Divine Justice

September 22, 2008
Near the start of bestseller Baldacci's less than compelling fourth Camel Club thriller (after Stone Cold
), former CIA assassin Oliver Stone (aka John Carr) boards a New Orleans–bound train at Washington's Union Station after shooting to death “a well-known U.S. senator and the nation's intelligence chief,” the two men responsible for his wife's murder. Ever the Good Samaritan, Stone intervenes in a fight on the train, but when the Amtrak conductor asks to see his ID, he gets off at the next station, knowing his fake ID won't withstand scrutiny. So much for Stone's vaunted ability as a resourceful planner. This sudden detour takes Stone to Divine, Va., a mining town where he becomes enmeshed in corruption and intrigue—and falls, in just one of several clichéd situations, for an attractive if beleaguered widow. Series fans should be satisfied, but this effort lacks the imagination that distinguished Baldacci's debut, Absolute Power
(1996).

In this well-crafted and perfectly executed thriller, Ron McLarty captures the soul of a patriot and the cold competence of a killer. He portrays "Oliver Stone," aka John Carr, the deadliest assassin to ever work for the U.S. Stone is on the run. Seeking anonymity in the tiny coal town of Divine, Virginia, he's torn between trying to blend in and championing those who help him, risking everything to uncover the town's dangerous and dirty secrets. McLarty's perfect dramatizations of those aiding or threatening Stone make this a superior listen. Even the music between chapters, which foreshadows or punctuates the action, adds to the audio experience. A.C.P. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine