The Collectors

by: David Baldacci

Published by: Warner Books (October 17, 2006 Release)

Reviewed by Jeff Foster

In David Baldacci's latest, The Collectors, the Camel Club is back. Oliver, Caleb, Rueben and Milton team up with the queen of the long con game to stop nefarious agents of the U.S. Government and intelligence agencies from selling more of the countries valuable to our enemies--and to bring them to justice.

This novel is one of those that take patience. As Baldacci develops two widely dissimilar plots in parallel, the reader has to wonder at the hundred-page mark whether he will be able to pull this thing off. There are no dovetails to either story that will lead you to believe they will converge, but converge they do, in a matter that is least expected.

Jonathan DeHaven, Chief Librarian of the Library of Congress, is found dead one morning inside the Jefferson Building. There is no blood, no wound and no use of force visible at the scene to lead investigators to think that the death was anything but natural.

Nearly simultaneously, Speaker of the House Robert Bradley is assassinated at a private club outside Washington D.C.

Meanwhile, Annabelle Conroy, a con artist with a legacy, puts together a series of short cons on the West Coast that snare her team nearly three million dollars. They take the money and move east to pull of one of the largest cons ever perpetrated in the United State. She wants painful payback from an old nemesis, a slimy casino boss in Atlantic City, and, oh, yes--$40 million dollars.

How do all of these plots thicken and end up coming together? I will tell you this, it's in a way you will not imagine. There are a few very well-played twists, and always working behind the scenes is the dark character of Robert Seagraves, whose determined to ensure his schemes succeed no matter the cost.

As the Camel Club gets closer, the bodies start piling up and time is running out. The old boys of the Camel Club put one final plan together, but Seagraves anticipates their every move.

The Collectors has the "anticipated hallmarks" Baldacci fans have come to expect in his novels.

Armchair Interviews says: Thorough research, great plots and characters, Baldacci makes you want to know more.