Four eccentric society dropouts are determined to solve a murder, but find themselves enmeshed in a political plot that may change the world as we know it.
When I visit the library, I usually check the ‘new’ section just in case there’s a title that jumps out at me. I thought ‘new’ meant new releases, especially since it’s generally compiled of autobiographies and self-help stuff; but I found out last time that it simply means ‘new to the library’. Live and learn. At any rate a title did jump out, and upon learning that The Camel Club written by the “Number 1 New York times Best-selling Author” I gave it a whirl.
The Camel Club consists of four eccentric friends in Washington, D.C., each of whom exists, for different reasons, on the outskirts of society. The leader was once a CIA operative thought to be dead, assassinated by the government that also trained and used him. Using the alias Oliver Stone – an inside joke very few understand – he and his buddies formed the Camel Club to study their government at work, searching for truth and ways to hold their leaders accountable to the American people. Their lofty quest slams them head-first into a murder mystery, which uncovers an inside plot that threatens not only the nation, but the entire world. Never in Stone’s wildest dreams could he have made this stuff up, and they are the unlikeliest heroes this country will ever see.
Author David Baldacci boasts 22 books to date, four of them in the Camel Club series. He is a master marketer and his books evidently do pretty well. I have found out a couple of things though. A book written by a best-selling author should not necessarily be a bestselling book. That’s where marketing genius applies. Also, editors of best-selling authors do not always do their clients any favors. Finally, David Baldacci does not read the final production of a story – at least, not this one. If he had he would have flipped, especially after writing a touching little tribute to his ‘wonderful editor and friend, Larry Kirshbaum’ in the front. There are so many grammatical errors, dropped words, and partially repeated sentences in the first five chapters that you really have to struggle to keep going. I’m not an English major or a snob, but such sloppy editing makes a book hard to read even for easy-going folks. An English major, sadly, would throw this book in the trash long before discovering that the story was actually worth fighting to find.
Although the plot is routine, the path there is pretty unique. For instance: who in their right minds would deliver a coup upon the President of the United States and all his attending secret service personnel using tranquilizer guns instead of bullets – and why? Most kidnappers have ransom demands. Who delivers their demands and announces they will release the kidnappee unharmed before expecting the demands to be fulfilled? This book is filled with surprises. The biggest surprise is that at the end of the day, it actually makes sense. You come away looking at your world just a little differently. Whenever a book accomplishes that, it was well worth the read.
If you take the time to peruse The Camel Club, be ready to struggle a bit in the beginning; but stick with it to enjoy the ride. When my headache goes away I’ll probably look for some more of Baldacci’s work.
