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Apr 02, 2018USAF1969 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Steve Berry's books, with main character Cotton Malone, have always had a historical connection. Sometimes thin, unproven history and sometimes more established events. He always does a great job of weaving a great story around whatever those events are. In THE BISHOP'S PAWN, he has taken on one of the most challenging historical events in America's history, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. This novel, more that any other of his that I can recall, lays out more authenticated historical facts as part of the story than any of his previous ones. Some of it is little stuff that reveals glimpses of Dr. King not widely known (or at least to me), some of it direct from the Church Committee investigation by Congress and other internal documents showing government abuse of the law, and some of it is hard facts that are uncomfortable when considering someone who has become so revered by many. The book never questions Dr. King's motives regarding racial equality, the horrors of poverty and non-violent civil disobedience. Berry weaves an interesting tale that does provide a creative, alternative explanation for the motives behind the assassination and he does a truly masterful job of basing that explanation on hard facts. One thing I do like about Berry is that at the end of his books, he goes out of his way to separate what is fact from fiction in the book. [NOTE: I would suggest not reading that part until you finish the book.] In this book, that section is longer than I ever recall, largely because he has so much factual material that he drew from. Yet he is very clear that the alternative explanation of why Dr. King was assassinated, is entirely his own creation. This story is his masterpiece as an author so far. It is a great read and well crafted. Maybe more importantly, for someone of my generation, it is a vivid reminder of what was at stake and what we were watching as events in civil rights movement unfolded in the first half of the 1960s. It is also a reminder of the behind the scenes stuff we didn't know of at the time. Well done Mr. Berry!