I love Steve Berry's books. I can't help myself. I just do.
Historical thrillers are a hoot and a half, and I'll keep reading them until somebody pries them out of my cold, dead hands.
That being said, I like Mr. Berry because he elevates the conversation a tad, compared to other authors in his genre (i.e. Raymond Khoury, Andy McDermott, Dan Brown). However, this book fell a bit short on that account, thus the 3-star rating rather than 4-star, which is where I'd typically place his work.
The plot --- while super interesting --- felt a bit forced, and the main character of the book, Cotton, doesn't really play any significant role in the story. Rather, the book follows the colorful secondary characters of Luke Daniels, Danny Daniels, and Stephanie Nelle. Not that I'm necessarily complaining on that front. I adore Luke and Stephanie. It just felt like a weird chapter in the overarching Cotton series.
And, finally, I felt like the ending lacked finesse. Part of it was rushed, and part of it was left too open, while yet another part was overdone (ie. that whole emotional breakdown about the cave in and the scream.)
That all being said, I enjoyed the book, and I'd still recommend the series, and I'm super duper looking forward to the next.