The Atlas Maneuver
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4.4 • 753 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
From a celebrated New York Times bestselling author comes a Cotton Malone adventure in which Cotton unravels a mystery from World War II involving a legendary lost treasure known as Yamashita’s Gold.
1945. In the waning months of World War II, Japan hid vast quantities of gold and other stolen valuables in boobytrapped underground caches all across the Philippines. By 1947 some of that loot was recovered, not by treasure hunters, but by the United States government, which told no one about the find. Instead, those assets were stamped classified, shipped to Europe, and secretly assimilated into something called the Black Eagle Trust.
Retired Justice Department Operative Cotton Malone, is in Switzerland doing a favor for a friend. But what was supposed to be a simple operation turns violent and Cotton is thrust into a war between the world’s oldest bank and the CIA. He quickly discovers that everything hinges on a woman from his past, who suddenly reappears harboring a host of explosive secrets.
From the stolid banking halls of Luxembourg, to the secret vaults of Switzerland, and finally up into the treacherous mountains of southern Morocco, Cotton Malone is stymied at every turn–until he finally comes face-to-face with the Atlas Maneuver.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
With the global economy hanging in the balance, Cotton Malone, a Justice Department agent turned bookseller, is pulled out of retirement in this clever spy thriller from best-selling author Steve Berry. In the wake of World War II, a massive cache of Japanese gold was discovered by U.S. intelligence forces, who’ve been funding their covert operations with it ever since. So when Kelly Austin—the high-ranking banker who oversees the fund—is suddenly in danger, Malone is called in to find and protect her. We were riveted by Malone’s mission to help Kelly, even before it causes him to discover a multinational conspiracy involving cryptocurrency. Berry has a major talent for jumping between the past and present, even in the midst of an explosive action sequence. (Or a fascinating crash course in blockchains!) Scott Brick’s authoritative narration matches Malone’s blend of raw muscle and smart deductive reasoning. Settle in for this fun and exciting roller-coaster ride of a listen.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bestseller Berry never takes his foot off the gas in the hyperactive 18th thriller featuring Cotton Malone (after The Last Kingdom). After ostensibly retiring from his chaotic life as a top-secret U.S. intelligence operative to run a sleepy bookshop in Copenhagen, Malone's pulled back into action by a request from the CIA's European station chief, Derrick Koger. After WWII, Koger reveals, the nascent CIA discovered hundreds of millions of dollars in gold that the Japanese hid stashed in Luxembourg's Bank of St. George. Koger asks Malone to keep an eye on bank employee Kelly Austin, whose safety may be under threat, in connection with her proximity to the gold. After Malone thwarts an attempt on Kelly's life, he discovers that she's actually Suzy Baldwin, one of his former lovers, in disguise. To keep Suzy safe, Malone sets out to uncover the motives of her pursuers and turns up evidence of a vast, cryptocurrency-focused financial conspiracy. Though there's enough sound and fury to satisfy diehard series fans, uneven prose and an overbusy plot keep this from reaching the heights of previous entries. Here's hoping Berry tightens the focus for Malone's next adventure.
Customer Reviews
Atlas Maneuver
I got a little lost at times, with all the characters and conflicting agencies. Then there’s the easily explained entity called Bitcoin. Not. Despite these observations I enjoyed the book immensely. Since I devoured it, it will need a reread in the not too distant future. Steve Barry is a genius and the Atlas Maneuver is a gem. One further note. We’ve worked in and then visited Morocco for years. No one would get away in that marvelous country with the shenanigans contained in this book. But, hey, that’s fiction.
Great …. Again..
Always getting better..!
A fun read.
As usual Cotton Malone to the rescue.