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385th out of 3,396 books
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7,813 voters
The Green Ripper (Travis McGee #18)
"McGee has become part of our national fabric."
SEATTLE POST INTELLIGENCER
Beautiful girls always grace the Florida beaches, strolling, sailing, relaxing at the many parties on Travis McGee's houseboat, The Busted Flush. McGee was too smart--and had been around too long--for many of them to touch his heart. Now, however, there was Gretel. She had discovered the key to McGee-...more
SEATTLE POST INTELLIGENCER
Beautiful girls always grace the Florida beaches, strolling, sailing, relaxing at the many parties on Travis McGee's houseboat, The Busted Flush. McGee was too smart--and had been around too long--for many of them to touch his heart. Now, however, there was Gretel. She had discovered the key to McGee-...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
April 20th 1996
by Fawcett
(first published 1979)
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Okay now this was more like it. After the disappointing A Tan and Sandy Silence I was glad to see that Mr. McGee was capable of being one of the great Last Action Heroes. I'll keep this one short. Once again Mr. McGee loses his ladylove (If I was a lady I would run away as fast as I could from Travis. The life expectancy is not good)and he goes looking for the culprits. He finds a group of terrorists posing as a cult in California. They have plans for mayhem, but instead McGee deals out some may...more
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Taking off from the end of The "Empty Copper Sea", the "Green Ripper" marked what I consider the significant high point of the series. Certainly Travis is forced to endure emotional torment beyond what most of us would ever want, but he comes out of it with a belligerant intensity that makes this book the "Die Harder" of the series. The looks on the FBI and Intelligence guys faces at the end when they look at all Travis has wrought in seeking his vengence is priceless. If you liked any of these...more
The Green Ripper is the 18th McGee novel in a series of twenty one. Macdonald writes elegantly in an easy and engaging style. His characterisation is excellent, and he has a keen eye for observing and commenting on different social phenomena. The first half of the story is well plotted and paced, unfolding in a way that draws the reader in. The second half though lacked any real credibility. Whilst how the religious cult operates and the motivations behind their actions seemed realistic, how the...more
This is one of the later Travis McGee books by John D. MacDonald. One of the cool things about McGee is that over the course of 21 books, Travis grows and becomes a different man. I'm not sure if the reader will find him a better or worse person, but you will find him different.
As with the case of all of the books, Travis McGee is a salvage consultant based out of Bahia Mar in Ft Lauderdale.
Unlike most of the other stories, the event that drives this story isn't one where Travis is looking for...more
As with the case of all of the books, Travis McGee is a salvage consultant based out of Bahia Mar in Ft Lauderdale.
Unlike most of the other stories, the event that drives this story isn't one where Travis is looking for...more
Aug 07, 2012
Tfitoby
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
black-as-night,
hrf-keating-100
The pinnacle of the Travis McGee sequence?
That is my question mark added to the statement made by HRF Keating in his Crime and Mystery: The 100 Best Books; he goes on to compare the latter MacDonald and McGee novels to none other than Charles Dickens.
I quite happily admit to never having read a Dickens novel despite my education in the English school system but he has a fair point in at...more
That is my question mark added to the statement made by HRF Keating in his Crime and Mystery: The 100 Best Books; he goes on to compare the latter MacDonald and McGee novels to none other than Charles Dickens.
It is not unfair to compare MacDonald to Dickens the novelist of feelings, of sentiment, and of sentimentality
I quite happily admit to never having read a Dickens novel despite my education in the English school system but he has a fair point in at...more
9 likes · like · see review
Aug 01, 2011
Andrea
added it
The 18th installment in the Travis McGee series is absolutely not the usual Travis story. Yes, there's a girl - the same one from the last installment - and yes, there's danger and intrigue, but it's not the type I've come to expect from Travis.
In an effort to find the people responsible for the murder of Gretel, Travis takes off - without Meyer! - to find the mysterious Church of the Apocrypha. When he finds them, he masquerades as a man who is trying to find the daughter he lost to the cult....more
In an effort to find the people responsible for the murder of Gretel, Travis takes off - without Meyer! - to find the mysterious Church of the Apocrypha. When he finds them, he masquerades as a man who is trying to find the daughter he lost to the cult....more
This is the 2nd John D MacDonald book I've read, and I'm in love. The thriller aspect of it was fine and bloody, but that wasn't the reason I couldn't stop reading it. It was just so interesting. SO interesting. Which I did feel about the other one too. The details and the observations are remarkable and plentiful. I suppose I was also carried away by the suspense, but it wasn't obvious cookie cutter thriller suspense. I really like how MacDonald doesn't ever seem to be trying too hard. He was o...more
2 likes · like · see review
Jan 17, 2013
Harv Griffin
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
novelists who want to up their game
This is the darkest of all the Travis McGee novels. Trav infiltrates a group of terrorists on a mission of revenge. My favorite parts are where Travis does a Rambo; kicks ass, takes names…and anyone who manages (excuse me, womanages, see DAUGHTER MOON) to survive gets tied-up & turned into the Feds.
I don’t quite buy the build-up, with McGee mooning over lost love, but John D. is the consummate professional, the top notch craftsman; even if the spark of early John D. MacDonald genius is miss...more
McGee has decided that maybe, at last, he's found the Real Thing with Gretel, but then she's ruthlessly murdered -- worse, he and Meyer discover this is just one of a long series of killings involved with the plans of anarchistic revolutionaries hiding behind the mask of a religious cult, the Church of the Apocrypha. Except that, of course, the revolutionaries are actually being run by far more sinister forces . . . In due course, McGee infiltrates one of their armed training camps, and after th...more
The entire Travis McGee series is excellent. This is one of the more brutal of the stories, and one of the best.
The Green Ripper by John D. MacDonald is the 19th Travis McGee mystery book. It was on my wishlist, on their early enough and for long enough I don't remember why I added it. But that's part of the fun of reading through the list.
The book follows on the heels (from what I've read) on The Empty Copper Sea where Travis had fallen in love with a woman named Gretel. She though dies mysteriously in the first chapter and sends Travis into a rage. First he wants revenge and then, coming to his senses,...more
The book follows on the heels (from what I've read) on The Empty Copper Sea where Travis had fallen in love with a woman named Gretel. She though dies mysteriously in the first chapter and sends Travis into a rage. First he wants revenge and then, coming to his senses,...more
A solid murder mystery with Travis infiltrating a religious cult that was being used as a terrorist front. The cult had killed Travis' fiance and he went for revenge. The book warns of a coming storm of terrorism and overpopulation. While the book is prescient, it was odd reading about McGee in contemporary times eating a quarter pounder. McGee was always in a special place and time like many mysteries. McGee is starting to age and become bitter and uses Meyer as a sidekick.
I've read all of this series and loved every one. I read them in order - I always read a series in order, in fact, I'm compulsive about it - because I like to follow the character's life and the author's writing as they both grow. Mr. MacDonald never disappointed - each one is a great thrill ride and they got better each time. Read my review on "The Deep Blue Good-by" to meet Travis, and get ready for some great reading!
John D. MacDonald and his character Travis McGee, for me, are at the same level as Robert B. Parker and Spencer. Except it took me awhile to really like RWP. With JDM, however, I liked the writing and the style after just one read which was the Green Ripper.
Good first person writing and storytelling. Good introspection. Good action. Good good good. Looking forward to all the other many Travis McGee books.
Good first person writing and storytelling. Good introspection. Good action. Good good good. Looking forward to all the other many Travis McGee books.
One of my all time favorite books, and my personal favorite of the Travis McGee series (I am also fond of "The Dreadful Lemon Sky"). This novel won a US National Book Award in 1980 in the category of hardcover mystery. McGee takes revenge on a religious cult that killed his girlfriend. It's also interesting that this book was published the year after the Jonestown Massacre/Mass Suicide in Guyana. Action and thrills, but also thought provoking.
Before Jack Reacher, before Mitch Rapp, there was Travis McGee. I had read most of the series several years back, but I recently found three volumes at a second hand store that I couldn't remember having read. So, I bought them. The Green Ripper was the first I picked up and I was not disappointed. Be careful - you may feel compelled to read it in one sitting.
Dec 06, 2012
Jenna
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
bought-it-from-the-bookstore,
mystery-thriller
I'll put this book as one of my favorite Travis McGee adventures. It's fast and furious!!!
While Gretel (Travis McGee's girlfriend) was working at "Bonnie Brae" she was abruptly inflected with a mysterious illness at her job...... a bugs bite, and died suddenly. McGee was suspecting that they're untruthful, and she was murdered.
When Travis was informed by the government agent that Gretel's cause of death was poison a chemical structure was developed by Kamera a section of Dept. V of the KGB. Whic...more
While Gretel (Travis McGee's girlfriend) was working at "Bonnie Brae" she was abruptly inflected with a mysterious illness at her job...... a bugs bite, and died suddenly. McGee was suspecting that they're untruthful, and she was murdered.
When Travis was informed by the government agent that Gretel's cause of death was poison a chemical structure was developed by Kamera a section of Dept. V of the KGB. Whic...more
1 like · like · see review
MacDonald and McGee were always prescient about the dangers of development and environmental degradation in their beloved Florida. 1979's The Green Ripper delves a little deeper, reminding us that many of the woes we think of as belonging to our Special Age - corruption, consumerism, religious fanaticism, terrorism, et. al. - have been with us all along.
Written in the late Seventies it has interesting things to say today about Governmental power and terrorism.
Travis McGee is the hero. He is a salvage man. His girlfriend is murdered in a way that makes it look like she was stung and got sick. On the same day her boss had a fake heart attack. McGree traces back some things she had said about funny things and ends up in part of cult.
Travis McGee is the hero. He is a salvage man. His girlfriend is murdered in a way that makes it look like she was stung and got sick. On the same day her boss had a fake heart attack. McGree traces back some things she had said about funny things and ends up in part of cult.
Wow, this is the one in the series that is a must read. The Green Ripper serves as a significant sign post in the overall character arc of Travis McGee. The level of writing in the last chapters and epilogue really spoke to me and where McGee was mentally. The story is captivating enough and considering this was written in the late '70's and first published in 1980, the content is as timely now as ever.
It's not necessary to read the entire McGee saga, but if you have to read just 3 or so, this...more
It's not necessary to read the entire McGee saga, but if you have to read just 3 or so, this...more
I read everything McDonald wrote in the 70s and 80s and had forgotten that it was a very good writer who gave us endless hours of entertainment with McGee and Meyer. There is a depth to McDonald's thinking that belies the beach-bum-type character of Travis McGee. A fun, quick summer read.
McGee falls hard for a woman but when she dies from a supposed flu-like disease his suspicions are aroused by a series of investigators looking into her death. He decides to find out what happens and his investigations lead him to a religious sect that is training terrorists in the wilderness.
John D. MacDonald is simply the best...One of my all time favorite writers.. He died in 1986 so ending Travis McGee. I always wanted to be Travis. Just your average idle beach bum/salvage collector.His home was a house boat called The Busted Flush. This story Travis is out for revenge and finds home grown evil...
Re-reading this one now that I'm older and it still is one of the best in the Travis McGee series. Emotionally deadened, the knight errant rides into a cult and cuts a wide swath. If you ever enjoyed Phil Marlowe or Sam Spoed , then try this series from John D MacDonald.
Aug 03, 2011
Paul
added it
Just finished this novel that was written in 1979, but reads like something out of today (of course without, cell phones, internet, or fear of identity theft.) Terrorists threatening America, but still backed by Soviets.
Action packed and bodies everywhere. Not entirely my cup of tea, but surprisingly compelling. MacDonald's view of national and global terrorism - as we know it today - was prescient, given this book was written in 1979.
A Travis McGee mystery. His girlfriend is murdered by a strange injection. He joins a cult to try to find out why and discovers an international terrorist plot. The good guy, of course, triumphs.
John D. MacDonald and his Travis McGee books will always hold a special place in my heart. I discovered this series in 1987, just after I'd graduated from college. At the time, I was living alone in Washington, DC, and feeling very out-of-place as I rode the metro 45 minutes each way to/from Alexandria, VA. I was a small-town girl, out in the big city, and feeling every see-sawing emotion you'd expect: a bit overwhelmed, hopeful, anxious, confident, quavering... But I could always count on Travi...more
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McGee infiltrates a homegrown religious terrorist organization responsible for the love of his life's death. A little too Rambo towards the end, but a decent airport read.
Another great Travis McGee book and one which shows his continued growth and maturity. Some great characters, and compelling story.
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John D MacDonald was born in Sharon, Pa, 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. After the war, he decided to try writing for a year, to see if he could make a living. Over 500 short stori...more
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