Steve Berry’s ‘The Patriot Threat’ Is Spellbinding

Steve Berry (Photo courtesy Kelly Campbell)

When I first picked up Steve Berry’s novel The Patriot Threat, I was not prepared for either the taut intrigue or the spellbinding plot, which the author masterfully based on America’s historic records. However, I enjoyed the ride from start to finish! From the beginning, Berry meticulously weaves a fast-paced story based on the validity of the 16th Amendment, which can be traced back to the Founding Fathers.

Minotaur

Berry drops Cotton Malone into the action when he is asked by Stephanie Nelle, his former boss of Magellan Billet, to “covertly observe a massive financial transaction – $20 million U.S. being stuffed into two large sacks destined for North Korea.” (13) What Malone thinks is a simple task could morph into a possible national incident if not contained. A 1936 meeting between President Roosevelt and Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon, promissory notes, and documents detailing the ratification of the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, all play a significant part of the story surrounding the legality of the Amendment. Can Cotton Malone, his partner Luke Daniels, and Isabella Schaefer of the Treasury Department, piece the clues together in order to save the United States from econmic ruin? Read Steve Berry’s The Patriot Threat and discover the answer for yourself. THE PATRIOT THREAT By Steve Berry 400 pps. Minotaur Books. $27.99.