Area of Suspicion

by John D. MacDonald

Niki.
My brother's wife...Weaver of black magic stained with blood...Temptress who haunted my restless night...Wife gloriously beautiful in her widow's weeds...Woman I still wanted with the craving of the damned.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime

207 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1954

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

[Kurt Reichenbaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best thing about this novel is the corporate intrigue going on in a family owned manufacturing company. Two brothers, Gevan and Ken Dean inherit the family business after their father dies. They also both fall for the same gal, a smoldering sexy babe named Niki. One brother, Ken, gets the girl and control of the company, while the other brother, Gevan, takes a "sabbatical" in Florida to recover from his wounded pride. And wouldn't you know it, Ken is murdered one night just as the company is embarking on a massive military contract. Leadership upheaval ensues and Gevan is lured back into the fray as various forces within Dean Industries try to sway him into their camp. And in the center of it all is sexy Niki, Ken's widow.

That's the best thing. The not so good thing is the clumsy pacing. It's too long. It has too many editorial intrusions meant to be a fleshing out of the characters. Then the ending is rushed as a result of growing page count. Part of the problem might be that Area of Suspicion was a reworking of an old "pulp" novel named "My Brother's Widow" that was serialized in a magazine. Still, it's entertaining in spite of its flaws.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Area of Suspicion

Area of Suspicion is one of MacDonald’s truly underrated thrillers. He starts this one off in noir style with the key protagonist Gevan Dean partying on the Florida coast and living off his dividends from the family industrial concern. Then, it is slowly pieced out to the reader that Gevan has been in self-imposed exile for four years after catching his younger brother with his fiancé, Niki Webb. He left everything behind including running the company with his heart and his pride shattered. But now with his brother dead, a lawyer has arrived wanting Gevan to sign over his proxy vote to his brother’s widow.

It’s a great set up as Gevan returns unheralded to the small midwestern town where the factory their grandfather started still has a commanding presence. Gevan feels guilt for running away and leaving it to his brother who was never really up to running the company. Gevan wonders about how his brother died and how the solution was so neat and clean and tied up with a bow. And he doesn’t know how he can deal with Niki who he has hated for four long years but still find’s irresistible.

MacDonald expertly weaves these themes together and these questions linger even as the bulk of the book is about the sides jockeying for the upcoming vote for control of the company. In four years, Ken has allowed outsiders to insinuate themselves into the business and drive out long time employees all in the name of efficiency. Something is really not right in the Stare of Denmark and for much of the book you sense Gelvan circling around the answer and rarely come close to answering the riddle. An absolutely terrific thriller.

[Noreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly wish I hadn't avoided the crime fiction genre for so many years. John D MacDonald heroes reveal wonderful insights into the best of the authentic alpha male American psyche. His heroines are not fluffy sex toys but competent capable women. How many competent women characters were written into crime fiction in 1956? What I like best about a John D MacDonald novel is the full range of male and female characters and what makes them tick.

[AC · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 — this was outstanding and certainly on track to becoming a five-star book, until the final turn in the plot, which gave it a dated aspect. That said, I’m starting to become a fan of J.D. Macdonald.

[Benjamin Chandler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the book that convinced me to buy the Box of Pulps. I'd enjoyed every MacDonald novel I'd read thus far, and you can't go wrong with a Fawcett Gold Medal book. In the end, it wasn't quite as fun as the other MacDonald books I'd read, but it's not bad and where it's strong, it's really strong.

Gevan Dean found his brother in his fiancee's arms four years ago. It broke his heart, so he fled his home town and family business to become a beach bum in Florida. Now his brother is dead—shot in the back of the head—and Gevan has to return to face the woman who betrayed him and the men who squeezed out his brother at the company.

There's some Cold War intrigue, a choice between the nice girl and the sexpot, and some good old fashioned murders. But the book didn't really snap. I can't say it dragged, but it wasn't until the final 50 pages that I felt propelled. Where the book shone brightest was in the narrator's internal dialogue, like how he struggled with the reunion with his hot 'n' heavy ex. MacDonald just slays when he opens his character's mind to the reader. It's pulp, but reads true.

[Freddie the Know-it-all · Rating 5 out of 5]

Double Naught MacD

Better than most of his mush: a couple of murders at least.

A lot of business skullduggery, chicanery, and rasputinades; things I generally like, but it turned into Cold War spy-vs-spy bullshit. In a word, it turns into bullshit.

The sentimental among you won't be cheated out of long descriptions of what it feels like before you kiss some hosebag, what it feels like while you're kissing the hosebag, and what it feels like after you've kissed the hosebag. You won't get a short-pour on what it feels like to marry the hosebag and live happily ever after either.

[Jeff Tankersley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four years ago, Gevan Dean's brother stole his girl. Gevan simply punched him in the mouth, quit the company that his family owned for generations, and moved to Florida to live off his investments and never spoke to his brother again. When a sniveling lawyer from the company drops in and tells him his brother has been killed and his shareholder vote is needed to set a path for the company, Dean returns home and starts to look into 1) the murder and 2) the company's drama since his exit.

Verdict: A 1954-written noir mystery, "Area of Suspicion" is a short and scandalous murder thriller in a post-WWII production, manufacturing, and high-office setting. I'll admit, this one is a little too easy, silly at times, naughty at times, and has a too-nice-by-a-half life-lessons-learned style romance to it ... but I actually really enjoyed it. Don't judge me, dangit.

Jeff's Rating: 4 / 5 (Very Good)
movie rating if made into a movie: R

[Matt Lenz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in 1954 and so written that year or just before. Reading it today, the interesting thing is that the story has influences from the cold war. But, the reader only becomes aware of those halfway through. Written well, as can be expected from John D. MacDonald, we are only aware of what the main character learns and knows, and this makes it easy to believe how he feels and reacts to the female lead character, his former, and irresistible, fiancée. The main character grows in ways that we all like and hope to see in other novels. The story takes place in the mid-1950's, but with a few tweaks to the clues about the era, it could take place today. Good story and satisfying conclusion.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writing. JDM is a master at character development. Its fun to read really good mystery writing that takes place in a by-gone era

[Felipemarlou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muerte de un ejecutivo (Area of suspicion, 1954) es una novela curiosa. Partió como un serial para alguna revista de la época y fue “agrupada” unitariamente dos años después con vistas a su publicación en 1954 por Dell. Luego en 1961 sería revisada por MacDonald, quien introduciría algunos pequeños cambios y cuya (re)edición correría a cargo de la mítica “Gold medal” con quien MacDonald había vuelto tras partir peras años atrás. Por lo que he indagado, pequeños cambios, algunos de tipo sexual y otros de carácter contextualizador histórico/político. Es un hecho, ocurre como cuando un director con cierto peso en la industria del cine tiene la capacidad de volver atrás y hace retoques, porque “yo quería hacer esto, yo quería hacer lo otro…” No entraremos en este debate, sobre Coppola, Lucas y demás conspicuos jetas, pero creo que salvo que se conserve copia o páginas del manuscrito original “censurado” por las circunstancias que fuere, una obra no debe de tocarse. Dicho esto y que en parte podría explicar lo anterior, esta es una novela escrita en plena guerra fría, en el momento en que rusos y americanos batallaban por la carrera espacial y militar. Su acción transcurre en el mundo empresarial, en el seno de una antigua fábrica familiar que con el tiempo ha acabado siendo una gran corporación, con importantes lazos profesionales incluso para el gobierno. Nuestro protagonista, Gevan Dean, es un ex- ejecutivo entregado ahora a una vida contemplativa, rodeado de soleadas playas y bellas mujeres en las costas de Florida. Cuando su hermano pequeño Ken, que ha tomado las riendas del imperio familiar, es encontrado asesinado, Gevan se ve forzado a abandonar su exilio para esclarecer las causas y circunstancias que rodean la misteriosa muerte, así como tomar el control en la junta de accionistas. Pronto descubriremos que su marcha fue debida al pillar “in fraganti” a su difunto hermano con su chica, Niki, arrebatándosela y casándose con ella. El retorno pues supone una apertura a viejos fantasmas del pasado, en los que Dean debe confrontar ya no solo los remordimientos que le atormentan por la muerte de Ken, sino la mezcla de atracción y rechazo que siente por la ahora ya viuda. Paralelamente a todo esto, y al compás de alguna otra muerte que irá apareciendo en escena como consecuencia de los entresijos que se producen por la toma de control de la empresa, aparece el personaje de Joan, antigua secretaria de Dean y con la que nuestro protagonista comienza a sentir una especial afinidad. Al lío. Es una eficaz novela, con dosis de misterio e intriga conseguidas, e indudable fluidez narrativa como es habitual en MacDonald. Quizás le falte consistencia, cierta falta de homogeneidad fruto de haber sido concebida como serial. Contiene elementos criminales, pero se aparta un poco de las coordenadas del noir clásico. Quizás el tema político, con la trama de los “rusos malos” de fondo (eso sí, afortunadamente veladamente, sin cargar las tintas y eludiendo algunos de estos habituales maniqueísmos tan molestos) contribuyan a crear cierta distancia. Por lo demás, y como en otras obras de MacDonald, el sexo sigue teniendo un papel importante, al igual que esos hombres que acaban hallando una segunda oportunidad tras encontrar un nuevo amor. MacDonald era un romántico, eso no lo dudo, pero hay algo de sintético y frío en su forma de tratar ese campo…es algo mecánico. Su liga creo era otra, la de la descripción de la violencia. Y ahí era preciso, mecánico y despiadado como el cortante láser del acero. Es un buen libro, pero no una de los mejores que he leído. Es más, creo que aún no he llegado a su obra cumbre, pero me acerco… Seguiremos con este interesante tipo que es John D. MacDonald.

[Stormcrow Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this novel until it became a big commie conspiracy. Not that that's a bad idea and I certainly understand JDM using the height of Cold War tensions for a novel, but the fact that it isn't really revealed until somewhere around 2/3 through the book makes the revelation a bit jarring that you're not reading a murder mystery, but a sort of thriller with spies and fifth columnists just left me, well, cold.

Also, his names in this one -- Gevan and Perry. Yes, Perry becomes Joan by the end, but Perry either sounds like a last name (Steve Perry) or a male first name (there was a Perry in my high school) so every time I read that name, it was hard for me to think of an attractive woman. And what kind of a name is Gevan?

Lastly, I've read so much JDM lately that I'm starting to see patterns in his writing. His women all sort of talk the same and quickly revert t using "dear" as in, "Now, dear, we can't have you running after him alone," or something like that. When Gev and Perry finally connect, she immediately jumps to dear and sounds the same as Niki.

That's some of the bad, now the good.

First, the opening is classic JDM -- our protagonist bumming around Florida, but becoming bored by the pattern of parties and flings when he's called back to his hometown with the news of his brother's murder. Immediately, there's lots of intrigue as an old lawyer acquaintance tries to get him to sign a proxy for his family business and already the reader knows the murder had something to do with the internal politics of the plant.

He returns home and despite his reluctance, he's reeled in (just like the fish he catches in Florida) to the intrigue of his family business. He's been away four years and suddenly there are a lot of new faces.

But the one face that's kept him away is Niki, his brother's wife and his own former fiancee. There are many times in JDM books a doomed couple might be meant to return to each other, but it's fairly clear from the start that she's bad news.

Overall, I enjoyed the novel, but found the ending explanation a bit too much. However, I enjoyed the ramping up of bodies and suspense toward the end as Dolson's secretary and then Dolson both commit suicide (with some help) and there's a nice moment where Gevan tells Joan (aka Perry) that they should just run and let the Feds sort it out. It's a nice "real" moment of people realizing they're in over their heads (and by they soon would be when the car goes in the river).

Good, but not great. 3.5 rounded up

[Peter Sidell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great suspense along with a sense of going back to 1960 or 65

I am a long time fan of John D MacDonald starting with his book about a hurricane in Southwest Florida - Condominium was title as I recall. I am making an effort to go back and read a lot of his earlier work now that it is available as ebooks. Years ago I read all the Travis McGee books and have reread them all at least once. So I am not ‘objective’ in assessing his work. Some knowledgeable people have given him high praise, and of course not all of his work is of equal quality. One could argue there is some sameness about the problems behind the suspense.
This book is of interest because it focuses on the Cold War - not something I recall from his other books.
MacDonald was a great observer and commentator on society which adds depth and interest to his work. There is a lot of smoking in this book. Don’t know if he smoked, but I suspect he may have as in the end he died from coronary artery disease.
If you like a well paced story with interesting character development you should enjoy this book.

[Terry Mulcahy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is good classic MacDonald. Copyright is 1954, although this edition was printed in 1961, so the Cold War makes an appearance. I enjoyed every sentence and delighted in the characters. Someone selling books on eBay had a MacDonald book listed and added "sleaze" to the title of the listing. That couldn't be less fitting for books by John D. MacDonald. The publishers added sleazy covers to attract readers, but MacDonald is a master of this kind of novel, and, while there is sex, there is intelligence, murder, intrigue, and always a knight in blemished armor working against bad odds, struggling to survive, and to do the right thing, and he usually manages to find out that he is not alone in his quest, and the world has some damn good people in it that make up for the bad. It is always a pleasure to read any story or novel by John D. MacDonald.

[Cletus Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished Area of Suspicion and I'm completely sold on why this author deserves way more attention beyond the Travis McGee books.

This 1954 novel nails something about postwar corporate America that I've honestly never seen captured so well. MacDonald drops his story in this unnamed industrial city—concrete, steel, smokestacks everywhere—where a defense contractor has to deal with family betrayal and Cold War paranoia. But what makes it work is how MacDonald actually knows this world. Every detail feels real, from how boardroom politics actually play out to that specific atmosphere of jazz clubs and seedy motels.

This is world-building disguised as a murder mystery. MacDonald built an entire social ecosystem and let the tensions inside it drive everything forward. Makes sense why Stephen King called him "the great entertainer of our age."

[John Waanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic MacDonald. Hero is a smart and savvy businessman who, after having been betrayed in love, escaped to the warm south to live a life of leisure to bury the painful memories.
Circumstances and pride call him back to his "reality" and he helps to right the wrong and fall for the girl he had overlooked for so long. Several interesting plot twists, but in the end, the bad guys all get their comeuppance and the good guy gets the girl and order is restored.
Nothing graphic, but compared to earlier MacDonald novels, the sex is a bit more explicit.
i am definitely finding it interesting reading through JDM's works in order and watching the development. Contrary Pleasures is up next.

[Kølin Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic pulp fiction with all the necessities- intrigue, sex/romance, murder, etc. While outdated with Cold War espionage and 1950's sexism, it's well-written enough to be a page turner regardless. An enjoyable "dessert book" through and through. My biggest issue with this story was that the character's name is Gevan, sorry to any Gevans out there, but that is not the name for your uber-masculine, charismatic leading man. Then again, Humphrey wouldn't be today either, but Bogey always pulled it off, so what do I know?

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published in the 1950s, this book is most definitely a reflection of the cold war era and the societal norms of that time.
Everyone seems to smoke, and the sexism of the time is on display in most women's jobs; lounge singer, secretarial work, carhop...
Still, John MacDonald shows his chops as a master storyteller, weaving an intricate mystery within the military/industrial complex.

[Jim Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

MacDonald seamlessly moves from romantic betrayal to corporate intrigue and then murder and finally throws in a few spies. It was an OK read but didn't get to me the way that some of his other early novels - The Damned - The Neon Jungle - Dead Low Tide - did.

[Dutch Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid, well-written page-turner.

[Wade · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of MacDonald’s better novels.

[Cherie Waggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not one of my favorites of John D. MacDonald. I guess I'm just biased towards Travis McGee. Still, the art of MacDonald comes through as in all his other books.

[Jorn Barger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Original but not quite believable. Suffers from that deadly flaw where the last chapters have to laboriously sort out who was actually who. Possibly JDM's worst title ever.

[Terry Kimmel]

JD at his best

A fine tale of intrigue with a touch of suspense. The language is so much better than writers of today. Clever and witty.

[Alfred Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice action suspense story involving murder, corporate wrangling, and the Cold War.

[rotten♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

murder mystery with a mad men vibe that has unexpected romance. it wasn't peak amazing and there were definitely chapters that dragged. overall, not bad though. i'd probably give it 3 1/2 stars.

[P.S. Winn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder, mystery and a story of greed, and power plays. I have read several books by this author and always know I will get a great story

[wally · Rating 3 out of 5]

#65 from macdonald for me. just finished Go Set a Watchman and i'll say don't believe a word of the hullabaloo that was generated when that story was announced. it is worth a read, enjoyed it, was not disappointed, my world did not tilt on its axis, i'm careful not to hit my head (too much) on the roof of the truck i drive.

onward and upward.
20 dec 15, finished. good story. it'd be interesting to generate an index for this one considering it is one of his earlier stories, see how the result compares with what followed. but...not today...maybe not ever. this one has a definite travis-mcgee flavor to it, all those belles and whistles...plus some...the business angle, more than a few of macdonald's stories have that business angle and this is one, production, industry, and all those dings and dongs.
onward upward

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the hallmark of JDM's protagonist is competance. Regardless of occupation (although estimating/purchasing/production control for building trades/manufacturing often recur), his heroes display competance.

Four years ago Gevan Dean found his fiancee Niki Webb in his brother Ken's arms -- and fled his hometown. Now Ken is dead and Gevan's presence is needed to keep Dean Products from falling apart. He must struggle to keep his hands off widow Niki, all too eager to pick up where they left off. He must grapple with the motives of Stanley Mottling, the new production chief. He must come to terms with the presence of a Colonel from the Pentagon. But he doesn't suspect the truth behind what is really going on -- until the stakes get too high to ignore and the truth explodes violently in his face.

[Cullen Gallagher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Narrative couldn't hold my interest for very long, so I ended up putting it down after 50 pages. Utterly predictable characters, situations, plots, and lurid prose style. Unlike The Deep Blue Good-by, in which MacDonald used a self-conscious "hardboiled" style in order to reflect back upon the genre and the archetype of the sadistic, misogynistic male detective, here MacDonald seems to be using hardboiled cliches for no such purposes: instead, he's just relying on them. As I said, I only got 50 pages into the book before giving up, but the prose was so lifeless and unexciting, and the characters so dull, I practically felt that I could plot out the rest of hte book and come up with something pretty similar.

[Kimberly Ylitalo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I had read all the John D. MacDonald books that were out there. Coolest thing about the internet is being able to see the BOOK LISTS by author. Discovered there are a bunch of 'stand alone' MacDonald books I haven't read. And our library has them available as downloadable eBooks.

This John D. was the maiden read on my new Windows Tablet. Still getting the hang of reading on a tablet...but I like getting FREE books. Am already looking for my next one. Recommendations? Bring 'em on!