NOTE: This review is based on a galley proof of the book provided for advanced reviews and included the following disclaimer at the beginning: "Uncorrected page proofs: Material from this copy should not be quoted or used without first checking with the publisher, as some of this material may not appear in the finished book."I recently had an opportunity to read Brad Meltzer's forthcoming thriller, "The Inner Circle." I'd seen several of his books before and had been mildly interested, but hadn't yet picked one up, so this seemed like as good a time as any to check out his work. I'm really glad that I did.Since the great Dan Brown explosion of a few years back, it seems that many thrillers - especially ones that make use of history and historical events as a background - feel like they must concern themselves with conspiracies that are so vast and so deep that it's nothing less than the foundation of western civilization itself that stands in the balance if our handsome and dashing "everyman" hero fails to solve the arcane puzzles in time to stop... well, something really bad from happening. Meltzer, however, wisely scales back the scope of the mystery, without scaling back on any of the thrills.In "The Inner Circle," we meet Beecher White, a somewhat nebbish sort who works for the National Archives. He has recently reconnected with a girl he recalls fondly from his junior high school years who has asked if he can help her gain access to some records that might give her information about her long-lost father. Beecher readily agrees, and as he guides her through the Archives, finds a document where one shouldn't be. When another member of the Archives staff suddenly dies a short time later, Beecher, his childhood friend, and a trusted co-worker are off on an adventure to figure out how the document got to where it was, who put it there, what - if anything - it's misplacement meant and whether the death of the staffer is a coincidence - or a sign of something more sinister.One thing I particularly liked is that - unlike many thriller/mystery stories where the women are all drop-dead gorgeous, the men stunningly handsome, and everyone is simply brilliant and the top in their field - Meltzer gives us real people that we can relate to and care about. One of the main reasons I'd been unable to finish Dan Brown's "The Lost Key" was that one character in particular was supposed to be this amazing super-genius yet she falls into the villain's trap because it never occurs to her to wonder why someone close to her is suddenly acting completely out of character. With "The Inner Circle," the characters come across as "normal," real people with strengths that can help them resolve the situation, flaws that need to be overcome and motivations to which readers can easily relate.Much of the story takes place over the course of just a couple days, but the book never feels rushed. Characters are introduced as needed, as opposed to some books where a character is introduced in the first chapter or two, and then not mentioned against until halfway through the book - at which point, you're struggling to recall if you're supposed to know who they are or not. Likewise, Meltzer uses a deft touch with foreshadowing, offering you enough enticement to keep reading without resorting to dangling teasers out so far in advance that by the time you finally get to the payoff, you're just relieved to finally be done with it.Alas, few books are perfect and "The Inner Circle" is not without its flaws. There were a few places where I found it a bit hard to keep up with the dialogue and had to go back and re-read the conversation to figure out who was saying what to whom. There are also a number of plot points that get dropped into the story, but then are never really explained or resolved. Some of these are minor - such as when Beecher notices a similar occurrence two days in a row, but we're never told what - if anything - it means - while others are a bit more troubling.A large part of the story focuses on a historical spy ring called the Culper Ring that had been established by George Washington to help ensure the security of communications he needed to send during the Revolutionary War. In the world of "The Inner Circle," however, there are 2 separate groups, each calling themselves the "Culper Ring" and each having it's own methods and motivations. As you might imagine, this can lead to a bit of confusion - and not just for the readers. There are times the characters seem rather confused themselves. Partway through the book, Beecher begins referring to one of the rings by a sort-of "nickname," after which that becomes the name of that ring for all intents and purposes. While this is helpful for the reader, it creates kind of an odd situation where characters who have no reason to know what Beecher means when he uses the nickname seem to recognize it and know exactly what he's talking about.Still, while there may be a few loose ends here and there, Meltzer does a good job of wrapping up all of the important threads. The main characters are multi-dimensional, and even the villains are given some sympathetic qualities, rather than everyone being either all good or all evil. There are some nice historical tidbits scattered throughout the book, and a couple of hat-tips to the historical Culper Ring that history buffs might pick up on. It's certainly good enough that I'm interested in reading more of Meltzer's work, and overall, I'd recommend it for someone looking for a good, fun read.