Culper Ring Trilogy - Brad Meltzer

Written by Brad Meltzer
Read by Scott Brick
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 64 Kbps
Unabridged

01. The Inner Circle (2011)
· Length: 14 hrs and 10 mins
· Release date: 01-11-11
· Publisher: Hachette Audio

A fast-moving tale of murder, deception and intrigue linked to George Washington’s Culper Ring and its espionage descendants.

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.

Beecher White, a young archivist, spends his days working with the most important documents of the U.S. government. He has always been the keeper of other people’s stories, never a part of the story himself…

Until now.

When Clementine Kaye, Beecher’s first childhood crush, shows up at the National Archives asking for his help tracking down her long-lost father, Beecher tries to impress her by showing her the secret vault where the President of the United States privately reviews classified documents. After they accidentally happen upon a priceless artifact - a 200 hundred-year-old dictionary that once belonged to George Washington, hidden underneath a desk chair, Beecher and Clementine find themselves suddenly entangled in a web of deception, conspiracy, and murder.

Soon a man is dead, and Beecher is on the run as he races to learn the truth behind this mysterious national treasure. His search will lead him to discover a coded and ingenious puzzle that conceals a disturbing secret from the founding of our nation. It is a secret, Beecher soon discovers, that some believe is worth killing for.

“Meltzer’s chapters are short and cinematic, and the conclusion—some bad guys dead and buried, some not—suggests he plans a series.

Conspiracies make for good reading, and this book could turn skeptics into believers.”…Kirkus Reviews

02. The Fifth Assassin (2013)
· Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
· Release date: 01-15-13
· Publisher: Hachette Audio

From John Wilkes Booth to Lee Harvey Oswald, there have been more than two dozen assassination attempts on the president of the United States. Four have been successful. But now, Beecher White - the hero of the number one New York Times best seller The Inner Circle - discovers a killer in Washington, D.C., who’s meticulously re-creating the crimes of these four men. Historians have branded them as four lone wolves. But what if they were wrong?

Beecher is about to discover the truth: that during the course of a hundred years, all four assassins were secretly working together. What was their purpose? For whom do they really work? And why are they planning to kill the current president? Beecher’s about to find out, and the most terrifyingly, he’s about to come face-to-face with the fifth assassin.

“The United States has had four murdered presidents since Abraham Lincoln. Were these assassinations connected? Is the current sitting president in danger? And what of the super secret Culper Ring created by George Washington? Hold on tight as Scott Brick employs his trademark serious tone to ratchet up the suspense. Such is his vocal power that in the character of the president of the United States his control and presence are felt unequivocally. And the voice he gives to the hesitant institutionalized whack-job evil genius of the story makes us feel the confines of his insanity and the high-security institution that holds him. Listeners of Meltzer’s last book, THE INNER CIRCLE, will love the continuation of the intrigue he set in motion.”….. AudioFile

03. The President’s Shadow (2015)
Publisher: Hachette Book Group
Release date: June 16, 2015
Duration: 11:39:24

There are stories no one knows. Hidden stories. I find those stories for a living.
To most, it looks like Beecher White has an ordinary job. A young staffer with the National Archives in Washington, DC, he’s responsible for safekeeping the government’s most important documents … and, sometimes, its most closely held secrets.
But there are a powerful few who know his other role. Beecher is a member of the Culper Ring, a 200-year-old secret society founded by George Washington and charged with protecting the presidency.

Now the current occupant of the White House needs the Culper Ring’s help. The alarming discovery of the buried arm has the president’s team in a rightful panic. Who buried the arm? How did they get past White House security? And most important: What’s the message hidden in the arm’s closed fist? Indeed, the puzzle inside has a clear intended recipient, and it isn’t the president. It’s Beecher himself.

Beecher’s investigation will take him back to one of our country’s greatest secrets and point him toward the long, carefully hidden truth about the most shocking history of all: family history.

“Scott Brick’s dependable narration considerably improves this final work in Meltzer’s trilogy. Beecher White, a young archivist, is inducted into the Culper Ring, a secret society founded by George Washington to protect the presidency. The story itself is disappointing. Beecher hates the current president, though we don’t know why, and the abrupt time shifts are confusing. Nonetheless, with Brick at the helm, the plot moves quickly and is less distracting than it could be. He portrays the characters well, so listeners get a clear picture of what they’re all about. Even though much of the plot is implausible, Brick makes it a quick listen.” … AudioFile