Steve Berry has built his reputation on historically-infused adventures featuring Cotton Malone, but with “The List,” he ventures into darker, more intimate territory that feels remarkably personal and unnervingly plausible. This standalone thriller, originally conceived in 1992 but finally published in 2025, represents Berry at his most grounded—trading ancient conspiracies for modern corporate evil that hits disturbingly close to home.
Set in the fictional Georgia mill town of Concord, “The List” follows Brent Walker, a young attorney returning home after a ten-year self-imposed exile to care for his ailing mother and work for Southern Republic Pulp and Paper Company. What begins as a homecoming story quickly transforms into a chilling expose of corporate murder masquerading as cost-cutting efficiency.
A Conspiracy Born from Spreadsheets
The premise is both brilliant and terrifying in its simplicity: What if a self-insured company decided that eliminating expensive medical claims through murder was more cost-effective than paying them? Berry’s “Priority program” represents capitalism’s darkest evolution, where human lives become mere line items to be optimized away.
Southern Republic’s system operates with chilling efficiency. Employees approaching expensive medical procedures, retirees with costly ongoing treatments, or workers with significant compensation claims find themselves mysteriously dying from seemingly natural causes—heart attacks, accidents, sudden illnesses. The company maintains detailed records, complete with Social Security numbers and preferred methods of elimination, treating murder with the same bureaucratic precision most companies reserve for inventory management.
Character Development Through Moral Complexity
Brent Walker emerges as a compelling protagonist precisely because he’s not a traditional hero. His return to Concord is motivated by guilt, family obligation, and professional opportunity rather than noble purpose. Berry skillfully develops Brent’s growing awareness of Southern Republic’s true nature alongside his personal relationships, particularly his complicated romance with Ashley Sims and his mentorship under union leader Hank Reed.
The character of Christopher Bozin provides the story’s moral anchor—a company founder whose terminal cancer diagnosis sparks a crisis of conscience. Bozin’s methodical documentation of the Priority program and his careful orchestration of its exposure demonstrates Berry’s understanding that corporate evil rarely falls from dramatic confrontation but from meticulous revelation of accumulated evidence.
Hamilton Lee and Larry Hughes, the surviving company owners, represent different faces of corporate sociopathy. Lee embodies calculating ruthlessness, while Hughes follows along through weakness rather than conviction. Jon De Florio, the security chief who actually runs the murder program, operates with professional detachment that makes him particularly chilling.
Atmosphere and Setting as Character
Berry’s portrayal of Concord feels authentically rooted in his own experience practicing law in small-town Georgia. The mill dominates everything—economically, socially, and psychologically. The company’s control extends beyond employment into every aspect of town life, from the airport authority to local telecommunications, creating an atmosphere of pervasive surveillance and control.
The author’s description of Eagle Lake, the Savannah River, and the mill’s industrial landscape creates a sense of place that feels lived-in rather than researched. When violence finally erupts in the story’s climax, it occurs not in some exotic location but in the familiar waters where Brent once fished with his father—a choice that underscores how evil corrupts even our most cherished memories.
Pacing and Structure Challenges
While “The List” succeeds in building genuine dread, its pacing occasionally suffers from Berry’s methodical approach to revelation. The story unfolds day by day over nearly three weeks, with some chapters feeling more like procedural documentation than narrative momentum. The extensive focus on union negotiations, while providing authentic detail about industrial relations, sometimes slows the thriller elements.
However, when Berry accelerates toward the climax, the payoff justifies the deliberate buildup. The cat-and-mouse game between Brent, Hank, and Southern Republic’s killers generates genuine tension, particularly when the protagonists realize they’re being hunted by professionals who have perfected murder as a business practice.
Thematic Resonance and Social Commentary
Beyond its thriller elements, “The List” by Steve Berry functions as sharp social commentary on healthcare costs, corporate power, and small-town economic dependency. Written originally in 1992 but updated for publication in 2025, the story gains additional relevance in our current era of healthcare debates and corporate consolidation.
Berry’s exploration of how economic necessity can compromise moral judgment feels particularly timely. Concord’s residents depend entirely on Southern Republic for their livelihoods, creating a dynamic where questioning the company becomes literally unthinkable—until the questioning becomes literally deadly.
The Priority program represents an extreme extrapolation of actual corporate practices: self-insurance, cost-benefit analysis applied to human lives, and the tendency of large organizations to treat individuals as expendable resources. Berry pushes these tendencies to their logical—and horrifying—conclusion.
Writing Style and Technical Execution
Steve Berry’s prose in “The List” feels more restrained than his Cotton Malone adventures, focusing on character development and procedural detail rather than globe-trotting action. The dialogue captures authentic Southern voices without caricature, and the legal and industrial details feel professionally informed rather than researched.
The author’s decision to structure the story around specific days creates urgency while allowing for detailed character development. Each chapter heading with day numbers reminds readers that time is running out for both the protagonists and the conspiracy they’re attempting to expose.
However, some plot conveniences strain credibility. The lightning strike that inadvertently reveals the Priority list feels contrived, and certain character motivations could use deeper exploration. The romance subplot, while providing emotional stakes, sometimes feels underdeveloped compared to the corporate thriller elements.
Comparison to Similar Works
“The List” by Steve Berry shares DNA with classic legal thrillers like John Grisham’s “The Firm” and “The Pelican Brief,” but Berry’s focus on systematic murder for profit creates a darker tone than most corporate conspiracy novels. The small-town setting and economic dependency themes echo works like Stephen King’s “Needful Things,” though Berry maintains realistic rather than supernatural horror.
The story’s exploration of healthcare as a weapon recalls Robin Cook’s medical thrillers, while the union organizing elements provide social realism often missing from the genre. Berry successfully combines these influences into something that feels both familiar and distinctly his own.
Final Assessment
“The List” represents Steve Berry’s successful expansion beyond his historical adventure comfort zone into contemporary thriller territory. While not as polished as his later Cotton Malone novels, it demonstrates his ability to create compelling characters and authentic settings while exploring genuinely disturbing themes.
The story’s greatest strength lies in its plausible horror—the idea that corporate logic could be twisted to justify systematic murder feels disturbingly possible in our current economic climate. Berry’s background in law and small-town life provides authenticity that elevates the material above generic corporate conspiracy fiction.
Despite pacing issues and occasional plot conveniences, “The List” succeeds as both entertainment and social commentary. It offers thriller fans a grounded alternative to international espionage while providing genuine chills about the potential darkness lurking behind corporate boardroom doors.
Similar Reads for Thriller Enthusiasts
If you enjoyed “The List” by Steve Berry, consider these comparable titles:
- “The Firm” by John Grisham – The foundational legal thriller about corporate corruption and murder
- “The Pelican Brief” by John Grisham – Political conspiracy with similar themes of institutional cover-up
- “Presumed Guilty” by Scott Turow – Legal thriller with complex moral questions
- “A Time to Kill” by John Grisham – Small-town setting with legal and social justice themes
- “The Lincoln Lawyer” by Michael Connelly – Character-driven legal thriller with authentic procedural detail
- “Blood Work” by Michael Connelly – Investigation into systematic crimes with personal stakes
- “The Brethren” by John Grisham – Institutional corruption from inside perspective
For readers new to Steve Berry’s work, “The List” provides an excellent introduction to his character development skills before diving into his historically-complex Cotton Malone series, beginning with “The Templar Legacy.”