The Deep Blue Good-By

I recently stumbled across a worn copy of [b:The Deep Blue Good-by 3049647 The Deep Blue Good-by (Travis McGee, #1) John D. MacDonald https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356478419l/3049647.SY75.jpg 939275] in a used book store. I had fond memories of reading it some 40+ years ago, so I idly opened it and started reading. I soon found myself hooked once again by the first Travis McGee story.Travis McGee, self-styled beach bum, philosophical knight errant, and special”salvage consultant”, promises to help a friend recover some stolen valuables. He will work for his normal fee – 50% of whatever he recovers. However, as McGee starts his investigation he finds that the thief, Junior Allen, has taken more than valuables. He also has a history of sadistically mistreating women, and McGee finds himself salvaging Allen's cast off victims as well as trying to recover the stolen treasure.As it turns out, Junior Allen is not just a sleazeball but is also a seriously dangerous sociopath. Things do not go easy for McGee and he is far from perfect. Along the way he makes mistakes that are very costly to others. In the end McGee is in it for much much more than the money. Junior Allen has to go down.This book has aged well. Toss in a few references to the internet and some cell phones and the story could be present day rather than in the 1960s.John D. MacDonald was a master of suspense, and the Travis McGee stories are some of his best. It had been more than 30 years since I last read a Travis McGee story. Looking through the list, I find that I have read about half of them. That must be fixed. I have set myself the goal of reading all the Travis McGee stories, in order. A pace of about four books a year should be good, I think.