What do you think?
Rate this book
The Empty Trap
When Lloyd Westcott was hired to build and run the Green Oasis casino he didn't ask about the owner or where the backing came from. He didn't care, as long as the place was legit and he could run it clean as a whistle. But then the Big Man moved in.
144 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published December 1, 1957
28 people are currently reading
198 people want to read
About the author
John D. MacDonald
561 books1,357 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 33 reviews
July 11, 2021
McDonald is best known for his Travis McGee series, but crime fiction readers are doing themselves a major disservice by ignoring his two dozen other novels. The Empty Trap, first published in 1959, is a narrow laser-beam focused revenge tale. McDonald tells one story of one man rather than addressing everything in the world. It is a short, precise tale that begins with Lloyd coming to the realization that he flubbed it big time. Lesson one is that, if you are running a hotel for a mobster with a penchant for violence, you don’t run off with his wife and a $100,000 in small bills. It makes for a short romantic interlude while you try to pretend the hellhounds aren’t in your trail, while you try to forget that you’ve now publicly shamed the big man and there’s no place left on earth where you can hide.
McDonald made a conscious choice to open the novel, not with the cute story how Lloyd and Sylvia met and lost each other in their eyes, but with what happens when the three toughs catch up with the happy couple in a small town south of the border and beat them to a pulp. After taking turns brutalizing Sylvia, they roll the two lovebirds over a cliff. This entire excruciating sequence is told from Lloyd’s point of view as he sits tied helplessly, hoping something happens to save them.
His survival is carefully documented as he is battered and disfigured and barely alive. And as he slowly learns to walk, his mission as a man is contemplated. One of the themes McDonald plays with is whether revenge will ultimately be satisfying or will it leave Lloyd even more broken and lost. McDonald also asks whether Civilization as we know it is just corrupt and whether a simple life would be better, themes he later espoused at far greater length with Travis MCGee.
McDonald made a conscious choice to open the novel, not with the cute story how Lloyd and Sylvia met and lost each other in their eyes, but with what happens when the three toughs catch up with the happy couple in a small town south of the border and beat them to a pulp. After taking turns brutalizing Sylvia, they roll the two lovebirds over a cliff. This entire excruciating sequence is told from Lloyd’s point of view as he sits tied helplessly, hoping something happens to save them.
His survival is carefully documented as he is battered and disfigured and barely alive. And as he slowly learns to walk, his mission as a man is contemplated. One of the themes McDonald plays with is whether revenge will ultimately be satisfying or will it leave Lloyd even more broken and lost. McDonald also asks whether Civilization as we know it is just corrupt and whether a simple life would be better, themes he later espoused at far greater length with Travis MCGee.
November 1, 2016
Love the way this one starts off with our focal character in deep shit and quickly heading off a cliff inside a car. Soon he's fighting off the buzzards. He's a good guy gone bad who pays the price and then seeks vengeance. Less dialogue and more narration than a lot of MacDonald's books and at times his descriptions are quite lyrical. Really hits on a lot of existential themes (as if the title isn't a clue). The long section describing his recovery his remarkably nuanced. And the way he dishes out revenge satisfies on all levels. The back and forth flow between present action and back story is handled beautifully and actually adds to the pacing, which is hard to do. Top-notch and riveting story, but also one to study for craft.
April 26, 2025
¡Aiiii! ¡Caramba!
I was not enjoying this at all at first; it was well past the half-way point before it got interesting.
The poor-but-honest Mexican peasants, the poor-but-honest Mexican village chock full of poor-but-honest Mexicans, and the poor-but-honest senorita nursing the cowboy back to health from death's door -- this crap has been done to death in the poor-but-shitty movies. And just one movie with the hero disguising himself with plastic surgery was all anyone ever needed. If you can suffer any more of this bullshit, then you can do something that I cannot.
But the last part -- the revenge part -- was good. I guess it's pretty hard to suck the fun out of a revenge story. It had a number of twists I sure didn't expect. I generally like how JDM drags out his endings; his "endings" are usually a good 25% of the book. This made it worthwhile. Seems to me that most of his endings are Happy Endings, but that doesn't bother me a bit if they're complicated enough to keep me wondering.
If it wasn't that it was fast and easy reading -- JDM knows how to do that -- I woulda bailed before Lloyd had his first poor-but-honest fiesta.
Disclaimer: I have a bone-deep prejudice against anything that takes place in Mexico (any of the Mexicos, from the Rio Grande to Tierra del Fuego), even just stories. I'm surprised I didn't chuck this book when the first character with an "-ez" suffix on his name showed up. I don't expect anyone to trust my judgment when it comes to books, but in this case you can be sure I did not have an "open mind" at all (as if I ever do).
I was not enjoying this at all at first; it was well past the half-way point before it got interesting.
The poor-but-honest Mexican peasants, the poor-but-honest Mexican village chock full of poor-but-honest Mexicans, and the poor-but-honest senorita nursing the cowboy back to health from death's door -- this crap has been done to death in the poor-but-shitty movies. And just one movie with the hero disguising himself with plastic surgery was all anyone ever needed. If you can suffer any more of this bullshit, then you can do something that I cannot.
But the last part -- the revenge part -- was good. I guess it's pretty hard to suck the fun out of a revenge story. It had a number of twists I sure didn't expect. I generally like how JDM drags out his endings; his "endings" are usually a good 25% of the book. This made it worthwhile. Seems to me that most of his endings are Happy Endings, but that doesn't bother me a bit if they're complicated enough to keep me wondering.
If it wasn't that it was fast and easy reading -- JDM knows how to do that -- I woulda bailed before Lloyd had his first poor-but-honest fiesta.
Disclaimer: I have a bone-deep prejudice against anything that takes place in Mexico (any of the Mexicos, from the Rio Grande to Tierra del Fuego), even just stories. I'm surprised I didn't chuck this book when the first character with an "-ez" suffix on his name showed up. I don't expect anyone to trust my judgment when it comes to books, but in this case you can be sure I did not have an "open mind" at all (as if I ever do).
October 4, 2016
A non-linear revenge tale. A straight-laced Nevada hotel manager double crosses his mobster boss, absconds with the mobster's wife and a suitcase full of cash. Flight to Mexico isn't far enough, and soon Lloyd Wescott's broken and struggling to survive.
MacDonald takes an even, sober approach to revenge and its impact. Never sentimental or romantic, the story unfolds in a concise, crisp arc that rings honest and true.
Worth a look.
MacDonald takes an even, sober approach to revenge and its impact. Never sentimental or romantic, the story unfolds in a concise, crisp arc that rings honest and true.
Worth a look.
September 16, 2016
A dark and brutal tale telling the story of a man who carefully plots and exacts vengeance against the mobsters who thought had killed him. Another superb work from a master storyteller.
August 5, 2025
A fine book, but the finale is especially rich and poignnant.
January 31, 2018
A very strange story about an even stranger set of circumstances. MacDonald nails non-military PTSD, mobsters, casinos and easy money. It's from John D's early days of pulp fiction, with hair-raising violence, 50's chauvinism and riveting descriptions of the aftermath of violence. And it has a strangely satisfying conclusion.
September 3, 2010
One of JDM's best. Near perfect, short, tough and touching in its peculiar way.
Read
March 27, 2019Unforgiveable garbage. Authors who are too squeamish to write revenge stories shouldn't bother writing them at all and they damn sure shouldn't publish them. Ever. I usually don't give away important plot details but I'll make the exception this time. In this novel, the hero is knocked down by three villains and he is knocked down hard. He gets back up with a little help from some nice people and then he makes a journey towards vengeance. Using brains and brawn, he gets the first of the three villains into his clutches and... he wimps out. He can't bring himself to get his hands dirty. But don't worry, reader! God kills the villain. I'm serious. Like, lightning strikes the bad guy or something equally moronic. All right, that's bad enough but then the hero gets his hands on Villain Numero Dos and he wimps out again. But don't worry! God kills that one, too. Care to guess what happens to the third villain? Yup, that's right. I wanted to throw the book across the room.
John D MacDonald wrote many fine novels during his time on earth. This one has to be his absolute worst.
John D MacDonald wrote many fine novels during his time on earth. This one has to be his absolute worst.
September 5, 2019
A very satisfying read
Beginning in violence and terror the reader sees through the eyes of a man working with the challenge of finding himself in the middle of a great evil. He struggles to avoid becoming evil himself.
He has tried to save the wife of a mob boss only to experience her being brutally murdered and barely escaping a brutal attempt on his own life. In the end he is saved by a band of Mexican Indios.
After recovering he decides to go back and extract vergence. In the process he has to examine his own soul, his own nature to learn what he is capable of.
A satisfying conclusion.
Beginning in violence and terror the reader sees through the eyes of a man working with the challenge of finding himself in the middle of a great evil. He struggles to avoid becoming evil himself.
He has tried to save the wife of a mob boss only to experience her being brutally murdered and barely escaping a brutal attempt on his own life. In the end he is saved by a band of Mexican Indios.
After recovering he decides to go back and extract vergence. In the process he has to examine his own soul, his own nature to learn what he is capable of.
A satisfying conclusion.
December 18, 2014
There could be a whole subgenre of these kinds of stories, called "...And they thought he was dead."
If you're tired of stories where the hero dispenses justice with the brutal efficiency of a villain, this could be the book for you. Seemed like a realistic account of what it would be like if a Regular Joe did the Death Wish thing.
If you're tired of stories where the hero dispenses justice with the brutal efficiency of a villain, this could be the book for you. Seemed like a realistic account of what it would be like if a Regular Joe did the Death Wish thing.
March 20, 2019
I really enjoyed this book. A tightly woven plot supported by characters that live beyond the pulp tough guy archetypes from which they’re drawn make it a fast but rewarding read. I was particularly impressed with the richness of the Mexican characters and the respect shown their culture—happily progressive for a late 50s potboiler thriller.
July 28, 2010
a really good one.
May 3, 2011
Violent revenge tale about a hotel manager going after a mobster and two of his henchmen. Bloody and brutal.
May 10, 2018
Man rescues lovely woman from abusive husband. Man & woman pursued & punished, left for dead. Man miraculously survives with help of reclusive natives. Finds revenge is empty!
March 7, 2022
He de confesar que en todos estos años no había leído nada de John D MacDonald a pesar de la reputación que tiene, en especial con su ciclo de novelas en su “segunda etapa” sobre el detective privado Travis McGee. De hecho intenté adentrarme en el mundo MacDonaldiano unos pocos años atrás, precisamente con la primera que iniciaba la citada saga, Goodbye in blue (Adiós en azul), pero al cabo de poco la dejé…no fue una entrada lo que se dice exitosa. Ahora he retomado el tema con la novela que hoy comento, The empty trap (en España, o/y mercado hispanoamericano, “La trampa vacía”) y la experiencia no ha podido ser mejor. No es quizás una gran novela, le falta más densidad para ello, pero aún así es una buena novela, que se lee de un tirón y en la que se respira ese aire algo sórdido y escabroso, a tono con la evolución que fue cogiendo el género en el decenio de los 50’s, y que lo emparenta con coetáneos suyos como Lionel White, especialmente por el uso que hace de la violencia, así como el componente de cariz sexual derivado de la misma (lógico, por otra parte, viniendo del que firmara ese mismo año uno de sus más aclamados libros The executioners, llevado al cine por J Lee Thompson como Cape fear). También es un libro que anticipa la frialdad, sequedad y temas del inminente ciclo de novelas de Donald Westlake. Aquí nuestro prota es un espabilado joven que pronto irá ascendiendo en el mundo hostelero para acabar trabajando para un conocido empresario hostelero con fuertes vínculos mafiosos. Tras un intento de fuga al país vecino con la mujer y el dinero de su jefe, es apresado en un hotel por sus esbirros. La chica muere, pero él consigue escapar, dándole los otros por muerto. Es por tanto una historia de venganza, la que se activa una vez que el malherido prota empieza a sanar de sus heridas tras hallar refugio y cuidados entre los aldeanos de un inexpugnable enclave en el corazón de la selva mexicana. Decía Sam Fuller que el cine es acción y emoción, y en este sentido Macdonald no pierde el tiempo para ya en las primeras páginas llevarte al lío en cero coma, Al igual que el Whittington de la recientemente comentada “Fires that destroy (1951)”, tenemos un arranque fulminante, con alternantes flashbacks temporales que resitúan al lector en sus huecos narrativos. Hay buena escritura y habilidad narrativa en la pluma de MacDonald. Indudable y diría incluso sorprendente además dada su prolífica producción literaria a lo largo de 3 décadas y media. No hay nada que chirríe en la narración y es loable su capacidad para saber integrar los flasbacks. Pero aquí no estamos hablando de Proust. Esto es una novela criminal con un público…y unas reglas. Por tanto creo que MacDonald debería haberse centrado un poco más en la cuestión de la acción (sin decir que abandone los aspectos psicológicos/filosóficos, que están bien cuidados) y ofrecer en su último tercio mayor importancia a la narración de “la venganza”. Tal y como está contada me sabe a poco y la considero algo escueta. Es más, las escenas que MacDonald emplea para la violencia y el ajuste de cuentas final del protagonista, aunque son violentas, no tienen el impacto que su potencial ofrecía. No digo recrearse en ella, sino ser más hábil en su descripción (a lo Goodis o Thompson). Da la sensación que toda la ejecución de la venganza se haya hecho deprisa y corriendo. De ahí convenir que la novela, en la que MacDonald vuelca cierta ambición en su entramado filosófico, quizás potencie más ese aspecto en detrimento de la otra parte, escatimando imperdonablemente al lector toda la carne a punto de echar a la parrilla que éste esperaba. En cualquier caso una buena novela de John D MacDonald que recomiendo y que constituye una grata sorpresa. Lo de McGee ya veremos si lo retomo…
March 9, 2025
Visit JetBlackDragonfly (The Man Who Read Too Much) at www.edenthompson.ca/blog
celebrating my 900th review.
MacDonald was one of the most successful thriller writers of his time. Creator of the acclaimed Travis McGee detective series, many of his over 40 novels have been filmed, the most prominent being The Executioners filmed twice as Cape Fear (with a new streaming series in 2025).
The Empty Trap is a classic revenge novel as a man pays for falling in love with the wife of his gangster boss. MacDonald counters this plot with a desperate fight for survival as our hero discovers a new life in the Mexican desert.
This begins in the middle, finding Lloyd bound in a car between two thugs, driving high into the Mexican mountains, followed by a second car. The men kick Lloyd unconscious before placing him in a car with Sylvia's corpse and sending it over the edge to the valley below. The car did not burn, and Lloyd survived for days in a madness close to death before being discovered by a local tribe of Spanish Mexicans. A separate people, they live in a hidden valley by their own rules, and his broken body was nursed back to health at their settlement. Lloyd takes his place amongst the men and even finds the love of a young woman. In his heart, he burns for revenge.
He was hired by Harry Danton to create a new Las Vegas, at a casino hotel in Oasis Springs, Nevada. His pride and attention to detail made it profitable, unaware the whole clip joint was a front to funnel cash to the mob. Danton is ruthless and mistreats his wife Sylvia. She is no saint, having been some boss's girl since she was fourteen. Lloyd and Sylvia devise a plan to raid the safe and escape, but Danton's men quickly track them to Juarez, and dispose of the couple in the mountains.
Five months later, Lloyd is unrecognizable with bronzed skin, a misshapen jaw of broken teeth, his hair white along the scar lines. His plan to sneak across the border and get a job at the Oasis Springs is all part of his long game - to murder the men who killed Sylvia. He knows their weaknesses, but when faced with the act, will he have the strength?
I found this a top thriller, rooted in heart and second chances. It's an unusual combination, and masterful to fit this all into under 200 pages.
Few editions convey the true nature of the book - my Popular Library paperback states: "She wanted love and money- and Lloyd was expected to supply both on her demand", and the Fawcett paperback is completely deceptive stating it: "Probes the steamy private lives behind the quiet elegance of a resort hotel."
Most reviews say it's impossible to put down, and this is very true.
A tough, literary thriller.
celebrating my 900th review.
MacDonald was one of the most successful thriller writers of his time. Creator of the acclaimed Travis McGee detective series, many of his over 40 novels have been filmed, the most prominent being The Executioners filmed twice as Cape Fear (with a new streaming series in 2025).
The Empty Trap is a classic revenge novel as a man pays for falling in love with the wife of his gangster boss. MacDonald counters this plot with a desperate fight for survival as our hero discovers a new life in the Mexican desert.
This begins in the middle, finding Lloyd bound in a car between two thugs, driving high into the Mexican mountains, followed by a second car. The men kick Lloyd unconscious before placing him in a car with Sylvia's corpse and sending it over the edge to the valley below. The car did not burn, and Lloyd survived for days in a madness close to death before being discovered by a local tribe of Spanish Mexicans. A separate people, they live in a hidden valley by their own rules, and his broken body was nursed back to health at their settlement. Lloyd takes his place amongst the men and even finds the love of a young woman. In his heart, he burns for revenge.
He was hired by Harry Danton to create a new Las Vegas, at a casino hotel in Oasis Springs, Nevada. His pride and attention to detail made it profitable, unaware the whole clip joint was a front to funnel cash to the mob. Danton is ruthless and mistreats his wife Sylvia. She is no saint, having been some boss's girl since she was fourteen. Lloyd and Sylvia devise a plan to raid the safe and escape, but Danton's men quickly track them to Juarez, and dispose of the couple in the mountains.
Five months later, Lloyd is unrecognizable with bronzed skin, a misshapen jaw of broken teeth, his hair white along the scar lines. His plan to sneak across the border and get a job at the Oasis Springs is all part of his long game - to murder the men who killed Sylvia. He knows their weaknesses, but when faced with the act, will he have the strength?
I found this a top thriller, rooted in heart and second chances. It's an unusual combination, and masterful to fit this all into under 200 pages.
Few editions convey the true nature of the book - my Popular Library paperback states: "She wanted love and money- and Lloyd was expected to supply both on her demand", and the Fawcett paperback is completely deceptive stating it: "Probes the steamy private lives behind the quiet elegance of a resort hotel."
Most reviews say it's impossible to put down, and this is very true.
A tough, literary thriller.
July 9, 2022
A terrific one off by John D. This is a different ride than you get from Travis McGee stories. Published in 1957, Macdonald sets the story in the future by about 7 years. It starts off with a horrific event and then Macdonald fills in the details of how we got here throughout. I love the ‘peeling of the onion’ structure to advance the story. For Macdonald fans, this is a must read. For others who haven’t been exposed to his Travis McGee series, I’d start with one of those and then come back to this one to get a feel for how his early writing influenced that character and series. But either way, this is one of his best of the early, pre-McGee novels.
August 27, 2022
It's a revenge book, told out of sequence. The main character survives a murder attempt, makes a slow recovery, and seeks revenge. Along the way he falls for a femme fatale, romances another woman, and evaluates his own life choices. It's a short book that recounts memories and recovery, which does not sound that exciting. But it's a decent read.
April 18, 2020
Another great thriller by John D. MacDonald. A nice story with twists and turns and the hero (?) triumphs (?) in the end. It's hard to tell in a MacDonald novel sometimes. A real page turner like many of his books.
May 24, 2022
Why hasn't a movie been made?
One of MacDonald's best early works. I enjoyed it immensely. It would make a great screenplay. Maybe Coen Brothers if they can resist making it too weird?
One of MacDonald's best early works. I enjoyed it immensely. It would make a great screenplay. Maybe Coen Brothers if they can resist making it too weird?
August 21, 2020
A remarkable thriller. Well-paced with MacDonald’s usual gift for prose, suspenseful, poignant, balanced on a knife’s edge of hope and cynicism. This is story-telling at its best.
May 13, 2021
This is definitely in my top 3 favorite John D Macdonald books. The journey Lloyd Wesscot endures is damn near biblical. I would love to see this as a movie
October 14, 2021
Demasiada sangre
September 8, 2023
Hotel/casino management, and Mexican peasant culture, and lots and lots of protracted pain. With a happy ending.
August 11, 2024
The only good thing about it is that it’s short….
Just awful… did not age well!
Yes leave your wife and kid to go do some revenge thing…. You’re a “good” man… 🙄
The sexism and racism are strong in this book too. The jumbled sequence of this was confusing and odd as well..
not for me!
Just awful… did not age well!
Yes leave your wife and kid to go do some revenge thing…. You’re a “good” man… 🙄
The sexism and racism are strong in this book too. The jumbled sequence of this was confusing and odd as well..
not for me!
September 4, 2024
I didn’t like the plot on this one: somewhat formulaic, with lots of violence. But MacDonald’s keen observations about human nature and excellent writing were still in evidence.
June 18, 2020
I waivered from 3.5 to 4 stars. A fast moving, short novel, full of impact.
Who are we really? Lloyd learns a lot about himself. He grew up. He lost his innocence. And he had to learn to accept that. He ended up with the only people he knew who would accept him as he was.
More importantly, not only is revenge such an empty trap, but so is all the greed and cheating and coverup.
Whose trapping whom? What did the revenge actually accomplish? Business continues as usual, new 'businessmen' move in to fill the void. A common theme in MacDonald's novels.
Who are we really? Lloyd learns a lot about himself. He grew up. He lost his innocence. And he had to learn to accept that. He ended up with the only people he knew who would accept him as he was.
More importantly, not only is revenge such an empty trap, but so is all the greed and cheating and coverup.
Whose trapping whom? What did the revenge actually accomplish? Business continues as usual, new 'businessmen' move in to fill the void. A common theme in MacDonald's novels.
September 29, 2018
A classic hard boiled tale of revenge. I can't believe Hollywood has yet to turn this into a movie.
"I tickle the heart of evil"
"I tickle the heart of evil"
September 14, 2015
12 sep 15
this here? will be #57 from macdonald for me. this one begins: the clouds were low over the mountains.
onward, ever onward.
14 sep 15
finished. good story. macdonald never disappoints.
this here? will be #57 from macdonald for me. this one begins: the clouds were low over the mountains.
onward, ever onward.
14 sep 15
finished. good story. macdonald never disappoints.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews