Time Taken To Read - 2 daysBlurb From GoodreadsIn Washington, D.C, where power is everything and too few have too much of it, four highly eccentric men with mysterious pasts call themselves the Camel Club. Their mission: find out what's really going on behind the closed doors of America's leaders.The assassination of the U.S. Speaker of the House has shaken the nation. And the outrageous iconoclasts of the Camel Club have found a chilling connection with another death: the demise of the director of the Library of Congress's rare books room, whose body has been found in a locked vault where seemingly nothing could have harmed him.A man who calls himself Oliver Stone is the groups unofficial leader. Staying one step ahead of his violent past and headquartered in a caretaker's cottage in Mt. Zion Cemetery, Stone, drawing on his vast experience and acute deductive powers, discovers that someone is selling America to its enemies one classified secret at a time. When Annabelle Conroy, the greatest con artist of her generation, struts onto the scene in high-heeled boots, the Camel Club gets a sexy new edge. And they'll need it, because the two murders are hurtling them into a world of high-stakes espionage that threatens to bring America to its knees.From an ingenious con in Atlantic City tho the possible forgery of one of the rarest and most valuable books in America history, to a showdown of epic proportions in the very heart of the capitol, David Baldacci weaves a brilliant, white-knuckle tale of suspense in which every collector is searching for one missing prize: the one to die for..My ReviewA government hitman, a talented con woman with a long time score to settle and a group of misfit gentlemen are the main characters in this book. The story is split into a few parts, the female con artist and her plan to avenge her family (plus get a big heist done whilst doing the job). The Camel club comes into play after a member of their library is killed very soon after the U.S. Speaker of the House is assassinated. There is a bit of background on each of the members of the group and then finally our hitman and how he ties into it all, his obsession with his trophies and the murders.This is my first Baldacci book and even though it is number two, I found I could follow it fine as the relationships are touched on briefly but enough for you to know how they came to be and are with each other. The story is fairly quick paced and I am not sure if it is meant to but I found some of it really funny (just how some of them interact with each other or the things they come away with).Whilst the stories start off as three separate stories the characters eventually link into each other and everything comes together. It has murder, twists and a surprise or two along the way and the chapters aren't too long apart so you can dip in and out if you like. The characters are very well done and as the story finished (on a bit of a cliff hanger) you can't help but wanting more. I think I will track down the first book of this series and will defiantly read this author again, 4/5 for me.
Die BibliothekCaleb Shaw, eines der Mitglieder des Camel-Clubs, arbeitet in der Bibliothek. Zu seinem Entsetzen findet er eines Tages seinen Vorgesetzten tot in einem der Räume. Anscheinend ist dieser an Herzversagen verstorben, was aber eigentlich nichts anderes heißt, dass man die genaue Todesursache nicht kennt. Caleb wird zum bibliothekarischen Nachlassverwalter ernannt, denn der Verstorbene war ein Sammler von besonderen Buchausgaben und diese Sammlung muss nun katalogisiert, geschätzt und veräußert werden. An seine neue Aufgabe geht Caleb zusammen mit seinen Freunden des Camel-Club heran. Und schon bald beginnen die Freunde daran zu zweifeln, dass der Tod des Verstorbenen ein natürlicher war. Dieses Hörbuch wird sehr unterhaltsam und fesselnd vorgetragen von K. Dieter Klebsch. Um den Camel-Club entwickelt sich hier ein Fall, der jeden Buchliebhaber in seinen Bann ziehen müsste. Schließlich geht es um Bibliothekare, Antiquare, Sammler und Restaurateure und man meint den Duft der Bücher zu atmen. Um dieses Grundthema konstruiert der Autor seine Theorien um Mord, Verschwörungen und Verrat. Ausgesprochen amüsant und dabei spannend entwickelt sich die Geschichte. Und auch der zweite Handlungsstrang hat es in sich, denn in dieser wird einem Bösewicht eine menge Geld förmlich unter dem Hintern weg geklaut. Was das eine mit dem anderen zu tun hat, kann man beim Zuhören selbst herausfinden.Dieser zweite Band der Reihe um den Camel-Club bereitet noch mehr Vergnügen als der erste. Er bietet einen glaubwürdigen Fall, der einige Wendungen enthält, die einen schmunzeln lassen und einige, die die Anspannung aufs Äußerste steigern. In gelesener Fassung genau das Richtige, um eine Autofahrt zu einer kurzweiligen Krimilesung werden zu lassen. Sollte die Fahrt nicht ausreichen, um ein Kapitel zu beenden, ist man geneigt, noch ein Weilchen bei ausgeschaltetem Motor zu verweilen.
What do You think about The Collectors (2006)?
This is the second installation in the Camel Club series by David Baldacci; it is also a very well written stand alone book!The 4 “Old Guys” are back, this time assisted by a con-woman, in their search for truth! When one of the head librarians at the Library of Congress is found dead and the coroner cannot put his finger on the actual cause of death, since the official cause was simply that the man’s heart stopped; the Camel Club looks for a conspiracy. This time, they seem to have found one right from the get-go!There are twist and turns throughout the book, and it by far tops the initial installment (“The Camel Club”). Perfect for those into political thrillers and/or spy novels; or, simply those looking for the everyday older gents becoming the larger than life heroes!
—Linda Munro
My co-worker told me about David Baldacci and bought me The Camel Club in paperback to get me started. It was my turn to pick the book for my monthly book club and I picked The Camel Club since I already had it. I bought The Collectors when I was only half way through The Camel Club, because I was already fond of Oliver Stone. The Collectors started like the Camel Club did with a few different "adventures" and different characters. I love how David Baldacci brings all characters and stories together into one big thriller. The Collectors had me captivated and on the edge of my seat. I will have nightmares about Bagger because of Baldacci's vivid descriptions of this evil man. I am anxious to read Stone Cold now and find out how Annabelle Conroy does as an honorary Camel Club member and if Bagger is able to find her.
—Danni0309
Anytime I read a book from cover-to-cover in just a couple of days, I obviously enjoyed it. I am easily bored and this one was not boring. I learned about con artists, and ex-CIA hit men, and rare books. That said, it wasn't clever enough. I don't mean the plot--I will never understand how people come up with such a twisting, complex tale--but the characters just seemed so pedestrian to me. Obviously a book like this is not going to contain charaters that are dynamic because it is all about the plot. I just felt like all the banter between the characters was, well, weak. I will probably read this author again (this one is already set up for a sequel), but I'm not running out and getting it right away.
—Eric Bjerke
