The Fifth Assassin

By: Brad Meltzer

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

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 most terrifyingly, he's about to come face-to-face with the fifth assassin.

©2012 Brad Meltzer (P)2012 Hachette Audio

This is just a setup for the next book.

Would you try another book from Brad Meltzer and/or Scott Brick?

I love Scott Brick's performance. He is second only to George Guidall, in my opinion. I have read many Brad Meltzer books and will read more.

What was most disappointing about Brad Meltzer’s story?

It did not flow. There was too much jumping around and it was confusing. I hated the ending and felt cheated. He used this book simply as a set up for another book. It was not the cliff hanger I think it was meant to be.

What does Scott Brick bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He does different voices well. He performs women as well as men, so that you forget it is a man reading all the parts.I get into the characters better having him read to me.

Did The Fifth Assassin inspire you to do anything?

No. I basically hated the book and found it very unsatisfying.

Wow. Another great story!

If you could sum up The Fifth Assassin in three words, what would they be?

Interesting, captivating.

What did you like best about this story?

I love how the author runs with an idea and gets it to tie into actual history.

What about Scott Brick’s performance did you like?

Scott Brick is my favorite narrator. Always does a great job with the story!

Intriguing!!!!

WARNING!!
Read the "Inner Circle" first. Characters are easier to follow once you get the background. Overall book was very good. Can't wait for 3rd installment

2 things

There's the old 'all religions secretly have the same God' conspiracy mixed in. Of course Islam, Judaism, and Christianity are basically the same except their views on the nature of man, the nature of God, sin, salvation, heaven & hell, and how to approach the world; other than that, they're pretty much the same.
Also, Beacher is so whiney. It gets a bit annoying to have such a beta male hero.
I still give it 4 stars, because in spite of that, he's such a darn good story teller that i could plow through.

Even better than the first one!

The first in this series grabbed me. This one wouldn't let go till the end. I forgot I was reading a book. The pace and suspense kept me 'turning pages' long into the night. The flashbacks in time, which I usually don't like in a book, really worked here to add to the suspense with the piecemeal revelation of relevant information upon which so much hinged. This story never lagged, and Scott Brick did his usual stellar job capturing the personalities of the characters and showed his uncanny ability to bring a book to life. His ability to convey emotion, tension, and suspense are unmatched among his peers. I look forward to the next installment in this series. But I have to catch up on my sleep first!! Happy Reading!

It’s a Brad Meltzer….

Brad is one of my favorite authors, this story falls right in line with the other stories. I enjoyed the book and found the story line to be interesting and entertaining.

You must concentrate...

Any additional comments?

...or you'll be befuddled with all the twists and turns. Meltzer has his ups and downs with his books. This was an "up". Brick has his ups and downs with his narrations. This was an "up".

Excellent next piece of the story!

I enjoyed it from start to end! Bought the final in the series before it ended I like it that much. The story was full of great history lessons from presidential assassinations and well played out. Meltzer is a fantastic author and Brick is one of the very best narrators in all of audiobook land in my opinion!

Slow narration & a few audio glitches

What did you like best about The Fifth Assassin? What did you like least?

I'm new to Brad Meltzer's writing style, which took some getting used to, but the stories in the Culper Ring series are interesting. The only thing I didn't love about the audio book was the narrator's style. The reading speed was really slow and a little quirky. There were also a couple places in the middle/end of the book where some of the words cut out on the audio. Luckily, I also bought the Kindle book and could read along with the audio to catch the words I missed.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Brad Meltzer is good at the slow reveal, keeping you interested until you find out who "dunnit". Sometimes the premise of the Culper Ring series feels a little too "cute" / contrived but I am enjoying the stories nonetheless.

What three words best describe Scott Brick’s voice?

Odd, slow, quirky

Did The Fifth Assassin inspire you to do anything?

Buy the next book in the series.

Masterful narration

Scott Brick is a masterful narrator. He brings every story alive. Meltzer again tells a contemporary saga against the backdrop of history. Beautifully done.

As a pastor myself, I commend Brad for presenting clergy as we are: humans, nothing more, nothing less. "But for the grace of God go I."