The Book of Lies [NOOK Book]

The Book of Lies: A decent Mystery Novel

The Book of Lies, by Brad Meltzer proved to be a decent mystery novel. There were numerous pieces that I thought were good and others that weren't so great. It managed to include a number of aspects you wouldn't expect to find in most books - Nazis, Superman, and the story of Cain and Able, and the fact that they somehow all tie together.
In the Book of Lies, Meltzer does a wonderful job of creating cliffhangers. One of the major driving aspects of this story is the fact that at the end of every chapter, there is some action or dialogue that just makes you to want to keep reading and makes it hard to put the book down.. Either the dialogue makes you want to read on, or at the end of a chapter something is revealed that you had no idea was coming, and you want to read onto try to figure out how that twist ties into the entire story. So one of the book's key elements is that it is hard to find a stopping place where you can actually put it down. For each of the main characters that were found in the book, each one had a great deal of background information, which was one aspect that really drove the story. The majority of the characters had a good deal for background, which continued to develop through out the story.
However the plot twists and cliffhangers were probably the only thing that kept me reading onward. Mystery books aren't my favorite type of reading, so I found it a bit boring as it was just trying to find one clue after another after another. There wasn't enough action/side story in the middle - the sequence of the book was introduction of characters, clue searching for the majority of the book, then everything is wrapped up at the end. In the middle the clue searching was viewed from a number of different characters, but it was really just a constant race for the next clue. To tie into this is the ending. The ending of this book is a problem that numerous books have - all the problems are wrapped up in maybe 50 pages out of the 400 or so, giving it a very abrupt ending. It came very quickly, and wraps everything up way to fast. Also despite the amount of background each character had, there was little character development throughout the book. The characters grew very little through the events in this book, which made characters somewhat lacking.
The book had its ups and downs. It proved to have a lot of good cliffhangers and red herrings, however not much else will keep you reading. The ending was a bit too abrupt to sum up all that had happened in a mystery novel, and the characters lacked growth through the book. The book was decent, not the worst, but not the best.

6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

This is an entreating tale that links the first reported homicide to a 1932 murder to the Nazis and to a modern day secret cult

Nineteen years ago in Miami, then nine year old Calvin Harper watched his bipolar mom go berserk as she always did when the demon surfaced. His usually in control dad Lloyd loses it this time and punches her in the chest in a rage. Just before dying, she blames Calvin. Lloyd is convicted of manslaughter. Over the years, Calvin never made contact with his dad even after he was released from prison.

Now in his late twenties Calvin and a former priest named Roosevelt work the mean streets of Fort Lauderdale taking homeless people to a shelter. However, when Calvin helps a vagrant, he is stunned because the homeless man is Lloyd. His father asks his estranged son to assist him as he searches for the ancient artifact that Cain used to kill Abel and may have been the weapon used to kill the father of Superman creator Jerry Siegel in 1932. Coded references hint at a book of immortality as the object, but others willing to kill want it too.

This is an entreating tale that links the first reported homicide to a 1932 murder to the Nazis and to a modern day secret cult. The story line is action-packed and fun to follow especially for Brownian conspiracy fans. However, none of the key cast members seem more developed than a comic book character so the tension never quite reaches gripping levels. Still this is an intriguing tale as the default starting in biblical times reaches the Harper males with interesting stops in between.

Harriet Klausner

4 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

It was a great book and I recommend it to all of my friends

The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer is a story that involves, murder, the bible, and Superman. The book is about an ex-convict father and his son Cal, who go looking for the Book of Lies a gift given to Cain from God. It ties in the story of how Superman was made and why it was so important to Jerry Siegel and what Jerry father's murder had to do with the Book of Lies.
Meltzer has given this book different plot twist, red herrings, and shown the story through different characters' views are reasons why I like the book. Each chapter leads to something different that you couldn't predict happened having you keep reading on. The book would lead you to thinking one thing but you end up finding out you where wrong. "That's not just a box. It's a coffin." (101). Also most of the book is shown through Cal and Ellis' view. Each character knows more about something then the other and both characters help the other, sometimes with out even knowing. The Book of Lies was a great book.
Book of Lies was well written and it would be hard to say anything negative about it. It was interesting on how Brad Meltzer tied the bible and the creation of Superman together. It had many plot twist and surprises. Also it was well written and helped you get a prospective of some of the characters. The Book of Lies was hard to put down and I recommend it to anyone looking for a mystery story.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Overall Good Plot but Confusing at Some Points

In the book, Book of Lies, author Brad Meltzer shares a captivating tale about how two murders committed centuries apart are connected because of this so - called "Book of Lies" which was believed to hold the secrets to immortality. Cal Harper, former ICE agent is on an adventure on finding the "Book of Lies" with Ellis tracking his tail trying to find the "Book of Lies" also.
Cal Harper's mother, Rosie ends up dying because she got into a fight with Lloyd, Cal's dad and he pushes her and she slips on the mayo that she dropped from seeing Cal while they were fighting and hits her and died. Cal's dad was then tried for manslaughter and was put in jail for 10 years. After those 10 years he decides to not go back to Cal for an unknown reason. When Cal grew up he became an ICE agent and gets fired because of Dierdre but we don't know the full story on it. Cal then decided to work for the homeless by finding them on the street and putting them into shelters with Roosevelt, a retired priest. One day they find Cal's father shot and also finds out about his father worked as a truck driver and found out that they had a hold notice on his father's load he became suspicious. As he checks out the load he also finds his father using his car to follow the load to and meets Ellis, a person after the Book of Lies working for the Leadership and almost get's killed. They then go on their quest to find the Book of Lies.
The author's message in this book was mainly about forgiveness, having a good father/son relationship and being able to tell your son/offspring your story so that you can theoretically be "immortal". Brad Meltzer does an incredible job of getting the reader to crave for more each passing page. He usually ends each chapter with cliffhangers. The interesting thing about this book is that Meltzer actually finds a way of writing this book on two points of views, which are Cal's point of view and Ellis' point of view on the same event at the same time. I suggest this book for anyone who wants a good thriller and gain a new way of thinking about life.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

A brief review of the Book Of Lies

The novel, The Book of Lies is about the biblical story of Cain and Abel and the creation of Superman. The novel is a mystery that is directed to the murder of Abel and the murder of Jerry Siegel's father. Calvin, the main character, is pushed into finding the book of lies while being chased by a serial killer who is working for the Thules. Brad Meltzer develops very deep characters and an interesting plot, though at the end of the story most things were left untied. The book was enjoyable but there are some flaws; for example, of missing explanation is about the second main villain who is a serial killer named Ellis. His reason to wanting to find the book of lies was never explained other than a birthright that he seemed to think from a journal his mother left behind for him. I recommend reading this book if you are interested in a writer who leaves many red herrings and if you like murder. If not, I warn you to think carefully before selecting this book to read due to some of the different changing perspectives and some missing explanation.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

ITS NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!!

I read the cover and it immediatley caught my attention. it had a nice hook to it, and i thought it would be a nice story with a mention of a superman conspiracy somewhere in there. this is not what happened. 70% of the book was about superman, and not quite the exciting stuff. if you are not a superman lover, this book is NOT for you. i liked the book for the other story not of superman, and my first tattoo is going to feature a symbol in this book (the sign of cain). but if you are not interested in the history of superman, i would not recommend it.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

The Book of Truth

This is my first book by Mr. Meltzer, and although I am a huge fan of his show on TV, I have to say that the book was good, but left a little bit to be desired at the end of the novel. The message of the book is clear, the characters are well defined, and the plot is wrought with danger, but the overall story needed to be a bit stronger. Overall I would definitely recommend this book, but if you're looking to read a book on the level of "Decoded" you may be a tad bit disappointed.

Creative plot

This is my first read from this author and I hope his other books measure up. Refreshingly thought provoking. I also love his series on the History channel.

Great book-hated to but it down

I'm a great fan of Brad Meltzer's books and this one lived up to the suspence I am accustom to. If you find history boring Brad 's books can change that and make you want to know more.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Nice!

Another good one by Meltzer!

Read it

Heard about Brad from his TV show, thought he was a cool guy and picked up this book. Enjoyed it very much!

extremely entertaining!

title says it all this book made me a huge fan of his work!

The best book I have read in a long time!

If this book is still 75% off, pick it up. I'm not recommending you to, I am telling you to. I bought this on a whim for the price. It was amazing. Simply put, BUY THIS BOOK!

Enjoyed trying to figure this out

I really enjoyed this book, being a fan of comics, the Bible, and conspirancies it has a little bit of everything for me. I thought that overall the story was put together well, and it was a great introduction to Mr. Meltzer's work.

too short

This was my first Brad Meltzer book.Liked the story and the writing, but the story didn't get really interesting until about halfway into the book.Seeing as the book was only 352 pages long that leaves only 176 pages of this story at it's best.Just when I started getting into the book it started winding down.I would, though, definitely give this author a second try.
I think a lot of different types of readers would like this book.This would include mystery and thriller lovers,history buffs, even comic book lovers(because of the Superman tie-in).

Confusing read

In my opinion, I thought The Book of Lies was a average story. The story kept me a bit confused with all the biblical references. Some just didn't make sense or they seemed out of place. However, overall, the book had a interesting plot so I chugged my way through to the end.

Hang on!

Through the first half of the book I was thinking 'What is going on here!" Good engaging read, has a solid closing.

Book of Lies Book Review

The Book of Lies, written by Brad Meltzer, connects the story of Superman's creation and the story of Cain and Abel into a suspenseful mystery. Meltzer weaves the unsolved homicide of Mitchell Siegel and his son's witnessing of the event with the first murder the world has ever seen. The Main Charactermain character, Cal Harper, faces mystery and betrayal and as he sorts out clues left by Jerry Siegel and searches for an ancient artifact.

In the book, Calvin at five years old is disturbed by the death of his mother and the imprisonment and abandonment of his father, Lloyd. 19 years later Cal reunites with his father in a park. but soon after he is attacked by a zealot stranger, named Ellis. Ellis will kill and destroy so he can get the ancient treasure of Cain. Cal and his Father race to figure out a mystery of the story of Cain and god's gift.

Brad Meltzer creates a thrilling and suspenseful novel that is exciting to the reader. Meltzer creates clues and mysteries on each page that give insight to the book's ending. However, I
felt that so parts of the book were unbelievable and had bad concepts. I liked the writing and the thrill, but the story line was weak. I give the book 4 four out of five stars.

Review on Book of Lies

Book of Lies Review
The book, The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer was I think really good and interesting. I like this book a lot because of the mysteries and cliff hangers that Meltzer left me with. The way that Meltzer builds the tension and keeps it going and then leaves you there is just something that I think makes me want to read more and more. I also like the way Meltzer builds and developed the characters and also how he changed the perspective throughout the book.
In the book my favorite character was Cal because he seemed to be the hero in the book the way he was always in the middle of the action and always manages to get out safe. My favorite part in the book is when Cal and his father start actually talking and start working together to find the treasure or book of lies. I would defiantly recommend reading this book if you are into mystery and action packed I think that this is the book to read.

Waste of time

I have to agree with the other two and three star rateings by readers. I have read four other Meltzer books, three good, one OK, but this book should never have been written.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.