I loved the first book in this series and couldn't wait to get my hands on this follow-up. Maybe it was just me, but it took a long time to warm up to the story and the characters. Perhaps I had been spoiled by the first book, which had the added revelations about the military mortuary at Dover Air Force Base and the U.S. Army's artist-in-residence. This one didn't grab my attention as quickly or firmly.

Eventually, I did get into the story and warmed to the characters again. And the mysteries are so abundant, the reader does not dare look away for fear of missing some important detail. A conspiracy thriller like this can feel familiar and risks falling into cliché and cardboard characters. Somehow, Meltzer manages to walk that tightrope and not fall off, keeping the reader guessing right up until the end. I gave [b:The Escape Artist|31933276|The Escape Artist (Escape Artist #1)|Brad Meltzer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1511388244l/31933276._SY75_.jpg|52588134] five stars and this one four. I look forward to where the author takes these characters next.

Disclosure: Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for providing a free copy of this book in return for my honest review. ( )

This is my first time with Brad (lol). The most obvious feature of this book is that it’s very diverse/open-minded for a thriller, although it’s not naive or whatever “liberal” means to most people. Spies and soldiers and G-men (many of them Black or Hispanic and sometimes female) spying on each other and plotting plots, you know. It’s kinda (intellectual) revelation-based. “Oh, THAT’S who John is spying on! I thought he was spying on Alice; all this time he’s been spying on Billie!” On the one hand—obviously as a popular adventure there are people and emotions—I found people’s actions/behaviors and motivations/backstories to be accurate or believable or whatever. On the other hand, I notice I have less to say about this book than some of the slightly “bad” books where people say bad things and act boss, you know. (I mean, Brad has people kill people—but it’s just business. They don’t have breakdowns.) But then, it is nice to have a popular thriller that isn’t jingoistic/unrealistic/etc., and that isn’t bombastic and “bad” to an excessive degree. I’ll probably read more of Brad’s books.

…. I mean, it’s not exactly a book about relationships or even really subtle character development, necessarily—it’s mostly plot—but I guess the argument is that some people Are just basically antisocial, you know. Sometimes a young girl is a lightning rod, you know. That’s just a fact of life. A young gun.

…. It’s not quite as enjoyable as Robert Ludlum, but it’s much better than Tom Clancy.

…. I think it was good more for information than as a story. I didn’t really engage much with the plot, or know really what it was, but I guess I learned stuff about the real world, assuming there is such a thing. Boys seem to make strange choices about our throwaway entertainment; girls, feminine girls at least, seem to be more normal—although you know what I think about normies lol.

I don’t know.

…. It’s a bit of an everyday thriller, so in a way not more run-and-gun than a romantic adventure; it’s just that a romantic adventure would have been more, optimistic, I guess. Still, I might read the first book. He doesn’t froth at the lips with rage, and sometimes half-cynical people can be entertaining.

…. Although it’s obviously kinda a scary story, with all that money in the hands of white nationalists—the kind with illegal guns, you know. And then the irregularities with the regular military people, who in turn get killed…. 😦

…. Of course, I don’t know how common it is for the military to have to investigate service people and how much trouble sketchy soldiers (to use the term generically) cause, and I don’t like to think about it. But about the white nationalists: we all like to think that the thing with all the presidents except Barack (and he gave a lot of people the jitters just by smiling and trying to be polite) is a numbers thing, and it’s possible to naively assume things about the future with the browning of America: but in South Africa, the white portion of the population was what, ten percent? They stayed on the top with guns. And in America, well, there isn’t any rule, you know, that Blacks can’t live in the countryside, but there’s a history of violence against them, bad in the city, but absolutely terrible in the country; they just frightened them away, you know: and they didn’t do it with boycotts or something, or even with cops, necessarily….

It is tough reading a book with a male-style lead, though. Guys are crazy. I should read more Peter Pan crap, or, “I Married the Millionaire”, you know…. Otherwise it’s just…. You gotta sleep at night, you know. You gotta be happy, or you can’t function right.

…. Uh-mer! Ica, uh-mer! Ica, scary people defend thee; they can be neurotic folks, without solid marriages, and sometimes the system barfs! ….

…. There is some character work, albeit without many feels but done rather well, and although it’s quite pessimistic, I have to say that the constant revelation-and-counter-revelation is entertaining. I probably will read the first book. It’s quite boyish after all, and not snobbish, if not quite simple, you know, but it can be figured out, and, I mean, nothing’s balanced by itself, usually, but, a body doesn’t want to be a doll, you know, even if it’s easy to see how if you read only mysteries you’d become paranoid, lol…. Especially since it’s much more plausible than the Jason Bourne books, which isn’t always a good thing.

…. Strange, strange things happen in the world, Secondary Character. Far stranger than we know.

…. “…. the worst prisons are the ones we create for ourselves.”

I know that’s right, he said, channeling a folksy Black woman. (Dontcha just love how folksy Black people can say, “I know that’s right” when somebody says some cool thing that they know is right?)

…. Kindness //can// be harder to deal with than murder and pain; he/she is right. It doesn’t seem noble. Part of the reason why thrillers sell so well—the space-faring thrillers and the spy glasses kind. Not the only reason: people can’t manage being all bad….

But they do limit themselves.

…. The characterization was almost always quite sparse, but in the end, it proved to be a lot more effective than it seemed at first.

And to think they sell this at CVS.

In The Lightening Rod, mortician “Zig” Zigarowski and artist Nola Brown are again confronted with a complex mystery that will keep readers guessing.

Zig left his position at Dover Airforce Base and now works in a civilian mortuary. He is surprised the Colonel heading his old unit asks him to prepare the body of recently murdered Lieutenant Colonel Archie Mint. His suspicions are further aroused when he finds the body needs only a touch-up to repair the minor problems that occur in travel. Why was he called in? One possible answer soon suggests itself when Nola Brown makes an unobtrusive appearance at the service, then leaves when she seems to see someone or something that alarms her. That someone turns out to be her twin brother, Roddy, who asks Zig to help him find Nola.

Zig soon learns that five years ago, Mint, Rashida Robinson, and Elijah King were assigned to investigate an incident at Grandma’s Pantry, and Nola Brown elected to accompany them. Now Mint and Robinson are dead, and Nola is running. What happened at Grandma’s Pantry, who did Nola see in the Black House, and why are the Reds killing everyone connected to the incident?

While The Lightening Rod does not rise to the level of The Escape Artist, it is still a solid action-oriented mystery. Zig has become a more relatable character who is no longer a depressed bumbler who is repeatedly outsmarted by Nola and beaten by the villains. Nola begins to trust Zig and shows signs of being able to accept his friendship. But why is she desperate to avoid her brother? Short chapters embedded in the story provide additional information about Nola’s and Roddy’s childhood and set the stage for the surprising conclusion.

Without revealing details, it’s fair to say things are not always as they seem. ( )

OK, not great. Much about Nola Brown's background, step-father and twin brother. ( )

The second installment in the Zig and Nola series is 2 years after the last book. Zig realizes that he owes Nola his life, since she saved him last time they saw each other. Now, in this new book, Archie Mint is killed in his own home, and Zig and Nola are sucked into a deep secret that he was hiding. Additionally, there is more to be discovered about Nola's past life. Her twin brother, Roddy, makes an appearance, and of course, her nasty adoptive father, Royall.
As Nola and Zig chase down this mystery, their lives are once again put in danger, and they are not sure who they can trust. The surprising truth about Archie Mint and his family comes clear.
This is a thriller with a lot of killing. I would like the books more if there wasn't as much violence, and if they could be about 50 pages shorter! ( )