Bullseye: Will Robie/Camel Club Crossover Short Story – David Baldacci

Bullseye David Baldacci
Bullseye by David Baldacci
Also by this author: Daylight, Mercy, Dream Town
Series: Will Robie #2.5, Camel Club #6.5
Published by Grand Central on February 2014
Genres: Fiction, Short Form, Suspense, Thriller
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four-stars

In this all-new short story from #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci, worlds collide when government assassin Will Robie is caught in the crossfire with Oliver Stone and the Camel Club.

Will Robie is closing in on his next target when he finds himself in the middle of a bank heist--and he's taken hostage alongside Oliver Stone. But is this just a simple bank job, or are the robbers after something even more valuable--and dangerous--than the cash in the vault?

There was a time in the early 2010s that well-known authors and publishers were flirting with the concept of ebook-only short stories/novellas that either brought additional flavor to well-known characters, added depth to well-known stories, or otherwise gave readers a bit of a literary hit while waiting on the once or twice a year big release. Bullseye, a short story crossover featuring both the Will Robie and Camel Club worlds, was one of two David Baldacci forays into this world.

I’m not sure exactly why publishers moved away from this or didn’t think it worthwhile. At $2.99, the price is a bit steep for a 66-page book. A $0.99 price point is probably more appropriate. If I wasn’t attempting to complete a collection, I wouldn’t have bothered with this one.

The story itself is fairly benign. Oliver Stone finds himself in the middle of trouble. His only goal that day had been to cash his paycheck. Instead he finds himself a hostage in a bank robbery—or at least what seems to be a bank robbery. But Oliver notices that there’s at least one other person who seems trained for these situations. Robie denies working for the Feds, Oliver doesn’t believe him, and those of us with the knowledge of Robie’s previous exploits obviously don’t believe him. Robie’s there to foil a terrorist plot, for which this robbery is only a distraction.

Robie and Stone work together on the side, alongside help from the Camel Club on the outside to determine why the bank had been targeted and save the day. It’s a tightly-written narrative that is signature Baldacci from the social messaging to the over-the-top action. Wanna read a Baldacci novel but do it in under an hour? Here you go.

Bullseye was probably also Baldacci sending out feelers for his eventual crossover between Robie and Amos Decker in Walk the Line. It’s a fun Easter egg type story, the type best leveraged for promotional rather than financial gain.

four-stars