Thirteen - Stone Cold - David Baldacci

Oliver Stone, the leader of the mysterious group that calls itself the Camel Club, is both feared and respected by those who've crossed his path. Keeping a vigilant watch over our leaders in Washington, D.C., the Camel Club has won over some allies, but it has also earned formidable enemies - including those in power who will do anything to prevent Stone and his friends from uncovering the hidden, secret work of the government.

Annabelle Conroy, an honorary member of the Camel Club, is also the greatest con artist of her generation. She has swindled forty million dollars from casino king Jerry Bagger, the man who murdered her mother. Now he's hot on her trail with only one goal in mind: Annabelle's death. But as Stone and the Camel Club circle the wagons to protect Annabelle, a new opponent, who makes Bagger's menace pale by comparison, suddenly arises.

One by one, men from Stone's shadowy past are turning up dead. Behind this slaughter stands one man: Harry Finn. To almost all who know him, Finn is a doting father and loving husband who uses his skills behind the scenes to keep our nation safe. But the other face of Harry Finn is that of an unstoppable killer who inevitably sets his lethal bull's-eye on Oliver Stone. And with Finn, Stone may well have met his match.

Baldacci, David. Stone Cold. Grand Central Publishing (2007). 400 pages. ISBN 0446577391.
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I totally copped out on this blog post - but I thought I would let the snippet from the book jacket be what I used for the main post this time. I love how the U.S. Capital Visitor Center (which just opened this December) has a nice starring role in the book. This book has a way of referencing past Camel Club books - but in a way that you couldn't pick up this book if you hadn't read the other two.

I've been on a thriller kick lately and it's probably time to go back to historical fiction or just fiction in general. It was interesting reading two Baldacci books so close together like this. Of course the topics were different and it's hard to compare them. Both I had a hard time putting them down. Again - I read this book in probably 20 hours or so. I'm excited that Baldacci continues to write novels that feature the Camel Club. I'm ready to pick up the latest book Divine Justice to see how the Camel Club adapts after the outcome of this book (I don't want to give away anything).