A Tan and Sandy Silence

The first intimations of McGee's impending dotage are fascinating. Hearing him acknowledge he may be losing a step, may be a tad less intuitive..... Frankly, it's a little painful. The expected carnage of women continues as in most John D.'s books, but the level of intimacy is surprisingly low. In many ways this is the book that highlights McGee's relationship with Meyer and brings them closer together in their awareness of each other's abilities. Several reviews weren't very strong on this book. I disagree; I think it's one of his better runs with Travis.

Another Travis McGee book. This one seemed to take forever to get going, to set up the problem, and then as soon as you understood the problem, MacDonald popped you a good one, and the rest of the book was a catch-up from that moment. But that's the simple "mystery" of this McGee novel, and as such is never that special. The attraction of McGee, at least in these later books, are MacDonald's comments within them on the human condition, both specifically with regard to the Quixotish nature of McGee, as well as a general feeling of malaise which centers around money and violence. The McGee novels are as much about philosophy--ethics, particularly--as they are about mystery. Or maybe the point is that the philosophy is the mystery, and as we get to know McGee better, we understand more about his philosophy. I seem to remember the Spenser novels of Robert Parker to be similar to this as well. Are there other mystery series in which the character growth is as important, if not more so, than the particular story of the time?

Over the years I've read hundreds of novels in a variety of genres, but for pure fun and enjoyment it's hard to beat Travis McGee. Some of the books are better than others, but they're nearly all worth a couple of lazy summer days. They are the ultimate summer time, quick-read beach books. At their core, they're good mysteries. But Travis McGee is such a great character, with such a wry outlook on life, that often the mystery seems secondary to McGee's views on whatever topic author John D. McDonald has selected for his soap box. Most of them take place in Florida, (a Florida no one will ever see again given they were written mostly in the 60s and 70s) and all have a color in the title. Don't take them too seriously, just have fun in the sun.

This was my fourth or fifth Travis McGee novel, and I have to say I was a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong, MacDonald is still MacDonald and the book is well written and engaging, but I thought overall "Tan and Sandy Silence" was lacking somehow. Maybe it's that this is obviously one of his later books and he was getting bored or tired, or maybe it's just something I didn't notice in his other books, but he seemed to take the easy way out a few times. For instance, when McGee interviews people the conversations don't seem realistic--the people volunteer too much information: If you just met someone and they asked what you knew about your next-door neighbor would you say, "Well, not a lot other than she just opened an account at the Blah-Blah Bank and her loan officer is John Blah"? (How convenient!) Also, there was an element of predictability that may have come from reading his other books; I knew certain characters were going to die, and even is one or two instances HOW they would die. Some of McGee's encounters seemed too coincidental and lucky, with old friends showing up at just the right time and place to save his skin. Finally, the ending appeared rushed and illogical and didn't tie up all the loose ends.But even with all that, there was enough fun and suspense and McGee-ism to make this a worthwhile read. You could certainly do far worse.