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The Price of Murder
On the surface, they seem like three very different Danny Bronson, a cunning ex-con struggling to go straight; his brother, Lee, a former Gridiron star turned college professor; and Johnny Keefler, a crooked parole officer who lives for revenge. But they all grew up in the same corner of town, a grim little slum known as 'The Sink', where life is cheap and might makes right.And a story that's just as dark unfolds when their paths cross as men - at the intersection of brutal violence, illicit liaisons, a 'foolproof' scam and the intoxicating allure of cold, hard cash.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1957
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186 people want to read
About the author
John D. MacDonald
564 books1,368 followersJohn D. MacDonald was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, and educated at the Universities of Pennsylvania, Syracuse and Harvard, where he took an MBA in 1939. During WW2, he rose to the rank of Colonel, and while serving in the Army and in the Far East, sent a short story to his wife for sale, successfully. He served in the Office of Strategic Services (O.S.S.) in the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations. After the war, he decided to try writing for a year, to see if he could make a living. Over 500 short stories and 70 novels resulted, including 21 Travis McGee novels.
Following complications of an earlier heart bypass operation, MacDonald slipped into a coma on December 10 and died at age 70, on December 28, 1986, in St. Mary's Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was survived by his wife Dorothy (1911-1989) and a son, Maynard.
In the years since his death MacDonald has been praised by authors as diverse as Stephen King, Spider Robinson, Jimmy Buffett, Kingsley Amis and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.. Thirty-three years after his passing the Travis McGee novels are still in print.
Following complications of an earlier heart bypass operation, MacDonald slipped into a coma on December 10 and died at age 70, on December 28, 1986, in St. Mary's Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was survived by his wife Dorothy (1911-1989) and a son, Maynard.
In the years since his death MacDonald has been praised by authors as diverse as Stephen King, Spider Robinson, Jimmy Buffett, Kingsley Amis and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.. Thirty-three years after his passing the Travis McGee novels are still in print.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
December 14, 2017
Pulp Fiction in the raw, before it became retro and cool.
When hipsters and noir aficionados and Tarantino film students want to get to the heart of the matter, they may well have considered this GEM as a seam of crime fiction mining treasure. If John D. MacDonald was a musician, this would be smooth but growling and jazzy, with a complicated but catchy bassline and coming together with a scorching sax solo. If he were a painter this would be DARK and evocative, with seductive curves and languorous swells, calling to mind dreamy but animal passions.
But JDM was a writer, and this is an example of crime fiction at its most primal and incendiary; Mac is dredging up tough stories of dangerous lives springing up in the hard streets of a poor neighborhood. Described as “The Sink” this is the hard luck fecundity of crime fiction, the drunk but amorous mother from which these kinds of stories spring.
Using as a narrative structure a shifting perspective amongst several related characters, this really did make me think of both Tarantino’s 1994 crime masterpiece and Frank Miller’s entrancing Sin City work.
MacDonald describes a group of related characters and surrounding events related to murder, rape, parole violations, theft, corruption and graft. There are corrupt cops and shady lawyers, street level hit men looking for a big score and reckless women eager to hang on to rough men.
Told with an economy of language that would make Hemingway reach for a drink and with the thoughtful, observant style fans will recall from his Travis McGee books, MacDonald also describes some slick police work to counterbalance the criminal side of this work.
Crime fiction GOLD.
When hipsters and noir aficionados and Tarantino film students want to get to the heart of the matter, they may well have considered this GEM as a seam of crime fiction mining treasure. If John D. MacDonald was a musician, this would be smooth but growling and jazzy, with a complicated but catchy bassline and coming together with a scorching sax solo. If he were a painter this would be DARK and evocative, with seductive curves and languorous swells, calling to mind dreamy but animal passions.
But JDM was a writer, and this is an example of crime fiction at its most primal and incendiary; Mac is dredging up tough stories of dangerous lives springing up in the hard streets of a poor neighborhood. Described as “The Sink” this is the hard luck fecundity of crime fiction, the drunk but amorous mother from which these kinds of stories spring.
Using as a narrative structure a shifting perspective amongst several related characters, this really did make me think of both Tarantino’s 1994 crime masterpiece and Frank Miller’s entrancing Sin City work.
MacDonald describes a group of related characters and surrounding events related to murder, rape, parole violations, theft, corruption and graft. There are corrupt cops and shady lawyers, street level hit men looking for a big score and reckless women eager to hang on to rough men.
Told with an economy of language that would make Hemingway reach for a drink and with the thoughtful, observant style fans will recall from his Travis McGee books, MacDonald also describes some slick police work to counterbalance the criminal side of this work.
Crime fiction GOLD.
December 27, 2022
“The Price of Murder” continued the string of crime novels that MacDonald put out in 1956 and 1957, following Death Trap and You Only Live Once, but with a darker, bleaker feel to it. In it, MacDonald used his technique of alternating points of view between chapters, a technique he used quite well in Murder in the Wind and the Damned. Here, he focuses on a handful of characters, Lee Bronson, Johnny Keefler (the one-armed parole officer), Danny Bronson (Lee’s wayward brother), Paul Verney (the corrupt lawyer), and Lucille Bronson.
Lee Bronson had grown up on the wrong side of town (“the Sink”) with as much bad luck as he could muster. Every guy his mother married ended up in a bad situation. Lee managed to go straight and taught English at a small junior college in Brookton. His brother, Danny, was out on parole – again. Lee just wanted to live his life and the only joy he got was from teaching.
His marriage he considered: “A perfumed trap. A silky and membranous and pneumatic little trap. A trap named Lucille.” He met her when they were young and held out promises of working on the great American novel, a project never completed and that would never be completed. She resented that this was the pinnacle of his success. She had learned growing up that she was a great prize and believed that she would inevitably be given all the great things by someone. As we later learn, Lee had been blinded by her magical face and body and “had read into her all the things he wanted to find.” “He could not believe that a face and body of such perfection could contain a third-class mind.”
Danny did not come out of the Sink other than scarred. He was a great hoodlum, always working on his next score.
Johnny Keefler, the one-armed parole officer, had once been a good kid, raised by his uncle. Local toughs though knifed his uncle when he confronted a group of shoplifters and, Keefler’s reward for ratting out who did it, was torture in an alley beyond belief and a vow to the heaven’s above to exact revenge. Which he did over the years as a police officer and later, after being shot in the line of duty, as a parole officer. Keefler was singleminded in his goal of exacting what he considered justice.
MacDonald weaves these complex characters into a tight little plot where all things go wrong as they generally do in these types of novels. You get the sense in reading this one that he combined his technique of creating complex backstories with his writing of a tight succinct crime novel. But don’t be confused into thinking this is some trip through literary highlights as there are explosions of violence in this novel that will make your head spin, particularly as the story reaches its climax.
Lee Bronson had grown up on the wrong side of town (“the Sink”) with as much bad luck as he could muster. Every guy his mother married ended up in a bad situation. Lee managed to go straight and taught English at a small junior college in Brookton. His brother, Danny, was out on parole – again. Lee just wanted to live his life and the only joy he got was from teaching.
His marriage he considered: “A perfumed trap. A silky and membranous and pneumatic little trap. A trap named Lucille.” He met her when they were young and held out promises of working on the great American novel, a project never completed and that would never be completed. She resented that this was the pinnacle of his success. She had learned growing up that she was a great prize and believed that she would inevitably be given all the great things by someone. As we later learn, Lee had been blinded by her magical face and body and “had read into her all the things he wanted to find.” “He could not believe that a face and body of such perfection could contain a third-class mind.”
Danny did not come out of the Sink other than scarred. He was a great hoodlum, always working on his next score.
Johnny Keefler, the one-armed parole officer, had once been a good kid, raised by his uncle. Local toughs though knifed his uncle when he confronted a group of shoplifters and, Keefler’s reward for ratting out who did it, was torture in an alley beyond belief and a vow to the heaven’s above to exact revenge. Which he did over the years as a police officer and later, after being shot in the line of duty, as a parole officer. Keefler was singleminded in his goal of exacting what he considered justice.
MacDonald weaves these complex characters into a tight little plot where all things go wrong as they generally do in these types of novels. You get the sense in reading this one that he combined his technique of creating complex backstories with his writing of a tight succinct crime novel. But don’t be confused into thinking this is some trip through literary highlights as there are explosions of violence in this novel that will make your head spin, particularly as the story reaches its climax.
June 24, 2017
This is one of many novels MacDonald wrote before the famous Travis McGee series. He wrote any pulp paperback originals in the late 1940's and 50's. This particular novel I would describe as multiple character sketches tied together as a crime story. I say sketches because there was no way to fully develop the characters in this relatively short 160 page novel . Still the story holds together well and the descriptive passages are excellent. I like to read early works by popular writers that have had a significant influence on todays authors. This is not one of the author's better efforts but it is worth reading as a good example of paperback crime fiction of the 1950's.
August 4, 2025
Flawless
April 6, 2025
Good One
Pros
1. It didn't suck at all.
2. Not a whodunnit.
3. No my-kooky-family.
4. No rag-tag-band-of-misfits.
5. No called-out-of-retirement-for-one-last-mission.
6. No nature-boy.
7. No love stories.
8. No perverts.
9. Not darkly comic (or any other kind of not-funny, but called "comic" stuff that's only there to make you think only people way smarter than you are get the jokes).
10. Not taut.
11. Not blistering.
12. Not gritty.
13. No roller-coaster rides.
14. Not gripping.
15. Not fast-paced.
16. Not epic or iconic.
17. No rollicking romps.
18. Not lyrical (whatever that is).
19. No poetics (whatever they are).
20. Not picaresque.
21. No harbingers.
22. No characterizations (whatever they are).
23. Not shrouded in mystery.
24. No imagery (whatever that is).
25. Not an immersive art experience.
26. No hypnotism.
27. Not evocative (I know what that is: it means you are the one who's gotta have the imagination, not the guy writing the book, i.e., doing his job).
28. No genres.
29. No milieus.
30. No metiers.
31. No fortes.
32. No denouements.
33. No protagonists.
34. No creme de menthe.
Cons
1. None.
Just goes to show you don't need to write whodunnits or any kind of BS in general.
Pros
1. It didn't suck at all.
2. Not a whodunnit.
3. No my-kooky-family.
4. No rag-tag-band-of-misfits.
5. No called-out-of-retirement-for-one-last-mission.
6. No nature-boy.
7. No love stories.
8. No perverts.
9. Not darkly comic (or any other kind of not-funny, but called "comic" stuff that's only there to make you think only people way smarter than you are get the jokes).
10. Not taut.
11. Not blistering.
12. Not gritty.
13. No roller-coaster rides.
14. Not gripping.
15. Not fast-paced.
16. Not epic or iconic.
17. No rollicking romps.
18. Not lyrical (whatever that is).
19. No poetics (whatever they are).
20. Not picaresque.
21. No harbingers.
22. No characterizations (whatever they are).
23. Not shrouded in mystery.
24. No imagery (whatever that is).
25. Not an immersive art experience.
26. No hypnotism.
27. Not evocative (I know what that is: it means you are the one who's gotta have the imagination, not the guy writing the book, i.e., doing his job).
28. No genres.
29. No milieus.
30. No metiers.
31. No fortes.
32. No denouements.
33. No protagonists.
34. No creme de menthe.
Cons
1. None.
Just goes to show you don't need to write whodunnits or any kind of BS in general.
February 5, 2017
Thus mystery novel was written in the fifties before McDonald had developed his Travis McGee character. I had no lack of interest in the plot and finished the book quickly, but the book did not develop the characters as well as in his later years, as a matter of fact I believe only one person in the book would not be characterized as dysfunctional. McDonald's descriptions of surroundings and people were excellent, but the story was easy to anticipate and thus the rating. Glad I read the book, but more to read some of the author's early work than the merit of the story.
January 26, 2015
27 dec 14, saturday morning, 6:44 a.m. e.s.t.
this will be #15 from macdonald for me.
copyright 1957 john d macdonald the price of murder
160 page paperback
begins with a prologue that starts:
"if i could have the attention of the other members of the commission for a moment, please. let me reconstruct for you the actual physical details of the first murder..."
okee dokee then, as the good doctor said, (the fish camp, 1980), onward & upward.
time place scene settings
*the bronson home at 1024 arcadia street
*story opens, it is a saturday afternoon in october
*the sink...30 city blocks in hancock
*the port city of hancock...that has merged with brookton
*1214 river street, one place in "the sink" the bronson family, lee, his brother danny, and their mother lived
*sonny's bar
*the john x moran school on hoffer street, keefler's school as a kid
*1947...given as a year for one incident in keefler's life...so, the "time" of the story is likely the late 40s, early 50s...elsewhere, 1949 is used as a date...so the story is after that
*alton...the name of the prison
*a camp, private lodge, constructed without his wife's knowledge by burt catton, 63 miles from hancock
*verney's offices, 6th floor, market building corner of george and castel streets
*tulsa...is involved with the ransom money...a bank...safety deposit boxes...post offices
*mel stodd's courthouse resataurant
*the date 1950 is used...so story "present" is after that
*plato's bar on 5th street
*the 2-acre man-made lake at catton's private lodge
a note on the narration
there is that prologue, one page, the setting is unclear...someone speaking to a commission, sounds like a prosecuting attorney. the remainder of the story is divided by chapter, each chapter told from the p.o.v. of a character in the story, the first from lee bronson's pov, followed by johnny keefler, the 3rd from lucille bronson's pov. the chapters are labelled with the character whose pov is being used. 4 is danny bronson...5 is paul verney...6 is john keefler...7 is lucille bronson...8 is lee bronson...9 is ben wixler
later in january
this story, told 3rd-person through the eyes of the individual characters, the chapters titled from that perspective, is like another
macdonald story, this one from 1954, All These Condemned, although that story is told 1st-person, each chapter titled from the p.o.v. of a character within the story.
names characters major minor real imagined peripheral
*lee bronson, 29-year-old, married to lucille, a korean war veteran, graduate of columbia graduate school, he is an instructor at brookton junior college where he is in his 3rd year. he teaches english and physical education and he is an assistant coach. lucille and he do not have children...apparently they are unable. lee is also a writer, verily hallelujah, and he has managed to publish one story and wishes he had more time. his wife, lucille, is a distraction and annoyance.
*jill grossman: one of lee's english students
*pedestrians
*lucille bronson, wife of lee. the summer before he began teaching, lee worked for a highway construction company, and he rented a room from the detterich's in southern michigan. lucille "seel" bronson is the 1st child and only daughter of the detteriches'. they tolerate each other...there seems to be little love left in their marriage...they expected more from the other.
*ruthie loftis: a friend of lucille's, wife of a car salesman, they live three blocks down from the bronson family
*daniel "dan" "danny" a. bronson: older brother lee...he has violated his parole, has done time on more than one occasion, several times for crimes he did not commit, though he is described as having a questionable history.
*johnny keefler: tough-guy ex-cop. after being shot in the wrist and losing a hand keefler lost his job as a cop and is now a parole officer. he is unmarried. it isn't clear, but after his father died...the mother was already out of the picture...keefler and two of his younger siblings were put in a home, rescued from that by an uncle
*uncle mose, keefler's uncle. he runs a small grocery, produce stand...he is married, two daughters and a "monster son" kept in a back room. go figure that one...it isn't explained in the keefler chapter. his uncle mose is cut by a touch kid, dies, keefler witnessed the event...the rough kids abuse him...and one by one he pays them back
*richardson or rich: previous parole officer. keefler has taken over richardson's cases
*a young punk...to do w/keefler
*nurse in hospital
*jerry bronson: father of lee and danny bronson. he was half-owner of a tug, died in an accident on the water, 39 when he died
*elvita sharon: mother of lee and danny. she was 23 when jerry died. her family owned a hunting lodge in northern wisconsin. when jerry the 1st husband died, she married
*rudy fernandez...and he was killed then she hooked up with a slob named
*cowley...when lee was 12, danny 15, cowley died of a heart attack
*nick bouchard: a gangster type...crossed the syndicate and was eliminated...danny worked for him
*nick's lawyers...helped lee on an assault charge
*kennedy...took over after nick is out of the picture
*three sons, lucille only daughter, of the detteriches'
*a couple at sonny's bar...when danny was there
*fitch, a big shot banker from detroit...the male of the couple at sonny's bar
*two boys who were following her...lucille
*uncle rog, lucille's uncle...who calls her "seel", mother's brother
*dr. ewing
*roving bands of touch kids...in "the sink" where keefler and the bronson boys were raised.
*red annlie was the chieftain of the rough gang of boys
*gilbert "gil" peter kowalsik, hank rillyer, stubs rollins, theodore "tooey" gennetti, and pete casey...abused johnny keefler...they were all killed, eventually
*hank rillyer...one of above..sliced open uncle mose
*interns
*three enlisted men in the eight air force, london...to do w/keefler
*mr paul keller...beaten by keefler as a patrol cop...to do w/a stolen car, recovered, not taken off the list...keefler stops, beats
*corporal richard benedict, keefler's partner at the time
*dispatcher
*talliaferro...someone keefler will lean on
*terry judson...on parole...married...sent back to prison for drinking a beer
*bartender...bowling team...to do w/judson
*connie judson...terry's wife...keefler is diddling her...because he can
*bill holden...movie star of the day...george raft, another...earnest borgnine, yet another...grace kelly, cary grant
*earl...ruthie's husband
*taffy...a dog...lucille's...killed by a car
*the kids next door
*burt catton, 60-year-old, in poor health...philanderer...married to a woman half his age, wealthy...the 1st mrs died when she was 61, ethel...
*toledo architect...who designed the private lodge for burt catton
*labor from the nearby town of kemp...helped build the lodge
*ethel...maiden name was brice, 1st wife of catton...she died
drusilla downey catton, the 30-year-old wife of burt catton...a mover and a shaker...the marriage to burt is her 3rd, the first marriage was when she was 17 to panther rose, the prizefighter...the 2nd when she was 22 to a 26-year-old lawyer who committed suicide. she and danny are an item...and it is through her that danny learns of the hot money...she shacks him up at the lodge to keep him away from the parole officer who wants him back in prison
*calder downey, father of drusilla
*a city official...a party...drusilla's escort at the party
*katherine hepburn...a famous actress from the day fore and aft
*al altamiro...had his left arm shot off
*a runner for bouchard...that danny killed though not with intent...he roughed him up...the man died...other runners took note
*specialists...called in to do berman...one called "peashooter" cause he uses colt .22, german silencer
*insistent secretary...of paul v...mariam
*paul d verney: attorney at law...he and burt catton are trying to "buy" some ransom money that was never recovered, but known, recorded, so it is hot...they get four dollars for each one spent...several hundreds of thousands.
*the tax people...who have been giving verney and catton both grief
*contact in chicago
*calvin rovere, big money man from texas...married, twins sons, a daughter...15 acres near bandera in the hill country north of san antonio...on the guadalupe river. his twin sons were kidnapped...never recovered, although money was put together...and that was never recovered, either...disappeared...though recorded
*cook, maid, foreman, three hands...on the rovere property
*a captain of the rangers...who grilled suspects over an open fire, jack frost nipping at his heels, yuletide logs turning to grey ash...
*a mile or two from the town of vanderpool, the bodies of the twins were found by an angora goat herder
*young man...orangeville...pennsylvania/ohio...youngstown, ohio
*a county cop...who made off with the ransom money...somehow...that part of the story is weak...but we'll run with it okay
*roger dixon: law school buddy of paul verney...in 1949 detroit...he somehow comes into contact with people who have the ransom money...turns to paul, cause he knows paul is the type
*melissa, paul's wife...had a breakdown...in a home
*15-year-old boy at a school, paul/melissa
*speculator in cleveland
*a friend in detroit of roger dixon
*"w.w. ward" an alias that paul v uses
*two men who had no desire to talk
*count and city cops...newspaper people...politicians...courthouse types
*will slater, assistant district attorney, former cop, keefley tries to milk information from him...does to a degree
*will's friends
*"fred" and "tommy"...fictitious names that verney supplies to keefler
*will's friends
*lew...a nineteen-year-old that lucille bronson wouldn't mind diddling, if she hasn't already, ruthie knows...guy hangs out at the pool
*sergeant ben wixler: left college in 1942, enlisted army, went ocs...company b, infantry, of course, europe. instead of banking and business after the army he became a cop
*wixler's father a director of hancock bank and trust company
*dr. ellis haughton, head of the english department...a very old man...had retired, came out of retirement...has not again retired. widower...lives with a married daughter, son-in-law...a prosperous corporative executive
*randy...bursar's office
*instructors, assistant professors, associate professors
*a friend...sent him two already...haughton has...and will send lee down the road to a new job is he loses the one he has not
*ruy lopez...as in chess openings etc
*sergeant foltz
*two uniformed men...one is billy
*matthews...next up the chain of command, presumably, above wixler
*beth wixler, ben's wie, pregnant with the 4th child
*hank, brother of beth
*eleanor, hank's wife
*striker...was chief of police when ben wixler started as cop
*homicide headed by captain roeber, health declining
*assistant section head, homicide, lieutenant gabby grey...not up to the task of being in charge...wixler as sergeant is up to the job
*james purvis, new chief of police
*inspector wendell "wendy" matthews
*shorty cullin, patrol cop
*detective al spence
*curious neighbors had gathered...a uniformed officer
*catelli and roemer...lab techs, homicide
*frenchie...another lab tech coming in his own car...last name, possibly duchesne
*tormey, another patrol cop
*billy sullivan, a crime reporter for the hancock ledger...and a "speed graphic" is in the scene...a camera? another inserts a plate in a speed graphic...and two others with him
*betty...al spence's wife
*doctor from coroner's officer...county coroner
*harry...name associated with paul...at the club where he lives
*a hot-tempered client
*bucky angelis...district attorney
*mister x...mister y
*captain donovan of the c.i. bureau of the state police, kemp barracks
*a caller who wouldn't give their name...neckers
*trooper jensen...another trooper
*mr. jack young...owner of the convertible (this didn't make sense...seemed like a loose end...macdonald didn't explain this well enough...where this car came from...why it is in the story)
*sheriff...specialists...a taxi driver...baker, a patrol cop...three husky troopers, pants shoes socks off wading in the muck
*a contractor...used by catton
*guy who used to bust down doors in vice
time passages
there is a small short sweet time passages in this one...to repeat, time passages is when a character uses their imagination in whatever way is possible. this one on page ninety-four has lucille imagining life with danny. not mind-boggling in the time-passage scheme of things...but it will be shelved as such.
there's another...and this one illustrates the definition. two of the cops...it doesn't matter who they are...though one is wixler...are theorizing. mister x...mister y. they are using their imagination, their noggin may it do ya fine. there are some stories that lend themselves to this time passages idea. when a writer uses his/her imagination to set up a time passage out of the ordinary, that's when it gets interesting.
update, finished, 28 dec 14, sunday morning 4:08 a.m. e.s.t.
good story. one item i noted as i read, as i took my notes to make my index...wondering about the long cast of characters...when macdonald introduces a new character...sometimes, not alla time, but sometimes, he'll insert a short story that defines that character and humanizes the character. he does this either with a short piece...that guy who used to bust down doors in vice. that's not verbatim, but like that. i find it curious, when i've completed a story, the list of characters in the story...the length. many are name-only...but it often seems as though there is a new name to add to the list on each page...often more than one. rarely, one can read for several pages before noting another name. often, they are like setting. and macdonald doesn't always leave it as the taxi driver stopped...here, the taxi driver makes a smart-aleck comment, "cop convention going on or what?" the telling is not stilted...the telling is more alive, real.
this will be #15 from macdonald for me.
copyright 1957 john d macdonald the price of murder
160 page paperback
begins with a prologue that starts:
"if i could have the attention of the other members of the commission for a moment, please. let me reconstruct for you the actual physical details of the first murder..."
okee dokee then, as the good doctor said, (the fish camp, 1980), onward & upward.
time place scene settings
*the bronson home at 1024 arcadia street
*story opens, it is a saturday afternoon in october
*the sink...30 city blocks in hancock
*the port city of hancock...that has merged with brookton
*1214 river street, one place in "the sink" the bronson family, lee, his brother danny, and their mother lived
*sonny's bar
*the john x moran school on hoffer street, keefler's school as a kid
*1947...given as a year for one incident in keefler's life...so, the "time" of the story is likely the late 40s, early 50s...elsewhere, 1949 is used as a date...so the story is after that
*alton...the name of the prison
*a camp, private lodge, constructed without his wife's knowledge by burt catton, 63 miles from hancock
*verney's offices, 6th floor, market building corner of george and castel streets
*tulsa...is involved with the ransom money...a bank...safety deposit boxes...post offices
*mel stodd's courthouse resataurant
*the date 1950 is used...so story "present" is after that
*plato's bar on 5th street
*the 2-acre man-made lake at catton's private lodge
a note on the narration
there is that prologue, one page, the setting is unclear...someone speaking to a commission, sounds like a prosecuting attorney. the remainder of the story is divided by chapter, each chapter told from the p.o.v. of a character in the story, the first from lee bronson's pov, followed by johnny keefler, the 3rd from lucille bronson's pov. the chapters are labelled with the character whose pov is being used. 4 is danny bronson...5 is paul verney...6 is john keefler...7 is lucille bronson...8 is lee bronson...9 is ben wixler
later in january
this story, told 3rd-person through the eyes of the individual characters, the chapters titled from that perspective, is like another
macdonald story, this one from 1954, All These Condemned, although that story is told 1st-person, each chapter titled from the p.o.v. of a character within the story.
names characters major minor real imagined peripheral
*lee bronson, 29-year-old, married to lucille, a korean war veteran, graduate of columbia graduate school, he is an instructor at brookton junior college where he is in his 3rd year. he teaches english and physical education and he is an assistant coach. lucille and he do not have children...apparently they are unable. lee is also a writer, verily hallelujah, and he has managed to publish one story and wishes he had more time. his wife, lucille, is a distraction and annoyance.
*jill grossman: one of lee's english students
*pedestrians
*lucille bronson, wife of lee. the summer before he began teaching, lee worked for a highway construction company, and he rented a room from the detterich's in southern michigan. lucille "seel" bronson is the 1st child and only daughter of the detteriches'. they tolerate each other...there seems to be little love left in their marriage...they expected more from the other.
*ruthie loftis: a friend of lucille's, wife of a car salesman, they live three blocks down from the bronson family
*daniel "dan" "danny" a. bronson: older brother lee...he has violated his parole, has done time on more than one occasion, several times for crimes he did not commit, though he is described as having a questionable history.
*johnny keefler: tough-guy ex-cop. after being shot in the wrist and losing a hand keefler lost his job as a cop and is now a parole officer. he is unmarried. it isn't clear, but after his father died...the mother was already out of the picture...keefler and two of his younger siblings were put in a home, rescued from that by an uncle
*uncle mose, keefler's uncle. he runs a small grocery, produce stand...he is married, two daughters and a "monster son" kept in a back room. go figure that one...it isn't explained in the keefler chapter. his uncle mose is cut by a touch kid, dies, keefler witnessed the event...the rough kids abuse him...and one by one he pays them back
*richardson or rich: previous parole officer. keefler has taken over richardson's cases
*a young punk...to do w/keefler
*nurse in hospital
*jerry bronson: father of lee and danny bronson. he was half-owner of a tug, died in an accident on the water, 39 when he died
*elvita sharon: mother of lee and danny. she was 23 when jerry died. her family owned a hunting lodge in northern wisconsin. when jerry the 1st husband died, she married
*rudy fernandez...and he was killed then she hooked up with a slob named
*cowley...when lee was 12, danny 15, cowley died of a heart attack
*nick bouchard: a gangster type...crossed the syndicate and was eliminated...danny worked for him
*nick's lawyers...helped lee on an assault charge
*kennedy...took over after nick is out of the picture
*three sons, lucille only daughter, of the detteriches'
*a couple at sonny's bar...when danny was there
*fitch, a big shot banker from detroit...the male of the couple at sonny's bar
*two boys who were following her...lucille
*uncle rog, lucille's uncle...who calls her "seel", mother's brother
*dr. ewing
*roving bands of touch kids...in "the sink" where keefler and the bronson boys were raised.
*red annlie was the chieftain of the rough gang of boys
*gilbert "gil" peter kowalsik, hank rillyer, stubs rollins, theodore "tooey" gennetti, and pete casey...abused johnny keefler...they were all killed, eventually
*hank rillyer...one of above..sliced open uncle mose
*interns
*three enlisted men in the eight air force, london...to do w/keefler
*mr paul keller...beaten by keefler as a patrol cop...to do w/a stolen car, recovered, not taken off the list...keefler stops, beats
*corporal richard benedict, keefler's partner at the time
*dispatcher
*talliaferro...someone keefler will lean on
*terry judson...on parole...married...sent back to prison for drinking a beer
*bartender...bowling team...to do w/judson
*connie judson...terry's wife...keefler is diddling her...because he can
*bill holden...movie star of the day...george raft, another...earnest borgnine, yet another...grace kelly, cary grant
*earl...ruthie's husband
*taffy...a dog...lucille's...killed by a car
*the kids next door
*burt catton, 60-year-old, in poor health...philanderer...married to a woman half his age, wealthy...the 1st mrs died when she was 61, ethel...
*toledo architect...who designed the private lodge for burt catton
*labor from the nearby town of kemp...helped build the lodge
*ethel...maiden name was brice, 1st wife of catton...she died
drusilla downey catton, the 30-year-old wife of burt catton...a mover and a shaker...the marriage to burt is her 3rd, the first marriage was when she was 17 to panther rose, the prizefighter...the 2nd when she was 22 to a 26-year-old lawyer who committed suicide. she and danny are an item...and it is through her that danny learns of the hot money...she shacks him up at the lodge to keep him away from the parole officer who wants him back in prison
*calder downey, father of drusilla
*a city official...a party...drusilla's escort at the party
*katherine hepburn...a famous actress from the day fore and aft
*al altamiro...had his left arm shot off
*a runner for bouchard...that danny killed though not with intent...he roughed him up...the man died...other runners took note
*specialists...called in to do berman...one called "peashooter" cause he uses colt .22, german silencer
*insistent secretary...of paul v...mariam
*paul d verney: attorney at law...he and burt catton are trying to "buy" some ransom money that was never recovered, but known, recorded, so it is hot...they get four dollars for each one spent...several hundreds of thousands.
*the tax people...who have been giving verney and catton both grief
*contact in chicago
*calvin rovere, big money man from texas...married, twins sons, a daughter...15 acres near bandera in the hill country north of san antonio...on the guadalupe river. his twin sons were kidnapped...never recovered, although money was put together...and that was never recovered, either...disappeared...though recorded
*cook, maid, foreman, three hands...on the rovere property
*a captain of the rangers...who grilled suspects over an open fire, jack frost nipping at his heels, yuletide logs turning to grey ash...
*a mile or two from the town of vanderpool, the bodies of the twins were found by an angora goat herder
*young man...orangeville...pennsylvania/ohio...youngstown, ohio
*a county cop...who made off with the ransom money...somehow...that part of the story is weak...but we'll run with it okay
*roger dixon: law school buddy of paul verney...in 1949 detroit...he somehow comes into contact with people who have the ransom money...turns to paul, cause he knows paul is the type
*melissa, paul's wife...had a breakdown...in a home
*15-year-old boy at a school, paul/melissa
*speculator in cleveland
*a friend in detroit of roger dixon
*"w.w. ward" an alias that paul v uses
*two men who had no desire to talk
*count and city cops...newspaper people...politicians...courthouse types
*will slater, assistant district attorney, former cop, keefley tries to milk information from him...does to a degree
*will's friends
*"fred" and "tommy"...fictitious names that verney supplies to keefler
*will's friends
*lew...a nineteen-year-old that lucille bronson wouldn't mind diddling, if she hasn't already, ruthie knows...guy hangs out at the pool
*sergeant ben wixler: left college in 1942, enlisted army, went ocs...company b, infantry, of course, europe. instead of banking and business after the army he became a cop
*wixler's father a director of hancock bank and trust company
*dr. ellis haughton, head of the english department...a very old man...had retired, came out of retirement...has not again retired. widower...lives with a married daughter, son-in-law...a prosperous corporative executive
*randy...bursar's office
*instructors, assistant professors, associate professors
*a friend...sent him two already...haughton has...and will send lee down the road to a new job is he loses the one he has not
*ruy lopez...as in chess openings etc
*sergeant foltz
*two uniformed men...one is billy
*matthews...next up the chain of command, presumably, above wixler
*beth wixler, ben's wie, pregnant with the 4th child
*hank, brother of beth
*eleanor, hank's wife
*striker...was chief of police when ben wixler started as cop
*homicide headed by captain roeber, health declining
*assistant section head, homicide, lieutenant gabby grey...not up to the task of being in charge...wixler as sergeant is up to the job
*james purvis, new chief of police
*inspector wendell "wendy" matthews
*shorty cullin, patrol cop
*detective al spence
*curious neighbors had gathered...a uniformed officer
*catelli and roemer...lab techs, homicide
*frenchie...another lab tech coming in his own car...last name, possibly duchesne
*tormey, another patrol cop
*billy sullivan, a crime reporter for the hancock ledger...and a "speed graphic" is in the scene...a camera? another inserts a plate in a speed graphic...and two others with him
*betty...al spence's wife
*doctor from coroner's officer...county coroner
*harry...name associated with paul...at the club where he lives
*a hot-tempered client
*bucky angelis...district attorney
*mister x...mister y
*captain donovan of the c.i. bureau of the state police, kemp barracks
*a caller who wouldn't give their name...neckers
*trooper jensen...another trooper
*mr. jack young...owner of the convertible (this didn't make sense...seemed like a loose end...macdonald didn't explain this well enough...where this car came from...why it is in the story)
*sheriff...specialists...a taxi driver...baker, a patrol cop...three husky troopers, pants shoes socks off wading in the muck
*a contractor...used by catton
*guy who used to bust down doors in vice
time passages
there is a small short sweet time passages in this one...to repeat, time passages is when a character uses their imagination in whatever way is possible. this one on page ninety-four has lucille imagining life with danny. not mind-boggling in the time-passage scheme of things...but it will be shelved as such.
there's another...and this one illustrates the definition. two of the cops...it doesn't matter who they are...though one is wixler...are theorizing. mister x...mister y. they are using their imagination, their noggin may it do ya fine. there are some stories that lend themselves to this time passages idea. when a writer uses his/her imagination to set up a time passage out of the ordinary, that's when it gets interesting.
update, finished, 28 dec 14, sunday morning 4:08 a.m. e.s.t.
good story. one item i noted as i read, as i took my notes to make my index...wondering about the long cast of characters...when macdonald introduces a new character...sometimes, not alla time, but sometimes, he'll insert a short story that defines that character and humanizes the character. he does this either with a short piece...that guy who used to bust down doors in vice. that's not verbatim, but like that. i find it curious, when i've completed a story, the list of characters in the story...the length. many are name-only...but it often seems as though there is a new name to add to the list on each page...often more than one. rarely, one can read for several pages before noting another name. often, they are like setting. and macdonald doesn't always leave it as the taxi driver stopped...here, the taxi driver makes a smart-aleck comment, "cop convention going on or what?" the telling is not stilted...the telling is more alive, real.
February 4, 2023
Either the author did a great job at making me hate almost every character because of their horrible treatment/view of women…or this was just written by a man in the 50s
May 19, 2014
Any book by John D. MacDonald that does not have a colour in the title suffers before I've even read it by not being a Travis McGee book. I know that's not entirely fair, but his Travis McGee books are what I love. (And his book about his cats. You have to love it when a hardboiled mystery writer spends an entire book telling you about his cats. And his goose.)
The Price of Murder is not a Travis McGee novel. Let's get that straight. But it's still good hardboiled crime fiction, with a provocative cast. (I found the psychotic character actively uncomfortable to read.)
Unlike many of the McGee books, the women in this one are slightly cardboard-y. They're all the type of dame who would walk over your body for a wad of cash (except for one policeman's wife, who shows up twice.) And who enjoy rough sex and being knocked around a little. This part I was not so enthralled with.
But it's a solid read, but if you haven't read any or all of the Travis McGee series, read those before you resort to the rest of his oeuvre. Unless you want to hear about polydactyl cats. (And you probably do!)
The Price of Murder is not a Travis McGee novel. Let's get that straight. But it's still good hardboiled crime fiction, with a provocative cast. (I found the psychotic character actively uncomfortable to read.)
Unlike many of the McGee books, the women in this one are slightly cardboard-y. They're all the type of dame who would walk over your body for a wad of cash (except for one policeman's wife, who shows up twice.) And who enjoy rough sex and being knocked around a little. This part I was not so enthralled with.
But it's a solid read, but if you haven't read any or all of the Travis McGee series, read those before you resort to the rest of his oeuvre. Unless you want to hear about polydactyl cats. (And you probably do!)
January 19, 2013
“The Price of Murder” by John D. MacDonald (1916-1986) is a 1957 suspense novel with an interesting format. The book chains through a half dozen characters, beginning with a college professor who clawed his way out of the slum, to the parole officer looking for the professor's criminal brother, to the professor's wife, to the brother, to a lawyer, and a cop. Each has their own history and point of view. The ensemble clashes over missing ransom money and blackmail, which leads to multiple murders.
MacDonald draws interesting characters, giving them motivations and back stories. They aren't merely
cardboard cutouts who exist only to move the plot along. The characters clash and only a few can get what they want. The book shows few signs of its age; the emotions are timeless.
A well-crafted book by an excellent writer. 4 stars
MacDonald draws interesting characters, giving them motivations and back stories. They aren't merely
cardboard cutouts who exist only to move the plot along. The characters clash and only a few can get what they want. The book shows few signs of its age; the emotions are timeless.
A well-crafted book by an excellent writer. 4 stars
October 3, 2015
Another one that uses the multiple narrator convention, which I'm becoming less keen on because a lot of time is spent going into the back story of each character. There is very little forward plot movement during the first several chapters as we switch from perspective to perspective. I wonder if this evolves out of the writing technique. Think of all the characters MacDonald and other writers of the paperback heyday had to create. The backstory stuff has to be written anyway, and then woven into the novel, so why not invert the process? Weave a plot through chapters of back story material. That's kind of how this one reads to me. The technique ensures that the character development isn't shallow, but it's all set-up and very little action for a long time. Keeps building though.
July 28, 2011
This is the first non-Travis McGee MacDonald that I've read (and I haven't read much McGee and it's been eons). This is a conditional 3. It's closer to 3 1/2. I was pretty lukewarm to the first half of the book. Somewhere slightly past the half-way point it grabbed me more.
MacDonald used multiple points of view to fairly good effect. There was nothing stunning about the plot or the characters. But considering the sheer volume of work MacDonald was pouring out at the time, it's a pretty good read.
MacDonald used multiple points of view to fairly good effect. There was nothing stunning about the plot or the characters. But considering the sheer volume of work MacDonald was pouring out at the time, it's a pretty good read.
October 22, 2015
I rarely give four stars--especially to "popular pulp," but this deserves it. There is so much in the book: at least one psychopath, a narcissist, a just plain crazy guy, and the list goes on and on. There's action. There's reflection. There are social issues. As I said, this book has it all and what's more, MacDonald wraps it all up in a thoroughly good read.
Until reading this, I had always considered Jim Thompson to be a cut above MacDonald. Not any more. With this, MacDonald shows his readers exactly what he can do, and trust me, it's mind-boggling.
Until reading this, I had always considered Jim Thompson to be a cut above MacDonald. Not any more. With this, MacDonald shows his readers exactly what he can do, and trust me, it's mind-boggling.
December 16, 2019
John D. MacDonald wrote lots of stand-alones in addition to his famous Travis McGee series, and I've read half a dozen or so. They have all been entertaining, competently plotted, reasonably literate and firmly in touch with the real world. I'd give this one high marks, too, but for an issue that has always made me a little uneasy with MacDonald and in this one was too much to ignore.
First, the story: Set in a fictional Great Lakes city, it's the tale of two brothers from the tough part of town, one redeemed by education, an aspiring writer and teacher at the local junior college, and the other one a crook. The teacher has a good-looking wife who's not up to much intellectually and is trouble waiting to happen. The crooked brother is on parole and on the make; he spots a score blackmailing a couple of local businessmen running a scam, and before you know it he's seduced the wife and dragged her into the plot. There's a good cop and a bad parole officer involved, and things get complicated and ugly.
So, good stuff, a hard-boiled crime tale with a satisfying resolution. What's the problem? MacDonald's attitude toward women. I've defended him on this score before, noting that while his attitude was definitely pre-feminist, many of his women characters are smart, capable and interesting. But in this one he managed to shock me. Not only is there a lot of rough sex, with women responding to abuse by being aroused ("He hit her with the back of his hand across the mouth and she made a kind of moaning sound and fell into his arms.) but there's this, stunningly, from the head of the college English department, advising the teacher: "That pretty little wife of yours might benefit greatly if you were to beat her frequently."
Yeah. I couldn't quite believe it, either. I kept waiting for the payoff, the moment when the good brother or the good cop or somebody makes the big pronouncement, the condemnation of misogyny that redeems the book, and it never came. Violence against women is at the heart of this book, and while only the bad guys overtly deal it out, there's that professor with his casual advice...
You can say MacDonald's attitude was just in tune with his times, but a writer who wants our attention and approval has to be held to a higher standard than that. This book lowered John D. MacDonald in my estimation.
First, the story: Set in a fictional Great Lakes city, it's the tale of two brothers from the tough part of town, one redeemed by education, an aspiring writer and teacher at the local junior college, and the other one a crook. The teacher has a good-looking wife who's not up to much intellectually and is trouble waiting to happen. The crooked brother is on parole and on the make; he spots a score blackmailing a couple of local businessmen running a scam, and before you know it he's seduced the wife and dragged her into the plot. There's a good cop and a bad parole officer involved, and things get complicated and ugly.
So, good stuff, a hard-boiled crime tale with a satisfying resolution. What's the problem? MacDonald's attitude toward women. I've defended him on this score before, noting that while his attitude was definitely pre-feminist, many of his women characters are smart, capable and interesting. But in this one he managed to shock me. Not only is there a lot of rough sex, with women responding to abuse by being aroused ("He hit her with the back of his hand across the mouth and she made a kind of moaning sound and fell into his arms.) but there's this, stunningly, from the head of the college English department, advising the teacher: "That pretty little wife of yours might benefit greatly if you were to beat her frequently."
Yeah. I couldn't quite believe it, either. I kept waiting for the payoff, the moment when the good brother or the good cop or somebody makes the big pronouncement, the condemnation of misogyny that redeems the book, and it never came. Violence against women is at the heart of this book, and while only the bad guys overtly deal it out, there's that professor with his casual advice...
You can say MacDonald's attitude was just in tune with his times, but a writer who wants our attention and approval has to be held to a higher standard than that. This book lowered John D. MacDonald in my estimation.
September 12, 2020
Četl jsem to v třikrátce Zelená knižnice, která to postavila vážně zvláštně. Jasně, vždycky je problém, jak udělat třikrátku, ale málokdy je kniha postavená tak devolučně jako tady. Začíná to Travisem McGeem (Purple Place for Dying, kterého jsem hodnotil extra), čili v podstatě MacDonaldem v jeho finální a nejlepší podobě. A pak se vrací zpátky a pouští do jeho sólových věcí bez výrazných hrdinů a ukazuje, jaký je mezi tím kvalitativní rozdíl. Travisem autor opravdu našel postavu, která mu sedla, která působí dospěle a přesvědčivě a které se podařilo dodnes nezestárnout. Ostatní věci takovou kliku neměly.
Cena za vraždu (Price of Murder) je zajímavá tím, že sleduje několik postav, které se točí kolem jednoho velkého kšeftu. Zajímavé a dynamické pojetí, které se teprve později stalo běžnou metodou – ale tady to bohužel směřuje k bezvýraznému finále. Moderní způsob vyprávění se tu střetává s archaickým příběhem a moralizováním a kontrast mezi tím je gigantický.
Dohodnout se se žralokem (Drowner) je ještě horší. V centru je soukromý detektiv, který dokáže okamžitě posoudit a odsoudit lidi. Postavy jsou tu všeobecně hysterické a tenhle příběh zastaral tím víc, jak se točí kolem erotiky. Na jednu stranu jsou tu lidé, co žijí v celibátu a na druhou stranu zvrhlíci holdující neřízenému sexu a orgiím… což fakt už působí komicky. Pachatel není ani moc dobře maskovaný – v podstatě hned v první scéně, ve který je představený, je mezi koníčky označeno potápění. A jelikož se oběť záhadně utopila…
Na druhou stranu má kniha poměrně zajímavé finále, kdy autor pořádně šlape na plyn, přitvrzuje a přináší i zajímavý finální střet. Ovem to už je na probuzení pozdě.
Ale i tak – je to spíš dobré, aby si člověk uvědomil, jak obrovsky důležité je pro autora najít si tu správnou postavu, ten správný styl. Mezi knihami Drowner a prvním McGeem je jen jeden rok. A rozdíl je nedozírný.
Cena za vraždu (Price of Murder) je zajímavá tím, že sleduje několik postav, které se točí kolem jednoho velkého kšeftu. Zajímavé a dynamické pojetí, které se teprve později stalo běžnou metodou – ale tady to bohužel směřuje k bezvýraznému finále. Moderní způsob vyprávění se tu střetává s archaickým příběhem a moralizováním a kontrast mezi tím je gigantický.
Dohodnout se se žralokem (Drowner) je ještě horší. V centru je soukromý detektiv, který dokáže okamžitě posoudit a odsoudit lidi. Postavy jsou tu všeobecně hysterické a tenhle příběh zastaral tím víc, jak se točí kolem erotiky. Na jednu stranu jsou tu lidé, co žijí v celibátu a na druhou stranu zvrhlíci holdující neřízenému sexu a orgiím… což fakt už působí komicky. Pachatel není ani moc dobře maskovaný – v podstatě hned v první scéně, ve který je představený, je mezi koníčky označeno potápění. A jelikož se oběť záhadně utopila…
Na druhou stranu má kniha poměrně zajímavé finále, kdy autor pořádně šlape na plyn, přitvrzuje a přináší i zajímavý finální střet. Ovem to už je na probuzení pozdě.
Ale i tak – je to spíš dobré, aby si člověk uvědomil, jak obrovsky důležité je pro autora najít si tu správnou postavu, ten správný styl. Mezi knihami Drowner a prvním McGeem je jen jeden rok. A rozdíl je nedozírný.
November 17, 2025
In his final knowledge he admitted to himself that she was stupid, lazy, insensitive, greedy, superficial and curiously coarse. He had thought a child might change her, but after he became convinced they could not conceive he felt a guilty relief. He took the joyless use of her that she took of him...He did not feel he could leave her. And when he thought of how she would be in twenty years, soft, fat, querulous, whining, his heart seemed to hang sick and heavy in his breast. He knew she would hurt him in his profession. At the moment it was not too important. At faculty affairs she was decorative, and when she opened her mouth and the emptiness came out, it was thought cute. Lucille the doll-wife.
I'm fairly sure I read this a long time ago when I was going through a spate of reading John D. MacDonald's standalone novels. I was working a graveyard shift in security for a swanky Scottsdale resort. Nights were long, quiet and lonely and MacDonald's short paperbacks were good company at the time. I found a ragged copy of this paperback last week in a charity sale as a discard. It was literally in a dumpster when I pulled it out and took it home. Rereading it again this past weekend, I was reminded of neo-noir films of the early 2000's. Take a situation, a setup, fill in a lot of backstories of characters, then bring a sociopath into the mix and let the mayhem begin. This was a good novel of its time. As with many of MacDonald's standalones, he takes a leisurely pace for the first half of the book building up the setting and characters, then speeds things up to bring everything to a tidy conclusion.
I'm fairly sure I read this a long time ago when I was going through a spate of reading John D. MacDonald's standalone novels. I was working a graveyard shift in security for a swanky Scottsdale resort. Nights were long, quiet and lonely and MacDonald's short paperbacks were good company at the time. I found a ragged copy of this paperback last week in a charity sale as a discard. It was literally in a dumpster when I pulled it out and took it home. Rereading it again this past weekend, I was reminded of neo-noir films of the early 2000's. Take a situation, a setup, fill in a lot of backstories of characters, then bring a sociopath into the mix and let the mayhem begin. This was a good novel of its time. As with many of MacDonald's standalones, he takes a leisurely pace for the first half of the book building up the setting and characters, then speeds things up to bring everything to a tidy conclusion.
July 15, 2025
John D has written so many books in his career. Probably hundreds. There are many hidden gems that he has wrote. Such as this one. I didn't start reading until I was 35, so I will never finish his books meaning that I for the rest of my lifetime I will always have these to read.
This is one of my favorite John D books I have read in a long time. I probably said that about the last one, but this one really was a good read. I looked at my bookshelf and out of the 200 John D books that I bought, all original paperbacks, I had no idea by looking at it that it was a going to be a good read. Just picked it at random.
The book is really old, dog eared and dingy looking. The cover of the book is not that eye catching. The dinginess of age has made it less eye catching. Some people wouldn't even give it another glance by the look of it. That's the problem with books today. I feel that newer readers would never give a book like this a chance. Going into a Barnes and Noble, most people look for fancy looking book covers. Something with a bright color on it, or if it is summer time and the book has a beach towel or a pair of sunglasses on the cover, that book will sell a ton of copies.
John D does so much with so little pages. Even if the book gets watered down like this one did towards the ending. There is always at least one memorable character or memorable scene in every one of his books that I will never forget.
This is one of my favorite John D books I have read in a long time. I probably said that about the last one, but this one really was a good read. I looked at my bookshelf and out of the 200 John D books that I bought, all original paperbacks, I had no idea by looking at it that it was a going to be a good read. Just picked it at random.
The book is really old, dog eared and dingy looking. The cover of the book is not that eye catching. The dinginess of age has made it less eye catching. Some people wouldn't even give it another glance by the look of it. That's the problem with books today. I feel that newer readers would never give a book like this a chance. Going into a Barnes and Noble, most people look for fancy looking book covers. Something with a bright color on it, or if it is summer time and the book has a beach towel or a pair of sunglasses on the cover, that book will sell a ton of copies.
John D does so much with so little pages. Even if the book gets watered down like this one did towards the ending. There is always at least one memorable character or memorable scene in every one of his books that I will never forget.
October 17, 2019
Starts slowly, almost discouragingly but picks up quickly
Told from sequential points of view of the central characters. It starts with that of a nice seeing but unhappy man and then moves into the twisted mind of a parole officer. His backstory as he reflects on it almost left me sympathetic with him, but he was just too twisted.
As the characters March through the story the back story becomes apparent creating the murder mystery that then grabbed me reaching me through the rest of the story.
There is definitely some what I call period perspective. The kindly old professor who advises his protegee that he needs to beat his immature wife to make her grow up. A contemporary reader will find that attitude pretty hard to accept.
That aside the characters come to life off the page, each seeing real, even recognizable. After reading the first two sections I was ready to rate it two or perhaps three Stars. Once it got going I enjoyed it.
My journey through John MacDonald's work continues.
Told from sequential points of view of the central characters. It starts with that of a nice seeing but unhappy man and then moves into the twisted mind of a parole officer. His backstory as he reflects on it almost left me sympathetic with him, but he was just too twisted.
As the characters March through the story the back story becomes apparent creating the murder mystery that then grabbed me reaching me through the rest of the story.
There is definitely some what I call period perspective. The kindly old professor who advises his protegee that he needs to beat his immature wife to make her grow up. A contemporary reader will find that attitude pretty hard to accept.
That aside the characters come to life off the page, each seeing real, even recognizable. After reading the first two sections I was ready to rate it two or perhaps three Stars. Once it got going I enjoyed it.
My journey through John MacDonald's work continues.
August 26, 2024
Read the Goodreads review of this book by a member named Lyn, it’s maybe the greatest review I’ve ever read, and she only gave this book 4 stars. It’s written in 1957 and there are parts that definitely would get him lynched by a me-too mob, and rightly so, but those are tiny parts of what is a pretty amazing book of desperate acts by desperate people. Great book, one of my very favorite John D’s. I have read it before of course but had no memory of it although I came across lines I had marked.
April 13, 2023
I have read many of these old "non - Tracis McGee" books from JDM and mostly enjoy them all.
Sometimes you run into a real gem. This one is another quick read - 160 pages in paperback form.
For me the law characters got a little convaluted toward the end while I more enjoyed the non la enforcement characters. I reccomend this one if you can find it.
Sometimes you run into a real gem. This one is another quick read - 160 pages in paperback form.
For me the law characters got a little convaluted toward the end while I more enjoyed the non la enforcement characters. I reccomend this one if you can find it.
October 8, 2023
Quite a good police procedural (with Michael Connelly as my standard). Dumb title.
JDMcD often has too many people doing complex/messy financial scams. This almost goes that way-- I'll probably reread this one to get the details down. (eg Where does the marked cash end up?)
JDMcD often has too many people doing complex/messy financial scams. This almost goes that way-- I'll probably reread this one to get the details down. (eg Where does the marked cash end up?)
September 19, 2022
Excellent writing, very realistic, not one boring sentence. Another night gone, reading to wee hours.
June 9, 2020
Three-and-a-half stars. I thought it was a darn fine read. Why not higher? Well, I guess I have to admit that I prefer a more traditional story. Allow me to explain. John D. MacDonald once wrote a book that was adapted twice for the movies: Cape Fear aka The Executioners. In that book, you have a middle-class good guy and a scary dangerous psycho villain. So far so very JDM. The villain terrorizes the good guy and then there's a final confrontation at the end. The Price of Murder starts similarly. We meet a nice guy. He gets threatened by an unhinged bad man. But guess what? Those two are only minor peripheral characters in this story. The plot goes off in another direction for Act Two and then it goes off in a completely different direction after that in Act Three. I didn't mind this chaotic construction a bit, to be honest. I think that speaks to the author's skill. Now I'm off to pick up another book by JDM.
August 18, 2013
A good John D. MacDonald, not a great one. I've been reading more McGee novels lately so I've gotten used to the familiarity that McGee brings to the story. This novel was interesting, had a good storyline, the plot moved quickly, and had detailed character development. I just wasn't as involved with the characters and didn't care as much about them as I would have cared with McGee. Great twists and plot turns as always, and a page-turner. I'd recommend this book to any mystery/suspense fan, but I'd recommend one of the McGee novels if you're just being introduced to John D. MacDonald.
December 26, 2015
26 dec 15, #72 from macdonald for me. just finished Cry Hard, Cry Fast, an okay story, multiple character p.o.v. with warts. now this one, kindle. onward and upward
finished, the same day...and...i read this one almost one year ago to the day:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
paperback. so, not really #72 then, hey? this time, 3-stars.
finished, the same day...and...i read this one almost one year ago to the day:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
paperback. so, not really #72 then, hey? this time, 3-stars.
July 22, 2016
My first MacDonald novel that doesn't feature Travis McGee, and I really enjoyed it. The plot was good, fast moving but extremely violent. Best part of the novel was the unusual way that the story was told. Typically in a mystery, the story follows one or a few character perspectives, this novel has a different characters perspective for almost every chapter, you saw the characters motivations through their own eyes.
January 31, 2025
A small-time hood jumps parole and embarks on a blackmail scheme that soon goes off the rails.
Expertly crafted by a master storyteller at the top of his game. Despite a few language elements that date the novel, it's still highly compelling. McDonald's characters are drawn as well as any that have been put to the printed page.
Expertly crafted by a master storyteller at the top of his game. Despite a few language elements that date the novel, it's still highly compelling. McDonald's characters are drawn as well as any that have been put to the printed page.
January 5, 2021
Good early MacDonald crime fiction (1957). A complicated and high-stakes money laundering scam is interrupted by a blackmailer. The blackmailer involves his professor brother and his brother's wife in the crime, and the effects are deadly. Suspects emerge, but the evidence points to one man, who turns up dead himself.
July 28, 2010
I've never read a MacDonald book I didn't enjoy.
June 18, 2011
Very grim.
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