Title:	The Last Kingdom
	Author:	Steve Berry
	Published:	February 21, 2023, Grand Central Publishing
	No. of Pages:	465
	Cover Price:	$29.00 Hardcover, $14.99 Kindle

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The Last Kingdom is the 17th installment in the Cotton Malone series. Malone is retired and runs a used bookstore in Denmark, but does a favor for a friend, Luke Daniels, travels to Bavaria where the story is set, and helps out with a mission. Daniels has been able to infiltrate himself into the Bavarian government and is working to stop a prince from overthrowing his brother, which would have grave consequences in the government. The setting of the story captures some of the cultural charm of that region of Europe.

Malone is well-developed, and those who have read previous novels will enjoy the reintroduction. Berry has done a good job developing the supporting characters, so they are believable and help the story along.

Berry’s style is different, and readers must get used to the incomplete sentences and jumps from character to character which makes it difficult sometimes to know which one he is talking about. This novel isn’t easy to follow, and seems different from the previous Cotton Malone books. Readers must follow this one closely in order to make sense of the book. It has a slow start, and many readers will abandon reading before getting to the end.

All told, this is not one of Berry’s best novels; in fact it is most likely his worst. Diehard fans will muddle through, but those of us who can take it or leave it would rather skip this one for a thriller that is easier to read.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.