14th colony

I think I read the first 4 or 5 books in the Cotton Malone series not long after they came out, but since then I've only read a few, and I haven't done that in any particular order. The 14th Colony is number 11 in the series. I think the last one I read was number 7, but I'm not sure if I read 5 and 6. I know, lots of numbers

It doesn't really matter if you don't read them in order, the main adventure in each book is stand-alone so you're all set, but there are some over arching story lines that continue from book to book, and a real diehard fan would miss out on the continuity. Steve Berry does mention something that happened at some point in the past (I presume the last book) that obviously impacted the dynamic between the regular character's in the series, so if that kind of thing drives you crazy, them line 'em up.

Cotton Malone is a good character. I've probably said that in the past; what I like about him is he's not overwrought. He's got some skills and experience, but it all seems achievable and grounded in reality. As with all of the stories in the series (that I've read) this one includes a seed of history that needs to be discovered as part of the sleuthing/spy-work Malone needs to to complete his mission. Being well read must be a help with that, and as usual, the historic bits have both real and some made up parts to jazz up the story. In the backmatter of the book, Berry explains what is real and what he embellished. What is usually surprising is how much of that crazy stuff is real.

Its been a while, but I don't think I liked this one as much as some of the earlier ones, but this was fun to read.