Even when the ill winds of Corona keep blowing in America, John Grisham keeps cranking out thrillers that make for good summer beach reading, and uniquely this one also deals with Camino Island, in a sense a sequel to the novel of that name. Here’s the official summary of this novel…
“Welcome back to Camino Island, where anything can happen—even a murder in the midst of a hurricane, which might prove to be the perfect crime . . .
Just as Bruce Cable’s Bay Books is preparing for the return of bestselling author Mercer Mann, Hurricane Leo veers from its predicted course and heads straight for the island. Florida’s governor orders a mandatory evacuation, and most residents board up their houses and flee to the mainland, but Bruce decides to stay and ride out the storm.
The hurricane is devastating: homes and condos are leveled, hotels and storefronts ruined, streets flooded, and a dozen people lose their lives. One of the apparent victims is Nelson Kerr, a friend of Bruce’s and an author of thrillers. But the nature of Nelson’s injuries suggests that the storm wasn’t the cause of his death: He has suffered several suspicious blows to the head.
Who would want Nelson dead? The local police are overwhelmed in the aftermath of the storm and ill equipped to handle the case. Bruce begins to wonder if the shady characters in Nelson’s novels might be more real than fictional. And somewhere on Nelson’s computer is the manuscript of his new novel. Could the key to the case be right there—in black and white? As Bruce starts to investigate, what he discovers between the lines is more shocking than any of Nelson’s plot twists—and far more dangerous.
Camino Winds is an irresistible romp and a perfectly thrilling beach read—# 1 bestselling author John Grisham at his beguiling best.”
Apparently Grisham likes this locale as a setting for a novel, and while every Grisham novel is not a home run (and this one is more like a double, without any big surprises or catches along the way) they are all fast paced and entertaining. And in a time of pandemic this one can get a bit depressing as it explains the seamy underbelly of nursing home care for profit, even to the point of keeping brain-dead people alive just to bilk more money out of their families. The net effect of incompetent policing, weak laws, immoral CEOs, look the other way employees, even when some are devout Christians is you come away saying—- WOW, America is a cesspool of crime and greed and narcissism. Not the most uplifting tale, except of course when those most responsible get their comeuppance. I like Bruce, the bookstore owner up to a point, and it’s hard for me not to love those who love books and writers, but would I want to be any of these writers? Not in a million years, and not for any amount of money. It would be interesting to know what Mr. Grisham, who has been known to teach Sunday school, does with his millions.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In