A few special mentions: Johanna Hart who showed us Jamaica; my old friend Mikey Blount in Prague; Rupert Wallace, our expert Jamaican driver; Frank Lumsden, colonel of the Charles Town Maroons who led us on an extraordinary journey into the Blue Mountains; Richard Keene for some appreciated reconnoitering in Vienna; Chuck Watson, for insights on Florida orange groves; Morris Shamah for help with things Sephardim (though any remaining mistakes are mine); Meryl Moss and her extraordinary publicity team for all they do each day; and Jessica Johns and Esther Garver, who keep me out of trouble (which is not an easy task).
And there’s my wife, Elizabeth, who’s always “in the car.”
The antagonist of this book is named Zachariah Simon. That label came from my agent, Simon Lipskar, incorporating his first and middle names. Simon mentioned one day that he’d love to be the bad guy in a book. But nothing more than his name is associated with the character. Simon is smart, savvy, straightforward, and widely regarded as one of the top agents in the business. He also co-heads one of the largest and best literary agencies in the world—Writers House. The birth of this stand-alone came about partly because of his advice.
I’m honored to have him on my side.
Simon, this one’s for you.
ALSO BY STEVE BERRY
NOVELS
The Amber Room
The Romanov Prophecy
The Third Secret
The Templar Legacy
The Alexandria Link
The Venetian Betrayal
The Charlemagne Pursuit
The Paris Vendetta
The Emperor’s Tomb
The Jefferson Key
E-BOOKS
“The Balkan Escape”
“The Devil’s Gold”
“The Admiral’s Mark”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
STEVE BERRY is the New York Times bestselling author of The Jefferson Key, The Emperor’s Tomb, The Paris Vendetta, The Charlemagne Pursuit, The Venetian Betrayal, The Alexandria Link, The Templar Legacy, The Third Secret, The Romanov Prophecy, The Amber Room, and the short stories “The Admiral’s Mark,” “The Devil’s Gold,” and “The Balkan Escape.” His books have been translated into forty languages and sold in fifty-one countries. He lives in the historic city of St. Augustine, Florida. He and his wife, Elizabeth, have founded History Matters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving our heritage. To learn more about Steve Berry and the foundation, visit www.steveberry.org.