The Deep Blue Goodbye/Nightmare in Pink

Travis McGee #1-2

by John D. MacDonald

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

Hardcover

Published February 20, 1975

About the author

John 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.

Reviews

[Lavender Dreamer · Rating 1 out of 5]

My rating...did NOT like this book. I skimmed through the end and hope this review keeps me from ever reading another book by this author. I don't know how it got any good reviews.

[Terry Irving · Rating 5 out of 5]

Travis McGee is the first of the second-generation of American Private detectives. The first guys were the Continental Op, Sam Spade and Charlie Chan. They were lower-class working stiffs with cheap suits and string ties--McGee is a beach bum with no visible means of support who works off the grid. They have in common a personal code of what it means to be an honest and moral human being and the drive to stick to this single ideal in a world of treachery, cowardice and deceit.

That and he lives on a house boat in Bahia Mar. I went to dinner there one night and suddenly realized that his boat must be out there somewhere--it's like finding 221B Baker Street.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read only the first one Deep Blue Goodbye. It had been eons since I read one of his titles and it seemed to hold up. The mystery was good and the characters fun. Will probably poke around to see If I can find some of the other titles to try again

[Belle Blair · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not sure what year this was written but every female is evalutated by her bone structure and attractiveness. So boring through the nursemaid section. NO just NO to this author in the future.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great descriptive writing. But I was overall bored with the book. It's pretty dated in the treatment of women. Doesn't make me want to read any more of the author's books.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

well-written, compelling characters, 1st in series

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

About finished JD MacDonald's non McGee books, time to reread the McGee ones.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am re-reading the John D. McDonald Travis McGee series. I found them during my first year of teaching and gobbled down many of the color-related titles. In this first of the series, we meet Travis, beach bum and reclamation expert on the Busted Flush as he takes on the first of many baddies. It holds up!

[A.J. Attard · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book, interesting, fast paced, and a tremendous page turner. Travis McGee is a brilliant character and one that fascinates from the word go. It was so vivid and real that some scenes were hard for me to read, but it was brilliantly written and flew by before I knew I was done!

[Erek · Rating 2 out of 5]

another quick read. Predictable ending.

[Debbie Clanton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good book. Easy read that didn't require a whole lot of thinking. I'll probably read the rest of the series

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Travis McGee. Read them all many years ago. My husband has started reading the series which makes me want to begin them again.