Darker Than Amber

While I still find "Flash of Green" to be my favorite MacDonald book, there's something so appealing about the Travis McGee series that keeps me coming back to them. And "Darker than Amber" has such a quick pace, that you cannot put this mystery down. And Travis, well, he's just Travis--you gotta love this guy! I just hope that MacDonald continues to gain in popularity, as I feel he is horribly overlooked.

Part time white knight and full time beach bum Travis McGee rescues a rotten to the core damsel in considerable distress. Seems this beautiful sociopath has developed a serious case of the conscience, something her now former partners have not. When the girl meets her inevitable and quite bitter fate, McGee (always the one to right a terrible wrong, and this girl was behind some truly terrible ones) and his friend Meyer begin plotting revenge. MacDonald's writing, as usual, sparkles with wit, insight, and tension. Read any of MacDonald's novels and you'll see why he was such a highly respected author. Recommended.

I actually came across John MacDonald's name while researching pulp fiction. There nothing pulp-y about the way this guy writes. Beautiful use of the language -- vocabulary, metaphors, everything.The character Travis McGee is so cool, I found myself jealous of a work of fiction! My first McGee novel, many more to come...

The late John D. MacDonald continues to impress new generations of mystery/thriller readers with his Travis McGee "color-title" series, more than three decades after he began it.DARKER THAN AMBER isn't the first McGee adventure (that's The Deep Blue Good-Bye, and that's where serious new readers should begin), but it is one of the best and a long cut above most of MacDonald's competitors. Perhaps a bit "darker" than many of the 20 other McGee novels, AMBER isn't for faint hearts; but it also isn't merely excessive violence-for-violence-sake, either. McGee, the "thinking person's private eye", is a self-styled "salvage expert" whose frequent salvage is a friend's soul... What a guy: tough, tender, fearless and intelligent all at the same time! (With a unique and lovable sidekick, Meyer, supporting casts of fascinating characters, and very well realized South Florida and Mexican locales thrown in for good measure: a real "find".)As to the possibilities of an upcoming McGee film series (AMBER already was filmed once, starring Rod Taylor), I'd love to hear more: an exciting possibility!

Unlike some of the other books in this series that ease into the action, "Darker Than Amber" starts with the first line--and it's one of my favorites:"We were about to give up and call it a night when somebody dropped the girl off the bridge."The novel starts from that point and keeps building as McGee pits himself against sociopaths in a murder/prostitution ring.This is an extremely satisfying book cover-to-cover. MacDonald's writing is incredible. Mcgee is likeable and interesting. It is fun spending time in his world.If you're new to the series this is a great place to start.