It is hard to believe that THE DEVIL’S BIBLE marks the 20th anniversary of Steve Berry’s Cotton Malone series, which debuted on February 21, 2006 with THE TEMPLAR LEGACY. This 20th and latest installment revolves around the abduction of a member of Sweden’s royal family and what their enemies want for her safe return.

The situation is big enough on a global scale to involve the US and, more specifically, the Magellan Billet. This secretive organization is led by Stephanie Nelle and her favorite agent, former Justice Department operative and current bookstore owner Cotton Malone. Cotton is reflecting on his most recent case on a rainy day in Atlanta, GA, while spending time with his girlfriend and fellow agent, Cassiopeia Vitt. Two weeks earlier in Stockholm, Stephanie introduced him to King Wilhelm I, whose sister, Princess Lysa, was kidnapped.

"THE DEVIL’S BIBLE has enough surprises to hook any reader. There aren’t many writers better than Steve Berry when it comes to combining unique historical events with present-day action and adventure."

Immediate suspicion falls on the Czechs, who have a long-standing resentment of Sweden, and their dissenting vote has been keeping Sweden from joining NATO. There is also a theory that Russia is orchestrating all of this and wants Sweden to believe that the Czechs are the guilty party. In any event, the ransom demand is that Sweden turn over an 800-year-old book that the Czechs claim Sweden once stole from them: The Devil’s Bible, the largest illuminated medieval manuscript in the world.

Attention then shifts to Lysa’s husband, Sir John Westlake, an outcast of the Swedish royal family because they think he is an insider collaborating with the Russians. He has now been spending most of his time in England in the guise of a successful businessman. Stephanie and her colleagues are immediately suspicious of Westlake and keep a firm eye on his activity.

We learn all about the origins of the Devil’s Bible, and it’s a great read. Cassiopeia is initially assigned to the job of tailing Westlake, while Stephanie and Cotton work to try to determine which country might be behind the abduction before it’s too late. With each new incident and piece of information uncovered, it seems unlikely that Lysa will be rescued.

Meanwhile, in the novel’s most exciting and deadly chase scenes, Stephanie and Cotton come up with a ruse of their own involving the undercover transport of the Devil’s Bible and a defecting Soviet operative to neutral, US-based territory in Europe. It is worth the price of admission all by itself.

The story becomes less about the historical significance of the Devil’s Bible and more about the political subterfuge and spy games that keep things spinning wildly. Berry devises a handful of clever plot twists that I never saw coming, which take the narrative into quite unexpected territory. No one is safe in this deadly tale of intrigue, and even main characters fall under the cloud of suspicion when trying to figure out this puzzle.

THE DEVIL’S BIBLE has enough surprises to hook any reader. There aren’t many writers better than Steve Berry when it comes to combining unique historical events with present-day action and adventure. His Writer’s Note at the end of each novel always separates fact from fiction and makes for useful information to consume after enjoying another wild ride with Cotton Malone and company.