Great Cotton Malone adventure. Also gives long time readers a resolution to the issue of Cotton finding out Gary is not his birth son. (Although this does not affect first time reader enjoyment.) I enjoy Steve Berry's writing style, he keeps the story moving at a quick pace. I had trouble trying to figure out who was on what side, the tables kept turning throughout the novel. Keeps you guessing. I was missing some of the characters from previous novels, this was a whole new cast with the exception of his son, Gary, and the occasional phone call to his boss, Stephanie Nell.

I find the Cotton Malone stories so enjoyable because the historical twists are so plausible. Mr. Berry does his research, and weaves te reality with the fantastical elements so well. The secrect Queen Elizabeth was protecting? For me, it did seem possible by the end of the book. Great series, looking forward to the next installment.

i would rate this at 4 1/2 stars, but since goodreads doesn't have half stars...

I loved Steve Berry's books. Always fast-paced, full of action, plot twists, double crosses, with just enough historical facts to keep reading entertaining, but without turning it into a textbook.

I really love Steve Berry's novels. They are fun and easy to read. That being said, this is not my favorite-hard to believe and I really did not like the Antrim character. Berry's earlier books are much better.

The King’s Deception is author Steve Berry’s eighth book in the popular Cotton Malone series - but, even if you are still unfamiliar with the series, don’t let that number keep you from jumping right into it with this title. As I have discovered, only having read books seven and eight myself, Berry includes enough of the essentials of Cotton’s backstory in each novel that new readers are soon up-to-speed on the central character’s personal history. Then, it’s only a matter of holding on tight for the wild ride ahead.

This time around, Cotton and Gary (his fifteen year-old son by a recently broken marriage) are headed to Cotton’s Danish home to spend a little healing time together. But, as a special favor to his former Justice Department boss, Cotton agrees to deliver a teenage runaway to authorities in London before continuing on to Denmark with his son. The man should know better, however, because nothing in his life is ever that simple - and it never has been.

In a matter of hours, Cotton, Gary, and the British fugitive are all on the run for their lives because Cotton has stumbled into a major diplomatic clash between the secret services of the United States and Great Britain. More than hurt feelings between the two countries are at stake; people are dying on both sides – and Cotton has to figure it all out quickly if the Malones and the British boy are not to join the list of the dearly departed. But whom can he trust? Nothing is as it seems, and even some of the “good guys” are willing to change teams when one least expects them to do so.

The King’s Deception is a very good political thriller but what gives it its special edge is the real-life historical rumor about the reign of Queen Elizabeth I that is central to the book’s plot. That said, I am not going to reveal what that rumor is because the novel’s official description (as it appears on the book jacket) does not go that far even though details became an open secret among avid readers even before the book was published. What I’m going to do, instead, is add a link to a Steve Berry appearance on an MSNBC talk show in which the author reveals all. After I viewed the interview, I knew I had to read The King’s Deception – and knowing the “secret” before beginning the book did nothing to lessen my enjoyment of Berry’s story. But you can decide for yourself.

Bottom Line: The King’s Deception is a first rate thriller that will be particularly enjoyed by history buffs – especially those at least somewhat familiar with the long reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

Link to the MSNBC interview previously referenced:

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3036789/ns/msnbc-morning_joe/vp/52154665#52166189

This is my first time reading a book from the Cotton Malone series even though I have heard about them for the longest of times.

Cotton Malone is a retired agent for the Department of Justice who is now a proud owner of a bookstore. While taking a trip with his teenage son, he agrees to escort a teenage fugitive back to London as a favour to an old connection. When they arrive at the London Airport, it doesn’t take long for things to go horribly wrong. Before anyone has a chance to react, Malone’s son and the fugitive goes missing. Now Malone finds himself involved in a case that revolves around one of the biggest Tudor secret and also is connected to the release of a Libyan terrorist from a Scottish prison.

I am no expert in world history. So, I love reading historical fiction as they give me a chance to research and learn about the topics covered in the novel. In this case I had a chance to look into the Tudor Dynasty – and more specifically into King Henry VIII and his daughter Queen Elizabeth I. It was an amazing experience to then come back to Steve Berry’s work of fiction involving these characters.

Cotton Malone is a character who is easy to love. He is quick witted and level headed. It would have been so easy for him to lose his cool when his son goes missing, instead he buckles up and gets to detecting. His son Gary has his father’s mind with a touch of healthy curiosity. Ian is street smart and makes quite an interesting character. While these characters make the read interesting with their charm and wit, there are a couple of characters whom you would love to hate and they make the book even more interesting. Blake Antrim, a CIA operative is one such character.

History, mystery, drama and action filled pages of this novel keeps turning and you hooked to it.

one of the more interesting cotton malone stories - perhaps i was intrigued because elizabethan england is also intriguing to me.

I sort of want to squeal about this book. I really, really, really enjoyed it, and for so many reasons.
1) It's about the freaking Tudors and the great Queen Elizabeth. It's hard to mess that up.
2) The plot addresses the long-held conspiracy theory that Queen Elizabeth was actually a boy who was chosen to impersonate the Princess after she unexpectedly died before King Henry VIII's visit, and then that boy grew into a man queen.
3) Cotton's son, Gary, was a great addition to this plot, and it was great to see more of that relationship develop.
4) It answered A TON of questions remaining around Cotton's affair and his wife's infidelities and Gary's paternity. Like, yeah, it was good.
So, anyway, I could probably be more eloquent on the subject, but let's just suffice to say that it was a deeeeelightful read!

I didn't enjoy this one as much as past Cotton Malone books. I thought the villain was much less of a real character this time around, with motivations that didn't make a lot of sense, to the point where it was sometimes hard to suspend my disbelief and stay immersed in the story. And I thought that it was a shame Cotton's relationship with Cassiopeia Vitt, after slowly building and developing over the course of at least three books, was completely ignored here. In general, I just felt like this particular outing was less polished and less well written than the previous Cotton Malone adventures. I still enjoyed it, but it just wasn't as good as others in the series.

Like the plausible tie in to 16th century Tudor history.

The newest installment of Cotton takes us back two years and on an adventure in London. It tells a tale and secret of Elizabeth I and the Tudor family. Great plot, lots of twists and action filled.