WGBH News' Henry Santoro interviewed author Brad Meltzer about his newest book, "The Escape Artist," for this edition of Henry In The Hub. Below is a loosely edited transcription of their conversation. To listen to the interview, click the audio player above.
Henry Santoro: If you're a fan of page-turning thrillers — and who isn't? — Brad Meltzer’s new book will have you on the edge of your seat, from beginning to end. It's Brad's 12th thriller, and it's called "The Escape Artist,” and if you're in need of an escape in this world, this book is perfect for you. It's my pleasure to welcome Brad Meltzer back to WGBH and Weekend Edition, and to Henry in the Hub. Good to see you again.
Brad Meltzer: Always love seeing you.
HS: You too. In fairness, Brad, we should say that you and I have been friends — family, really — since the first book, “Tenth Justice” came out over 20 years ago.
BM: This marks at 20 years.
HS: Over the course of your writing career, writing thrillers that are based mostly in Washington, you have been fortunate enough to been given access to some amazingly secretive places: the secret tunnels under the White House, the National Archives are two that come to mind. But when you and I were chatting recently on the phone, you were telling me about a morgue — a mortuary about two hours outside of Washington, D.C. that you were given access to. I didn't say anything while we were on the phone, but the excitement in your voice was off the charts. So, tell us about this morgue. Tell us the role that it plays in “The Escape Artist.”
BM: As you said, I love finding that secret place that nobody knows about that the government has. And I saw this story on Dover Air Force Base, on a mortuary at Dover. It is the mortuary where the Pentagon victims went on 9/11. It's where the space shuttle, when it went down, that’s where the bodies went. It's even where [they go] when there is a mass fatality, when a ship is attacked in a foreign land and where you see our troops today, who come through and we see, you know, we know the photographs all too well, coming from Afghanistan or coming from Iraq with a flag-covered coffin. But this is where they go. It's the government's, to me, most hallowed ground. It's the government's secret funeral home, the most powerful funeral home in the country. And I was just blown away that this existed, that it was all one place. And I went to Dover and I said I'd love to come and see it, and they don't let anybody in. I've seen, you know, a few articles that are there. There's obviously press that they keep at arm's length. But to really tour the place, to see what really happens inside, I thought, the government will never let me in here. And they said, “We'd like to have you in.”
HS: You find things out, because that's what you do. Brad Meltzer finds things out. Well, there was only one time in U.S. history that a magician was in control of the Secret Service. Now, how do I know that? Because it's in “The Escape Artist.” But not just any magician — this guy was also a friend of Harry Houdini.
BM: One of the amazing parts of history — and this is all true — during Abraham Lincoln's time, there was a guy who Lincoln saw was a kind of an escape artist himself, and could get out of any rope and rope tricks, and Abraham Lincoln loved it and brought him in. And that guy eventually became a spy for Lincoln during the war. He wanted someone who knew how to kind of get out of things. And it sounds like some bad thing you see on the History Channel, but it was real. And I thought to myself when I saw that detail, that's a good idea for a thriller.
HS: Women have always played important roles in your novels, but in the more recent books, and especially this one — she’s now the heroine of the story, Nola — women have taken center stage.
BM: Yeah, you know, and I'll be honest, I think it's because I'd seen the other before, and the truth is, Henry, I had a daughter. And I look around at the heroines for my daughter and what Hollywood feeds her, and it doesn't pass the Bechdel test, right? They’re supporting characters with no names and no mission, except to serve the hero of the story. And I just said, I don't want to do that.
HS: Brad Meltzer is the New York Times best-selling author, his latest and one of my favorites is "The Escape Artist."
