The Escape Artist

By: Brad Meltzer

Narrated by: Scott Brick, January LaVoy

Nola Brown, the U.S. Army's artist-in-residence--a painter and trained soldier--sees something nobody was supposed to see and earns a dangerous enemy in this novel as powerful as "a launched torpedo slashing through 400 pages of deep water before reaching impact...one of the best thrill rides ever" (David Baldacci).

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.

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.

"Meltzer is a master and this is his best. Not since The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo have you seen a character like this. Get ready to meet Nola. If you've never tried Meltzer, this is the one." -- Harlan Coben

Critic reviews

"This novel is like a launched torpedo slashing through 400 pages of deep water before reaching impact. Enjoy one of the best thriller rides ever."—David Baldacci

"THE ESCAPE ARTIST has a magic trick up its sleeve. Part Lisbeth Salander, part Homeland's Carrie Mathison. One of the most memorable characters I've read in years. Look out--Nola's coming. This is Meltzer in peak form."—Lisa Scottoline

"Highly entertaining... Meltzer keeps the action crackling... There's no escaping the solid storytelling of THE ESCAPE ARTIST."
—Oline Cogdill, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

"THE ESCAPE ARTIST is Brad Meltzer's best book in years... Meltzer weaves a stellar tale of history, government-insider knowledge, and thrills... the rare novel that one wants to read fast while also needing to go slow to savor every word."—Jeff Ayers, Associated Press

"Brad Meltzer has done it again! THE ESCAPE ARTIST is an exciting, cutting-edge thriller you will not be able to put down. If you love twists, tension, and tons of amazing characters, treat yourself to this gripping tale by one of the absolute best in the business."—Brad Thor

"Meltzer is a master and this is his best. Not since The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo have you seen a character like this. Get ready to meet Nola. If you've never tried Meltzer, this is the one."—Harlan Coben

"THE ESCAPE ARTIST is a slingshot of a novel. Brad Meltzer expertly pulls it back and lets it go, propelling the unlikeliest of heroes forward in a high stakes, high tension thriller that never lets you catch your breath. My advice: Buckle up!"—Michael Connelly

"A throat-clenching masterpiece of suspense-and damned ingenious to boot. My jaw dropped once more--and so will yours."—James Rollins

"Stellar...With its remarkable plot and complex characters, this page-turner not only entertains but also provides a fascinating glimpse into American history."—p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Gripping... a true page-turner."—p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}Library Journal (starred review)

"Meltzer has based his literary career on conspiracy-themed stories, and he's very good at them. In Nola and Zig, too, he's created two of his most compellingly fresh characters. Nola, in particular, represents a high point in the author's career: a strong, resourceful, mysterious female lead who could go toe-to-toe with Jack Reacher, Bob Lee Swagger, and the other guys. First of a new series, according to the publisher, and that's just fine."

—Booklist

Awesome read/listen

This is my first Brad Meltzer listen/read. Excellent writing. Unexpected turns and twists.
This story makes me want to read more books
by the author.

Not about magic

Fine author, my fave narrator Scott Brick (together with a new also very good narrator)
make for a delightful listen

Tedious. A difficult read..... Never finished

Even the glowing reviews from his friends (Connelly and Baldacci) couldn't move this mountain of tedium, and I like both Connelly and Baldacci. They both know a thing or two about character development and ultra-long audio novels, but the character development of 'Zig', his daughter and 'Nola Brown' and the backstory he created is way more than this story needs. The depth of the characters takes up far too much space and time and yields little to the overall plot and timeline. All 264 of my audio books are unabridged. I like them that way. I don't want to miss out on Baldacci's or Lee Childs' character assessment because they are always relevant to the outcome. I'm actually thinking I should have downloaded the abridged version of this one, because a good editor would have reduced much of the droning on about past events and quickened the pace so the story was enjoyable to listen to. But alas, I did not. I've read Meltzer before, and, although not up there on my favorite list, the first two were enjoyable. There's a difference between telling a story and giving a history lesson. I learned way more about Dover, DE and military undertakers than I really needed to know to understand the premise of the book. The book gets stagnant when it loses itself in the constant 'woe is me' attitude of Zig and the way he interacts with the people around him. It's like a kid spelling the word 'banana' who doesn't know when to stop. Even Scott Brick (one of my favorite narrators) seems like he doesn't know what personality traits to assign, so he just reads. And January LaVoy? An unnecessary addition who really added nothing to the presentation. When David Baldacci uses Ron McLarty and Orla Cassidy, you get a narrator team that makes listening easy and understandable. January's audio was low and her pronunciation was difficult to decypher. Overall, not my best purchase. Sorry I wasted a credit on this one.

Lot’s of coincidences to drive the plot

Really dragged at some points. Lots of prolonged violence. Unrealistic timeframe. Different narrators for the same characters.

Accurate details, tense action, with flawed chara

I did not expect much when I purchased this book, and boy was I ever mistaken and surprised!

Combining tense action, accurate details, and flawed characters in conflict with each other, the story has great moral empathy and lessons woven throughout.

I could not put the book down, and will now investigate the author's other books for possible listening........