The Collectors

The Collectors is the second book in David Baldacci's Camel Club series. Same characters, new adventure! Like the others, it's set in Washington DC which only makes me want to go back to DC for a visit. I haven't been there in 5 years. Anyway, onto the book......

Caleb Shaw, Camel Club member, works in the Rare Books division of the Library of Congress where his friend and colleague Jonathan DeHaven has been found murdered. Caleb is named as the executor of Jonathan's personal rare book collection. While going through his house to catalogue the books, Caleb et al notice some strange goings-on next door with Jonathan's neighbor. Of course, Caleb, Oliver Stone, Reuben Rhodes, and Milton Farb find themselves in a heap of trouble with many bad guys after them while trying to figure out who killed Jonathan and the speaker of the House (who also died under mysterious circumstances) and try to do so while stating alive.

Meanwhile, con artist Annabelle Conroy is attempting to pull off the biggest con of her life. She intends to steal $30+ million from Jerry Bagger, Atlantic City casino king, for wronging her in the past. Some time ago, Annebelle and Jonathan had been married. Upon word of his death, she heads to DC to pay her respects and ultimately assist the Camel Club in solving their mystery.

I enjoyed the introduction of Annabelle in The Collectors. Her background is captivating, even though I already knew she'd come into the picture since I started with the most recent book. This story was not quite as exciting as The Camel Club but I still found it a suspenseful read. We learned more about the characters in the Club and their pasts which I liked. The interactions between each man and Annabelle were also entertaining. Give this a try if you liked the first one. Keep on going! Taking a break from the series for a couple other reads for now. Don't worry....they'll be back!