The Jefferson Key

The story revolves around a mysterious letter of marque allegedly issued by George Washington and the Second Continental Congress. This document, according to the book, elevated pirates to the status of privateers—private citizens authorized by the U.S. government to attack foreign ships during wartime. Backed by the Constitution, it was a clever way to mobilize ships and sailors without footing the bill.

Privateers kept the spoils of their raids but were supposed to pay the government twenty percent of their profits. Realistically? A pirate—sorry, privateer—who delights in plundering cargo isn’t likely to hand over a cut to Uncle Sam. These letters of marque essentially gave privateers a legal shield, a government-sanctioned license to steal.

The story kicks off in January 1835, just outside the Capitol Building, when a man attempts to assassinate President Andrew Jackson. Fortunately for Jackson, it was raining, and the would-be assassin’s pistols misfired. Jackson, understandably furious, suspected a shadowy group of four families calling themselves “the Commonwealth”—not to be confused with the Commonwealth of Virginia. In a fit of rage, Jackson tore the pages granting their letter of marque from the official records, rendering their actions unsanctioned. He then sent them a scathing letter, essentially telling them to rot in hell, along with a cryptic page containing a nine-line cipher written by Thomas Jefferson and his associate Patterson. The cipher supposedly revealed where Jackson hid the original pages.

For nearly two centuries, no one could crack the code—until a modern-day cryptologist and his powerful software finally did. Now, everyone wants the decoded message. The Commonwealth families are especially desperate, as the government is demanding back taxes on their long-hidden treasure. What follows is a high-stakes scramble involving multiple government agencies, shadowy operatives, and a tangled web of loyalties. It’s hard to tell who’s on the side of justice and who’s chasing power.

There’s an attempt on the current President’s life, a trail of bodies, and enough twists to keep you guessing. It’s a riveting historical thriller with modern consequences. Try it—you just might get hooked.

It's a good read for a cold or rainy day.