1. Talk about the characters in Camino Island, both good and bad.
Describe their personalities and motivations. Are they fully developed
and emotionally complex? Or are they flat, one-dimensional heroes and
villains?
2. At what point in the book do you begin to piece together what
happened?
3. Good crime writers embed hidden clues in plain sight, slipping them
in casually, almost in passing. Did you pick them out, or were
you...clueless?
4. Good crime writers also tease us with red-herrings - false clues - to
purposely lead readers astray? Does your author try to throw you off
track? If so, were you tripped up?
5. Talk about the twists & turns - those surprising plot developments
that throw everything you think you've figured out into disarray.
- Do they enhance the story, add complexity, and build suspense?
- Are they plausible or implausible?
- Do they feel forced and gratuitous - inserted merely to extend
the story?
6. Does Grisham ratchet up the suspense? Did
you find yourself anxious -quickly turning pages to learn what happened?
A what point does the suspense start to build? Where does it
climax...then perhaps start rising again?
7. A good ending is essential in any mystery or crime thriller: it
should ease up on tension, answer questions, and tidy up loose ends.
Does the ending accomplish those goals?
- Is the conclusion probable or believable?
- Is it organic, growing out of clues previously laid out by the
author?
- Or does the ending come out of the blue, feeling forced or
tacked-on?
- Perhaps it's too predictable.
8. Can you envision a different ending.
9. Are there certain passages in the
book—ideas, descriptions, or dialogue—that you found interesting or
revealing...or that somehow struck you? What lines, if any, made you
stop and think?
10. Overall, does Camino Island satisfy? Does it live up to the
standards of a good crime story or suspense thriller? Why or why not?