Camino Ghosts
A Novel
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4.3 • 2.1K Ratings
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • John Grisham takes you back to Camino Island, where bookseller Bruce Cable and novelist Mercer Mann always manage to find trouble in paradise.
Mercer Mann, a popular writer from Camino Island, is back on the beach, marrying her boyfriend, Thomas, in a seaside ceremony. Bruce Cable, infamous owner of Bay Books, performs the wedding. Afterward, Bruce tells Mercer that he has stumbled upon an incredible story. Mercer desperately needs an idea for her next novel, and Bruce now has one.
The true story is about Dark Isle, a sliver of a barrier island not far off the North Florida coast. It was settled by freed slaves three hundred years ago, and their descendants lived there until 1955, when the last one was forced to leave. That last descendant is Lovely Jackson, elderly now, who loves her birthplace and its remarkable history. But now Tidal Breeze, a huge, ruthless corporate developer, wants to build a resort and casino on the island, which Lovely knows, deep down, is rightfully hers.
Mercer befriends Lovely, and they plunge into an enormous fight over who owns Dark Isle, taking on Tidal Breeze Corporation, its lawyers, lobbyists, and powerful Florida politicians. But Lovely knows something about the island that could seriously cloud the dollar signs in the developer’s eyes: the island is cursed. It has remained uninhabited for nearly a century for some very real and very troubling reasons. The deep secrets of the past are about to collide with the enormous ambitions of the present, and the fate of Dark Isle—and Camino Island, too—hangs in the balance.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
John Grisham leans into two of his hallmarks—big themes and finely drawn characters—for this coastal thriller. A shady developer is circling Dark Isle, a tract of land off the Florida coast that once housed enslaved people who escaped bondage, to turn it into a resort casino. One problem: Lovely Jackson, the last descendant of those people, claims the island is hers. So a group of locals, including best-selling author Mercer Mann, rally around Lovely to help protect the legacy of her ancestors. Like a master chef, Grisham knows exactly how to balance the flavors in this riveting dish (including some fun supernatural spice). From an epic court battle to the brutal realities of slavery, he gives each element of the tale just the right amount of space. Breezy but not lightweight, Camino Ghosts goes down like sweet tea on a hot summer day.
Customer Reviews
Excellent read!
I finally did it! Read a John Grisham book and my only regret was that it took me so long. This is the third in the series but I did enjoy it as a standalone. The story grabs one from the first few pages and really spotlights the tragic history of slave trading. It has a dual timeline of Nalla and her kidnapping and survival on Dark Isle. And continues with her many time over granddaughter Lovely Jackson the last living member from the island. Big developers want to takeover the island to build a luxury resort, but Bruce the local busybody bookstore owner starts the ball rolling and the battle for ownership begins.
A very well written book that has a fast paced intriguing story. Now to backtrack and read the first 2 books. Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own and my alone. #CaminoGhosts #JohnGrisham
A bored Author
This was a great read until the last third of the book where the authors seem to get lost or bored with righting it. Much of the set up for intrigue just deflated in the end.
Story lines continue to weaken
A simple, straightforward read. Nothing in it compares to his early masterpieces. Read only if your flight is delayed and you are spending the night on a cot at the airport. The book will be better than the cot….