Had a great opening scene as the protagonist is in a car accident, then accused of murder... but the charges are quickly cleared and Travis's motivations for sticking around are pretty thin. There's quite an intricate web of terrible people doing terrible things to each other that gradually gets untangled as the body count increases, but I felt the ending was ultimately unsatisfying. ( )

The Travis McGee novels are just so well-written. This one came out in 1970 and, honestly, the only thing that really dates it for me is a character saying "darling" a lot. Who says that anymore? Excellent plot, characters with dimension, conflict and nuance in the main character, the use of stream of consciousness type writing to convey McGee's inner dialogue ... it all works together very well. This one has McGee and his friend Meyer getting falsely accused of murder in a small Florida town by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. McGee has to uncover a vast web of crime and secrets in order to clear his name. Just so good. ( )

Travis McGee and friend accused of murder in small Florida town

Another winner by MacDonald. This author is great if you like American Thriller novels. I do and he is. A lot of good authors have tried to match him but MacDonald did it first usually better. Lee Child is his equal and comes the closest in style.

These books were written in the 1960s yet they don't particularly feel dated. We say we have come a long way but I have little trouble putting most of his characters in the 21st century. Men are still men and women are still women. ( )

The writing is excellent. The misogyny not so much. ( )