On July 11, 2023, New York Times bestselling authors Steve Berry and Grant Blackwood will launch what might very well be the first book of a new series with The 9th Man.
Berry, best known for his popular Cotton Malone series, had been with Minotaur Books, an imprint at Macmillian, until leaving in 2020 to sign a six-book deal with Grand Central Publishing (at Hachette). His series continues there, but additionally, Berry continues to push out non-Cotton books as well, including this year’s The Omega Factor. He’ll continue that trend next summer when The 9th Man—which features Luke Daniels working on behalf of the Magellan Billet, chasing down a lead that could solve the only remaining presidential assassination in United States history—hits bookstores.
Check out the official cover art and plot details below.
ONLY ONE AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL ASSASSINATION REMAINS UNSOLVED. UNTIL NOW.
Luke Daniels is in London, between assignments with the Magellan Billet, when he receives a frantic call from an old friend. Jillian Stein is in trouble. She made a mistake and now her life may be in danger. She needs Luke’s help. Immediately. Racing to Belgium Luke quickly finds that she was right. A shadow team of highly-trained operatives are there on the hunt. Intervening, he finds himself embroiled in a war between two determined sides — one seeking the truth, the other trying to escape the past — a war that has already claimed one life and is about to claim more.
Thomas Rowland is a Washington insider, a kingmaker, problem-solver, but also a man with a past. For him everything turns with what happened on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. What history has recorded is wrong. There is more to the story, much more, and Thomas Rowland is at the center of that terrible reality. But forces are working against him, and Rowland will do anything to keep the world from learning what actually happened on that fateful day, including killing Luke, Jillian and anyone else who might be a threat.
In a race from Belgium, to Luxembourg, to the bayous of Louisiana and the Wyoming wilderness, to a final confrontation in the Bahamas, Luke Daniels confronts a series of shocking truths which not only rewrite history but will forever change his own life — as he comes face to face with the ninth man.
Steve Berry is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of sixteen Cotton Malone novels, five stand-alone thrillers, and several works of short fiction. He has 25 million books in print, translated into over 40 languages. With his wife, Elizabeth, he is the founder of History Matters, an organization dedicated to historical preservation. He serves as an emeritus member of the Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board and was a founding member of International Thriller Writers, formerly serving as its co‑president.
Grant Blackwood is the New York Times bestselling author of the Briggs Tanner series, (The End of Enemies, The Wall of Night, and An Echo of War), the co-author of the Fargo Adventure Series (Spartan Gold, Lost Empire, and The Kingdom) with Clive Cussler, as well as the co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Dead or Alive, with Tom Clancy, and the thriller, The Kill Switch, with James Rollins. A U. S. Navy veteran, Grant spent three years aboard a guided missile frigate as an Operations Specialist and a Pilot Rescue Swimmer. Grant lives in Arizona, where he is working his own standalone series starring a new hero.
2023 is shaping up to be a big year for Steve Berry, who in addition to The 9th Man, will release his highly-anticipated 17th Cotton Malone thriller, The Last Kingdom, on February 21st. Both books are currently available for pre-order wherever books are sold.
Praised as “One of the hardest working, most thoughtful, and fairest reviewers out there” by #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline, Ryan Steck has “quickly established himself as the authority on mysteries and thrillers” (Author A.J. Tata). Steck also works full-time as a freelance editor and is building a growing community on Twitch. His debut thriller, FIELDS OF FIRE, which #1 New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr says “will leave you speechless and begging for more,” is now available. For more information, be sure to follow him on Twitter and Facebook. And to take part in free, exclusive BOOK CLUBS each month, join The Real Book Spy on Discord.