The Deep Blue Good-By

A Travis McGee Novel, Book 1

By: John D. MacDonald

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

Length: 6 hrs

Publisher's summary

He's a self-described beach bum who won his houseboat in a card game. He's also a knight errant who's wary of credit cards, retirement benefits, political parties, mortgages, and television. 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.

Nothing that John D. MacDonald wrote is better loved and more enduring than the 21 books in his series about Travis McGee, the Florida-based “salvage consultant” who recovers property for a fee so he can take his retirement “a piece at a time”. Narrator Robert Petkoff, hand-chosen to narrate with the approval of MacDonald’s estate, brings McGee’s world of the Busted Flush (his houseboat, which he won in a poker game) and “Miss Agnes” (his custom Rolls-Royce pickup truck) to vivid life.

©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)

Good story, about an "R" for content

A good engaging mystery. Not ideal for listening with teens in the car- there are rape scenes and several graphic sex scenes.

Trav McGee was quite a surprise for me

This series takes place in the early 60's Travis McGee is a tough guy with a heart. He's a beach bum who only works when he needs the money. He will find what was taken from you for half. This is the first book in the series that I've read. and I'm hooked. So far I'm up to book 5. I'm not sure how many there are. but so far each one has gotten better and you find out a bit more about Travis in each story. I do recommend this series if you enjoy detective type stories. I suggest you start with Book 1 and go from there, however I do think most books can stand on their own. Enjoy

Nothing Better Than a Travis McGee Yarn

What did you love best about The Deep Blue Good-By?

John D MacDonald is my all-time favorite author and a must read. His Travis McGee series is legendary. You must read/listen to all 21 books to truly appreciate MacDonald's mastery of story-telling. The first 4 books hold up well, but at book 5 is where MacDonald kicks it up another gear and keeps it there through the rest of the series. The Deep Blue Good-By is an excellent introduction and highly recommended.

What did you like best about this story?

Having the audiobook finally available.

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

This was my first time listening to Robert Petkoff and I think he did a fantastic job. I have read a disparaging review but luckily didn't let it keep me from giving the audio book a try.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Like an enjoyable visit with a long lost friend.

Nostalgia. The way it was--sort of.

Any additional comments?

"A golden oldie from the bargain basement of better ballads," as the disk jockeys used to say about the time this book was written. By today's standards, it's trite, it's sexist, it's round-house punches, and it's a flashback. If you've never read Travis McGee, this is the place to start--and then listening through the series (our local library no longer has the books) watch him evolve and grow. Ageless but dated, this was hard boiled fiction at its best. It was good to finally hear the Travis McGee series. The narrator is okay, I believe by the end of the book I found him credible--but not the way I would have portrayed McGee. This isn't the best book in the series--those come later, but reading in sequence is a heck of a lot of fun.

Book was written in the '60's but is still relevan

Where does The Deep Blue Good-By rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

3 out of the last 10 books I've listened to.

What other book might you compare The Deep Blue Good-By to and why?

A Sidney Sheldon book.

What about Robert Petkoff’s performance did you like?

Yery engaging

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Justice finds a home.

Any additional comments?

nope

Doc Ford Lite

Travis McGee is a character I want to learn more about. The books have been around for a long time yet the story holds up well.

An oldie but goodie

Would you listen to The Deep Blue Good-By again? Why?

I read all of John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee books years ago. They were great then and great to listen to as well.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

This is a low-key mystery series. Trav is a reluctant worker but has fabulous thinking skills for solving people's problems.

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

I don't know

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes but I had to break it up. It was better when I could put longer listening periods to it.

Travis is a great character.

Had a problem with the timeline in the story until I realized it had been written in 1964. I definitely will read more of the series but probably not all 21 in a row. But it is good to have a short listen, which these are, every now and then.Travis just might be Reacher's cousin.

Main character is depressingly cynical

Any additional comments?

I don't know if I will listen to any more in this series.

Relentless Story. Superb Writing.

"A man with a credit card is in hock to his own image of himself."

"The beer was so cold it had no taste."

"There was a nice flavor about them; that scent of 'good marriage'. Separated by a room of people, they were still paired, still aware of each other."

Right there are three good reasons to like this book. Memorable, accurate insights about society, phenomenon, and people are hard to come by. And from what other reviewers say, the Travis McGee books just get better.

I was put off at first, preferring my crime fiction of a more reverend vintage. First, because I enjoy writing that has stood the test of time (i.e.: more than 50-odd years). Second, I prefer my crime less lurid. Then there was the narrator. Robert Petkoff made McGee sound too stock. And then--I don't quite know when--I was completely immersed.

Like most hard-boiled fiction, we're in a world where nothing goes right for the right people, and our antihero plays the role of equalizer. McGee even refers to himself, ironically, as a knight-errant. There are passages that make you (or at least me) laugh out loud, in the fine tradition of Raymond Chandler. The cultural critique, as practiced by Dashiell Hammett, is even more embittered and sharper-edged. Unlike classic hard-boiled fiction, the crimes are better-defined, and seamier, sometimes to the point of nausea. But, somehow, I got used to that, too.

Then there's the psychology. Everyone seems to have a degree: "I came to the astonishing conclusion that I'd better not try to give anything until I've built up something to give. Otherwise it's just taking." Of course, that could very well be a function of the zeitgeist MacDonald is anatomizing. In other words, another accurate insight.

In short, there were facets of the book I didn't like, but by the end they didn't matter. This story is relentless. The characters are real. The writing is superb. I even came to like our narrator, Robert Petkoff, probably because I came to like Travis McGee. As Chandler once said, "[M]y whole career is based on the idea that the formula doesn't matter, the thing that counts is what you do with the formula; that is to say, it is a matter of style." John MacDonald most assuredly had that.