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A Key To The Suite
In this swift and striking novel, John D. MacDonald examines the ferment of a big-time convention -- the plots, the savage maneuverings, the dreadful ease with which a man or a dream can be destroyed.
Paperback
First published March 1, 1962
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About the author
John D. MacDonald
567 books1,370 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
May 29, 2023
07/2017
Conventions at a hotel called The Sultana (presumably in Florida). Lots of business acronyms (some of which you never find out what they stand for), and business politics too. A lot of drinking leads to infidelity and, of course, death. When the killer is trying to get away (in which he meets his death), it is told from his point of view, making an exciting scene. From 1962.
Conventions at a hotel called The Sultana (presumably in Florida). Lots of business acronyms (some of which you never find out what they stand for), and business politics too. A lot of drinking leads to infidelity and, of course, death. When the killer is trying to get away (in which he meets his death), it is told from his point of view, making an exciting scene. From 1962.
April 4, 2021
"A Key to the Suite" is a 1962 novel, published before McDonald became immersed in his Travis McGee series shortly thereafter. Nevertheless, if you listen carefully, you can hear his McGee narrative voice developing in this one. This one is about the insider's scoop on the corporate ladder wars, set against the backdrop of a Florida coast convention in a seaside hotel. The target of a corporate downsizing is taking no prisoners when he fights back by setting up his rival with a high-priced call girl who is being paid to seduce and publicly embarrass the rival. The call girl, Corey Barlund, steals the show here, turning into quite a complex and intriguing character. This book s a slowly developing story so hang on until everything explodes in the end.
June 9, 2019
COUNTDOWN: Mid-20th Century North American Crime
BOOK 238 (of 250)
A book about a business convention? Only because it's John D. MacDonald...
HOOK - 1 star: A married man is on a plane heading to a convention. There is much talk about his anus tightening during the landing...I am not kidding...also his buttocks tighten often.
PACE - 1: On the slow slow drift-off-to-sleep side until a devious plan develops. But by this time I assume you've stopped reading anyway.
PLOT - 2: The man on the plan is there from HR to fire people (Head Removals-You can recognize them any place, they talk about people being the most valuable resource of any company). BUT, a few men on the chopping block hatch a plan: they hire a high-class hooker to pose as a local journalist covering the convention for an article in the local newspaper. (I don't know about other readers, but I desperately search through any and all types of social media outlets for articles about conventions to remind me of the good old days of going to meetings unsure if an HR person was going to be near me.) She is to seduce him then cause a massive disruption on the last day of the convention, when everyone is together and the hooker will starting screaming obscenities, rape, etc. and then the HR person will look bad. But ...but...ugh...how can you make these people look any worse? I'm serious, that's the plot. 1 star plus 1 star to the writer for actually finding someone to publish this book.
CHARACTERS - 2: Businessmen. Drinking. A lot. A hooker. And a really, really horribly awful man who tries to seduce the hooker but, she's high class, you know and choosy. I kid you not. Oh, and 2 gay guys there working at the hotel offices and calling each other sweets but they have nothing to do with the plot. Not enough words for a full-length novel? Yep, throw in a couple of gay guys. 1 star plus 1 more star for the stupendously horrible man trying to seduce the hooker who winds up impaled on a fence post eventually. But they cover it up so no one notices...I'm serious.
ATMOSPHERE - 1: It's a business convention.
SUMMARY - A generous 1.4 rating. After 146 crime books, the bad ones really make one cringe. On the upside, it'll only take an hour or so of your time, if you absolutely must read this one. Oh, and on the back cover, Dean Koontz says that this author is his favorite of all time. They must have paid Koontz a s***load of money to put that on the back of this book. I'm sticking to John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series from now on: it's much better than the stand alones, like this one.
BOOK 238 (of 250)
A book about a business convention? Only because it's John D. MacDonald...
HOOK - 1 star: A married man is on a plane heading to a convention. There is much talk about his anus tightening during the landing...I am not kidding...also his buttocks tighten often.
PACE - 1: On the slow slow drift-off-to-sleep side until a devious plan develops. But by this time I assume you've stopped reading anyway.
PLOT - 2: The man on the plan is there from HR to fire people (Head Removals-You can recognize them any place, they talk about people being the most valuable resource of any company). BUT, a few men on the chopping block hatch a plan: they hire a high-class hooker to pose as a local journalist covering the convention for an article in the local newspaper. (I don't know about other readers, but I desperately search through any and all types of social media outlets for articles about conventions to remind me of the good old days of going to meetings unsure if an HR person was going to be near me.) She is to seduce him then cause a massive disruption on the last day of the convention, when everyone is together and the hooker will starting screaming obscenities, rape, etc. and then the HR person will look bad. But ...but...ugh...how can you make these people look any worse? I'm serious, that's the plot. 1 star plus 1 star to the writer for actually finding someone to publish this book.
CHARACTERS - 2: Businessmen. Drinking. A lot. A hooker. And a really, really horribly awful man who tries to seduce the hooker but, she's high class, you know and choosy. I kid you not. Oh, and 2 gay guys there working at the hotel offices and calling each other sweets but they have nothing to do with the plot. Not enough words for a full-length novel? Yep, throw in a couple of gay guys. 1 star plus 1 more star for the stupendously horrible man trying to seduce the hooker who winds up impaled on a fence post eventually. But they cover it up so no one notices...I'm serious.
ATMOSPHERE - 1: It's a business convention.
SUMMARY - A generous 1.4 rating. After 146 crime books, the bad ones really make one cringe. On the upside, it'll only take an hour or so of your time, if you absolutely must read this one. Oh, and on the back cover, Dean Koontz says that this author is his favorite of all time. They must have paid Koontz a s***load of money to put that on the back of this book. I'm sticking to John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series from now on: it's much better than the stand alones, like this one.
January 1, 2013
This read-it-in-one-sitting stand-alone by JDM is a great thriller and an even better study in psychology, organization dynamics, and the things that a life as a business executive can do to a person. While dated, many of MacDonald's insights into the lives of middle managers still ring true, and in terms of offering a warning about the potentially dehumanizing effects of business, this may be one of the better books ever written. (And I am no Marxist.) Those who dislike JDM's "philosophizing" will find the letter written by the wife of main character, a corporate hatchet-man at risk of losing his soul, to be an unpleasant impediment to the storyline, but I felt it was thoughtful and poignant point of view on the risks of climbing the corporate latter. (The letter can be found at the beginning of Chapter 7.) The more JDM I read, the more I feel he is not just one of my favorite crime writers, but one of my favorite writers period.
June 7, 2020
A dark, disturbing and brutally insightful look at corporate politics and business conventions that mostly continues to ring true to to these current times. Most remarkable is the cast of characters that are all flawed to various degrees and the terrific dialogue between the characters that really bring them, and their agendas to light. A compelling and memorable read.
March 3, 2019
Mostly forgettable, but I'll never hear the phrase "hatchet man" again without thinking of Floyd Hubbard.
December 29, 2023
I'm not a fan of the Travis McGee P.I. series by author John D. MacDonald. I always found the character and stories to be just fair and very dated...but..not true with MacDonald's stand alones where he has written some fantastic novels. This would include the hair-raising, The End of the Night, The Executioners (Cape Fear), and The Crossroads. The writing of A Key to the Suite (1962) is kind of like John Updike meets James Cain, or a slice of life story that all comes crashing down with murder. Like The Crossroads, the setting in A Key to the Suite is the business world, in this case a convention at a huge, swank hotel (think Miami's Fontainebleau). The lead character, Floyd, who works for administration (Human Resources), is sent by the home office to evaluate an old, but well liked employee, Jesse, and judge whether or not he should be let go (fired). The tables get turned on Floyd as he gets set-up by Jesse and his cohorts for the big fall that not only threatens Floyd's career but his marriage as well. A Key to the Suite is a short but complex novel with a smattering of fancy writing to keep it interesting for the reader, especially the final couple of pages. I haven't read any John D. MacDonald for about 10 years so it was fun to revisit his writing & story-telling...As such I probably would have given this book a 4 but I enjoyed reading it so much (entertaining) that I'm going to give it a 5.0....yeah, 5.0 outta 5.0...
September 15, 2008
If I could, I'd give this 4.5 stars, but only because of one flaw: Almost all of McDonald's female characters talk like disaffected debutantes, calling the male lead 'dear' and 'darling' all the time...I keep meaning to ask my parents if anyone talked like this in the early 60's!
Still, a great read. The story is set in a sales convention in an un-named southern city for an un-named industry. The book was published in 1962, and it's pretty amazing how the dynamics of organizational politics described in the book have remained unchanged.
Still, a great read. The story is set in a sales convention in an un-named southern city for an un-named industry. The book was published in 1962, and it's pretty amazing how the dynamics of organizational politics described in the book have remained unchanged.
April 15, 2021
I first read this book when I was thirteen and clueless about corporate politics and thought it pretty boring compared to the other crime-noir novels I was reading back then. Now, though, after serving time in the corporate world, including having been tasked with some of the same post-merger duties given the novel's protagonist, I found this book absolutely riveting and read it straight through from beginning to end. The plot is a riff on post-merger organizational politics. Floyd Hubbard, corporate hatchet man, is heading to a convention to give a final review of Jesse Mulaney, the soon to be axed head of sales. Mulaney, with the help of his right-hand man, Fred Frick, will not go gentle into the good night and crafts a plan to set up Hubbard and embarrass him at the convention in the hope that this will save Mulaney's job long enough so he can collect his pension. That's the battle drawn and to discover the surprising way it plays out you will just have to read the book yourself. Also on tap, though, is the maturation of Floyd Hubbard into a stone-cold executive. MacDonald also delivers that arc with a nail gun. Another thing that makes this such a great read is the way MacDonald makes full use of the third-person point of view to show this power struggle from all angles; not just from the main characters' point-of-view, but from the minor characters' viewpoints as well. That depth of characterization, combined with an intricate plot filtered through a perspectival point-of-view, should make this a compelling read even if you haven't spent time in the corporate world. MacDonald obviously knew the business world inside and out, however, so if you've been there and done that, this novel rings true.
July 24, 2016
A well-written but deeply cynical book with a particularly downbeat ending. "A Key to the Suite" takes place at a business convention at a swanky Miami Beach hotel. A lot of what happens there consists of booze and bed activities, but there's also some dirty politics afoot. One man, Floyd Hubbard, has been sent there to report on whether the company should retain the services of the longtime head of its sales division. That man, trying to hang on, has hatched a plot with his underlings involving a call girl who will seduce Hubbard and then embarrass him. Everything about this plot goes awry, in a truly major way. Even knowing there was a twist coming in the plot, I did not expect what happened, nor the effect that this would have. MacDonald's writing here is sharp as a scalpel, and just as cutting.
June 16, 2019
Nasty people but a pretty interesting look at the sharks in the business world.What would ever happen if one of the people that MacDonald describes so vividly became President of the United States?
August 28, 2022
Pre Travis McGee, this is one of his 40 or so stand alone novels. Mr. MacDonald was a master of the crime/suspense story.
February 24, 2017
A rising young executive -- who is gaining a reputation as corporate executioner -- comes to a convention in beautiful South Florida in order to offer a report on a sales executive the company is looking to axe. Will he make the right moral choices, while continuing his ascent up the corporate ladder? That may depend on to whom he gives A KEY TO THE SUITE.
I have been reading my way through a lot of John D. MacDonald, and this is a good representation about what's right and what's wrong about this particular author. Because this is a novel that opens with a great premise, and is modeled after books like Executive Suite, which were popular in the 50s. early 60s. The basic plot is also interesting -- with a lot of scheming and counter scheming. BUT..
In this one, John D. gives us pages of his philosophy of life. Which, to put it kindly, is dated. He also gives us some incredible depictions of women, and, in the best tradition of the paperback original, saddles the book with sexual situations that are somewhat integral to the story MacDonald wants to tell but still, just drag the whole thing down. And, finally, the second half of the book becomes increasingly outrageous, with epic drunks, unlikely "romantic" encounters, suicides, accidents, and murders. I missed the convention that had all that going on -- not sure if I am lucky or not. Oddly, all the frenetic action dissipates (rather than increases) the suspense.
Also, I think MacDonald shows that the author that lives by the plot twist can undercut his book by use of the wrong twist. The final unexpected twist at the end is intended to be dark. But it also makes all the authorial handwringing about the state of the lead character's soul pretty darn pointless.
I have been reading my way through a lot of John D. MacDonald, and this is a good representation about what's right and what's wrong about this particular author. Because this is a novel that opens with a great premise, and is modeled after books like Executive Suite, which were popular in the 50s. early 60s. The basic plot is also interesting -- with a lot of scheming and counter scheming. BUT..
In this one, John D. gives us pages of his philosophy of life. Which, to put it kindly, is dated. He also gives us some incredible depictions of women, and, in the best tradition of the paperback original, saddles the book with sexual situations that are somewhat integral to the story MacDonald wants to tell but still, just drag the whole thing down. And, finally, the second half of the book becomes increasingly outrageous, with epic drunks, unlikely "romantic" encounters, suicides, accidents, and murders. I missed the convention that had all that going on -- not sure if I am lucky or not. Oddly, all the frenetic action dissipates (rather than increases) the suspense.
Also, I think MacDonald shows that the author that lives by the plot twist can undercut his book by use of the wrong twist. The final unexpected twist at the end is intended to be dark. But it also makes all the authorial handwringing about the state of the lead character's soul pretty darn pointless.
March 28, 2019
I'll be brief. I think this book belongs on the short list of Great American Novels. It's worthy of sitting on the same shelf with Moby Dick, Scarlet Letter, Huck Finn, Great Gatsby, True Grit, etc. It's only sin was that it was first published in (gasp!) paperback by (gasp!) a popular author. A masterpiece.
April 25, 2016
As an old school salesman and avid jdmcd reader, i truly liked the book. A slice of corporate entertainment before compliance and laws about inducement prohibited it... Also a slice of male chauvinism of another decade. Great story, great writer. A must read...especially for salesmen!
March 14, 2017
Dreadfully boring book, though perhaps that's due to being written in the early 1960's. Slow character development and weak story line. By the last couple of chapters I had no interest in the final outcome of the story, but I finished anyway. Ugh!
July 17, 2008
Even when the story isn't great, MacDonald does such wonderful characters that you can't help but read along.
January 11, 2018
Never been to an industry conference. JD wrote this expose which is both entertaining and informative.
January 22, 2015
21 jan 15, wednesday morning, 10:58 a.m. e.s.t.
#28 from macdonald for me. just finished a great story, first one i read from this writer, A Single Shot, check him out.
(1962) a key to the suite, john d macdonald
story begins:
the gentle hand of a girl pressed him awake, and he looked up along a tailored arm at the gloriously empty smile of a stewardess. "fasten your seat belt, please."
you bet. onward and upward. okee dokee then, as the good doctor said (the combat zone, 1978)...yippe ky aye.
time place scene setting
*a super-constellation airliner...terminal...restroom...taxi
*somewhere on the ocean...florida? a hotel/resort location on an ocean setting, the sultana, name of the hotel where the convention of agm *american general machine) and its associated divisions is held...and agm is a part od gae, inc.
*joint convention of coluda and napatan
*#847, room where floyd hubbard is
*8th floor of suites where much of the convention, the hob-nobbing and drinking from suite to suite is held
*grand ballroom and a section between that the hotel main where displays are set up
*#1102, a room that fred frick, the local representative of agm takes a room to be ready in case of need
*the arabian room...the hideaway club (private area of the sultana)...pagoda bar...olympic pool...persian grill...the arabian room...suez lounge
*alma's house, kitchen
characters major minor real-famous name-only peripheral hypothetical
*floyd hubbard, our hero, the hero of progress as described by macdonald, previously taught for three years, found himself in american general machine, is described as the company's hatchet man. he is married to jan/janice, they have a four-year-old and a less-than-one-year-old. they have been married seven years
*a stewardess...other sleepers on the super-constellation
*jesse mulhaney: the man seen as likely to be cut by the company, with the company for 32 years, married to connie, who attends the convention with him, children grown. he is a president of one of the companies associations, napatan...doesn't say what the initials stand for.
*connie, his wife
*mike, one of their children, the four-year-old
*jerry kipp, is the president of coluda, another association
*taxi driver, an old man in what looked like bright yellow pajamas...saturday jones, a 40' plywood silhouette...a massive woman in white slacks and white halter...busy-fingered, stone-faced little polish women
*hank...one of three stout disheveled men
*a big doorman with a mety military face
*work gangs were sweeping
*a friend of his (floyd)...early dental plate
*maintenance crews
*desk clerk
*housekeeper at the 8th floor
*a bellhop
*a brawny monochromatic woman
*fred frick, american general machine's local man...which seems like florida though not stated in the story
*bobby fayhouser...one of the road men
*a hundred people were adding the finishing touches
*tommy cormer
*a pair of pretty twin blondes...honey and bunny, both 23-year-old, in tight plaid pants...girls hired to sell the various exhibits...honey with the mole
*honey has a musician husband, hugh constanto...bunny has a county cop boyfriend
*cabanas of people...bartender...a hard-faced blonde with a lithe youthful body
*alma bender, a kind of madame though that word is never used. fred frick calls alma suddenly after having his idea to use a woman to get ahead of floyd
*cory/corinna barlund, the girl...call-girl...high-end...none of those words are used, as it is a business proposition for fred, alma, cory, though cory does get a tad vulgar at one point with floyd
*"john dempsey"...fred frick rents room #1102 under this name so the boys have a room...he hands out keys to only a few
*bert...wife of freddy...they also have children
*ed, chris, wally, out in the last year
*pete stormlander, a publisher of a regional magazine, tropical life...who is used to provide cover for cory at the convention
*john camplin, new executive v.p. of agm of gae...and he is the one who sent floyd hubbard to the convention to test him, as he has already tested him once...to see if he is the material the company is looking for
*harry farber of gae...to houseton from new york, and he is on scene to provide an ear to what john camplin says about floyd hubbard
*ernie, alma's muscle
*dave daniels liked to a cross between matt dillon and his horse...for the uninitiated, matt dillon was the sheriff on the tv show gunsmoke that ran for 30+ years and he is, appropriately, from the chicago office, is vulgar, and cory puts him in his place and he will hold a grudge forever, chicago-like
*stu gallard...from los angeles
*charlie gromer, old road man
*cass beatty---advertising
*picture by lilian ross
*fletch, harry mallory, dix weaver, past presidents of the associations
*man, ed, at the table directly behind him...the man's neighbor
*a lean woman in silk harem pajamas played a listless noodling piano
*hotel p.r. man, alan amory
*rick dilarra, convention director
*honorable congressman from indiana
*ruthie, 10, floyd's 1st love, yay back...he bought her valentines and she thought it was from
*tommy!
*fearless state senator in nashville that time
*harris, lunt, or tomaselli
*700 delegates...wives of delegates...several salesman...maid, a tall austrian who is turning ten-dollar tricks...a shy associate...a florida sales manager...a dark-haired man in a bathing suit
*mark...a schoolmate of floyd yay ago
*mr paul ellinder, an instructor and mark and paul had one of them proverbial homosexual encounters that floyd came upon
*three men sat at the end of one aisle
*jud ewing, federated, chicago
*maynard, cory's cat...half siamese half alley
*baltimore colts
*a cherokee indian
*john swazey...lipe's boss
*peter lipe, ass't district attorney
*rice emper, legal counsel to the sultana
*det. sgt. milton manning
*det. lt. al farrier
*captain brewhane
*suzy wong...some famous whore?
a note on the narration
multiple character 3rd-person p.o.v. and i wonder if you could call it limited, as well. the story ranges from one to another, we look at the world through a number of characters, but we're told in dialogue what they think feel want nothing more nothing less. our hero is floyd hubbard, seen as the company hatchet man though he sees himself as less than that, self-effacing and likeable. one reviewer lamented the female characters and i've no clue what story that reader read. the focus of the hatchet man, jesse mulhaney is married to connie, has been, for years. has been with the company for years. she is with him on this trip and she is described in terms flattering, more so when her age is considered.
i think it is nothing more than fashionable criticism (and make this meta) when readers speak of unflattering female characters...women who say "dear"...so forth, so on. it's like those who concentrate on the n-word, neglecting to read the unflattering portrayal of bad whites poorly mishandling swine in huck finn. it's like those years, yay back, college...misogyny this, misogyny that...hell it wasn't until twenty thirty years out of college that i finally learned what the word for "hatred of men" is. do you know? fashionable, though, to spread the word. and so often, as can be pointed out from the actual text...critics should be subject to the same show me don't tell me barb the writer is aware of...so often, the critic's barb is nothing more than that...a clanging symbol without merit or evidence.
jesse mulhaney, acceptable to the terms that the local company man, fred frick suddenly arrived at...the hiring of a local girl to make floyd look bad...an acceptance that makes jesse look bad no matter how long you think about it...has a loving relationship with connie, his wife. i don't recall any "dears" in her speech, though you would think a married couple would use that language...partisanship has not dredged us that far apart...but she does read him and his moods and takes him to task later on. and their relationship is true. he takes a nap afterward...this happened before the missus put her foot down. before and after are scenes that only happen after a long time together and macdonald described it nicely. so that other reviewer has his head up his arse. truth. but that suddenly that begins to describe the reason for the story...suddenly as macdonald uses the word...fred frick has this idea...to hire a girl to make floyd look bad. treasure the bad...and i will...it is nice to know that macdonald, as good as he is, also screws up the telling from time to time. suddenly, all hell breaks loose. naw. doesn't work. but i still enjoy the story...a little less than halfway through at this point. fred frick would not have suddenly arrived at the idea for a method and manner of making the company hatchet man look bad. the idea would have been budding and flowering long before they arrive at the hotel...would likely have been used before, either by fred, or others. so...treasure the bad.
update, finished, 21 jan 15, wednesday evening, 8:39 p.m. e.s.t.
good story and one that reads quickly. and almost another story that does not fit the genre parameters, this one squeaking in closer to the end with enough tragedy to find a niche on that level called...something. i think labels are silly, so why bother? this story, like more than a few others now out of the total read, could as easily fit in the fiction or literature label as it could...almost...noir or crime-drama, police-action, mystery-theatre, camel-racing, badger-prodding, cake-baking. blah blah blah. all it took was one drunk with an attitude and there you are. everyone gathered in the room thinking that perhaps by talking about it it will change. good read.
#28 from macdonald for me. just finished a great story, first one i read from this writer, A Single Shot, check him out.
(1962) a key to the suite, john d macdonald
story begins:
the gentle hand of a girl pressed him awake, and he looked up along a tailored arm at the gloriously empty smile of a stewardess. "fasten your seat belt, please."
you bet. onward and upward. okee dokee then, as the good doctor said (the combat zone, 1978)...yippe ky aye.
time place scene setting
*a super-constellation airliner...terminal...restroom...taxi
*somewhere on the ocean...florida? a hotel/resort location on an ocean setting, the sultana, name of the hotel where the convention of agm *american general machine) and its associated divisions is held...and agm is a part od gae, inc.
*joint convention of coluda and napatan
*#847, room where floyd hubbard is
*8th floor of suites where much of the convention, the hob-nobbing and drinking from suite to suite is held
*grand ballroom and a section between that the hotel main where displays are set up
*#1102, a room that fred frick, the local representative of agm takes a room to be ready in case of need
*the arabian room...the hideaway club (private area of the sultana)...pagoda bar...olympic pool...persian grill...the arabian room...suez lounge
*alma's house, kitchen
characters major minor real-famous name-only peripheral hypothetical
*floyd hubbard, our hero, the hero of progress as described by macdonald, previously taught for three years, found himself in american general machine, is described as the company's hatchet man. he is married to jan/janice, they have a four-year-old and a less-than-one-year-old. they have been married seven years
*a stewardess...other sleepers on the super-constellation
*jesse mulhaney: the man seen as likely to be cut by the company, with the company for 32 years, married to connie, who attends the convention with him, children grown. he is a president of one of the companies associations, napatan...doesn't say what the initials stand for.
*connie, his wife
*mike, one of their children, the four-year-old
*jerry kipp, is the president of coluda, another association
*taxi driver, an old man in what looked like bright yellow pajamas...saturday jones, a 40' plywood silhouette...a massive woman in white slacks and white halter...busy-fingered, stone-faced little polish women
*hank...one of three stout disheveled men
*a big doorman with a mety military face
*work gangs were sweeping
*a friend of his (floyd)...early dental plate
*maintenance crews
*desk clerk
*housekeeper at the 8th floor
*a bellhop
*a brawny monochromatic woman
*fred frick, american general machine's local man...which seems like florida though not stated in the story
*bobby fayhouser...one of the road men
*a hundred people were adding the finishing touches
*tommy cormer
*a pair of pretty twin blondes...honey and bunny, both 23-year-old, in tight plaid pants...girls hired to sell the various exhibits...honey with the mole
*honey has a musician husband, hugh constanto...bunny has a county cop boyfriend
*cabanas of people...bartender...a hard-faced blonde with a lithe youthful body
*alma bender, a kind of madame though that word is never used. fred frick calls alma suddenly after having his idea to use a woman to get ahead of floyd
*cory/corinna barlund, the girl...call-girl...high-end...none of those words are used, as it is a business proposition for fred, alma, cory, though cory does get a tad vulgar at one point with floyd
*"john dempsey"...fred frick rents room #1102 under this name so the boys have a room...he hands out keys to only a few
*bert...wife of freddy...they also have children
*ed, chris, wally, out in the last year
*pete stormlander, a publisher of a regional magazine, tropical life...who is used to provide cover for cory at the convention
*john camplin, new executive v.p. of agm of gae...and he is the one who sent floyd hubbard to the convention to test him, as he has already tested him once...to see if he is the material the company is looking for
*harry farber of gae...to houseton from new york, and he is on scene to provide an ear to what john camplin says about floyd hubbard
*ernie, alma's muscle
*dave daniels liked to a cross between matt dillon and his horse...for the uninitiated, matt dillon was the sheriff on the tv show gunsmoke that ran for 30+ years and he is, appropriately, from the chicago office, is vulgar, and cory puts him in his place and he will hold a grudge forever, chicago-like
*stu gallard...from los angeles
*charlie gromer, old road man
*cass beatty---advertising
*picture by lilian ross
*fletch, harry mallory, dix weaver, past presidents of the associations
*man, ed, at the table directly behind him...the man's neighbor
*a lean woman in silk harem pajamas played a listless noodling piano
*hotel p.r. man, alan amory
*rick dilarra, convention director
*honorable congressman from indiana
*ruthie, 10, floyd's 1st love, yay back...he bought her valentines and she thought it was from
*tommy!
*fearless state senator in nashville that time
*harris, lunt, or tomaselli
*700 delegates...wives of delegates...several salesman...maid, a tall austrian who is turning ten-dollar tricks...a shy associate...a florida sales manager...a dark-haired man in a bathing suit
*mark...a schoolmate of floyd yay ago
*mr paul ellinder, an instructor and mark and paul had one of them proverbial homosexual encounters that floyd came upon
*three men sat at the end of one aisle
*jud ewing, federated, chicago
*maynard, cory's cat...half siamese half alley
*baltimore colts
*a cherokee indian
*john swazey...lipe's boss
*peter lipe, ass't district attorney
*rice emper, legal counsel to the sultana
*det. sgt. milton manning
*det. lt. al farrier
*captain brewhane
*suzy wong...some famous whore?
a note on the narration
multiple character 3rd-person p.o.v. and i wonder if you could call it limited, as well. the story ranges from one to another, we look at the world through a number of characters, but we're told in dialogue what they think feel want nothing more nothing less. our hero is floyd hubbard, seen as the company hatchet man though he sees himself as less than that, self-effacing and likeable. one reviewer lamented the female characters and i've no clue what story that reader read. the focus of the hatchet man, jesse mulhaney is married to connie, has been, for years. has been with the company for years. she is with him on this trip and she is described in terms flattering, more so when her age is considered.
i think it is nothing more than fashionable criticism (and make this meta) when readers speak of unflattering female characters...women who say "dear"...so forth, so on. it's like those who concentrate on the n-word, neglecting to read the unflattering portrayal of bad whites poorly mishandling swine in huck finn. it's like those years, yay back, college...misogyny this, misogyny that...hell it wasn't until twenty thirty years out of college that i finally learned what the word for "hatred of men" is. do you know? fashionable, though, to spread the word. and so often, as can be pointed out from the actual text...critics should be subject to the same show me don't tell me barb the writer is aware of...so often, the critic's barb is nothing more than that...a clanging symbol without merit or evidence.
jesse mulhaney, acceptable to the terms that the local company man, fred frick suddenly arrived at...the hiring of a local girl to make floyd look bad...an acceptance that makes jesse look bad no matter how long you think about it...has a loving relationship with connie, his wife. i don't recall any "dears" in her speech, though you would think a married couple would use that language...partisanship has not dredged us that far apart...but she does read him and his moods and takes him to task later on. and their relationship is true. he takes a nap afterward...this happened before the missus put her foot down. before and after are scenes that only happen after a long time together and macdonald described it nicely. so that other reviewer has his head up his arse. truth. but that suddenly that begins to describe the reason for the story...suddenly as macdonald uses the word...fred frick has this idea...to hire a girl to make floyd look bad. treasure the bad...and i will...it is nice to know that macdonald, as good as he is, also screws up the telling from time to time. suddenly, all hell breaks loose. naw. doesn't work. but i still enjoy the story...a little less than halfway through at this point. fred frick would not have suddenly arrived at the idea for a method and manner of making the company hatchet man look bad. the idea would have been budding and flowering long before they arrive at the hotel...would likely have been used before, either by fred, or others. so...treasure the bad.
update, finished, 21 jan 15, wednesday evening, 8:39 p.m. e.s.t.
good story and one that reads quickly. and almost another story that does not fit the genre parameters, this one squeaking in closer to the end with enough tragedy to find a niche on that level called...something. i think labels are silly, so why bother? this story, like more than a few others now out of the total read, could as easily fit in the fiction or literature label as it could...almost...noir or crime-drama, police-action, mystery-theatre, camel-racing, badger-prodding, cake-baking. blah blah blah. all it took was one drunk with an attitude and there you are. everyone gathered in the room thinking that perhaps by talking about it it will change. good read.
January 1, 2020
A Key to the Suite is a novel which tells a story about the business world of the early Sixties. Floyd Hubbard has been sent from the home office of his company to assess the performance of Jesse Mullaney, who runs a sales team in the old style of getting to know customers over drinks. The team is at a convention and Jesse is a known man in the industry as President of a the trade association. Novelist John D. MacDonald is known for his crime books, notably for the Travis McGee series, but he also knows the business world. Mullaney knows he's under pressure to perform and doesn't particularly like the smooth style of the organization men such as Hubbard. Fred Frick, one of Mullaney's reports, is responsible for the trade show group at the convention and he's sensing that Hubbard is in town to fire Mullaney. He'd like to keep that from happening and wonders if there's a way out. Frick reaches out to an old friend, Alma, and arranges for an attractive woman to cross paths with Hubbard while he's at the show. This sets gears in motion which will test Hubbard and other members of the company team on site.
The woman, Cory Barland, is smart and attractive. She edges her way into the scene with a suitable cover story and soon has stirred up Mullaney's team. But she also gets to know Hubbard a bit and he's tempted to get to know her better, even though he's got a wife and kids back home.
And so the story pushes forward as Cory tempts several of the men and Hubbard balances the needs of the company and his own personal life. I found myself rooting for Hubbard and Barland to somehow find their better angels and not mess up each others lives. But their attraction is strong and it gets easier for Hubbard to start crossing boundaries he didn't even know he had. Barland is also a complex woman with conflicting reactions to this whole situation. Mix in lots of drinking and the typical loose mores of a convention and MacDonald builds up the suspense on how this will all turn out.
Business styles change over time, but there always seems to be battles between the new hot shots and the traditional players. MacDonald draws the characters clearly and lays out their motivations.
We can see that there will be winners and losers in the collisions that result. This is an older version of the business world, but MacDonald paints the "bro" sales culture of the day well and keeps the action moving ahead. This book is a story of human nature, of greed and desire, and MacDonald is a master at connecting the dots and drawing the reader deep into the lives of these people.
The woman, Cory Barland, is smart and attractive. She edges her way into the scene with a suitable cover story and soon has stirred up Mullaney's team. But she also gets to know Hubbard a bit and he's tempted to get to know her better, even though he's got a wife and kids back home.
And so the story pushes forward as Cory tempts several of the men and Hubbard balances the needs of the company and his own personal life. I found myself rooting for Hubbard and Barland to somehow find their better angels and not mess up each others lives. But their attraction is strong and it gets easier for Hubbard to start crossing boundaries he didn't even know he had. Barland is also a complex woman with conflicting reactions to this whole situation. Mix in lots of drinking and the typical loose mores of a convention and MacDonald builds up the suspense on how this will all turn out.
Business styles change over time, but there always seems to be battles between the new hot shots and the traditional players. MacDonald draws the characters clearly and lays out their motivations.
We can see that there will be winners and losers in the collisions that result. This is an older version of the business world, but MacDonald paints the "bro" sales culture of the day well and keeps the action moving ahead. This book is a story of human nature, of greed and desire, and MacDonald is a master at connecting the dots and drawing the reader deep into the lives of these people.
January 30, 2025
Hell's bells, what an ending. I confess, I entered into this world reluctantly. Here's how it happened...
I only fell under the spell of JDM fairly recently, but after reading two great books, I attended the vintage paperback collectors show, a yearly event in Glendale, CA. And I mostly grabbed whatever I could find that was cheap. I didn't even realize until I came home that I happened to purchase two different versions of the same novel.
Anyway, I was mostly interested in the murder mysteries, but somehow I ended up getting a couple of his, well, let's just call them affair / infidelity books. I kept glossing over them whenever I had to choose a book to read, but finally I ended up grabbing this one.
Look, it's not great. The setting is a bit bland (a business convention) and the characters (most of the secondary ones) a bit stock. They're lush businessmen looking to drink, gamble, and score. It's the series Mad Men, but in a novel that was contemporary of the time.
Most of the way, I would have given this 3 stars because it's still written well enough and certainly has some interesting scenes and passages... but then the ending.
Daniels is a character hardly in the book, but he's set up early on and appears just enough so you don't forget him. So when he gets drunk and insistent on having his way with the woman who embarrassed him the first night of the convention, you know it's going to go poorly. In fact, I joked with my girlfriend that even though this wasn't a murder mystery, our protagonist's affair could avoided if he murdered her. But I was joking. This isn't that kind of novel. It's no murder mystery at all -- because we know it's Daniels who kills Cory. But then, after setting up the scene to look "accidental" he drunkenly slips and falls trying to scale down to the floor below. Now we have two deaths in one chapter! I couldn't believe it.
Meanwhile, our protagonist, Floyd Hubbard, after feeling guilty about his affair, instead of running away from the convention when he has the chance of keeping his good name, goes on a bender and falls into bed with yet another woman. It's this second woman he's contemplating on the flight home and how each affair will make him feel less guilty than the one before. This from the family man who never cheated before.
I'd still probably only rate this 3.5 stars, but I like to round up and with this one I don't mind giving it four. The ending really made it jump for me and what was an average novel will now probably stand out in my memory for some time.
I only fell under the spell of JDM fairly recently, but after reading two great books, I attended the vintage paperback collectors show, a yearly event in Glendale, CA. And I mostly grabbed whatever I could find that was cheap. I didn't even realize until I came home that I happened to purchase two different versions of the same novel.
Anyway, I was mostly interested in the murder mysteries, but somehow I ended up getting a couple of his, well, let's just call them affair / infidelity books. I kept glossing over them whenever I had to choose a book to read, but finally I ended up grabbing this one.
Look, it's not great. The setting is a bit bland (a business convention) and the characters (most of the secondary ones) a bit stock. They're lush businessmen looking to drink, gamble, and score. It's the series Mad Men, but in a novel that was contemporary of the time.
Most of the way, I would have given this 3 stars because it's still written well enough and certainly has some interesting scenes and passages... but then the ending.
Daniels is a character hardly in the book, but he's set up early on and appears just enough so you don't forget him. So when he gets drunk and insistent on having his way with the woman who embarrassed him the first night of the convention, you know it's going to go poorly. In fact, I joked with my girlfriend that even though this wasn't a murder mystery, our protagonist's affair could avoided if he murdered her. But I was joking. This isn't that kind of novel. It's no murder mystery at all -- because we know it's Daniels who kills Cory. But then, after setting up the scene to look "accidental" he drunkenly slips and falls trying to scale down to the floor below. Now we have two deaths in one chapter! I couldn't believe it.
Meanwhile, our protagonist, Floyd Hubbard, after feeling guilty about his affair, instead of running away from the convention when he has the chance of keeping his good name, goes on a bender and falls into bed with yet another woman. It's this second woman he's contemplating on the flight home and how each affair will make him feel less guilty than the one before. This from the family man who never cheated before.
I'd still probably only rate this 3.5 stars, but I like to round up and with this one I don't mind giving it four. The ending really made it jump for me and what was an average novel will now probably stand out in my memory for some time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 27, 2025
I wonder if MacDonald read a couple of articles by Drucker before writing this one. A large engineering company has a dozen men at a major sales conference, including the old school, hard-drinking, back-slapping head of sales; his toady and heir apparent; a crew of similar misogynistic salesmen; a couple of wives; and a new leader of the firm who believes in what we now call strategic selling. The two forces, one that believes in selling via the expense account and the kickback, and the other that believes in sales aimed at solving the clients' problems, come into violent conflict.
While I was in the convention sales/marketing business for 9 years, I never saw a convention like this one. Maybe things changed since the 1960s or maybe MacDonald's imagination made things much spicier than they ever really were or maybe I just took my job too seriously and missed the partying.
Not my favorite MacDonald novel, but I enjoyed it.
Good introduction by Dean Koontz, who, like me, feels MacDonald's stand-alone novels are better than his more famous Travis McGee series.
Good narrator.
While I was in the convention sales/marketing business for 9 years, I never saw a convention like this one. Maybe things changed since the 1960s or maybe MacDonald's imagination made things much spicier than they ever really were or maybe I just took my job too seriously and missed the partying.
Not my favorite MacDonald novel, but I enjoyed it.
Good introduction by Dean Koontz, who, like me, feels MacDonald's stand-alone novels are better than his more famous Travis McGee series.
Good narrator.
February 9, 2020
Drawing a picture of sixties businesses world
The story is almost a convenient scaffold used to draw a picture of business life and conventions of the sixties. The storyteller kills off a couple of characters, perhaps because that is the neatest way to tie up loose ends.
The image painted of women and their role in the world is quite foreign by contemporary standards. I suppose there will anyways be intergender tensions, but acceptable rules and treatment has clearly changed a lot. Guessing how they will be managed twenty years from now is clearly a guess. The continuation of they historical tend of equal rights seems most likely. People will always try to be manipulative and neither gender has a monopoly on that.
Part of what it means to be human is the continuous exploration of gender roles and ongoing effort to understand the motivation of others.
The story is almost a convenient scaffold used to draw a picture of business life and conventions of the sixties. The storyteller kills off a couple of characters, perhaps because that is the neatest way to tie up loose ends.
The image painted of women and their role in the world is quite foreign by contemporary standards. I suppose there will anyways be intergender tensions, but acceptable rules and treatment has clearly changed a lot. Guessing how they will be managed twenty years from now is clearly a guess. The continuation of they historical tend of equal rights seems most likely. People will always try to be manipulative and neither gender has a monopoly on that.
Part of what it means to be human is the continuous exploration of gender roles and ongoing effort to understand the motivation of others.
July 28, 2019
Een psychologische thriller : Floyd Hubbard wordt naar een conventie van zakenlui en vertegenwoordigers gestuurd om een finaal en vernietigend rapport op te stellen over de directeur van een typisch Amerikaans bedrijf. De directeur en zijn medestanders vermoeden het opzet.van Hubbard’s opdracht en zetten een val op, die hem moeten compromitteren. Eén en ander verloopt enigszins anders...
John D Mac Donald was een erg populair schrijver van short stories en (crime) novels. Ik nam dit boekje (een vintage exemplaar uit 1962!) mee uit de uitleenkast op mijn werk. Eerst dacht ik een pulpromannetje in handen te hebben, but boy, was I wrong !
MacDonald blijkt trouwens een van de voorbeelden voor Stephen King te zijn.
Ga het ontdekken : echt fun reading.
John D Mac Donald was een erg populair schrijver van short stories en (crime) novels. Ik nam dit boekje (een vintage exemplaar uit 1962!) mee uit de uitleenkast op mijn werk. Eerst dacht ik een pulpromannetje in handen te hebben, but boy, was I wrong !
MacDonald blijkt trouwens een van de voorbeelden voor Stephen King te zijn.
Ga het ontdekken : echt fun reading.
July 15, 2025
This is a short 1962 novel by John D. MacDonald, an author I favored decades ago. I haven’t read one of his books in quite a while.
This is a standalone novel, just 182 pages. It takes place at a business convention. The company involves has just merged into another company. The acquiring company has sent an executive to the convention, quite obviously to find someone or several someones to fire. Knowing this, his intended victims concoct a plan to embarrass and humiliate him, a plan that involved ladies of the night.
The tone of this novel is quite dark. The characters are despicable. I wouldn’t be surprised if John D. MacDonald, if he were still alive, would want to take this one back.
This is a standalone novel, just 182 pages. It takes place at a business convention. The company involves has just merged into another company. The acquiring company has sent an executive to the convention, quite obviously to find someone or several someones to fire. Knowing this, his intended victims concoct a plan to embarrass and humiliate him, a plan that involved ladies of the night.
The tone of this novel is quite dark. The characters are despicable. I wouldn’t be surprised if John D. MacDonald, if he were still alive, would want to take this one back.
May 2, 2024
Hubbard heads to a convention in southern Florida to access their manager of sales, Jesse Mulaney with the likelihood of him being dismissed. Mulaney knows his job is on the line. So he arranges through one of his subordinates a high class prostitute, Corey to compromise Hubbard. The dialog switches between Hubbard, Mulaney, Corey and others as it tells the story of the convention itself, the hotel staff, drinking, partying, sex, prostitution and the job politics. In the end there is murder and accidental death. While this is not a great book, it is readable, though it does show its age with dated portrayals of women and general attitudes.
June 27, 2020
Even though MacDonald has been around forever and recognized especially for his Travis McGee series, I had never read him before but am glad to have discovered him! My edition of this book, which I had won from my Book Club, had a great introduction by Dean Koonz that really nailed it. The characters were so real to life and the events very much identifiable. Can't wait to read another by this great author. This was the story of what happens "behind the scenes" at (in this case, sales) conventions and when new management from a merger is pushing out the old.
September 24, 2025
Slow start that almost made me put it down and not finish. It’s as boring as watching paint dry, definitely not a good first introduction to the author. If it weren’t for Cory and her past, the reasons behind her actions, I wouldn’t have continued. However, even she couldn’t save a rather bland story about a man cheating on his wife at a work convention while she’s stuck at home with their son. Not to mention, the deaths in the second last chapter would have been more interesting if they had occurred at the beginning of the novel.
January 7, 2020
The Busy-ness of Business
John D MacDonald has a rightfully earned reputation as one of the premier masters of detective and noir fiction. A Key to the Suite shows his unique ability to capture the tricksy machinations of the grimy levels of middle management minions and middling entrepreneurs. He skillfully dissects the reasons and rationalizations that motivate the men and women who's existence has an interior drama that few writers explore.
John D MacDonald has a rightfully earned reputation as one of the premier masters of detective and noir fiction. A Key to the Suite shows his unique ability to capture the tricksy machinations of the grimy levels of middle management minions and middling entrepreneurs. He skillfully dissects the reasons and rationalizations that motivate the men and women who's existence has an interior drama that few writers explore.
April 30, 2019
First time reading this author. I will seek out more of his stories. He really knows how to layer the story properly and make you feel what the characters are going through mentally and physically. Great story around a convention setting at a popular hotel involving corporate America and the business executives and salespeople who are trying to get ahead.
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