Steve Berry's THE JEFFERSON KEY

I love that Steve Berry mixes history in with his Cotton Malone thriller series. In The Jefferson Key, he explores the idea that the four American presidential assassinations and the other attempts were related. This one has a lot of car chases, gun fights, intrigue, and pirates.

A lot of the action takes place in and around Virginia and Washington, DC. His protagonists drive a motorcycle down the beautiful staircase at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. They shoot out the window and make their escape. They also have a battle at Monticello in Charlottesville over one of Mr. Jefferson's inventions that holds the key to a cipher.

The pirate stories take place in and around Bath, North Carolina and Ocracoke Island (Blackbeard Territory), and the characters even end up near Oak Island near Nova Scotia.

The book is fast-paced with great page-turning action. And Berry does a nice job with explaining fact from fiction at the end. Add this one to your beach bag for a fun, summer read.