Not a review, but a synopsis and excerpt of a Steve Berry book that may be of interest to the Dew readers.
The Lincoln Myth
On Sale May 20, 2014
Cotton Malone Series Book 9
Ballantine Books
Synopsis
September, 1861: All is not as it seems. With these cryptic words, a shocking secret passed down from president to president comes to rest in the hands of Abraham Lincoln. And as the first bloody clashes of the Civil War unfold, Lincoln alone must decide how best to use this volatile knowledge: Save thousands of American lives? Or keep the young nation from being torn apart forever?
The present: In Utah, the fabled remains of Mormon pioneers, whose 19th century expedition across the desert met with a murderous end, have been uncovered. In Washington, D.C., the official investigation of a international entrepreneur, an elder in the Mormon church, has sparked a political battle between the White House and a powerful United States senator. In Denmark, a Justice Department agent, missing in action, has fallen into the hands of a dangerous zealot – a man driven by divine visions to make a prophet’s words reality. And in a matter of a few short hours, Cotton Malone has gone from quietly selling books at his shop in Denmark to dodging bullets in a high-speed boat chase.
All it takes is a phone call from his former boss in Washington, and suddenly the ex-agent is racing to rescue an informant carrying critical intelligence. It’s just the kind of perilous business that Malone has been trying to leave behind, ever since he retired from the Justice Department. But once he draws enemy blood, Malone is plunged into a deadly conflict – a constitutional war secretly set in motion over 200 years ago by America’s Founding Fathers.
From the streets of Copenhagen to the catacombs of Salzburg to the rugged mountains of Utah, the grim specter of the Civil War looms as a dangerous conspiracy gathers power. Malone risks life, liberty, and his greatest love in a race for the truth about Abraham Lincoln —- while the fate of the United States of America hangs in the balance.
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Excerpt from
by Steve Berry
“I have not left anyone in
doubt. My task is to save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the
Constitution. The sooner the national authority can be restored, the nearer the
Union will be the Union as it was. If I could save the Union without freeing
any slave, I would do it. If I could save it by freeing all slaves, I would do
it. If I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also
do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe
it helps to save the Union. What I forbear, I forbear because I don’t believe
it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what
I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing
more will help the cause.”
“Then you are not my president,
sir. Nor would you be the president of those who voted for you.”
“But I am president. So
take this message back to the general. He was sent west to move the army to
Memphis and keep advancing eastward. Those are still his orders. He shall
either obey them or be removed from his post.”
“I must warn you, sir, that it
could be hard if you continue to oppose the general. He could set up for
himself.”
The federal treasury was empty.
The War Department a mess. No Union army anywhere was prepared to advance. And
now this woman, and her insolent husband, were threatening revolt? He should
have them both arrested. Unfortunately, however, Fremont’s unilateral
emancipation had become popular with abolitionists and liberal Republicans who wanted
slavery ended now. A bold strike at their champion could be political suicide.
He said, “This meeting is
over.”
She threw him a glare, one that
said she was unaccustomed to being dismissed. But he ignored her sneer and
stepped across the room, opening the door for her to leave. Hay, his personal
secretary, was on duty outside, as was one of the stewards. Mrs. Fremont passed
Hay without saying a word, and the steward led her away. He waited until he
heard the front door open, then close, before signal-ing for Hay to join him in
the parlor.
“That is an impertinent soul,”
he said. “We never even sat. She gave me no chance to offer her a seat. She
taxed me so violently with so many things that I had to exercise all the
awkward tact I have to avoid quarreling with her.”
“Her husband is no better. His
command is a failure.”
He nodded. “Fremont’s mistake
is that he isolates himself. He does not know what is going on in the matter he
is dealing with.”
“And he refuses to listen.”
“She actually threatened that
he might set up his own government.”
Excerpted from THE LINCOLN MYTH by Steve Berry. Copyright © 2014
Steve Berry. Excerpted by permission of Ballantine Books, a division of Random
House, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or
reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.