coolreads# Retro Books# The Paris Vendetta

The Paris Vendetta 
Author: Steve Berry
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 9780345524768
Year Published: 2009

Another historically tinged Cotton Malone thriller from Steve Berry. When Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile in 1821, he took to the grave a powerful secret. As general and emperor, he had stolen immeasurable riches from palaces he had conquered, including their national treasuries, and even the Knights of Malta and the Vatican.

In his final days, his British captors hoped to learn where the loot lay hidden. But the emperor told them nothing, and in his will, he made no mention of the treasure.

Meanwhile, former Justice Department operative Cotton Malone is about to find out when trouble comes knocking at his Copenhagen bookshop. Actually, it breaks and enters in the form of a former American Secret Service agent, Sam Collins with a pair of assassins on his heels. Malone has his doubts about the young man - who was fired for maintaining a website that exposed conspiracies threatening the global financial system - and narrowly surviving a ferocious firefight convinces him to follow his unexpected new ally.

Their first stop is the secluded estate of Malone’s good friend, Henrik Thorvaldsen. The wily Danish tycoon has uncovered the insidious plans of the Paris Club, a cabal of multimillionaires bent on manipulating the global economy. The members of the Paris Club are formulating and executing an ingenious plot, financed in part by a fortune hidden from view for centuries - the treasure trove of Bonaparte. And the British aristocrat Lord Graham Ashby who is a member of the Paris Club, is on the trail of the treasure and believes he is on the verge of discovering its location.

Apparently, Thorvaldsen learns that Ashby is also involved in the murder of his only son and vows revenge. In order to maneuver himself closer to Ashby, Thorvaldsen engineers an invitation to join the club by ingratiating himself with Paris Club head Eliza Larocque.

Thorvaldsen wants Malone to help him carry out his revenge. But before Malone makes his moves, he is intercepted by Stephanie Nelle, his former supervisor at the Magellan Billet. It appears that Ashby is working as a double agent for the United States government. And Nelle makes it clear to Malone that he cannot permit Thorvaldsen to succeed in his quest. 

Meanwhile, Collins and Malone are gathering intel from another online investigator of economic wrongdoing. And Malone is fortunate to have Cassiopeia Vitt, a close friend and often lover, to cover his back.

When Thorvaldsen finds out that Malone’s actions have been hamstringing his efforts, he feels betrayed by his best friend but redoubles his efforts to bring some  final justice to Ashby. Assisted at times by Collins, Thorvaldsen comes closer to killing Ashby, even as Malone attempts to balance loyalty to his dearest friend against that of the country. Only by matching wits with a terrorist-for-hire, foiling a catastrophic attack, and plunging into a desperate hunt for Napoleon’s legendary lost treasure can Malone hope to avert international financial anarchy.

As the stories play out from Denmark and London to the better and lesser known landmarks of Paris, Malone will be tested physically and emotionally to his limits as all involved head to an unexpected climax.

Berry’s exhaustive research serves him well in The Paris Vendetta as it has in his other works. The thriller offers readers non-stop fast and furious action on a roller coaster ride to an exciting ending.