Mississippi writer John Grisham is returning to the Florida beaches with his newest book, Camino Ghosts.
The third in his Camino series that follows fan-favorite characters Mercer Mann and Bruce Cable in the fictitious sleepy town of Santa Rosa, Camino Ghosts completes a trilogy that also includes best-sellers Camino Island and Camino Winds.
The description from Penguin Random House shares:
“In this new thriller on Camino Island, popular bookseller Bruce Cable tells Mercer Mann an irresistible tale that might be her next novel. A giant resort developer is using its political muscle and deep pockets to claim ownership of a deserted island between Florida and Georgia. Only the last living inhabitant of the island, Lovely Jackson, stands in its way. What the developer doesn’t know is that the island has a remarkable history, and locals believe it is cursed…and the past is never the past…”
Grisham, a lawmaker turned novelist, joined CBS Mornings on Tuesday to discuss what initially inspired the Camino series.
“It’s loosely based on Amelia Island, Florida, where we would hang out and vacation for the past 20 years,” Grisham said. “That’s kind of where we would go to hide. I got the idea a few years ago of setting a novel there – a fun beach read [with] nothing heavy about it.”
Bestselling author @JohnGrisham is returning to the beach for his milestone 50th novel — with an audiobook narrated by Whoopi Goldberg.
Grisham tells CBS Mornings that, while it’s a fictional work, it shares an important history. pic.twitter.com/YG94fir3t5
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) May 28, 2024
While Camino Island and Camino Winds were the epitome of relaxed summer reads, Grisham said Camino Ghosts has a little more density to it. With Lovely’s character being a descendant of African slaves in Georgia who fought to escape to Florida, he believes the book is a healthy mix of both history and imagination.
“I hope [the readers] get a pretty good dose of history because we don’t do a good job of teaching all that – the history of enslaved people and the slave trade. We sort of gloss over that,” he said. “So, you get a pretty good dose of what they went through in Lovely’s ancestors’ eyes and experiences.”
Grisham, who first came on to the writing scene with his must-read legal thrillers, has officially hit the 50-book mark with Camino Ghosts landing on shelves. Camino Ghosts can be purchased here.
