The Escape Artist
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4.0 • 1.4K Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Nola Brown, the U.S. Army's artist-in-residence--a painter and trained soldier--sees something nobody was supposed to see and earns a dangerous enemy in this novel as powerful as "a launched torpedo slashing through 400 pages of deep water before reaching impact...one of the best thrill rides ever" (David Baldacci).
Who is Nola Brown?
Nola is a mystery
Nola is trouble.
And Nola is supposed to be dead.
Her body was found on a plane that mysteriously fell from the sky as it left a secret military base in the Alaskan wilderness. Her commanding officer verifies she's dead. The US government confirms it. But Jim "Zig" Zigarowski has just found out the truth: Nola is still alive. And on the run.
Zig works at Dover Air Force Base, helping put to rest the bodies of those who die on top-secret missions. Nola was a childhood friend of Zig's daughter and someone who once saved his daughter's life. So when Zig realizes Nola is still alive, he's determined to find her. Yet as Zig digs into Nola's past, he learns that trouble follows Nola everywhere she goes.
Together, Nola and Zig will either reveal a sleight of hand being played at the highest levels of power or die trying to uncover the US Army's most mysterious secret--a centuries-old conspiracy that traces back through history to the greatest escape artist of all: Harry Houdini.
"Meltzer is a master and this is his best. Not since The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo have you seen a character like this. Get ready to meet Nola. If you've never tried Meltzer, this is the one." -- Harlan Coben
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Brad Meltzer’s suspenseful 12th novel is a blistering exploration of political corruption and civilian justice. After realizing a body he’s working on has been deliberately misidentified, mortician Jim “Zig” Zigarowski—who works for the U.S. government—falls into a terrifying web of murder, conspiracy, and personal loss that challenges his loyalty to country and his faith in himself. With heaps of heart-racing action scenes and complex character development, Meltzer’s thriller is a true pageturner.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Mortician Jim "Zig" Zigarowski, the hero of this stellar series launch from bestseller Meltzer (The Book of Lies), works the U.S. government's most top-secret and high-profile cases at Dover Air Force base in present-day Delaware. Zig's world changes when a military plane mysteriously crashes in the Alaskan wilderness and the body of soldier Nola Brown, who as a child saved his daughter from an explosion at a Girl Scout camp years before, arrives on his table. As Zig prepares the body, he discovers that the scars Nola sustained at camp are missing, and he becomes suspicious. When he finds a crumpled piece of paper in the woman's stomach, a warning for Nola, his suspicions are confirmed: this isn't Nola. Zig is determined to discover what happened to her and whether she's safe. The closer he gets to the truth, the more dangerous it becomes. Soon he finds himself in the middle of Operation Bluebook, a secret government program that goes back to Harry Houdini. With its remarkable plot and complex characters, this page-turner not only entertains but also provides a fascinating glimpse into American history. Author tour. Agents: Jill Kneerim, Kneerim, Williams & Bloom Agency and Jenifer Rudolph Walsh, WME.
Customer Reviews
Different type of Meltzer
Meltzer usually hooks me in a few paragraphs and I can’t put the book down. In this one, there was something about it that kept me feeling like I was distant from the characters and plot line. About 3/4 of the way through, I got more comfortable with “the voice” and at times, I was turning pages rapidly. But, although it’s a good story, tough subjects, interesting characters, I still felt “outside” the events. Wondering if it was the subject matter, the storytelling style, or something else.
Laborious
Laborious
5 stars
Loved it! Brad Meltzer is brilliant!