Camino Island

Somebody whose opinion I trusted recommended this to me as a brillant thriller. Next time I meet him we’re going to have an interesting conversation. This has to be one of the worst books I’ve ever read. It’s unbelievable on every level, from the wooden characters to the stilted dialogue, though the most unbelievable part for me is that I actually finished it. That’s a whole afternoon and a large part of the following morning that I knowingly and wilfully wasted, and at this stage life is just too short for that. The only consolation is that I now know never to read another book by Grisham, despite all the blurbs proclaiming him to be one of the best thriller writers in the world. I guess it’s a case of same planet, different show more worlds. show less

I am so glad Grisham is back with a good novel! (At least 3 of his latest books were rather lackluster). The subject matter here is more to my liking too: a mystery of stolen original manuscripts of F.Scott Fitzerald's novels from a university library and all the legal aspects of chasing after them and unconventional methods of recovering them, as well as a general "book lovers and writers" background. Well done. As always, with Grisham, we don't talk about "developed" characters and so on - he spends little time on that, but his description of action is always admirable - precise and to the point and with good twists and turns of the plot. I didn't care for the last two-three pages, though - the epilogue was redundant.

I picked this up because it was the next audiobook on the shelf that looked interesting. I didn't realize it was part of a series until I came to review it.

I liked learning a bit more about bookstores, rare books and manuscripts, and authors/writing (though I know that will not be everyone's cup of tea). I can sympathize with Mercer's writer's block. I often feel like I had hundreds of stories to tell before I joined a writer's group and once I did, couldn't get any of them to come out on paper.

I was disappointed in Mercer deciding to sleep with Bruce, especially as she considers him married to Noelle (whether they are or not is a plot point in the book). She made such a big deal out of it when Elaine approached her about it, it seemed show more odd that she'd have such a turn-around.

I figured the manuscripts would disappear. show less

I never use my reviews to rehash the plotline - it's covered in the synopsis and most every other review - instead I prefer to share my idea of the book's strengths & weaknesses.

I used to love John Grisham books. Then I didn't. I read several in a row that felt like lightweight movie script outlines - he was just phoning it in. Then I decided to give him another try & read this book.

I REALLY liked this book. Spare in writing style, almost staccato in the beginning - the facts, just the facts, ma'am. Then, as the plot developed, the dialog interactions felt real and interesting. The main characters were interesting but not overly developed - no dramatic "inner thoughts and angst" fluff, just a straightforward story. The story just show more barrels along with no breaks in the action and a satisfying conclusion.

Recommended show less

I found John Grisham to be a great guide with his imagination, story telling, and writing style. Camino Island had a style that was direct, clear, informative and filled with characters that drove the narrative forward effortlessly. The power of Grisham's writing lies in his fierce control of sentence length and complexity and restrained descriptions and narrative development the move the action along in a natural way This sounds like something from a College Course, but how he can control my heart rate and build suspense with a series of short statements and then play me equally well within romantic moments by using long languid ones to mimic the intensity of a romantic moment are lessons I will be taking with me. More than once, at show more the end of a section, I went back to see how he was able to manipulate my feelings without me noticing how he did it. show less

Grisham, John. Camino Island. Camino Island No. 1. Delacorte, 2017.
In Camino Island, John Grisham abandons courtroom drama for a fun little caper story. Some thieves with quite a bit of skill and imagination manage to steal a rare manuscript by F. Scott Fitzgerald from the Princeton University library. Our hero is a bookstore owner on an island off the Florida coast. He is recruited to infiltrate the criminal gang because he sometimes deals in the seamier side of the rare book market. A perfect beach read, if only the beaches were open.

I listened to this book while traveling. I was hooked right at the beginning. Grisham does such a wonderful job weaving the story.
Mercer is an out of worker writer. Since she has connections on Camino Island, Mercer is approached to be a spy to try to find out about 5 missing manuscripts. The money offered is too good to pass up. Her target is Bruce Cable who own/operates a local book store. It is easy for Mercer to infiltrate Bruce's world. Mercer soon finds out more that she wants to know.