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The Jefferson Key (Abridged): A Novel Audiobook
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(3.00) - 6,405 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
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 1, Section 8—that would shock Americans?
This question is what faces former Justice Department operative Cotton Malone in his latest adventure. When a bold assassination attempt is made against President Danny Daniels in the heart of Manhattan, Malone risks his life to foil the killing—only to find himself at dangerous odds with the Commonwealth, a secret society of pirates first assembled during the American Revolution. In their most perilous exploit yet, Malone 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 the Commonwealth unstoppable.
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"Well, not my thing, usually. Kept me compulsively reading in much the same way your gaze has to follow the hit tennis ball. Potboiling cliffhanger in its most base form, but that's what works, right? Characters are essentially just names; you root for the good guys because they're the good guys--and so on. Again, like following a hit ball. You hate yourself for reading, but it's a "I wonder what happens next?" connect-the-dots. But you rate it for what it is, for what it attempts to be, not because you want it to be another Silence of the Lambs meets Indiana Jones, and it fails miserably. Sort of like NCIS meets Dan Brown, except NCIS has humor and actual tension, and Angels & Demons and Da Vinci were much more interesting, and actually written much better. This book is like ex-ballplayer Jeff Frye, who when he played made you think that if this guy can play baseball, then any common Joe can, even me. Here, if Steve Berry can make the bestseller lists, then I can, too. Which is ludicrous, of course, but it makes you feel that way.Having said all this, I have to give it 4 stars because I did compulsively read on and flip the pages, and that's the whole point, right??? Who cares why I did it, just that I did it, right? The book gets sold, and the publishing company and author get paid either way. I read on knowing that I had better things to do, but...Well, you get the idea. And don't let the title fool you: It's not much about Jefferson, or a key to anything, or even two pages that are the McGuffin...Bleh."
— Steven (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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One of the most spellbinding and ingenious openings in all of thrillerdom. The cast of characters is huge but every one of them is memorable. The action is intense and masterfully choreographed. As always with Steve Berry, you’re educated about significant things while your knuckles are turning white and the pages are flying. Easily Cotton Malone’s most epic, swashbuckling adventure.
— David Baldacci -
The Constitution. . . secret codes . . . loads of history. . . AND pirates! What else does anyone need? The Jefferson Key won't just haunt your nights--it'll haunt your life. Cotton Malone is coming back to the scariest place of all: Home.
— Brad Meltzer -
THE JEFFERSON KEY starts with a bang and holds the reader in its grip until the last page. Fascinating American history, up-to-the-minute politics, pulse-pounding action. This is a story Mitch Rapp would love.
— Vince Flynn
The Jefferson Key Listener Reviews
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" While not as good as a couple of his previous books, Berry comes through with a rousing good tale and an interesting premise. "
— Carolyn, 2/20/2014 -
" Always love the Cotton Malone stories. Fast paced thrillers that mix fact and fiction. Another good read. "
— Jen, 2/12/2014 -
" I enjoy the Cotton Malone series. This work is a fast paced spy-thriller. "
— Stacy, 2/11/2014 -
" An easy read, Similar to the other Cotton Malone books which is not a bad thing. "
— Phil, 2/10/2014 -
" Good book, fast paced, wasn't a good book to take to work, never wanted to come back from break. lol "
— Chad, 2/1/2014 -
" Good plot, a lot of characters and a fast moving story. Berry does a nice job of adding historical facts to his own imagination and very good storytelling. "
— Eric, 1/30/2014 -
" My first experience with this author. I was a little disappointed, as I had just read "The Devil's Colony" by James Rollins with a Jefferson-conspiracy... and this book was more drama than action. I will give the author another try though. :) "
— H.S., 1/29/2014 -
" Loved all of Berry's Cotton Malone series. Good action adventure filled with bits of history and bad guys. Fun read. "
— Marguerite, 1/19/2014 -
" An old enemy brings Cotton into the story to best him, but we all know it won't be easy to best Cotton. Love the series and the characters. "
— Jeanette, 12/29/2013 -
" This was my first book by Steve Berry. It was slow getting into ,but once I did , I couldn't put it down. Looking forward to reading more books by this author "
— Gail, 12/19/2013 -
" Good in the beginning but lost it's way from the middle to the end. "
— Rirza, 12/13/2013 -
" I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Steve Berry weaves history - including Charlottesville's Monticello - into this Cotton Malone mystery. "
— John, 12/7/2013 -
" Interesting premise but hard to follow. I listened to this on audio book and had a hard time figuring out who was doing what where. "
— Carol, 12/5/2013 -
" I enjoyed this book. Good fun. "
— Brendan, 10/3/2013 -
" Interesting book especially since we had just finished presidential reports by students that echoed many of the facts from the book. Good text to world connection for me and my students. "
— Susan, 9/27/2013 -
" First time I read this author and will make sure to some of his other books. I like adventure and it gave it to me. "
— Eileen, 7/31/2013 -
" Fantastic! Compelling! Can't wait to read other titles by Barry. "
— Gkbarber, 7/13/2013 -
" Cotton Malone is called to New York City by his former intellegence boss where he is set up as the scapegoat for an assassination attempt on the president. Modern day privateers are involved as is an old enemy. "
— Fredrick, 6/26/2013 -
" Not as good as his international books but OK - Berry is a good writer of swift action thrillers. "
— Curt, 4/27/2013 -
" Steve Berry knows how to add twists and turns to history. Haven't read one of his books yet that I didn't end up staying up late to finish. "
— Lynette, 12/17/2012 -
" Good read with lots of action, but not Steve Berry's best offering. Some of his earlier books were much more engrossing! Still I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys thrillers mixed with history. "
— Kat, 8/13/2012 -
" Preposterous story...and I used to really liked Steve Berry "
— Jennifer, 5/30/2012 -
" I've always thought that Berry is at best a mediocre writer, more of a Dan Brown wannabe than anything else. This book however, is worse than what he normally puts out. The plot suffers from total lack of credibility and the villains are cartoonish at best "
— Ricardo, 10/14/2011 -
" Excellent read, but it was a bit difficult keeping all the players straight. The POV kept changing, sometimes as often as every paragraph. Really enjoyed the storyline and all the backstabbing! I hadn't visited with Cotton Malone since THE ALEXANDRIA LINK, and really shouldn't stay away so long. "
— Melodie, 6/26/2011 -
" I could not get into this book at all. Not what I was expecting it to be like. "
— Haan, 6/16/2011 -
" I couldn't even get through the last Cotton Malone book so I was a bit wary when I picked this one up. But happily this book was just non-stop action and I could hardly put it down. "
— Mia, 5/24/2011 -
" A book that is so difficult to put down has been written here! Thriller, enticipation, a few twists here and there, even a little bit of love and romance, but just a little. Government cover ups, a well written, hard to put down historical fiction novel. BRAVO!!!! "
— Sharon, 5/22/2011 -
" If you like fast-paced action mixed with items of historical significance (think DA VINCI CODE or NATIONAL TREASURE), then this is right up your alley! "
— Diane, 5/13/2011 -
" I'm just starting it today, but so far, I like it. :) I was also very pleased that Random House only took one week to get my copy to me in the mail. I'll update as I go! Finished it and continued to enjoy the story all the way thru. Might be the best he's done so far. "
— Nancy, 4/24/2011 -
" Hi,<br/>I loved the history, great details! It was very well plotted and a good read. I have read a few others with Cotton Malone and I really like his character. I will definitely read more of Steve Berry's other books. This won kept me up well into the night. "
— Jenn, 4/18/2011
About Steve Berry
Steve Berry is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of seventeen Cotton Malone and four stand-alone novels, among other books and works of short fiction. He has twenty-five million books in print, translated into forty languages. He is an emeritus member of the Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board and a founding member of International Thriller Writers. With his wife, Elizabeth, he is the founder of History Matters, which is dedicated to historical preservation.
About Scott Brick
Scott Brick, an acclaimed voice artist, screenwriter, and actor, has performed on film, television, and radio. He attended UCLA and spent ten years in a traveling Shakespeare company. Passionate about the spoken word, he has narrated a wide variety of audiobooks. winning won more than fifty AudioFile Earphones Awards and several of the prestigious Audie Awards. He was named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine and the Voice of Choice for 2016 by Booklist magazine.