Waiting on Wednesday – The Medici Return by Steve Berry

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I look at an awesome upcoming thriller with the historical conspiracy laden novel, The Medici Return by Steve Berry.

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As we near 2025, I have been looking ahead to see how several long-running series I routinely enjoy are likely to continue.  One of these series are the brilliant Cotton Malone thriller books by impressive author Steve Berry.  A deeply entertaining series of spy thriller novels, the Cotton Malone books follow titular government agent, Cotton Malone, as he uncovers a continuous series of hidden conspiracies and plots that have their roots in various periods of history.  This fantastic overall theme of the Cotton Malone books has produced some excellent novels over the years, and I have had a wonderful time diving into elaborate stories loaded with historical detail, such as The Malta Exchange, The Warsaw Protocol, The Kaiser’s Web, The Last Kingdom and The Atlas Maneuver.  Each of these has been extremely fun and addictive to me, and I always eagerly await to see what unique adventure Berry will produce next.

As such, one of my most anticipated thrillers coming out in the first half of 2025 is the intriguing novel, The Medici Return.  The 19th book in the Cotton Malone series, The Medici Return will see Berry dive into yet another intriguing period of history that will result in an intense and world-altering plot.

Plot Synopsis:

Former Justice Department operative, Cotton Malone, has been asked to assist the Swiss guard with determining whether Cardinal Jason Richter has engaged in bribery and theft. It’s a favor for Stephanie Nelle, once his boss at the Magellan Billet, who is doing a favor for the Vatican. But nothing is as it seems. Four hundred thousand euros are found, a Swiss Guardsman is murdered, and a killer sets his sights on both Cotton and the cardinal.

Together they are thrust into a search for a forgotten document, a 16th century Pledge of Christ executed by Pope Julius II that reveals a debt owed by the Vatican, still valid after five centuries, now worth in the trillions of dollars. But when the trail to collecting that debt leads Cotton to the famed Medici of Florence—a family that history says died out, without heirs, centuries ago—he realizes that two more things also hang in the balance. Who will be the next prime minister of Italy, and who will become the next pope.

From a quiet hilltop village in central Germany, to the ancient city of Siena with its famed Palio horse race, and finally to the historic piazzas, churches, and crypts of Florence, Cotton Malone uncovers the answers, one by one, everything hinging on when, and if, the Medici return.

This upcoming Cotton Malone book sounds particularly awesome and intriguing, and I love the main plot revolving around an ancient Vatican debt and the potential implications if the church is forced to pay it off.  I am also very curious about the inclusion of the Medici family of Florence, and it will be interesting to see how Berry works them into the main plot.  Based on how the previous Cotton Malone books have turned out, I am expecting that Berry will do a deep dive into the history and legacy of the Medici family in The Medici Return, and I am for one am eager to learn more about them.  I also love the sound of the various locations that Berry is planning to take the reader in The Medici Return.  Berry always does an amazing job vividly describing the elaborate landscapes and historical sites that the protagonists of his books end up visiting, and I am excited to see what cool new locations will be explored in this new book.

Honestly, I was going to read The Medici Return next year no matter what, as I have really grown to enjoy Steve Berry’s Cotton Malone series.  However, the above synopsis has gotten me extra excited, and I am now deeply intrigued to see what sort of elaborate thriller adventure Berry will come up with for The Medici Return.  The Medici Return will likely be one of the top thriller novels I enjoy in 2024, and I cannot wait to see how Berry utilises the unique history of the Medici family for his latest awesome book.