Review: The King's Deception by Steve Berry

The King's Deception by Steve Berry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book #8 in the Cotton Malone series. For once I enjoyed spending time with Cotton again.
Borrowed from my library through Libby.
Audiobook narrated by Scott Brick.

Characters: 8.8/10
Atmosphere: 8.7/10
Writing: 8.9/10
Plot: 9.5/10
Intrigue: 9.6/10
Logic: 9.5/10
Enjoyment: 9.0/10

Points: 64.0/70
True 5 Stars

I think I have come to the conclusion that I really only like Cotton when he is accompanied by Stephanie Nelle or his son. Any other time, he's a whiny, middle-aged Peter Parker. Even when he's around his sometimes girlfriend, Cassiopeia Vitt, he's a pain to read.

In this installment of his series, we see him in his element, protecting his son, researching history, and putting two & two together.

In this case, the historical context is one of my favorite topics, especially for historical conspiracy theories: The Tudors. The story that Elizabeth I actually succumbed to a terrible disease in her youth and was replaced with the illegitimate son of Henry VIII is not a well known one in my world, but academics are aware of its existence. "The Virgin Queen"? Wouldn't that have been a coup, that SHE was a HE?

The Tudors are a fascinating subject and through the lens of Cotton Malone and subterfuge on a national level, his child's safety in the balance, I kept pulling the book up for another listen. Cotton as a parent is great. Cotton as a human? Usually sucks.

If you can enjoy reading conspiracy theories and saying "Well, what if?", I highly recommend the book. I also can attest that this one does a great job of explaining what you need to understand about Cotton without having to read the other books. It covers just enough without needing to have a preface of "How did we get here", nor is there a lot from previous books that you must read in order to understand this one.

All in all, a really enjoyable time. As long as Cotton stays enjoyable...

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