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SensualPoet · 10-02-2011, 06:43 PM

The tales of Travis McGee -- a fiercely independent loner who earns his keep by his own rules as a salvage operator off the Florida coast -- span more than twenty years. Although commissioned by Fawcett Books as a formula series (each book title features a color), already veteran author John D MacDonald created a memorable, serious, tough guy character who easily gets under the skin ... in a nice way. You have to start somewhere and this is it - the 1964 published The Deep Blue Good-by.

Travis McGee lives at Fort Lauderdale on a house boat aptly named the Busted Flush -- he won it in a card game. McGee works only when he has to, taking salvage commissions before his money runs out. Not yet in need of cash, as a favour he talks to a friend of a friend, a dancer named Cathy Kerr, who has become involved with a very nasty man, Junior Allen -- a thief, an abuser, a taker, a bully. Just the whiff of Allen is enough to engage McGee's sense of injustice but when the trail quickly leads to a half-dead Lois, McGee is hooked, determined to track down Allen and repair the damage he's done.

I wasn't expecting to be so captivated: like Chandler's Philip Marlowe, Travis McGee is much more than tough guy and the tales easily transcend mere hard-boiled crime. This book is close to perfection: grittily likeable, plausible and plausibly flawed main characters (except for a very black villain); pacing through several changes of scene as the threads of the mystery are followed through; a prose style that is un-self-conscious, voiced in a rich baritone that's comforting ... one feels McGee's arms gently craddling you throughout.

First rate; highly recommended. Not, alas, available at this time as an e-book.

10-02-2011, 06:43 PM	#496
SensualPoet Wizard Posts: 2,302 Karma: 2607151 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Kobo Aura HD, Kindle Paperwhite, Asus ZenPad 3, Kobo Glo	John D MacDonald - The Deep Blue Good-by The tales of Travis McGee -- a fiercely independent loner who earns his keep by his own rules as a salvage operator off the Florida coast -- span more than twenty years. Although commissioned by Fawcett Books as a formula series (each book title features a color), already veteran author John D MacDonald created a memorable, serious, tough guy character who easily gets under the skin ... in a nice way. You have to start somewhere and this is it - the 1964 published The Deep Blue Good-by. Travis McGee lives at Fort Lauderdale on a house boat aptly named the Busted Flush -- he won it in a card game. McGee works only when he has to, taking salvage commissions before his money runs out. Not yet in need of cash, as a favour he talks to a friend of a friend, a dancer named Cathy Kerr, who has become involved with a very nasty man, Junior Allen -- a thief, an abuser, a taker, a bully. Just the whiff of Allen is enough to engage McGee's sense of injustice but when the trail quickly leads to a half-dead Lois, McGee is hooked, determined to track down Allen and repair the damage he's done. I wasn't expecting to be so captivated: like Chandler's Philip Marlowe, Travis McGee is much more than tough guy and the tales easily transcend mere hard-boiled crime. This book is close to perfection: grittily likeable, plausible and plausibly flawed main characters (except for a very black villain); pacing through several changes of scene as the threads of the mystery are followed through; a prose style that is un-self-conscious, voiced in a rich baritone that's comforting ... one feels McGee's arms gently craddling you throughout. First rate; highly recommended. Not, alas, available at this time as an e-book.