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My initial reaction to "Wearing the Spider" by Susan Schaab is, "Wow." It's a wicked web we weave and this book will leave readers with the feeling of needing to brush off a few spiders.

This legal thriller is also a work of suspense and romance, offering a bit of something for everyone. Evie Sullivan is a hopeful lawyer up for partnership at her law firm. She works diligently and passionately, often staying in the office well into the night to get things done. What she doesn't know, could certainly hurt her. Overhearing part of a conversation in the conference room late one night sets Evie on edge and has her looking twice at things she'd brushed off as simple errors... things like her name appearing on work she hadn't done, strange hotel receipts in her name in her expense reports from places she'd never been, emails from clients she had no known contact with. Someone seemed to be trying to make her look bad in the eyes of legitimate clients and the partners. Could it all have something to do with a forced kiss she'd fended off months ago? Was someone trying to exact some sort of revenge? Or was this all just part of something even bigger than a suffering ego? The plot thickens to reveal the inclusion of a US Senator, a commission worth $25 million, and the murder of a woman set on giving Evie some important information. Time will tell if the spider is spotted before it is too late, through it all though, readers will feel the creepy crawly sensation of Evie dealing with something quite evil.

A nice counter to the sleazy feelings elicited by certain characters are the amorous moments Evie has with a man she meets on an airplane. Drawn together, by chance or by fate, the two have a connection. He wishes to be her knight in shining armor and she needs to feel his support and good intentions. He convinces her to take action and takes part in bringing the FBI into the mix.

Susan Schaab offers a high-tech thriller that cracks open the inner workings of a large law firm and leaves one wondering just how often sexual harassment and hostile work environments are tolerated in the corporate world. Her plot is complex and compelling, inspiring the continued turning of pages well into the night. Her characters are rich with human flaws and positive attributes that draw the reader into their world. If you've ever been manipulated by anyone, you surely will be rooting for Evie, and booing her adversary. The feel of the book is fast paced, well planned, and most interesting. I highly recommend "Wearing the Spider."

Wearing the Spider

By Susan Schaab

ISBN: 1-934291-05-6

Publication Date: June 2007

http://www.galavantpress.com

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I have been a fan of David Baldacci, since I read The Winner back in 1997. I so enjoyed his style of writing, I have read all his books to date and eagerly await his new books. The Camel Club is no exception to the rule. Another page-turner thriller.

Cast of Characters:

Members of the Camel Club

Oliver Stone - who camps outside the Whitehouse to protest the government and lives at a church where he tends to the commentary is the lead conspiracy theorist

Caleb Shaw - who loves to dress in period costume and works at the Library of Congress in the rare books department

Reuben Rhodes - ex government employee, turned to loading dock worker, drug burnout

Milton Farb - who suffers from OCD, has a perfect memory, mathematical prodigy and owns a website building business and won lots of money on Jeopardy

Other Characters:

Alex Ford - secret service agent who is a bit unclear where his loyalties lie, near retirement

Carter Grey - intelligence chief

Plot:  When the Camel Club gathers for a clandestine meeting to discuss the latest conspiracy theories they stumble upon a crime. The four witness the murder of an intelligence analyst and barely escape with their own lives intact.

The morning paper reveals the death as an a suicide, which the Camel Club knows to be false. When they begin to investigate they become targets of the same killers.

Meanwhile,  Alex Ford disagrees with the official verdict and is reassigned to Presidential protection detail.

Unbeknownst to Alex, a terrorist cell is waiting to kill the president in his hometown. Meanwhile the Camel Club is trying to find out the truth about the killing, while trying to stay alive.

There are several plots going on at the same time and the story can sometimes be a bit confusing, but there are lots of surprises including the attempted assassination of the president (what a twist) and the reason behind the murder.

This is a typically fantastic read for anyone who loves intrigue, spy technology, terrorists and conspiracies. You will be hard pressed to see how this turns out - as usual David Baldacci gives you a surprise ending. Loved this book! 688 pages of pure intrigue! 9 out of 10.

Only negative was the book was a bit long.

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In Elements of Style, E.B. White writes: "A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary part." If you agree with the premise of the early 20th century Ivy League scholar, you're at the gates of editor heaven.

The Elements of Style handbook by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White keeps me honest if not erudite. William Strunk was White's English professor at Cornel University long before anyone reading this was born. White went on to author Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little and numerous essays. Even though the older Strunk created the famous little book, it was White who first updated and published it. Revised many times since, the book lives on inside the pockets and on the desks of seasoned writers and journalists who want to write better.

Life, love and the pursuit of writing are all about style and passion. Zadie Smith, (White Teeth, On Beauty) is one of today's brightest best selling authors. She says she owes her recent success to 19th century novelist, E.M. Forster (Howard's End, Wings of The Dove). Here's what Zadie says about Forster's influence. "He gave me a classy old frame, which I covered with new material as best I could."

Style and passion never go out of fashion. I try not to be in love with my own words, or use fancy phraseology. Windiness is boring. It may stroke the ego, but it sure tires the reader. Unless, like Zadie Smith, you have an excellent ear for dialect, it too becomes an annoying hindrance. The latest buzzwords (dude, hottie) make for great commercial copy. But in literature they soon become yesterday's newspaper. I haven't finished reading all of Charles Dickens, but I've yet to find a line, a phrase that doesn't ring true today.

Theoretically, a split infinitive is when one or more words separate the verb and to (to boldly go). Does anyone know where the person who wrote that copy line went? At this moment, he and the late Gene Roddenberry, creator of Captain Kirk, are probably lounging by the pool of their own private solar system, counting their lucky stars. But let's not confuse good commercial copy with literature.

A word about dialog. Here are two people talking, from David Baldacci's Best Seller, The Camel Club.

"I say you crazy," she responded testily.

"Perhaps you're right and I thank you for your concern," he said politely.

One of the most influential writers of the 20th century, Ernest Hemingway probably would have said it this way:

"I say you crazy."

"Perhaps, and I thank you for your concern."

Of course, in the context of the story we have to know who said what. Sometimes the writer must include the he-said-she said. But why clutter the action with unnecessary modifiers when the words speak for themselves?

Coming Next: The writing world has entered the Web's information highway with reckless abandon. But watch out for back roads that lead to bastardizing the English language, and dead-ends where students confuse Jabberwocky with gibberish. My next article On Writing will include how lazy writing for the Web can spill over to the work place, and how to avoid unscrupulous agents that scam unsuspecting writers. They're out there in profusion.

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