The Camel Club - Softcover

David Baldacci

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0446696390 ISBN 13: 9780446696395

Publisher: Time Warner Book Group, 2005

Synopsis

Welcome to THE CAMEL CLUB. Existing at the fringes of Washington, D.C., the Club consists of four eccentric members. Led by a mysterious man known as "Oliver Stone," they study conspiracy theories, current events, and the machinations of government to discover the "truth" behind the country's actions. Their efforts bear little fruit-until the group witnesses a shocking murder...and become embroiled in an astounding, far-reaching conspiracy. Now the Club must join forces with a Secret Service agent to confront one of the most chilling spectacles ever to take place on American soil-an event that may trigger the ultimate war between two different worlds. And all that stands in the way of this apocalypse is five unexpected heroes.

About this title

Review:

Few crime novelists have been as successful as David Baldacci, and The Camel Club joins an illustrious collection. In such books as Absolute Power and Saving Faith, he forged a reputation as an adroit and imaginative writer, while with Wish You Well, he enriched his already accomplished characterisation. Baldacci is particularly good at the dynamics of conflict within a family as much as external threat, and without ever trying to manipulate the reader’s emotions, he had us involved in a dramatic and affecting narrative that dealt with issues of personal choice quite as cogently as with the large-scale emotions of the plot.

Subsequently, Hour Game was an innovative spin on a familiar theme, featuring Baldacci's series characters: the tall, athletic Michelle Maxwell and the brilliant aesthete Sean King, both ex-Secret Service personnel who were obliged to leave their jobs under a cloud. The duo encountered some pretty nasty things in Hour Game, which added new levels of gruesomeness, with the decomposed body of a young woman found arranged in a bizarre position, while two teenagers are bloodily slaughtered having sex in a car.

The Camel Club, however, is both similar to and different from Baldacci’s other books. We meet an enigmatic figure, Oliver Stone (one wonders why Baldacci chose the name of a well-known film director for this character), a man with no past. His occupation appears to be permanent protestor outside the White House, member of a cabal of believers in all available conspiracy theories, who are, collectively, The Camel Club. But (as in the author's signature book, Absolute Power) the group stumbles across a murder that they're not supposed to see--a murder rigged to appear as suicide. And, as in the earlier book, Stone and his friends find themselves involved in a very dangerous plot, reaching to the upper echelons of Washington society.

While Baldacci may be ploughing a field he’s worked before, he remains a master of the complex, character-driven thriller.

--Barry Forshaw

Review:

"Enjoyable." ""New York Daily News"""

"Exciting." ""San Francisco Chronicle"""

"A terrific read." ""Toronto Sun"""

"Enjoyable." New York Daily News"

"Exciting." San Francisco Chronicle"

"A terrific read." Toronto Sun"

"Features Baldacci's trademark plot twists and cat-and-mouse chases, as well as a superbly tense grand finale."--Richmond Times-Dispatch

"Baldacci is a master at building suspense . . . will leave readers breathless."--Booklist

"An original, effervescent thriller . . . page-turning fiction that grips and scares, and offers plenty to think about later."--Toledo Blade (OH)

"Baldacci knows exactly what his readers want-just enough high-tech suspense to while away a few hours in front of a warm winter fire."--Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"Fascinating . . . Baldacci is an author who promises a good story and then delivers it."--Publishers Weekly

"Cleverly constructed . . . If you pick this book up, you'll stick with it all the way."--St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Enjoyable."--New York Daily News

"Utterly relentless . . . with more twists and turns than a good autocross circuit. This is one scary book."--BookReporter.com


"Exciting."--San Francisco Chronicle

"A terrific read."--Toronto Sun

About this edition

• Publisher: Time Warner Book Group
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0446696390
• ISBN 13: 9780446696395
• Binding: Paperback