• The President's Shadow

  • The Culper Ring Series
  • By: Brad Meltzer
  • Narrated by: Scott Brick
  • Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (3,138 ratings)

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The President's Shadow  By  cover art

The President's Shadow

By: Brad Meltzer
Narrated by: Scott Brick
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Publisher's summary

A severed arm, found buried in the White House Rose Garden. A lethal message with terrible consequences for the Presidency.

And a hidden secret in one family's past that will have repercussions for the entire nation. Following The Inner Circle and The Fifth Assassin, number one best-selling author Brad Meltzer returns with...The President's Shadow.

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.

©2015 Brad Meltzer (P)2015 Hachette Audio

What listeners say about The President's Shadow

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
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    1,488
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brad Meltzer and Scott Brick Do Excellent Work!

This is the next installment of the Culper Ring Series. Brad Meltzer hits a home run with this novel. This is well written and entertaining, filed with fun & surprising twists and turns! This is easily Brad Meltzer's best book though I have enjoyed them all! I will certainly read the next book by Brad Meltzer. And as always Scott Brick is one of the best readers around!

What I like best about Brad Meltser's writing is that he keeps you entertained and on the edge of your seat without the excess & unnecessary sex and violence on which so many authors rely to keep their readers turning the page. To me this is the mark of a truly talented writer.

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23 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Brad Meltzer can tell a great story!

I was originally drawn to the Culper Ring series by looking for novels narrated by Scott Brick. There are a lot of really superb narrators of audiobooks, but Scott Brick is my favorite.

The Culper Ring is a small and secret group that had been protecting the president of the US since the earliest days of the republic. The President's Shadow is book 3 in the series. It is about an attempt to kill the president from within his administration.

Highly recommended!!

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15 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

It started with a mystery and ended with a whimper

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I have been a big fan of Melzter's work. I've read or listened to about half of his books and have enjoyed The Inner Circle and its follow-up The Fifth Assassin. But The President's Shadow stands out from these and not in a good way. While the first two installments were a race against the clock with bits of historical clues littered along the way, this felt like an overly long break in the formula. It was more about the characters lives rather than an all-encompassing conspiracy plot that need to be solved.If I would change something, it would be that this book stick to the formula that works, create another genuine adrenaline rush with smart villains who are using historical artifacts, documents and even landmarks to their advantage.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Locke and Key.

What about Scott Brick’s performance did you like?

He gives a flawless performance. Rarely do I listen to one of his books and not feel riveted. Even if its a poorly structured book, I'll listen to it to the end.

Do you think The President's Shadow needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Honestly, it would be best just to end it here. I'm on the fence about listening to any more of this thread. I like Beecher and his team of characters but this one fell short. Most of it felt like filler and was disorienting with the flashbacks back and forth 29 years ago, 9 years ago, 1 year ago, just yesterday, etc. The pacing was off in this book and I wouldn't want to go through that again. Oddly, I would like to see a follow-up to The Book of Fate, see what Wes Holloway is up to now. Heck, I may re-read that book now.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Not up to par

I thought the book was unnecessary gruesome and the story was disjointed--not up to the standards of his other books.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Terrible

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Someone who like gory descriptions of torture and medical procedures.

What was most disappointing about Brad Meltzer’s story?

Attempts to shock the reader with disgusting actions by the characters.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Scott Brick?

Someone with more intonation in his voice. It was depressing just to listen to him.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The President's Shadow?

The torture scenes.

Any additional comments?

I wish Audible could warn the reader of such scenes. I couldn't get past the first 3 hours.

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12 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Awful

A plot line so improbable that science fiction feels more grounded. Characters are equally unbelievable and undeveloped - except for 2 who are so physically repulsive as to be sickening. The only positive feature is an excellent narration. But even the best performer cannot make a silk purse out of a cow's ear.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

loved it

Loved every one in the series!!! Great book, series, as well as performance
get it

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Someone Might Like this Book

Thankfully I bought this book on sale. It's not my kind of story, but some one might like it.
The reader is very good. I finished the story, but had to fast forward through portions: the torture, the long description of the main character's feelings after discovering the truth about his father's death, (Really, would some one emotionally fall apart after 20 + years of not knowing?)
There is some good historical trivia concerning the secret service and early secret societies, but there's just too much description of the characters' suffering. Bla Bla Bla.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good read in the series

Like all by Scott Brick as narrator. Story line was odd at points, but it kept my attention well. If some ...a bit of gorey ick...freaks you out, you can fast forward a little!

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Hard to follow

I had a hard time following the characters from their childhood and relations to different rings and their adulthood. I like the ending statements better than the story

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4 people found this helpful