The Fifth Assassin-Brad Meltzer

The Fifth Assassin Brad Meltzer Grand Central, Dec 10 2013, $10.00 ISBN: 9780446553988 National Archives archivist Beecher White became part of the Culper Ring, established by George Washington to protect the presidency, after he and his high school crush Clementine Hadrian got involved with a GW artifact (see The Inner Circle). Recently the unknown Knight has assassinated church dignitaries by copying presidential murders. Beecher investigates the serial killings. His findings leads him to an improbable hypothesis that he and historians would have believed impossible not too long ago; the archivist concludes the four successful POTUS assassins amongst the over twenty attempts seem to have “worked” together. Additionally, Beecher assumes the current religious murders are practice for the mysterious masked wearing Knight to target the current office holder; though the archivist believes the death of the malevolent president is not necessarily a bad thing. The second Beecher White tale (see The Inner Circle) is an exhilarating conspiratorial thriller that uses real presidential history as a critical backdrop. Although there are too many jumping in and out of subplots (especially distracting is the hero’s childhood flashbacks), readers will appreciate the adventures of the activist archivist attempting to prevent the fascinating (in a macabre way) deranged Fifth Assassin from succeeding. Harriet Klausner