AudioMysteries.Net

Title: Stone Cold
Author: David Baldacci
Reader: Ron McLarty
Audiobook: 2007
Unabridged
Length: 10.5 hours

Ears: 4

Buy or rent for less at iAudioBookStore.com

Baldacci’s popular characters known as the Camel Club make their third appearance in this continuation of the action/thriller series. Stone Cold picks up shortly after the end of The Collectors. That’s both good and bad. For readers new to the series, you will miss out on some of the enjoyment of how this story resolves itself so I would suggest starting at the beginning with The Camel Clubto get familiar with the characters.

Oliver Stone is the “leader” of the group living in Washington, D.C. that calls itself the Camel Club: four very unusual men who have a passion for finding the truth about the activities of the federal government. Stone has a past as a triple “6” agent for the CIA. Think of the double “0” agents of the James Bond stories, a license to kill, etc, but updated to our more violent and contemporary times. While we have had glimpses of his past in the previous books, we learn much more about him now.

And his past is about to catch up with him in a big way because someone seems to be killing off other triple “6” agents. Stone and the others must find out who and why quickly. The answers lead to a past operation involving the assassination of a traitor and to the ex-head of the intelligence services that is out to get Stone.

As is the case with many of current crop of thrillers, there is a second plot-line to hold your interest. The previous book had a very strong story line involving Annabelle Conroy, a con artist who steals 40 million dollars from a casino owner. That story, left in the middle in the previous book, continues. How she got hooked up with Stone and crew is explained in The Collectors.

This time both plots come to an end, and that is my problem with Baldacci in this series. He doesn’t seem to know how to finish up a plot with a satisfactory conclusion. In both storylines I was let down by the ending. In one case the author tries for some emotional impact which is only partially successful and in the other we have a big action sequence with a rather improbable conclusion that left me wanting more. I’m also not a fan of the deliberately vague final scene that allows for more later, as in another book.

However, this is a very entertaining action book. The author has created likeable and interesting characters that certainly hold your attention. You continue to root for them in even the most improbable of circumstances. Ron McLarty reads with assurance giving the main characters real depth and emotion. I have a feeling there will be another in the series and I’m curious to see where Baldacci takes us.

Reviewd on 1/19/2008 by Robert W. Karp