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 la..Show More »nguage 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.

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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...Show More » 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.

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

I read these all in print, then listened to them as abridged versions with Darrin McGavin narrating. Robert Petkoff is a fine narrator, but I miss McG..Show More »avin. He caught the ironic quality of Travis McGee perfectly. However, he has passed away .... and Petkoff is good. Very good.

The story is classic MacDonald. There's lots of action, violence, sex, angst, and diatribes consisting of highly astute and unfortunately, very accurate observations of what we were then doing (and have now done!) to the ecology of the area. MacDonald was fanatical about ecology before it was fashionable.

Travis McGee is unique and most interesting: a violent man who abhors violence which sometime means that he hates himself, too. He kills, but he is ashamed of it and it brings him neither joy nor satisfaction. He cannot excuse his own guilt.

Travis McGee is complex and contradictory ... one of the great fictional "detectives" (he's not exactly a detective, by the way ... but it's as close as I can get to a one word descriptor).

You don't have to read them in order. However you read them, they are complete stories.

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I first read most of John D McDonald's novels at first printing. This book was a fun read then. Today, I listened to the audio version and enjoyed i..Show More »t for some of the same reasons, but I found any references to cost, technology, and the relative values of the time most interesting. To say I was impressed with the plot/story line, writing today as much as I did in the 60's would be misleading. JOHN D. just doesn't match up to current mystery writers like Vince Flynn, Tom Clancy, or even Clive Cussler. However, this is still a fun read.

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Travis loses a friend, wreaks havoc on the bad guys, and collects new scars, all the while treating us to his sardonic view of 1960s America. Nothing..Show More » is safe from his acid wit, from the Detroit automakers and high-rolling "investors" to hippies and macho-men, Travis tells it like it is - in his opinion.

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I really wish I had read these books when I was younger! Who knows, I might be a boat bum now! But this is excellent Travis McGee. A really good li..Show More »sten and lot of fun,

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In the early 70s I thought I was a hippie, but not like these folks. Perhaps there had to be some like these to supply the drugs that seemed to be ev..Show More »erywhere at the time, but thank God I never met any. (That I know of!) I really enjoyed the vision of Mexico at the time though. It seems so strange to hear now that the "Mexican peso was rock-solid" and that American investors were lining up to invest in Mexico. This has to be one of my favorte Travis McGee adventures.

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This one starts off with a bang, and hardly slows down. Poor Miss Agnes suffers horribly, but not as much as the ladies who come into the life of Tra..Show More »vis McGee. A woman sleeping with Travis seems to have the same life expectancy as a guy wearing a red shirt in an opening episode of Star Trek! And dear Meyer is fast becoming more of a partner than a friend. A great book!

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This one was all over the map, but the bad guy is truly evil and keeps out-smarting poor Travis. Meyer takes his lumps and almost pays the ultimate p..Show More »rice as Travis confronts his own mortality.

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Starts off slow, but builds to a VERY powerful climax. I learned more than I ever wanted to know about stamp collecting, but it was worth the trip. ..Show More »It starts off as sort of a "locked room mystery," but soon turns into thrill ride through organized crime and psychopathic killers. The end left me wondering how in the Hell Travis is going to survive seven more books! Not my favorite overall, but this one has a lot going for it.

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At least he didn't get shot this time! This one was tough on our hero. Very personal involvments and a lot of back-story. As usual the characters a..Show More »re all fullly fleshed out and the overall story was great. But I never thought I'd hear Travis singing the praises of a Pulsar LED digital watche!!! Perhaps the next one will mention what a stupid idea they were.....

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This one pulls out all the stops. You've never seen Travis like this, but you always knew he had it in him. This one kind of picks up where the prev..Show More »ious one, “The Empty Copper Sea” left off, so make sure you have read that one first. This one really changes things for Travis. There are only three more novels left, and it looks like Travis is moving into the modern age of terrorism we all live with today. Savor this one, only three more to go….

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This is; in my opinion; the best of the McGee series. The relationship between Travis and Anne is well crafted. The recovery of Meyer from the events ..Show More »from "Free Fall in Crimson is both plaintive and redemptive." The road trip that McGee and Meyer take to Texas is especially well done. The ultimate climatic scene is more understated than the usual McGee finale. A great read all the way through.

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If you are reading this, there's a good chance you've listened to the other twenty titles in the McGee series . . . experienced 20 years of John D Mac..Show More »Donald's McGee magic in just a few, short months and know what an incredible cultural treasure these recordings represent.

Here, now, is the last McGee novel ever, maybe the best McGee novel ever and assuredly the most heartfelt McGee novel ever. Savor this one, because there ain't gonna be any more.

Savor also Robert Petkoff's brilliant characterizations. I had my doubts, at first, but Petkoff has proven himself to be one of the best audiobook narrators ever, taking the listener on a trip back in time . . . to a world peopled by all the wonderfully quirky characters of MacDonald's imagination, bringing them from the written page to life with skill and style.



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