5 stars out of 5
It didn't come as a surprise; I read the first book in this series, The Escape Artist, for which a 5-star review was a no-brainer. Still, while I started this one with high expectations, I always keep an open mind; just because a couple of books in a series are stellar doesn't mean all of them will shine (trust me on this; I've been there, done that, many times). But I'm delighted to say this one was as much a joy to read as the first one was.
The primary characters are government mortician and beekeeper Jim "Zig" Zigarowski and Sgt. Nola Brown, a.k.a. the lightening rod, who was artist-in-residence for the U.S. Army and who at best can be called antisocial. She was as good a friend as she's capable of being with co-worker and mentor Archie Mint, a career military guy who gets killed during an apparent robbery at his home. To his surprise, Zig, who no longer works at the Dover Air Force Base mortuary, is called in to prep the body for viewing - no one can touch his professional skill in that department. But at the viewing, things happen that make him suspect that not everything is as it should be, prompting him to set out to track down the ever-elusive and usually reclusive Nola. Yet another surprise comes in the form of Roddy, Nola's long-lost twin brother who's known for his sinister ways; he's desperately trying to locate her while claiming he's a changed man (Zig isn't so sure about that, but he agrees to team up with Roddy anyway).
As the chase progresses, the danger builds; chapters shift from current happenings to Nola and Roddy's traumatic childhood years to perspectives of other characters, thus giving readers interesting and important background information that, of course, comes together at the end. The trail leads to a top secret military facility (reminiscent of the 112,544-square-foot underground bunker at The Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia that was built to protect all members of Congress during the Eisenhower administration). Bad things happened at at the facility long ago, and it looks as if what's about to happen now may be even worse. The only other thing I can say without giving away too much is the whole adventure has many twists, turns and surprises - plus some intriguing fodder for the next installment. Bring it on!
Meantime, many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy of this one.
The Lightning Rod by Brad Meltzer (William Morrow, March 2022); 432 pp.
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