everything you want me to be
reviews
the lost order
AVAILABLE APRIL 4
High school senior Hattie
Hoffman is the consummate
actress, skilled at being
whoever the people in her life
need her to be. She knows
exactly what she’s doing and
has it all figured out, until
the night she's murdered.
The setting is a small town in rural
Minnesota, where farming families grow soy
and cotton, and everyone knows everyone
else's business. County
Sheriff Del
Goodman, a no-
nonsense old-timer
who doesn’t mince
words, is investigating
Hattie’s death. Peter
Lund, a man who’s
desperate for
someone to
appreciate and
Mindy Mejia
understand him, is
the new English
teacher at Hattie’s school. All three
characters take turns narrating this
suspenseful thriller. Each has a distinctive
voice and perspective that works, keeping
readers engaged. We instantly know and
recognize these characters. They're flawed,
show honest emotion, overwhelmed by
what’s happening, making understandable if
regrettable mistakes, making it all the harder
to be sure who the murderer truly is. Everything
You Want Me To Be is a well-written story
with characters you will care about and a
finish that offers hope for second chances.
~Rosemary Fifield, TopShelf Reviews
www.TopShelfMagazine.net
AVAILABLE NOW
The Lost Order is the latest in the Cotton
Malone adventure series, and what an
adventure it is. Incorporating the Civil War-
era secret society known as Knights of the
Golden Circle and the present-day halls and
back rooms of the
Smithsonian
Institution, this is a
book full of political
intrigue, ruthless
treasure hunters, and
steadfast individuals
devoted to protecting
a legacy most of us
know nothing about.
Fact: In mid-
nineteenth century
United States, a
Steve Berry
clandestine
organization of
southerners known as The Knights of the
Golden Circle wanted to annex territory in
Mexico, Central America, and the
Caribbean for the purpose of forming a
southern empire, creating a “golden circle”
of slave-holding states with its hub in
Havana, Cuba. They amassed a fortune in
gold and silver to finance the venture, but
when the Civil War interfered, they buried
their fortune in remote locations in the
hopes that their plans might be resurrected
someday. They left clues in the woods for
those who knew how to recognize them
and vested individuals known as sentinels
with the responsibility of protecting the
hidden caches from treasure hunters.
Confederate records, including those of the
Knights, disappeared during the Civil War,
and the full extent of the secret society’s
reach and fortune is unknown.
Fiction: Two present-day factions of the
Knights are close to finding a major vault
of Confederate gold hidden in the
Southwest. One faction plans to use it for
nefarious purposes, the other wants to
preserve it for posterity. Cotton Malone,
former Justice Department agent, is called
back into service because his ancestor was
a Confederate spy who may be the final
link to locating the vault before the
Knights do. He and a former president
of the United States are the last hopes
for stopping a major disruption to
Congress and for bringing cold-
blooded killers to justice.
This book is enjoyable on many
levels – as a thriller with the code-
breaking aspects of The DaVinci Code, as
a fascinating account of a dangerous
secret society in American history, and
as an insider’s romp through the back
rooms, tunnels, and hidden places in
the Smithsonian Institution.
Author Steve Berry is a history buff
and preservationist, as well as a seasoned
writer, and he also serves on the
Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board.
This heavily researched work is packed
with authentic information that
illuminates as well as entertains, leaving
the reader with the satisfying sense of
having learned something while enjoying
the action that never stops. Whether it’s the
workings of Congress, the existence of
hidden caches of gold and silver buried
across the U.S., or the fascinating history of
the Smithsonian itself, Berry keeps it
interesting and relevant while providing a
complicated plot with plenty of dangerous
players and harrowing situations.
ENJOYABLE ON
MANY LEVELS!
REVIEWS
~Rosemary Fifield, TopShelf Reviews
TOPShelf magazine
APRIL2017 21