Icon book review: John Grisham's Camino Winds

Review by Robert McCool

Get blown away by the end of hurricane season.

John Grisham scores again.

In Camino Winds (Doubleday ISBN 978-385-5493-8) John Grisham sets his opening during Hurricane Leo, and a questionable death of one of Camino Island's writers.

The book is set around one Bruce Cable, owner of Bay Books, the book store and anchor for all of the island's authors. The book follows Bruce, a character from the previous novel “Camino Island, as he investigates Nelson Kerr's presumed murder. With a group of friends like Bob, Nick, and Larry they decide that  Nelson's death was committed by a mysterious woman named Ingrid.

But why was he murdered? Was it because of something he was writing?

Indeed it was. His fictionalized account of a illicit drug being used by nursing homes to prolong victim's lives long after they should have died, in order to bill Medicare millions for their care.

A chain of privately owned care facilities is doing just that. They discover Nelson's book's plot and have him killed.

Bruce and friends go to any length to uncover the nefarious scheme and make the bad guys pay. Even in the face of death.

This is Grisham's 43rd novel, and continues his very earnest genre writing. There's no surprises in the solid portrayal of his characters or story building. It's a read, and a quick one at that. I'm writing this review as a goodbye to warm weather and spun sea foam blowing on top of the waves. Also, because this is the only book I had to read in the space of a weekend. This is my goodbye to summer.

My only problem with the story is that all the characters are variously wealthy, with the only poor person getting killed- discarded even. We should all have such problems in our lives.

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