The Collectors (novel)

"The Collectors" is a thriller by David Baldacci. It was released in 2006 by Warner Books.

Plot

The Speaker of the House and the head of the rare books collection in Washington are both found dead. The Speaker has been killed by a sniper at a party while the head of the rare books collection dies under "unknown circumstances." Oliver Stone and the Camel Club get suspicious, although at first they go along with Stone only to indulge what they believe is his overactive conspiracy imagination. Stone and his cohorts discover that Seagraves had been selling American intelligence secrets to terrorists in the Middle East, compromising and severely hampering intelligence efforts in the region. However, when they are tailed and go to the Secret Service for help, only to find the agents turning tail and running when they are faced with their tail, the Camel Club gets very interested. Mr. Seagraves kidnaps and tortures Stone for information, even though it is Seagraves who has perpetrated the murders in the first place. Annabelle Conroy is introduced as a con artist, who after pulling off a 40 million dollar heist against an Atlantic City Casino owner, Jerry Bagger, is on the run for her life. Jerry will do anything in his power to find and kill Annabelle and her con team. Alex Ford from the previous novel reappers and in the climax Mr. Seagraves is killed by a knife thrown at point-blank range into his carotid artery by Stone, who happens to be an ex-CIA killer, just like Seagraves. Alex Ford and his agents take Seagrave's remaining collaborators into custody. One of Annebelle Conroy's collaborators in the heist is tortured for information by the angry casino owner, who finds out the general area in which she is living (Washington D.C.). The novel ends with a set up for "Stone Cold", the next novel of the Camel Club.