The Inner Circle
Jan 13, 2011
Author: Brad Meltzer
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: January 11, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-57789-2
Somewhat along the lines of a Dan Brown book, but with more likable characters, this is a fun, fast read based on a historical mystery that has been involving Presidents of the United States since George Washington.
You get your political intrigue, your hidden mystery rooted in old hidden organizations that require secret passwords, hidden documents and invisible ink, and you get your semi-geeky historical enthusiast that wants to do what’s right and win the girl. You also get a surprising amount of humor.
Beecher White is trying to show off his importance as an archivist at the National Archives, to impress a girl he had a crush on since he was 16, Clementine. He sneaks her into the secret chamber where the President sits and is allowed to read any book he wants from the library. The next thing Beecher knows, the security guard pal that let him in is dead, a secret slot in the President’s chair has been found and a book with many pages missing is now in his hands. On top of that, Clementine just discovered her father has been locked up in a psych ward for the last 10 years for attempting to assassinate the President and succeeding with his wife.
What follows is a race to find out the mystery of the book and what the Presidents have been hiding for the last 200 years, before Beecher and Clementine end up “disappearing”.
A very enjoyable read.
