The Quick Red Fox: A Travis McGee Novel, Book 4

What we get here is a piercing fiction of what is most likely pretty real in the stark worlds of hollywood. Worthwhile.

No. Kept me entertained, but not archival by any means.

Yes. Several nice twists and surprises.

His voicing of Travis McGee. His female voices are not so good

Travis McGee--A romantic in a cynical shell.

I'm delighted that Travis McGee is on Audible. The books are entertaining and still have some excellent writing, although some philosophy found here is not PC.

These are classic mystery stories written at a time when $10,000.00 was equal to $100,000.00 in today dollars. Also men and women had different rolls. If you take that into the balance of the story, you can enjoy the mystery, and how Trav solves each problem he encounters. I have started with book one, and have now completed book 7. They all get better I have found. Just have to get used to some of the dated language and interplay between characters. It's not 2012, but late 1960's. I still find the stories really well written and have enough mystery and strange turns of events to make each Travis McGee story a gem.

I've read 4 of the books in this series and I am so hooked!. Robert Petkoff does such a wonderful job on the narration that I find myself searching for more books he has done.

Travis McGee is quite a character and I can't wait to read the next book.

yes

I really liked Robert Petkoff's performance, however, I missed Darren McGavin. His voice is who I think on when I think of Travis McGee

yes

Not quite the suspense of the first three, but still a very good story. The narration is wonderful and the story-telling is spell-binding. But it's hard to build much empathy for the characters because most of them are such sleaze-bags - but then again, I think that was one of the big points of the novel.

Back in the mid 60s, John D. McDonald introduced me to the mystery genre and to my then hero, Travis McGee...and as McGee calls himself, the "Authentic American Male." It's now 2012, I'm 60 years old and the philosophies of McGee that seemed so cutting edge and liberating to my 14 year old mind, now seem so 1964. Travis, who talks about treating women as 'equals,' calls the "better specimens"..."a fine girl." His equality is based on the fact that he is...an authentic male and they are after all, women. Travis is all for an open life style, not tied down by the establishment and the chains of job, mindless security and the suburbs, but he also has no problem preaching against the depravity of the 'butch' life style...again aimed at women. For a guy who loves the "female species," he seems to have a problem with them...that is until he 'cures' them with his unbelievably compassionate and thoughtful lovemaking. As an "authentic male" myself, I find this just a bit over the top. I could go on, but I don't want to discourage anyone from reading this series. The beauty is that they are extremely well written and they truly reflect the era. Travis is an idealized 1964, free thinking individualist. Travis is what men in 1964 wanted to be, a Playboy magazine ideal, authentic male...not a man in a grey suit carrying a briefcase. I imagine as I revisit this series I'll find Travis disliking the hippie movement, but his philosophies in this book are a true precursor to the spirit that spawned the late 60s anti-establishment 'rebellion.' Free thinkers in a movement that remained a 'man's world.'

I have heard raves about John D. MacDonald but never read any of his books until Audible started making them available. I have really enjoyed all that I've listened to thus far. I think the character descriptions in this one make them "visible" to the mind's eye.

Yes

This book would be a good thesis starter on John D's attitude to women. At one point the plot leads to a woman being held/comforted by radical butch lesbians so he beats them up and then decides to spank them!
I found John D in this novel sometimes really good but sometimes taking too many short cuts in the plot, an example being constructing the twisted and complicated motivations of a dead character, a photographer, out of whole cloth. He did this too many times, as well he tends to moralize and comes across as pretty old fashioned in his attitudes. The plot was pretty tight though and was under 7 hours.
The narrator was good although a bit boyish in voice for my tastes. Not sure if I'll buy another, think I might try another mystery writer I grew up with, Ross MacDonald, and see how he aged.

We used to enjoy Travis McGee stories.

Very dated and sophomoric story.

Energy

Disappointed that the pretentious moralizing has become so apparent.

We miss the sense of place of the earlier stories.