Can't Wait Wednesday #45

My first Can't Wait Wednesday of 2026! This weekly meme is hosted by the Wishful Endings blog. The meme spotlights the books that we are excited about but have yet to read. Generally, they're books that have yet to be released. 

The 20th Cotton Malone novel will be published in about a month, on February 17, 2026. The Devil's Bible was written by Steve Berry, one of my favorite authors. He  has written twenty Cotton Malone novels, six stand-alone thrillers, two Luke Daniels adventures, and several works of short fiction. The Cotton Malone novels are treasure hunt mysteries. Cotton's character is a former Justice Department operative.

In this installment of the series Malone is called to Sweden when the younger sister of King Wilhelm I is kidnapped. The ransom demand? Hand over an 800-year-old book, the Codex Gigas—the largest illuminated medieval manuscript in the world. Claimed as war loot from Bohemia in 1648, it’s been kept in Stockholm for nearly 400 years. Along the way it also acquired another more mysterious moniker ... The Devil’s Bible.

The Codex Gigas actually exists and is located in Stockholm. The name Gigas means giant, so it's a giant codex. Per Wikipedia, "Housed in the National Library of Sweden, this colossal book (nearly a meter tall and weighing 75 kg) is renowned for its sheer size, intricate illumination, and the mysterious story surrounding its creation, making it a significant artifact in medieval history and popular legend."  The book contains a large green faced devil portrait inside. The myth states a monk, condemned to death, promised to create the book in one night; failing, he prayed to the Devil, who finished it, thus earning his depiction.

I love it when fiction is based upon fact and cannot wait to read The Devil's Bible.