Thieves steal five highly valuable manuscripts from Princeton’s Firestone Library. The authorities are determined to find out what happened to them and hopefully get them back.
Mercer Mann is a novelist with writer’s block and a mountain of debt. She is approached by a woman seeking her help. She wants Mercer to move into her grandmother’s house on Camino Island and help investigate the local bookstore owner and raconteur, to see if he’s involved with the manuscript theft. In exchange they’ll eliminate her debt.
She’s no spy, but she gets drawn into the investigation. She becomes involved with a circle of writers on the island, each more colorful and dysfunctional than the next, and finds herself being pulled into the orbit of Bruce Cable, the handsome and enigmatic bookstore owner who may or may not also deal in stolen books.
As they get closer and closer to finding out the truth, Mercer isn’t sure how she wants things to end. She likes being part of the action, and she finds herself drawn to Bruce and his wife, Nicole. But who’s playing whom?
It’s been forever since I’ve read a John Grisham book. I was a huge fan when his books first started coming out—I even met him at a signing (swoon) in the early 90s. I remember missing my stop on the metro one morning because I was so engrossed in reading. Somewhere I lost track of his stuff but I thought I’d pick this one up and see what I’ve been missing.
This was a fun, charming caper. Not a lot actually happens and things are a little confusing at times, but the story is pretty entertaining and the characters are appealing, so I enjoyed it. There’s no doubt Grisham knows how to tell a story!
I’m definitely interested in the follow-up, Camino Winds, and I may check out some of his other books as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment