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The Beach Girls
Life at the Stebbins' Marina is sunny, warm and sweet. Tanned men and women enjoy the life others dream of. Many boats bring new guests to the party until one man arrives and causes an uneasy effect on everyone. What no one realizes is that the marina will soon be shattered by murder.
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
100 people are currently reading
232 people want to read
About the author
John D. MacDonald
567 books1,373 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 37 reviews
July 8, 2020
Years before MacDonald penned the popular Travis McGee novels, he wrote numerous novels, including “The Beach Girls,” about a run-down marina on the intercoastal waterway in Florida, where numerous people lived on houseboats and other seagoing vessels. In some ways, this novel is a precursor to the McGee novels, although set in a different marina.
This book, however, does not feature one main character and, instead, each chapter is told from the point of view of a different character in the marina. There are all kinds of characters that have made their home in this Marina and, in particular, on D Dock, including broken souls that have left the normal middle-class world, reckless adventurers, troublemakers, people who just couldn’t function in normal 9-to-5 jobs, people who were mean and twisted and took advantage of others.
In some ways, this book is a soap opera between these people and their relationships, with difficulties and differences often settled with the fists or more serious tools. What’s great about it is how amazingly well MacDonald captures the spirit of each of these different people and talks authentically with each of their voices. His manner of writing here and the complex descriptions are later echoed in the Travis McGee novels.
Don’t expect a straight crime novel of the type that MacDonald was known for in his pre-McGee days in the fifties, but do expect a well- written, captivating journey into the wild marina life of Florida and the people who simply couldn’t function anywhere else.
This book, however, does not feature one main character and, instead, each chapter is told from the point of view of a different character in the marina. There are all kinds of characters that have made their home in this Marina and, in particular, on D Dock, including broken souls that have left the normal middle-class world, reckless adventurers, troublemakers, people who just couldn’t function in normal 9-to-5 jobs, people who were mean and twisted and took advantage of others.
In some ways, this book is a soap opera between these people and their relationships, with difficulties and differences often settled with the fists or more serious tools. What’s great about it is how amazingly well MacDonald captures the spirit of each of these different people and talks authentically with each of their voices. His manner of writing here and the complex descriptions are later echoed in the Travis McGee novels.
Don’t expect a straight crime novel of the type that MacDonald was known for in his pre-McGee days in the fifties, but do expect a well- written, captivating journey into the wild marina life of Florida and the people who simply couldn’t function anywhere else.
May 18, 2022
'The Beach Girls' is yet another excellent old time mystery thriller - played out on the docks of Florida beaches - that has made John D. one of my favorite authors of all time.
June 15, 2020
A more apt title for The Beach Girls (published 1959) would be The Docklands Drama. This little slice of pulp reads more like J.K Rowling's The Casual Vacancy than it does noir/crime fiction.
Each chapter is told from a different POV of one of the main characters, with the author drip feeding elements of corporate conspiracy, adultery, and murder, only for them to not go anywhere.
I enjoy character-centric books, however there needs to be something which ties them all together aside from proximity and gossip. Whilst the dockside living was an interesting place-setting, the criminal components were severely lacking - sure, there's a murder, but that was in the backstory with little violence (aside from a couple of adolescent-like beach brawls) or suspense throughout.
Perhaps this felt underwhelming as I failed to connect with any of the characters. Leo Rice had promise, however the others, (aside from some backstory in their respective chapters) didn't add value or interest to the book nor really contribute in any meaningful way to the wider story arc - they were just there...like furniture.
Each chapter is told from a different POV of one of the main characters, with the author drip feeding elements of corporate conspiracy, adultery, and murder, only for them to not go anywhere.
I enjoy character-centric books, however there needs to be something which ties them all together aside from proximity and gossip. Whilst the dockside living was an interesting place-setting, the criminal components were severely lacking - sure, there's a murder, but that was in the backstory with little violence (aside from a couple of adolescent-like beach brawls) or suspense throughout.
Perhaps this felt underwhelming as I failed to connect with any of the characters. Leo Rice had promise, however the others, (aside from some backstory in their respective chapters) didn't add value or interest to the book nor really contribute in any meaningful way to the wider story arc - they were just there...like furniture.
May 7, 2019
A work of art. Forget the title and the sleazy cover. This is about real live people who behave like people do. You get to know them all. And the writing:
"The sun baked the sand too hot for tourist feet. Slow swells clumped onto the listless Atlantic beach. The sun turned road tar to goo, overheated the filtered water in the big swimming pools of the rich and the algaed pools of the do-it-yourself clan, blazed on white roofs, strained air conditioners, turned parked cars into tin ovens, and blistered the unwary. A million empty roadside beer cans twinkled in the bright glare."
That is poetry.
"The sun baked the sand too hot for tourist feet. Slow swells clumped onto the listless Atlantic beach. The sun turned road tar to goo, overheated the filtered water in the big swimming pools of the rich and the algaed pools of the do-it-yourself clan, blazed on white roofs, strained air conditioners, turned parked cars into tin ovens, and blistered the unwary. A million empty roadside beer cans twinkled in the bright glare."
That is poetry.
October 3, 2015
First off, the title is completely non-sensical as there is no beach and there are no beach girls, so the title was obviously your typical pulp novel marketing ploy. The novel takes place at a marina and is primarily concerned with the people living aboard and operating out of a particular dock. It has a unique narrative structure where there are multiple first person narrators so that you get to learn about all of the characters and the plot points from many different angles. As the novel moves from one narrator to the next the noir-ish plot unfolds and builds towards the novel’s climax. The marina environment of the novel will be of interest to Travis McGee series fans as it is loaded with precursor mis-en-scene.
June 20, 2015
A solid character study suspense story about a group of folks who live at a marina. The day that Leo Rice (badly) brings his boat into the marina for an indefinite stay is the day when secrets start unraveling and a journey to violent death (though never gratuitous) is undertaken. The title is pure pulp misleading, there's a gimmick that the last line of each chapter builds into the first line of the next (a cute transition from one POV character to another), but the characters are richly detailed. A solid effort, though the ultimate plot point the book builds toward was less interesting than all the individuals and their stories.
April 22, 2024
Decent standalone by MacDonald (and I prefer his standalone efforts to his Travis McGee books). Published in 1959, The Beach Girls takes place at the Stebbins' Marina, a run-down largely friendly place where life-on-the-water friends often gather in the evenings for burgers, beers, and lies. Enter the slightly mysterious but also inept sailor Leo Rice, awkwardly angling his run-down boat into "D" dock.
What follows, for the most part, is a chapter by chapter point-of-view from several of the characters. This is pretty neat since you how deftly MacDonald is at creating believable characters (complete with back stories) in the space of ten or so pages, while at the same time moving the story along. The story itself is something of a meant-to-be revenge tale that never gets quite to that point. There's a lizard-like predator who gets his, but you know that going into it. The real fun lies in the characters and the descriptions of late 1950s marina life in Florida. MacDonald's usual concerns over "progress" and its destruction of a way of life and the surrounding environment are present (as they are in most of his novels), but done with a his light touch, incorporation them into the story without preaching at you.
The one major flaw in the book, and its considerable, lies in the last 50 pages or so. It's there that MacDonald switches gears, having the story go from chapter by chapter characters to a long section involving an annual birthday party at the marina. At this point the novel loses its momentum. It's as if MacDonald was trying to reach a page count (very possible). The impressive economy displayed in earlier in the book is sacrificed for unnecessary padding. It's not without interest, but you're keenly aware that 20 pages could have been easily dropped. That said I liked how things got resolved, and it had flipping back to the beginning to see how deftly MacDonald had planted the seed for the story's resolution. Probably a must-read for Travis McGee fans since The Beach Girls establishes a recognizable foundation for MacDonald's signature character and series.
What follows, for the most part, is a chapter by chapter point-of-view from several of the characters. This is pretty neat since you how deftly MacDonald is at creating believable characters (complete with back stories) in the space of ten or so pages, while at the same time moving the story along. The story itself is something of a meant-to-be revenge tale that never gets quite to that point. There's a lizard-like predator who gets his, but you know that going into it. The real fun lies in the characters and the descriptions of late 1950s marina life in Florida. MacDonald's usual concerns over "progress" and its destruction of a way of life and the surrounding environment are present (as they are in most of his novels), but done with a his light touch, incorporation them into the story without preaching at you.
The one major flaw in the book, and its considerable, lies in the last 50 pages or so. It's there that MacDonald switches gears, having the story go from chapter by chapter characters to a long section involving an annual birthday party at the marina. At this point the novel loses its momentum. It's as if MacDonald was trying to reach a page count (very possible). The impressive economy displayed in earlier in the book is sacrificed for unnecessary padding. It's not without interest, but you're keenly aware that 20 pages could have been easily dropped. That said I liked how things got resolved, and it had flipping back to the beginning to see how deftly MacDonald had planted the seed for the story's resolution. Probably a must-read for Travis McGee fans since The Beach Girls establishes a recognizable foundation for MacDonald's signature character and series.
December 29, 2022
This is a superb story told from the point of view of various characters within the story. I reached the third chapter before I realized this.
Let me clarify that there is no beach, or beach girls, but it has very interesting and curious characters that completely made me curious about how the story would unfold. The type of language used is delightfully sarcastic in many places, which gave me more enjoyment after a very long time.
I must say that the author did a fabulous job when writing from the perspective of female characters without buying into the female stereotypes of the era. Few authors are capable sounding exactly like a person of the opposite sex when writing from their perspective.
Definitely enjoyed it.
Let me clarify that there is no beach, or beach girls, but it has very interesting and curious characters that completely made me curious about how the story would unfold. The type of language used is delightfully sarcastic in many places, which gave me more enjoyment after a very long time.
I must say that the author did a fabulous job when writing from the perspective of female characters without buying into the female stereotypes of the era. Few authors are capable sounding exactly like a person of the opposite sex when writing from their perspective.
Definitely enjoyed it.
December 24, 2015
#68 from macdonald for me...just finished Deadly Welcome, an excellent story, check it out as the song has it...unless i misheard those lyrics, too. 23 dec 15...onward & upward
finished it, 23 dec 15, a quick read, as others noted chapters divided by first-person p.o.v. from an assortment of characters herein. there are a few other macdonald stories that make use of this same narrative technique...the titles of which--there are more than one--escape me at the moment. he has a few anyway and that includes 3rd-person takes. i think there might also be a short, same fashion.
took a bit to "get into" this one, "story" was slow to develop, was about 40% done before we got to the action-jackson and prior to that there was one confusing chapter that wanted to hint at what was coming...and didn't'll...had the feel of something missing, something misplaced...and then too, when one reads numerous macdonalds back-to-back, things tend to look familiar sometimes good sometimes bad. oh la.
yeah...so...character, spot on, dialogue, great, super...this that the other. perhaps had i read the story description things might have been better. sometimes i do sometimes i don't.
onward and upward
finished it, 23 dec 15, a quick read, as others noted chapters divided by first-person p.o.v. from an assortment of characters herein. there are a few other macdonald stories that make use of this same narrative technique...the titles of which--there are more than one--escape me at the moment. he has a few anyway and that includes 3rd-person takes. i think there might also be a short, same fashion.
took a bit to "get into" this one, "story" was slow to develop, was about 40% done before we got to the action-jackson and prior to that there was one confusing chapter that wanted to hint at what was coming...and didn't'll...had the feel of something missing, something misplaced...and then too, when one reads numerous macdonalds back-to-back, things tend to look familiar sometimes good sometimes bad. oh la.
yeah...so...character, spot on, dialogue, great, super...this that the other. perhaps had i read the story description things might have been better. sometimes i do sometimes i don't.
onward and upward
May 10, 2024
I’m not sure why this book is called The Beach Girls. It actually takes place at a marina and it’s not really about girls.
The setting is the ramshackle Stebbins Marina in fictional Elihu, Florida, on the Gold Coast just north of Miami. The time is 1959. The owners of most of the boats on D dock live aboard their boats year-round. For various reasons, they have rejected the staid, conventional lifestyle of the middle class in favor of a more carefree bohemian existence that involves lots of drinking and lots of sex.
The narrative structure of the first nine chapters is almost unique. Each of those chapters ends with a character’s narration dropping off mid-sentence, while the next chapter begins with a new narrator finishing the sentence and taking the story in a whole different direction.
In each of these chapters, we get to see from the inside a character whom we saw in the previous chapter only from the outside. From the outside, each character is a collection of traits. From the inside, we see them as fully drawn, complex people with distinct desires, imaginations, perceptions, histories and frustrations.
This is where the book really shines. MacDonald draws deeper, richer, more nuanced characters in just a few pages than most authors can draw in an entire novel. He tosses them off with ease, like a jazz musician whose impromptu riffs are more inspired and more polished than the most carefully orchestrated tracks of a studio album.
All of these people are here on the periphery of society because of some past shock or failure that left them reeling. Despite the easygoing appearance of the place, none of the inhabitants planned on living this life. Most seem surprised to find themselves here.
MacDonald has the grace and sense not to portray his characters as victims. They’re much richer than that. Many of them are simply bewildered and plodding on as well as they can.
There’s lots of tension beneath the surface of this big circle of friends, as you can imagine when a bunch of aimless people sit around drinking and screwing. The rivalries among the women can get catty and among the men they get violent. Add to that the tension of “progress,” of the wealthy and politically powerful Gold Coast real estate developers circling the down-and-out marina like vultures, waiting to swallow it up, displace its inhabitants, and wring millions from the waterfront property.
The best part of this book is MacDonald’s humane and perceptive portrayal of the community under threat, the individual misfits and outcasts living in the marina. On one end of the spectrum, you have the generous, outgoing Christy Yale. Her fiance, Jerry, was the only man she had ever slept with. Since he died in the military just before their intended wedding, she has remained single, set her expectations low, and devoted herself to playing the joker and making life a little lighter and a little more bearable for everyone around her.
This is her reflecting on the years since Jerry’s death, and the profound impact of an unexpectedly intimate conversation with the marina’s newest inhabitant, Leo Rice:
On the other end of the spectrum of decency is Rex Rigsby. Handsome, charming, amoral, deeply misanthropic and misogynistic, he specializes in seducing other men’s wives. He hates women even as he seduces them, and takes as much pleasure in spurning and humiliating them after they’ve fallen for him as he does in the initial conquest.
One of his favorite pastimes on the boating scene is to befriend the wealthy men who charter his boat and wring from them an invitation to “stop by the house if you’re ever traveling our way.” If he likes their wives, he makes it a point to go traveling their way. When he visits, he fleeces the men at poker, sleeps with their wives while they’re at work, and then leaves just before he’s worn out his welcome.
The game comes so easy to him, and is repeated so often, he says, “Sometimes I feel like a midget who, successfully impersonating a child, goes to all the birthday parties and wins all the prizes.”
You know that sooner or later a guy as overconfident as this is going to take it too far and get in some serious trouble.
After the first nine chapters of alternating first-person narrative, the last four chapters switch to third person omniscient. The marina throws the big traditional birthday bash for the owner, Alice Stebbins. It’s an annual event, open to the whole town, where too many people drink way too much alcohol and things get out of hand. This is the perfect setup to resolve the roiling tensions among the marina’s inhabitants. You just know things are going to get bad as soon as the shindig begins.
The conventions of the genre require those last four chapters in which the final confrontation and denouement occur. Any competent author could have written them, though MacDonald did it with unusual flair.
The beauty of this book, however, is in the setup, in the world MacDonald builds and in the characters that inhabit that world. The author’s ability to portray character and place exceeds that of most of the “literary” authors I’ve read. He’s unusually versatile too, able to convey many different voices and temperaments with striking clarity.
I don’t know how this guy cranked out so many books, but I look forward to reading more of them.
The setting is the ramshackle Stebbins Marina in fictional Elihu, Florida, on the Gold Coast just north of Miami. The time is 1959. The owners of most of the boats on D dock live aboard their boats year-round. For various reasons, they have rejected the staid, conventional lifestyle of the middle class in favor of a more carefree bohemian existence that involves lots of drinking and lots of sex.
The narrative structure of the first nine chapters is almost unique. Each of those chapters ends with a character’s narration dropping off mid-sentence, while the next chapter begins with a new narrator finishing the sentence and taking the story in a whole different direction.
In each of these chapters, we get to see from the inside a character whom we saw in the previous chapter only from the outside. From the outside, each character is a collection of traits. From the inside, we see them as fully drawn, complex people with distinct desires, imaginations, perceptions, histories and frustrations.
This is where the book really shines. MacDonald draws deeper, richer, more nuanced characters in just a few pages than most authors can draw in an entire novel. He tosses them off with ease, like a jazz musician whose impromptu riffs are more inspired and more polished than the most carefully orchestrated tracks of a studio album.
All of these people are here on the periphery of society because of some past shock or failure that left them reeling. Despite the easygoing appearance of the place, none of the inhabitants planned on living this life. Most seem surprised to find themselves here.
MacDonald has the grace and sense not to portray his characters as victims. They’re much richer than that. Many of them are simply bewildered and plodding on as well as they can.
There’s lots of tension beneath the surface of this big circle of friends, as you can imagine when a bunch of aimless people sit around drinking and screwing. The rivalries among the women can get catty and among the men they get violent. Add to that the tension of “progress,” of the wealthy and politically powerful Gold Coast real estate developers circling the down-and-out marina like vultures, waiting to swallow it up, displace its inhabitants, and wring millions from the waterfront property.
The best part of this book is MacDonald’s humane and perceptive portrayal of the community under threat, the individual misfits and outcasts living in the marina. On one end of the spectrum, you have the generous, outgoing Christy Yale. Her fiance, Jerry, was the only man she had ever slept with. Since he died in the military just before their intended wedding, she has remained single, set her expectations low, and devoted herself to playing the joker and making life a little lighter and a little more bearable for everyone around her.
This is her reflecting on the years since Jerry’s death, and the profound impact of an unexpectedly intimate conversation with the marina’s newest inhabitant, Leo Rice:
They killed him [Jerry] over there, on a hill with a number instead of a name, and when they’re dead you can’t tell whether it was a police action or a war. So I went through the motions of life for a year, while my heart rotted in my chest. No kids to amuse. No new name.
After a year, I woke up and counted my losses, brushed up on all my acts, rejoined, in a limited fashion, the human race. At least my spinsterhood was not virginal. Twice on the beach, twice in his [Jerry’s] boat. That was all. So damn little, and so damn wonderful. Bright little memories for the empty nights.
So you make all the adjustments, lock all the cupboards, sweep out the floor of your heart and wait with indifference for the years when you will be a very funny old woman. Then, without warning, an odd and gentle man comes into your life and responds to you in a way so reminiscent of Jerry that all the tidying up is undone. Debris all over the place. It isn’t fair.
On the other end of the spectrum of decency is Rex Rigsby. Handsome, charming, amoral, deeply misanthropic and misogynistic, he specializes in seducing other men’s wives. He hates women even as he seduces them, and takes as much pleasure in spurning and humiliating them after they’ve fallen for him as he does in the initial conquest.
One of his favorite pastimes on the boating scene is to befriend the wealthy men who charter his boat and wring from them an invitation to “stop by the house if you’re ever traveling our way.” If he likes their wives, he makes it a point to go traveling their way. When he visits, he fleeces the men at poker, sleeps with their wives while they’re at work, and then leaves just before he’s worn out his welcome.
The game comes so easy to him, and is repeated so often, he says, “Sometimes I feel like a midget who, successfully impersonating a child, goes to all the birthday parties and wins all the prizes.”
You know that sooner or later a guy as overconfident as this is going to take it too far and get in some serious trouble.
After the first nine chapters of alternating first-person narrative, the last four chapters switch to third person omniscient. The marina throws the big traditional birthday bash for the owner, Alice Stebbins. It’s an annual event, open to the whole town, where too many people drink way too much alcohol and things get out of hand. This is the perfect setup to resolve the roiling tensions among the marina’s inhabitants. You just know things are going to get bad as soon as the shindig begins.
The conventions of the genre require those last four chapters in which the final confrontation and denouement occur. Any competent author could have written them, though MacDonald did it with unusual flair.
The beauty of this book, however, is in the setup, in the world MacDonald builds and in the characters that inhabit that world. The author’s ability to portray character and place exceeds that of most of the “literary” authors I’ve read. He’s unusually versatile too, able to convey many different voices and temperaments with striking clarity.
I don’t know how this guy cranked out so many books, but I look forward to reading more of them.
October 25, 2018
++++MacDonald once again shows his antipathy for the commercialization of Florida and its effect on lives as well as the environment. There is also something I have never run into before. Most of the chapters are named for the main characters and at the end of the chapter that persons words or thoughts are continued as the beginning of the next chapter/person. Main characters are: Alice Stebbins owner of the run down Stebbins Marina, Helen Haas her office manager, Captain Orbie Derr cruise boat owner, Joe Rykler charter fishing boat owner, Captain Lew Burgoyne charter fishing boat owner, Christy Yale CoC secretary & D dock comedienne, Rex Rigby owner of the Angel best looking and best maintained yacht at the marina and a totally amoral and narcissistic user, Leo Rice (Harrison) a northern lawyer owner of the Ruthless, Anne Browder the non drinking money lady at the birthday parties and future Mrs. Rykler. Others are Captain Jimmy & Jannifer Jean (Moonbeam), Jack & Judy Engby, Dink Western & Dave Harran and Sid Stark.++++
June 8, 2018
“The Beach Girls,” by John D. MacDonald centers around a commercial marina on the east coast of Florida in the 1950’s that barely stays afloat financially and about the cast of characters living on their boats. The story format is a bit strange with each chapter being told by a different character. It’s clear who the hero is and the book works out with the final chapters seen through his eyes. It’s great that everything isn’t what it seems to be and you end up feeling good that it’s not what you thought.
December 13, 2017
I thoroughly enjoyed the first 95% of this tale - the very, very end was frustrating in that what I loved about this tale was that the storytelling and the structure (where the narrative voice flows from one person to the next) made it feel very in the moment and then that structure is broken at the end, to the detriment of the book. There are multiple instances of delightful prose and I'm glad I read it, but I was so frustrated by the end that it left a sour taste as I closed the final page.
April 24, 2020
This was too much like the one I just read (The Damned) - even though the locale was different, the characters all seemed the same. Oversexed woman, hot shot Texan etc, a bunch of losers that all fall in love at first sight or lust!
It had a bit of a Travis McGee flavor, as it takes place in a marina on Florida’s east coast, but not nearly as good as the future series.
It had a bit of a Travis McGee flavor, as it takes place in a marina on Florida’s east coast, but not nearly as good as the future series.
July 10, 2018
I am continuing my quest to read and reread John D MacDonald. The Beach Girls is a harbinger of the Travis McGee series. As always MacDonald does a good job of character development and catches a flavor of the era.
August 15, 2018
So a little time travel, back to Florida in the 1960's, early 70's. Before Betty Freidan. Its all cliches, and central is the idea that we are, just below the surface, feral. But that Florida beach light is there, and that moment, just before it all got paved over.
July 27, 2010
Not my favorite by JDM but the characters are still richly textured.
August 2, 2012
This guy was something else.
Read
December 14, 2020This reminds me of MacDonald's The Crossroads in the way it explores a set of characters in a place. Here they're an eclectic mix rather than a family, however.
It also feels like one step further than the character-rich Murder in the Wind which weaves many character narratives together in traditional third-person point of view style.
Here, each chapter's a stand alone first-person account of life at a small Florida marina until stories and an underpinning plan of revenge converge in the final chapters.
The book defies expectations a bit and delivers an interesting snapshot of a time and place. Don't go in expecting a thriller. This is a mainstream novel with hints of crime and suspense, and it's a worthwhile excursion with that understanding.
It also feels like one step further than the character-rich Murder in the Wind which weaves many character narratives together in traditional third-person point of view style.
Here, each chapter's a stand alone first-person account of life at a small Florida marina until stories and an underpinning plan of revenge converge in the final chapters.
The book defies expectations a bit and delivers an interesting snapshot of a time and place. Don't go in expecting a thriller. This is a mainstream novel with hints of crime and suspense, and it's a worthwhile excursion with that understanding.
April 19, 2025
Here's-Me-And-My-Kooky-Friends-Drinking-On-The-Beach-lol
Man, what a piece of shit.
Instead of reading it:
1. Go to some college girl's Facebook pics of her spring-break coal-burning.
2. Look at the caption.
3. Put "lol" at the end of each caption.
4. Purse your lips into a "duck-face" and get in on the fun yourself (it's lol).
This is as bad as the beatnik books.
I wonder about this JDM guy. Was he drunk all time, or something? Had no idea what he was writing?
I might give up on him -- the ratio is getting bad.
Man, what a piece of shit.
Instead of reading it:
1. Go to some college girl's Facebook pics of her spring-break coal-burning.
2. Look at the caption.
3. Put "lol" at the end of each caption.
4. Purse your lips into a "duck-face" and get in on the fun yourself (it's lol).
This is as bad as the beatnik books.
I wonder about this JDM guy. Was he drunk all time, or something? Had no idea what he was writing?
I might give up on him -- the ratio is getting bad.
July 16, 2023
Appallingly amoral, but a must-read to see where the Travis series came from. The climactic party sequence reminds me of Pynchon's "V" but there's probably many similar others.
Blurbs that pretend there's a murder mystery are false. Nor is there any beach to speak of.
Blurbs that pretend there's a murder mystery are false. Nor is there any beach to speak of.
July 24, 2020
Plotless
Beach Girls has excellent character development but a really thin if almost non existent plot. It seems to be nothing more than a series of vignettes involving one or more of the too many characters. This was not one of Mr. MacDonald's best efforts.
Beach Girls has excellent character development but a really thin if almost non existent plot. It seems to be nothing more than a series of vignettes involving one or more of the too many characters. This was not one of Mr. MacDonald's best efforts.
October 3, 2020
An earlier book by JDM, parts of this are pretty corny - and not in a good way. But if you like the author you can view this a preview of better things to come. The villain is a compelling character. Overall, not bad but the last two chapters are difficult. A quick read.
September 10, 2023
Interesting to read one of John’s
early works. 1959, so not his best but he could already tell a fine story and one can see in this one the beginnings of the Travis McGee series. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
early works. 1959, so not his best but he could already tell a fine story and one can see in this one the beginnings of the Travis McGee series. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
September 14, 2022
Interesting story.. but it lost a star for having too many characters to remember. I gave up trying and just identified them by what they were doing
July 9, 2023
Wow, better than The Executioners!
Every character in this book is so vivid.
This is the craziest beach party I've ever read.
Every character in this book is so vivid.
This is the craziest beach party I've ever read.
May 22, 2024
As good as it gets…
So true to his time and with so many jabs at society as he told a fun story. Great characters and the good guys came out on top.
So true to his time and with so many jabs at society as he told a fun story. Great characters and the good guys came out on top.
May 23, 2024
A good MacDonald story. Life in the marina evolves around a new comer who has a history with one of the residents. Murder follows. A nice view of Florida as it was changing with the influx of people.
November 30, 2024
I am currently more than halfway through this one and will update my review when I’m finished. Macdonald did it again, I am completely hooked on his writing.
May 21, 2013
This was an entertaining mystery despite the choice of title. You have to remember it was written in the late fifties when Bobby Darren, Connie Francis and Elvis were romping on the radio waves. John D. MacDonald is one of the highest regarded mystery writers of his age which is documented by the high praise of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Mary Higgins Clark and others in support of the reprints on current bookshelves. Many of his books were converted to movies including "Cape Fear". This book was essentially a characther study of a number of ordinary people, that were very unpolitically correct or perhaps it is politically incorrect by this week's standards, living in a Florida marina and how the interacted and dealt with life.
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