The Collectors

David Baldacci's The Collectors (currently a bestseller from Warner Books) is eminently skippable. It is little but a hackneyed potboiler, with half-developed stereotypical characters, a predictable and contrived plot, and a very poor conclusion which can only be termed "sequel-bait." The fact that one element involves the very rare Bay Psalm Book (the earliest surviving example of American printing) is not enough to save this book from a negative recommendation. Neither are the very nice endpapers. There are far too many good books out there to waste even an afternoon on this one.

[Originally posted 26 November 2006]

Ahoy, ahoy, it seems we've found an improbably better book than the previous installment, which is rare. Rarity is the theme of The Collectors, what with people being rare individuals or collectors that range from the harmless to the pretentious to the macabre. I liked the Con group eventually, which means I didn't at first. Annabelle is a fantastic character, and I'm sad that she's going to die horribly soon, although the cliffhanger ending made sure that didn't get confirmed. Alex's cameo was well inspired, and I missed Kate and Adelphia. Based on this series and the Christmas Train, I must concede that Baldacci is a criminally underrated writer.

Who would ever guess that there would be any danger of malicious and suspicious death at work for the Director of the Rare Books and Special Collections Division at the Library of Congress?

Ingenious weaving of what appears to be 2 plots running simultaneously…The Camel Club based in Washington, D.C. of 4 men (sometimes 5 dependent on what book you are reading in the series) uniquely qualified to keep tabs on America as “they study conspiracy theories, current events, and the machinations of government to discover the 'truth' behind the country's actions” and a daughter's revenge using tricks of a con man taught by her father that ultimately killed her mother.

I think I might be absolutely captivated by any novel that involved the show more Library of Congress but this one definitely found me turning pages sometimes as quickly as I could read and sometimes slowly as I didn't want to miss any of the details that David Baldacci's novels are known to add to heighten suspense and intrigue.

A wonderful addition to the Camel Club series that can be read as a stand-alone but will be intensified by knowing more of the history of The Camel Club from the first novel. show less

I was wondering how these two story lines...Annabelle and the big Atlantic City heist...and a dead librarian in the Library of Congress rare books section...was ever going to connect. I should never have questioned the "master storyteller"...David Baldacci. Come together they did...with a BANG!)...or was that a shot fired by Seagraves, the government assassin adding to his "collection"? Annabelle with her perfect...though maybe questionable, skills...was a fantastic asset to the Camel Club boys. It isn't a perfect book by any stretch...and some readers won't like the two different story lines or that the story of Annabelle will continue into the next book... but it is Baldacci...it's entertaining and ensures that we, the fans of this show more author will be picking up the next in the series. show less

Not a ton of depth to this and a really high body count before it was over, but the fact that Baldacci writes with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek and has given us a wonderful (if implausible) group of characters that is a joy to read adds an extra star for me. Suspend your disbelief and go along for the ride!

A Congressman is assassinated, then shortly thereafter an employee at the Library of Congress dies under mysterious circumstances. His friends start looking into the case and soon find themselves running for their own lives. At the same time, a woman is running a high-stakes con at a well-fortified casino. This is technically the second Camel Club book, but I didn’t once feel lost or confused having not read the first installment. My favorite parts all took place within the Library of Congress, as I’ve never visited any of its reading rooms or rare book collections (you don’t see many books on the regular tour). The suspense was pleasantly constant, the characters likable and distinct, and the ending satisfying while making way show more for the next book in the series. A nice piece of entertainment. show less

A group of older men with ties to various government and/or military agencies unite to solve a conspiracy that no one believes in until it's almost too late. This is what I call "beach reads for men" or "dude lit" (like, as opposed to "chick lit" get it?) This stuff is no more realistic than your average romance novel, but somehow gets treated with much, much more gravitas? Oh, well. The characters, especially the Camel Club themselves, were entertaining and the plot was suspenseful. A quick read even considering the relatively prolific amount of pages.