The Templar Legacy

A Novel

By: Steve Berry

Narrated by: Paul Michael

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “Exciting . . . hard to put down without reading one more page.”—The Florida Times-Union

The ancient order of the Knights Templar possessed untold wealth and absolute power over kings and popes . . . until the Inquisition, when they were wiped from the face of the earth, their hidden riches lost. But now two forces vying for the treasure have learned that it is not at all what they thought it was—and its true nature could change the modern world.

Cotton Malone, one-time top operative for the U.S. Justice Department, is enjoying his quiet new life as an antiquarian book dealer in Copenhagen when an unexpected call to action reawakens his hair-trigger instincts—and plunges him back into the cloak-and-dagger world he thought he’d left behind.

It begins with a violent robbery attempt on Cotton’s former supervisor, Stephanie Nelle, who’s far from home on a mission that has nothing to do with national security. Armed with vital clues to a series of centuries-old puzzles scattered across Europe, she means to crack a mystery that has tantalized scholars and fortune-hunters through the ages by finding the legendary cache of wealth and forbidden knowledge thought to have been lost forever when the order of the Knights Templar was exterminated in the fourteenth century. But she’s not alone. Competing for the historic prize— and desperate for the crucial information Stephanie possesses—is Raymond de Roquefort, a shadowy zealot with an army of assassins at his command.

Welcome or not, Cotton seeks to even the odds in the perilous race. But the more he learns about the ancient conspiracy surrounding the Knights Templar, the more he realizes that even more than lives are at stake. At the end of a lethal game of conquest, rife with intrigue, treachery, and craven lust for power, lies a shattering discovery that could rock the civilized world—and, in the wrong hands, bring it to its knees.

Critic reviews

Praise for Steve Berry

The Amber Room

“Sexy, illuminating . . . my kind of thriller.”—Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code

“Magnificently engrossing, with wonderful characters and a plot that speeds, twists, and turns. Pure intrigue, pure fun.”—Clive Cussler, author of Sacred Stone

The Romanov Prophecy

“Perfect for thriller fans and history buffs alike. Fabulous plot twists.”—David Morrell, author of The Protector

“Compelling . . . adventure-filled . . . a fast-moving, globe-hopping tale of long-lost treasure and shadowy bad guys.”—San Francisco Chronicle

The Third Secret

“Controversial, shocking, explosive . . . rich in a wealth of Vatican insider knowledge and two thousand years of Virgin Mary visitations. The Third Secret will change our view of the relationship between religion and wisdom.”—Katherine Neville, author of The Eight

Refreshingly good!

I was not expecting much, too be honest, but am surprised and moved by the performance of this book! Rather than a cynical and hackneyed imitation of Dan Browns work, this is more logical and character and story driven. The 2nd half is both thrilling and believable. No "Deus ex machina" like others of this genre. Wonderful!

Great narrator for 1/2 of the voices

Unfortunately there is one character the narrator presents with a high pitched accented voice. The accent isn’t bad but listening to the elevated pitch for seemingly 3 out of the 14 hours in the audio book is mind numbing. The narrator is so good otherwise. This is where a producer should have said “hey let’s try something else”.

Hooray! New to me series character and author.

I'm a big fan of Lee Child and Vince Flynn. I came across a description of Cotton Malone and searched out the first in the series. The research is amazing! The flow of the story is comfortable, and edgy. I'm hoping to find more back story in future adventures, to get a better feel of how Cotton came to be......Cotton.

Fantastic

Looking forward to more Steve Berry and Cotton M!
This could be the beginning of a great friendship.

Disappointing da vinci code knock off

Very sad attempt to misrepresent the Bible and the deity of Jesus Christ through an inaccurate, lazily thought out story about people who believe in nothing or can easily be swayed to question the validity of the word of God by finding another document saying that the author is another disciple whose account contradicts the accounts of the gospel writers. This book is obviously written by an author who doesn’t believe or has a very different loose idea of who God is and how He revealed Himself to humanity. There are many slanderous comments about the gospels presented as facts. For instance one character accuses the two genealogies of Christ provided in the word of being contradictory while speaking to the other very educated characters and not one of them is apparently aware that the genealogy in the book of Matthew is through Joseph and the genealogy given in Luke is through Mary. This dual genealogy gives Christ the right to the throne of David through position as the first born as well as through blood. Both Joseph and Mary were descendants of King David. FACTS such as this are ignored as the author rattles off supposed contradictions one after another. Just as perplexing the characters essentially in their minds have found proof that the gospels are all falsehood yet they go on pretty much unbothered by this and even continuing membership in a faith based organization such as the knights Templar. They even read words from the gospel of John at a funeral as though it held some holy significance. It was also strange that mention of the wars fought during the crusades were somehow right or good. They weren’t. The crusades were an all out blasphemy of the gospel message. That message is of love and true salvation whereas the crusades were a bloody struggle for man to dominate mankind and completely ignore the sacrifice of the only begotten Son of God. I could go on about the inaccurate claim of the Roman Catholic Church being the first church even though historians have well established that the Ethiopian Coptic Church predates the Catholic Church by a significant margin. All that aside, it would be tremendous if authors could find a better topic to try to deceive people about. Jesus is the only One they will try to discredit because He is the truth. I hope that those who listen to this story will be encouraged to open the word of God and investigate for themselves what the Creator has written to them through His servants.