The Collectors

Sometimes being sick has its advantages, I have got a lot of reading done this week. Next on my list was "The Collectors" (511 pages) by David Baldacci. This is a sequel of sorts to his novel "The Camel Club." A sequel in that it involved the same core group of characters from the novel with new characters and a new storyline. From the book:

"Over the hill. Out of the loop. And trying to save their country...

In Washington D.C., four men with mysterious pasts call themselves the Camel Club. Their mission: find out what's really happening behind the closed doors of America's leaders.

The assassination of the Speaker of the House has rocked the nation. And the Camel Club has found a chilling connection with another death: that of the director of the Library of Congress's Rare Books and Special Collections Division.

The club's unofficial leader, a man who calls himself Oliver Stone, discovers that someone is selling America to its enemies one secret at a time. Then Annabelle Conroy, the greatest con artist of her generation, comes to town and join forces with the Camel Club for her own reasons. And Stone will need all the help she can give, because the two murders are hurtling the Camel Club into a world of espionage that is bringing America to its knees."

The description above is actually kind of lame and doesn't do the novel enough justice. I really enjoy the quirky characters that Baldacci has created in these first two Camel Club books. They are full of diverse and interesting backgrounds. I also like the addition of Annabelle into the mix as an honorary member. The novel actually tells two stories that eventually intersect with each other very smartly. As much as I like "The Camel Club," I would have to say that I definitely enjoyed "The Collectors" quite a bit more.

Definitely recommended even if you haven't read the first book in the series, "The Camel Club," though it's probably good to start at the beginning to understand what's happened to these characters in their past adventures. Baldacci takes complicated political and thriller storylines and presents them in a very accessible way to the reader. The mix of humour throughout the novel is greatly appreciated and enjoyable as well. "The Collectors" is one of those books you'll find yourself reading late in the night saying to yourself, "just one more chapter, just one more chapter." That's always a good thing, for me, in anything I read.