Brad Meltzer
Hatchette Book Group
January 11, 2011/ ISBN 978-0-446-57789-2
Political Thriller
Amazon
Reviewed
by Elise Cooper
Brad Meltzer’s
latest book, The Inner Circle, blends historical facts
with a fictional plot. Meltzer is at his best when he writes novels
that center around historical events. The plot centers on a spy
organization, the Culper Ring, established by George Washington
for the purpose of gathering and receiving information under the
guise of regular civilians. Fast forward two and a half centuries
and the current President appears to have a similar ring of advisers.
Through the
characters, Meltzer is able to create a fascinating story. Beecher
White who works at the National Archives is reunited with the girl
he had a crush on during junior high school, Clementine Kaye. While
taking her on a tour they discover what appears to be a two hundred
year old dictionary hidden in a room reserved for the President.
After someone is murdered the plot becomes a “who done it
and why.” Beecher, Clementine, and a support team of other
archivists must track this book looking for hidden messages using
espionage skills. The characters are a fascinating combination of
personalities. Beecher can be considered somewhat of a nerd, someone
who does not have enough confidence in his social skills and is
very righteous. Clementine is the girl who on the outside is tough
as nails yet on the inside is extremely vulnerable. In many of his
books, Meltzer includes a character, in this case Kaye’s father,
Nico Hadrian, who is delusional, bordering on psychotic; yet is
able to provide clues that will help solve the mystery. When asked
about these characters Meltzer stated that, “the book is always
about regular people. I write about what I like. I am a nerdy guy
and I like to examine who we are as people. I also like writing
about psychotic characters since crazy people do exist.”
The theme of the book is fascinating since it explores the true
meaning of history. A great quote from the novel is “history
isn’t just something that’s written. It’s a selection
process. It chooses moments, and events, and yes, people …that
hands us situations we should never be able to overcome.”
This mystery created by Meltzer applies the selection process to
the characters and he is able to show how an ordinary event can
lead to something that could possibly change the world. He commented
that “I look at what real history is and let that form the
plot. The rest is fiction so I can make up whatever I want. The
amazing part is that if you look at real history it’s more
interesting than anything that could be made up.”
Meltzer also finds captivating places for some of the settings of
the novel. For example, he discusses how many national archive documents
are stored in a cave in Boyers, Pennsylvania. The detailed description
of the cave allows the reader to feel as if they were there, sharing
the experience of going deep underground. Meltzer explained that
he “wanted to make sure all the little details are correct.
All those things in the book and ask is that real; it’s real.
The cave scene came about when my tour guide showed me something
cool. This was a place very few people see.”
Meltzer is known to combine historical facts with fiction. The
Inner Circle does that in a skillful and gripping way. This
a very fast paced book that the reader will not want to put down
since the plot can be an all too real portrayal of today’s
political environment.
Reviews
of other titles by Brad Meltzer
Tenth
Justice [book]
The Millionaires [book]
The
Zero Game [book]
[audio]
Inner Circle (Culper Ring #1) [book]
[audio]
The Fifth Assassin (Culper Ring #2) [book]
The President's Shadow (Culper Ring #3) [audio]
[book]
The House Of Secrets [book]
The President’s Shadow [book]
[audio]
The Escape Artist [audio]
2004
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