jefferson Key is vintage Steve Berry. It’s a rock-and-roll ride piloted by a proven master of the genre.
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