The Malta Exchange (Cotton Malone Series, Book #17) by Steve Berry
The Malta Exchange (Cotton Malone Series, Book #17) by Steve Berry
The pope is dead. A conclave to select his replacement is about to begin. Cardinals are beginning to arrive at the Vatican, but one has fled Rome for Malta in search of a document that dates back to the 4th century and Constantine the Great.
Former Justice Department operative Cotton Malone is at Lake Como, Italy, on the trail of legendary letters between Winston Churchill and Benito Mussolini that disappeared in 1945 and could rewrite history. But someone else seems to be after the same letters and when Malone obtains then loses them, the hunt that ensues attracts the attention of the legendary Knights of Malta.
The knights have existed for over nine hundred years, the only warrior-monks to survive into modern times. Now, they are a global humanitarian organization, but within their ranks lurks trouble -- the Secreti -- an ancient sect of the knights intent on affecting the coming papal conclave. With the help of Magellan Billet agent Luke Daniels, Malone races the rogue cardinal, the knights, the Secreti, and the clock to find what has been lost for centuries. The final confrontation culminates behind the Vatican walls, where the next pope's election hangs in the balance.
Minotaur Books, Softcover, 2019
THIS IS A BRAND NEW BOOK.