Camino Ghosts: A Novel (Unabridged)
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3.7 • 173 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. The incomparable Whoopi Goldberg handles the narration, adding urgency to Grisham’s laidback style. Breezy but not lightweight, Camino Ghosts goes down like sweet tea on a hot summer day.
Customer Reviews
Good Story, Bad Narrator
The story had great potential, and I loved getting back in touch with Bruce and Mercer and the rest of the gang at Camino Island. However, having listened to the first books in one voice, I didn’t get back into the groove of this book well. I did not like Whoopi Goldberg’s narration. Her dialect changed throughout, it felt rushed, and more like she were reading straight off the page instead of telling a story (if that’s makes sense). I really had a lot of anticipation for this audiobook to come out and I’m a little disappointed by just an “ok” book.
What was Grisham thinking having Whoopi read this ?
It is no small matter that author Grisham made a point to pitch Whoopi Goldberg disastrous performance in the third installment of the much loved Camino Island series . The reading is horrendous and Grisham and team knew this before they released this audio version to his loyal massive fan base. A story has it own life and to leave this stories life in this audio state of alphabet soup is really a slap in the face to millions of John Grisham readers. It’s time to step up and get back in the studio with one of the countless amazing black female readers and give Lovey , Bruce and Mercer and crew a voice that gives justice to the story.
Disappointed.
This might be John’s worst book ever. There was nothing to keep me listening. The series has to end. The reader, who I like a lot, read the words but added nothing to the story.