Camino Island

Bruce has owned Bay Books on Camino Island since he was in his twenties. Upon his father’s death, he inherits the money he uses to buy the store and steals some valuable first edition books that form the foundation of his rare book collection. He is married to Noelle, but they have an open marriage, and Bruce often sleeps with visiting writers who are reading at his bookstore. Bruce is an astute businessman—he has a successful bookstore and a valuable, legitimate rare book collection.

However, he also dabbles in stolen books, and his image helps to cover up his illicit dealings. He is something of a godfather figure of the local writing community and has a deep network in the publishing industry. He also cultivates his image as the affable, gentlemanly book dealer through his seersucker suits and bow ties.

He is known for drinking, but during Mercer’s visit she only sees him drink to excess once—otherwise, he is controlled: “[H]e sipped his wine, was slow to refill, and was in perfect control” (207). As the reader discovers at the end of the novel, he is even more controlled than he seems—while Mercer is investigating him, Bruce hides, smuggles, and finally ransoms the Fitzgerald manuscripts. Bruce depends on his patience as the key to The Perfect Plan.

Although he is a criminal, Bruce is a likeable character with an easygoing attitude—at the end, he seeks Mercer out to invite her back to the island. The ending doesn’t rule out the possibility that they will run into each other again; in fact, it doesn’t even rule out the possibility of a future relationship. Although Mercer protests that, “I might go back, but no more fooling around” (338), her affectionate tone softens her answer, and Bruce doesn’t seem to take her admonition seriously. They have become friends, and, as this is the first novel in a new series, there is a possibility that these two will return in future books.

Elaine works for the company that insured the Fitzgerald manuscripts for Princeton. She is the mastermind behind the investigation into Bruce and approaches Mercer to go undercover. Elaine is smart and calculated; however, despite her initial deception to engineer their meeting, from that point on, she is honest and up-front with Mercer. She also offers support to Mercer during the investigation, meeting with her frequently and staying nearby.

Elaine’s style is sophisticated and classic, as Mercer notes: “With her perfectly starched khaki shorts and chambray shirt, and cotton sweater draped over her shoulders, she looked like a model straight out of a J. Crew catalog” (110). She always appears calm and collected, and her operation goes to great lengths to capture Bruce, to the point of buying all of Noelle’s inventory in order to gain access to her. She does, however, admit that she and her company blur the line between legal and illegal—when Mercer asks if they break the law, Elaine replies that, “We call it operating in the gray areas” (90). She also admits that she prefers to work outside of law enforcement, calling in the FBI only when necessary. Like Bruce, Elaine believes that patience is crucial to her success in creating The Perfect Plan.

Myra and Leigh are a writing team and partners in life as well. They “met thirty years ago when neither one of us had two pennies to rub together,” as Myra puts it; she continues, “I was trying to write historical fiction and Leigh was trying to write that weird literary shit she’s still trying to write and nothing was selling” (133). Purely for monetary reasons, Myra and Leigh begin writing romance novels together, and manage to support themselves by doing so. Myra tells Mercer about the first time they wrote a book together:

We knocked it out in three months and I reluctantly sent it to my agent in New York. A week later she called and said some idiot was offering fifty grand as an advance. We published it under the name of Myra Leigh. Isn’t that clever? Within a year we had a pile of cash and never looked back (134).

Myra and Leigh are two of the cast of writing characters that Grisham creates, and their life illustrates one way that writers live The Writing Life.

Myra and Leigh also have the quirks of a long-time couple—they lightly bicker, and whenever Myra’s rudeness escapes her, Leigh responds by saying “Now, Myra.” They are also an odd couple, a trope that Grisham uses for light comic effect. Myra is big and brash; she brews her own beer, “a spicy ale that’s 8 percent alcohol” (130). Leigh, on the other hand, is small and quiet, with “two perfect rows of tobacco-stained teeth” (129). While Leigh writes what Mercer calls “tortured prose,” Myra supports them by writing erotic romances. This juxtaposition, and the way that their respective personalities underscore it, illustrates the stereotypical split between literary and popular fiction. Although she likes the money that it brings, Leigh doesn’t want her name attached to Myra’s books; as Myra says, she is “too much of a snob to touch it. She’ll damned sure touch the money, though” (134). This tension between literary and popular fiction, and the financial viability of both, exemplified by Myra and Leigh, further develops the theme of The Writing Life.