Review: Camino Island

 

 

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A gang of thieves stage a daring heist from a vault deep below Princeton University’s Firestone Library. Their loot is priceless, impossible to resist.

Bruce Cable owns a popular bookstore in the sleepy resort town of Santa Rosa on Camino Island in Florida. He makes his real money, though, as a prominent dealer in rare books. Very few people know that he occasionally dabbles in unsavory ventures.

Mercer Mann is a young novelist with a severe case of writer’s block who has recently been laid off from her teaching position. She is approached by an elegant, mysterious woman working for an even more mysterious company. A generous monetary offer convinces Mercer to go undercover and infiltrate Cable’s circle of literary friends, to get close to the ringleader, to discover his secrets.

But soon Mercer learns far too much, and there’s trouble in paradise—as only John Grisham can deliver it.

Genre: suspense

Publication date: June 2017

Mature content: yes, but nothing overly graphical

Review: It's been a long time since I've read a John Grisham novel, and this one isn't exactly new either. I can't really say there's a lot of suspense, but the plot is interesting and even when you may not agree very much with the direction of the story, you are compelled to keep reading to find out what happens next.

 

I didn't care very much for Mercer as the main character, though. She comes across as a bit lazy and the way she approaches the writing of her books did not make believe in any way in the quality of her previous work - no matter how much time it is praised along the pages. I also didn't like the way she gets involved with Bruce, even if he says he has an open marriage. 

The other think that irked me was that while the initial group that stole the manuscripts did get their punishment, all others that actually profited from their actions did not - while I may even admire the clever way they managed it, it still feels like a wrong message to pass.

There's a sequel to Camino Island (Camino Winds, published in 2020) which I haven't read yet. If I do, I'll be sure to post a review here as well.

Happy readings otherwise!

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