The Camel Club, by David Baldacci (Amazon.com, Kindle e-book, Flipkart, my user review on Amazon) - my review
Thrilling fast-paced page-turner. A few holes in the plot. And yes, Mahatma Gandhi could have written the ending!
After having read two disappointing Baldacci novels (The Winner and Hell's Corner) that flattered to deceive, this one is a much better read. Graded on a curve, yes, this is a five-star read.
Oliver Stone, fka John Carr, is still very much a man of mystery here. His past is decades behind him and we are not given much background there. The Camel Club has already been in existence for years. What we do get to learn is that there is a very sinister plot being, err.. plotted, to assassinate the President of the United States, and too in his hometown. Arabs, Pakistanis, Iranians, and well, basically, it looks like Islamic terrorists may be involved. That cannot be a good thing. And then there is this killing of an NIC operative that is witnessed by the Camel Club. The plot makes it way through the book in an unhurried though gripping manner. The climax is fast-paced, and the denouement takes place in a former CIA and now abandoned facility named "Murder Mountain".
Having read two of Baldacci's novels, The Winner and Hell's Corner, both promising but ultimately disappointing, The Camel Club is much better. The plot, and especially the ending, when fully revealed, is still fantastical, and I will note again, one that could have been written by Mahatma Gandhi - without saying more. Read the book to find out. Parts of the plot are still a little implausible, but that is excusable here.
In short, gripping fast-paced turner that doesn't ask for much thinking from the reader.
http://davidbaldacci.com/
http://davidbaldacci.com/writing/novels/the-camel-club
My review post of "Hell's Corner"
My review of "The Winner"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Baldacci
Kindle Excerpt:
© 2012, Abhinav Agarwal. All rights reserved.
