The Escape Artist
Large Print - 2018
"Who is Nola Brown? Nola is a mystery. Nola is trouble. And Nola is supposed to be dead. Her body was found on a plane that mysteriously fell from the sky as it left a secret military base in the Alaskan wilderness. Her commanding officer verifies she's dead. The US government confirms it. But Jim "Zig" Zigarowski has just found out the truth: Nola is still alive. And on the run. Zig works at Dover Air Force Base, helping put to rest the bodies of those who die on top-secret missions. Nola was a childhood friend of Zig's daughter and someone who once saved his daughter's life. So when Zig realizes Nola is still alive, he's determined to find her. Yet as Zig digs into Nola's past, he learns that trouble follows Nola everywhere she goes. Nola is the US Army's artist-in-residence - a painter and trained soldier who rushes into battle, making art from war's aftermath and sharing observations about today's wars that would otherwise go overlooked. On her last mission, Nola saw something nobody was supposed to see, earning her an enemy unlike any other, one who will do whatever it takes to keep Nola quiet. Together, Nola and Zig will either reveal a sleight of hand being played at the highest levels of power or die trying to uncover the US Army's most mysterious secret-a centuries-old conspiracy that traces back through history to the greatest escape artist of all: Harry Houdini"--
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Publisher:
New York :, Grand Central Publishing Large Print,, 2018
Edition:
Large print edition
ISBN:
9781455571222
Branch Call Number:
FIC MELTZ B
Characteristics:
large print., rda
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Add a CommentBrad Meltzer is just a master at interweaving story lines, characters and interesting, usually obscure, facts. He has done it again in 'The Escape Artist', with his exceptional way with words and attention to details. He doesn't glide over anything, but puts so much into even the smallest detail.
In my opinion, the best plot line, of the many in 'The Escape Artist' is best represented by the lines,
"Apparently, Harry Houdini donated his books to the Library of Congress. Who knew librarians could be so dangerous?
4 Stars, B+
The Escape Artist is a decently-plotted and paced thriller that is marred by sub-par writing and a ludicrous final twist. Air Force mortician Jim "Zig" Zigarowski stumbles on a criminal plot and shifts into investigator mode to solve it. I enjoyed the novelty of having a mortician serve as the protagonist, and I liked the descriptions of his work and how it affects him. For the character of hard-ass Nora Brown, it is pretty clear that the author was going for a Lisabeth Salinger vibe, but he fails to develop her sufficiently. The "escape artist" conceit and various connections to Houdini started out promising but never really paid off leading me to wonder why they ever there in the first place - the novel would have worked without them leaving more time for back story and character development.
bought this book based on an author signing event. meltzer was very charming and charismatic, immensely likeable.
this story felt more well crafted than written, despite meticulous research.
So sorry to see the poor reviews for this one. I listened to the audio and thought it was captivating. The main female character Nola Brown is reminiscent of Lisbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, with razor sharp intellect, haunted past, and animal quickness. It will keep you guessing right up to the end.
Preposterous plot; pedantic prose... Marilyn Stasio (NYT Book Review) led me astray. Zero star here.
Disjointed , too much fantasy nor believable , it got way out of control , the author must have taken something that blurred his ability to write a decent plot.
MInd candy and I really enjoyed it. As with all of his books, fun to learn about something you may not have even thought much about. I did not mind the shifting of time frames - in fact, found that was an interesting way to reveal the story of Nola.
do not bother reading. very disappointing
The book has a slow start & I was not a fan of the constant shifting of the storyline between the past & present but overall I gave it 3 stars.
This book gives us a change in scenery, a military base, plane crash in Alaska. Change of characters a mortican and Army First Sgt go figure, sprinkle in a few magicians, and a few shady characters and you have an interesting book. The main characters Zig, and Nola are strong, spirited and you never know what they will do next. Nola life as a young child was not easy she was in foster care and then adopted by a single man. Her life was in chaos from the time she was eight years old. Hang on cause changes come at a fast pace.