#CAMINO ISLAND BOOK REVIEW FREE#

In addition to my weird passion for grocery stores, I’m particularly fond of the book sections. Sorely. I’m so very grateful to have it back. And this was heartbreaking, because there was a time where I visited bookstores nearly every day of my life, browsing the titles, sitting with a cup of coffee to read or write, soaking in the inspiration and ambience, the sheer psychic energy that comes with being surrounded by the works of other authors. In fact, there were at least four aisles of books, including tables where titles were stacked and displayed.Īt that point in our #vanlife journey, we hadn’t had much opportunity to visit bookstores, thanks to pandemic restrictions. In addition to food and groceries the place sold just about anything you can imagine-tools, camping supplies, electronics, and best of all, books. And especially stores like the one we were exploring, which was more of a big box store chain, I guess (albeit one I’d never heard of prior to that visit). I don’t know what it is, exactly, but they bring me great comfort. It was some private time for both of us-something we need, every now and then, when circumstances (such as rain or other inclement weather) have us cooped up for too long. Kara was doing some solo browsing of her own. I was particularly engaged in trying to identify the writers she meets if the portraits are drawn from life I suspect they are probably actionable, which would be excellent publicity no doubt.Ĭhris Roberts is a retired manager of shopping centres in Hong Kong, and now lives in Bristol, primarily reading.I was in an Meijer’s grocery story in Michigan, about a year ago, taking the time to explore the aisles and be “not in the van” for an hour or so. The middle section is more low-key with the central focus on Mercer’s moral dilemma as she becomes more intimate with her quarry, but there is plenty of general interest. The first and last sections of the book, which cover the heist and the FBI operation to close in on Cable, have some exciting moments. Grisham here also takes the opportunity to talk about writers and writing through the characters that Mercer meets on Camino Island. The first two (no prologues, and don’t introduce 20 characters in the first chapter) I heartily endorse.

#CAMINO ISLAND BOOK REVIEW FREE#

What he does know about is writing books, and in a particularly amusing interlude here he gives Cable free rein with his top ten rules for writing fiction. In an afterword the author admits to knowing nothing about selling books and little about the world of rare books, but has done sufficient research to make the sections dealing with such matters feel entirely plausible. I do like a writer who tells you stuff, especially if they can slide it into the story so you don’t feel you are being lectured to, something that Grisham is good at. While there is normally an aspect of law involved somewhere, his tales range widely in scope and he always finds a new angle or area of interest to keep the reader entertained.

But will she make a convincing spy?Īfter thrillers too numerous to count, Grisham continues to turn out a decent book. Mercer also needs the money Elaine is offering. She has recently lost a teaching job and a beachside holiday to resurrect a writing career on hiatus looks like good cover. She spent her childhood summers on the island with her grandmother Tessa, whose old cottage on the beach is still in family use. Mercer Mann looks like the obvious choice.

Before they can get the FBI involved they need to place someone close to Cable who can confirm what he is holding in his basement. They have several people under surveillance, but their attention is drawn to Bruce Cable, who runs a bookshop on Camino Island in Florida. Princeton’s insurance company has specialists for art theft, and a team headed by Elaine Shelby hear rumours of a sale. The gang leave clues and early arrests are made, but nobody is talking and the manuscripts disappear from sight. In a carefully planned and audacious raid on the basement of the Princeton Firestone Library, thieves successfully extract the original manuscripts of five novels by F Scott Fitzgerald, worth $25 million.

Camino island book review