NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Four presidents of the United States have been assassinated—in 1865, 1881, 1901, and 1963—each murder seemingly unrelated. But what if those presidents were all killed for the shocking same reason: a clause contained in the United States Constitution? This is the question faced by former Justice Department operative Cotton Malone. When President Danny Daniels is nearly killed in the heart of Manhattan, Malone risks his life to foil the murder—only to find himself at odds with the Commonwealth, a secret society of pirates first assembled during the American Revolution. Racing across the nation and taking to the high seas, Malone and Cassiopeia Vitt must break a secret cipher originally possessed by Thomas Jefferson, unravel a mystery concocted by Andrew Jackson, and unearth a document forged by the Founding Fathers themselves—one powerful enough to make the Commonwealth unstoppable. Don’t miss Steve Berry’s short story “The Devil’s Gold” and an excerpt from  The King's Deception  in the back of the book. “One of the most spellbinding and ingenious openings in all of thrillerdom.”—David Baldacci “A superbly paced novel of mystery and adventure . . . [Berry’s] love of history resonates throughout this lively and imaginative tale.”— The Denver Post   “ The Jefferson Key is Steve Berry at his very best. . . . This book will raise his reputation to a whole new level.”—The Huffington Post   “Ingeniously plotted . . . Berry offers plenty of twists and vivid action scenes in a feast of historical imagination.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review)   “Fast and furious.”— Booklist   “ The Jefferson Key starts with a bang and holds the reader in its grip until the last page: fascinating American history, up-to-the-minute politics, pulse-pounding action.”—Vince Flynn   “The Constitution . . . secret codes . . . loads of history . . . and pirates! What else does anyone need? The Jefferson Key won’t just haunt your nights—it’ll haunt your life. Cotton Malone is coming back to the scariest place of all: home.”—Brad Meltzer Steve Berry is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of 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 . His books have been translated into 40 languages with more than 18,000,000 copies in 51 countries.   History lies at the heart of every Steve Berry novel. It’s this passion, one he shares with his wife, Elizabeth, that led them to create History Matters, a foundation dedicated to historic preservation. Since 2009 Steve and Elizabeth have traveled across the country to save endangered historic treasures, raising money via lectures, receptions, galas, luncheons, dinners, and their popular writers’ workshops. To date, nearly 2,500 students have attended those workshops. In 2012 their work was recognized by the American Library Association, which named Steve the first spokesman for National Preservation Week. He was also appointed by the Smithsonian Board of Regents to serve on the Smithsonian Libraries Advisory Board to help promote and support the libraries in their mission to provide information in all forms to scientists, curators, scholars, students, and the public at large. He has received the Royden B. Davis Distinguished Author Award and the 2013 Writers for Writers Award from Poets & Writers . His novel The Columbus Affair earned him the Anne Frank Human Writes Award, and his historic preservation work merited the 2013 Silver Bullet from International Thriller Writers.   Steve Berry was born and raised in Georgia, graduating from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University. He was a trial lawyer for 30 years and held elective office for 14 of those years. He is a founding member of International Thriller Writers—a group of more than 2,600 thriller writers from around the world—and served three years as its co-president.   For more information, visit www.steveberry.org. ONE NEW YORK CITY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, THE PRESENT 6:13 pm One mistake was not enough for Cotton Malone. He made two. Error number one was being on the fifteenth floor of the Grand Hyatt hotel. The request had come from his old boss Stephanie Nelle, through an email sent two days ago. She needed to see him, in New York, on Saturday. Apparently, the subject matter was something they could discuss only in person. And apparently, it was important. He'd tried to call anyway, phoning Magellan Billet headquarters in Atlanta, but was told by her assistant, "She's been out of the office for six days now on DNC."   He knew better than to ask where. DNC. Do Not Contact. That meant don't call me, I'll call you. He'd been there before himself the agent in the field, deciding when best to report in. That status, though,