The Camel Club is back, and its members are up against it once again. We are aware that the man now known as ‘Oliver Stone’ has a shady past, and now it seems set to catch up with him. While this does work as a standalone novel, there are strong resonances from the Camel Club’s previous outings.

It appears that someone is killing members of the 666 Group, a secret cadre of highly trained assassins that had been run by the American intelligence service. The fact that someone is capable of killing such capable victims sends shockwaves through that cloistered community, and all sorts of conspiracy theories are unleashed.

Meanwhile, virtual Camel Club member Annabelle Conroy is still being pursued by the Atlantic City gangster whom she stung for $40 million in the previous novel. He is as tenacious as she is evasive.

As always, Baldacci ties all the various threads together very capably, and sucks the reader in right from the beginning of the book. ( )

I just read this one and I am not sure how I feel about it. I had mixed emotions there were parts i did not like but it was ok ( )

Accept the premise that some people, because of their genetic background and advanced, specialized training, have superior physical skills and superior intelligence. Accept the possibility of superiority, and many of this book's amazing scenes seem, well okay, possible. I generally don't encounter such superiority on a daily basis, but reading about it during bus and train commuting is enjoyable. ( )

(2007)Seems to be the last of the Camel Club as Oliver Stone pursues the crooked AG. Booklist Review*Starred Review* It's difficult to decide how seriously to take a thriller about a conspiracy theorist named Oliver Stone. Baldacci does make an oblique reference to the fact that his protagonist shares the name of a noted conspiracy-minded film director, so we know it's no accident. But does this mean that the Camel Club novels (The Camel Club, 2005; The Collectors, 2006; and now this one) have taken a lighthearted turn, or is Baldacci just having a quick bit of insider fun before cranking into narrative overdrive? The latter, definitely. Annabelle Conroy, con artist extraordinaire, might have bitten off more than she can chew: she's bilked a casino owner (the wonderfully named, scenery-chewing Jerry Bagger) out of $40 million, and he isn't taking it well. Now Annabelle and her cohorts are on the run from Bagger's murderous rage. Oliver and his band of associates circle the wagons to protect Annabelle, but Oliver's having a tough time concentrating, as someone is killing off his old friends and colleagues, and it looks like Stone's name is now at the top of the hit list. When Baldacci is on fire, nobody can touch him, and this is an exhilarating thriller: fast paced, with a cast of engaging characters, a couple of mind-wrenching plot twists, and a general air of derring-do that keeps the proceedings from getting too heavy. Let's hope this isn't Oliver Stone's last appearance. Pitt, David.

3.5 stars ( )