Thomas's Reviews > Camino Island

4*
This is a stand alone by the author and not a legal mystery. The first 80 pages or so set up the plot. Chapter 1 is about a theft of 5 original F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscripts from Princeton University.
Chapter 2 is about a bookstore owner, Bruce Cable, on Camino Island, Florida, near Jacksonville.
Chapter 3, titled "The Recruit" is about an unemployed writer, Mercer Mann, recruited by a representative of the insurance company that is on the hook for $25 million. They want Mercer to go to Camino Island and get close to Bruce and find out if he has the stolen manuscripts. They offer her a $100,000. She says no, but when they offer to pay off her student debt, now$60,000, she agrees.
Some other players:
Denny, one of the thieves, a cold blooded killer
Noelle, Bruce's wife. She and Bruce have an open marriage.
I liked the way the plot unfolded and thought the characters were believable and well written. I didn't expect the ending, but I liked it. My wife didn't like the ending and thought the first part of the book was too slow.
One quote, describing a local eccentric author's house: "In the air there was a less than pleasant odor of what seemed to be a mix of stale cigarette smoke and dirty dogs. The furniture was old flea market stuff, but quirky and engaging."
Thanks to Doubleday for sending me this book through the Goodreads giveaway program.