This was a fabulous read, an absolute page turner. I’d never read Brad Meltzer before, but I will seek out his books from now on. The characters were remarkably realistic and the plot believable. It’s one of the best mystery/thrillers that I’ve read in a while.

Jim Zigarowski, Zig, is a phenomenal character. He’s kind, caring, funny, and strives to always do the right thing. He’s smart and compassionate. He’s also a mortician, having been the chief mortician at Dover Air Force Base for many years. He’s now separated from the service, and he’s working at Carlta’s Funeral Home in Pennsylvania. He’s had his own share of loss in his life, but he pushes on. Zig is called back in by the military to handle the final funeral preparations for a Lieutenant Colonel. Zig can’t/won’t say no. That, however, winds him up in the middle of more than he’d counted on.

Back into his life steps Nola Brown, the woman who as a child saved his daughter from injury at a Girl Scout cookout, and then, later, Zig’s life. Nola is Army, Sergeant First Class, and she’s the service’s Artist-in-Residence. On one of her missions, something unknowingly happens that comes back to involve her years later.

Nola’s brother, Roddy LaPointe, a trouble maker as a child in foster care, is now a police officer. He and Nola had been separated from each other as young children. He inserts himself into Zig’s life as the two of them find themselves in all sorts of danger. Can Zig trust this man?

This book is intricately plotted, with great characters, and events woven together in a web that will draw you in. It is sooooooo good. I highly recommend it.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I thank all involved for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.

I just can't get into this series and I have to pinpoint the relationship between the characters. They just don't do it for me. Throughout the first installment, [book:The Escape Artist|31933276], I continually hoped that the two main characters would finally come together. They did not. So with this second book, I figured surely now they will work as a team. No such luck. "Zig" Zigarowski is a mortician formerly for the US Military and ad nauseum you will hear about his daughter that died. He has every right to grieve and that would surely be part of his personality but the storyline involving his daughter is just weak and wholly unnecessary. Zig just strikes me as vanilla. Yeah, he finds himself in some harrowing and sticky situations. But his motivation for doing so always comes back to Nola who is the one who is really involved in finding her friend's killer and he just is tagging along. Nola doesn't want anything to do with him but he feels compelled to help her because he couldn't help his own daughter. Nola is kickass and a great character...on her own. But with she and Zig dancing around each other like to opposing magnets it just doesn't work for me. The ending again hinted that the two my finally form some sort of bond but I'm not holding my breath.

I would like to thank NetGalley and William Morrow publishing for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.


[in light of my less than favorable review I will refrain from posting this review anywhere but my Goodreads account]

I fell in love with the characters of Zig and Nola when they first appeared in The Escape Artist and could not wait for this sequel.

The Lightning Rod gives us a deeper insight into both characters and their backstories. We learn more about Nola's troubled past and Zig's family. While The Lightning Rod could easily be read as a standalone, these characters are so unique and compelling that I would recommend starting by reading The Escape Artist and then reading The Lightning Rod. You won't regret it.

The Lightning Rod sees Zig and Nola trying to work from opposite angles to unravel the complicated web of who was responsible for the death of Archie Mint. Zig is called in to assist with preparing Archie Mint's body for his memorial service and soon discovers he might have been summoned for other reasons. Nola seems to be pursuing this case with a different level of commitment that no one quite understands. As they examine every lead, it only gets more complicated and more players get introduced into the game.

Brad Meltzer is one of the best at crafting a page turning novel full of intrigue and suspense. Fingers crossed that we have more Zig and Nola novels in the future.

I received this book courtesy of the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Meltzer's second installment in the Escape Artist series was pure entertainment. I didn't read the first novel but it was not necessary as things were explained enough along the way.

The story grabs you from the first page and keeps you turning straight to the end. What a great cast of characters - from the good guys to the baddies. They are unique and quirky which made it even more interesting to learn about them as the story unfolds. The dialogue and banter were smart and humorous and the pacing was taut and action-packed. The balance between description and dialogue seemed perfect. Also, you get a little insight into Cold War history and the life of a military mortician.

I highly recommend this book to everyone. So much fun! I can't wait for the next one.

I want to thank William Morrow and NetGalley for providing me with an e advance copy to read in exchange for an honest opinion.

When Jim “Zig” Zigarowski gets the call, he jumps to help. There is a soldier who needs his help, a man who served his country and is heading for his funeral. Now he needs the help of a talented mortician to prepare him for his family one last time, and Zig says yes. He’ll always say yes when it comes to helping soldiers. But it’s not until Zig shows up for Archie Mint and gets him prepared for his showing that Zig realizes that there is more happening than he first thought.

He decides to stay for the funeral, to try to figure out what is really going on. And that’s where he sees her. Nola Brown appears at the back of the room, and it’s clear from the reaction of the soldiers who had been keeping an eye on things that she is why they were there. When Nola ducks back out of the room, several soldiers follow her, as does Zig.

Zig knows Nola from when she was a kid, a peer to his daughter Maggie, one night even saving Maggie’s life. But he also knows her from two years ago, when she reappeared in her life and turned it upside down. They stumbled on a pocket of crime in the military and put their lives on the line to find out who was behind it and stop them. Nola had saved Zig’s life, but he hadn’t seen her since. Until Archie’s funeral. And then she disappears again.

However, Zig stumbles on someone else looking for Nola, a policeman named Roddy LaPointe, Nola’s twin brother.

As Zig tries to figure out the connection between Archie Mint and Nola, Nola tries to figure out who killed Archie. It looked like a robbery gone wrong, but is that what really happened? When Zig finds out about a top secret military operation to help protect citizens in times of war. But digging up these secrets is attracting the wrong kind of attention, and Zig, Roddy, and Nola are all fighting to stay alive long enough to solve the mystery of Archie’s death.

Zig and Nola are back in The Lightning Rod, a follow-up to The Escape Artist, where we first meet these characters. Author Brad Meltzer has created these individuals who are smart and broken, driven and caring, and the stories that he crafts around them are compelling and powerful. Normally, when talking about a series of books, I’ll point out that the books can be read in any order, because usually authors will write books that can be standalone novels as well as a series. But that’s no the case here. You don’t have to read The Escape Artist to enjoy The Lightning Rod, but Meltzer does give away the ending of the first book in this one, so it you want to experience the ending of the book with all the surprises, then you do have to read The Escape Artist before jumping in to this one.

I got to listen to this on audio, and I thought narrator Scott Brick did a fabulous job with the drama and adventure in this story. While The Lightning Rod has a lot of big action scenes, there are also a lot of quiet scenes, and Brick was able to dramatize the big action and brought the right tone to the more personal moments.

I am a huge fan of this series. I think it brings so much heart, along with lots of action and love for the military. While there are these big mysteries to solve, there are also very human characters who are trying to figure out how to heal from large life traumas. These books have it all, and I am all in for it. I can’t wait to see where these characters go next.

Egalleys for The Lightning Rod were provided by William Morrow through NetGalley, with many thanks, but I bought the audio myself through Audible.

This is a great story. I am so glad that Zig and Nola get to continue. At one point in the book I was shocked. Hope their are more Zig stories in the future. I was not fond of Roddy.

Eccentric characters drive this complex thriller by Brad Meltzer. Please see my complete review at www.reviewingtheevidence.com.

Another great read by Brad Meltzer, continuing the Zig and Nola series. More great characters, great pacing, and a great story. Can't wait for the next book in the series (or anything from Brad Meltzer). #TheLightningRod #NetGalley

Lieutenant Colonel Archie Mint, a grizzled veteran, is shot to death while trying to stop a robbery in his home. Jim “Zig” Zigarowski, another veteran whose Army job was as a mortician, is called back to Dover Air Force Base to prepare Mint’s body. While there he discovers that Mint was involved in a top-secret unit as well as a connection to military artist Nola Brown (also discharged from the army). Nola and Zig are already connected - she apparently saved his life a couple of years earlier. Enter Roddy LaPointe, Nola’s brother, who is looking for his long lost sister. Zig and Roddy team up to find Nola, but discover a top-secret U.S. Government facility that lies at the root of current events. The story goes back and forth between Nola and Roddy’s (mostly Nola’s) life in the foster care system and the present as each of them searches for the truth behind Mint’s death. This is the second book by Meltzer featuring Zig and Nola, and I think it works even if you have not read the first (like me!). It is a relatively fast-paced story albeit a somewhat complex plot with somewhat of a surprise ending. Melter alternates the story timeline between Nola and Roddy’s younger lives and the present which explains some to he motivations of the characters. Each of the primary characters is very different which adds to the tension, further supported by some secondary players (FBI agent Amy Waggs and the assassin team know as the Reds). My thanks to William Morrow/Custom House for the ARC of this over in exchange for my review.

Seems as if I needed to read the first book to find about the main characters: Nola and Zig. I thought it was good, but moving slow in some aspects. There was enough information to give the backstory of Nola and Zig as to their relationship as Nola saved Zig's daughter's life and she was a young girl in the Girl Scouts with Zig's daughter Maggie. A few twists and turns in this story where you find out the true story of what happened to Mint a close military friend.

I was so excited to read the second book of the Zig and Nola series. The first book was The Escape Artist, which was brilliant. Now with this second book, we pick up two years later. Zig is back on the case when he gets a call from an old friend who is in need of his services. Filled with lots of suspense and thrills that kept me guessing.

As exciting as The Escape Artist was!
In this, the second book of the Zig and Nola series, we pick up two years after the end of The Escape Artist. Zig is back at a non-military mortuary making people's last look at their deceased loved one memorable. When he gets a call from an old friend requesting his services for 'one of their own' he can't help but to go back to take care of a fallen soldier. While at the funeral, Nola appears and Zig immediately knows something's up with this case. From here the adventures of Zig and Nola switch into high gear and the suspense intensifies with each new twist and turn.
This pair of characters are unlike any others I've read before. They don't really work together but they're always there to help the other when the going get rough. In fact, Nola doesn't even like Zig. This dynamic makes for a compelling story line as they each try to solve the mysteries following different leads.
I truly enjoy reading this author's work. The short chapters make for a quick pace with the end of the chapters compelling you to keep reading. I liked the intermittent chapters that delve into the characters histories as a way of fleshing them out and personalizing them. I especially enjoyed the action filled culmination as all the loose ends come together for an exciting conclusion. Although this can be read as a stand-alone I highly recommend you start with The Escape Artist as it makes the end of this one even more jaw dropping.

I received this as an early read from NetGalley

I love Brad Meltzer's books and this is no exception!!

Archie is killed while trying to stop a burglary in his home and his family is shocked. They find out he has some old secrets no one has known. The mortician finds something that he should not have and leads him to Archies old military unit and a connection to an artist that he knows. Following the clues leads him to an undisclosed military facility.....

Very well written, great story and great suspense!! I would definitely recommend this book!

A very intricately-plotted thriller--the second in the series featuring mortician Jim 'Zig' Zigarowski. Zig had worked at Dover Air Force Base, home to the mortuary for top-secret military cases, for most of his adult life but left it all behind two years ago, and is presently working at a funeral home in Wonderly Square, Pennsylvania. But now he gets an unexpected call from Dover. They have a special case they want him to handle with his usual personal care--the body of Archie Mint, a lieutenant-colonel, one of Dover's own, a murder victim, whose funeral will be held in a nearby Pennsylvania town the next day. All Zig has to do is make sure the body is presentable for viewing when it arrives there. Zig decides he's up for it.

After completing the cosmetic work on the body, Zig hangs around for the funeral, a huge affair held in the local school's gym. He notices there are several people here you wouldn't expect at a military funeral, including Nola Brown--a damaged young woman Zig has known since she was a young girl. And whenever she's around, she's like a lightning rod, attracting bad things.

It doesn't take long for Zig to get sucked into the mystery of who killed Archie Mint and why. It's a convoluted plot but very intriguing from start to finish with lots of exciting action. Zig is a warm-hearted guy who is struggling to come to terms with the grief in his own life. He and Nola are an interesting 'team' of sorts. We get to know her better too through flashbacks dealing with her early life.

I received an arc of this new thriller from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks for the opportunity.

Review featured at www.books-n-kisses.com

Finally! The follow up to The Escape Artist. I was so excited to read this book and I was not disappointed.

The thing I love best about Brad Meltzer’s stories is how truthful he is. He knows more than most about the White House and other government buildings so when he tells a story that includes “secrets” I can’t help but enjoy that I (and yes millions of others) am in on the secret.

Zig and Nola are great. I enjoy the dynamic between them but that is not why I read Meltzer. I read him for the suspense and the facts that he shares.

Another great story by Meltzer and can’t wait for the next one!

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Mortician Jim ‘Zig’ Zigarowski and army artist-in-residence Nola Brown who featured in Brad Meltzer’s first novel ‘The Escape Artist’ are back in another high intensity thriller. Zig has left the military and now works at a funeral home in Pennsylvania, while Nola is reclusive and keeping a low profile, working as a botanical artist. This is all changed in an instant when Zig is asked to attend to the body of a dead service man, Col Archie Mint, at his old mortuary at Dover Air Force base.

At the US Government mortuary at Dover, fallen soldiers are prepared for their funerals and it is also where bodies from top secret and high-profile cases are sent. However, Archie Mint was killed during an attempted burglary at his home, not while he was on duty, so Zig is puzzled as to why he has been called in to attend to him there. When he notices anomalies in the body that are not on the autopsy report, he suspects there is some sort of cover up surrounding Mint’s death. However, he discovers the real reason he’s been called in when he recognises Nola Brown at the back of the crowd at the funeral. He realises he’s being watched because the minute he looks towards Nola, the watchers are chasing her.

Zig discovers that Mint and Nola were once part of a team involved in an event that occurred in the past at a secret military facility known as Grandma’s Pantry. Something the military has been trying to keep under wraps. After escaping from the funeral, Nola goes to ground again. Someone else is also looking for Nola – her long estranged twin brother Roddy, now a police officer. Zig agrees to help him find her but worries about Roddy’s true motives. Flashbacks suggest that Roddy was a malicious child who treated Nola badly during their time together in foster care until Nola was taken away, so has he really changed his ways and why has he shown up now?

This well written, fast-paced thriller has quite a complex plot, but it’s not too hard to follow as it progresses step by step to the suspense filled ending. Be prepared for plenty of action and many twists before it gets there. Zig is a wonderful character – compassionate and insightful and prepared to follow his nose when he smells something not quite right. Nola is the lightning rod – the one who attracts trouble. She bears the scars of her abusive and troubled childhood and doesn’t form relationships easily, dropping in and out of people’s lives and quietly disappearing again. There are also some memorable secondary characters, including Zig’s friend FBI agent Amy Waggs and the almost farcical pair of assassins known as the Reds. Fans of Meltzer’s will be please to see that his chilling epilogue indicates that he already has plans for a third outing for Zig and Nola.

Definitely lives up to the Meltzer’s reputation as a completely engrossing thriller writer. If you enjoy staying up late to finish a book, want exacting details of a profession, this latest book is waiting for you. As a second in the series of Nola and Zig, it takes on completely different twists and turns throughout the book. While centering around the Dover Air Force Base, there are so many sidebars to this storyline. It is a grisly story with lots of changing characters and different timeframes. You have been warned! Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow Publishing for providing me an ARC of this book and this is my honest review.

I have been a big fan of Brad Meltzer for a long time. This is the second book in the Zig and Nola series, the first was Escape Artist from 2018. I really enjoy both of these characters but Nola is especially intriguing, reminding me a little of Lisbeth Salander from the Girl With The Dragon Tattoo series. Not partners or friends, Zig and Nola keep intersecting each others' lives, mostly saving each other from danger but then quickly going their separate ways. This is a fast paced thriller with great characters and unexpected twists. I hope it isn't another four years before we meet up with them again. Highly recommended

Brad Meltzer introduced Jim Zigarowski and Nola Brown in The Escape Artist. They now return in The Lightning Rod, referring to Nola’s ability to attract trouble. Nola was an artist-in-residence for the US Army. Called to a crime scene five years ago she met Colonel Archie Mint. Now Mint has been murdered in his home during a robbery. Zig is a mortician who was stationed at Dover AFB. When he is called back to prepare Mint’s body something about the arrangements makes him uncomfortable. When Nola shows up at the service and makes a hasty exit he knows that he is right and begins to look into Mint’s death. What he finds leads him to Grandma’s Pantry, the secret military storage installation where Mint and Nola originally met. There were four people present at the time and Mint is the second person to be murdered. Zig is joined by Roddy, Nola’s brother who has been looking for her. He has not seen her since they were children. Growing up Roddy was trouble but now he is with the police and hoping that Zig can lead him to Nola.

Meltzer alternates action in the present with scenes from both Roddy and Nola’s childhood that explains their estrangement and Nola’s inability to relate to most people. Assassins beat her to Mint’s murderer and they are now looking for Zig to stop his investigation. Nola may attract trouble and distance herself from people but there is a bond with Zig and he is the closest thing to a friend that she has. As Zig works to find the fourth person who was present five years ago the assassins are closing in. His trail keeps leading him back to Grandma’s Pantry but Nola’s trail takes her in a different direction. Her investigation leads back from Mint’s killer to the person who arranged it. When she reaches the end of her trail it could bring an unexpected change to her life. Meltzer keeps the action high with enough misdirection to keep you unprepared for the final reveal of the motive behind Mint’s murder. Nola and Zig work so well together that it leaves you hoping that they will return soon. I would like to thank NetGalley and William Morrow/Custom House Publishers for providing this book or my review.

The Lightning Rod by Brad Meltzer is a fast paced thriller. When Zig sees Nola at a military funeral, he knows something serious is going down. After everything they’ve been through together, he doesn’t hesitate to throw himself into the investigation to figure out why she is being hunted and why he’s been thrust into the middle of this. When Nola’s estranged twin brother shows up, Zig doesn’t know who to trust—is Nola involved in something shady? Or is this about something top secret that happened in the past? It’s a race against time to figure out why people are being targeted and why Nola is on the list.

Tense, fast paced thriller with an intricate but easy to follow story line. I didn’t read the first Zig and Nola story but I would like to check it out after reading this!