Wednesday, January 28, 2009

"Divine Justice" by David Baldacci


David Baldacci's "Divine Justice," continues the adventures of The Camel Club, a group of everyday people, established to monitor the activities of powerful agents of the U.S. Govt.
This novel has all the adventure and action of TV's "24."
John Carr, as his alias "Oliver Stone" kills the two govt. officials who have destroyed his life. One who authorized the hit on Carr's family when Carr told his bosses that he wanted to retire from his activities as the Govt's #1 assassin, the other who ordered the take out of Carr's undercover unit.
After killing the two officials, Carr leaves on a train, to lay low in New Orleans. Along the way, he helps a young man being attacked by three men on the train. Rather than give his ID to the train conductor, after the fight, Carr and his new friend are put off of the train at the next station.
They travel to the man, Danny Riker's hometown, Devine, Va. A coal mining town where Carr finds a situation reminiscent of the adventures of Lee Child's Jack Reacher. There are a number of unexplained deaths, coal miners with addiction to meth and an unusual degree of wealth throughout the town.
One day, Stone saves another young man named Willie who has overdosed and has stopped breathing. With no doctor nearby he hooks up wires to battery cables and the man's chest and shocks the man back to life.
Leading the search for Stone is Agent Joe Knox. He's a hard driving investigator and Viet Nam vet like Stone. He's been hired by fromer general, Macklin Hayes, to find Stone so Hayes' people can take care of Stone so that he never goes to trial.
Joe Knox is an honorable man and in the investigation he finds the members of The Camel Club who are so devoted to Stone that Knox begins to feel an empathy for the man and feels that their rolls could have been reversed.
Like Jack Reacher, Oliver Stone stands out as the only man in town who has the honor and determination to see what is right and do whatever it takes to correct a wrong.
Unlike Reacher, Stone has The Camel Club and associate members who want to help.
The characters are well drawn and likable. Baldacci's narrative is infectious and it's hard to put this exciting novel down.
Highly Recommended. Can't wait to see this series made into Movies.

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