The Viper: A Zig & Nola Novel

By Brad Meltzer

"A thrilling adventure, full of twists and turns, gripping from the first page to the last. Hugely enjoyable. The perfect book to meet Zig & Nola." -- Alex Michaelides, New York Times bestselling author of The Silent Patient

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

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0062892436
• ISBN13: 9780062892430
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 1.18 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

What did you do in your teen years that you would like to take back?

What did you do in your teen years that you would like to take back? The Viper is a superbly written saga of Zig and Nola. Nola’s brother appears and is investigating what he believes is the murder of his mother. Mistakes from Mom’s teen years with her friends led to drawing both Zig and Nola into a complex web of lies, theft, and eventually murder. The writing is easy, smooth, funny, and even has a twist at the end I didn’t see coming. I highly recommend The Viper by Brad Meltzer. Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC copy of this book.