The Devil's Gold

Cotton Malone #6.5

by Steve Berry

The New York Times bestselling author of The Jefferson Key brings you a short story that takes readers on a perilous hunt for . . . The Devil's Gold

Once he was called the Sphinx, a man so inscrutable that neither his adversaries nor fellow intelligence operatives could predict his next move. Now a contract agent with a secret mission, Jonathan Wyatt has gone rogue. For eight years he’s been plotting. Waiting. Scheming to kill Federal agents Christopher Combs and Cotton Malone, whom he blames for the loss of his career. But as Wyatt prepares for a final confrontation in a remote South American village, he makes a discovery that stretches back to the horrors of World War II, to the astounding secret of a child’s birth, to Martin Bormann and Eva Braun—and to a fortune in lost Includes excerpts from Steve Berry's The Jefferson Key and The Columbus Affair.

Genres: Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Historical Fiction, Short Stories, Adventure, Suspense

48 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 5, 2011

About the author

 

Steve Berry is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of twenty-two novels, which include: The Last Kingdom , The Omega Factor , The Kaiser's Web, The Warsaw Protocol, The Malta Exchange, The Bishop’s Pawn, The Lost Order, The 14th Colony, The Patriot Threat, The Lincoln Myth, The King's Deception, The Columbus Affair, 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, and The Amber Room. Steve has also co-written a novel with Grant Blackwood,  The 9th Man  (a Luke Daniels Adventure), and four novellas with M. J. Rose:  The End of Forever,   The House of Long Ago,   The Lake of Learning,  and  The Museum of Mysteries,  all Cassiopeia Vitt tales. His books have been translated into 41 languages with over 25,000,000 copies in 52 countries. They consistently appear in the top echelon of The New York Times, USA Today, and Indie bestseller lists. Somewhere in the world, every thirty seconds, one of his novels is sold.

Reviews

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, Steve Berry has given us a great appetizer for an upcoming book. And, as I felt with "The Balkan Escape," the story ends to soon. I love the alternative version of what may have happened to Martin Bormann and Eva Braun. I think an entire book could be written on this story alone. Jonathan Wyatt is another great character in a string of great characters Berry has given us. After reading this story and the opening scene from "The Jefferson Key" included with this e-book, I wonder if the event that happens to Cotton in the preview is all a set-up by Wyatt. Can't wait for "The Jefferson Key."

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty good even if it does use Hitler's gold & one of the many conspiracies surrounding the last days of WWII as the backdrop. It's an old & tired conspiracy, but this take on it was somewhat better done than most. Malone is mentioned, but never seen. Well read, too. I've only read the first novel in this series, but this could be read at any time.

[✰ Bianca ✰ BJ's Book Blog ✰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great short story with a bit of mystery/history.
No Cotton Malone - but it was still very interesting!

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at history in a way only Berry can perfect. In this short story we are introduced to a character on a mission to discober some of the deeply held secrets from the fallout of World War II, particularly Hitler's Bounty and the dispersal of the Nazis.



Loose ties and mention of the famed Cotton Malone so the reader can only wonder if this will be a tie-in to the next (or down the road book) about our favourite protagonist. Berry takes us on a short ride to see what ACTUALLY happened to the Bounty, to Mrs. A. Hitler (read: Eva Braun) and some other twists worth keeping under wraps.



The audio version by Scott Brick makes the book some alive. Kudos to Brick and Berry!

[Keith Lovell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice story about nazi survivors, Berry does his usual job of weaving fact from possible gaps in historical accounts.

[Cam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need to read more of Berry’s books… I loved his earlier stuff and kinda lost interest after a while.. liked this book on nazi hunting.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Cotton Malone story in which he doesn't feature - a nice change of pace -- and the story itself is much more nuanced than many 'Escaped Nazi' tales.

[itchy · Rating 5 out of 5]

what!?
no preview for the columbus affair?
come on

[Mark Muckerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like the novella, the short story has become a lost art: hard to find any at all, and good ones even rarer still. In The Devil's Gold, Berry delivers a delectable storytelling morsel: a succulent crabcake or a bacon-wrapped scallop delivered on a silver tray by someone wearing white gloves. Brief, savory and satisfying, yet leaving you wanting more, or more of the same. The Devil's Gold is a tale of revenge, history, Nazis and "what if", all wrapped up in less than 50 pages - providing questions and answers, but still more questions.

A delicious read.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never read Steve Berry before. Someone recommended his books and I figured $0.99 for the short story would be a great place to start. It was a good read and I'm interested in reading more from him.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short story that was printed after the main action in my physical novel of The Jefferson Key. Goodreads has it placed just before the events of The Jefferson Key as "Cotton Malone #6.5. While that may be true chronologically, I actually liked reading if after the events of The Jefferson Key. The story involves Jonathon Wyatt, who you meet in The Jefferson Key and whose story is really told in the full length novel. The short story of Devil's Gold takes place just before, and shows Wyatt on a missing to confront one of the people who ended his career 8 years ago. But what started as a follow-and-kill kind of mission turns into a neat little plot about Hitler and Eva Braun - and one possibly surviving the suicide pact.

Read it before or after The Jefferson Key, I don't think it matters much. I doubt Wyatt becomes a major fixture in the future novels, and he isn't in the previous ones, so reading it near The Jefferson Key would be most beneficial to getting Wyatt's full story. Overall a neat little short story with a plot I could see having been an idea in Berry's mind but could not flesh out a full length novel around it. Short story was concise, interesting, and historical and fits well in Berry's body of works.

[Emerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an interesting concept. Did Eva Braun escape the bunker where Hitler killed himself? This short novella poses that question and then answers it. Most scholars and historians will say no. Fiction can say yes to such a question. Interesting subject matter to prep for the next book in the series.

This was an interesting read over my morning coffee.

[Elaine C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did Hitler or Eva Braun make it out of the German bunker on that fateful day? If so, where did they go? How did they survive? This short story doesn't directly involve Cotton Malone, but it does feature Jonathan Wyatt - someone that he maligned and who has Cotton on a hit list.

[Stamp.Warinthon · Rating 4 out of 5]

เป็นเรื่องสั้นก่อนเข้าเล่ม 7 ของคอตตอน มาโลน ถึงจะเป็นเรื่องสั้นแต่สนุกเพราะเกี่ยวกับขุมทองของนาซีหลังแพ้สงคราม

เรื่องนี้ทำให้ได้รู้จักกับมาร์ติน บอร์มัน อีกหนึ่งคีย์แมนของฮิตเลอร์ ผนวกกับจินตนาการเรื่องลูกชายของฮิตเลอร์ที่รอดชีวิตก็เป็นอะไรที่สนุกดี

[Tracy Smyth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another short story - this one about Hitler’s gold. No Malone or Vitt but still an interesting read. Did Eva Braun die with Hitler or did she survive and have his child. Conspiracy theories are such fun at times.

[ManOfLaBook.com · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The Devil’s Gold” By Steve Berry is a short fic­tional eBook orig­i­nal. The book fol­lows one of the char­ac­ters in Mr. Berry’s books on a short adventure.

Jonathan Wyatt, once known as “Sphinx” has been wait­ing and plot­ting for years to kill Christo­pher Combs and Cot­ton Mal­one, the two Fed­eral agents who he blames for his dis­missal from the ser­vice. How­ever, Wyatt makes an astound­ing dis­cov­ery in a remote South Amer­i­can vil­lage that stretches back decades.

“The Devil’s Gold” By Steve Berry is another short story (I read The Balkan Escape (Short Story): A Cassiopeia Vitt Adventure pre­vi­ously in which one of the char­ac­ters, Jonathan Wyatt, of his nov­els goes on a side­track adven­ture. The book actu­ally takes place before Mr. Berry’s lat­est cre­ation, “The Jef­fer­son Key” .

I enjoyed this book very much, it is short but tells a great alter­na­tive his­tory story of what hap­pened to Eva Braun. I’m sure Mr. Berry could eas­ily write a whole book just about that sub­ject alone.

Even thought the story is very short (less than 40 pages) it is very enter­tain­ing and cer­tainly holds its own. It is fast paced and thrilling. One could even view this book as the teaser sequence before the main book.

For more reviews and bookish thoughts please visit: http://www.ManOfLaBook.com

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story released to tie in with the full length novel The Jefferson Key. This story introduces the character Jonathan Wyatt as he tracks down his former boss who turned against him and helped end his career.

Set in Argentina the story revolves around the remnants of the Third Reich with some Nazi's who escaped justice. For a Steve Berry book the action is virtually non-existant and the dialogue is heavy. A quick read I only read it as it is part of the ongoing Cotton Malone series.

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an eBook short that I should have read just prior to THE JEFFERSON KEY. This introduces us to Jonathon Wyatt, a former coworker of Cotton Malone's. Wyatt is on a mission to get revenge on his former boss who failed him eight years prior. While trailing him, Wyatt stumbles upon the truth behind some of the happenings during WWII and what became of the stolen propery. Short and quick and very insightful.

[Eli Shayotovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a Steve Berry (and Cotton Malone) fan this is a must read short story! It's about Hitler's (The Devil) gold stash from WWII. Some great fictional - or are they? - theories (parlayed into a storyline) about who actually died in that bunker. Plus, it introduces a new character and storyline that makes up the central theme in Berry's new novel, "The Jefferson Key" (which I'm almost done reading now). Absolutely worth reading!!!!!

[Alex is The Romance Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a short and quick read that ties in and provides a back-story to The Jefferson Key.
Jonathan Wyatt, former colleague of Cotton Malone, who he blames for destroying his career, discovers some secrets about Hitler’s hidden bounty and something about what happened to Eva Braun & Martin Bornman.
Introducing new characters that will play a major role in the tie-up book.
So, we go on another WHAT IF that journey only Steve Berry can take us on.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really great little short story as a prequel to his latest novel, The Jefferson Key. Was glad to read a story like this about something other than the masons/templars. Who would have thought Hitler would be refreshing?

[Travis Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that Mr. Berry has put out another short story in order to wet our appetite for his newest book. It reminds me of when movies sometimes show the first 10 minutes of a movie on TV to spark people’s interest and once again he is successful in capturing my interest with this short story. This is a good short story that sets the stage for The Jefferson Key, which I can’t wait to read.

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prequel to The Jefferson Key

This short story introduces the legend of Hitler's bounty - hidden loot from the Nazi's pillaging. Jonathan Wyatt has a score to settle with Cotton Malone; I can't wait to see what happens with the characters in JK. I've got to get my copy out (that I won here on Goodreads) and dig into it now!

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another short story providing background for the Jefferson Key. This was much better than his other short story. It was long enough to have its own plot and really give insight into the character that appears again in The Jefferson Key. It explains a lot of his motives and history. I enjoyed this story.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steve Berry's writing is just fantastic. His main character gets more than he bargained for when he set about on revenge. Everything starts out ordinary and then just goes around and around until you can't believe where you end up. Very very short book, but so good.

[Gayle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short story that sets up the new book, The Jefferson's Key. I am curious to how this will play into the new book. Hopefully the questions will be answered in the Key.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good quick read. It seems like he is introducing the foil for the new Cotton Malone book. It was interesting enough to get me to get right to reading the Jefferson Key.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concerning one man's hunt for revenge. What he finds is Nazi gold and answers to secrets he never knew existed. Good one. The usual Berry expertise in a short story.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short story that does not feature Cotton Malone but gives you more insight into his life working as an agent/spy for the government. This story also introduces Jonathan Wyatt and his past involvement with Malone. I really enjoy ready the short stories in this series. it provides more information that makes you understand what motivates each character.

Wyatt holds a grudge against Malone. Malone filled a complaint against Wyatt years before claiming he unnecessarily risked two other agents' lives. Wyatt holds a grudge against Malone for costing him his career, but he also holds one against his former boss. That man threw Wyatt to the wolves during the formal hearing after he led Wyatt to believe that the hearing was no big deal. Wyatt was proud to serve his country. While he does do some freelance work at times, it is not what Wyatt wanted for his career. Wyatt decides he needs to make these two men pay for what they did. Going after his former boss, Wyatt follows him to South America. The man is supposed to be on vacation, but he stops and sees various people. An owner of a store, an old lady who lives in the hills and others. Wyatt can make no sense of it, so he decides to just go directly to the old woman and see what she has to say. The old lady is a Nazi fanatic and makes it clear that Wyatt's former boss is hunting two people. What Wyatt does not understand is why? Who cared about former Nazis? Most are dead by now. Going to see the store owner is not much help. the man shows him filing cabinets full of files and papers pertaining to the Nazis. Wyatt cannot read German. While trying to piece together what this has to do with his former boss, both people he just talked to are murdered. The shop owner while he is actually in the back of the shop. what has Wyatt stumbled upon? What is his former boss doing? Why? The answers Wyatt finds are far stranger than he ever expected.

I loved this story. I could not help, but like Wyatt. The secrets he stumbled upon were surprising and it just shows how good of a storyteller Steve Barry is. if you like action, adventure, and history, Mr. Barry does not disappoint.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steve Berry’s The Devil’s Gold is a gripping novella that packs all the suspense, intrigue, and historical depth that fans of his Cotton Malone series have come to love. Set in the aftermath of World War II, the story explores a chilling "what-if" scenario tied to one of history’s most infamous figures, Adolf Hitler, and the hidden caches of gold rumored to have been left behind.

Berry’s talent for blending history with thrilling fiction is on full display. The novella's fast pace and compelling plot keep readers hooked from start to finish. While short, The Devil’s Gold doesn’t skimp on character development or tension. Cotton Malone, Berry’s beloved protagonist, shines in this adventure, showcasing his resourcefulness and tenacity.

The historical elements are richly detailed and seamlessly woven into the narrative, making the story both entertaining and informative. Berry’s knack for building suspense around real-world mysteries adds an extra layer of intrigue, leaving readers pondering long after they’ve finished the book.

For fans of action-packed thrillers and historical fiction, *The Devil’s Gold* is a perfect quick read. While it may not have the depth of Berry’s full-length novels, it delivers a satisfying and exciting story that will leave readers eager for more Cotton Malone adventures.