The Book of Fate

September 4, 2006
When you've got a plot that includes a secret 200-year-old Masonic code map hidden somewhere under Washington, D.C., plus a top aide to a former U.S. president who's killed in an assassination attempt in chapter one, but then is discovered alive and kicking in Malaysia in chapter two, you need all the skill and professionalism you can muster to avoid overkill. Luckily, Meltzer's latest bestseller has Brick, a solid veteran narrator who reads every word as though he believes it, adding fresh nuance to characters who range from a Bill Clintonesque ex-president named Leland F. Manning-now making more money as a public speaker and fund-raiser than he ever did in the White House-to the formerly dead Ron Boyle and especially Wes Holloway, a tragic figure who might remind listeners of Ronald Reagan's press secretary James Brady. Holloway, wounded and disfigured by the lunatic who tried to kill Manning but apparently hit Boyle, is at the center of most of Meltzer's hyperactive hyperbole, and Brick helps build a strong foundation by making him both touching and believable.

July 24, 2006
Set against a backdrop of Oval Office corruption, bestseller Meltzer's overblown thriller opens with a frantic assassination attempt on President Leland Manning, who manages to elude the gunfire. Manning's deputy chief of staff, Ron Boyle, is killed, and his top aide, the cocky, ambitious Wes Holloway, is left facially disfigured. Eight years later, his motivation and confidence drained by his handicap, Holloway still toils away for the out-of-office Manning, fetching refreshments and handling the daily social calendar. On a goodwill junket to Malaysia, however, Holloway spots Boyle, surgically altered, but unmistakably the same man who was supposed to be dead and gone. From this turning point, Meltzer (The Zero Game
) follows Holloway step by excruciatingly slow step as he tries to find out what really happened eight years earlier. Authentic details about Washington politics and historical mysteries enliven the predictable path. While readers looking for efficient plotting may be disappointed, Meltzer's many fans will enjoy this substantial meal of a book. 15-city author tour.

August 15, 2006
Presidential aide Wes Holloway has what he considers the perfect life until the fateful day that an assassin strikes. His friend Ron Boyle dies, and a ricocheting bullet hits Wes in the face. Eight years later, with a bullet scar on his cheek and limited use of his facial muscles, he continues to relive the painful memories of that day. Still aide to the now former president, Wes stumbles into a terrifying conspiracy when he discovers that Ron is still alive. Somehow, the fate of Wes and everyone he knows ties in to the secret history of the Freemasons. With rich characters, a puzzling mystery, and a compelling narrative, Meltzer ("The Zero Game") has written his best thriller yet. Though the jacket flap is somewhat misleading in describing how much freemasonry history is uncovered, that is a minor quibble in the grand scheme. Don't let this book of fate pass you by. [See Q& A with Meltzer, p. 74. -Ed.]" -Jeff Ayers, Seattle P.L."

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2006
Wes Holloway, a hotshot presidential aide, is wounded in an assassination attempt that kills the president's close friend. Eight years later, the dead man reappears, disfigured but very much alive and apparently stalking the former president. Wes thinks he can figure out what's going on, but to do so he must decipher a two-century-old code and penetrate the secrets of Masonic history. From his first novel, " The Tenth Justice" (1997), through his sixth, " Identity Crisis " (2005), Meltzer has served up exciting thrillers that take readers behind the scenes of American politics. The pattern doesn't change this time. Like the television series " The West Wing" , Meltzer's novels focus on the political people the public never sees and tells the stories we never hear. He could be accused here of jumping on the " Da Vinci Code " bandwagon, but that wouldn't really be fair. He's too good a writer to waste his time imitating someone else's work, and this novel is much more skillfully written--and far more plausible--than Dan Brown's tedious best-seller. The characters are genuine human beings--not all that common in the world of high-concept thrillers--and the plot fluidly integrates historical fact and fiction, which is even less common. Fans of thrillers that reach far back into history will be, well, . . . thrilled. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)