Before he was a New York Times best-selling author of 19 novels, Steve Berry was a student at Mercer University School of Law.
After graduating in 1980, Berry went on to become a trial lawyer and hold elected office, but he is best known for his historic thrillers, most notably the Cotton Malone series. In the series, the titular character is a former Justice Department operative who travels the world facing deadly threats.
Berry gets his ideas “in the strangest places and at the oddest times,” according to his website, and the plot of “The Jefferson Key” — the reason behind the assassination of four presidents — was something he noticed in law school.
Berry and his wife, Elizabeth, share a passion for history, which led them to create History Matters, a historic preservation foundation. He’s been honored as both a writer and a preservationist. His most recent novel, “The Warsaw Protocol,” was released in February.
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