One Fearful Yellow Eye

Travis McGee, sometimes modern Robin Hood and most-times beach bum, can't resist a pretty face or an old friend. So when an old flame calls and needs some help, McGee quickly leaves balmy Ft. Lauderdale for the colder climes of Chicago in John D. MacDonald's One Fearful Yellow Eye. Glory Geis is the widow of renowned neurosurgeon, Fortner Geis. When Geis dies after a long illness, Glory discovers that his $600,000 inheritance (much bigger money in the 1960's) has gone missing. It turns out that Dr. Geis liquidated all his assets over the course of the last year of his life. Glory is left without very much money and her stepchildren accuse her of foul play. So Glory begs McGee to find out what happened to the inheritance. Of course, Travis discovers that the good doctor has more than a few skeletons in his closet, and there are a number of suspects. The plot in this 8th book is a little thin, and I figured out fairly early who the blackmailer was. But I still gave One Fearful Yellow Eye four stars as the writing is sharp and crisp and as good as any previous McGee. Two favorites include: "Take her home. Boat her, beach her, bake her, brown her, and bunk her. You too are a sucker for busted birds, starving kittens, broody broads." or "There was no color in the world. Gray sand, gray water, gray beach, gray sky. I was trapped in one of those arty salon photographs of nature in the raw, the kind retired colonels enter in photography contests." In terms of philosophizing, this book is MacDonald at his best. Also, while I tend to like McGee better in his native Florida, Chicago is rather a good setting for him. This is my 8th Travis McGee and I'm a long way from being tired of him. I'm anxious to start number nine-Pale Gray for Guilt.

Even though 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 "One Fearful Yellow Eye" 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.

Travis McGee leaves Florida to help a friend in wintry Chicago in this brisk, economic adventure that's no shorter than the other installments but still feels more compact.The classic MacDonald asides are all here: McGee offers up commentaries on Christmas, modeling, art, homosexuality, toilet paper and sex, among other things.And there are some really good scenes -- Trav's extremely unsettling visit to the Farley farm, an ominous encounter in a windstorm, a creepy moment in which mysterious figures get the better of McGee (though MacDonald fumbles this by underplaying it afterward), and one seriously wacked-out climax in a retirement community.This isn't great McGee -- it just doesn't have the complexity, level of menace or vivid characters of yarns like "Bright Orange," "Amber," "Pink" or "Lavender." But if you're looking for a quick MacDonald snack, "Yellow" is where it's at.

Like a fine local wine, Travis doesn't travel well. His lack of enthusiasm for the Windy City is boundless, and willy-nilly, this is where he must be to assist his latest lady in distress. The architecture, politics, and citizenry are bad enough, but my God, the weather is freezing!"One Fearful Yellow Eye" is an intricate tale of "where's the money?". Brilliant, kind, and wealthy neurosurgeon Dr. Fortner Geis had converted all his assets into cash before his death, and left his young wife Glory in a precarious situation. The cash was not to be found and Glory not only faced the prospect of being poor, but heavy suspicion as well.This is an intricate tale with an excellent whodunit complement. MacDonald is sure enough of his Travis creation by this time to let Trav display a fine self-deprecating sense of humor as well as the usual speed, strength and purity of purpose. The many threads to the story are all kept well in hand and dovetail neatly into a grand finalé. The two stereotyped ungrateful stepchildren turn out to be not so typical after all. The leading ladies have a hard time in this book, emotionally and physically. My only complaint is that widow Glory was a bit much with her oh-so philosophical bravery and fawning adoration of Trav. This is superior McGee-good pace, characterizations and a very twisty story.

I really enjoy the Travis McGee series and especially like this book. Much as I enjoy reading about his exploits in Florida, the change of scene to Chicago is an interesting change of pace. Perhaps more than average number of twists and turns in this plot, and a little more "cringe factor" from the violence than some of the other McGee books. As the title of my review indicates, I really like this series as a whole. They're among the books I go back to again and again when I'm restless and want something fun to read. I always learn something, whether it be about how to maintain a houseboat or how to kick someone's hide in a fight. :-)And I have some laughs doing it.