Book Talk: Meltzer, ‘The Lightning Rod’

Brad Meltzer is an interesting author who really knows his stuff. In September, 2006, he participated in a brainstorming session with the CIA, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and several psychologists to try to figure out new methods that might be used by terrorists to attack the United States. That was quite an honor for a guy who was once a writer of comic books. 

But comic books, like Justice League of America and Superman/Batman, were part of a much larger body of work that has included novels, non-fiction, and television. He’s been privy to “inside information” that is largely unknown to the public. For example, President George Bush gave him a copy of the letter that Bill Clinton had left for his successor in the Oval Office.

His recent thriller, The Lightning Rod (2022, 419 pages), eventually takes us to Grandma’s Pantry, which may be a real place where the government once stored supplies for officials who survive a nuclear holocaust. But I’m jumping the gun (although this is not a “spoiler”). The Lightning Rod is actually the sequel to The Escape Artist, which I reviewed in the Dec. 12, 2022, edition of this newspaper.