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 … 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
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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.
Well done, thoughtful, suspenseful and clever. More of Nola and Ziggy please!
A mortician and an artist investigate a plane crash and stumble into dark government secrets.
An action-packed, fast-paced read with fully developed, highly flawed characters, an utterly imaginative plot, and plenty of twists.
Highly recommended to readers of thrillers.
I have to say that this was one of my favorite Brad Meltzer books ever! This one kept me guessing and turning the pages long into the night. This is the story of Nola Brown and Jim Zigarowski, Ziggy. Nola is a new character for Brad. I’m so glad that he visited Dover airfield and learned a little about what happens there. Ziggy knows Nola from when she was a friend of his daughter’s. He is a mortician who works at Dover on our fallen soldiers. When he runs across her body, but realizes it’s not her, he gets pulled into a world of intrigue and danger that is far beyond anything he could ever imagine. Strap in for a wild ride and a great read! This is definitely one to pick up and dig into!
The Escape Artist by Brad Meltzer is another excellent book! Once you have read his books and become intrigued with the characters and then the mystery of his plot, you are hooked! There is fast-paced action, interesting history, and thrilling suspense.
The opening scene starts with a small plane going down in Copper Center, Alaska. There is a special US Government dignitary onboard. Among the passengers, one woman was going to take a chance for survival. Was the crash an accident?
Meanwhile, at Dover Air Force Base, Jim or “Zig” Zigarowski is wheeling a gurney into a high tech surgical room for the mortuary. The same space reserved for US governments top secret and high profile cases. Zig had a mission, a heart of compassion, to perform the final act of mercy for a fallen hero and their family. He would treat the remains with dignity and often talk to the body as he worked to reconstruct shattered faces and bodies so the loved ones who came for burial would not have to see the brutality or severity of the incident which took their life. One this day his heart was heavy. The body under the sheet was someone he had known years ago.
Sgt.1st Class Nola Brown was the first casualty from the crashed plane in Alaska. Zig remembered Nola as the young girl who had pushed his daughter from a firey accident when they were on a Girl Scout outing. Nola had jumped, pushing his daughter Maggie aside and took the impact of an exploding soda can which had been thrown into the campfire. Poor Nola, even though part of her ear was torn away, the silent child held quiet while tears ran down her face as she received forty stitches during the ER repair.
Now years later Zig is looking at Nola’s left ear and sees, although it has been chared, there is no scar from the childhood surgery. How can that be? This is not Nola!
I won’t post spoilers, but it is hard not to spill so many interesting scenes and the plots in this book. I started reading at bedtime last night and heard my Kindle hit the floor as I fell asleep. Then after breakfast this morning I found that Kindle and went to the couch with a second pot of coffee.
I loved the characters of Zig, Master Guns, and Nola! The subject matter of the special treatment for our fallen heroes is enlightening and of course very sad. In this book, you will learn tidbits of history which may take you completely by surprise. The intertwining of history with modern warfare is scary cool.
Read and enjoy the fast ride!
(Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book)
P
I got this Audio book from the library. Fantastic book plenty of action and suspense. Plus you might learn something too.
All of the info on Dover and it’s mortuary was fascinating . I never thought about soldier’s bodies all being returned to a central facility and the effects that might have on people who work there. Learned a lot by reading this one.
Liked the characters and wanted them to succeed, I’d read more about Nola if Meltzer writes about her again.
A real entertaining page turner
This book was fun…. but at times tedious…Nola had a rough life but she is not very likable either so it was had to get to feel for her. I loved Zig’s character and would love to see more of him in future books.
Loved this badass female protagonist!
Almost finished it. When they got to DC and the FBI and CIA, I quit. Not my thing.
It was a pretty amazing tale!
Intriguing and interest keeping, liked how characters were intwined.
Love Meltzer
Continuous action, good read
I thought Nola was a unique, yet believable, character. And I just loved Zig. Except for a few editorial mistakes (which may have just been “digital glitches”), I enjoyed Meltzer’s writing style. I understand he has many connections in the military and federal government, giving his writing a sense of authenticity, but I never felt like he was writing over my head or that it was too technical. And while much of the setting is “military”, I wouldn’t classify the book as such. It is really a character study, about human frailties and vulnerabilities. At times the story seemed a bit far-fetched, requiring the suspension of disbelief (thus the 4-stars), but I truly enjoyed the book.
This is one of those books, that you hate when you have to stop reading!
From the moment Mr. Meltzer starts his character development, you get sucked right in. Super
I waited a long time for Brad Meltzer’s book, and it was well worth the wait.
Zig is a mortician for the government. He makes dead bodies presentable for their families. It has become his passion and his obsession. When one body comes in wrongly identified as Nola Brown, an old acquaintance of his late daughter, he embarks on a mission to find Nola and identify the dead woman.
Zig locates Nola, but she refuses his help. She plays cat and mouse with him and almost gets him killed. After many twists and turns, we find out why Nola is targeted and the identity of the dead body. Once the killer is revealed, all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place. I was surprised, and it takes a lot to stump me.
Thank you, Brad Meltzer.