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The Deep Blue Goodbye (Travis McGee #1)

3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 · rating details · 3,319 ratings · 263 reviews

(LENGTH 6 hrs)

He's a self-described beach bum who won his houseboat in a card game. He's also a knight errant who's wary of credit cards, retirement benefits, political parties, mortgages, and television. He only works when his cash runs out, and his rule is simple: he'll help you find whatever was taken from you, as long as he can keep half.

Nothing that John D. MacDonald...more

Paperback, Crime masterworks, 4. , 208 pages

Published March 21st 2002 by Orion Books (first published 1964)

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Jul 15, 2011 Dan Schwent rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-and-mystery

Junior Allen has sleazed his way into a fortune in stolen gems and the daughters of the man who they belonged to want them back. Only Junior is a woman-beating rapist and has left a trail of battered women in his wake. Can Travis McGee get the gems back and take his cut?

This is the first John D. MacDonald book I've read and probably won't be the last. MacDonald really knows how to build the suspense. Junior Allen is a first degree douche bag and a good villain. You can't help but read faster and...more

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Jun 02, 2012 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime, detective, hard-boiled, mystery, 1960s

I’ve never read a John D. MacDonald book before and I’ve read a lot of good things about his Travis McGee novels, so I thought I might start at the beginning for this series. This is the first in what is now a 21 book series and the first time we meet Travis McGee, a self-described "salvage consultant", almost like a treasure hunter but instead he recovers the property of his clients for a fee; half. He is hired and has to go up against the pathologically evil antagonist Junior Allen, who may se...more

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Feb 11, 2013 Cathy DuPont rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: who like the stong, thoughtful, sensitive guys

Shelves: re-reading

Third Time's a Charm

Cathy's First Love, Still

For anyone considering reading the Travis McGee series (first book published in 1964 with a total of 21 books in the series) this book should definitely be read first. It lays the ground work for who McGee really is, how he feels about society, women and Florida in general. These are important basics for reading the series since the character for me, is so very important.

Reading the Long Blue Goodbye for me, was like seeing an old friend, no, I take...more

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Apr 22, 2008 Adam rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, fiction

This book should have been called To Catch a Rapist You Have to Think Like a Rapist. I'd always heard good things about John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series, so I decided I'd start at the beginning, and bought the first couple of books in the series. After reading The Deep Blue Good-by, however, I don't have much interest in reading any more. The main problem I had with this book is its protagonist. Travis McGee is a self-important asshole who overexplains his trite beach-bum "philosophy" any...more

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May 16, 2013 D.G. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, the-narrator-made-me-listen, thriller, reviewed

**3.5 stars**

I purchased this audiobook only because it was narrated by Robert Petkoff, one of my favorite narrators. I knew absolutely nothing about this series but as I read mysteries too, I figured I should give it a shot.

The Deep Blue Good-by is not a mystery per se, but more of an investigation in which Travis McGee is charged with recovering some stolen property from a very nasty character who likes to rape women. The story moves along as Travis encounters all sorts of different women this...more

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May 05, 2013 Mackenzie Brown rated it 5 of 5 stars

I am lucky enough to have read all 21 books featuring the indefatigable Travis McGee. As the story goes when the author moved his family from New York to Florida McGee just walked onto the page. A tall, rangy, grey eyed character who liked to take on salvage work others wouldn’t. Often finding himself up to his neck in murky waters, teaming with unsavoury types, McGee would demand half of the recovery or tell you to go somewhere else. Beneath a hard veneer here was a character who always wanted...more

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Oct 14, 2007 Tom rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first in the Travis McGee series by John D MacDonald. It was written in the 1960's, but it holds up well. McGee is PI who lives on his houseboat off of the coast of Florida. It's written in the first person, and McGee's smart ass remarks are great. Plus, MacDonald was way ahead of his time re commentary about our environment, turning into a disposable society, etc., without being political or preachy. It's a short book (under 300), and the last 100 fly by. Good, easy read. I can see why ther...more

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Apr 24, 2013 Stein rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: novels-thriller

Due to his popularity I thought I would try out a Travis McGee mystery. "The Deep Blue Good-By" was my first and it will be my last. I don't know anything about John D MacDonald but as I was reading this novel I pictured him sitting there pounding at his typewriter, chain-smoking, a glass of whiskey nearby, a stack of PLAYBOYs within reach, occasionally cussing to himself. Maybe he wasn't like that at all, but the mind can be powerfully conspiratorial.

I don't like MacDonald's stilted phraseology...more

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Jun 13, 2013 Kathy Davie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense

First in the Travis McGee suspense series revolving around Travis, who only works when he needs the money. Based in Florida.

My Take
I found Lee Child's introduction in this edition edifying. I had no idea of MacDonald's background or how the war was likely to have influenced his writing. Child also tips us to MacDonald's environmental stance; it's subtle within the story, and I suspect I'd've missed it if I hadn't read the intro.

MacDonald's books ought to be part of a writer's education on how to...more

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May 04, 2013 Kat rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 15, 2012 Gavin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A friend handed me this book and am so glad she did, I have a new favourite author and another 20 or so books to anticipate at least. Four stars as it really is good writing. HOWEVER we need to take note of the era the author has lived through, it colours all the writing and not always in a good way. McGee is obviously meant to be the sensitive caring type who considers women’s feelings and fights tooth and nail for them. When (big smile) he doesn’t seem to have any consideration for them other...more

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Aug 07, 2012 Dale rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I just re-read the first Travis McGee book after many years, and am reminded of why I was so moved and influenced by MacDonald's work. Although some may find things not to like, there are richly drawn characters who leap off the page. I kept finding passage after passage of writing so good it can make you weep. Nuggets of truth and wisdom that hold true after almost 50 years.

With a few sentences, MacDonald can tell you about a person's life and choices, so you know just how they got to where th...more

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Jun 18, 2012 Rhonda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: modern-fiction, mystery

i was involved in some semi-intense discussion over a piece of scholarly this past week at a local coffee house when an acquaitance handed me this book, suggesting that I could do with a little light reading. I had, of course, heard of the author and had even enjoyed his work in the past. In fact, I think that what I enjoy most about his work is that I can intentionally forget the entire plot and simply become one with the book itself, a character on the edge of the action, as it were. I was gra...more

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May 28, 2012 Erik Erickson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Hardboiled fans

Recommended to Erik by: Wikipedia

Shelves: crime, fiction, pulp, detective, hardboiled

MacDonald's first entry in the Travis McGee series is a well-written and thoroughly engaging read. Its central character and narrator is a charismatic loner with some great inner dialog on the topics of society and the environment (as many others have noted here) and is a notable descendent of Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, but not a complete recasting.

Although it didn't bother me due to the originating era and McGee's personality, all the women in the story are curiously 2-dimensional given the...more MacDonald's first entry in the Travis McGee series is a well-written and thoroughly engaging read. Its central character and narrator is a charismatic loner with some great inner dialog on the topics of society and the environment (as many others have noted here) and is a notable descendent of Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, but not a complete recasting.

Although it didn't bother me due to the originating era and McGee's personality, all the women in the story are curiously 2-dimensional given the complex creatures populating Chandler's works and almost any classic film noir (not to mention reality). But I think there is a bit of utruth to the types of people who allow themselves to endure so much abuse and destruction of self esteem. Obviously all women are not this naive and vulnerable but I bet there were a great deal more of them back in the early 60s. I also agree with another reviewer who pointed out that these may not be meant to depict universal traits of all women, just those that Travis McGee associates with:

"These are the playmate years, and they are demonstrably fraudulent. The scene is reputed to be acrawl with adorably amoral bunnies to whom sex is a pleasant social favor. The new culture. And they are indeed present and available, in exhausting quantity, but there is a curious tastelessness about them. A woman who does not guard and treasure herself cannot be of very much value to anyone else."

Cerainly some misogyny is present, and perhaps par for this type of course, although I also don't buy into the faux feminism opposing views might trumpet. However such observations are a hallmark of the genre. Another gem:

"Love him, understand him, forgive him, lead him shyly to Freud, or Jesus.
Or else take the contemporarily untenable position that evil, undiluted by any hint of childhood trauma, does exist in the world, exists for its own precise sake, the pustular bequest from the beast, as inexplicable as Belsen."

Although this might seem quaint to some today, The Problem of Evil is still a fascinating debate to me.

The ending is not 100% predictable, I genuinely hated the villain and I was moved by the result and final scene.

One last thing to note: if you're a fan of the classic TV Western Have Gun, Will Travel, you'll appreciate this setup from the beginning, which must have been a direct nod to that series (unless it dates further back):

"And if you take a batch of newspapers and read with great care, and read between the lines, you can come up with a fat happy Y and a poor X wringing his hands. I like to mark on pretty good-sized ones. Expenses are heavy. And then I can take another piece of my retirement. Instead of retiring at sixty I’m taking it in chunks as I go along.”(less)

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Apr 12, 2012 Jacqie rated it 2 of 5 stars

The writing is actually a 3 or a 4, but the attitudes toward women in this book are extremely condescending in a subversive way, and brought the rating down.

MacDonald can write a potboiler mystery. He's got fist fights, boats, cars, and shady characters. And women, but I'll get to them. A "fixer" main character who will get what you want as long as he gets half. A main character given to superior, worldly musings on the sad state of the world, that make you feel superior and worldly as you read...more The writing is actually a 3 or a 4, but the attitudes toward women in this book are extremely condescending in a subversive way, and brought the rating down.

MacDonald can write a potboiler mystery. He's got fist fights, boats, cars, and shady characters. And women, but I'll get to them. A "fixer" main character who will get what you want as long as he gets half. A main character given to superior, worldly musings on the sad state of the world, that make you feel superior and worldly as you read those musings. He's entertaining.

I don't know if I'd call it a mystery. There's a mysterious treasure to be found, but it's found by deceit and torture, not by any real detective work other than to find the right guy to torture information from. The detective techniques are so obsolete at this time that it's like reading about another planet- that's kind of interesting.

And then there's the women. In the first 30 pages, you meet 3. Our fearless hero McGee sleeps with one and has the chance to sleep with another. The third he sleeps with before the book is over. He's propositioned by several other women throughout the course if the book, but I think he only sleeps with one more- the heroine. I could be wrong, though. The sexual politics of the 60's, seen through the eyes of McGee, are a fascinating anthropological study. Again, it's like visiting another planet.

There seem to be two types of women: ladies and "coarse" women. Each female character in the book is described in excruciating physical detail, so you know right away who has "delicate features" and who is "raddled" and usually overweight. Ladies can be hysterical, delicate, childish, and submissive. And that's just fine. Raddled types are more forthright, don't care who they sleep with, have no self awareness, and are from a lower social class. Blood will tell, apparently. McGee's friend Chookie and Cathy, the woman who gets him involved in the case, sort of straddle the line, so to speak. They are dancers, obviously lower class, but McGee likes them well enough not to screw them for no reason at all. Although he'll screw them he thinks there's a decent reason. They have either spunk or strength.

Lois, the love interest of the book, is just bizarre. I cannot picture a real woman acting anything like her. SPOILERS FOLLOW:

Lois is victimized by the villain of the book. Apparently he likes breaking ladies' spirit. The thing is, even after he puts hands on her against her will and then leaves for a while, she decides to give him another chance and gets onto his boat alone with him,to be nice, knowing that he doesn't respect any boundaries. You can't say she was asking for it, but she certainly made one of the stupidest decisions I've ever seen. Then she's "hysterical", that lovely term for women who have PTSD. I know the plot demands it, but a doctor comes to treat her and then decides that the best thing for her is to stay in her house alone with a total stranger of a man(McGee) to take care of her. How is that in any way a remotely responsible decision on the part of a physician? Did they commonly leave traumatized women with strange men as nurses in the 60's? Then we get a very parent/child relationship between Lois and McGee- quite disturbing, really. It reminds me a lot of Robert Heinlein's writing on women. Maybe it was progressive at the time (in itself a frightening thought) but it comes across now as paternalistic and condescending. Travis decides whether Lois needs kindness or cruelty, depending on if he thinks she's wallowing in an emotional state or being a good girl. Chilling. Although I kind of wanted to slap Lois myself during some passages- she's really annoying for a paragon.

Anyway, Lois is gone by the end of the book and it's really all McGee's fault. His hubris led to disaster. I don't know if that was the point of the book or not.(less)

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Feb 18, 2012 Derek Dowell rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There’s a reason guys like me are still talking and writing on websites like this about Travis McGee almost fifty years after John D. MacDonald’s fictional boat bum and salvage consultant ambled onto the world stage for the first time. If this is the first you’ve heard of Mr. McGee or the book that hosted his first appearance, welcome to The Deep Blue Good-By. Gather ’round kiddies. You’re in for a treat.

Verily, verily, before there was Carl Hiaasen, Randy Wayne White, and Tim Dorsey, there was...more There’s a reason guys like me are still talking and writing on websites like this about Travis McGee almost fifty years after John D. MacDonald’s fictional boat bum and salvage consultant ambled onto the world stage for the first time. If this is the first you’ve heard of Mr. McGee or the book that hosted his first appearance, welcome to The Deep Blue Good-By. Gather ’round kiddies. You’re in for a treat.

Verily, verily, before there was Carl Hiaasen, Randy Wayne White, and Tim Dorsey, there was a pulp fiction writer named John D. MacDonald. Through the 1940′s and 1950′s MacDonald laid fingers to his trusty typewriter keyboard, producing a variety of so-called “pulp” fiction novels, all the while developing the voice which would spring forth through the character of Travis McGee in the 1964 novel The Deep Blue Good-By.

In a nutshell, McGee lives on a 52 foot houseboat, the Busted Flush, which he won in a poker game thanks to the eponymous hand . His athletic and military background combine with a tendency to tilt at windmills in defense of the manipulated and downtrodden to insure a life that could never be defined as boring. With the self described job title of “salvage consultant,” he takes his retirement in small doses along the way, in order to extract maximum enjoyment, rather than saving it all for the end. The reality is Travis stands ready to help (usually after a bit of convincing) to help good people who have been taken advantage of by bad guys. This kind of help comes at a price, though. Half of the value of anything recovered goes into McGee’s pocket, plus expenses.

There must be a great demand for this kind of work, though, because 21 Travis McGee novels appeared over the next 20 years.

Which brings us to The Deep Blue Good-By (TDBG). If you haven’t read or aren’t making plans to read this book by the time you finish reading this article, I want you to turn in your beach bum card right now. I’m serious. Put it on the table and get out. Travis McGee and John D. MacDonald are that important to what we do around here.

TDBG begins inauspiciously enough with Travis lounging on the Busted Flush, tossing back a few adult beverages whilst admiring the contortions of his cabaret dancer friend, Chookie McCall, perfecting a routine. Since our hero is a magnet for psychologically and physically damaged women (sometimes both), it isn’t long before he decides to take on the problems of a friend of Chookie’s who has fallen victim to the worst kind of predator manipulator, losing something of value in the process. Strangely, she’s not exactly sure what is lost, though that minor detail doesn’t slow our hero down for long.

From his home dock, slip F-18 at the Bahia Mar Marina in Fort Lauderdale, McGee is soon sleuthing his way up and down the Atlantic seaboard, over to Texas, and down into the Florida Keys. Along the way he picks up a female house guest who was also abused by the main baddie. Under McGee’s tough love, she’s soon doing well enough to hop in his bed for a round or two of refreshing sex. By the time the novel arrives at a satisfying climax on board a yacht somewhere between Miami and the Bahamas, we’re ready for Travis to inflict a suitably vile brand of retribution on Junior, the villain we’ve grown to fondly despise.

At Florida Pulp Fiction, we don’t believe the Alpha and the Omega is too strong a term to apply to The Deep Blue Good-By. Maybe another writer would have happened along to launch the quirky Florida adventure genre, but maybe not. Regardless, we thank John D. MacDonald from the bottom of our ever-lovin’ fictional hearts for the gift of McGee.(less)

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Feb 06, 2012 Bill Williams rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Travis McGee novels were recommended to me by Mark Troy, an author who had read some of my mystery fiction and spotted a similarity between the two. At the time of the compliment, I was a little flattered. Now, I'm floored.

The Deep Blue Good-By is a thrilling mystery novel and an excellent start to the Travis McGee mystery series. McGee is a recovery specialist who lives on a houseboat won in a poker game. He gives a running commentary on his beloved Florida landscape and on the human condit...more

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Jan 24, 2012 J Gastaldo rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Classifying "The Deep Blue Good-Bye," the first of the 21 Travis McGee novels by John MacDonald, is something of a perplexing matter.

In one sense, it could easily be considered a hard boiled detective novel, and this is the label under which it is widely regarded. And there is some justification for this. It does bear all the principle elements of that specific sub-genre. A crime is committed. A protagonist is hired to track down the perpetrator. In the process, he must navigate the toxic waters...more Classifying "The Deep Blue Good-Bye," the first of the 21 Travis McGee novels by John MacDonald, is something of a perplexing matter.

In one sense, it could easily be considered a hard boiled detective novel, and this is the label under which it is widely regarded. And there is some justification for this. It does bear all the principle elements of that specific sub-genre. A crime is committed. A protagonist is hired to track down the perpetrator. In the process, he must navigate the toxic waters of the sordid underbelly of society, must bear witness to acts of deprivation and violence, must endure abuse at the hands of his quarry, and must ultimately set the world momentarily aright with his own, individualized brand of justice. There is sex, there is drinking, there are saps and gats and fast cars. And at the center of it all, there's a whole lot of money. The substance of the story is straight up pulp in every sense.

At the same time though, these individual elements are only invoked to a degree. The protagonist, McGee, isn't a detective. He's a guy who finds things for clients and takes a cut of the value. Consequentially, there isn't much of a mystery either. The perpetrator in the story is known by all parties from the very beginning. There is some uncertainty as to where the perpetrator is and what it is he stole, but tracking down this information doesn't prove to be a difficult or complex or in any way a detective process. It's a slower, more laid back version of a hard boiled novel, hard boiled on vacation at the Florida shore. And yet it works.

What really sets this book apart from its contemporaries, however, is it's reliance on philosophical musings to fill the space between plot points. While Chandler and others were content to offer brief, passing judgement on the corruption of modern society, to perhaps allow their protagonists a moment or two to nonchalantly chastise reality, MacDonald is prone to diverging into page-long bursts of social incisiveness in which minute elements of the modern social order are allowed to effloresce into complex causal systems all of their own. And it's this element, I think, in addition to what was almost certainly an advanced mindset for 1964, that keeps this book feeling contemporary. Had this book not been set in the near-immediate aftermath of WWII, had it not played out in the shadow of this war, it would have been easy to mistake this novel as having been written yesterday.

Anyway, an interesting read. Plenty of reason to keep reading more, at the least the fact that one of these won a National Book Award (during the prize's short-lived genre period of the early 80s).(less)

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Jul 19, 2011 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Travis McGee, professional beach bum and retriever of lost items, helps out a bevy of abused women in this first novel of the series. An interesting novel in that it seems to be one of the first of many Florida based mystery/thrillers and also features a bad guy who wouldn't be out of place in an Energizer battery commercial.

What was an added dimension to my read though was that the book was previously owned by someone in Minneapolis, MN. I know this because they wrote their name and address on...more

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May 03, 2011 Jayaprakash Satyamurthy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What I like about genre fiction is that very often, a genre novel or story is what it sets out to be - a mystery story, a space opera, a dragon-slaying yarn - and that's often quite enough if done honestly and with imagination, but they can often be all that and something else as well. Take this novel, for instance, a tale of a cool, drifter-type private eye making his way through the endless parties and permissiveness of Florida in the 60s. It's a pretty good private-eye tale, as far as that go...more

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Apr 09, 2011 Nancy Moore rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Plot summary (from Wikipedia):
"The Deep Blue Good-by introduces readers to McGee, his place of residence, the Busted Flush (a houseboat he won in a poker game), and its mooring place, slip F-18 at the Bahia Mar Marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In the early chapters we learn that McGee is a bachelor, a man who can be friends with ladies as well as have a passion for them, and a man of principle (although they are somewhat at the mercy of his uncertain emotional condition and his circumstances...more Plot summary (from Wikipedia):
"The Deep Blue Good-by introduces readers to McGee, his place of residence, the Busted Flush (a houseboat he won in a poker game), and its mooring place, slip F-18 at the Bahia Mar Marina in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In the early chapters we learn that McGee is a bachelor, a man who can be friends with ladies as well as have a passion for them, and a man of principle (although they are somewhat at the mercy of his uncertain emotional condition and his circumstances at the moment; in McGee's own words, "Some of them I'll bend way, way, over, but not break."). We also learn that McGee is by occupation a salvage consultant, a concept almost certainly coined and developed by MacDonald. (As a "salvage consultant," McGee undertakes to recover for its rightful owner money or property of which the owner has been wrongfully deprived and has no other hope of recovering, taking half its value as his fee.) McGee works when he has to, almost always only taking jobs when his supply of money (kept in an ingenious "hidey-hole" aboard the Flush) is low. In one tale, however, McGee avenges the murder of a long-time friend. In another, he is asked by the daughter of a friend to find out why her husband is trying to kill her. While he can be mercenary at times, he is not a mercenary.

Another feature of the McGee series is the seemingly unending parade of colorful and invariably evil villains whom McGee must contend with in order to make a recovery for his clients. In this first story the antagonist is Junior Allen, a smiling, seemingly friendly man, large, "cat quick", powerful, and pathologically evil. The story begins with a fortune smuggled home after World War II by a soldier who was a native of the Florida Keys. This soldier killed another soldier just prior to his discharge, went on the run back to the Keys, and buried his treasure there. He was later captured by the U.S. Army and sent to a military prison, where he met Junior Allen. Allen discovered vague details about the fortune hidden in the Keys and after his release from prison went there to find it. The story depicts the psychotic behavior of Allen as he evolves from thief to serial rapist to murderer. We see McGee's savvy, guile, and physical prowess as he works methodically to locate Allen and eventually make the recovery. As is thematic in many of the McGee books, however, he pays a heavy price for the successful recovery. Throughout the series, in fact, it is debatable as to whether McGee ever makes a recovery in which the costs do not outweigh the gain."

I have read all of John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series and loved every one. They are a bit dated now in that Travis is a handsome lady's man, who somewhat sees women as sex objects, much like the other older noir fiction detectives, but every single book in this series is a fun and heart-poundingly suspenseful thrill ride and - unless you're so anally retentive that you can't enjoy a book like this because you consider it sexist - I highly recommend the whole series, and you will really get to know and love this guy throughout it, despite his playboy ways. If ever there was a series that I would use time in my remaining precious life to re-read, this is it.
(less)

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Dec 03, 2010 Ben rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

John D. MacDonald is one of my favorite authors and the Travis McGee series is my all-time favorite, so don't be discouraged by the three stars. I don't throw 4's and 5's around.

I started this series when I was about 14 and devoured all 21 in about two years. Now I'm reading through them again. Reading them now, I have more appreciation for some of the great stuff, but also a more critical eye.

Deep Blue Good-by is a great read, but I rate the story as only good. I've always loved MacDonald's sty...more

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Jul 28, 2010 Joni marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, ww2

Post WWII crime mystery:"spare, tight, often dark...of desperate men in way over their heads; and in many ways, a chronicle of America's own growing awareness of environmental, moral and social issues. Often he used fiction to comment on such issues as ecological dangers, racism, political corruption, real estate scams, infidelity, and the drug culture. And,oh yeah, simply as pure adventure, they kicked ass."

"taut, with psychological underpinnings and a burgeoning environmental awareness, often...more

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May 02, 2010 JoAnna Spring rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Fine.

Fine. Fine. Fine.

Whatever.

I suppose if Leonardo DiCaprio wants to be Travis McGee in The Deep Blue Good-By, I guess I'm ok with it. Not because DiCaprio fits my image of McGee - at all - but because Good-By feels like such a different book than the later McGees. It's not as dark or broody. In fact, even with the death and horrifying crimes, the book is nearly bouncy. McGee doesn't have any scars yet, there is no mention of his time in Korea, he hasn't yet been involved in the death or injur...more Fine.

Fine. Fine. Fine.

Whatever.

I suppose if Leonardo DiCaprio wants to be Travis McGee in The Deep Blue Good-By, I guess I'm ok with it. Not because DiCaprio fits my image of McGee - at all - but because Good-By feels like such a different book than the later McGees. It's not as dark or broody. In fact, even with the death and horrifying crimes, the book is nearly bouncy. McGee doesn't have any scars yet, there is no mention of his time in Korea, he hasn't yet been involved in the death or injury of any friends. He's scrappy...but a fun kind of scrappy. Not yet burdened by years of defending friends and lovers against the worst humanity has to offer.

So...whatever. I guess DiCaprio with his pretty eyes, smooth skin, charitable donations, and environmental activism can play Early Travis McGee.

Good-By features Cathy, a single mom dancer who was swindled by a mean ole dude called Junior Allen. Allen spent a few years in a jail with Cathy's father who hid away scandalously-obtained riches that were unknown to his family. After Cathy's father died in jail, Allen was released, sought out Cathy's family and stole those riches. Being a classy guy, he used his new money to kidnap and torture a rich chick named Lois.

So, Trav's job is to find creepy Allen, restore some money to single mom Cathy and help heal broken rich chick Lois.

And it does it with a playfulness that I had forgotten from my original reading of the book years ago. He teases sick, stick-thin Lois into eating more, rather than manipulating her. He describes himself as "bright eyes and white teeth shining...the proper folk-hero crinkle at the corners of the eyes and the bashful appealing smile," rather than as in The Green Ripper 15 years later - "an artifact, genus boat bum, a pale-eyed, shambling, gangling, knuckly man, without enough unscarred hide left to make a decent lampshade." Even his cynicism and distrust of structure and establishment seems mild:

Maybe it isn't too late yet! Find the little woman, and go for the whole bit. Kiwanis, PTA, fund drives, cookouts, a clean desk, and vote the straight ticket, yessiree bob.

Yessiree bob? It's a different McGee than I've become accustomed to in the later books...but it's a lot of fun. It's a tidy little tale and a pretty good read.(less)

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Feb 29, 2008 Matthew rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

How did I sleep on this dude? The best writing ever. Seems his women always get the short end of the stick though, like they are perpetually helpless, in strife, and getting the shit kicked out of them. Yikes. So I can't see too many women digging on this noir genius, but since I am a dude, I win! I read the back of my copy: Kurt Vonnegut is raving all over the place about him! As does Steven King. I guess he's getting a bit of a renaissance. Glad I read it, have to read more...

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Aug 03, 2012 Tfitoby rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: black-as-night

A man's got to do what a man's got to do

Even when that means believing women are nothing more than objects of his sliding scale of deserved affection and taking advantage of those too weak or too kind or too grateful to say no.

But then that's what everyone says about Travis McGee. What more can you say about the guy?

He's a man of strong moral principles, full of arrogance and conceit, a man who dislikes the America of the sixties yet happily takes advantage of it. He'll take a beating and keep o...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Julie Davis rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I knew I'd read a lot of MacDonald's novels featuring Travis McGee, hard-boiled private detective who lives on a boat (The Busted Flush) in Florida. In many ways, McGee is Robert B. Parker's Spenser from back in 1964.

What I didn't realize is just how many times I must have read this book. I remember big pieces of the plot and, actually, was startled that MacDonald began the series with this particular story which always stuck with me.

McGee comes to the aid of a lovely lady in soul-deep distress

...more

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Jul 21, 2012 Almeta rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mysterious, serial, reviewed

I like Travis McGee's philosophy about the various human stereotypes that he encounters, both personally and professionally. I like his loose integrity as he treats each one differently.

His lackadaisical life style is an excellent camouflage for the man of aggressive action.

I read Travis McGee stories before, but not in any order. Now that I've read this the first in the series, I am going to be more disciplined and seek out the rest in an orderly fashion.

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Apr 21, 2013 Larry rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Although this book was written nearly fifty years ago, it is still timely today. Sure, some of the prose may seem a little dated by today's standards, but the story and the characters are compelling for any reader interested in crime fiction. John D. MacDonald introduces his iconic protagonist investigator Travis McGee in this book and twenty more novels followed in the series. McGee is not a police detective or your conventional "private eye", but instead a beach bum who lives on his boat off t...more

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May 28, 2012 Kali Lux rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

i'm not really an outspoken feminist but daaamn! this book may have inspired the entire feminist movement. it was like the gangster rap of the mystery novel, all tits and ass and innocent waifs drinking on houseboats, originally published in 1964. i tried to keep in mind the decade gap, the differences between the era of this author and the era of my life today and just focus on the mystery, but i just couldn't get past how much the disempowerment and victimization and sexualization of women is...more

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About John D. MacDonald

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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