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The Collectors
David Baldacci, 2006
Grand Central Publishing
525 pp.

In Brief
Oliver Stone and his Camel Club are in a race to stop a man who is determined to auction off America to the highest bidder: Roger Seagraves is selling America to her enemies, one devastating secret at a time. On a local level, Annabelle Conroy, the most gifted con artist of her generation, is becoming a bit of a Robin Hood as she plots a monumental scam against one of the most ruthless businessmen on earth. As the killings on both fronts mount, the Camel Club fights the most deadly foes they've ever faced. (From the publisher.)

The two plots intertwine in this Camel Club thriller. One thread follows Annabelle, a who is skillfully planning the casino heist of the century. Meanwhile, Seagraves has set his sights on high-echelon federal officials. Fortunately, the informal Camel Club of crime sleuths reconvenes to stop these dangerous shenanigans. The allure of the story resides in how they do it. A crisp action thriller. (From Barnes and Noble.)

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About the Author

• Birth—1960
• Where—Richmond, VIrginia, USA
• Education——B.A., Virginia Commonwealth University; J.D.,
   University of Virginia
• Currently—Northern Virginia


David Baldacci's authoritative legal thrillers operate on the irresistible notion that a sinister undercurrent threads through the country's most powerful institutions.

While his stories hinge on the complex machinations behind the presidency, the FBI, the Supreme Court and other spheres of influence, Baldacci (a former Washington, D.C.-based attorney) finds his way into a mystery through the eyes of the innocents. Semi-innocents, at least: small players who often don't realize they're players at all end up hunting down answers, and their hunt becomes the reader's.

According to Baldacci, reading John Irving's The World According to Garp convinced him that he wanted to be a novelist. Absolute Power -- in which a thief finds himself accidentally connected to a murder involving the president and the ensuing coverup -- was hardly Irvingesque; but it did begin Baldacci's friendly relationship with the bestseller lists, which has continued over his writing career.

Baldacci's style is brief and plot-driven, but he's not afraid to linger on macabre and vivid details, such as a rosary clenched in a plane crash victim's hand, or hard-learned lessons from a sniper's life (pack your food so you can find it at night, by touch). These small but memorable -- indeed, almost cinematic -- details give his books another layer that distinguishes them from the average potboiler.

Although the author has occasionally departed from his usual fare (examples include the tenderhearted coming-of-age tale Wish You Well and the holiday-themed adventure The Christmas Train), it is high-octane thrillers that are his true stock in trade. Whether it's a taut stand-alone or a new installment in his Camel Club series, readers know when they crack the spine of a new Baldacci book, they're in for an action-packed page-turner.

Extras
• Baldacci was a trial lawyer and a corporate lawyer for nine years in Washington, D.C.

• He worked his way through college as a Pinkerton security guard and by washing and detailing 18-wheel trucks.

• Baldacci writes under his own name except when published in Italy, where he uses a pseudonym because it is the homeland of his ancestors.

• Bill Clinton selected The Simple Truth as his favorite novel of 1998, according to Baldacci's web site. (From Barnes and Noble.)

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Critics Say. . .
In bestseller Baldacci's entertaining if overly long sequel to The Camel Club (2005), renegade CIA agent Roger Seagraves has set himself up in the business of freelance assassination and selling our country's secrets to the highest bidder. The Camel Club, a group of four dysfunctional crime solvers headed by ex-CIA assassin Caleb Shaw, becomes involved with Seagraves through a killing at the Library of Congress, where one of the club members works. Meanwhile, an enigmatic young woman, Annabelle Conroy, is assembling a team to engineer a "long con," a $33 million scam targeting Jerry Bagger, the sleazy owner of an Atlantic City casino. This time around, Baldacci wisely tones down the wackiness of the club members, focusing instead on bringing Seagraves to justice while Annabelle works her ingenious scam. The splicing of the two plots is problematic, but Baldacci sacrifices a bit of believability to cobble together a new cast of characters destined to continue fighting the forces of evil in the next installment. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Publishers Weekly




Helped by a beautiful grifter, the "Camel Club"-the four-man band of conspiracy theorists-returns to battle a threat to national security. Annabelle Conroy is con-artist extraordinaire; Jerry Bagger, mobster and mark; and Roger Seagraves, master assassin. All come straight from central casting. Seagraves is killing high-level government officials, and Conroy is putting together the con of the century, with Bagger as the target. The mysterious death of a rare-books expert at the Library of Congress launches the story, which splits off at first into two different plotlines. In one, Conroy and her team work their way up to their major score. In the other, the Camel Club investigates the mysterious death of a close friend. Things are slightly more exciting in Conroy's world. She's assembling her team, eager to settle an old score by taking down Atlantic City's most notorious and ruthless casino owner. After a series of capers out west to build their bankroll, the team heads back east. There's little drama Players act out their part; marks fall. The big score comes off without a hitch. The two plots intersect halfway through. Annabelle arrives in D.C., thanks to an awkward development, along with a new piece of unfinished business. Seagraves and the Camel Club are engaged in a cat-and-mouse game, and Annabelle Conroy is the special guest star. The merged stories reach a predictable conclusion. An obvious conflict remains unresolved for much of the way, setting up the next chapter in the saga. A tepid follow-up to The Camel Club (2005), with few surprises.
Kirkus Review

Readers Say. . .
(Occasionally, when there are few professional reviews, we offer helpful comments by Barnes & Nobel customers.)

A Good Read: I enjoyed the book, thoroughly. It was slow starting out, but it took off and came full circle in the end with a cliffhanger for the next book.
A reviewer, 05/04/2007


Scooby Doo, We Found You: Ugh. The beginning of this ride was thrilling but the caper chase and dialogue became more predictable with every page. Silly. The Camel Club should just pitch in and buy a van and spector detector.
Someone who is sick of TV, 04/16/2007


Complexing Read: This book is not quite the depth of the 'Camel Club', however it is has a complex story line that keeps a reader wondering. It certainly sets up a scenario for a sequel.
A reviewer, 04/14/2007


Very Disappointing: I enjoyed the beginning of the book and was set for a great story and interesting reading. Then the 'Camel Club' boys came into play. Having not read the book by that name, the characters seemed ridiculous and took away tremendously from the story. Baldacci goes on and on and on about their quirks. What a disappointment. Then he doens't finish the story...guess we'll just have to buy another book to find out how this one ends, except I don't care. Waste of money and time. It's a shame too as it has some excellent elements and could have been a very exciting story instead of one that is at best juvenile. I can't understand why there are so many positive reviews. Baldacci is listed as a fine writer so maybe he's just pumping them out for needed cash.
A mystery lover, 04/01/2007



Fine Suspense Thriller: CIA agent Roger Seagraves has opened up a gun for hire business. He calmly assassinates the Speaker of the House the Honorable Robert Bradley. For obvious reasons he has shaken the country and put fear into the hearts of the DC leadership especially chicken hawks used to others dying on their behalf, but to Roger it is one less “bloody politician”. The four wacky Camel Club members (the leader with no past named Oliver Stone, a rare books expert at the Library of Congress, a former Jeopardy champion, and a former Defense Intelligence operative) begin investigating the homicide. Due to their connection to the Library of Congress, they quickly link the Congressman’s death to that of the Library’s Rare Book Collection Director. As the sleuths struggle with uncovering and stooping the killer, con artist Annabelle Conroy sets in motion a scheme to scam thirty-three million from Atlantic City casino owner Jerry Bagger. As Annabelle and her crew succeed in their con, she has to follow-up in DC where she meets the Camel Club who unofficially makes her a member as the quintet search for a killer who knows his or her way inside the corridors of government. --- The sequel to the madcap CAMEL CLUB centers more on the killer and the con artist than the dysfunctional behavior of the quartet. The two subplots are filled with action that never slows down, but the tying of them into one story line seems overly extended lacking probability. Still fans of David Baldacci will enjoy THE COLLECTORS as the cat and mouse battle with Seagraves augmented by the addition of a female into the miscreant male group makes for a fine suspense thriller.
Harriet Klausner, 09/23/2006

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