Novelist Brad Meltzer, a 40-year-old University of Michigan graduate now living in Florida, is promoting "The Inner Circle."
His ninth book, published Jan. 11, focuses on Beecher White, a young archivist who works with the most important documents of the U.S. government. "There are stories no one knows," the character says. "Hidden stories. I love those stories. And since I work in the National Archives, I find those stories for a living."
When Clementine Kaye, Beecher's first childhood crush, shows up at the Archives asking for his help tracking down her long-lost father, Beecher tries to impress her by showing her the vault where the president reviews classified documents. After they accidentally happen upon a priceless artifact—a 200-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.
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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.
