A New York Times bestselling author, based on the First Coast, released a new book about buried treasures right at home.
Steve Berry, a St. Augustine native, talked about his latest thriller, “The Lost Order,” in his Cotton Malone series, during a phone interview Friday on First Coast Connect.
Berry weaves historical facts and fiction, into novels centered around the exploits of former Justice Department agent Cotton Malone.
This new novel “deals with something in the Civil War I came across,” while serving on the Smithsonian advisory board.
The novel centers on the lost history and secrets of The Knights of the Golden Circle, the largest and most dangerous clandestine organization in American history, he said.
“Some say they still exist today, … we don't know for sure,” Berry said, as “they kind of went underground after the war.”
Berry said the group stole billions worth of gold and silver and buried it all across the South. He said they left clues how to find it in the woods, trees, bushes, and in the stones.
“People have been searching for this treasure for a long, long time,” he said. “They've found some small caches of this money, but they never found the largest ones.”
Berry said the clues are very difficult to decipher, and that's one reason why it's been hard to find what they left on the ground.
“But if you can figure them out, and locate them, you might be able to find yourself some gold,” he said.
Berry will sign copies of his new book April 28 at the Bookmark in Neptune Beach and April 29 at the Barnes & Noble Booksellers at the St. John’s Town Center.
News Intern Joy Kader can be reached at newsteam@wjct.org or on Twitter at @joykader95.
