Travis McGee: Books 1-3: Introduction by Lee Child

Travis McGee #1-3

by John D. MacDonald

Travis McGee isn't your typical knight in shining armour. He only works when his cash runs out, and his rule is simple: He'll help you find whatever was taken from you, as long as he can keep half. Discover Travis McGee with this special collection of the first three titles of John D. MacDonald's classic series.

The Deep Blue Goodbye
Travis McGee isn't particularly strapped for cash, but how can anyone say no to Cathy, a sweet girl who's been tortured repeatedly by her manipulative ex-boyfriend Junior Allen? What Travis isn't anticipating is just how many women Junior has torn apart and left in his wake . . .

Nightmare in Pink
Travis McGee's old army buddy needs a favour. His sister's fiancé has just been murdered in what the authorities claim was a standard Manhattan mugging. But Nina knows better. Travis is determined to get to the bottom of things, but just as he's closing in on the truth he finds himself taken captive. Some people will go to any lengths to make sure their secrets don't get out . . .

A Purple Place for Dying Travis McGee isn't sure he wants to help Mona, a woman trapped in a marriage with a wealthy businessman whom she is convinced is stealing from her trust fund. That is until he sees Mona shot dead on the cliffs near her cabin. But when he arrives at the scene, her body is gone. And there's no trace of them ever having met. Will Travis prove that what he saw was real, and unravel a complex murder web, in time to save his own skin?

Genres: Fiction

508 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 18, 2013

About the author

John 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.

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read this first three novels twice each. (After reading the first dozen in the series, I went back and started with the first one to see how they compared.)
Deep Blue Sea - #1 - 3.2 overall rating
Nightmare in Pink - #2 - 1.8 overall rating
Purple Place for Dying - #3 - 2.2 overall rating
Summary - These first three novels average 2.4. Macdonald gets off to a good start, falters, then hits some high points (Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper - 4 stars, for example) later. Best of the 21? Time will tell!

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

John macdonald is a new author for me, so pleased I came across this collection of stories about Travis McGee, amazingly these books where written in the 70’s great stories about a guy who comes to the aid of, in these books people in distress. A kind of vigilante with a twist as he takes on work only when he needs money to live, but always seems to get more involved than he plans to. Great stories.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Travis McGee books are great fun. These novels are over 50 years old and in places it shows...which isn't always a bad thing. Solid crime/mystery/thriller stories from one of the pioneers of the genre.