Today another person suggested this author.  Am I the only person not reading his books?  Should I be reading them? 

I quit reading Dan Brown/Ken Follett/Tom Clancy/Michael Chricton (sp?) b/c I was tired of reading the same book in different covers.  Also, I'm one of the people who disliked The DaVinci Code (not horrible, just boring and nothing I hadn't already read elsewhere, though one of his others wasn't bad) so I avoided this author as just more of the same.  Was I wrong to do so?  If so, which book should I read first?

If you don't like DaVinci Code, you probably won't care too much for Steve Berry. I like him, but I enjoy that kind of conspiracy-theory/mystery-to-solve sort of stuff. Here's an idea of his books:

The Amber Room-- What happened to the famous room built entirely of panels of amber after HItler had it stolen in WW2? No one knows, but this book offers one solution

The Third Secret-- Back in maybe the 30's, some children saw a vision of the Mother Mary and she told them three secrets, they were allowed to tell 2 of them world wide, but the thrid was only gfor the Pope. The Catholic church kept that third bit of information a secret. In real life, the secret was finally revealled in 2000 or 1995 or something, but in the book, that revelation was only half of the real secret. IN this book, the church has kept the rest of the information held back because of controvesy etc.

The Last Templar-- This one has a big long race towards a secret treasure hidden by the Templars ages ago. What if the Templars had not been completely disbanded, but had just gone underground to keep their secret from ever being revealed? Find out the secret they've been guarding almost since the crucifixtion.

The Romanov Prophecy-- Suppose Rasputin had actually been a prophet as well as a manipulative lunatic? What if he left behind a secret prophecy with the royal family that declared they would one day return to rule Russia? The main character searches for the long lost unknown decendants of the surviving children of Nicholas and Alexandra.

I haven't read the latest (The Alexandria Link--about the Library of Alexandria). I liked all the books. If I remember correctly, two of them have the same main character. They are all based on a general real life mystery, he just solves them with his own little twist. They are well written and thee flow is usually quick and interesting. *shrug* Every reader is different though.

Exactly what Tracey said.  Although I enjoyed Berry's book quite a bit more than Dan Brown's.  I read The Last Templar and  found the writing better and not so incredulous as in DC.  In fact I am starting the Third Secret today. 

If you are not interested in this whole secret society, entrigue, espionage, etc, then these are not the books for you. 

Thanks for the info : )   I think I'll give it a try.  I like the concept; it wasn't the ideas of The DaVinci Code that I didn't like.  I like the whole mystery/espionage/art/history thing.  I don't know how to explain it except to say that the book really let me down.  I was one of the 1/2 dozen or so to actually read the book Dan Brown was accused of plaigarizing (sp?-just too lazy to go look it up) prior to the publication of Brown's book so, in a way, I had already read The DaVinci Code .

Now I just need to pick one to start...maybe I'll go see what's available in the system first.

Thanks again for your help : )

Well, I think Berry is a not very good writer. DaVinci was much better in that sense, also, it was more original. I listen to Berry's books in the car on CD, which I can borrow from the lib. I would never  bother to read them in print. They're kind of like cartoons written out.

  I am not a Steve Berry fan.  I really loved the premise of the Amber Room, but disliked his style of writing.  It was dry and very preachy, like I was being lectured, not reading for enjoyment.  

    James Rollins is along the same lines of treasure hunting, espionage and thrills, and I love him! His style is great, and even when lots of information, some of it technical, is involved, it's easy to read and the story really flows.  You may want to give him a try.