The Collectors by David Baldacci

Title: The Collectors  

Series: Camel Club #2

Author: David Baldacci 

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

In Washington, D.C, where power is everything and too few have too much of it, four highly eccentric men with mysterious pasts call themselves the Camel Club. Their mission: find out what's really going on behind the closed doors of America's leaders.

The assassination of the U.S. Speaker of the House has shaken the nation. And the outrageous iconoclasts of the Camel Club have found a chilling connection with another death: the demise of the director of the Library of Congress's rare books room, whose body has been found in a locked vault where seemingly nothing could have harmed him. 

A man who calls himself Oliver Stone is the groups unofficial leader. Staying one step ahead of his violent past and headquartered in a caretaker's cottage in Mt. Zion Cemetery, Stone, drawing on his vast experience and acute deductive powers, discovers that someone is selling America to its enemies one classified secret at a time. When Annabelle Conroy, the greatest con artist of her generation, struts onto the scene in high-heeled boots, the Camel Club gets a sexy new edge. And they'll need it, because the two murders are hurtling them into a world of high-stakes espionage that threatens to bring America to its knees.

From an ingenious con in Atlantic City tho the possible forgery of one of the rarest and most valuable books in America history, to a showdown of epic proportions in the very heart of the capitol, David Baldacci weaves a brilliant, white-knuckle tale of suspense in which every collector is searching for one missing prize: the one to die for... 

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The whole first half of The Collectors, I was thinking how are these two storylines going to connect? I was loving both of them on their own but wasn't sure where David Baldacci was going with it. When it finally happened I was like, wow I didn't see that coming. 

The book begins with the murder of the Speaker of the House and then Caleb Shaw's boss, Jonathan DeHaven is also found dead in the Library of Congress's Rare Books room. When Caleb sees his boss's body, Caleb passes out. His three friends, Oliver Stone, Ruben Rhodes, and Milton Farb will go in search of the connection between these two very different set of deaths. 

While the Camel Club is going in one direction, another plot emerges. We're introduced to sexy, smart, independent con artist, Annabelle Conroy who is recruiting a group of men for a con involving an Atlantic City casino owner by the name of Jerry Bagget. Jerry is well known for his lack of compassion and if it is up to him, anyone messing with his casino will pay with their own lives.

When the two stories collided,  I couldn't put the book down. Annabelle was a fantastic asset to the story- and to the Camel Club. I loved her. She created mystery, humor, intrigue, and suspense in every page she appeared. I wasn't a fan of the first book but with the addition of Annabelle and I'm all in. Good job Mr. Baldacci for launching this unforgettable character!

Even though one of the plot lines closes by the end of The Collectors, another one is left wide open, making it impossible for me not to grab the next one in this series.

Cliffhanger: Yes

4/5 Fangs

Memory Man by David Baldacci

Title: Memory Man 
Series: Amos Decker #1
Author: David Baldacci
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Release Date: April 21,  2015

Amos Decker's life changed forever--twice.

The first time was on the gridiron. A big, towering athlete, he was the only person from his hometown of Burlington ever to go pro. But his career ended before it had a chance to begin. On his very first play, a violent helmet-to-helmet collision knocked him off the field for good, and left him with an improbable side effect--he can never forget anything.

The second time was at home nearly two decades later. Now a police detective, Decker returned from a stakeout one evening and entered a nightmare--his wife, young daughter, and brother-in-law had been murdered.

His family destroyed, their killer's identity as mysterious as the motive behind the crime, and unable to forget a single detail from that horrible night, Decker finds his world collapsing around him. He leaves the police force, loses his home, and winds up on the street, taking piecemeal jobs as a private investigator when he can.

But over a year later, a man turns himself in to the police and confesses to the murders. At the same time a horrific event nearly brings Burlington to its knees, and Decker is called back in to help with this investigation. Decker also seizes his chance to learn what really happened to his family that night. To uncover the stunning truth, he must use his remarkable gifts and confront the burdens that go along with them. He must endure the memories he would much rather forget. And he may have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Memory Man will stay with you long after the turn of the final page.

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Memory Man is my first book by David Baldacci.

Memory Man had a great premise. A man who can't forget anything and now has to capture a very deadly man before he kills again.

Amos Decker's life has been changed twice. The first big change in his life happened during his first game as a pro football player. He was hit hard enough that he died and was brought back a few times. His head injury caused him to develop hyperthymesia and synesthesia. He has become an acquired savant. He can't forget anything. After recuperating in a hospital, doing rehab and attending a center with people like him, he decides to become a cop, then a detective. 

The second time his life was forever changed was when he found his wife, daughter and brother in law all murdered in his home. This event, which he can't forget, messed him up so bad that he left his job. When the book begins he's living almost as a homeless and his only source of income is P.I. jobs he takes which are few and far in between. He also has let his appearance go. Long gone is the football player body. Left instead is an unkept overweight blob.

Everything changes when his ex-partner Mary Lancaster comes to tell him that a man by the name of Sebastian Leopold has confessed to killing his family. Amos knows he has to confront this man to see if he's telling the truth. At the same time, when Amos is on the way to the precinct, a massacre is occurring at the local high school in Burlington. His ex-boss asks Amos for help with the investigation. When clues start connecting the murder of his family to the massacre at the high school Amos will need all his abilities to find the murderer who seems to be one step ahead of him always. 

Like I said earlier, pretty good premise. However, I did have some issues with the storyline. I couldn't believe someone who had a perfect memory couldn't figure out why the killer wanted to hurt him so bad. I also couldn't believe the killer waited so long to start his plan against Amos. It bugged me that the secondary characters were portrayed so mediocrely. Neither women were smart enough nor was the FBI. Also, when the culprit was revealed, I didn't buy his reasons.

Regardless of my issues with the story, the writing was good and I do want to continue getting to know Amos better. I already downloaded the next one. 

Cliffhanger: No

3/5 Fangs