The Deep Blue Good-by by John D. MacDonald Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Deep Blue Good-by
Book Review: Good, but not great
Summary: 3 Stars
This was my first MacDonald book, and all things considered, it was an O.K. book. It is a traditional American mystery with a hansom, smooth talking, tanned Floridian (Travis McGee)as the hero of the story. It was a quick read and I recomend it for any fan of crime fiction.However, the book falls short for a few reasons. First, I find little originality in the plot. Right from the beginning of the novel, when the problem was introduced, I had no doubt how the story would conclude. Sure enough, I was right. To me, it seemed to be a generic, open-and-shut mystery novel with little real suspense and no plot twists like I would expect in a good mystery.
Secondly, I'm no feminist, but the overt machismo in this book got tiring. All of them women in this novel were helpless victims throwing themselves at Travis Macgee, who always did his best to help out the poor little ladies. I understand that this was written in the 1960's when these sorts of things were not as important. That notwithstanding, I still got a little sick of his constant portrayel of men as the saviors of women.
But please, don't just take my word for it. I may have given it three stars, but it seems like most people give it five stars. There are obviousley a lot of people who really like this novel. I just am not one of them. Go out and read it for yourself.
Book Review: He can fight and shoot and cook and mix great drinks !!
Summary: 5 Stars
This remains my favorite of the series featuring Travis McGee. McGee is the tall, tanned beach bum, and just happens to be an excellent detective. He's always got the right answer and he get's there by showing his work, not through conclusory narrative. He's never preachy as he disseminates his somewhat cynical but still romantic world view. McGee makes his living by retrieving treasure that good folks have been cheated out of by the bad guys. He keeps half of whatever he retrieves, but his clients are always satisfied because without his help, they would have never retrieved anything. He can fight, shoot and cook and mix great drinks and nurse just about any down-and-out beauty back to health on his houseboat called "The Busted Flush" which he won in a poker game and is docked Lauderdale. Helping those leastest sparrows is always my favorite part. The Deep Blue Good-By, written in MacDonald's heyday, presents a truly battered soul in the character of Cathy Kerr. If only I could make a life sustaining egg-nog or egg-fizz whatever it is ! I guess, like a lot of guys , If I could become somebody else I would want to become Travis McGee. To me McGee is a real person and that says a lot about the late, great John D. Macdonald.Book Review: If you are just starting this series, I'm jealous
Summary: 4 Stars
I read the entire series as they came out starting 40 years ago, and am now listening to the unabridged audiobooks with delectible slowness.
If you are lucky enough to be reading reviews to contemplate starting this series, you have a wonderful journey ahead of you. I think Travis McGee, along with Nero Wolfe, are the two best (albiet very different) characters ever in the mystery/crime genre.
Since it is now 43 years since this book was published, you will be astounded at the amazing contemporary nature of the books.
This is one of the more complicated plots with as many characters as any story in the series, perhaps as befits the first one written. It is a great story, but as MacDonald hits his stride around the third or fouth book in the series, the plots simplify, the number of characters goes down, and the depth of each charcter intensifies.
You can read other stuff about the plot, characters, et. al. The purpose of this review is to tell you that when you finally get to the 21st book in the series, The Lonely Silver Rain, you'll be writing a review like this and be looking forward to your second visit to The Deep Blue Good-by as you start the adventure all over again.
Book Review: Introducing Travis McGee!
Summary: 5 Stars
To many modern readers, even modern mystery readers, the name of John D. MacDonald is almost unknown, and even those who've heard of him may not have read him. MacDonald died over twenty years ago and only had one really successful movie adaptation of his works, Cape Fear (based on his book The Executioners). Yet MacDonald was not only really good, he was also a big influence on many current writers. On my copy of The Deep Blue Good-By, the authors praising MacDonald are some of the biggest in fiction, including Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Sue Grafton, Donald Westlake, Robert Parker and Carl Hiaasen.
Of the seventy-plus novels that MacDonald put out, the ones that stand out is his one foray into series fiction, the Travis McGee novels, and The Deep Blue Good-By is the first McGee novel. McGee lives on a houseboat called The Busted Flush in Fort Lauderdale, where he enjoys his retirement in bits and pieces: whenever he runs low on money, he takes on another job.
What type of work does he do? He describes it as salvage work: for people who've lost things that cannot be retrieved through normal means, he will get the things back for half their value. As the story begins, he is living the comfortable life, but that ends when he is convinced to help a dancer named Cathy Kerr, who's convinced that a hidden family fortune was stolen by Junior Allen, an ex-con who was in prison with Cathy's father. Few do villains better than MacDonald, and Junior Allen is definitely a piece of work, leaving a trail of physical and emotional pain in his wake.
At the time The Deep Blue Good-By was written, John MacDonald was churning out books pretty quickly (often several a year). At times, the haste shows, but the opposite is also true: it is an indication of MacDonald's skill that even at his rapid writing pace, he could still produce quality work. If you've never tried John MacDonald, this is a good place to start.
Book Review: Making a comeback
Summary: 5 Stars
I first read the Travis McGee series years ago, and now they seem to be popular again. Maybe it's the Tea Party Environment seeking an independent lifestyle with limited government. Travis McGee is a "salvage specialist" who recovers assets for people, getting involved in investigations to find the assets. He works for cash - this is all unreported income that he keeps in a secret compartment aboard the Busted Flush, his houseboat that he won in a card game. He tries to minimize his contact with the government. He has various aquaintances in the Florida marina where he moors the Busted Flush. One is known for having the world's longest running house party.
This is probably the best place to start, or restart, the series. The series came back to mind when one of the members of the Sue Grafton Forum brought it to the surface. While not an actual PI (that would involve getting a license from the government), Travis falls into that category of independent investigators who have no partners and no employees. I was disappointed when the character Sharon McCone formed an actual agency and became part of the establishment. I think characters like Travis McGee would drink Drano before they would join the establishment, and their independence is what makes them attractive - perhaps appealing to people's deep down desire to run off and join a circus.