A Pocketful of Thieves

All is not as it seems on the El Camino to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. Among the thousands of pilgrims is a calculating thief who attempts to use the bustle of Holy Week to smuggle out a valuable ancient manuscript. In the tradition of the Canterbury Tales, a group of travellers and a guide journey for five days exchanging their personal backgrounds among the scenic beauty. Each has something to hide. These colourful characters come from all walks of life and different continents. Their pilgrimage enables them to learn something of the origins of the historic walk as well as a great deal about themselves. Declan, Victoria and Liam come from Ireland; Vicky, a Canadian photographer, won the trip in a competition and decides to bring her friend Andrea along; Santie and Heila are sisters from South Africa and Georgina, a British police consultant who follows the path of the manuscript and ultimately solves the mystery in an exciting denouement. Part travelogue, part drama, this whodunit will keep the reader’s attention in a rollicking ride which encompasses an unexpected twist in the tail. The subplot will tug at the heartstrings revealing greed, duplicity and human frailty. The author walked the path described in the novel thus authenticating its portrayal.