A husband searches for his missing wife who has left mysterious letters along the ancient Camino trail across northern Spain.
Lost and listless on the island of Mallorca, Jamie Draper searches for his estranged wife, Pam, who has left him without any explanation or warning. Exploring her last known location, Jamie stumbles upon an urgent letter from his missing wife promising full disclosure as to her sudden departure and her current whereabouts. There’s just one catch: her mysterious adventure is disclosed in a series of letters she’s left hidden along the ancient Camino trail across northern Spain. Now armed with a list of clues to track the letters down, Jamie retraces Pam’s footsteps, while being both entertained and challenged by the many colorful Camino characters he meets along the way—including the enchanting Brie, who harbors her own secrets that just might compromise Jamie’s intended reunion with his wife.
Excerpt
It became a miserable daily existence, made worse by a George Bernard Shaw quote that singly gnawed at me: “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.”
George was right. I had to do . . . something. Anything! Teaching teenagers wasn’t fulfilling me; I needed to find a more creative outlet—and I thought I had found it when I started writing novels.
I tried several genres. My young adult novels only reminded me of my apathetic students, and my science fiction books always morphed into Star Wars. My dystopian novels were too depressing. My horror novels gave me nightmares. My political thrillers gave me headaches. I settled on detective novels starring rugged private eyes and leggy dames.
I wasn’t very good at it.
In fact, I never came close to completing any of them. I wasn’t clever enough to conceal the credible clues. My attempts at misdirection were too misleading. I was heavy-handed when I needed to be charming, and I was lightweight when I needed to be conclusive. And anyone who read any of my early chapters always deduced the killer right away.
I even gave my early chapters to my brightest students as an extra-credit homework assignment.
“So, what did you think?”
“Sir, I didn’t finish it . . .”
“Never mind that. What did you think?”
“What is this, a murder mystery? Am I supposed to guess who the killer is? What does this have to do with my history project?”
“Never mind that. What did you think?”
“I don’t know . . . Was it the chambermaid with the stutter?”
“Damn it!”
(page 9 of "Shadows, Shells, and Spain")
Professional Reviews
The Confraternity of Saint James Quarterly
This is an engaging take on Camino writing: the ingenious concept is that the protagonist... is galvanized to reconnect with life when he receives a mysterious letter... He ensures a real sense of place with the combination of his travel guide sections and Jamie's own observations and reaction to the landscapes, towns and villages he passes through. He encapsulates, with much perceptive humour, the characters Jamie encounters—with a sharp eye for the absurd... The book is written in the first person which adds immediacy and Jamie's acerbic comments about people, places and situations are a delight... This is a solid page-turning read—a lively book with bags of Camino atmosphere and some thought-provoking views of the complexities of being human.
Travel, History and Drama (from Amazon.com)
If you love travel and history with plenty of drama told with a twist of humour then this book is for you.
John Meyer takes the reader on a long, but never boring, walk with characters that you will love, be irritated by and laugh at.
Jamie Draper has travelled to Mallorca to try to find his estranged wife, Pam. He receives a letter from her telling him if he wants to understand her and her reasons for leaving he needs to walk the Camino. As he walks the trail he follows her clues to find further letters.
The Camino de Santiago in Spain is a walking trail followed by pilgrims for over a thousand years. It is a spiritual journey for those seeking inner strength and wisdom.
I loved both of the main characters, Jamie and Brie, who he meets on the trail and has her own issues and reasons for walking the Camino. Early in the book I thought Pam’s reasons for leaving Jamie were selfish ones. My attitude to her as the story progresses becomes softer and I become more in sympathy with her.
Meyer’s descriptive writing gives the reader clear images of the Camino scenery as well as the historic buildings and monuments. You will also feel the pain, the joy and the camaraderie of the Peregrinos (those who walk the Camino) along the route.
The journey by Jamie, Brie and the other Peregrinos is interspersed with history, legends and travel snippets - a kind of early history meets modern tourism. If you are not into history don’t worry, it is told with humour and, at times, healthy scepticism.
Brie has to get Jamie’s story in slices, along with finding accommodation, food and sightseeing, and so does the reader. The last 100 pages or so, as Jamie starts to find out what happened with Pam really push the reader on to finish. The story alternates between Jamie’s revelations, descriptions of the trail and the history snippets. It was a book I just had to get to the end. My apologies to family and friends I was rude to telling them to go away so I could finish the book.
Shadows, Shells, And Spain by John Meyer is a perfect cocktail of travel, adventure, and mystery. (from Goodreads.com)
Jamie Draper is completely lost when his wife suddenly leaves him. He quits his job and goes to Mallorca to find her. After a few months, he receives a letter from his wife asking him to walk along ancient Camino trail across northern Spain. Now, Jamie is all set to follow the trail of letters left by his wife along the walk to know why she did what she did.
The journey to the Camino de Santiago is described beautifully. He evokes visual imagery of the places through his language. Relevant historical details are added to provide context. The pace of the book is just right. It keeps you on the edge of your seat thinking what would happen next. Different characters are introduced at various points of times which makes the reading all the more interesting. All of the characters are developed astoundingly. The plot of the book is its biggest advantage and the author has done full justice to it. He maintained an element of mystery throughout the narrative.
This is definitely one of my favorite reads of 2017.
In a nutshell, pick up this book if you want to read fiction, drama, romance, mystery all cooped up in 300 pages.
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