It's been many years since I have read a John Grisham novel. I guess I've been involved with other authors, books and personal projects. But a chance mention of his novel Camino Island came up in conversation recently, and the story sounded interesting enough. The next thing I knew, I had borrowed the book from the library and had read half of it in one sitting. If I had opened the front cover earlier in the day, I could have finished the whole book off before dark. What a satisfying experience that would have been! What have I been missing?

A pack of thieves has targeted the archives of the Firestone Library at Princeton University for a major heist. The goal is to steal the handwritten manuscripts of F. Scott Fitzgerald's five books. The thieves are merely interested in the resulting ransom money, and not in the thrill of touching originals of popular literature. As often happens in these cases, their best-laid plans don't entirely pan out, once they have successfully spirited away the papers and have parted company. The authorities are soon on their multiple trails. And the manuscripts themselves seem to have been stowed with or sold to some rare book dealer. But which one?

Princeton's insurance company has hired its own security firm to find and to return the books. The investigation so far points to bookseller Bruce Cable as a potential candidate for storing the scripts. Bruce owns Bay Books on Camino Island on the northern Florida coast, near Jacksonville. His store is popular with both residents and tourists alike. He's a well-established businessman whose partner Noelle operates her own antique store, next door.

Enter novelist Mercer Mann, who used to spend her summers with her grandmother on Camino Island. The security officials convince her to work for them and to act as a spy on Bruce. Mercer moves back into the family cottage on the island, with the pretense of being on a writing retreat. Can she get close enough to Bruce to learn if he indeed holds the Fitzgerald manuscripts?

As I said, Camino Island is a quick and satisfying read. The action is driven by dialogue and is not entirely predictable. A few separate story threads eventually make sense when they weave together. And the ending is a gratifying one. The difference between reading Grisham's writing and reading the work of a lesser-talented author is like the difference between using an easy-flowing fountain pen and struggling with a blunt-pointed pencil. His words are natural choices, and they make the pages move quickly.

Camino Island is followed by a sequel, Camino Winds. I guess you know which book I will pick up next.