Camino Island
Sunday Times bestseller
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4.1 • 383 Ratings
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
A brilliant new series from the number one global thriller writer, John Grisham.
SOMEONE IS ABOUT TO MAKE A KILLING ...
The most daring and devastating heist in literary history targets a high security vault located deep beneath Princeton University.
Valued at $25 million (though some would say priceless) the five manuscripts of F Scott Fitzgerald's only novels are amongst the most valuable in the world. After an initial flurry of arrests, both they and the ruthless gang of thieves who took them have vanished without trace.
Now it falls to struggling writer Mercer Mann to crack a case that has thwarted the FBI's finest minds.
***COMING SOON - CAMINO GHOSTS: PRE-ORDER NOW! ***
Praise for Camino Island
'A bewitching blend of high-stakes spying mission and summer romance, with a fascinatingly ambiguous central character' - The Sunday Times
'The gripping plot will have you devouring the chapters in such a frantic fashion you'll begin to wonder if you are somehow complicit in this perfect crime' - Heat
'Grisham shows charm, wit and a light touch' - The Times
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
John Grisham’s 36th novel takes place in the world of antiquarian book-dealing, bookstores and writers—a notable departure from his bestselling legal thrillers. Camino Island starts with the daring heist of a priceless literary treasure: a set of original F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscripts. It’s a wonderfully fun read, with Grisham’s quick-paced action keeping us hooked from the first page to the last. All the entertaining intrigue is set against the backdrop of a sleepy Florida island, making it a perfect holiday read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The opening chapters detailing an elaborate scheme to steal five F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscripts from Princeton are the best part of this thriller from bestseller Grisham (The Whistler). A sophisticated gang pulls off the theft after faking a campus shooting that causes widespread panic. The university's insurance company, liable for millions, reaches out to unemployed academic and struggling writer Mercer Mann, who has just lost her position at the University of North Carolina and is in desperate financial straits. Mercer grew up spending summers on Florida's Camino Island, where Donna Watson, the shadowy insurance company representative, believes the stolen manuscripts are; she thinks they're in the possession of Bruce Cable, who runs a successful independent bookstore there. Despite Mercer's initial misgivings about functioning as a spy, she agrees to return to Camino Island and insinuate herself into its literary community as a precursor to gaining Bruce's confidence and determining whether he has the stolen goods. But after this promising setup, the plot follows predictable lines to a conclusion that genre fans have seen before. Author tour.
Customer Reviews
A clever setting for action
In the worlds where licit blurs easily with illicit it is unusual to find a seamless merge between an heist, a genuine portrait of the life of writers and characters who are by themselves pillars of the plot. The locations, although not unknown contribute to provide a setting which couldn’t be more visual. It goes without saying that stories by Grisham contain all elements which make them anything but tedious.
I have enjoyed the clever description of the three nerds who play the heist ‘s villains or stealers and some truths about writers which made me smile.
Not much is in the open about the dealing of rare books in independent bookshops and for sure reading this story provides some insight. Perhaps what I found less believable is how some professionals can set up unusual places so easily. But the entertainment and the escape from it all is guaranteed.
Worth a read
It’s been year’s since I read all of John Grishams previous books. Perhaps age has altered my attitude, this book seemed…. Nice. Not too detailed, a breezy story, lacking in depth, but a good summer beach read. Nowhere near his heady days of his previous books, but I suppose he’s kept his publisher happy by ticking off his 1 per year quota. Worth a read, if you haven’t got anything better to do.
Camino Island
A good read,but not thrilling.
For me, the ending was flat I’m afraid.
It would have been much better in the Epilogue, if the reader came to realise that he’d come to pay her off with some of his millions for being a double informant who had warned him.