Action, suspense, unusual characters and plot twists, my first by this author but kept me interested in the storyline.

I haven't read any other Brad Meltzer books, but I found this one absorbing and exciting with interesting characters and interesting plot turns.

Mix together brilliant writing, unique characters (some likable, some not) and a complex but easy-to-follow plot and you've got the recipe for a book you won't want to put down. And oh, did I mention brilliant writing?

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.

Zig and Nola, the mortician and artist from Brad Meltzer's 2018 thriller, The Escape Artist, are back in another double chase, triple chase, 4x4 chase. They both investigate separately when a military intelligence operative is murdered during an apparent home burglary.

Also chasing down the murderer are Nola's estranged twin brother Roddy, a troubled youth who grew up to be a cop (uh, police), a ruthless assassin couple known as the Reds, and FBI agent Waggs, making her return after appearance after her turn in The Escape Artist.

The best parts, as was the case with the previous entry, are the flashbacks to Nola's childhood, to which are now added flashbacks to Roddy's childhood, some of it shared with Nola. The big difference between the two stories is that the present-day mystery in this one is much much better, with McGuffins that, while not exactly earth shattering, are worth all the trouble they cause.

This is a fast-paced read, designed to be a page turner (or car idler if you're listening in audio). But Meltzer doesn't sacrifice character development, and he liberally utilizes objective correlatives quite effectively, like bee hives and their queens, Def Leppard lyrics, Daily Doubles on Jeopardy, etc.

This book, which was kindly provided to me in advance by NetGalley, is meant to be a standalone story -- you can easily read it and enjoy it without having read The Escape Artist. But with Nola's and Zig's back stories figuring in so heavily in the story line, it helps to already know about them in detail from The Escape Artist.

And though this story is totally wrapped up in the end, the epilogue sets up a future entry that ties back to The Escape Artist. Overall, well done -- 4 1/2 stars, but in an era when McGuffins are often the be-all and end-all in themselves, I can't quite bring myself to round up to 5.

The Lightning Rod: A Zig & Nola Novel by Brad Meltzer is a great thriller that is the second book in The Escape Artist series.

I really enjoyed this second installment. It has suspense, mystery, thriller moments, and kept me on edge from beginning to end.

There were a few twists that surprised me and I am definitely glad I ventured outside of my usual genres to delve into this book.

I have not read the first, however will pick it up to check out how it all began. I was easily able to follow along despite jumping in at book two.

4/5 stars

Thank you NG and William Morrow for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 3/8/22.

Zig and Nola cross paths again, even tho they didn't intend to. Zig is brought in at the request of the military as his job as a mortician to work on the body of a murdered decorated military member. While doing his job, Zig uncovers some information not meant to be learned, or so it seems. While pursuing this information, Zig finds Nola is also looking into the murder, as the victim was sort of a mentor. More and more people seem to be involved in the secrets, and both Nola and Zig are attacked multiple times and it seems like nothing will stop the people out there from finding out what both Nola and Zig know, even if it means killing them. But are the secrets and the murder really even connected or does it just seem that they are.....

When Meltzer brings together his 2 very unusual characters from his first book in the series, The Escape Artist, who knows what will happen. First I'm glad I read the first book and it's introduction to two unlikely individuals to be the stars of a military, action packed, suspense novel. How Meltzer creates a fascinating story line combining a retired mortician Zig "Zigarowski" and military resident artist Nola Brown, a who seems to be always on the run or in danger, was a 'lightning rod' idea. Who or what exactly is the lightning rod when he brings together the story line and new and old characters? How could one see how a simple military funeral, with preparations by Zig and an appearance by Nola, start a chaotic and fast moving story. It simply starts with seeking the reason for a death that leads to military secrets and a hidden military facility that holds a terrible secret. Once again Brad Meltzer nails it and I look forward to hopefully a book 3 for the series.

I had trouble getting into this book, there were a lot of characters to keep track of, most were not particularly likable. There was suspense, but the first part of the book dragged. I put the book down several times before I finished it. Not my favorite in the series. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

No one does twists better than Brad. Right to the very end too! Just whenI thought I knew where things were going, — TWIST — and I’m reading with my jaw dropped.
Interesting characters and their connections are fascinating and add to the story.
Multiple time shifts work because each one is well indicated, so there’s no confusion about where. We are. I definitely appreciate that!

Enjoyed the characters and the story and the detail in both.

I enjoyed this book. I had never read anything by him but I will be on the lookout for others. Interesting characters and plot.

Nola and Zig are back. Zig is called to help with the funeral prep of Archie Mint and ends up chasing a trail of secrets and family. ARC from NetGalley.

Lightning Rod by Brad Meltzer is surely destined for a quick trip to the top 10 best seller list in all appropriate categories. Zig and Nola are back in the Escape Artist series. Zig, retired from his job at the Dover Air Force Base where he handled the most sensitive burial preparations of the nations service men and women is called back to handle another one involving a murdered Colonel. Zig notices something is off during the funeral service when there is unusual armed security. Then he notices Nola and sees that there is an attempt to capture her. Then Nola’s twin brother enters the story as do others from the previous book. Reading the previous book would help comprehension of the initial placement of the cast of character. The start of the book is a tad slow but picks up speed quickly.
I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy of the book for the purpose of review.

Brad Meltzer never disappoints. In THE LIGHTNING ROD, Zig and Nola are together again for the second book in the Escape Artist series.

This is a fast paced read encoding the military, family relationships, and foster care. Meltzer puts a great deal of time researching his material and it makes his books so much better than others I have read in the past. He is a gem of an author,

What starts off as a thriller whodunit trying to figure out who shot Colonel Archie Mint during a home robbery quickly transitions into multiple questions of Why? Why has mortician “Zig” Zigarowski been called out of retirement to work on “this” military funeral? Why is Nola Brown at this funeral? Why does Nola’s twin brother Roddy show up now, decades later, to try to reconnect with Nola? Why does Waggs take off on her own to track the leads without wanting to partner with Zig on what she’s uncovering? Why does Zig’s ex-wife Charmaine feel compelled to piece together the clues involving their daughter Maggie and the newly discovered video tape?

In true Meltzer-form this thriller is a fast-paced, page-turner. It’s been named lightning rod for good reason—wherever Nola turns up, action is sure to follow. Throw in the combustion of her brother, Roddy, or The Reds, and you’ll be sitting on the edge of your seat as bullets fly or punches swing.

While the book is the second in The Escape Artist series, it is written in a stand-alone format so if this is your first book you won’t have trouble following the characters or understanding the backstory. Much of this book actually sheds a broader light on the main characters and peels back the layers of their life to give glimpses of who they are, what motivates and drives them, as the mysteries are unraveled. All of the “whys” are inter-connected and story is woven together nicely.

The ending twist was satisfying. The final pages leave an opening for another book because with Nola and Zig there seems to always be more to the story.

Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Meltzer is one of the best storytellers in the game... regardless of genre. The Lightning Rod is just another example of this. Interesting characters, great plot twists and misdirection, topped off with fantastic writing.

My only bit of feedback was that it did take me awhile to get into the book. The initial 1/3 of the book felt slow to me and I found my attention drifting and that I put the book down several times over the course of a few days. This rarely, if ever, happens with one of Brad's books. Once the story really got rolling, I finished it in two sittings though.

Overall, highly enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of The Lightning Rod.

I found this book very difficult to get into. I had read the previous book involving two of the main characters but I guess it was long enough ago, that they didn't seem familiar to me. There are many characters introduced in the first quarter of the book as well as varying plots and it felt a bit like a bramble bush. But I persevered and found the second half compelling. After such a faulty start, it was hard to put down.
I just had to know how, who, and what really happened.
None of the characters are particularly likable and maybe that's why I can't remember the first book.
I suspect there will be a third one so I will do my best.....
If you are a Brad Meltzer fan, you will enjoy this book

I couldn’t wait for this next installment of the Zig and Nola series to come out and it does not disappoint. Zig has moved on from Dover Air Force Base morgue but is drawn into another case involving Nola and her brother from foster care.

The writing is everything you’d expect from thrill-master Brad Meltzer. — fast-paced with loads of twists and turns along the way. Zig’s ex-wife also makes an appearance in a side storyline involving her and Zig’s daughter who died years before

Highly recommend for fans of Meltzer or anyone who loves a great page-Turner!

Meltzer does it again with this fast paced thriller with Zig and Nola from his previous book The Escape Artist. Perfectly paced teasing chapters provoke an inability to stop reading.

The protagonists of this book are a mortician at a secret military base and a military artist-in-residence called upon to bear witness to the horrors of war. With characters like that, there’s a lot that can go right—and a lot that can go wrong. Fortunately, Meltzer mostly stay in the “everything right” category as he pilots a wild and original plot full of twists and turns.

The Lightning Rod is the second book in Meltzer’s Escape Artist series, picking up where The Escape Artist left off, offering a whole new adventure while continuing to piece in clues to the duo’s shared past. You can easily read The Lightning Rod as a standalone, but knowledge of the first book will help you better orient yourself to the characters and setting.

In this story, Archie Mint gets killed. It starts with a valet/thief at a restaurant, who uses access to Mint’s car to try to get access to his house. The thief stumbles into a murderer-in-waiting and Mint—able to track the would-be thief—soon follows. It’s an interesting twist that’s just one of several as the stakes spread out and the body count mounts. Zig discovers some anomalies with Mint’s body. Nola resurfaces with some kind of connection. Several threads intertwine and you can’t tell what’s a red herring and what’s a real lead.

Meltzer plays with some storylines I wish he fleshed out a bit more, the virtual reality app Blackhouse being one of them. I thought that was going to be a core of the story, but Meltzer only uses it ex machina to move the plot forward. It was a pretty disappointing use of the most interesting concept in the book.

I also have a love/hate relationship with the way things play out. Being vague to avoid spoilers, I just have to say that the direction Meltzer took with Mint’s murder was wholly unexpected. Meltzer layers it in well so it all makes sense, but it’s such a surprise that you’re then not sure what to do with this giant red herring of a storyline that then has to be tied up. It’s a bold choice, one that only an established author can make, and only time will tell if it was a good decision. Overall, I like it because it plays so much with expectations. But at the same time, it undercuts a fair amount of the plot.

Overall, The Lightning Rod was a fun and intense read. Meltzer’s pacing is swift and he finds the perfect balance between exposition and action.

The Lightning Rod, featuring Zig and Nola, is the second book in Brad Meltzer's fantastic Escape Artist series. I would recommend reading the first book in the series otherwise you will be lost for a good portion of the book.

Zig, a meticulous former military mortician at Dover Air Base, is still reeling from events from two years prior as well as the death of his daughter over a decade ago. Nola, a former military sketch artist, is on the run from any number of different groups because of what she knows or has seen. Nola's a ghost, ever-present and nowhere at the same time. She is dealing with her own past, in her own way, when the past rears its head.

Meltzer has written a superb, character driven thriller with plenty of action and more than a few shocking revelations to keep you guessing throughout. The main characters are multifaceted and complex and the bad guys are hilariously bad.

Most of the book is set in the present but Meltzer uses flashbacks perfectly to help readers better understand some of the characters. Without these flashbacks The Lightning Rod wouldn't be nearly as good as it is. A major theme of the book is your past doesn't define you and anyone is capable of redemption.

I can't wait to see where Meltzer takes Zig and Nola in the future.

My sincere thanks to Brad Meltzer, William Morrow and Custom House, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of The Lightning Rod.