LAST EDITED ON Jan-26-11 AT 06:51AM (MST)[p]Another of my favorite fiction writers is John McDonald. Several of his books have become movies. One many of you might have seen is Cape Fear, which was based on the book, The Executioners. It was first done in 1962 with Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum, and a remake, starring Robert DeNiro, was filmed in 1991.
My favorite McDonald books are those in the Travis McGee series.
Travis McGee, the "salvage consultant" and "knight in rusting armor," was all of that. McGee made his living by recovering the loot from thefts and swindles, keeping half to finance his "retirement," which he took in pieces as he went along. He first appeared in the 1964 novel The Deep Blue Good-by and was last seen in The Lonely Silver Rain in 1985. All titles in the 21-volume series include a color, a mnemonic device which was suggested by his publisher so that when harried travelers looked to buy a book they could at once see those MacDonald titles they had not read.
The McGee novels feature an ever-changing array of female companions, some particularly nasty villains, exotic locales in Florida, Mexico, and the Caribbean, and appearances by a sidekick known only as "Meyer," a retired economist. As Sherlock Holmes had his well-known address on Baker Street, McGee had his trademark lodgings on his 52-foot houseboat, the Busted Flush, named for the poker hand that started the run of luck in which he won her. She is docked at Slip F-18, Bahia Mar marina, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
McGee also drives a homemade pickup truck that was originally a Rolls Royce.
More on McGee:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travis_McGee
Again, the books should be read in order of publication. Here's the list of Travis McGee novels in chronological order:
*Note: each one has a color in its title.
(1964) The Deep Blue Good-by
(1964) Nightmare in Pink
(1964) A Purple Place for Dying
(1964) The Quick Red Fox
(1965) A Deadly Shade of Gold
(1965) Bright Orange for the Shroud
(1966) Darker than Amber
(1966) One Fearful Yellow Eye
(1968) Pale Gray for Guilt
(1968) The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper
(1969) Dress Her in Indigo
(1970) The Long Lavender Look
(1972) A Tan and Sandy Silence
(1973) The Scarlet Ruse
(1973) The Turquoise Lament
(1975) The Dreadful Lemon Sky
(1978) The Empty Copper Sea
(1979) The Green Ripper
(1981) Free Fall in Crimson
(1982) Cinnamon Skin
(1985) The Lonely Silver Rain
Brief synopsis of each title:
http://home.earthlink.net/~rufener/books.html
TONY MANDILE
How To Hunt Coues Deer