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| Stone Cold | 
 enlarge | Author: David Baldacci
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $26.99
Buy Used: $0.09
You Save: $26.90 (100%)
New (87) Used (151) Collectible (17) from $0.09
Avg. Customer Rating:  137 reviews
Sales Rank: 4810
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6 x 1.7
ISBN: 0446577391
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780446577397
ASIN: 0446577391
Publication Date: November 6, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More.
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Product Description
The #1 bestselling author of The Collectors and Simple Genius returns with STONE COLD...an unforgetable novel of revenge, conspiracy, and murder that brings a band of unlikely heroes face-to-face with their greatest threat.
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.
As Annabelle and the Camel Club fight for their lives, the twists and turns whipsaw, leading to a finale that is as explosive as it is shattering. And when buried secrets are at last violently resurrected, the members of the Camel Club left standing will be changed forever.
With unrelenting pacing, stunning reversals, and two of the most compelling characters in modern fiction, STONE COLD is David Baldacci writing at his breathtaking best.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 132 more reviews...
 Fast-paced. Great story. October 26, 2007
154 out of 183 found this review helpful
Even though I do a lot of reading, fiction isn't really my thing. In fact, I usually only read a few works of fiction each year. So, when my daughter brought home an advance reading copy of STONE COLD by David Baldacci from the bookstore where she works, I didn't get too excited about it. She told me she had read one of his books before and thought it would be something I might like. The book sat idle on the desk in my library for a couple of weeks. Then one morning, before going to the office, I had a few extra minutes and decided to take a look at it.
If I lacked excitement about the book before, that lack of excitement was multiplied after reading the excruciating first sentence. It was a painful fifty-two words long and contained six commas. I looked at my watch then glanced again at the cover. "Okay Mr. Baldacci, you've got exactly twelve minutes to grab my attention."
Well, guess what. Mr. Baldacci did indeed grab my attention. The first sentence turned out a poor example of Baldacci's writing style. Over the next day and half, every spare minute was spent flipping the pages of this book. Even though this is apparently the third or forth book in a series, the character development was spectacular. The story is non-stop and will have you dying to know what happens next.
I hate it when reviewers give away too much storyline, so I'll limit what I tell you about the plot. Most books of this nature, I find, too much of a stretch to be believable. I only found minor instances of that here. Here's an example; as I said, Baldacci brilliantly constructs his characters. Here we have a ruthless casino owner, feared by all, known to be a dangerous man you never want to cross. Yet he employs a barmaid at the casino who is quite loose-lipped about her employer's dealings. Not likely. The reader is also asked to buy into assassinations of high ranking cold-war officials. But don't let these little trivialities stop you from enjoying a book that is non-stop action. These mistakes are few and far between and are easily overlooked. This is a book you will not want to put down.
Baldacci is a champion at creating the scene on that big screen TV in your mind. In fact, this book has all the makings of a blockbuster movie. You'll see what I mean as the story unfolds. Unfortunately, as is usually the case, some pedantic, self-absorbed producer will get their hands on it and ruin a perfectly good story.
I'm still not a big fiction reader. I just don't have time. But as someone who reads only a handful of fiction books each year, I'm glad this book was one of them.
The best yet in the Camel Club series! November 6, 2007
36 out of 36 found this review helpful
The eclectic crew of the Camel Club are back in action and better than ever! First, if you have not read the The Camel Club or The Collectors I highly recommend you do before starting this book. Especially read The Collectors as this is a continuation of a story line from that book. The Stone and the boys' skills are tested as they try to protect Annabella Conroy from the crazy casino owner Jerry Bagger, who Annabella has conned Millions from (see The Collectors). But Stone's attention is soon diverted when old deeds and causes come back to haunt him. Don't want to ruin the surprises but a new deadly Villain is waiting in the wings, and is killing Triple Six members one at a time, is Stone next on the list. This is a gripping, fully loaded thriller, with surprising twists that delivers on all cylinders! Best thriller read I have had this year!
 Who is Harry Finn? February 12, 2008
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
This is the third of David Baldacci's books to feature the Camel Club. The books are best read in order because each book builds on earlier events and further develops characters already introduced.
This time around, the Camel Club (Oliver Stone, Milton Farb, Reuben Rhodes and Caleb Shaw) are fighting on two fronts. Casino king Jerry Bagger is hunting Annabelle Conroy, an honorary member of the Club, who conned him out of millions. At the same time, Stone himself is under direct threat. Ghosts from Stone's mysterious past seem to be surfacing, and some significant people are being murdered. We know early on who is doing the murdering, but understanding why (and who will be next) adds a whole dimension to the story.
There's plenty of action in this novel with some interesting twists and turns. I think this is the best of Mr Baldacci's novels I have read so far, and I'll certainly be looking forward to the next.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Third in Camel Club series solves some mysteries while creating others! December 18, 2007
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
Oliver Stone alone of the Camel Club group of Milton, Caleb and Reuben plus sometime member, Alex Ford, knows that Susan is really Annabelle Conroy. She is an amazing con artist having picked up her initial talents from her dad, Paddy Conroy. Her dad conned an Atlantic City casino boss out of $10,000 and for that Annabelle's mother was killed by the casino boss, Jerry Bagger. Annabelle in revenge cons Bagger out of $40 million and so in the first of several plot lines, Jerry is after her and her team.
In another plot line, two former CIA operatives who are now retired and living deep undercover have been killed. Who is responsible and how is he/she finding them?
A third plot line involves Harry Finn who has a security company that does jobs for Homeland Security testing the security in airports, Federal buildings and so on. Finn has a wife and kids. Finn is living a double life and trying to keep Finn the family man separate from his other self is becoming more and more difficult.
Without giving any more away, I enjoyed how some of the plots intersect, some of the mysteries are solved and a couple new mysteries thrown in. As always a first rate job by Baldacci at keeping it real.
Highly recommended.
"Spy on everybody because you never know when a friend might turn into an enemy." November 7, 2007
14 out of 41 found this review helpful
Peopled with ex-CIA hit men, random assassins and corrupt highly placed government officials, Stone Cold is a tale of mayhem and murder that reaches across time to Cold War American deeds performed in service to country. From the outside, everything runs smoothly, Homeland Security at work in Washington, DC, protecting the seat of power and those who do the people's business. Random corruption is to be expected in an era of corporate domination and fear of the unknown, the wheels of power greased with special interests and a few men's hubris. The Camel Club- a tightly knit group of men who know well the ways of surveillance- meets regularly under the leadership of Oliver Stone, all monitoring the powerful as they conduct the secret work of government.
A former member of the Triple Sixes, a covert killing team for the CIA who carried out missions too delicate to become common knowledge, Stone is conversant with the ways of Washington politics and the behind-the-scenes machinations of Carter Gray, the former Chief of Intelligence who still wields considerable power and enjoys the perks of privilege. Stone is close friends with Annabelle Conroy, a young woman with considerable skills, an accomplished con artist and honorable member of the Camel Club. Currently pursued by a very angry casino owner, Jerry Bagger, who she has just swindled out of a fortune, Annabelle requests Stone's assistance. Oliver is happy to oblige.
Unfortunately, things quickly get very complicated by a series of assassinations that point to missions from Stone's past that endanger Annabelle and the rest of the Camel Club. Baldacci adds one more twist to amp up the action- a virtual killing machine, Harry Finn, who makes his living testing security for the DHS and has a private vendetta of his own. Suddenly, Annabelle is without the backup she counted on, meeting her own past face-to-face, Oliver more hindrance than help. The best interests of his friends at heart, Stone goes directly to the source, a powerful man who once signed his orders before a demoralized Oliver opted out of the system.
Layer upon layer, secret upon secret, Baldacci's characters come together in a dramatic confrontation that leaves few standing. Wrapped in obfuscation and clever lies, history resurfaces, acts that must be kept from the public no matter how many people die in the cover-up. Conscienceless villains, assassination teams, killers, crooks and patriotic ex-soldiers are tossed about in a violent stew, Jerry Bagger convinced he has finally captured his prize and Carter Gray squeezing the trigger, annihilating reputations, his victims turning from hero to traitor with a few well-chosen words. Somehow, Baldacci makes it all work, a few asides along the way- pointed sarcasm directed toward Beltway politics and the nature of politicians. In a town of facades and the parading of images, the few tackle the corrupt power broker and would-be-president, determined to return the government to the people. Luan Gaines/ 2007.
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