Brad
Meltzer’s latest novel, The Fifth Assassin,
is the second installment in the Culper Ring Trilogy. With
all the research he puts into his books, it takes Meltzer
two years to write his novels. The wait for The Fifth
Assassin was well worth it. It is a fascinating story
that blends historical facts and secret codes with an engrossing
mystery.
Beecher White, the trilogy’s hero, discovers a killer
in Washington DC who is copycatting Presidential assassinations.
The fifth assassin, called the Knight, re-enacts the assassinations
by killing church figures, with the final target the current
President, Orson Wallace. The Culper Ring, created by President
George Washington to protect the presidency rather than the
president, takes action to find the assassin. Meltzer stated
that he had the church figures assassinated to “have
the Knight on the same journey as the first three Presidential
assassins. They are divine interventionists on a divine mission.
There is always the power struggle between Church and State.”
The characters are well developed. Besides Beecher, those
returning are President Orson Wallace, fellow archivist Aristotle
“Tot” Westman, Clementine, Beecher’s childhood
love interest and daughter of Nico Hadrian, the institutionalized
unsuccessful presidential assassin. Meltzer also introduces
some new characters: Mac, the undercover computer nerd, and
Marshall Lusk, Beecher’s childhood friend, who now works
for the Government Accountability Office to uncover, through
stealth tactics, possible security breaches.
Meltzer commented that sometimes the writing process takes
over since, “Marshall was supposed to be a minor character,
but as the story unfolded he took on a voice of his own and
elbowed his way throughout the entire book. The same was true
with the real-life assassins since I never thought of telling
their stories. I was able to study them and learn what they
all had in common.”
Through these character’s eyes the reader is able to
grasp the theme of the book, learning to forgive. The author
noted, “My point is that I wanted to show it is possible
to make peace with yourself or someone else. What happens
to us as children makes up who and what we are today as we
try to grow up and change. There is a large segment of our
population that turns to the belief in G-d, and wants a relationship
with G-d to help heal wounds.”
Since Meltzer lost his dad, are the scenes in the book about
Beecher’s feelings for his dad biographical? “This
is the first book I have written since both my parents have
died. That is what I have had to deal with the past two years
of my life, my parent’s death. You show me a novel and
I will show you what the author is dealing with at that time.
Beecher is dealing with what I am dealing with. I know Beecher’s
story real well because it is my own story.”
How did he come up with such an interesting plot involving
the deck of playing cards, and the four Presidential assassins,
John Wilkes Booth, Charles Guiteau, Leon Czolgosz, and Lee
Harvey Oswald? “At The Museum of Health and Medicine
visitors can find the bones of Booth, pieces of the skull
of Abraham Lincoln, and I saw a swatch of leather with writing
on it. When I asked about it I was told it was a tattoo. I
realized at that moment I was not holding a piece of leather,
but it was actually someone’s skin. The tattoo was a
red diamond. Being a history major in college, any book I
write will have my love of history in it. I remembered learning
that Booth handed the valet at Lincoln’s side a card.
I imagined it could by a playing card. The novelist in me
took over and the plot was born. I was able to study and learn
what all the presidential assassins had in common. There was
no question if I was going to write a book involving presidential
assassinations Lincoln would have to be involved.” He
actually came full circle, since the beginning of the book
has a copycat assassination of Lincoln while the ending takes
place at the Lincoln Memorial.
Meltzer is a master at writing his mysteries as puzzles where
the pieces are hints dropped throughout the book. The reader
is challenged to connect the dots with the clues presented
in the novel. These puzzle pieces include secret codes, invisible
ink, commonality between the presidential assassins/assassinations,
and playing cards. The symbols of the cards include the four
facets of society: hearts being the sign of the Church, diamonds
as the arrowheads, representing vassals and archers, clubs
as the husbandmen of farmers, and spades as the points of
lances, representing the knights. For example, Meltzer wants
his readers to consider the king of hearts, and look very
closely to see why it represents the “suicide king.”
Although the books do not have to be read in order, to get
a better grasp of the plot The Inner Circle should
be read first. Intertwined throughout the books are history
tidbits combined with secret codes that create fast-paced,
riveting plots. The Fifth Assassin is a must read
novel for anyone who wants a mystery involving many twists
and turns. This book is well worth the wait, but unfortunately
fans most wait another two years for the next installment.
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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