What do you think?
Rate this book
Where Is Janice Gantry?
Where Is Janice Gantry?, one of many classic novels from crime writer John D. MacDonald, the beloved author of Cape Fear and the Travis McGee series, is now available as an eBook.
Sam Brice is the perfect rugged hero, even with a face battered by eleven seasons in football, almost three in pro. He’s involved with a young widow named Janice Gantry. But when she vanishes, Janice leaves behind a trail of blackmail, murder—and a man at war with his own sense of duty. Sam is too curious to steer clear of the mystifying disappearances off the Florida Keys . . . too stubborn to avoid making enemies with a cunning criminal and killer . . . and perhaps too enraged to do what he knows he must to save the one woman who matters: become as cold, impersonal, and deadly as an assassin.
Features a new Introduction by Dean Koontz
Praise for John D. MacDonald
“The great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller.”—Stephen King
“My favorite novelist of all time.”—Dean Koontz
“To diggers a thousand years from now, the works of John D. MacDonald would be a treasure on the order of the tomb of Tutankhamen.”—Kurt Vonnegut
“A master storyteller, a masterful suspense writer . . . John D. MacDonald is a shining example for all of us in the field. Talk about the best.”—Mary Higgins Clark
Sam Brice is the perfect rugged hero, even with a face battered by eleven seasons in football, almost three in pro. He’s involved with a young widow named Janice Gantry. But when she vanishes, Janice leaves behind a trail of blackmail, murder—and a man at war with his own sense of duty. Sam is too curious to steer clear of the mystifying disappearances off the Florida Keys . . . too stubborn to avoid making enemies with a cunning criminal and killer . . . and perhaps too enraged to do what he knows he must to save the one woman who matters: become as cold, impersonal, and deadly as an assassin.
Features a new Introduction by Dean Koontz
Praise for John D. MacDonald
“The great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller.”—Stephen King
“My favorite novelist of all time.”—Dean Koontz
“To diggers a thousand years from now, the works of John D. MacDonald would be a treasure on the order of the tomb of Tutankhamen.”—Kurt Vonnegut
“A master storyteller, a masterful suspense writer . . . John D. MacDonald is a shining example for all of us in the field. Talk about the best.”—Mary Higgins Clark
269 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1961
166 people are currently reading
247 people want to read
About the author
John D. MacDonald
585 books1,398 followersJohn 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
December 30, 2022
Where Is Janice Gantry is a crime thriller set in Horseshoe Cay in Florida. The lead, Sam Brice, is a character similar in attitude and temperament to what would later become Travis McGee. Sam is a former NFL player who was wrongfully caught in a cheating/gambling scandal and drummed out of the league. With his fortunes waning, his trophy wife walked away. Three years later, he lives in a small cabin on a key, working as an adjuster in auto claims. He is hiding from the world.
It was Janice Gantry he turned to when his wife abandoned him and their romance, wild and untamed as it was, had fizzled away. A man on the run stopped by Sam’s cabin and now he’s missing and so is Janice.
The pacing in this novel is often slow as it is with the Long development of Sam’s relationship with Peggy Veda, including their awkward meet-cute moment. Nevertheless, the pace reaches a crescendo towards the end where Sam gets a chance to play hero.
There’s not much ruminating on the nature of Society here. The novel is more about the story unfolding.
It was Janice Gantry he turned to when his wife abandoned him and their romance, wild and untamed as it was, had fizzled away. A man on the run stopped by Sam’s cabin and now he’s missing and so is Janice.
The pacing in this novel is often slow as it is with the Long development of Sam’s relationship with Peggy Veda, including their awkward meet-cute moment. Nevertheless, the pace reaches a crescendo towards the end where Sam gets a chance to play hero.
There’s not much ruminating on the nature of Society here. The novel is more about the story unfolding.
September 17, 2023
This summer, I have read four of John D. MacDonald's books -- two in the Travis McGee series and two of his lesser known, but equally good, other mysteries. Where is Janice Gantry? is interesting as it takes a while to find out who the real villain is. In the meantime, we meet up with an escaped convict, a crooked sheriff, and his hillbilly deputy (LeRoy Luxey) from the Florida swamps. In the end, the last of these actually turns out to be one of the good guys.
The novel is about the search for Sam Brice's ex-girlfriend Janice Gantry, who has run off with the escaped convict. Brice finally manages to get a bead on her, and in the process finds a new girlfriend and gets into a whole heap of trouble from the real bad guys, some mobsters from Detroit.
Where Is Janice Gantry? is a good read and a real page-turner. I am convinced that MacDonald can do no wrong.
The novel is about the search for Sam Brice's ex-girlfriend Janice Gantry, who has run off with the escaped convict. Brice finally manages to get a bead on her, and in the process finds a new girlfriend and gets into a whole heap of trouble from the real bad guys, some mobsters from Detroit.
Where Is Janice Gantry? is a good read and a real page-turner. I am convinced that MacDonald can do no wrong.
September 27, 2011
I've been plowing through the non-Travis pulps by John D. MacDonald. And I'm having a really good time doing it. I make no apologies, he was a damn good writer.
May 24, 2025
I haven't read all of the reviews posted here, but some of them summarize the book, so I won't do that as well. Like most of the other John D. MacDonald mysteries that I have read, Where Is Janice Gantry? is a good, absorbing tale - nothing special, but fine.
The one thing that I want to mention is the problem that I have with the romance that develops in the book. Sam Brice, the narrator, is a one-time NFL player. He misses the job, but not nearly as much as he misses his former wife, whose loss has shattered Brice's life. Other woman might be warm and sexually compatible, but they are not Judy.
And then he meets Peggy Varden. He is immediately struck by Peggy's close physical resemblance to Judy. Soon Sam and Peggy are in love. And that's fine, but...
Sam has fallen for a woman who is almost a physical double of his lost love. It is never considered in the book, but surely part of the reason he comes to love her is because she looks so much like Judy. That was a bad reason for the relationship in the much-lauded film Vertigo and I suspect that it would eventually be in this case too, if this were real life and not a John D. MacDonald novel.
October 22, 2017
An odd entry in the John D. MacDonald canon, with a hero who seems like a trial run for Travis McGee and a plot that spends less time on the title question than on figuring out whether the hero can redeem himself. Yet it was still pretty entertaining, with vivid characters, sassy dialogue and tantalizing descriptions of early 1960s Florida beach life.
The hero and narrator is Sam Brice, a one-time NFL star who was booted from the league under a cloud and was promptly dumped by his high-maintenance glamour-girl wife as well. He's crawled back to his hometown in Florida, where he broods on what he's lost and runs a small auto-damage appraisal operation. He shares office space with another business, and has a torrid but ultimately pointless affair with the title character, Janice Gantry. She wants marriage and children, and he doesn't, so the affair ends.
When the book begins, a guy Brice knows slightly has escaped from a prison road gang after two years behind bars, and has now showed up at his door looking for help. Brice lets him stay at his beachfront cabin overnight and gives him something to eat. At one point, Brice mentions that perhaps the only person in town who believes the guy is innocent is Janice Gantry. When the escaped prisoner leaves, Brice sees him picked up by Gantry -- and that's the last anyone sees of them.
While the cops search for the missing pair, Brice begins his own investigation, but he doesn't get very far until he's confiding in a neighbor named D. Ackley Bush. D. Ackley is one of the best characters MacDonald ever created, a well-educated local gadfly who delights in swapping gossip and tormenting local politicians. Every Florida beach town has at least one D. Ackley Bush in it. He steers Brice toward a new angle, which leads to Brice beginning a romance with a visiting tourist named Peggy who's the sister of Bush's mysterious neighbors, the Webers -- the people the escaped inmate was caught burglarizing two years before.
After that most of the story is taken up with Brice falling in love with Peggy and vice versa, which is a ton of fun but way off the beam for the plot. Eventually, though, the mystery and the love affair cross paths again, and Brice is called upon to do some very Travis McGee-like things to save himself and his lady love. MacDonald manages to wrap the whole thing up in fewer than 200 pages.
All in all, I'm glad Brice wasn't the character that MacDonald built his series around, but his one-shot novel is an interesting look at what MacDonald was thinking about. In one fun twist, the bad guys actually talk about fleeing town and holing up at a marina on the other side of the state -- the Bahia Mar in Fort Lauderdale, where McGee later anchored his boat.
The hero and narrator is Sam Brice, a one-time NFL star who was booted from the league under a cloud and was promptly dumped by his high-maintenance glamour-girl wife as well. He's crawled back to his hometown in Florida, where he broods on what he's lost and runs a small auto-damage appraisal operation. He shares office space with another business, and has a torrid but ultimately pointless affair with the title character, Janice Gantry. She wants marriage and children, and he doesn't, so the affair ends.
When the book begins, a guy Brice knows slightly has escaped from a prison road gang after two years behind bars, and has now showed up at his door looking for help. Brice lets him stay at his beachfront cabin overnight and gives him something to eat. At one point, Brice mentions that perhaps the only person in town who believes the guy is innocent is Janice Gantry. When the escaped prisoner leaves, Brice sees him picked up by Gantry -- and that's the last anyone sees of them.
While the cops search for the missing pair, Brice begins his own investigation, but he doesn't get very far until he's confiding in a neighbor named D. Ackley Bush. D. Ackley is one of the best characters MacDonald ever created, a well-educated local gadfly who delights in swapping gossip and tormenting local politicians. Every Florida beach town has at least one D. Ackley Bush in it. He steers Brice toward a new angle, which leads to Brice beginning a romance with a visiting tourist named Peggy who's the sister of Bush's mysterious neighbors, the Webers -- the people the escaped inmate was caught burglarizing two years before.
After that most of the story is taken up with Brice falling in love with Peggy and vice versa, which is a ton of fun but way off the beam for the plot. Eventually, though, the mystery and the love affair cross paths again, and Brice is called upon to do some very Travis McGee-like things to save himself and his lady love. MacDonald manages to wrap the whole thing up in fewer than 200 pages.
All in all, I'm glad Brice wasn't the character that MacDonald built his series around, but his one-shot novel is an interesting look at what MacDonald was thinking about. In one fun twist, the bad guys actually talk about fleeing town and holing up at a marina on the other side of the state -- the Bahia Mar in Fort Lauderdale, where McGee later anchored his boat.
January 2, 2015
new year's day...1 jan 15, thursday afternoon 4:39 p.m. e.s.t.
#21 from macdonald for me...just finished The Deceivers, a great story, check it out.
(1961) where is janice gantry?, john d macdonald
this one begins:
sometimes the hot night wind brings bad dreams. it came streaming and steaming out of the west, piling the gulf into a continual rumble of freight trains along the beach of horseshoe key, whipping the water of the wide bay inside the key, and galloping along to rip and clatter the fronds of the cabbage palms beside my mainland cottage, to excite a squeaking and groaning of bamboo, to hiss and sigh through the tall australian pines.
i slept deep in a heartbreak dream of the girl that was lost and gone, of my wife judy, no longer mine, no longer wife.
okey dokey then, as the good doctor said (a bicycle, a rock, a plum, 1987) onward and upward
time place scene settings
*florida, horseshoe key, the gulf side of florida
*florence city, florida...and also florence county...and i am almost positive there is no actual florence county. i could be wrong...but i don't believe so...so this is a fictional place even though the logistics argue for a real place...if you can pinpoint it on a map and you might could
*time: nothing definitive yet...46 pages into the telling...although it opens monday, 15 august
*automotive appraisal associates: sam's deck in the realtor offices of sam earle...janice "sis" gantry was instrumental in finding space for sam here.
*the gantry house on jackson street
*ack's place maybe a quarter mile from the weber house
*the weber home...very secluded private
*cy's lunch & sundries
*sam travels to a number of places to complete insurance claim appraisals...sarasota...boca grande...osprey...punta gorda
*west plaza: shopping center on the key
*orange road...a kind of main street, main road on the narrow key
*best beach bar
*law offices of offices of wessel and mcallen
*colony beach club: sam & peggy go here several times
*mel fiffer's agency: charley worked here as a salesman...car salesman
*office of county clerk: sam visits to track ownership of the webber house, boat
*jimson's marina: the webber's boat is repaired here
*maria's bar in bayside...the pink elephant, a small hotel in boca grande. commercial fisherman gather at maria's.
*cabbage key
*20' lapstreak skiff with an 8' beam...sam's boat
*several drugstore counters
*54' matthews...called the sea queen
characters major minor peripheral real-famous
*samuel collins brice: our hero, twenty-nine-year-old, 1st-person eye-narrator...a big man...or big to middlin big...played defensive tackle big, three years professional football. he works as a kind of auto insurance claims adjuster...he looks at insurance claims, gives them a second opinion, tries to keep everyone honest. his parents drowned in a boating accident two days after he turned fifteen. he was married to judy caldwell for 3 years, 3 months.
*charlie haywood: charlie shows at sam's place middle of the night...had been on a state road camp crew, ran him through raiford prison there before they sent him south on the camp crew...and he's out and about. looking to clear his name, he said guilty 'cause of a woman and now he's had time to think it out.
*janice "sis" gantry: 29-year-old, she has eight brothers, four older, four younger, and she married pritch, a no-good who shot her in the neck before he ate a bullet. she's one for lost causes...and at various times, sam was a lost cause...and now, charlie, he's a lost cause.
*sheriff pat milhaus: a few years older than samuel collins...was a kind of assistant coach, high school, when sammy played ball and they went out one night and knocked each other around. the hate is still there.
*deputy leroy luxey: heh! think deliverance...that kid laid back on the trunk of that biggest pontiac detroit makes? leroy "was about the size of a fourteen-year-old who had been sick and underfed." leroy...he kept his chin high.
*jennie benjamin: works in the earle offices
*alice jessup: works in the earle offices...and she does secretarial work for sam, as well
*tom earle: realtor...sam has a desk in his offices...and earle is on vacation in canada
*vince avery: works in the earle offices
*d. ackely bush..."ack": came to florida 30 years ago...to write a book...lives on money from a buccaneer ancestor, associate of sam's, involves himself in local politics, and has made it his mission to learn more about the webers, who are very private and fly under the radar. has an interest in flaying public officials, fast buck operators, is concerned about bays being filled. see for instance:Flash of Green
*maurice weber: mid-50s, lives in a big house built special for him and his wife...seldom seen...seldom leaves the house...does go out on the water in the webers' 54' matthews boat. has servants to pay bills, do this, do that. from michigan, it is believed...money comes from chicago bank. believed to have been an investment banker. charlie haywood was caught by the webers trying to remove a wall safe.
*charity weber: mid-30s, wife of maurice, a real looker...suspicion is that charlie and her did the fandango
*gus herka: owner, proprietor, bartender at best beach bar
*cal mcallen: loves wants to marry janice gantry...had a 1st wife, died...2 college age kids in a private school in the north...lawyer, offices of wessel and mcallen
*kishi: oriental servant...cook, butler...to ackley
*judy caldwell: was the wife of sam brice
*mrs. timothy barriss falter: judy, married to an architect and living in hawaii
*gretchen falter: their year-and-a-half-old daugther
*tim falter: architect
*pritch: no-good married to janice gantry for four years...shot her in the throat...killed self. she lived.
*hunk wessel...or judge wessel...partner of cal mcallen
*joe & lois gantry: parents of nine children, one daughter, janice gantry. six of the boys are married, gone...billy and sid are still around. joe works for the phone company, has for years
*girl at the front desk...the law offices
*liz taylor, julie newmar, churchill, caloosa indians, spanish, the joneses, carl sandburg
*herman & anna mahler: couple, servants to the webers, they arrived when the house was built or almost there, set the house up
*damon caldwell: judy's father...in wilmington, delaware...rich
*a nevada lawyer...when judy fled home, a nevada lawyer was the next communication from her, her family
*peggy varden: sister, half-sister of charity weber, 25-year-old from richmond, virginia, sam meets her on the beach in front of the weber mansion...she looks much like his ex-wife, judy. she was married...to pete...he died, that was five years ago. dayton, ohio, is actually "home"...or where she was raised
*bunny biscoe: he is a reporter for the florence city ledger
*mrs lot: an albino raccoon who lived on the key before the weber place was built
*mary may frear: described as trashy...and she is a replacement help while/because janice is missing
*wilbur prail: commercial fisherman who tagged mrs lot, had a taxidermist mount the raccoon, sam's father took a dim view of it and almost killed the man
*john pennwalter: pete varden's uncle for whom peggy is working in richmond
*stan chase: the captain of the webber's 54' boat
*maurice bergamann...weber's real name
*t.c. barley: state's attorney
*larry stultz: lives, works on cabbage key
*jan stultz: his wife
*rick, jimmy brown, allan the horse...possibly real-famous (at the time) football players?
*benjamin kelly: strong man for weber
*rafael martino: same...associate of weber
*luke johnson: gnarled old man who was fishing with his sons, saw the webber's 54' sea queen underway, no lights
*coast guard...barney...bus...launch captain
*old jimson...who has the marina
*j.b.: guy who works on boats...onlly custom-built jobbers, not factory-made
*jaimie france: sam talks to him at maria's bar in bayside, looking for information
*ed howe and his people (law enforcement)
*charlie davies: piano at the colony beach club
*mr bert bell: man associated with sam's professional football time
*browns (football)...two stooges (who offered sam money to throw a game)...f.b.i. agents...lawyers
a note on the narration
yeah. so. 1st person eye-narrator. i like these kind of yarns. more personal. here's some more from macdonald...recent reads, all 1st person: Soft Touch...On the Make...Murder for the Bride...You Live Once two of these stories have been published under more than one title...but you can figure that out with some digging.
a quote or two from the story
...if you are too unusual, you may turn into a collector's item.
--page 80
there is one demon loose upon the world who spends all his infinite time and energy on the devising of all the vicious little coincidences which confound mankind. his specialty is to confront the unwary with coincidences so eerie, so obviously planned by a malevolent intelligence, that time itself comes to a full stop and his victim stands transfixed by a conviction of unreality, while in infra-space, the demon hugs his hairy belly, kicks his hooves in the air, rolling and gasping with silent laughter. --page 75
update, 2 jan 15, friday afternoon, 3:21 p.m. e.s.t.
finished. good story. this is one of them where the ending picks up speed and cannonballs followed by the ripples of what happened to the various parties. nothing wrong with that, i guess, but that's the way it is. there's enough here to satisfy the mystery buffs, enough action to satisfy the action thrillers. ummmm...i guess if we're being honest, the past of the bad guy though it is explained after a fashion it is given short order but it's not difficult for the willing suspension to go along with it. not everyone wins...but the evil is put down...for a time and some can live better once the fat lady sings. all-in-all, a good story. good read.
#21 from macdonald for me...just finished The Deceivers, a great story, check it out.
(1961) where is janice gantry?, john d macdonald
this one begins:
sometimes the hot night wind brings bad dreams. it came streaming and steaming out of the west, piling the gulf into a continual rumble of freight trains along the beach of horseshoe key, whipping the water of the wide bay inside the key, and galloping along to rip and clatter the fronds of the cabbage palms beside my mainland cottage, to excite a squeaking and groaning of bamboo, to hiss and sigh through the tall australian pines.
i slept deep in a heartbreak dream of the girl that was lost and gone, of my wife judy, no longer mine, no longer wife.
okey dokey then, as the good doctor said (a bicycle, a rock, a plum, 1987) onward and upward
time place scene settings
*florida, horseshoe key, the gulf side of florida
*florence city, florida...and also florence county...and i am almost positive there is no actual florence county. i could be wrong...but i don't believe so...so this is a fictional place even though the logistics argue for a real place...if you can pinpoint it on a map and you might could
*time: nothing definitive yet...46 pages into the telling...although it opens monday, 15 august
*automotive appraisal associates: sam's deck in the realtor offices of sam earle...janice "sis" gantry was instrumental in finding space for sam here.
*the gantry house on jackson street
*ack's place maybe a quarter mile from the weber house
*the weber home...very secluded private
*cy's lunch & sundries
*sam travels to a number of places to complete insurance claim appraisals...sarasota...boca grande...osprey...punta gorda
*west plaza: shopping center on the key
*orange road...a kind of main street, main road on the narrow key
*best beach bar
*law offices of offices of wessel and mcallen
*colony beach club: sam & peggy go here several times
*mel fiffer's agency: charley worked here as a salesman...car salesman
*office of county clerk: sam visits to track ownership of the webber house, boat
*jimson's marina: the webber's boat is repaired here
*maria's bar in bayside...the pink elephant, a small hotel in boca grande. commercial fisherman gather at maria's.
*cabbage key
*20' lapstreak skiff with an 8' beam...sam's boat
*several drugstore counters
*54' matthews...called the sea queen
characters major minor peripheral real-famous
*samuel collins brice: our hero, twenty-nine-year-old, 1st-person eye-narrator...a big man...or big to middlin big...played defensive tackle big, three years professional football. he works as a kind of auto insurance claims adjuster...he looks at insurance claims, gives them a second opinion, tries to keep everyone honest. his parents drowned in a boating accident two days after he turned fifteen. he was married to judy caldwell for 3 years, 3 months.
*charlie haywood: charlie shows at sam's place middle of the night...had been on a state road camp crew, ran him through raiford prison there before they sent him south on the camp crew...and he's out and about. looking to clear his name, he said guilty 'cause of a woman and now he's had time to think it out.
*janice "sis" gantry: 29-year-old, she has eight brothers, four older, four younger, and she married pritch, a no-good who shot her in the neck before he ate a bullet. she's one for lost causes...and at various times, sam was a lost cause...and now, charlie, he's a lost cause.
*sheriff pat milhaus: a few years older than samuel collins...was a kind of assistant coach, high school, when sammy played ball and they went out one night and knocked each other around. the hate is still there.
*deputy leroy luxey: heh! think deliverance...that kid laid back on the trunk of that biggest pontiac detroit makes? leroy "was about the size of a fourteen-year-old who had been sick and underfed." leroy...he kept his chin high.
*jennie benjamin: works in the earle offices
*alice jessup: works in the earle offices...and she does secretarial work for sam, as well
*tom earle: realtor...sam has a desk in his offices...and earle is on vacation in canada
*vince avery: works in the earle offices
*d. ackely bush..."ack": came to florida 30 years ago...to write a book...lives on money from a buccaneer ancestor, associate of sam's, involves himself in local politics, and has made it his mission to learn more about the webers, who are very private and fly under the radar. has an interest in flaying public officials, fast buck operators, is concerned about bays being filled. see for instance:Flash of Green
*maurice weber: mid-50s, lives in a big house built special for him and his wife...seldom seen...seldom leaves the house...does go out on the water in the webers' 54' matthews boat. has servants to pay bills, do this, do that. from michigan, it is believed...money comes from chicago bank. believed to have been an investment banker. charlie haywood was caught by the webers trying to remove a wall safe.
*charity weber: mid-30s, wife of maurice, a real looker...suspicion is that charlie and her did the fandango
*gus herka: owner, proprietor, bartender at best beach bar
*cal mcallen: loves wants to marry janice gantry...had a 1st wife, died...2 college age kids in a private school in the north...lawyer, offices of wessel and mcallen
*kishi: oriental servant...cook, butler...to ackley
*judy caldwell: was the wife of sam brice
*mrs. timothy barriss falter: judy, married to an architect and living in hawaii
*gretchen falter: their year-and-a-half-old daugther
*tim falter: architect
*pritch: no-good married to janice gantry for four years...shot her in the throat...killed self. she lived.
*hunk wessel...or judge wessel...partner of cal mcallen
*joe & lois gantry: parents of nine children, one daughter, janice gantry. six of the boys are married, gone...billy and sid are still around. joe works for the phone company, has for years
*girl at the front desk...the law offices
*liz taylor, julie newmar, churchill, caloosa indians, spanish, the joneses, carl sandburg
*herman & anna mahler: couple, servants to the webers, they arrived when the house was built or almost there, set the house up
*damon caldwell: judy's father...in wilmington, delaware...rich
*a nevada lawyer...when judy fled home, a nevada lawyer was the next communication from her, her family
*peggy varden: sister, half-sister of charity weber, 25-year-old from richmond, virginia, sam meets her on the beach in front of the weber mansion...she looks much like his ex-wife, judy. she was married...to pete...he died, that was five years ago. dayton, ohio, is actually "home"...or where she was raised
*bunny biscoe: he is a reporter for the florence city ledger
*mrs lot: an albino raccoon who lived on the key before the weber place was built
*mary may frear: described as trashy...and she is a replacement help while/because janice is missing
*wilbur prail: commercial fisherman who tagged mrs lot, had a taxidermist mount the raccoon, sam's father took a dim view of it and almost killed the man
*john pennwalter: pete varden's uncle for whom peggy is working in richmond
*stan chase: the captain of the webber's 54' boat
*maurice bergamann...weber's real name
*t.c. barley: state's attorney
*larry stultz: lives, works on cabbage key
*jan stultz: his wife
*rick, jimmy brown, allan the horse...possibly real-famous (at the time) football players?
*benjamin kelly: strong man for weber
*rafael martino: same...associate of weber
*luke johnson: gnarled old man who was fishing with his sons, saw the webber's 54' sea queen underway, no lights
*coast guard...barney...bus...launch captain
*old jimson...who has the marina
*j.b.: guy who works on boats...onlly custom-built jobbers, not factory-made
*jaimie france: sam talks to him at maria's bar in bayside, looking for information
*ed howe and his people (law enforcement)
*charlie davies: piano at the colony beach club
*mr bert bell: man associated with sam's professional football time
*browns (football)...two stooges (who offered sam money to throw a game)...f.b.i. agents...lawyers
a note on the narration
yeah. so. 1st person eye-narrator. i like these kind of yarns. more personal. here's some more from macdonald...recent reads, all 1st person: Soft Touch...On the Make...Murder for the Bride...You Live Once two of these stories have been published under more than one title...but you can figure that out with some digging.
a quote or two from the story
...if you are too unusual, you may turn into a collector's item.
--page 80
there is one demon loose upon the world who spends all his infinite time and energy on the devising of all the vicious little coincidences which confound mankind. his specialty is to confront the unwary with coincidences so eerie, so obviously planned by a malevolent intelligence, that time itself comes to a full stop and his victim stands transfixed by a conviction of unreality, while in infra-space, the demon hugs his hairy belly, kicks his hooves in the air, rolling and gasping with silent laughter. --page 75
update, 2 jan 15, friday afternoon, 3:21 p.m. e.s.t.
finished. good story. this is one of them where the ending picks up speed and cannonballs followed by the ripples of what happened to the various parties. nothing wrong with that, i guess, but that's the way it is. there's enough here to satisfy the mystery buffs, enough action to satisfy the action thrillers. ummmm...i guess if we're being honest, the past of the bad guy though it is explained after a fashion it is given short order but it's not difficult for the willing suspension to go along with it. not everyone wins...but the evil is put down...for a time and some can live better once the fat lady sings. all-in-all, a good story. good read.
May 16, 2025
Ipecac in Ink
The story was good and I almost gave the book 5 stars, but the mid-book Love At First Sight never stopped, right up to the last page. The Protagonist and Hoetagonist did nothing but Wittily Banter at each other, expressing their Love At First Sight in ever-new and ever-Wittier ways. The best story ever told would have been ruined by this Witty Banter of Love.
The ending was about 20% of the book and the Pro 'n' Hoe's ordeal and ultimate victory kept my attention, but instead of suffering properly through it, they bantered sweet-nothing quips at each other and made me wanna puke.
So I did all the suffering for them.
I should get paid to put up with this Ipecac in Ink.
The story was good and I almost gave the book 5 stars, but the mid-book Love At First Sight never stopped, right up to the last page. The Protagonist and Hoetagonist did nothing but Wittily Banter at each other, expressing their Love At First Sight in ever-new and ever-Wittier ways. The best story ever told would have been ruined by this Witty Banter of Love.
The ending was about 20% of the book and the Pro 'n' Hoe's ordeal and ultimate victory kept my attention, but instead of suffering properly through it, they bantered sweet-nothing quips at each other and made me wanna puke.
So I did all the suffering for them.
I should get paid to put up with this Ipecac in Ink.
April 20, 2020
This was written (1961) 3 years before the beginning of the Travis McGee series (1964) but there are a lot of similarities to Sam. I have read all the Travis books and can see how his character was developed and fine tuned over those 3 years.
Since my library is closed over the Coronavirus, I am enjoying ordering some of the old John D books from Thrift Books. He will always be one of my top favorites. This one took place in my neck of the woods (keys), so it was fun to read about the Suncoast in the 60’s, especially their romantic dinner at the Colony Club on Longboat Key. That building was just demolished recently, in those years it was world famous. Time marches on............
Since my library is closed over the Coronavirus, I am enjoying ordering some of the old John D books from Thrift Books. He will always be one of my top favorites. This one took place in my neck of the woods (keys), so it was fun to read about the Suncoast in the 60’s, especially their romantic dinner at the Colony Club on Longboat Key. That building was just demolished recently, in those years it was world famous. Time marches on............
January 30, 2024
Published in 1961, really good story with the protagonist being a big tough guy who is wrongfully kicked out of pro football, his life tarnished by scandal, living a quiet life as an insurance adjuster. Then comes along an escaped convict, the mysterious wealthy reclusive couple down the road, a beautiful, broken-hearted lonely young widow comes to town, and inexplicable missing persons all come together as you are sipping your gin Ricky, tapping your Pall Mall into it the ashtray, and enjoying the heck out of this story by the master, John D MacDonald. It wouldn’t be five stars for everybody—there’s an overly simplified boy meets girl and within a week talk is of wedding bells and forever. There is a bit of hokey sounding dialogue from that era, especially with boy/girl swooning moments, but after thinking about it I decided that helped the book feel noir and of that era. Plus, the plot was great—blackmail and murder and good vs. evil!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 18, 2017
One of my least favorite John D. MacDonald novels because most of the book is dialogue. Tough to buy-in with so much of the activity occurring through re-telling. And then the ending sequence is almost all exposition when it should have been scenes. That said, JDM, was such a good writer that even his poorer efforts are still enjoyable. The boating descriptions are especially excellent.
October 20, 2025
A fantastic book!! John McDonald's writing a great tale is hardly a surprise!!
Nothing like reading a book that was written shortly before you were born.
John McDonald's written so many great mysteries and this is now one of my favorites. Great characters, well paced plot, vivid descriptions and a terrific wrap-up!!
If you get hung up on criticizing things from the past, and see 1950s culture as a bad thing then don't bother.
But for me, its a 5 star story!!!
Nothing like reading a book that was written shortly before you were born.
John McDonald's written so many great mysteries and this is now one of my favorites. Great characters, well paced plot, vivid descriptions and a terrific wrap-up!!
If you get hung up on criticizing things from the past, and see 1950s culture as a bad thing then don't bother.
But for me, its a 5 star story!!!
April 16, 2020
Lee Child led us astray in his introduction that he wrote for the new Travis McGee series. He
This was book #19 on our 2020 Read-alouds List. I read this one aloud to Maggee and Lutrecia, but because of corona virus lock-down, Lutrecia share the book telephonically.
This was book #19 on our 2020 Read-alouds List. I read this one aloud to Maggee and Lutrecia, but because of corona virus lock-down, Lutrecia share the book telephonically.
March 2, 2016
I feel like I've been too busy reading John D. MacDonald books for the past month to write any reviews, but I've had all these things rolling around in my head about them and I wanted to go ahead and get some of this down before I forget.
This is my third JDM (after The Deep Blue Good-By and The Girl, The Gold Watch, & Everything) and after I finished it I took just enough time to give it five stars and move it to my 'read' shelf before I started reading my fourth (The Last One Left).
Part of my excitement stems from the fact that when I discover a new writer who I really enjoy, I tend to overrate the first few books, but part of it is just that MacDonald is a really good writer. Like really, really good. Like as good as any writer I've read and enjoyed.
Richard Yates is one of my all-time favorite writers. I have found all of his books (I've read all but a couple) at the very least decent, and a couple are truly fantastic. There's just something engaging about the clean emotional realism of his writing, in large part because his characters are so well-drawn. MacDonald, to me, reads like Yates with the wonderful characters and the crisp dialogue and the fantastically drawn inner emotional turmoil on full display, but he's added all these elements of pulp and romance and crime fiction that make the stories incredibly readable on even the most basic level.
This is to say nothing of the frequent (sometimes pages-long) ruminations on love, society, technology, etc. that litter the pages of his books and seem as if they were written last week instead of almost fifty years ago.
And I can't get over the fact that this guy was so incredibly prolific. I'm still coming to grips with the fact that every single one of his books might actually measure up to this level of quality because as good as the plots are, they aren't what ultimately elevate his work. I bought The Deep Blue Good-By last summer based upon a Grantland (RIP) review of the Netflix show Bloodlines that mentioned it among some other typical Florida noir, and it sat in my stack of books to read for almost six months before I picked it up and really gave it a look. That's when I noticed all the pull quotes. This guy is revered by so many other writers, not just in a "yeah, he's really good" kind of way, but in a "John D. MacDonald is my favorite author of all time" and "John D. MacDonald is one of the greatest writers of his time" kind of way.
Anyways, this book had a little mystery and a little love story and it somehow felt both much longer and much shorter than 192 pages. I can't say enough positive things about JDM, but I will say some of the books I've read had a little bit of... I guess it would just be nudity if it was a movie rating. Nothing graphic, and nothing over the top. Everything feels very PG-13, though.
The best review I can give this book is that after reading it, I purchased a lot of 39 used books by JDM on ebay. His old paperbacks sell for relatively cheap in large bundles on there. I almost completed my collection on two purchases. I do not understand how this guy is not much more popular, but I feel the same way about Yates, so there you go.
This is my third JDM (after The Deep Blue Good-By and The Girl, The Gold Watch, & Everything) and after I finished it I took just enough time to give it five stars and move it to my 'read' shelf before I started reading my fourth (The Last One Left).
Part of my excitement stems from the fact that when I discover a new writer who I really enjoy, I tend to overrate the first few books, but part of it is just that MacDonald is a really good writer. Like really, really good. Like as good as any writer I've read and enjoyed.
Richard Yates is one of my all-time favorite writers. I have found all of his books (I've read all but a couple) at the very least decent, and a couple are truly fantastic. There's just something engaging about the clean emotional realism of his writing, in large part because his characters are so well-drawn. MacDonald, to me, reads like Yates with the wonderful characters and the crisp dialogue and the fantastically drawn inner emotional turmoil on full display, but he's added all these elements of pulp and romance and crime fiction that make the stories incredibly readable on even the most basic level.
This is to say nothing of the frequent (sometimes pages-long) ruminations on love, society, technology, etc. that litter the pages of his books and seem as if they were written last week instead of almost fifty years ago.
And I can't get over the fact that this guy was so incredibly prolific. I'm still coming to grips with the fact that every single one of his books might actually measure up to this level of quality because as good as the plots are, they aren't what ultimately elevate his work. I bought The Deep Blue Good-By last summer based upon a Grantland (RIP) review of the Netflix show Bloodlines that mentioned it among some other typical Florida noir, and it sat in my stack of books to read for almost six months before I picked it up and really gave it a look. That's when I noticed all the pull quotes. This guy is revered by so many other writers, not just in a "yeah, he's really good" kind of way, but in a "John D. MacDonald is my favorite author of all time" and "John D. MacDonald is one of the greatest writers of his time" kind of way.
Anyways, this book had a little mystery and a little love story and it somehow felt both much longer and much shorter than 192 pages. I can't say enough positive things about JDM, but I will say some of the books I've read had a little bit of... I guess it would just be nudity if it was a movie rating. Nothing graphic, and nothing over the top. Everything feels very PG-13, though.
The best review I can give this book is that after reading it, I purchased a lot of 39 used books by JDM on ebay. His old paperbacks sell for relatively cheap in large bundles on there. I almost completed my collection on two purchases. I do not understand how this guy is not much more popular, but I feel the same way about Yates, so there you go.
May 30, 2019
Brief, taut, violent and suspenseful. As an added bonus, the famously effective MacDonald prose gives you a vivid sense of Florida in 1961. Read this if you love Travis Magee and wish there was a 22nd in the series. Like Travis, Sam Brice is a big, honest, considerate ex-NFL star good at fishing and fighting. He isn’t as moody as Travis and a little less philosophical, but I get the sense that this book was a sort of test run for the Travis Magee series and MacDonald liked Sam Brice so much he reused him with slight modifications for his most famous creation.
August 14, 2015
As many other reviewers have pointed out, this is a clear Travis McGee prototype: ex-football player, Florida, boats, women who don’t mind a lack of commitment, etc. Much of the same MacDonald voice is there, as well, and perhaps it has worn a bit thin after reading all the McGee books. Nevertheless, it is a well-written, exciting thriller that retains interest. Too bad there wasn’t a happier ending for Janice.
October 25, 2015
Plenty of masterpieces in the MacDonald bibliography. This is not one of them.
July 30, 2019
This was the precursor to the Travis McGee books. (A character in this book inspired Travis.)
Interesting, charming story. JDM is always charming. A good read, pleasant to read.
Interesting, charming story. JDM is always charming. A good read, pleasant to read.
May 3, 2024
Rage is an empty weapon. Terror only makes a man more helpless. My terror was for her, not for myself. Her death would be the unforgivable waste. I struggled to keep the raw flood of emotion out of my mind. I hoped that I would be given some small chance before it all ended, and if I were to be capable of taking the maximum advantage of any small chance. I would have to remain as cold as an assassin, as impersonal as a weapon. Emotion could even blind me to the small chance so that I would never become aware of it. If I was given no chance to function, or missed the chance because I was beyond any exercise of logic, I would spend eternity with my beloved in a coffin of teak, mahogany and bronze on the floor of the shallow Gulf of Mexico.
A good standalone mystery from John D. MacDonald, published in 1961. Its hero, Sam Brice, is an early version of Travis McGee. He's a disgraced ex-football player, living in a cabin on the gulf coast of Florida. His extravagant wife has dumped him for better prospects and Sam spends his days working as an insurance adjustor when not fishing and boating and washing his love-sick memories down with rum drinks to the sounds of Peggy Lee on the hi-fi. One night, an old acquaintance named Charlie Haywood shows up at his cabin. Charlie has escaped from jail, three years into a five year stretch for a failed safe-cracking job attempted in the home of a wealthy recluse and his platinum haired wife. Charlie asks a favor from Sam. Put him up for a day or so, just long enough for him to clear his name. Against his better judgement Sam agrees. 24 hours later, Charlie has disappeared, along with Sam's close friend Janice Gantry. Janice and Sam once had a thing, but it's since cooled off, after Sam's hesitance to commit to marriage. But they're still close and very fond of each other, maybe even in love. Sam knows that Janice has a generous heart and discovers that she was last seen with Charlie before both of them vanished into a hot Florida night in Janice's car. Did Charlie recruit Janice to help him prove his innocence? Who is the mysterious woman that Charlie has to see? And mostly...Where is Janice Gantry?
This is a good book for it's time. When it was written, MacDonald was likely exploring the possibilities of creating a series character. Most paperback mysteries at the time featured a series character (Shell Scott, Mike Shayne, Chester Drum, etc.) to ensure steady sales at the drugstore turnstiles. MacDonald was getting late to the game coming up with one, having written a slew of standalone crime novels throughout the 50s. His agent and publisher were probably leaning on him to come up with a recurring hero for readers to get hooked on. Sam Brice wasn't quite it. But one can see the ideas forming in this novel. Travis McGee was just a few years away.
A good standalone mystery from John D. MacDonald, published in 1961. Its hero, Sam Brice, is an early version of Travis McGee. He's a disgraced ex-football player, living in a cabin on the gulf coast of Florida. His extravagant wife has dumped him for better prospects and Sam spends his days working as an insurance adjustor when not fishing and boating and washing his love-sick memories down with rum drinks to the sounds of Peggy Lee on the hi-fi. One night, an old acquaintance named Charlie Haywood shows up at his cabin. Charlie has escaped from jail, three years into a five year stretch for a failed safe-cracking job attempted in the home of a wealthy recluse and his platinum haired wife. Charlie asks a favor from Sam. Put him up for a day or so, just long enough for him to clear his name. Against his better judgement Sam agrees. 24 hours later, Charlie has disappeared, along with Sam's close friend Janice Gantry. Janice and Sam once had a thing, but it's since cooled off, after Sam's hesitance to commit to marriage. But they're still close and very fond of each other, maybe even in love. Sam knows that Janice has a generous heart and discovers that she was last seen with Charlie before both of them vanished into a hot Florida night in Janice's car. Did Charlie recruit Janice to help him prove his innocence? Who is the mysterious woman that Charlie has to see? And mostly...Where is Janice Gantry?
This is a good book for it's time. When it was written, MacDonald was likely exploring the possibilities of creating a series character. Most paperback mysteries at the time featured a series character (Shell Scott, Mike Shayne, Chester Drum, etc.) to ensure steady sales at the drugstore turnstiles. MacDonald was getting late to the game coming up with one, having written a slew of standalone crime novels throughout the 50s. His agent and publisher were probably leaning on him to come up with a recurring hero for readers to get hooked on. Sam Brice wasn't quite it. But one can see the ideas forming in this novel. Travis McGee was just a few years away.
July 12, 2023
When I was much younger, I was a serious fan of John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series. McGee is a Florida beach bum who solves gritty 1960s mysteries and sleeps with lots of women. This year, I was looking for something I could take out of the library and read late at night, and Macdonald crossed my mind. I picked up this one, which I don't think I ever read before.
Sam Brice is a loner, still obsessing over an ex-wife who was beautiful and greedy, and who left him when he ceased to be an NFL football player due to a cheating scandal which, of course, was not his fault. In the years since his marriage, he had an affair with a local woman on the Florida Keys named Sis Gantry, but the affair eventually petered out. At the beginning of the book, a young fugitive from justice comes to Sam's remote home for help. Sam helps him some, tells him that Sis Gantry believes he is innocent, and sends him on his way.
Then Sis disappears. Sam feels guilty, of course, and sets out to find her. In the process, he runs afoul of the local law, meets the true love of his life, and eventually (of course) solves the mystery, making friends with Sis's current beau along the way.
This edition has an introduction by Dean Koontz, who really truly makes a case for Macdonald being one of the great writers of the 20th century. Not true, to my mind, but he does tell a good story, with interesting characters who are not stereotypes, and at least his sexism is of the sort where women can be smart and make their own decisions. A reasonable choice for late-night reading ... but not life-changing writing of the kind Koontz describes.
Sam Brice is a loner, still obsessing over an ex-wife who was beautiful and greedy, and who left him when he ceased to be an NFL football player due to a cheating scandal which, of course, was not his fault. In the years since his marriage, he had an affair with a local woman on the Florida Keys named Sis Gantry, but the affair eventually petered out. At the beginning of the book, a young fugitive from justice comes to Sam's remote home for help. Sam helps him some, tells him that Sis Gantry believes he is innocent, and sends him on his way.
Then Sis disappears. Sam feels guilty, of course, and sets out to find her. In the process, he runs afoul of the local law, meets the true love of his life, and eventually (of course) solves the mystery, making friends with Sis's current beau along the way.
This edition has an introduction by Dean Koontz, who really truly makes a case for Macdonald being one of the great writers of the 20th century. Not true, to my mind, but he does tell a good story, with interesting characters who are not stereotypes, and at least his sexism is of the sort where women can be smart and make their own decisions. A reasonable choice for late-night reading ... but not life-changing writing of the kind Koontz describes.
February 17, 2025
Sam Brice was in professional football for three years until something happened to get him barred for life. He won't say what it is, but it took his life into an unpredictable turn and now he's an insurance adjuster for automobile accidents in Florida. Life has no pressures and he makes enough to get by, until one night when a fugitive on the run comes to his house asking to hide out for the evening.
Charlie Haywood had done two of his five years in jail for a botched burglary and now he wants to confront the one that set him up for the long haul in prison. Sam lets him stay, but regrets it when friend and former lover Janice Gantry disappears. She has always had a soft spot for hard luck cases and Sam thinks she might have tried to help the fugitive.
This sets things up for an okay read that takes some last fast reveals as to why she and Charlie have disappeared. However, before the plot can reveal what's happened to the pair, the book goes into a long courtship of Sam and young widow visiting her half-sister. This was readable, but I felt that Sam was losing his focus on Janice. The ending is action packed, but not in the way I expected. The dialogue between the two lovers came off as awkward.
This is readable, but not what I was expecting in a MacDonald novel.
Charlie Haywood had done two of his five years in jail for a botched burglary and now he wants to confront the one that set him up for the long haul in prison. Sam lets him stay, but regrets it when friend and former lover Janice Gantry disappears. She has always had a soft spot for hard luck cases and Sam thinks she might have tried to help the fugitive.
This sets things up for an okay read that takes some last fast reveals as to why she and Charlie have disappeared. However, before the plot can reveal what's happened to the pair, the book goes into a long courtship of Sam and young widow visiting her half-sister. This was readable, but I felt that Sam was losing his focus on Janice. The ending is action packed, but not in the way I expected. The dialogue between the two lovers came off as awkward.
This is readable, but not what I was expecting in a MacDonald novel.
January 4, 2020
A cleverly twisted plot
As I make my way through MacDonald's novels I would call this the best one. The links to the McGee novels can be seen in the references to Fort Lauderdale and Bahia Mar.
I guess one can even say Sam Brice is on the salvage businesses, in this case salvaging wrecked cars and he doesn't go on to make a career of dealing with bad guys.
But Brice certainly exhibits the self analysis and social commentary that are a staple of MacDonald's stories. As usual a tribe of details that paint a picture of the time and place. Everything from bathwater warm Gulf water to swarms of mosquitoes.
And a few people have to die. A stapler of this type of crime fiction and dealt with by the suspension of disbelief or perhaps the opposite, acceptance be it makes a good story but is really imaginary.
The use of the helicopter at the end anticipates the evolving role of the helicopter in air Sea rescue.
I am continuing to enjoy my punctuated journey through the writing of John MacDonald.
I only have eight or ten of the non McGee books left.
As I make my way through MacDonald's novels I would call this the best one. The links to the McGee novels can be seen in the references to Fort Lauderdale and Bahia Mar.
I guess one can even say Sam Brice is on the salvage businesses, in this case salvaging wrecked cars and he doesn't go on to make a career of dealing with bad guys.
But Brice certainly exhibits the self analysis and social commentary that are a staple of MacDonald's stories. As usual a tribe of details that paint a picture of the time and place. Everything from bathwater warm Gulf water to swarms of mosquitoes.
And a few people have to die. A stapler of this type of crime fiction and dealt with by the suspension of disbelief or perhaps the opposite, acceptance be it makes a good story but is really imaginary.
The use of the helicopter at the end anticipates the evolving role of the helicopter in air Sea rescue.
I am continuing to enjoy my punctuated journey through the writing of John MacDonald.
I only have eight or ten of the non McGee books left.
April 29, 2020
This book was written in the early sixties. By that point John D. Macdonald had developed most of his core skills as a writer. He was, of course, one of the most talented popular writers of his generation. Here all his skills are on display.
I have read many of his books but this is the first time I got to enjoy this one. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters are well developed and the plot is interesting.
Having said all that, I would not claim this is one of his best books. This is not a good place for someone new to John D. Macdonald to start. But if you're familiar with his work go ahead and indulge your self.
This is one of the few times when I felt Mcdonald rushed himself. Especially in the second half of the book, I thought that a few sections were sloppily crafted. Some of this might be due to a poor conversion from print to Kindle.
Just to be clear, if you're new to McDonald, you should start with the Travis Mcgee series. If you already know his work then have fun with this sweet little jewel.
I have read many of his books but this is the first time I got to enjoy this one. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The characters are well developed and the plot is interesting.
Having said all that, I would not claim this is one of his best books. This is not a good place for someone new to John D. Macdonald to start. But if you're familiar with his work go ahead and indulge your self.
This is one of the few times when I felt Mcdonald rushed himself. Especially in the second half of the book, I thought that a few sections were sloppily crafted. Some of this might be due to a poor conversion from print to Kindle.
Just to be clear, if you're new to McDonald, you should start with the Travis Mcgee series. If you already know his work then have fun with this sweet little jewel.
March 27, 2019
My review failed to save. Oh, well. I'll try to be more succinct this time around. Where is Janice Gantry? is not quite as good as Dead Low Tide or Death Trap, but it's still a pleasant way to kill some time. One minor thing I noticed in this novel, MacDonald does a truly terrific job of describing the weather. I know, I've really sold you on reading this book, haven't I? Anyway, MacDonald had superb powers of description for just about anything, now that I think of it. Is Updikeian a word?
November 21, 2021
I really liked MacDonald's early novels but was never a Travis McGee fan. This seems to be moving toward that style. The basic plot was OK but too much "romantic" dialog that never sounded realistic which meant that the romance between Sam and Peggy was a distraction from the rest of the story. I think I've read and enjoyed everything MacDonald wrote in the 50's but the his 60's stuff just isn't working as well for me.
May 13, 2020
“Where is Janice Gantry?” by the great John D. MacDonald, written before the 'colorized titles' of the Travis McGee novels that made him famous. Sam Brice is a Horseshoe Key, Florida insurance adjuster, who becomes involved in the mystery of a lady gone missing. Five RIVETING Stars. Apple Books. 224 pages. (RBSProds)
July 7, 2018
I needed something like this - fast moving, edge of your seat kind of murder mystery. I've been reading a lot of non-fiction lately and John D. MacDonald is the perfect antidote. A few items did not fully add up, but who cares. It was entertaining and a quick read.
May 25, 2020
A Masterpiece By a Grand Master!
A beautifully written mystery. John D. MacDonald is a master at creating a likable character and putting him smack in the middle of a mystery. The writing sings with effortless beauty.
A beautifully written mystery. John D. MacDonald is a master at creating a likable character and putting him smack in the middle of a mystery. The writing sings with effortless beauty.
June 17, 2022
The copyright for this story reads 1961 and it shows its age in social attitudes and language choices. Even so, its a darn good yarn and an absorbing mystery. The flawed hero manages to overcome his past and the heroine is believably independent. One hopes they will be happy together.
October 8, 2017
Good MacDonald thriller read back in the 70s
October 3, 2021
Great read
Great read about early Florida . I wish I had had the opportunity to experience Florida at that time. Worth the read.
Great read about early Florida . I wish I had had the opportunity to experience Florida at that time. Worth the read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews