By:  John Grisham

ISBN: 978-0385543026

Publisher: Doubleday

Publication Date: 6/6/2017 
Format: Hardcover

My Rating: 4 Stars

John Grisham returns following The Whistler landing on my Top Books of 2016 to (my Sunshine state, Florida) a small island beach town. Steering away from his typical legal thrillers and courtroom scenes, with CAMINO ISLAND — thieves, priceless manuscripts, a heist, rare books, bookstores, and writers.

A little trouble in paradise. . . 

A sophisticated gang of thieves pulls off a daring heist with a campus shooting that causes widespread panic. A secure vault deep below Princeton University’s Firestone Library containing. (F. Scott Fitzgerald’s manuscripts). Princeton has insured it for twenty-five million dollars.

As the FBI and a secret underground agency hunt them down, a young writer embarks on her own investigation into a prominent bookseller who is believed to have the precious documents.

Mercer Mann grew up spending summers on Florida’s Camino Island, where the mysterious insurance company representative, believes the stolen manuscripts are located. 

Bruce has a popular and successful bookstore in the resort laid back town on Camino Island and deals in rare books. However, there is much more behind the storefront. He occasionally deals in the black market of stolen books and manuscripts. 

Mercer Mann is a writer and in debt with plenty of student loans. She jumps at the chance when approached mysteriously about going undercover. She will be able to pay off her debt. She must learn secrets. Of course, she loves digging deep in the literary world, with a little sleuthing. 

She is to get the goods on Bruce. Did Bruce who pulled off the literary crime of the century? Mann may not be the only one trying to get the goods. Will she take one for the team?

If you love “books about books”, rare bookshops, and enjoy revisiting the past with literary icons, like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Hemingway, mixed in with some booze (Key West style), a heist, and humor —this one is for you. 

A multilayered game of cat-and-mouse with mystery, suspense, and ample entertainment. 

I enjoy how Grisham is mixing things up a bit with his last few books. I listened to the audiobook and January LaVoyadded the right spice with flair. Listen to Clip. 

A huge Grisham fan — always a treat to read anything he pens. I read this book back in the summer; however, failed to post my review at that time. 

Grisham conceived of the subject with his wife on a lengthy road trip to Florida when they discussed a work incorporating "stolen books, stolen manuscripts, bookstores, and booksellers.

No need to worry, legal thriller fans. (my favorite genre) . . . I just finished The Rooster Bar Grisham's 25th legal thriller, where he explores the world of for-profit law schools through a group of students who learn their school is owned by a shady hedge fund operator — inspired by a true story.These law students are also in deep debt, with no way out and no job opportunities — so they devise a scheme to "con a con." 

Highly Recommend both books. 

JDCMustReadBooks

Before the Devil Breaks You: The Diviner...

Sigh. I have very mixed feelings about this. I love the first one, enjoyed the second one and feel like this book three is very fillerish for the final book. A lot of the scaryness is gone. It's very political and not at all why I started this series and got so invested. I'm one of those people that like to read, be entertained without the necessities of making everything political. 

I love Theta and Memphis. They are probably my favorite characters in the book. Jericho didn't do much this time around and even Evie was a little boring at times. Its a long one and half of it wasn't necessary. 

I'll still read the next one but I'm hoping Libba Bray has more of that scary, ghostly goodness left for this series. 

While I can happily suspend disbelief for fantastical story elements, like elves and magic spells and talking trees and, yes, even miracles from God, I have very little tolerance for illogical or grossly improbable plot points in a story that is supposedly set in a realistic world and peopled by functioning adults. This, unfortunately, is one of those books. 

More than one character is expected to

Then there’s the thought processes employed by the characters, especially the main protagonists.

Ugh.

Audiobook version, borrowed from my public library via Overdrive. January LaVoy’s performance was the best thing about this book.

I read this for the 2017 Romance Bingo reading challenge. This book clearly fits the square for TSTL (too stupid to live).

Subject 375 by Nikki Owen is an intense mystery about Dr. Maria Martinez, a plastic surgeon who has Asperger's Syndrome and a very high IQ. She also has a photographic memory and the skill to decode.

She is in prison for committing a murder but can't remember it. She is uncertain about her own sanity. It is a justifiable fear. I felt a little crazy reading of her flashbacks and memories that she doubted, but felt were true.

Who could she possibly trust? She learned she'd been drugged without her consent. The author did an excellent job portraying Maria's bewilderment

There were typos and a few homonyms. I gave it four stars.

I received a complimentary kindle copy from Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley. That did not change my opinion for this review.

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/Subject-375-Project-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B01HE3TECU