The Long Lavender Look

A Travis McGee Novel, Book 12

By: John D. MacDonald

Narrated by: Robert Petkoff

A lovely young girl steps in front of Travis McGee's headlights. McGee misses the girl but lands in 10 feet of swamp water. As he's limping along the deserted road, someone in an old truck takes a few shots at him. And, when he goes to the local sheriff to complain, the intrepid Travis McGee finds himself arrested and charged with murder. And he can't help but ask himself, "is this what they call southern hospitality?"

©1970 John D. MacDonald (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Kept me guessing

The book ended a little quick. I would have liked more. But, a solid, enjoyable read overall.

Better Than I'd First Thought

This one contains the normal amount of misogyny generally present in all MacDonald works prior to the 1970's. In this case a rant, a diatribe, and a plot that treats part time hookers as subhuman trash. While giving a break to the semi-pro that he falls into bed with; though McGee still seems to be quite contemptuous of her regardless. As usual he acts as if his own sexual desires aren't only understandable, but inevitable. Also one of the principal baddies in this book is a woman in charge of her own sexuality; which is usually perceived by the author as a disease or disorder of some sort. Although I suppose a taste for Sadism and murder are somewhat off putting I guess.
Meyer has only a small role in this book; pretty much as a victim. There is also the return of a girl from McGee history that again builds up Travis as a superstud.
Despite all this John D. can tell one hell of a story and no matter how often McGee responds in a way that appeals to the lowest common denominator in us all I can't quit him. He became an icon for a reason and the reason was the writing talents of the author. This isn't the best of the McGee novels but even if it were his worst MacDonald's worst is better than most. No hesitation on my part in recommending this one.

I thought Miss Agnes was a goner for sure!

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 Travis 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!

This was a good one!

I think that this may be my favorite Travis McGee novel so far. And that might be because it was not traditional in the sense of his typical missions. He and Meyer were thrown into a situation not of their own choosing and the plot twists along the way were well-thought-out and very fun. Without being a spoiler I think this was a very good addition to the McGee lexicon. The narration, as always, spot on. Highly recommended.

And it gets cold in there.

"The delusion of total freedom of will is the worst cage of all. And it gets cold in there."
- John D. MacDonald, The Long Lavender Look

description

It is always nice to return to a solid McGee novel. None are Shakespeare and the worst are like bad James Bond novels, but when MacDonald is on his game, he writes great narrative with interesting sidebars on economics, relationships, and people. This is the 12th of his Travis McGee novels and probably the 16th McGee I've read (I've got about 5 left). I've also read other MacDonald novels that I've liked about equally well. I return to them because they are fast, entertaining, and don't require much. They are desert.

This one centers on a small Florida town with a complicated Sheriff, several sub-optimal deputies, and many many troubled ladies. Probably, the least welcome part of this book is MacDonald's exposition on hookers. It is a bit too cyncial, even for John D. MacDonald fans.