David Baldacci has been writing the successful Camel Club series of books since the eponymous first novel in 2005. In the five years following that brilliant opener to the series, fans were treated to four more great novels about a group of four dysfunctional men who get together and investigate political conspiracy theories: The Collectors (2006), Stone Cold (2007), Divine Justice (2008), and Hell’s Corner (2010). If you’re a fan of the Camel Club and want to know what how to take on the rest of the series, check out our guide on how to read David Baldacci’s Camel Club books in order.
Who are the Camel Club?
There are four members of the Camel Club who are introduced to us in the first book. Their leader is the shady seeming, secretive Oliver Stone. Milton Farb is a computer genius with an obsessive streak that would put most detectives to shame. Reuben Rhodes might be working class, but he’s a lot smarter than most men despite a lack of formal education. And the fourth member of the quartet is a reference specialist at the Library of Congress known as Caleb Shaw, whose specialized knowledge is always a big help.
Together, they all try to uncover the truth about various political conspiracies in their hometown of Washington D.C, helped by a strange mix of friends, including a Secret Service agent, a con-artist, and a political activist.
How to read David Baldacci’s Camel Club books in order
The books should be read in the chronicalogical order in which they were relesead: The Camel Club (2005), The Collectors (2006), Stone Cold (2007), Divine Justice (2008), and Hell’s Corner (2010).
The Camel Club
The four members of the Camel Club like to get together to study conspiracy theories, current events, and the government itself in an attempt to find out the real truth behind America and the way it acts. For a while this is just an intellectual exercise, until the quartet witness a terrifying and shocking killing, and are quickly dumped into a wide-reaching conspiracy of their own. The join up with a Secret Service agent and attempt to stop what they soon realize could be the start of an epic, deadly war that might signal the end of humanity. Before they know it, they’re all that stands between survival and disaster.
The Collectors
Despite their brush with death, the Camel Club have decided that they aren’t done with discovering the truth about what’s going on in America’s halls of power. So, when the U.S Speaker of the House is assassinated, the four believe that they can get to the bottom of it. Soon, they discover the newsworthy murder is linked to a much less publicized killing, that of the director of the Library of Congress’s rare books room.
Working tucked away in a famous cemetery, group leader Oliver Stone eventually discovers that someone is selling classified state secrets, and getting very rich off it too. He joins up with famous con artist Annabelle Controy, and between her and his friends, sets off to unravel the mystery and save his country.
Stone Cold
The Camel Club has now got a bit of a reputation in D.C, but their solving of various high profile cases hasn’t just earned them fans. There are plenty of powerful folk who would be happy to see the club vanquished, alongside it all the work they do to keep the government on its toes and as honest as possible. However, thanks to their newfound association with con artist Annabelle Conroy, the Camel Club has also become a target for those she’s wronged. It starts off with a famous casino mogul, but soon things take a nastier turn, and group leader Oliver Stone realizes his might just be the next body to be found.
Divine Justice
Oliver Stone has finally been revealed to be a covert agent named John Carr, and he has a problem: he simply knows more than many powerful people would like him to. Thankfully, his friends in the Camel Club aren’t just hoping to see him stay alive, but are actively doing everything in their power to keep him safe. With Stone/Carr on the run, he soon finds that even with all that help, trouble still follows him. Even in the seemingly boring small town of Divine, Virginia, where he accidentally winds up after fleeing from D.C.
Hell’s Corner
Oliver Stone, aka John Carr, is back in his country’s good graces. So much so, the president has asked him to do one more thing for his country: take on a high risk mission that he doesn’t want. Soon, he’s wrapped up in an international conspiracy and the attempted assassination of the British Prime Minister, partnering with MI-6 agent Mary Chapman in an attempt to discover what really happened. As the details get murkier, Stone realizes he needs his old friends at the Camel Club to unwind this mystery.