The Inner Circle by Brad Meltzer

Publisher: Hatchette Book Group/Grand Central Publishing
Publishing Date: 01/11/2011
ISBN: 9780446577892
Pages: 400 pages

Summary from GoodReads:
There are stories no one knows. Hidden stories. I love those stories. And since I work in the National Archives, I find those stories for a living.

So says Benjamin January, a young archivist who spends his days working with the most important documents of the U.S. government. When Clementine Kaye, his first childhood crush, shows up at the Archives asking for his help tracking down her long-lost father, Benjy tries to impress her by showing her the secret vault where the President of the United States privately reviews classified documents. It is also where Benjy and Clementine accidentally happen upon a priceless artifact-a 200-year-old dictionary that once belonged to George Washington-hidden inside a desk chair. Eager to discover why the President is hiding this important national treasure, the two soon find themselves entangled in a web of deception, conspiracy, and murder that will reveal the most well kept secret of the U.S. Presidency.

My Review:
I have been a fan of Brad Meltzer for a while now so when I was given a free ARC from NetGalley for his newest novel I was super excited to read it. Meltzer did not disappoint. His books are usually fast paced and filled with tidbits from the pages of history books. That being said, I'm never sure how seriously to take the history information in his novels. This book centers on Washington, DC and the presidency. A young architect gets sucked into the world of a secret society that has been around since George Washington's days. In the midst of all this he is unsure who he should trust and there is also a bit of a love interest involved. I don't want to give too much away as this is one of those novels where there are new twists and turns in each chapter. That being said, you will want to read this. I couldn't put this novel down and I found some of the information fascinating. This novel is mostly plot driven so there isn't a whole lot of character development. The focus for character development is on the main character, the archivist, and I feel that there could have been more information given about himself. We know that his mother or sister calls to check in on him every day and we know that his father is dead. We also know that he had a horrible breakup from his fiance. That being said, I would have liked to know just a bit more. The pieces of information that we do get I feel are glossed over a bit to get back to the plot. That being said, I give this novel 4 out of 5 stars. It kept me entertained and also had me questioning whether or not something like this could actually happen. This book is definitely good for conspiracy theorists.