The Book of Lies
Jeff Ayers – Library Journal: What does Superman have to do with the biblical story of Cain and Abel? Combining his love of comic books with a heart-pounding plot, Meltzer's (The Book of Fate) latest thriller ingeniously answers the question. When Calvin Harper was a child, his father murdered his mother and was sent to prison. Growing into adulthood, Calvin becomes a federal agent but loses his job in a scandal and now helps the homeless. One evening in a park he discovers his father with a gunshot wound. Turns out Calvin's father was shot with the same gun that in 1932 killed Mitchell Siegel, the father of the creator of the Superman comics. Helping the father he hasn't spoken to in years puts Calvin in harm's way, because a killer tattooed with the mark of Cain is after a certain book that might identify the murder weapon used in the Cain and Abel story and will stop at nothing to get it. The novel's overall theme of family resonates, and the relentless pace and twists of the narrative sizzle on the page. Meltzer is a genius. For all fiction collections.