Reviews

This is the third novel in the original Travis McGee trilogy, all of which were originally published in 1964. Once again McGee is lured out of Florida and his beloved houseboat, “The Busted Flush”. He travels to Arizona, I believe (it’s not specifically mentioned in the book) to consider accepting a job from a young lady who believes her older husband is plundering her trust fund set up for her by her wealthy father. At first, McGee doesn’t like the way the job is shaping up but soon after meeting his potential client, she is blown away by an unknown sniper. While McGee has no financial reason to stick around and solve the murder, his sense of honor leads him to do so anyway. His PI license isn’t valid in this state so his efforts to both work with and work around the local sheriff are some of the best moments in the book.

The story turns into a fairly straight forward murder whodunit although with some unexpected twists and the obligatory red herrings. Like many readers, I tended to like this third book a little better than the first two in the series and in fact, most critics point to this novel as the lynch pin book wherein the character of Travis McGee finds his stride that will carry him through the rest of the 21 book series. I plan to continue my read of the whole thing, spaced evenly over the next several years.

angelabeth995's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

kurtwombat's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I have had four color-themed Travis McGee books sitting on my shelves for years—all old paperbacks acquired from disparate used book locations. John D. MacDonald has long had the reputation as a template for generations of mystery writers—his fans famously including Stephen King & Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.. So, 60 years after it’s publication and my birth, I finally delved into my first Travis McGee novel. And I liked it. Lean and fast with sharply drawn characters and a satisfying mystery, MacDonald’s often beautiful descriptions pepper the prose—leaving an almost cinematic impression after reading. Famously a denizen of Florida, this story has McGee out of his element in the southwest—unfortunate for my first choice to read. Curious if I will appreciate this more or less after reading about him on his own turf. As with my own hands, the book has some age spots—the writing reflects the stereotypes of its era but that is ingrained in any work—you have to create space for that. I will be reading more.

ogreart's review

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4.0

A decent little mystery. It is definitely a product of its time. The attitudes toward women are pretty dated. I enjoyed it enough to want to go to the next book in the series.

hagbard_celine's review against another edition

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2.0

Weaker plot than the others I've read.

jdusell's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

nickyp's review against another edition

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repeated misogyny — including planning abuse of a woman. I guess it’s to show the character is bad, but nobody says boo to him or it

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