The Inner Circle

Enjoyable story but follows the trend of too many series where book 1 is not a complete story but just a teaser for the rest of the series. Loved the National Treasure like plot but in the end this book was a 300 page prologue. Major themes went unresolved so no closure. Want to write a series, great, each book should stand alone and be completed.

Is this part of The Inner Circle of American Literature? Absolutely not! ...but, it is a nice easy read that gets better as it goes. Perfect for the train or vacation and the next book in the series is better. A worthy read if you take it for what it is.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters are complex and the action sometimes takes your breath away. I am looking forward to starting the sequel. The idea of having an archivist as the central character is a major reason I was attracted to the book. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed Dan Brown's best sellers.

A most compelling mystery involving a fictional president of the United States, a book found in the National Archives once owned by George Washington. The intrigue is skillfully managed by Meltzer, much the same way as John Grisham manages it. This is a hard book to put down.

Purchased this for my husband to listen to on his way to work. He truly enjoyed the story and said it kept his interest until the end. He was a bit unhappy with the ending but it may lead to a sequal - who knows? It came in time promised and in new condition. Good story (I got the book and I'm reading that now).

The story starts off too slow with too many words. It doesn't pick up momentum until 100 pages into the book. There is inane conversation between the characters as well in my view. Once momentum is generated then it is hard to put down but getting to that point takes time and patience.

Best described as unrealistic, simply written, childish and boring. Could not even finish it. Unfortunate that I spent the money to buy this and reward such nonsense. In case you can't tell, I really did not like this. Shallow characters and a story line that is, well, silly.

It was a pleasurable read but a little far-fetched in my opinion. I find the idea of a president's inner circle of spies hard to accept with all the technology and all the people involved with today's world.

Very interesting subject. If you aren't really into spy books, this is for you. I was reading questions fo rBrad Meltzer and when a person told him the same thing he recommended reading this book. So I did. He was right.

The Inner Circle by Brad Metzler
Caught my attention from the first sentence, hard to put down. Will read more by this author! Highly recommend, especially if you are a history buff. Good read anyway, twists & turns that are unexpected. Glad I got it!

I have read practically every book of Mr. Meltzer. Lately his books darg and are a bit disappointing, Cardboard characters and shallow story. Now, The Inner Circle comes back to the Meltzer I enjoyed previously. Great work.
I was disappointed also as to when I purchased this book (audio) I also ordered The Book of Fate with the same order. This new book also includes a copy of The Book of Fate, I could have saved the purchase money for another book.

Please keep to this genre and you will beback with greats of suspense.

I read this book very quickly. It was the second of Brad Meltzer's books that I have read. The action in this book occurs prior to the action in The Fifth Assassin. The details that Brad Meltzer includes in these books are enjoyable.

This was an amateurish attempt at novel writing. The author concocted an interesting plot with interesting characters - unfortunately he could not manipulate the characters to carry out his intent. I'm sure his intent was to create a very deep novel about the archives in Washington DC, which is in reality a fascinating topic, and then weave that into a sinister story. But it never happened. The story is convoluted and requires backtracking to try and puzzle together a semblance of rationality.

One of the first signs of unrealistic dialogue is the constant overuse of first names as the characters interact. Think about it, how often do you mention the name of the person you are speaking to - as you are speaking to them? You know who they are and they know who they are so the use of names isn't necessary - and isn't done. It's a rookie mistake made by a veteran in need of an editor. The main character's first name is Beecher and every person in the novel who comes into contact with him and speaks to him is apparently so fascinated by his name that they are compelled to mention it over and over. In one 4 page stretch Beecher's name is said aloud in coversation 11 times! His love interest spoke his name 6 times in the space of 11 sentences and twice in one paragraph. On the same pages a doctor tosses Beecher's name around 5 times in 12 sentences. It's distracting to read his name so often and causes you to wonder how the author missed this.

Not to be outdone, Beecher himself (during those same 4 pages) mentions his girlfriend's first name "Clementine" (yikes) in 4 straight paragraphs, that is 4 occasions of speech. Even the President of the United States is afflicted and upon meeting him late in the book mentions Beecher's name 4 times in 6 snatches of dialogue and in back to back sentences!

I could look past this if the the writing was excellent, or good, or adequate, but it's subpar for the author who has written better. Listen to this stretch of dialogue.

(His girlfriend says), "I'm not saying I needed my life to be a symphony--I just never thought it'd turn out to be a country song."
"Yeah, well ... it's better than realizing that your life is elevator music."
"Some people like elevator music."
If you like this kind of dialogue then you're in for a treat. The only thing missing was the penchant for calling each other by their first name.

I could summarize the plot for you but I can't see why you'd care. If you don't buy the believability of the characters, if they are not real then neither is anything that happens to them. In better hands this could have been a solid book.

One more thing - this book doesn't end. Seriously, when you cross the finish line you see that the author is already dragging out the gate for the next race, the next book. It's a set up for things to come. My book club suggested this reading otherwise I would have quit early. I suggest you quit before you start.

I usually enjoy Meltzer's books. This one, however, was very disappointing. It felt like chunks of the story were missing, and the ending provided no resolution. If you're new to Meltzer start with a different novel.

This book is horrid. There is no suspense, the characters are boring and cliche, the dialogue is laughable, the names are ridiculous, and every "twist" is predictable. The first-person perspective is annoying and poorly done. It is difficult to describ how awful this is. Don't waste your money, and more importantly, don't waste your time.

The book starts out a little slow but quickly picks up momentum after a few chapters. I am a big fan of mysteries and this one really caught my attention til the end. I'm purchasing the next episode, The Fifth Assassin to continue the story of Beecher and Clementine to see what's happening next.

I consider myself a fan of Mr. Meltzer and eagerly anticipated the publication date of The Inner Circle. I downloaded the book to my Kindle and started reading it a few days later. I quickly found myself disappointed, but forced myself to continue reading, thinking that it would get better. I was wrong. The premise has promise, but fails to deliver. The characters are one-dimensional and uninteresting, the plot is thin and the denouement contrived and obvious almost from the moment the guilty party is introduced. Sequel? I hope not. You are an excellent storyteller, Mr. M, but this effort fails to showcase your talents.

Very Entertaining and a nice little twist in the end. I didn't like the ending at all however. It irritated me to no end and without spoiling it, lets just say, justice didn't come to the root of all the problems.

Seriously, Brad---now I'm hooked on your books too?! Thanks for the Wisconsin references---makes this displaced Cheesehead happy! Great characters, lovin' the first person telling too.

Thanks for keeping me company and entertained while on my elliptical!

Off to go buy most of your backlist!

I liked the Washington DC connection in this authors works and am sorry there have not been more. THis is a fun book of background intrigue to what we expect to be politically correct in today's world.