In The Camel Club, we met this eclectic group of four misfits who meet weekly to discuss political conspiracies. Formerly a distinguished soldier passed over for the Congressional Medal of Honor by General Macklin Hayer, Oliver Stone is now working as a cemetery caretaker in Washington, DC. Caleb Shaw, former Vietnam protestor, now works in the Library of Congress. Reuben Rhodes is a decorated Vietnam hero who worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency. Milton Farb is the super-smart member of the group with obsessive-compulsive disorder. These four thwart a plot to kill President James Brennan in his Pennsylvania hometown.  

In The Collectors, we met Annabelle Conroy, a con-artist trying to scam the villainous owner of an Atlantic City casino who murdered her mother. Annabelle meets the Camel Club members while attending the funeral of the library curator and becomes an honorary member of the club as she and Secret Service agent Alex Ford help Stone et al solve the mystery du jour.  

In Stone Cold, members of the elite assassin group 666 are being murdered and Oliver Stone, Simpson, and Grey are the only members left alive. Simpson and Grey want Stone eliminated but kill Caleb Shaw instead which prompts Stone's retribution at the start of Divine Justice.    Divine Justice picks up the story. After the murders, Oliver hops a train to New Orleans but is sidetracked when he rescues Danny Riker from three ruffians. They are both thrown off the train and Stone travels with Danny to his hometown of Divine, Virginia. 

It seems there have been several unsolved murders in Divine whose economy is based upon coal mines and a maximum security prison. Stone befriends Danny’s mother Abigail who received a large settlement after her husband died in a mining accident and saves the life of Danny's best friend whose father was killed in a mysterious hunting accident.  

Meanwhile, General Macklin sends a special investigator, Joe Knox, to find Stone. Macklin still holds a grudge against Stone for purportedly holding up his commission many years before. Macklin wants Stone eliminated. Simultaneously, his friends in The Camel Club set out to help and all of them meet for what is an interesting finale at maximum security Dead Rock Prison.   

Divine Justice is reminiscent of Nothing to Lose by Lee Child. Jack Reacher is in the middle of nowhere Colorado while Oliver Stone is in the middle of nowhere Divine, Virginia. Both are both former military heroes who use their former superior skills to bring truth and justice to the unfortunate townspeople.

Yes, these books should probably be read in order to completely understand the plot and the characters. Divine Justice is not Baldacci's best and not nearly as good as The Whole Truth which had more of an international setting, more twists and turns, and included the concept of perception managment and how it influences current events.  

If, however, you have read the prior installments, you will be most interested to see what happens to Stone and the surviving members of The Camel Club. But it is Baldacci so it's guaranteed entertaining and a good choice for a quick airplane read.

--Jerry Solot