Nightmare in Pink

A Travis McGee Novel, Book 2

By: John D. MacDonald

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Nina - a career girl living alone in Manhattan - offers Travis McGee companionship and the first loose thread in the elaborate fabric of a gigantic swindle. Now, she's leading McGee on a wild and tortuous chase into the decadent world of high society, the ruthless world of big money, and the weird world of hallucinatory drugs.

©1964 John D. MacDonald Publishing, Inc. Renewal © 1992 Maynard MacDonald (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[T]he great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller." (Stephen King)

"[M]y favorite novelist of all time." (Dean Koontz)

"[W]hat a joy that these timeless and treasured novels are available again." (Ed McBain)

Quite a Story

Audible did the world a favor by ensuring these works were made into spoken word books. This series is a vital part of the history of American fiction. I am thankful that they have been made accessible for generations of audio book consumers.

Another Fun Read

Released in 1964, Nightmare in Pink is the second book in John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee series. In this entry, Nina — a career girl living alone in Manhattan — offers the protagonist companionship and the first loose thread in the elaborate fabric of a gigantic swindle. She leads McGee on a wild and tortuous chase into the decadent world of high society, the ruthless world of big money, and the weird world of hallucinatory drugs.

As with the first novel in this highly influential series, Nightmare in Pink is a fun and entertaining read. An Audible Original, the narrator does a wonderful job of breathing life into an already lively story. His delivery and phrasing is solid, and the narration never gets in the way of the story. I enjoyed this audiobook just as much as the first, and I look forward to more McGee mysteries in the future.

Bold, energetic prose...

Believable characters and plausible situations coupled with an unapologetic masculinity and moral firmness that clearly comes from a different generation of writing. Modern apologists and slaves to the altar of political correctness cannot hold a candle To John D. MacDonald and his protagonist Travis McGee. An Old-fashioned "toxic" real man. my second in the series and it won't be my last.

Trav McGee just gets better

This is book 2 in series, and it's better than the first. I think the narrator does a great job with voices that convey, not only attitude, but the language of the time. How often do you hear some one call another "darling" in 2012. These are period mysteries and as such you have to take that into account. If you're not familiar with the detective genre of the 50's and 60's then this might not be for you. I'm loving it and find so far each book has been better than last. I'm up to the fourth book in series and I am truly enjoying.

McGee #2 - Doesn't Try Harder

While this is another bang-up reading performance by Petkoff, the story suffers a bit in comparison to the first McGee outing, The Deep Blue Good-By. Unrealistic in spots, it seems more of a pot-boiler.
Still, these are worth reading in order...and Petkoff will keep it moving for you.

Probably a Pretty Good Man

There’s an irony here. Unfettered Travis McGee, dedicated lay about with a refined contempt for the stultifying aspects go-getter American prosperity, runs into a criminal conspiracy with even more contempt for conventional life – and learns that normalcy isn’t such a bad thing after all.

True, Travis tends to get up on his soapbox a tad too often. MacDonald’s attempts at emotional lyricism can make one’s toes curl. And for all the complex personal sexual morality that he believes sets him apart from baser men, Travis McGee still gets plenty of action.

Nevertheless, it’s a solid if somewhat predictable story. Travis really is what one female character calls him, “probably a pretty good man” in whose company it is a pleasure to spend a few hours. And Robert Petkoff plays him to perfection.

Very much a product of its time

If you could sum up Nightmare in Pink in three words, what would they be?

Entertaining, but flawed

If you’ve listened to books by John D. MacDonald before, how does this one compare?

The second in the series finds McDonald still developing the character of Travis McGee. Oddly, the writer spends more time with the romance and McGee's relationships with women more than he does the thriller aspects which, at times, seem s little over the top. Taking McGee out of Florida this early in the series reduces the effectiveness of the character considerably. Not nearly as good as The Deep Blue Goodbye, it's still an enjoyable entry in the series. Terrific narration.

Have you listened to any of Robert Petkoff’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I wasn't certtain he would be a good fit for McGee but in the space of two books, he's won me over. I look forward to listening to his work on the rest of the series.

Any additional comments?

Anyone who enjoys a good "Since you're going to die anyway, I'll explain my entire sinister plot to you" villain will be be right at home here.

Book 2 Travis McGee

One of the weaker books in the series, in my opinion. The plot is pretty contrived and implausible. But considering it was written in the early 60s I think that’s where the obsession with Hallucinogenics comes from.

The performance is terrific. Petkoff narrates the entire series and really does an outstanding job.

As to the series…
Well, to read detective novels from the 60s and 70s is to accept that there will be a certain amount of racism, sexism, misogyny and homophobia.
And all those things are present in the Travis McGee novels. Perhaps it is nostalgia on my part… My dad was a huge fan of these books back in the day… so I overlook a lot of that when listening to these books. If you were able to overlook those things, or encapsulate them in the time the books were written, the Travis McGee novels are quite engaging and entertaining as mysteries. And, again, the performance is so good in all of these that you will be quite drawn in.
If you are new to this series, don’t start with this one.

Misogynist

I listened for over 2 hours. In all that time, Travis never spoke to a male, and in his descriptions of the women he spoke to, he was always evaluating their sexuality and sizing them up as potential bed partners . In between there were little snippets of a plot. I just got bored with it. I decided after the 2 hours that if the next person he spoke to was not a man, I was giving up. I gave up. By the way, Robert Petkoff's narration was excellent. So good in fact that I went searching for books that he was narrating. I found some John Sanford Mysteries and purchased one.

Slow start Strong finish

Would you listen to Nightmare in Pink again? Why?

I probably would not listen again. I rarely listen to books a second time. But it was a very good book. Very thought provoking.