Brad Meltzer never disappoints! A heart pounding page turner from beginning to end - the suspense and action is nonstop!

I remember the first time I read a book by Brad Meltzer. I came across a copy of THE ZERO GAME on a discount shelf, thought it sounded interesting and so I bought it. I was pleasantly surprised after reading it how good it was since not all discount books are. I enjoyed it enough that I began seeking out his books and reading them, never disappointed at any. So when I heard this was coming out I was looking forward to it.

The story involves a mortician named Jim "Zig" Zigarowski who works for the U.S. government at Dover Air Force Base. Those he normally takes care of are soldiers killed in battle. But the latest deceased to cross his table is familiar to him, so much so that when he saw the name he made a point of being assigned to deal with this body. The woman in question had died on a plane crash in Alaska, the cause of which was still undetermined. The victim’s name was Nola Brown and Jim knows her from his past.

Nola was a friend of sorts with his deceased daughter. She had come to the girls rescue at a camping retreat, cutting her ear in the process and requiring stitches. But this body doesn’t have those identifying marks on her ear. So just who is this person and why are they hear? When Zigarowski opens the body he finds another mysterious item, a note that the victim wrote and swallowed as the plane was going down. Soon Zigarowski is searching to find the real Nola Brown, to find out what became of her all those years ago after she moved away and why someone attempted to kill her on that plane.

At the same time we get to understand and know Nola Brown as she tries to avoid being found by those who were trying to kill her. The U.S. Army's artist-in-residence painter has layers beneath the surface that no one knows, life skills that make her both a formidable opponent and a deadly killer. A solitary figure by choice she wants to get to the bottom of things and find out who killed the woman who took her place on that plane.

Along the way their paths cross and they help one another. But who is behind it all? What reason did they have for bringing down that airplane, a plane that included a member of the President’s cabinet? And will Zigarowski and Brown be able to discover that answer and remain alive at the same time?

As with all of Meltzer’s thrillers this one provides the clues in glimpses from chapter to chapter, back and forth from one character to the other as it winds its way to a satisfying conclusion. The characters feel real, especially in Zigarowski who has a secret of his own, a pain from his past that influences his life to this very day.

Meltzer has always had a gift for taking what could be a mundane situation and weaving in various plots and subplots that tie nicely into the story taking place. He continues that here with images from both Zigarowski’s and Brown’s past with chapters going back in time but tied into the present, things that made both who they are.

The end result is a satisfying thriller that will hold your interest until the last page. And like most Meltzer books you’ll find that you’re bound to lose track of time while reading, enjoying every word.

You would never know it has been over 20 years since Brad Meltzer wrote a book and what a book it is! The Escape Artist is full of mystery and whodunit moments, enough so it's almost hard to put this book down. If you're looking for a book that has solid characters that make you care for them and the story they tell, this book is the one for you! Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this in return for an honest review.

Very enjoyable (at this point) stand alone book: I understand some of the characters MAY come back in later books. I enjoyed the storyline and the history included.

To start out I would give this book 4 1/2 stars. Zig Zigarowski works as a mortician at Dover Air Force Base Mortuary. Dover is where the most sensitive and sometimes top secret military and civilians are sent to be prepared for burial. Zig is sent the body of Nola Brown, a childhood friend of his deceased daughter. The problem is the body isn’t Nola’s.

This book is with suspense and top secrets at the highest level of government. Why is everyone so ready to believe Nola is dead? This book will keep you on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what is going to happen next and trying to connect all the dots. There is a twist that came completely out of left field. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

What a terrific and interesting novel from Meltzer, who always finds quirky details to enhance his thrillers, and THE ESCAPE ARTIST is no exception. A really fun, roller-coaster ride, that flies by. Really great.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced read in exchange for this review.

I've never read Brad Meltzer before. This is his first novel in 22 years.

Nola Brown's body is found after a plane crash. The US government and her commanding officer confirm that this is her body. Zig (the medical examiner) confirms that the body is not Nola. Zig is determined to find Nola, figure out what happened, and uncover who wants Nola dead.

I was impressed with Meltzer's writing and his ability to tell a whole story with multiple facets. There are many players involved with their own points of view, and there are also flashbacks to Nola's childhood and how that created who she is today. There's enough mystery and thrilling to propel the story line forward without it being confusing, boring, or predictable. Enjoyed this one quite a bit.

The Escape Artist by Brad Meltzer is certainly a mystery but it is also an story about adults dealing with loose, death and abuse.. Zig and Nola find each again after many years and manage to work alongside each other to learn why and how a military plane crashed. Nola is an angry artist working for the army an Zig is a mortician dealing daily with death and lose. Th plot is fascinating and I had trouble putting the book down to do anything else.

I received a complimentary copy of The Escape Artist from Grand Central Publishing in an exchange for an honest review of its merits.

One of the nice thing about your favorite authors is that when you pick up a copy of their latest work you pretty much know what you are getting. Sue Grafton gave us detective stories, John Grisham (with a couple notable exceptions) spins a good legal tale, Kristin Hannah is going to dig deep into your soul and make you yell or cry, or both. Nicolas Sparks will tell you of uncommon love and the characters in a Joel Green novel are nigh unto bursting with angst.

And Brad Meltzer is the name you look for when you want a really good mystery about hidden secrets but you don't want to say up for days questioning all of human history. If that's what you want, you knock on Dan Brown's door.

Meltzer has become the go-to guy for a fun, fast-paced thriller that most often includes people searching for obscure clues about an ancient mystery.

But in the acknowledgements of The Escape Artist, Meltzer tells you something profound happened to him when he was touring with the USO six years ago make him "realize the difference between being alive and actually living." While this sounds like fortune-cookie wisdom, it is much more than that for this best-selling author. Meltzer is a changed man and it shows in his writing.

Don't get me wrong. He's not waxing poetic about the banality of the human condition or anything. There is definitely the thrill and mystery that is coded into the DNA of any Brad Meltzer title. But that's not all that's there.

In The Escape Artist, the mystery in this tale takes a backseat to character development. Nola and Zig are deeply wounded people and we spend a lot of time in their skin watching new bumps and bruises being added atop the old scars that may be faded but still are tender to the touch. Some of the scratches are on the surface, but others cut much deeper.

And while Meltzer respected the source material for his earlier stories, there is a reverence here for the heart-wrenching pain and heart-warming honor that comes with caring for those who have given the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation.

So, by the time the actual mystery is fully fleshed out deep in the third act, you're not really bothered by the fact because you've been drawn into the story of these two people who've been drawn together by fate more than once.

In this work, Meltzer's storytelling prowess is transformed into something altogether new. He is deeper and more introspective than he has been before. I'm not sure if his next tale will take us back to familiar territory of long-forgotten secrets and stashes of hidden wealth, but I, for one, am hopeful that Meltzer is speaking of himself when his protagonist realizes that "[s]ometimes you need to bury your old life-and make a new one."

Meltzer does it again with a rip-roaring work! Look forward to more with the central character Nola

I'm between 4 and 4.5 stars here.

It's amazing to think that it's been nearly 22 years since Brad Meltzer burst on the scene with his first book, The Tenth Justice. I remember him being quite the wunderkind at the time, and I even went to a book signing at one of those long-defunct bookstore chains, either B. Dalton or Waldenbooks. (Remember those?)

Every single one of his novels since then has made the bestseller list, but somewhere along the way I couldn't keep up with him, so it has been a while since I read one of his books. But his upcoming novel, The Escape Artist, is already getting quite a bit of buzz, so I figured I'd see what the fuss is about. This is a great thriller, full of twists and turns and sensational action, but it also has some great character development and packs an emotional punch.

Jim "Zig" Zigarowski is a mortician. Some call him a genius, because he can repair significant damage to a body, making it possible for families to view their loved one and not have any idea just how badly the body really looked. He spends his days in perhaps the most important funeral home in the country, at Dover Air Force Base, where he is responsible for handling the bodies of American soldiers who died in the line of duty, as well as those injured in catastrophes such as 9/11.

After a military plane crashes in the Alaskan wilderness with some important VIPs on board, Zig knows Dover will be getting the bodies. And while the victims include the head of the Library of Congress, it's one particular victim that catches Zig's attention—Sergeant First Class Nola Brown. Nola knew Zig's daughter when they were younger, and saved her from a potentially life-threatening injury one night, but she disappeared shortly thereafter. Zig is determined to do right by Nola—and then he finds out it isn't her body in the coffin shipped to Dover.

So if Nola is alive, what happened to her? And why is everyone ready to believe she is dead? Zig can't stop from digging into the truth, especially when he finds a clue that Nola might have known what was happening that fateful day in Alaska. But the more he investigates, the more he finds himself entangled in a web of conspiracy, crime, violence, and potential scandal, which can be traced back to some of the highest positions in the U.S. government. And the more he digs, the more danger he puts himself in, as well as those around him, because those looking for Nola are always one step ahead.

But Zig also finds that Nola brings trouble wherever she goes. She's not interested in being found, nor is she interested in Zig's help. She doesn't care about the connection they shared—she simply wants to follow the trail that led to the plane crash, wants to understand who was responsible, and what they were into. She's utterly unprepared, however, for just who is involved.

"The deepest wounds—the ones that pierce you to your core—they heal, but they never disappear."

The Escape Artist is a top-notch thriller, but it's also a book about loss, pain, recovery, regret, and the physical and emotional scars we bear. Zig and Nola are fascinating characters, both tremendously stubborn yet vulnerable at the same time, although Nola seems a bit of a sociopath as well. The book shifts between the present and Nola's childhood, to illustrate the events which shaped her attitude and the armor she has built around herself.

There are a lot of characters with nicknames (The Curtain, Houdini, Horatio) to keep straight at times, and I'm still not 100 percent sure that I fully understood the operation that Nola and Zig uncovered. I also felt that the villain went on a bit too long in his dramatic "here's why I did what I did speech," a la the villains in superhero movies. But those were minor irritations, because I just felt the story was fascinating, and Meltzer delivered some fantastic action scenes and crazy twists and turns.

I imagine you'll see this one a lot over the next few months, so be sure to pick it up when it is released in March!

NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Nola (named after the city) Brown is a truly damaged yet kick-ass woman; bright, tough beyond belief, and an amazingly talented artist. In fact, she is the youngest artist-in-residence the military has ever had. What that means is she decides where she wants to go and when she gets there she draws anything she wants. It turns out she sees a lot more than most people, and saved many lives because of her eye.

Zig is a mortician at Dover Air Force base who works on fallen soldiers. He considers himself to be an artist, and his work is his life. He got divorced after his young daughter died.

When Nola Brown's body comes into Dover after a fatal small plane crash, Zig is shocked to discover the woman he's working on is not Nola. He knew Nola as a child, she was in Girl Scouts with his daughter and saved her life after a can exploded near a campfire. Nola took the shrapnel instead, leaving her ear disfigured but the ears on the woman on Zig's table are perfect.

Thus begins a twisty, at times violent, roller coaster ride of a thriller. There is a lot of really fascinating information on the death process of fallen soldiers, history about Houdini, his friends and family, and about magic in general. I love how I inevitably learn something from Meltzer's novels, his research is always impeccable. The story moves back and forth between Nola's childhood and present day, and that helps keep the pages turning.

The surprises keep coming, the pacing is relentless, and the body count high in this terrific political thriller. (And librarians, the President appointed Librarian of Congress plays a prominent part!) Readers who love strong women protagonists like Lisbeth Salander (Stieg Larsson,) Caitlin Strong (Jon Land,) and even Katniss (Suzanne Collins) will love Nola Brown.

Brad Meltzer weaves an intricate story full of espionage, betrayal, and political cover ups that urged The Cli3nt to frantically flip the pages of... [Read more on TheCli3nt.com]

Murder, deeply hidden political secrets, interesting but emotionally scarred characters and a unique setting - who could ask for more? Me, actually; I'm thinking (make that hoping) this marks the start of a great new series.

The intriguing setting is Dover Air Force Base, where exceptionally talented mortician and beekeeper Jim "Zig" Zigarowski lovingly works on the bodies of fallen soldiers and not a few of the U.S. government's high-profile deaths (bringing to mind a male take on Patricia Cornwell's medical examiner Dr. Kay Scarpetta - a long-time favorite series of mine, BTW). As the story begins, a plane has crashed in a remote part of Alaska, killing everyone on board; among the bodies identified by the government and Zig's superiors is Sgt. Nola Brown. Turns out Zig knows her from 10-or-so years ago, when she saved the life of Zig's daughter. But as he begins to restore her body to viewing order, he realizes that the woman he's working on definitely is not Nola.

But if not Nola, who? Why are the powers-that-be intent on making the rest of the world believe it's her? And perhaps more important, where is the real Nola and what is she up to? Because of his past connection, Zig is determined to find her and get to the truth despite warnings from the people he considers to be his friends.

What he first learns is that Nola held an enviable position - that of artist-in-residence for the U.S. Army. As a highly trained soldier, she goes into battle zones to create realistic and minds-eye paintings of scenes that showcase details even photographs may not reveal. Most likely, Zig concludes, it was Nola's observations in the Alaska wilderness that made her a target. Following that lead, however, puts Zig himself (surprise!) in places he probably shouldn't be, thus in the crosshairs of some very dangerous people - and conjures up top-secret historical connections between the government and the late Harry Houdini, considered by many to be the world's greatest (insert book title here). It also puts him at odds with Nola herself, who is less than thrilled at being reminded of anything from her troubled past, which readers learn about via flashback chapters.

The ending brings a few twists and offers a ray of hope that indeed, this will be a series; if so, I'll be among the first in line when the next installment is available. Meantime, many thanks to the publisher (via NetGalley) for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this one in exchange for an honest review.

Meltzer fans will welcome this strong book that combines lots of action with near-broken characters, magic, and a touch of political intrigue. It’s not quite a ‘can’t put it down’ novel, though, owing to too many coincidences and feats of physical grit that stretch the imagination that are typical of the genre and a multilayered ending that both satisfies and disappoints. Despite these flaws, The Escape Artist will more than satisfy most readers.

Brad Meltzer writes about interesting topics that are not well known or largely written about and masterfully crafts fast-paced thrillers from them. His stories are always peppered with small bits of trivia and historical fact that bring the book to life and keep the storyline flowing nicely. Brad Meltzer is one of my favorite authors, so I was very pleased to receive an advanced copy of his latest thriller!

The prologue is dramatic and intriguing, leaving you curious and breathless, urging you to frantically flip the pages to discover the story behind the mysterious main character. And Nola Brown is quite a dynamic character. As the book description eludes to, not since Lisbeth Salander have we seen a heroine quite this bold and cunning. However, Nola is not actually the main character in this book. This book is about Nola's life and focuses on circumstances that have brought her to be in the predicament she currently faces. Meltzer provides ample backstory to demonstrate how Nola's character was developed in her tragic young life. Every few chapters we learn more and more about Nola and the relationship she had with her father. The tension in her story slowly ratchets up, culminating in an epic standoff near the end of the book.

Jim "Zig" Zigarowski prepares fallen heroes for burial at the Dover Air Force Base . He shares a past with Nola, so when her name comes up in relation to his work, Zig is eager to jump on it. But he soon discovers that things aren't exactly as they seem. His investigation uncovers decades of conspiracies and cover ups. Nola is on the run, and Zig knows that he must find her so she can shed some light on the mysterious crash that she was allegedly killed in. The weight and implications of the investigation increase when the president demands answers as well, causing Zig to dig deeper, never fully aware of who can be trusted. There is a major twist at the end as the shocking conclusion is revealed.

I look forward to future installments in this series if Brad Meltzer decides to continue Nola's story. This book provides a great foundation for building on her character, as well as that of Zig. They could make a pretty good team in the future. I would like to see more definitive action scenarios where Nola is directly involved now that we know what she's all about.

I would recommend this book to fans of thrillers and fast-paced action novels. I received this as a free ARC from Grand Central Publishing on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.