The Viper: A Fast Paced Thriller of Family Bonds and Deadly Conspiracies (Escape Artist, 3)
4.4 | 16 ratings
Price: 21.95
Last update: 01-10-2026
Product details
- Publisher : William Morrow
- Publication date : January 6, 2026
- Language : English
- Print length : 400 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0062892436
- ISBN-13 : 978-0062892430
- Item Weight : 1 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 1.15 x 9 inches
- Book 3 of 3 : Escape Artist
- Best Sellers Rank:#40 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- Conspiracy Thrillers (Books)
- Murder Thrillers
- Suspense Thrillers
- Customer Reviews:4.44.4 out of 5 stars(16)
Top reviews from the United States
- She Treads Softlyvery highly recommended tense and well-written thrillerThe Viper by Brad Meltzer is a very highly recommended tense and well-written thriller. This is the third escape artist novel featuring Zig and Nola but it can definitely be enjoyed and relished as a standalone thriller. Zig and Nola are not friends, but she always seems to be there to help him.
Andrew "Fetch" Fechmeier, who has been in hiding and living under a pseudonym for years, is dying from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. He hides something in a suit at the funeral home that will handle his burial. Then he is murdered in his motel room when he won't reveal the information about the location of the item he hid which is sought by the perpetrators.
Jim “Zig” Zigarowski is a skilled mortician who is called by Roddy LaPointe, Nola Brown's brother, to assist with his investigation into Fetch’s murder, as well as the murder of his mother Daniella, who's death was labeled a suicide, when Nola and her twin brother, Roddy, were 3 years old. There was a group of teenagers over 25 years ago who called themselves The Breakfast Club. Since then they have been targeted by someone for something they stole back then. As the two investigate and are being followed, Nola starts investigating too while trying to watch out for Zig and Roddy.
The writing is exceptional, the pace is fast, and the engrossing plot is full of twists and surprises. This intelligent, unpredictable thriller grabbed my attention immediately and held it throughout. As the narrative switches between points-of-view along with covering Roddy and Nola's past, the shorter chapters help propel the plot forward while providing all the context and information you need to follow the intricate plot. There is some humor along with heart-stopping action.
This is my first Zig and Nola novel and it was really enjoyable. There is enough background information provided that I never felt like the narrative left me behind. They are still provided with additional character development in this outing and are depicted as fully realized characters with strengths and flaws. It need to look into the previous two novels.
The Viper is the perfect choice for those who enjoy fast-paced thrillers. Thanks to William Morrow for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion. - Monnie RyanZig Zags through Intriguing InvestigationI read the first two books in this series, but No. 2 was about three years ago so I really don’t recall much about it. That’s no one’s fault but mine, BTW – at my age, I’m likely to forget why I walked from the kitchen to the living room. Still, given the number of characters in this one and the constant jumping around in time, it took close to a third of the book before I really “got” who was who, what was happening and was able to say, “Hey, this is a really good story.”
And honestly, a good story it is. The “stars” of the series, mortician Jim “Zig” Zigarowski and former U.S. Army artist-in-residence turned recluse Nola Brown, haven’t seen each other for a while. Neither has she seen her twin brother, policeman Roddy LaPointe, who now needs help with the recent murder of Andrew Fechmeier, a man who’s been in hiding for many years. For that, he turns to his friend Zig.
Not long ago, the now terminally ill Fetch turned up at a local funeral home – in theory, at least, to leave a suit in which he wants to be buried. For many reasons, his murder is both surprising and complicated; but not long after Zig agrees to help, it becomes clear that Roddy is far more interested in learning more about the long-ago murder of his and Nora’s mother, Daniella Brown – killed while driving a car with her young twins in the back seat.
Back in college, Daniella “hung” with a group known as “The Breakfast Club” (yes, like the movie). As Zig and Roddy’s investigation reveals, all but one of those club members – including Fetch - have turned up dead. Also turning up are ties to what’s known as “Heavenly Meadows,” a place thought to be some kind of cult. But is it? And what, if any, is the connection between the secretive property and Fetch's murder?
It is at this point that more details from me will not be forthcoming – other readers will just have to read the book to find out what happens. Bottom line? Another excellent series entry (not that I expected anything else). Now I’m waiting for the next one, and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to get in on the action with this one by way of a pre-release copy. Good job once again! - Sharon MLove this series and this is a great book! More please!Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest thriller by a favorite, Brad Meltzer, and the third in the Zig & Nola series. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars rounded up!
Andrew Fechmeier has spent decades concealing a secret that could get him killed. So when he’s diagnosed with a terminal disease, he heads for the local funeral home carrying the blue suit he eventually wants to be buried in. But what no one knows is that Fechmeier secretly tucked something inside, turning the suit into a final, untraceable hiding spot. It's a perfect plan. Until Fetch is brutally murdered by a mysterious killer who will stop at nothing to find the priceless object hidden in the suit. Enter Roddy, a law enforcement officer, who is investigating the case because he thinks it just may be tied to his mother's murder decades earlier. Roddy recruits Zig, a mortician, in the investigation, and Roddy's twin, Nola, begins investigating on her own.
I love this series and this book dives back into the history of Roddy and Nola. You could read this as a stand alone but you'd be doing yourself a disservice because this is a must-read series. One of my favorite parts is that Zig is a mortician for the government, paying such respect to fallen soldiers and their families. This is a top-notch thriller, even when it's a bit complicated, so stay with it and enjoy the ride. The characters are flawed but doing their best to do what's right. I cannot wait for more in this series!