Publication
New York ; Boston : Grand Central Publishing, 2015.
Collection
Call number
Fiction M
Physical description
x, 401 p.; 24 cm
Status
Available
Call number
Description
"Following The Inner Circle and The Fifth Assassin, Brad Meltzer returns with the next novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Culper Ring series. Beecher White makes an alarming discovery on the White House grounds: there is a severed arm buried in the Rose Garden. As he investigates, he realizes it's a message one that may have dire repercussions for the President. Even worse, the message turns Beecher's personal life upside down, pointing him towards the dark truth about his father's death"--
Series
Genres
User reviews
LibraryThing member librarian1204
This is the first time I have read this author and I know this is number three in a series. Definitely a page turner with a little bit of everything for the reader. Conspiracy, grisly murder, body parts (buried in the White House Room Garden), secret societies, presidential assassinations, are just
Read as an ARC from NetGalley.
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the beginning in this thriller. The main character is an archivist, which appeals to librarians. There are details of the secret service and their job keeping the president safe. The author gives thanks in the foreword to President H.W. Bush and First Ladies Laura and Barbara Bush for their assistance in authenticity as regards the White House and the role of First Lady. The sections on Fort Jefferson and the history of the Fort are very good. The reader can not help but be fascinated and intrigued with the huge job the National Archives have in the collection of everything that will become our history.Read as an ARC from NetGalley.
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LibraryThing member jtsolakos
Best one yet! Loved the twists and turns. The combination of facts with a fictional story really intrigues me. I will definitely continue reading all of Mr. Meltzer's works.
LibraryThing member bah195
Beecher White works at the National Archives in Washington, D.C, He's responsible for the safekeeping of the governments most important documents. Not many people know he's a member of the Culper Ring, a 200 year old secret society founded by George Washington and charged with protecting the
Beecher has a mystery to solve of his own. What happened to the father he never got to meet.
While this is the 3rd book in the Beecher White Series you don't need to read the first 2 to enjoy this book.
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presidency. Now the current president needs the Culper Ring's help. The discovery of severed arms in the Rose Garden and at Camp David has the president's team in a panic.Beecher has a mystery to solve of his own. What happened to the father he never got to meet.
While this is the 3rd book in the Beecher White Series you don't need to read the first 2 to enjoy this book.
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LibraryThing member doseofbella
The President’s Shadow
By: Brad Meltzer Pages.416
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Copy Courtesy of TheReadingRoom
Advanced Reading Copies
Reviewed By: doseofbella
A severed arm in the White House garden. How does one get close enough and for long enough to bury an arm? Obviously a security
Inside the fist of the severed arm is a clue. This clue leads to Beecher White. Beecher is a member of a secret society formed 200 years ago called the Culper Ring. They are responsible for protecting the presidency. Even though the President and Beecher have their differences, Beecher is the only man in position to keep him safe. Or so they think…
Brad Meltzer will take you into a world that to the majority of us is unknown. Governmental secret societies, other secret entities, and their mission to protect or do harm. Who do you trust, a friend, co-worker, or maybe your very own family.
During our daily lives of children, work and whatever else fills our days, what do we really know. Who, what and why are they watching?
Equally exhilarating and terrifying, an imaginative read of incredible insight brought to you by the wonderfully talented Brad Meltzer. A story you will not soon forget.
5/5
By: Brad Meltzer Pages.416
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Copy Courtesy of TheReadingRoom
Advanced Reading Copies
Reviewed By: doseofbella
A severed arm in the White House garden. How does one get close enough and for long enough to bury an arm? Obviously a security
Show More
breach. Someone will have to be responsible and take action so that it never happens again. Inside the fist of the severed arm is a clue. This clue leads to Beecher White. Beecher is a member of a secret society formed 200 years ago called the Culper Ring. They are responsible for protecting the presidency. Even though the President and Beecher have their differences, Beecher is the only man in position to keep him safe. Or so they think…
Brad Meltzer will take you into a world that to the majority of us is unknown. Governmental secret societies, other secret entities, and their mission to protect or do harm. Who do you trust, a friend, co-worker, or maybe your very own family.
During our daily lives of children, work and whatever else fills our days, what do we really know. Who, what and why are they watching?
Equally exhilarating and terrifying, an imaginative read of incredible insight brought to you by the wonderfully talented Brad Meltzer. A story you will not soon forget.
5/5
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LibraryThing member asomers
I've been waiting for this book for a while and it did not disappoint! there are twists and turns on every page.Just when you think you know what happens some other piece of the puzzle throws you in another direction. I hope there are more books coming about Beecher white.
LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
The President’s Shadow, author, Brad Meltzer; narrator, Scott Brick
It is hard to write a review about a book you really did not enjoy very much. It had redeeming features because it had many action scenes and mysteries to solve, but it was brutally repetitive, too long, had excessive violence
When the book ended, I was almost as confused as I was when it began. There were loose ends which can only mean there will probably be another book in this or a new series shortly, with some of the unsolved issues, even though this, I read, is the third, and therefore, final one in the trilogy featuring Beecher White. Since, today, archivists cannot even manage to access Hillary Clinton’s lost emails in the current White House conspiracy drama, how could the archivists in the novel have been involved in such high level drama in this novel’s White House conspiracy and have been so successful and so powerful?
When body parts are suddenly discovered by the First Lady, in the garden at The White House which she tends faithfully, an investigation is launched which takes off in several directions. One involves secret groups, another involves secret experiments, murderers and madmen are afoot, and I was hard put to figure out who was the hero and who was the villain.
By the time the book ended, I understood only some of the innuendos and inferences; many went over my head and many loose ends continued to float around. There were mysteries that seemed unsolved and suggestions about lineage that went unanswered. The main idea I got from this novel was that evil was living in the White House, that lives were expended with abandon because the powers that be deemed it necessary, but honestly, I could not really understand why it was necessary, most of the time. It just seemed there might be a better way except for the author’s need to make the story bloodier and more conspiratorial.
President Wallace had secrets he did not want divulged, and apparently he would do anything to protect his image and reputation. From outward appearances, he was a loving parent and a devoted husband, committed to protecting the country, but deep down, he may have been more committed to protecting himself and a secret organization. We learn about several in the book: The Culper Ring, which originated by order of George Washington, the purpose of which was to spy on the British, but in the novel its purpose was to protect the presidency, not the actual president; the Knights of the Golden Circle, an evil, secret organization that was pro-slavery, according to several websites, but in the book was a splinter group that broke away from the Culper Ring because of a difference in philosophy; the Plankholders who were guinea pigs in an experiment gone wild in the book, but in actuality, according to Yahoo, Plank Holders were persons involved in the initial phase of a crew or experiment, and in the US Navy, “a plank owner or plank holder is an individual who was a member of the crew of a United States Navy ship or United States Coast Guard cutter when that ship was placed in commission”. From a Navy database, I learned that Plank-owner certificates are procured by and issued to crew members of the ship being commissioned; they are not officially issued by the Navy. So, I suppose another redeeming feature is that this book inspired me to investigate and research some of the information and terms presented in the book.
Are there other secret groups still operating out there? Has any organization infiltrated The White House? Is this President really squeaky clean? Will Aristotle Westman recover from his bullet wound in the head? In this novel, it was hard to discern truth from lie, fact from fiction because the novel, at its core, begins with a massive setup and continues to follow that path of setting scenes throughout the book.
On the positive side, there were bits of historic information sprinkled throughout, which were enlightening, if they indeed were true and not part of the staging, like how the order of numbers on dial phones were decided upon and how the dog tag came about as an ID for soldiers, and how the pressed penny with the Lord’s Prayer is a military tradition and how, after Monica Lewinski, cameras were removed from the area around the oval office.
It is hard to write a review about a book you really did not enjoy very much. It had redeeming features because it had many action scenes and mysteries to solve, but it was brutally repetitive, too long, had excessive violence
Show More
that was also too graphic and a couple of silly romances. It begins at a time in the future, after President Obama has left The White House, and the story moves back and forth from that time to a time 29 years previous when a heinous, secret experiment was conducted on servicemen. Beecher White is used by The White House to solve a mystery and catch a vicious criminal, but to engage him in the effort, a carrot is extended, the true story of his father’s death, decades ago. When the book ended, I was almost as confused as I was when it began. There were loose ends which can only mean there will probably be another book in this or a new series shortly, with some of the unsolved issues, even though this, I read, is the third, and therefore, final one in the trilogy featuring Beecher White. Since, today, archivists cannot even manage to access Hillary Clinton’s lost emails in the current White House conspiracy drama, how could the archivists in the novel have been involved in such high level drama in this novel’s White House conspiracy and have been so successful and so powerful?
When body parts are suddenly discovered by the First Lady, in the garden at The White House which she tends faithfully, an investigation is launched which takes off in several directions. One involves secret groups, another involves secret experiments, murderers and madmen are afoot, and I was hard put to figure out who was the hero and who was the villain.
By the time the book ended, I understood only some of the innuendos and inferences; many went over my head and many loose ends continued to float around. There were mysteries that seemed unsolved and suggestions about lineage that went unanswered. The main idea I got from this novel was that evil was living in the White House, that lives were expended with abandon because the powers that be deemed it necessary, but honestly, I could not really understand why it was necessary, most of the time. It just seemed there might be a better way except for the author’s need to make the story bloodier and more conspiratorial.
President Wallace had secrets he did not want divulged, and apparently he would do anything to protect his image and reputation. From outward appearances, he was a loving parent and a devoted husband, committed to protecting the country, but deep down, he may have been more committed to protecting himself and a secret organization. We learn about several in the book: The Culper Ring, which originated by order of George Washington, the purpose of which was to spy on the British, but in the novel its purpose was to protect the presidency, not the actual president; the Knights of the Golden Circle, an evil, secret organization that was pro-slavery, according to several websites, but in the book was a splinter group that broke away from the Culper Ring because of a difference in philosophy; the Plankholders who were guinea pigs in an experiment gone wild in the book, but in actuality, according to Yahoo, Plank Holders were persons involved in the initial phase of a crew or experiment, and in the US Navy, “a plank owner or plank holder is an individual who was a member of the crew of a United States Navy ship or United States Coast Guard cutter when that ship was placed in commission”. From a Navy database, I learned that Plank-owner certificates are procured by and issued to crew members of the ship being commissioned; they are not officially issued by the Navy. So, I suppose another redeeming feature is that this book inspired me to investigate and research some of the information and terms presented in the book.
Are there other secret groups still operating out there? Has any organization infiltrated The White House? Is this President really squeaky clean? Will Aristotle Westman recover from his bullet wound in the head? In this novel, it was hard to discern truth from lie, fact from fiction because the novel, at its core, begins with a massive setup and continues to follow that path of setting scenes throughout the book.
On the positive side, there were bits of historic information sprinkled throughout, which were enlightening, if they indeed were true and not part of the staging, like how the order of numbers on dial phones were decided upon and how the dog tag came about as an ID for soldiers, and how the pressed penny with the Lord’s Prayer is a military tradition and how, after Monica Lewinski, cameras were removed from the area around the oval office.
Show Less
LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
The President’s Shadow, author, Brad Meltzer; narrator, Scott Brick
It is hard to write a review about a book you really did not enjoy very much. It had redeeming features because it had many action scenes and mysteries to solve, but it was brutally repetitive, too long, had excessive violence
When the book ended, I was almost as confused as I was when it began. There were loose ends which can only mean there will probably be another book in this or a new series shortly, with some of the unsolved issues, even though this, I read, is the third, and therefore, final one in the trilogy featuring Beecher White. Since, today, archivists cannot even manage to access Hillary Clinton’s lost emails in the current White House conspiracy drama, how could the archivists in the novel have been involved in such high level drama in this novel’s White House conspiracy and have been so successful and so powerful?
When body parts are suddenly discovered by the First Lady, in the garden at The White House which she tends faithfully, an investigation is launched which takes off in several directions. One involves secret groups, another involves secret experiments, murderers and madmen are afoot, and I was hard put to figure out who was the hero and who was the villain.
By the time the book ended, I understood only some of the innuendos and inferences; many went over my head and many loose ends continued to float around. There were mysteries that seemed unsolved and suggestions about lineage that went unanswered. The main idea I got from this novel was that evil was living in the White House, that lives were expended with abandon because the powers that be deemed it necessary, but honestly, I could not really understand why it was necessary, most of the time. It just seemed there might be a better way except for the author’s need to make the story bloodier and more conspiratorial.
President Wallace had secrets he did not want divulged, and apparently he would do anything to protect his image and reputation. From outward appearances, he was a loving parent and a devoted husband, committed to protecting the country, but deep down, he may have been more committed to protecting himself and a secret organization. We learn about several in the book: The Culper Ring, which originated by order of George Washington, the purpose of which was to spy on the British, but in the novel its purpose was to protect the presidency, not the actual president; the Knights of the Golden Circle, an evil, secret organization that was pro-slavery, according to several websites, but in the book was a splinter group that broke away from the Culper Ring because of a difference in philosophy; the Plankholders who were guinea pigs in an experiment gone wild in the book, but in actuality, according to Yahoo, Plank Holders were persons involved in the initial phase of a crew or experiment, and in the US Navy, “a plank owner or plank holder is an individual who was a member of the crew of a United States Navy ship or United States Coast Guard cutter when that ship was placed in commission”. From a Navy database, I learned that Plank-owner certificates are procured by and issued to crew members of the ship being commissioned; they are not officially issued by the Navy. So, I suppose another redeeming feature is that this book inspired me to investigate and research some of the information and terms presented in the book.
Are there other secret groups still operating out there? Has any organization infiltrated The White House? Is this President really squeaky clean? Will Aristotle Westman recover from his bullet wound in the head? In this novel, it was hard to discern truth from lie, fact from fiction because the novel, at its core, begins with a massive setup and continues to follow that path of setting scenes throughout the book.
On the positive side, there were bits of historic information sprinkled throughout, which were enlightening, if they indeed were true and not part of the staging, like how the order of numbers on dial phones were decided upon and how the dog tag came about as an ID for soldiers, and how the pressed penny with the Lord’s Prayer is a military tradition and how, after Monica Lewinski, cameras were removed from the area around the oval office.
It is hard to write a review about a book you really did not enjoy very much. It had redeeming features because it had many action scenes and mysteries to solve, but it was brutally repetitive, too long, had excessive violence
Show More
that was also too graphic and a couple of silly romances. It begins at a time in the future, after President Obama has left The White House, and the story moves back and forth from that time to a time 29 years previous when a heinous, secret experiment was conducted on servicemen. Beecher White is used by The White House to solve a mystery and catch a vicious criminal, but to engage him in the effort, a carrot is extended, the true story of his father’s death, decades ago. When the book ended, I was almost as confused as I was when it began. There were loose ends which can only mean there will probably be another book in this or a new series shortly, with some of the unsolved issues, even though this, I read, is the third, and therefore, final one in the trilogy featuring Beecher White. Since, today, archivists cannot even manage to access Hillary Clinton’s lost emails in the current White House conspiracy drama, how could the archivists in the novel have been involved in such high level drama in this novel’s White House conspiracy and have been so successful and so powerful?
When body parts are suddenly discovered by the First Lady, in the garden at The White House which she tends faithfully, an investigation is launched which takes off in several directions. One involves secret groups, another involves secret experiments, murderers and madmen are afoot, and I was hard put to figure out who was the hero and who was the villain.
By the time the book ended, I understood only some of the innuendos and inferences; many went over my head and many loose ends continued to float around. There were mysteries that seemed unsolved and suggestions about lineage that went unanswered. The main idea I got from this novel was that evil was living in the White House, that lives were expended with abandon because the powers that be deemed it necessary, but honestly, I could not really understand why it was necessary, most of the time. It just seemed there might be a better way except for the author’s need to make the story bloodier and more conspiratorial.
President Wallace had secrets he did not want divulged, and apparently he would do anything to protect his image and reputation. From outward appearances, he was a loving parent and a devoted husband, committed to protecting the country, but deep down, he may have been more committed to protecting himself and a secret organization. We learn about several in the book: The Culper Ring, which originated by order of George Washington, the purpose of which was to spy on the British, but in the novel its purpose was to protect the presidency, not the actual president; the Knights of the Golden Circle, an evil, secret organization that was pro-slavery, according to several websites, but in the book was a splinter group that broke away from the Culper Ring because of a difference in philosophy; the Plankholders who were guinea pigs in an experiment gone wild in the book, but in actuality, according to Yahoo, Plank Holders were persons involved in the initial phase of a crew or experiment, and in the US Navy, “a plank owner or plank holder is an individual who was a member of the crew of a United States Navy ship or United States Coast Guard cutter when that ship was placed in commission”. From a Navy database, I learned that Plank-owner certificates are procured by and issued to crew members of the ship being commissioned; they are not officially issued by the Navy. So, I suppose another redeeming feature is that this book inspired me to investigate and research some of the information and terms presented in the book.
Are there other secret groups still operating out there? Has any organization infiltrated The White House? Is this President really squeaky clean? Will Aristotle Westman recover from his bullet wound in the head? In this novel, it was hard to discern truth from lie, fact from fiction because the novel, at its core, begins with a massive setup and continues to follow that path of setting scenes throughout the book.
On the positive side, there were bits of historic information sprinkled throughout, which were enlightening, if they indeed were true and not part of the staging, like how the order of numbers on dial phones were decided upon and how the dog tag came about as an ID for soldiers, and how the pressed penny with the Lord’s Prayer is a military tradition and how, after Monica Lewinski, cameras were removed from the area around the oval office.
Show Less
LibraryThing member jenzbaker
Shallow story, but unputdownable due to pacing and some unusual plot twists. (Arm buried in president's garden. Reviewed for Booklist.
LibraryThing member Doondeck
These books keep getting sillier.
LibraryThing member JudithDCollins
A special thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Washingtonian, now Floridan, Brad Meltzer returns with a riveting historical fiction suspense conspiracy thriller with THE PRESIDENT’S SHADOW (Beecher White #3). Beecher’s investigation
“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” Mark Twain
Every President has secrets and so does the First Lady. After she finds a severed arm in the White House rose garden, Beecher White is called in to consult by President Orson Wallace. White is a member of Culper Ring, a group founded by George Washington to protect the presidency, with only six members. Beecher and Wallace have a former relationship, as he once saved Wallace’s life.
Washington, DC based, Beecher White thrives on hidden secret stories and lies. He specializes in people’s secrets. Top Secret. Since he works in the National Archives, he finds these stories for a living, and most of them are family stories. When people search for family, they are really searching for themselves.
Beecher agrees to help especially when he learns the dead man’s hand was clutching a flattened penny, and could be a link to the mysterious death many years before of none other than Beecher’s father. Beecher’s father was a mechanic in the Army. He was told his dad died when he was a baby in a car crash on a bridge.
Now he finds there was no bridge or a car accident and a handwritten letter his dad wrote a week after his supposed death. He has no clue the real truth. The one thing he cannot stop thinking about: You do not cover up someone’s death unless there is a reason to cover it up. Why would the White House request the military files that hold information of his dead father?
Meltzer's protagonist, Beecher will keep fans page-turning into the night, with edge-of-your seat, fast paced gripping suspense mixed with history, politics, drama, and dark hidden secrets, leaving readers anxiously awaiting the next in the series.
I enjoyed reading the acknowledgements from the author, and the author’s personal experience, as well as the assistance of President George H. W. Bush and First Ladies Barbara and Laura Bush, as well as others named with special inspiration, thanks, and gratitude.
A well-researched, fascinating political thriller with twists and turns, for an action-filled engaging roller coaster ride! Fans of David Baldacci will devour, as well as history buffs, and lovers of skillful and clever blending of past and present, with historical fact and fiction. Looking forward to the next in the series./i> Got to love our Floridan authors!
Washingtonian, now Floridan, Brad Meltzer returns with a riveting historical fiction suspense conspiracy thriller with THE PRESIDENT’S SHADOW (Beecher White #3). Beecher’s investigation
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takes him back to one of the country’s greatest secrets which may be connected to his own family history. A complex novel of power, intrigue, and the emotional pull of family, and the underbelly of the government's darkest hidden secrets.“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it does rhyme.” Mark Twain
Every President has secrets and so does the First Lady. After she finds a severed arm in the White House rose garden, Beecher White is called in to consult by President Orson Wallace. White is a member of Culper Ring, a group founded by George Washington to protect the presidency, with only six members. Beecher and Wallace have a former relationship, as he once saved Wallace’s life.
Washington, DC based, Beecher White thrives on hidden secret stories and lies. He specializes in people’s secrets. Top Secret. Since he works in the National Archives, he finds these stories for a living, and most of them are family stories. When people search for family, they are really searching for themselves.
Beecher agrees to help especially when he learns the dead man’s hand was clutching a flattened penny, and could be a link to the mysterious death many years before of none other than Beecher’s father. Beecher’s father was a mechanic in the Army. He was told his dad died when he was a baby in a car crash on a bridge.
Now he finds there was no bridge or a car accident and a handwritten letter his dad wrote a week after his supposed death. He has no clue the real truth. The one thing he cannot stop thinking about: You do not cover up someone’s death unless there is a reason to cover it up. Why would the White House request the military files that hold information of his dead father?
Meltzer's protagonist, Beecher will keep fans page-turning into the night, with edge-of-your seat, fast paced gripping suspense mixed with history, politics, drama, and dark hidden secrets, leaving readers anxiously awaiting the next in the series.
I enjoyed reading the acknowledgements from the author, and the author’s personal experience, as well as the assistance of President George H. W. Bush and First Ladies Barbara and Laura Bush, as well as others named with special inspiration, thanks, and gratitude.
A well-researched, fascinating political thriller with twists and turns, for an action-filled engaging roller coaster ride! Fans of David Baldacci will devour, as well as history buffs, and lovers of skillful and clever blending of past and present, with historical fact and fiction. Looking forward to the next in the series./i> Got to love our Floridan authors!
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LibraryThing member pierthinker
Brad Meltzer's Culper Ring books are an easy, page-turning read, ideal for planes, trains and automobiles (unless you are the driver). Although these books are absorbing and occupy the mind they are not very satisfying (they do not linger long in your thoughts).
A major feature of this type of book
The character reversal is another familiar (required, even) trope of this genre. Again, Meltzer overdoes it - pretty much every character flips between goodie and baddie, and there are one or two that take it to excess: they are a goodie; no, a baddie; no, really a goodie; no, a baddie...
Finally, it is hard to pin down who the protagonists in this book are. The goodie is obvious, but the way the other characters a report rayed leaves us with some ambiguity regarding how we should treat them. One character does unspeakable things and has a dastardly objective, but is portrayed sympathetically, so we never really know if we should love or hate him.
Of course, all of this ambiguity, shadow-play and greying of the lines between good/bad may be seen as the point here; that all authority operates over a spectrum. I get that, I just think it could have been better executed.
Having said all that, this is a good read when what goes in does not have to stay there or really matter.
A major feature of this type of book
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- political and covert action in the setting of the American corporate and governmental elite - is the complexity of plot. "The President's Shadow" takes the twisty-turny thing and runs with it far too far. There are enough plot ideas and MacGuffins to fill half a dozen novels. Rather than being filling, what this does is to spread the ideas so thinly that we never really care to think about any of them.The character reversal is another familiar (required, even) trope of this genre. Again, Meltzer overdoes it - pretty much every character flips between goodie and baddie, and there are one or two that take it to excess: they are a goodie; no, a baddie; no, really a goodie; no, a baddie...
Finally, it is hard to pin down who the protagonists in this book are. The goodie is obvious, but the way the other characters a report rayed leaves us with some ambiguity regarding how we should treat them. One character does unspeakable things and has a dastardly objective, but is portrayed sympathetically, so we never really know if we should love or hate him.
Of course, all of this ambiguity, shadow-play and greying of the lines between good/bad may be seen as the point here; that all authority operates over a spectrum. I get that, I just think it could have been better executed.
Having said all that, this is a good read when what goes in does not have to stay there or really matter.
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LibraryThing member vera_mallard
The President’s Shadow by Brad Meltzer
Brad Meltzer is a very talented author; he has done it again in the latest offering for our delight. The Culpepper Ring is back in action and hints, clues and mysteries are left all along the story; Tot is hospitalized and in a coma, Beecher is consumed with
As a fan of Mr. Meltzer, I found this book enjoyable from the first page to the last. I recommend this book for an enjoyable ride of mystery, conspiracies, and adventure in the places of power.
I received this book from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an honest review.
Brad Meltzer is a very talented author; he has done it again in the latest offering for our delight. The Culpepper Ring is back in action and hints, clues and mysteries are left all along the story; Tot is hospitalized and in a coma, Beecher is consumed with
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mysteries of his father’s death, his old military unit and the White House, buried arms clutching something in the fist found in the Rose Garden of all places and who was the insider that helped the culprit, a friends betrayal or was it, Nico a psychotic killer and assassin has escaped the mental institution, Nico’s cancer ridden daughter Clementine, what’s she after? The Knights of the Golden Circle what are they and why are they orchestrating events behind the scene and what is the ultimate result they want? Does the President really wants Beecher to investigate solve the mysteries; conspiracies abound. Beecher and the President are not friends and not quite the ultimate enemies; they could be described as frenemies; barely civil on the outside, killing enemies on the inside. The President has sworn to destroy the Culpepper Ring along with Beecher; Beecher knows the President’s long buried secret that can destroy him. George Washington created the Culpepper Ring to protect the Presidency not the President. The action is fast paced with plot twists and turns and it twists again. Meltzer always grabs you from the first page and carries you for a wild ride; this book is no different. I loved the ride. Is this believable? Why not, anything is possible in our world. I love a good thriller with lots of plotting and conspiracies, Meltzer delivered both. The ending was a huge surprise for me, wow! When will the President get what he deserves; maybe in the next book.As a fan of Mr. Meltzer, I found this book enjoyable from the first page to the last. I recommend this book for an enjoyable ride of mystery, conspiracies, and adventure in the places of power.
I received this book from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an honest review.
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LibraryThing member BATGRLGOTHAMCITY
I loved the whole series
LibraryThing member JenniferRobb
3.5 stars (rating shown may vary depending on whether site allows for half star ratings)
This is the first book I've read by this author--at least to my remembrance. I enjoyed the style. I was glad to see that although Meltzer has unmarried characters hook up for sex, there is not a graphic
I didn't quite grasp the significance of the title. Did it refer to secret service agent A. J. who was often in the President's shadow while on his detail? Did it refer to the historical experiments possibly sanctioned by a past President? Did it refer to the "secret" groups that operate to protect the Presidency but not doing so openly/publicly? Usually I have some clue by the end of the book, but I haven't figured it out yet for this book.
WARNING: SPOILERS MAY LIE AHEAD. READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION:
****
I don't know enough about political history to know if the Culper Ring or the Knights are real historical groups or ones made up by the author. And if they are real groups, I don't know if they really do what the author has them doing in this book.
Archivist Beecher White wants to know what happened to his father. Did his father really die while in the Army? Or is/was he alive somewhere? Beecher's friend Marshall has a father who served in the same unit. Their childhood friend Clementine also has a father (Nico) who was in that same unit.
When a coin with the unit's symbol is found in a severed arm found buried in the White House gardens, Beecher gets called to the White House--and thus starts the unwinding of the tale.
This is the first book I've read by this author--at least to my remembrance. I enjoyed the style. I was glad to see that although Meltzer has unmarried characters hook up for sex, there is not a graphic
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description of the act. These days it seems that thriller/suspense authors are told there has to be at least one sex scene in each book. (My personal preferences are that they'd limit it to married characters but at least in this book I didn't have to skim over pages waiting for the described sex scene to be over and the story to resume.)I didn't quite grasp the significance of the title. Did it refer to secret service agent A. J. who was often in the President's shadow while on his detail? Did it refer to the historical experiments possibly sanctioned by a past President? Did it refer to the "secret" groups that operate to protect the Presidency but not doing so openly/publicly? Usually I have some clue by the end of the book, but I haven't figured it out yet for this book.
WARNING: SPOILERS MAY LIE AHEAD. READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION:
****
I don't know enough about political history to know if the Culper Ring or the Knights are real historical groups or ones made up by the author. And if they are real groups, I don't know if they really do what the author has them doing in this book.
Archivist Beecher White wants to know what happened to his father. Did his father really die while in the Army? Or is/was he alive somewhere? Beecher's friend Marshall has a father who served in the same unit. Their childhood friend Clementine also has a father (Nico) who was in that same unit.
When a coin with the unit's symbol is found in a severed arm found buried in the White House gardens, Beecher gets called to the White House--and thus starts the unwinding of the tale.
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LibraryThing member witchyrichy
With The President's Shadow, Brad Meltzer ends the Beecher White series. It uses the same prose style as he did for his earlier books in the trilogy--The Inner Circle and The Fifth Assassin. It is an historical thriller that plays on both real and imagined history, especially related to
But, the more I think about it, the more I find to think about, actually. Does that make sense? The thriller style pulled me along but as we headed into what was essentially the epilogue for each character, important themes played out including those related to the rise of the KKK in the South via the Knights of the Golden Circle. A major theme of the book involves government drug experiments on military personnel, certainly not a conspiracy theory at all. Perhaps what happened to some was inflated, but the foundation was facual.
If you're a Dan Brown or Steve Berry fan, this would be a good follow up. Meltzer's plots can get a little too twisty sometimes and, even though I think this is the end of the series, there was a major plot piece that was never really resolved.
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Presidential assassins and the various conspiracies that have grown up around them. I saw it as fluff, especially since my other book was Caste.But, the more I think about it, the more I find to think about, actually. Does that make sense? The thriller style pulled me along but as we headed into what was essentially the epilogue for each character, important themes played out including those related to the rise of the KKK in the South via the Knights of the Golden Circle. A major theme of the book involves government drug experiments on military personnel, certainly not a conspiracy theory at all. Perhaps what happened to some was inflated, but the foundation was facual.
If you're a Dan Brown or Steve Berry fan, this would be a good follow up. Meltzer's plots can get a little too twisty sometimes and, even though I think this is the end of the series, there was a major plot piece that was never really resolved.
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LibraryThing member jldarden
Have not read Meltzer before and found this disappointing. How many shadowy agencies/groups can there be behind the government? I found it hard to believe. Perhaps because I listened to the audio version. I know many people like narrator Scott Brick but I find him exhausting. He always has that
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tone in his voice like something DRAMATIC is about to happen even in scenes that are not dramatic. I feel like he takes himself too seriously. Anyway, the time jumps lost me a couple times and many of the characters were one dimensional. Can't recommend. (at least in audio) Show Less
LibraryThing member zot79
OK. 3 stars for getting me to hang on until the end. But nothing more than that. This is that book or television episode that is supposed to wrap everything up. The author assumes you've read and invested in the first two books. He assumes you already know and care about these people. I did. Yet I
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still felt at sea. Not the good kind, like I-don't-know-what-is-happening-but-I-know-it-will-turn-out-amazing. More like what-are-you-doing-with-all-this-please-tell-me-an-amazing-story-instead. And then it was finally over. I'm glad Mr. Meltzer got that all out of his system. I will have a look at the next book in the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member lbswiener
The President's Shadow is the 3rd book in the Culper Ring Series. It is a book about deceit, criminal activity, politics, desire for power. It is a difficult book to plow through because of the devastating lives that the lead characters live and not knowing if there is anyone that can be trusted.
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Four stars were given in this review. Show Less
LibraryThing member ChazziFrazz
Beecher White works in the National Archives. He is privy to documents and secrets of the history of the United States. He is also a member of a secret society that has been charged with protecting the Presidency since George Washington’s time.
The current First Lady enjoys working in the Rose
On a particular morning her world is shattered when she tries to pull up a tree root while gardening and discovers it is a human arm. Whose arm is it? How did whoever buried it get pass security? What is the meaning of the note found clutched in the arm’s fist? Is there a significance between this and a threat to the President?
Beecher finds himself on his own as his mentor, Aristotal “Tot” Westman, is laid up in hospital due to a serious head wound. It is up to Beecher finding the pieces and putting them together to solve the connections.
The plot bounces back and forth between the current time and the historical periods where previous secret groups started. Are there people still living from these groups or are they mimicking previous events? Is there a serious attempt to kill the President or just frighten him?
Characters from the previous book are also in this volume, which gives it continuity. Another fast paced read.
The current First Lady enjoys working in the Rose
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Garden in the early morning hours. This time that allows her freedom and relaxation from an otherwise demanding job. Gardening is a passion she found long before she became involved in politics.On a particular morning her world is shattered when she tries to pull up a tree root while gardening and discovers it is a human arm. Whose arm is it? How did whoever buried it get pass security? What is the meaning of the note found clutched in the arm’s fist? Is there a significance between this and a threat to the President?
Beecher finds himself on his own as his mentor, Aristotal “Tot” Westman, is laid up in hospital due to a serious head wound. It is up to Beecher finding the pieces and putting them together to solve the connections.
The plot bounces back and forth between the current time and the historical periods where previous secret groups started. Are there people still living from these groups or are they mimicking previous events? Is there a serious attempt to kill the President or just frighten him?
Characters from the previous book are also in this volume, which gives it continuity. Another fast paced read.
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LibraryThing member classyhomemaker
Years ago, I picked up a book by Brad Meltzer called The Book of Fate and it opened up a part of me I didn't know was there.
Ha! Ok, so that's a little overdramatic, but seriously---political thrillers are not at all my genre. However, there's something about Meltzer's books that I absolutely love.
I found myself going back to Google, repeatedly, to see who and what were real in the story. This is one of those books that plants a seed of interest and leads the reader to all kinds of interesting and educational rabbit trails. I've already put four more Meltzers on reserve to pick up at the library this afternoon.
Ha! Ok, so that's a little overdramatic, but seriously---political thrillers are not at all my genre. However, there's something about Meltzer's books that I absolutely love.
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Maybe it's the DC setting, the history involved, the conspiracies theorized---whatever it is, The President's Shadow was just as great as all the others by Meltzer that I've read.I found myself going back to Google, repeatedly, to see who and what were real in the story. This is one of those books that plants a seed of interest and leads the reader to all kinds of interesting and educational rabbit trails. I've already put four more Meltzers on reserve to pick up at the library this afternoon.
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Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — Thriller/Suspense — 2016)
Language
Original publication date
2015
ISBN
9780446553933