Reviews for The Venetian Betrayal (Cotton Malone Series #3)

The average rating for The Venetian Betrayal (Cotton Malone Series #3) based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-04-16 00:00:00 Denny Linhorst This is my first book by Steve Berry, I haven't read any of the previous books in this series. I don't know Cotton Malone beyond this book or any other character. It wasn't a serious issue, but I couldn't overlook it totally too. It made more difficult for me to attach to Malone, for example. To those who know him from previous book he already is a three-dimensional, complicated character I'm sure. To me he isn't that developed as a hero. I still like him but I would like to know him more. Or spend a bit more time in the book with him. I believe he can be a very interesting hero. The plot is pretty okay. The conspiracy theory linked to the Alexander the Great is well-thought and has no major inconsistencies. It's entertaining and attention-grabbing. I've got a degree in political science, in international relations particularly, and sometimes I find the alternative arrangement of political forces or the whole political intrigue terribly tendentious or completely implausible or even against any existing political theories. It makes me pretty mad. Fortunately, this part is quite well-made in this book. The scholar in me would still have some doubts, but for the sake of fiction I can ignore those and enjoy the plot. Still, there is something missing in this book, I'm not really sure what. Maybe it's my inability to fully attach to the characters or maybe something else that stops me from giving this book more than 3 stars. I recommend this book anyway as an easy and nice read but to be totally honest I have had better ones.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-01-09 00:00:00 Elizabeth Noble Got this one for Christmas. I'd never read Steve Berry before. He is of the Dan Browne-Robert Ludlum ilk -- international thriller. It's good escape and the fact I've been to Venice made it even more enjoyable. High body count, interesting characters,a nasty lesbian villain and short chapters ... what more can you ask? Many of the chapters are subdivided as they change scene from one group of protagonists to the other. As the book nears the end, these changes come quicker and quicker and it all gets a little Pattersonesque. The only thing that really bugged me is Berry's use of "she made clear" or "he made clear" as a form of attribution. Maybe once in a novel is OK, but this got to the point where you start looking for it, and that is never good. I'm looking forward to his next one, as it starts in Garmish, Germany, where I visited the year following Venice. (Is this guy following me and writing the books I should be, or what?)