The Lightning Rod – Brad Meltzer

Brad Meltzer returns with his first adult work of fiction since 2018.  The Lightning Rod starts with the death of a reservist Colonel, and the military calls in one of their former morticians to work on him for his funeral.  When some mysterious figures show up for the funeral, Zig, said mortician, decides to dig deeper and try to figure out what is going on.  Meanwhile, Nola conducts her own investigation while trying to stay one step ahead of her twin brother, who has teamed up with Zig.

Truth be told, when I first saw the cover of this book, which declares it “A Zig & Nola Novel,” my first question was “who the hell are Zig & Nola?”  It has been a long four years since Meltzer released the first entry in this series and I had very little memory of these characters.  Because of that, it took me a while to get in to this one, but the action eventually picks up enough to carry the reader along.  This is now the thirteenth Brad Meltzer novel that I’ve read, not counting his comics work, and I am looking forward to the next one, assuming I live long enough.