Series: Standalone
Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
Release Date: July 22, 2025
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Source: Publisher
Genre: Thrillers / Suspense
In the vein of David Baldacci, John Grisham, and Harlan Coben—this is Steve Berry like you’ve never read him before.
After a ten-year self-imposed exile, Brent Walker is returning home to Concord, a quaint town in central Georgia nestled close to the Savannah River. Two years ago, his father died, and now Brent, hired by Southern Republic Pulp and Paper Company as its assistant general counsel, is returning to care for his ailing mother.
For decades, Southern Republic has invested heavily in Concord, creating a thriving community where its employees live, work, and retire. But the genteel sheen of this quiet town is deceiving, and when a list of cryptic code surfaces, Brent starts to see the cracks.
Southern Republic’s success is based largely on a highly unorthodox and deadly system to control costs, known only to the three owners of the company. Now, one of them, Christopher Bozin, has had a change of heart. Brent’s return to Concord, a move Bozin personally orchestrated, provides his conscience with a chance at redemption. So a plan is set into motion, one that will not only criminally implicate Bozin’s two partners, but also place Brent Walker square in the crosshairs of men who want him dead—with only one course left available.
Find and reveal the shocking secret of the list.
Steve Berry's THE LIST is a standalone novel that showcases this unique opportunity to combine the author’s thriller writing chops with a story that reflects his thirty-year career as an attorney. This standalone corporate thriller, originally conceived in 1992 but refined and released decades later, showcases Berry at his most grounded and emotionally resonant. Set in the fictional Concord, Georgia, The List trades ancient conspiracies and historical mysteries for a chilling exploration of modern corporate greed, healthcare costs, and small-town economic dependency.
The List follows Brent Walker, an attorney who returns to his hometown of Concord, Georgia, after a decade-long self-imposed exile in Atlanta. His return is prompted by a need to care for his ailing mother and a job opportunity at the Southern Republic Pulp and Paper Company, a powerful corporation that dominates the town’s economy. What begins as a seemingly straightforward legal role spirals into a deadly cat-and-mouse game when Brent uncovers a sinister secret: a “Priority List” that reveals the company’s ruthless practices.
As Brent digs deeper, he finds himself hunted by professional killers who treat murder as a business transaction, forcing Brent to expose the conspiracy to survive. Brent is joined by his mentor Hank, a union boss and former mayor of Concord, as well as his former lover Ashley, who is Hank's daughter and a postal carrier. The book also has various points of view from the villains of the story, which makes this book seem as though it was definitely written with John Grisham's The Firm in mind. The novel unfolds over nearly three weeks, with each chapter timestamped by day, creating a ticking-clock urgency that underscores the protagonists’ race against time.
The theme of personal redemption also runs deep. Brent’s return to Concord is as much about confronting his past as it is about surviving the present. His journey, marked by emotional stakes and a subtle romance subplot with Ashley, as well as a lingering sense of remorse stemming from an event that occurred years ago, which led him to work in Atlanta, adds depth to the thriller’s tension. Unlike the Cotton Malone series, which weaves historical mysteries with international intrigue (e.g., The Templar Legacy or The Lincoln Myth), The List is firmly rooted in the present, with no ancient artifacts or secret societies. The ending is pretty much an action-packed full full-throttle race as Brent and Hank try to survive against all odds while protecting the people they love.
