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On January 6, 2026, Zig & Nola are back for their most thrilling adventure yet in The Viper, the latest novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Brad Meltzer.
“Not since The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo have you seen a character like this. Get ready to meet Nola,” said Harlan Coben, just before readers first met Jim “Zig” Zwicharowski, a mortician at America’s most important funeral home, and Nola, a mysterious woman with a shadowy past, in Meltezer’s 2018 Novel, The Escape Artist.
Both characters, after helping to expose a massive government conspiracy, returned in The Lightning Rod (2022), and now, they’ll soon be back in bookstores.
New York Times bestselling author Brad Meltzer is back with his thrilling Zig and Nola series, unraveling a shocking cold case with a personal—and deadly—twist.
Andrew Fechmeier is a master at hiding. He’d better be—he’s spent decades concealing a secret that could get him killed. So when he’s diagnosed with a terminal disease, he heads for the local funeral home carrying the blue suit he eventually wants to be buried in. But what no one knows is that Fechmeier secretly tucked something inside, turning the suit into a final, untraceable hiding spot.
It’s a perfect plan. Until Fetch is brutally murdered by a mysterious killer who will stop at nothing to find the priceless object hidden in the suit.
Wasting no time, the cunning but unconventional Roddy LaPointe opens an investigation into Fetch’s murder, recruiting help from his friend, the brilliant “Zig” Zigarowski. But it doesn’t take long for Zig to discover the real reason Roddy cares so much about this case: Fetch’s death is tied to Roddy’s mother, who was murdered decades earlier.
As the relentless killer closes in, Roddy’s twin sister—the enigmatic and volatile Nola Brown—starts investigating for herself, uncovering a sinister plot that reveals their mother’s dark history, the true identity of her killer, and the shocking secret behind her death.
Don’t turn your back on The Viper.
“The Viper is a pulse-pounding adventure that takes you on a journey into the darkest recesses of the human heart.” — S.A. Cosby, New York Times bestselling author of All the Sinners Bleed and King of Ashes
“Expertly crafted and charged with tension, Meltzer delivers exactly what readers crave: a killer story from a true master of the craft. Smart, sharp, and undeniably gripping—this is Meltzer doing what he does best.” — Jack Carr, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red Sky Mourning
“The Viper,” said Brad Meltzer, speaking exclusively to The Real Book Spy, “may just have my favorite opening chapter of all time. And a twist that just . . . you won’t believe it.”
“A professional liar. A perfect plan. And the relentless killer who murdered Nola’s mother. This is the most personal case that Zig and Nola have ever faced. Plus the greatest Breakfast Club reference of all time.”
When pressed for more details on what about the opening makes it Mreltzer’s favorite, the author was careful but teased that . . .