Excerpts-

• From the cover Chapter One
  
  The Passage
  
  1.
  
  None of the fifty or so guests wore shoes. The invitation specifically ruled them out. It was, after all, a beach wedding, and Mercer Mann, the bride, wanted sand between the toes. The suggested attire was beach chic, which may have had one meaning in Palm Beach and another in Malibu, and probably something else in the Hamptons. But on Camino Island it meant anything goes. But no shoes.
  
  The bride herself wore a low-cut white linen gown with an entirely bare back, and since she had been on the island for the past two weeks she was superbly tanned and toned. Stunning. Thomas, her groom, was just as lean and bronzed. He wore a brand-new powder blue seersucker suit, a starched white dress shirt, no tie. And of course no shoes.
  
  Thomas was just happy to be included. He and Mercer had been together for three years, sharing an apartment for the past two, and when Mercer finally got tired of waiting for a proposal she had asked him, three months earlier, “What are you doing on Saturday, June sixth, at seven p.m.?”
  
  “Well, I don’t know. I’ll have to check.”
  
  “Say nothing.”
  
  “What?”
  
  “Say you’re doing nothing.”
  
  “Okay, I’m doing nothing. Why?”
  
  “Because we’re getting married at the beach.”
  
  Since he was not exactly a detail person, he had little input into the planning of the wedding. However, had he been detail-oriented it would not have mattered. Life with Mercer was wonderful in so many ways, not the least of which was the absence of responsibility for making decisions. The pressure was off.
  
  A guitarist strummed love songs as the guests sipped champagne. She was a creative writing student of Mercer’s at Ole Miss and had volunteered for the wedding. A server in a straw hat topped off their glasses. He, too, was studying under Mercer, though she had yet to break the news that his fiction was too weird. If she were a blunt person she would point out that he was likely to earn more money tending bar at small weddings than trying to write novels, but she had yet to gain tenure or the ability to discourage students with little promise.
  
  Mercer taught because she needed a salary. She had published a collection of short stories and two novels. She was searching for a third. Her last one, Tessa, had been a bestseller, and its success had prompted Viking Press to give her a two-book contract. Her editor at Viking was still waiting for the next story idea. So was Mercer. She had some money in the bank but not enough to retire, not enough to buy the freedom to write full-time with no worries.
  
  A few of her guests had that freedom. Myra and Leigh, the grandes dames of the island’s literary mafia, had been together for decades and were living off royalties. Back in their glory days they had cranked out a hundred steamy romance novels under a dozen pseudonyms. Bob Cobb was an ex-felon who’d served time in a federal pen for bank fraud. He wrote hard-boiled crime stories, with a penchant for prison violence. When drinking, which was practically all the time, he claimed he had not pursued honest labor in twenty years. He was a writer! Perhaps the wealthiest of the group was Amy Slater, a young mother of three who’d hit pay dirt with a vampire series.
  
  Amy and her husband, Dan, had taken a chunk of their money and built a splendid house on the beach, about half a mile from Mercer’s cottage. When they heard about the wedding, they insisted on hosting it along with the reception.
  
  Like every bride, Mercer envisioned a lovely walk...

Reviews-

• Whoopi Goldberg proves to be the perfect voice for John Grisham's fascinating mystery about a haunted island off the coast of Florida settled by escaped enslaved people in the 1700s and now marked for development into a casino resort. She captures the courage and determination of the characters as, each in their own way, they try to save the uninhabited and inhospitable Dark Isle. Goldberg is particularly adept at portraying novelist Mercer Mann, who becomes fascinated with the island and with its last inhabitant and designated owner, Lovely Jackson. With the help of a small bookstore owner from nearby Camino Island and a handful of others, Mann tries to tell the story of the island and its people and stop the developers from turning the historic island into a playground for the wealthy. M.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
• 

  September 13, 2024
  

  The third book in bestselling Grisham's "Camino Island" series (following Camino Winds) is the author at his finest, with a gripping courtroom drama, an unsettling curse, a bullying property developer, and a fierce and likable octogenarian protagonist. Corporate developer Tidal Breeze has set its sights on transforming Dark Isle into a lavish resort and casino. Lovely Jackson, a spirited descendant of formerly enslaved people who first settled on the island, fiercely defends her claims to ownership. Meanwhile, newly married author Mercer Mann is looking for an enthralling tale for her next novel and is introduced to Lovely by bookseller Bruce Cable. Mercer is instantly enchanted by Lovely's vibrant personality and intrigued by the island's storied past, including the curse rumored to have killed the white people who have ventured onto its shores. Mercer is determined to help Lovely uncover the truth about her claim and to help her preserve her family's sacred land and burial grounds. Seasoned actor Whoopi Goldberg adds dramatic flair and engages with her formidable performance, offering perfect timing and evocative character portraits. Grisham himself narrates his introduction, delighting with his comfortable Southern accent. VERDICT A brilliantly narrated, captivating story of cruelty, enslavement, and resilience. An essential purchase.--Ilka Gordon

  Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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