The Deep Blue Good-by: A Travis McGee Novel

I've enjoyed reading some good tough guy crime lit recently. MacDonald's protagonist Travis Magee has his stories told first person a la Marlowe and Spenser, is an institutional drop out a la Reacher, and is a jaded white knight with his own code like all characters previously mentioned, but, in the two novels I've read, is a far more flawed character than these others, nowhere near as smart as he thinks. MacDonald is a great writer, and I've thoroughly enjoyed this first in his well known series.

Prepare for gritty insight into the darkest corners of humanity. This story is not for the faint at heart but rewards richly with philosophical musings that both shock and delight the conscience. The author understands the human condition in a way that only a man scarred by war can faithfully express. This is a dark and exciting tale spun by a gifted writer. Highly recommended for those who enjoy crime or mystery novels.

Timeless writing. I have been rereading the Travis McGee books for over 20 years. Travis McGee's name was mentioned in a fairly obscure Jimmy Buffet song years ago. I never knew what it meant or who he was, just hummed his name along with the song. Then one day I saw a paperback book on the foot of my dad's hospital bed. Bam! Picked it up and then read them all. He wrote in a way that can be appreciated by multiple generations. It puts you right in the middle of the story without giving what year it might be a second thought. However the work has a warm clean finish of days gone by. Best stuff ever written in this Texan's opinion.

John MacDonald's Travis McGee series was mentioned in another book I read, about how good the series was. This book was great. Interesting characters and life styles with a intriguing plot. I loved it so much I have already ordered the next book in the series.

This was my first Travis McGee book.....and now I'm hooked. Lee Child's recommendation was enough for me. if he loved the series then I was certain I would too. I was not mistaken. MacDonald may be less graphic than Child about the violence, which was fine by me. this book is hard to put down.

MacDonald was writing before I started reading in earnest. Someone recently suggested him and I began the "Travis McGee" series. I truly love his books. He is a thinker and astute observer as well as an excellent writer. I'm sure some of our great mystery writers of today cut their teeth on John MacDonald.

Revisiting these brooks years later, I find they're not outdated. The seeds of the character of McGee are planted skillfully. Always a little tragically violent but strangely hopeful and always well-written.

I am ecstatic that the Travis McGee series has been reissued on Kindle. John D. MacDonald is one of my all time favorite writers and this book reads as well today as it did in 1965, when I first read it. For those who gave not discovered MacDonald but who like Lee Childs, you're in luck. There are twenty-one Travis McGee books for us to read while we are waiting for the next Jack Reacher.

what was fascinating at 14 doesn’t hold the same sway at seventy three. and i still find casual sex 60s style repulsive so this trip down that lane was disappointing but the book is somewhere between very cool and very irrelevant to the current world.

The McGee series: a landmark achievement, not just in crime fiction, in American fiction. Portrait of a time, a state, a country that’s already outlived much of the prestige lit of the period. Don’t miss this.

Mr. MacDonald, the "godfather" of sorts of the suspense-hero-page turning-series. Substance and story lines as good as the contemporary series writers, but MacDonald rises above the rest with sudden bursts of thoughtful, insightful, legitimate writing throughout.