''Camino Island'' is a

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

thriller novel written by

John Grisham John Ray Grisham Jr. (; born February 8, 1955 in Jonesboro, Arkansas) is an American novelist, lawyer and former member of the 7th district of the Mississippi House of Representatives, known for his popular legal thrillers. According to the Ame ...

and released on June 6, 2017, by Doubleday. The book is a departure from Grisham's main subject of

legal thriller The legal thriller genre is a type of crime fiction genre that focuses on the proceedings of the Criminal investigation, investigation, with particular reference to the impacts on courtroom proceedings and the lives of characters. The courtroom ...

s and focuses on stolen rare books. Grisham made his first extensive book tour in 25 years to publicize the book.

Plot

The book begins with the theft of five rare

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...

manuscripts from the

Firestone Library Princeton University Library is the main library system of Princeton University. With holdings of more than 7 million books, 6 million microforms, and 48,000 linear feet of manuscripts, it is among the largest libraries in the world by number of ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

and then embarks on a journey to a resort town on a Florida island in search of clues about the heist. Although the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

and an "underground agency" of investigators working for Princeton's insurance company pursue the perpetrators in the black market, the story focuses on a novelist who becomes involved in the search and pursues an investigation of the heist.

Background

Grisham conceived of the subject with his wife on a lengthy road trip to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

when they discussed a work incorporating "stolen books, stolen manuscripts, bookstores, ndbooksellers". In February 2017, Doubleday books announced that Grisham would publish a crime heist novel in June in addition to his usual fall legal thriller. Publicity for the book included Grisham's first major book tour in 25 years, which included 12 cities and was scheduled from June 6 through June 29.

Reception

Sales

The book appeared at the top of several best seller lists including ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', and ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''.

Critical review

'' critic Jocelyn McClurg praised the book as "sheer catnip for book critics" that resembles Grisham's legal thrillers with many similar character types but that might appeal to people who are not generally Grisham fans. Ken Tucker from ''

'' said that occasional flaws "don't impede the jolly appeal of the novel's storytelling".

Books Mentioned in Camino Island

Notes

External links

Website
at JGrisham.com
Official website
at

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Camino Island 2017 American novels American thriller novels American mystery novels Novels by John Grisham Novels set in Florida Novels set in New Jersey Doubleday (publisher) books Hodder & Stoughton books