The Book of Fate by Brad Meltzer

I love Brad Meltzer. Not only is he really into history and conspiracies, but he writes a darn good thriller. I recently got Book of Fate out from Overdrive, and I found myself engrossed in the story to the point where I could not put it down. i found myself taking reading breaks throughout the day and missing my stop on the bus ride to work and home because I was too engrossed in the story. Wes, the president's aide, is there at the NASCAR racetrack when Nico seemingly attempts to assassinate President Manning. Life changed forever for Wes, who suffered an injury to his cheek that left him scarred and bitter. Even worse, Wes felt responsible for the death of the President's friend, Ron Boyle, who was killed in the attempt. Manning lost the election because he came across as the Cowardly Lion during the assassination attempt, and eight years later, when Manning travels as former President to Malaysia, with Wes still an aide, and a shell of himself, something happens. Wes thinks he sees Boyle. A Boyle with plastic surgery, but Boyle nonetheless. When Wes returns to Palm Beach with Manning, he begins a search to find out the truth. Is Boyle alive? Did Manning know? How could Manning lie to Wes? Wes' life is endangered when the Three, a secret group possibly behind the assassination, start trailing Wes. Then Nico, the assassin, escapes from mental hospital to get Wes and Boyle.

Meltzer twists the plot and tension around. I never suspected the truth behind the Three, and the tension was constant with Wes trying to figure out what the heck was going on and Nico trying to track down Wes and Boyle. The story moved around from the viewpoints of Wes, his friend Rogo, and intrepid gossip reporter Lisbeth. I was reminded of The Fifth Assassin, another Meltzer book. I think that Meltzer sticks to a genre that he knows and does well. I enjoyed the book, and I just wish that Meltzer wrote more books.

History Decoded by Brad Meltzer

A year or so ago, I was scanning the TV list for a new interesting show. I found it when I saw the description for Decoded. The series, which so far ran for two seasons, was the brainchild of Brad Meltzer, and it fit into my interests like a hand in a glove. The show featured Scott Rolle, Christine McKinley, and Buddy Levy who would investigate historical controversies for Meltzer. The show looked at a variety of difference historical topics, such as the White House cornerstone, secret Presidential codes, the Statue of Liberty, and Secret Societies. The show was fascinating, and the team took a very rational view of things. They researched the conspiracies and controversies, and they formed rational responses. Loved the show! I wish that it had a third season.

Fortunately, Meltzer collected the ten greatest conspiracies of all time in a new book History Decoded. Of course, I got the book, and it was just awesome. Each chapter had supplemental materials that illustrated the conspiracies, held in an envelope at the start of each chapter. Each section was short, but full of information. The countdown to the top ten:

10. John Wilkes Booth
9. Confederate Gold
8. Georgia Guidestones
7. D. B. Cooper
6. White House Cornerstone
5. Spear of Destiny
4. Leonardo DaVinci
3. Fort Knox Gold
2. UFOs
1. JFK Assassination

As I mentioned, conspiracies intrigue me, and the book did not disappoint. Meltzer, and co-author Keith Ferrell, did a great job of collecting and presenting the information. If you love history, and especially if you love conspiracies, you will want to read History Decoded. The only problem that I have with the book is that I want more.

The Fifth Assassin by Brad Meltzer

I have been busy this month with the Jewish holidays and with teaching three writing courses this term. So needless to say, I haven’t had much time for pleasure reading. It took me a month of bus time reading to finish The Fifth Assassin by Brad Meltzer. I caught a few of the Decoded shows on the History Channel, and I enjoyed watching Brad Meltzer and his assistants investigate various historical claims. Shows looked at DB Cooper, John Wilkes Booth, UFOs, the Alaska Triangle, the Culper Ring, and similar stuff. It’s all interesting, and it got me to check out Meltzer as an author. I noticed that The Fifth Assassin was on sale for Kindle when the paperback version came out, so I got it.

Beecher White is the hero of the book, and he works as an archivist and for the modern day Culper Ring. Someone is killing pastors in the DC area, mimicking the assassins of the Presidents. The weird thing is that the assassin in wearing a plaster cast of Abraham Lincoln’s face, which were made in Lincoln’s lifetime. An acquaintance from Beecher’s childhood, Marshall, may be involved, and Beecher also thinks that Beecher’s former girlfriend, Clementine might be involved. The characters were a bit confusing for me because it seems that the story started with The Inner Circle. So we have Clementine’s father, Nico, who tried to kill the current president, President Wallace. Wallace also has a back story with Beecher, who knows that Wallace killed someone in the past. Can Beecher figure out who is killing the pastors before that someone kills Wallace? And does Beecher want to prevent Wallace’s assassination?

Even with all the confusion of jumping into what appeared to be the middle of the story, I really enjoyed The Fifth Assassin. I could hear Meltzer narrating Beecher’s internal dialog, and I found myself racing through the pages whenever I did have a chance to read. I was sitting on the edge of my seat, when the end of the book came too soon. The book ends in a cliff hanger that really did leave me yearning for a quick release of the next book in the series. Meltzer has an informal, quick-paced writing style, and it added to the book’s action scenes. I have The Inner Circle on hold at the library, and I hope to catch up on Beecher’s backstory. I plan on reading a lot more Meltzer in the future.